Written and directed by Abel Ferrara, Zeros and Ones opens with a video message directly from lead actor Ethan Hawke, even before the actual narrative of the film gets going. This video from Hawke looks to have been shot on… Read More ›
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Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “tick, tick…BOOM!” adaptation is a love-letter to both a lost artist and the medium he so loved.
Your musical theater tastes are all but defined by when you were first introduced. It doesn’t mean that you can’t shift or grow in tastes, but there certainly comes a heavy influence or leaning based upon your start. While I,… Read More ›
Halle Berry’s directorial debut is “Bruised” but not broken.
It’s perfectly natural to want to find ways to grow in your craft. Someone who starts as an intern likely has their eyes on a manager’s seat, wanting to absorb as much as possible in order to get there faster…. Read More ›
Don’t blink. Don’t move. Writer/director Jane Campion’s western thriller “The Power of the Dog” compels you to heel.
Director Jane Campion’s (The Piano) latest project is an adaptation of author Thomas Savage’s 1967 novel The Power of the Dog. Her film, a taunt western-drama, chronicles the intersecting lives of two families across several months in Montana 1925. Each… Read More ›
Enjoy a little “Respect” when you get home — the anticipated Aretha Franklin biopic starring Jennifer Hudson is now available.
Great performers like Aretha Franklin are remembered for much more than their God-given talents. They’re also remembered for their ability to connect with their audience. A good performer will practice and train for years to master their craft, but a… Read More ›
Historical drama “The War Below” reenacts the explosive real events of the Battle of Messines with a strange fizzle.
The war film genre is a strange beast. Many of the films are entirely propaganda, pontificating on the successes of the old made by the sacrifices of young, celebrating the loss of life by infusing it with self-aggrandizing nationalism. Weird… Read More ›
“Don’t Breathe 2” is a horrible follow-up to an outstanding horror film, but a surprisingly great home release.
One of the most underrated horror/thrillers of the past decade was easily Fede Álvarez’s Don’t Breathe. The tense, heart-pounding suspense and brutal, but surprisingly pared back (at least compared to the absolute bloodbath that was Álvarez’s first feature 2013’s Evil… Read More ›
Writer/director Lisa Joy’s neo-noir feature debut “Reminiscence” offers a new perspective on a time-tested genre.
There’s an interesting line in writer/director Lisa Joy’s Reminiscence, which suggests that our past doesn’t haunt us. It’s gone. We, however, through our memories, haunt it by revisiting moments in our mind over and over. There’s psychological proof of this… Read More ›
Action thrill-ride “One Shot” goes far beyond intense stunt sequences and camera trickery.
Pain is a fantastic motivator and a terrible teacher. It moves us to make decisions that feel right, justified even, in the moment, but, with a bit of time, reveal themselves to have been the poorer of the options. By… Read More ›
Thriller/dramedy “Nightshooters” brings the action amid laughs and horror.
For all the talk of major releases like Dune (2021) or Eternals (2021) or the bemoaning of limited access of films like Last Night in Soho (2021) or Antlers (2021), all films which were released by large studios, it’s easy… Read More ›
“Hell Hath No Fury” but it has a long memory and a demand for justice.
The reason why such great offense is taken when the Holocaust is invoked regarding any potential inconvenience (re: not injustice) is multi-layered and complex. The folks trying to make the connection are trying to attribute, for example, the wearing of… Read More ›
In a sea of manufactured biopics, Reinaldo Marcus Green’s “King Richard” takes the crown with its pure sincerity. [Film Fest 919]
To be completely honest with you, I thought Will Smith was doing a period piece where he would play King Richard I in what I thought was one of the more daring pieces of casting I had heard about in… Read More ›
Sadly, when betting on this particular G.I. Joe adaptation, “Snake Eyes” is an appropriate title.
It’s been a long road to go from the first iteration of “America’s Moveable Fighting Man” G.I. Joe to the latest live-action cinematic rendition of the characters from that universe. In that time, the Hasbro toyline has gone from a… Read More ›
Compelling performances amid a surprising dramatic thriller don’t make up for the shortcomings in “Stillwater.”
Truth and fiction can be a matter of perspective. Because of this, one’s guilt or innocence can shift more to one side than another based on who’s doing the judging. In family squabbles, it’s often harder to identify the guilty… Read More ›
The bigger the legend, “The Harder They Fall.”
When Americans tell stories of the Old West, there’s typically a common thread running through them and it’s very white and heroic. With films like 3:10 to Yuma (1957) or True Grit (1969), The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly… Read More ›
David Lowery’s “The Green Knight” is a medieval poem made flesh, transcending time and space.
Over time, the meanings of things often change. This can be a product of shifting social mores, alterations in language, or incidental innocuous moments which lead to global change. One of them is the idea of chivalry as being strictly… Read More ›
There’s Nothing to fear in “The Night House.”
Loss hits us all differently and unexpectedly. We can *know* that someone is no longer with us, yet feel them, as though they are lingering in the air. We can *know* that they may not see them again, yet we… Read More ›
“Halloween Kills” turns its attention from Laurie Strode to Haddonfield with mixed results.
The Boogeyman. The Shape. Michael Myers. Whatever name you call him, wherever he goes, death follows. Just as simple as that. But what’s left in his wake besides dead bodies? In Halloween (2018), director/writer David Gordon Green and cowriters Jeff… Read More ›
“Knocking” takes its time building suspense, but Cecilia Milocco’s steady performance will keep you hooked.
If you’ve spent any time living in an apartment building or a dorm, you’ve probably had a few run-ins with noisy neighbors. It takes guts to knock on a stranger’s door and ask them to keep it down. Depending on… Read More ›
“LandLocked” offers an intriguing exploration of the dangers of nostalgia, but little else. [Nightstream]
There’s something truly arresting about grief. It impacts us all differently: some a little bit at a time, while others feel upended by a sledgehammer. There’s no real right or wrong way to grieve unless you lose yourself entirely to… Read More ›