Coming-of-age stories come in all shapes and sizes. The term refers to a story of someone going through a particularly age-specific moment of growing up, but it doesn’t always lean toward the light-hearted. Films like The Young Arsonists (2023) or… Read More ›
Social mores dictate that a person is born, grows up, pairs off, has children, and then dies. In between is a life-lived that can be often defined by the stage one is in rather than the person they are. If… Read More ›
There is always something daunting about writing or directing one’s first feature, but Delaney Buffett decided to write, direct, and star in her feature debut. Adult Best Friends stems from her real life and also stars her real-life best friend,… Read More ›
Comedy is tragedy plus time. – Samuel Clemens Early into Gilbert/Harmantown director Neil Berkeley’s new film Group Therapy, one of the central cast members, comedian Mike Birbiglia, comments that comedy is similar to therapy in that the comedian opens themselves… Read More ›
The Bad Boys franchise has become a staple in the “buddy cop” genre. The film delivered the expected goods, thanks to the banter of Martin Lawrence (Life) and Will Smith (Men in Black). Add in director Michael Bay (Armageddon) (the… Read More ›
If you have been following my writing and my thoughts on things when it comes to media, it should be apparent that my stance is, and always will be, physical media is king. It is really hard to make the… Read More ›
In April 2024, physical media boutique Cult Epics released a first-time world premiere 4K UHD of filmmaker Tinto Brass’s erotic dramedy All Ladies Do It (1992). This would be the first of several restorations the boutique would release in the… Read More ›
Finding your people while growing up is pretty difficult. It can be accidental, it can be manufactured through parental involvement, but it always remains trying as you discover who you are as you collect the people you hope to keep… Read More ›
The cinema has entered a weird stage in its history. Movies still arrive in theaters weekly but have shorter life spans. This means certain films have a quick turnaround on the home release market. While not yet on Blu-ray or… Read More ›
It’s not so uncommon for those in the film industry to recognize a trend and try to lean into it. We’re not talking about similar releases like Deep Impact (1998) and Armageddon (1998), which released two months apart, but films… Read More ›
“For want of a nail …” Requiem for a Dream (2000), The Fountain (2006), and Uncut Gems (2019) are examples of a type of film which is well-made, thoughtful, subject to acclaim, and less likely to be revisited, the latter… Read More ›
The career of actor Channing Tatum is a lesson in agility and endurance. He first appeared in 2005’s Coach Carter, but it wouldn’t be until 2006’s Step Up when he would capture audiences’ attention. Since then, Tatum has bounced from… Read More ›
It is hard to believe that it has been 20 years (what???) since we learned about the daughter of the inventor of Toaster Strudel, and, more importantly, about how learning to not be a mean girl/queen B or you’ll get… Read More ›
Most Scooby-Doo films are just alright. They are often glorified hour-long episodes of the series, or Archie Comics-style cameo machines. But starting in 1998 and ending in 2003, there was a run of good-to-great straight-to-VHS films, Scooby-Doo! On Zombie Island… Read More ›
Having only seen one Frank Henenlotter film, Brain Damage, prior, there was some idea of what to possibly expect from his directorial debut, Basket Case. However, even having seen Brain Damage, I don’t think anything could have properly prepared me… Read More ›
Written and directed by a woman in her mid-30s who was raised in New York, Joanna Arnow’s The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed hits home in a multitude of ways. I know what it’s like to… Read More ›
Since George Lucas’s Star Wars released into theaters in 1977, filmmakers have been trying to capture that same magic. So much so that filmmaker Zack Snyder described his Rebel Moon series as his Star Wars and brother filmmakers Joe and Anthony… Read More ›
The summer movie season happens earlier and earlier every year. What once started in June has now begun as early as April. This has set a precedent for the summer movie season as a whole. No matter the film, it… Read More ›
Since 2017’s The Outlaws, actor Ma Dong-seok (a.k.a. and credited here as Don Lee) has led what would become the Crime City series, an action crime series that borrows from Korean headlines for the foundation of each film. Each film… Read More ›
Remakes are almost always met with the same reaction upon announcement: “why?”. To many, remakes are a sign of laziness on the part of studios, opting to lean-in on what audiences know or have a relationship with rather than taking… Read More ›