There are some works of science fiction that never seem to let go once they get their grasp on society. William Gibson’s Neuromancer was published in 1984, but it still felt just as vital and prescient when I read it… Read More ›
adaptation
Director Ridley Scott’s debate-worthy “The Last Duel” makes plain the fallacy of male superiority.
Trigger Warning: The film The Last Duel is centered on a rape. As such, the content of the film may be difficult to discuss without bringing up specifics that may be triggering to some individuals. More and more it seems… Read More ›
Despite the stylishly atmospheric setting and solid performances, “Antlers” can’t rise above weak screenplay elements.
Scott Cooper’s Antlers was one of my most anticipated films of 2020, back when it was still going to be released under the Fox Searchlight Pictures banner. Its trailer spoke to me in a haunting, beautiful voice that let me… Read More ›
Open Dialogue with “Being the Ricardos” actor Tony Hale.
Tony Hale has long been a fan of Lucille Ball; he believes her comic genius is on par with the legends of cinema. You can find Hale starring in the Aaron Sorkin film Being the Ricardos from Amazon Studios. This… Read More ›
Uneven in tone and narrative at times, “Schemes in Antiques” isn’t the con romp you expect, but it’s a ride worth taking.
Chinese adventure hybrid Schemes in Antiques from director Derek Kwok (Immortal Demon Slayer) may feel, to American audiences, like a mash-up between National Treasure (2004) and Ocean’s Eleven (2001). It’s at times silly, serious, delicate, and violent, all while using… Read More ›
Noir “Nightmare Alley” boasts a packed cast and stunning visuals.
“Is he man or beast?” barks Willem Dafoe’s Clem, the man who runs the oddities exhibit at a carnival, enticing people to look down upon an enclosure where a figure is hidden. These people have come to see something horrendous… Read More ›
The fantastic spectacle of animated adventure “The Monkey King: Reborn” almost makes up for the thin script.
Cultural legends and myths have been fodder for storytelling (books, music, video games, movies) since the birth of each of them. Why not take something that audiences are already familiar with and either retell or reform it in a way… Read More ›
Paul Verhoeven’s “Benedetta” weaves luridity in with heavy, impenetrable narratives to create something with a surprising amount of emotional heft.
This is absolutely a safe space to admit that Paul Verhoeven is one of the most well-rounded, self-aware filmmakers to ever live. We’re all thinking it, so someone might as well say it. His filmography can sometimes read like a… Read More ›
Arrow Video offers a duel restoration of director Shinji Sômai’s 1981 cult hit “Sailor Suit & Machine Gun.”
Sailor Suit and Machine Gun is a film built on dichotomy. The lead character, Izumi (Hiroko Yakushimaru), is a high school teen, suggesting innocence or, at the least, a touch of naiveté. She’s not old enough to have been touched… Read More ›
Celebrate director Barry Sonnenfeld’s “The Addams Family” 30th anniversary with a brand-new 4K UHD edition.
Artist Charles Addams is most widely known for his cartoon series “The Addams Family” which ran in The New Yorker, which then became the even more popular ABC television program which ran for two seasons between 1964 and 1966. While… Read More ›
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 ›
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 ›
“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 ›
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 ›
The unique atmosphere of video game adaptation “Detention (返校)” evokes that helpless feeling of a good survival horror game.
When you think of a movie based on a video game, do pleasant thoughts come to mind? Despite some genuinely great films based on video games (Silent Hill’s 32% on Rotten Tomatoes is a homophobic microaggression; Silent Hill: Revelation’s 6%… Read More ›
“Old” Digital Code Giveaway
Writer/director M. Night Shyamalan adapted Pierre Oscar Lévy and Frederik Peeters’s graphic novel Sandcastle, creating his latest film: Old. It first hit theaters in July and is now currently available for purchase digitally with a physical release coming later in October…. Read More ›
“Night of the Animated Dead” offers little new in its adaptation of the zombie classic beyond blood and gore.
**Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the DVD I reviewed in this Post. The opinions I share are my own.** Horror changed in 1968 when a small indie picture directed by George A. Romero from… Read More ›
Despite being smart and compelling on its own merits, there’s little original within “No One Gets Out Alive.”
As a writer, you have to have some insane measure of confidence to title a horror novel No One Gets Out Alive and still purport to have something up your sleeve as a storyteller. Adam Nevill’s 2014 novel seemingly did… Read More ›
Twitter thread-turned-movie “Zola” is available on home video from Lionsgate.
“Y’all wanna hear a story about why me & this bitch here feel out???????? It’s kind of long but full of suspense” This is the tweet that kicked off a 148-tweet thread detailing the heart-pounding adventure A’Ziah “Zola” Wells King… Read More ›
Celebrate 50 years of Stanley Kubrick’s “A Clockwork Orange” with a first-time 4K UHD release.
Published in 1962, Anthony Burgess’s dark satire A Clockwork Orange hit the streets of England with a 21-chapter tale of a teenager’s prevalence for extreme violence and antisocial behavior. Written in a Russian-influenced language called “Nasdat,” most of what central… Read More ›