Oscar-nominated actor Greg Kinnear makes his directorial debut with the new film Phil, and also stars in the lead role as the eponymous character. Phil McGuire is a fairly successful dentist who runs his own practice, yet struggles with deep… Read More ›
The urge to create complications, to produce bigger and stronger obstacles within stories, is one of many balancing acts writers manage when crafting their stories. Introductions of characters and settings, moving the narrative forward, designing conflict – these are all… Read More ›
A movie that centers around three YouTubers wanting to make their own movie/documentary is something we saw about 20 years ago with The Blair Witch Project, which centered on three film students whose goal was to document the Blair Witch… Read More ›
Why do we do what we do? What drives us? What inspires us to get out of bed each morning and tackle the day? This is the core question of director Matthew Kaplowitz’s documentary Nothing Changes: Art for Hank’s Sake,… Read More ›
More often than not, pregnancy is compared to a “miracle,” as though the act of conception isn’t part of the biological make-up instilled within the human machine. Defining pregnancy and childbirth as a “miracle” creates undue pressure on the women… Read More ›
There exists a problem in classic literature and it resides in the presentation of women. They are rarely given any agency, any sense of control over their fates, and are, instead, merely fodder for whatever Hero’s Journey the male lead… Read More ›
2014’s Maleficent kicked off Disney’s live-action reimaginings of various beloved properties. Soon after followed 2015’s Cinderella, 2016’s The Jungle Book, and 2017’s Beauty and the Beast. For whatever reason, rather than sticking to one new release a year, 2019 will… Read More ›
Let’s talk comedy; more specifically, international comedy. For little, misunderstood kids growing up in the South, it feels like we all had an outlet to express our humor when we found that ours didn’t fall under what was considered popular… Read More ›
From writer and director Michael Matteo Rossi, Chase follows the title character’s (Damien Puckler) journey as he attempts to maneuver his way out of a life of crime, violence, and deception. There is a solid layer of intriguing foundational material… Read More ›
The industry that is horse racing certainly isn’t the beast it once was. What used to be an event for the elite and commoner alike, has now become more of a status symbol than anything else. While horse racing doesn’t… Read More ›
Chances are, even if you’re reading this, that the film Slaughterhouse Rulez is a bit of an enigma to you. Despite boasting a cast which includes Simon Pegg (Hot Fuzz), Nick Frost (At World’s End), Michael Sheen (Tron: Legacy), and… Read More ›
In 2018, a wildfire tore through California, burning homes and woodland areas to ash as it raged. Of the many things destroyed, the one most closely linked to cinema history was the Paramount Ranch. Purchased in the 1920s, the Paramount… Read More ›
We’ve seen so many horror movies where the central focus is on a group of people in their 20s who go out in the middle of nowhere and are then stalked by a bunch of murderous psychopaths. While the story… Read More ›
When it comes to crafting compelling stories, anything can inspire ideas: love won or lost, a desire to return to childhood innocence, moments of great historical significance. All of these and more provide the baseline for audiences to engage emotionally… Read More ›
If a viewer were to visit director Chad Terpstra’s Father The Flame website, the About page contains a lovely adaptation of the René Magritte line from “The Treachery of Images” now-reading “Ceci n’est pas un filme de pipe,” or “This is… Read More ›
Ana Murugarren’s The Bastards’ Fig Tree tells the story of Rogelio (Karra Elejalde), a soldier who’s fighting on the side of the fascist Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War. One night, he and several colleagues raid a house and execute… Read More ›
Debut features are more than a coming out, they often represent the clearest version of the individual. In the case of directors, debuts provide the most honest interpretation of how the director views the world. In the case of Jason… Read More ›
On the surface, legendary director Brian de Palma’s latest project, Domino, looks like it has solid potential to be a successful under-the-radar crime drama. With a cast including Nikolaj Coster-Waldeau and Carice van Houten of Game of Thrones fame, as… Read More ›
Before you can lampoon something, before you can satirize something, you must know as much can you can about it. You have to know the ins-and-outs of it, the heart and soul of it. In order for the humor to… Read More ›
Intentions always come down to perception. Doesn’t matter how well you intended something to be, how an action or word is received almost always carries more weight. The destructive and rejuvenative power of intent is explored in a surprisingly deep… Read More ›