Whether young adult or full grown, rom-coms tend to follow a similar track. The characters are on different trajectories, there’s a meet-cute, they find themselves drawn to each other, and then there’s conflict. Perhaps it was a conflict the audience… Read More ›
comedy
Eroticism is in the details in Patricia Ortega’s “Mamacruz.” [Sundance Film Festival]
When director Patricia Ortega found a revealing picture of her mother as a young woman, scantily clad in an open bathrobe, she didn’t recoil in embarrassment. She made a movie about it. Ortega was surprised by such a blatant display… Read More ›
Comedy hybrid “Men at Work” receives a first-time North American Blu-ray as part of the MVD Rewind Collection.
There are some films that catch us at a specific moment in our lives and leave an indelible mark. Sometimes it’s a film that made you realize the limitless nature of storytelling, how much larger the world really is compared… Read More ›
Every year for the last 30 years we celebrate “Groundhog Day.” This year, Sony Pictures does it with a commemorative steelbook.
Though there have been plenty of films that used time travel as a narrative mechanism for the entirety of storytelling, in recent memory, few do it as well as the Harold Ramis-directed, Danny Rubin-co-written, Bill Murray comedy Groundhog Day (1993)…. Read More ›
Sex positive, hilarious, and kind, Mike Donahue’s short film “Troy” explores the social contract of neighbors. [Sundance Film Festival]
There’s a trope in storytelling about the nosey neighbor, the one who’s always at their window or peephole, lurking around, trying to know everything about everyone all the time. This person who folks don’t like because they are forcing themselves… Read More ›
The “New Gods” cinematic universe expands with the visually stunning “Yang Jian.”
Animation studio Light Chaser Animation has released seven films with ones most likely known in North America being White Snake (2019), New Gods: Nezha Reborn (2021), and Green Snake (2021), the latter two likely because of their accessibility on Netflix…. Read More ›
Adolescent horror-comedy “Kids vs. Aliens” is wild and rebellious, though not as gnarly as audiences may want.
**Content Warning: Photosensitive audiences may want to avoid this picture due to high frequency of strobing and flashing lights.** Director Jason Eisener’s career is a collection of short and feature-length stories, either made as a standalone or part of an… Read More ›
Dark comedy “The Menu” is a stark reminder not to mess with the people who serve you.
“The customer is always right, in matters of taste.” – Marshall Field Whether one is aware of it or not, there’s a subgenre of film called “Eat the Rich.” They can be horror films, comedies, dramas, anything really, with recent… Read More ›
Cringe comedy “The Drop” offers a soft landing.
There is always a place in the world for cringe comedy and everyone has a different opinion as to what they define as cringy. As someone who has literally no intentions of being a parent to a human in their… Read More ›
88 Films issues the final Three Dragons film, “Dragons Forever,” in a worthy limited edition restoration release.
1988 is a significant year for martial arts fans as it’s the last time the trio known as the Three Dragons were captured on celluloid. The group comprised of Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and Yuen Biao would make several films… Read More ›
Director Terry Gilliam’s sixth Criterion Collection entry is the comedic fantasy “The Adventures of Baron Munchausen.”
You can often tell a bit about a person based upon where they know an artist or creative from. Specifically, what period of their work. For instance, if someone were to mention the musician Sting, they could just as easily… Read More ›
Writer/director Atsuko Ishizuka’s animated adolescent adventure “Goodbye, Don Glees!” begins at home.
When we’re children, the world appears small. It’s filled with the things that we can perceive and, often, little else. This means that what stresses us out, what keeps us up at night, seem huge because we lack the perspective… Read More ›
No need to listen for a banshee’s warning, this is your notice that Martin McDonagh’s dark dramedy “The Banshees of Inisherin” is available to own.
The Greeks defined four types of love that one person can express for another. Eros refers to the kind between lovers, Storge refers to the kind parents feel for their children, Agape is a general sort of love one feels… Read More ›
The house on East 88th Street comes to you as “Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile” is now available at home.
In 1962, children’s book author Bernard Waber published The House on East 88th Street, a story in which the Primm family moved into a brownstone in New York City is surprised to discover a crocodile already living there. As if… Read More ›
“The Loneliest Boy in the World” Blu-ray Giveaway
At some point in our lives, we’ve all felt a little alone. In director Martin Owen’s horror comedy The Loneliest Boy in the World, the notion of creating acceptance and company gets explored with gut-splitting effects. If you missed the… Read More ›
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” may not have you wishing upon a star, but it’s exploration of identity and love will resonate nonetheless.
Since its publication in 1883, Italian author Carlo Collodi’s The Adventures of Pinocchio has been adapted on paper and for stage and screen many times. The most well-known, of course, being the 1940 Walt Disney animated adaptation. It’s a story… Read More ›
Before “Part Two” releases in 2023, catch up with Choi Dong-hoon’s sci-fi action fantasy “Alienoid” on home video.
If there’s one complaint that American audiences are prone to have, it’s that there’s never anything original hitting theaters. It’s all superhero stories, remakes, reboots, or some kind of sequel. It’s incredibly risky for studios to make original stories, so… Read More ›
In the face of tragedy, the home release of “Clerks III” assures you that the Quick Stop is open.
“We’re not supposed to be here today.” – Randall Graves, Clerks III With one line, writer/actor/director Kevin Smith sent me into another fit of sobs. If anyone followed the production on his latest film, Clerks III (2022), there was already… Read More ›
If nothing else can be said for “Amsterdam,” the cast is a collection of some of the best to do it.
We live in a period where the truest stories may be too hard to believe. It’s not just that conspiracy theories have received mainstream credibility, it’s that the decisions to voice and behave in the worst possible manner in public… Read More ›
Open Dialogue with “BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths” actors Daniel Giménez Cacho and Ximena Lamadrid.
Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths is a creative exploration of finding humanity within sometimes inhumane conditions of the physical and mental states. Today on Open Dialogue our guests are Daniel Giménez Cacho and Ximena Lamadrid. These two… Read More ›