In the Jewish tradition, each person dies twice. The first is when the person dies, their bodily functions ceasing operation through natural causes or unexpected tragedy. The second comes when someone says your name for the last time. This isn’t… Read More ›
Nearly 39 years after audiences were introduced to Miami, Florida, detectives Marcus Burnett and Mike Lowrey (Martin Lawrence and Will Smith; respectively) in the 1995 action comedy Bad Boys (1995), a fourth entry in the series landed in theaters: Bad… Read More ›
For a film as cold and icy as Longlegs is, the world really ran a fever for it in the heat of a climate-change ridden summer. The crime horror film from Osgood Perkins (The Blackcoat’s Daughter), financed independently at C2… Read More ›
When it comes to thrillers, few do them like filmmaker Brian De Palma. If it’s not his take on Elliot Ness’s quest to arrest Al Capone in The Untouchables (1987) being quoted, chances are it’s his adaptation of Tony Montana’s… Read More ›
Art is chaos and chaos is life, therefore, art is a manifestation of the chaos of life. Our experiences, our views, everything that is “us” is transported into what we create. In some instances, what is absent from it is… Read More ›
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – Writer/philosopher George Santayana There’s a presumption that everything that happens to you now, for the first time, is happening now for the first time. This is partially what… Read More ›
When I was a young filmmaker, I sat in a classroom while a poor excuse for a film producer talked to us about making films. At one point, when asked about how to get started in feature filmmaking, he pulled… Read More ›
“Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?” – Roman poet Juvenal in Satires. So often, the general public takes it for granted that someone will protect them. With stories featuring The Phantom and The Shadow as preludes to the birth of Superman and… Read More ›
“When people show you who they are, believe them.” – Oprah, quoting Maya Angelou April 29th, 1992: After a seven-day deliberation, a jury acquitted the four police officers involved in the recorded beating of Rodney King, with three out of… Read More ›
In the cinematic world of mob films, the go-to filmmaker for U.S. audiences is likely Martin Scorsese (Goodfellas; Casino). With tales exciting and dramatic, he’s told stories that unengaged audiences will see as uplifting the morally grey areas of the… Read More ›
June 2024. Well Go USA released actor/writer Jake Allyn’s directorial debut, Ride, into theaters. Now, the family drama is set to release on shelves for audiences to pick up, explore, and enjoy in the comfort of their homes. Thanks to Well… Read More ›
The Other Laurens is a movie that’s all dressed up with everywhere to go. But after it gets one foot out the door, it can’t seem to go any further. With a nostalgic neo-noir/grunge visual style that’s sprinkled with touches… Read More ›
Before co-directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein had us roll for initiative (Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves), they showed us that there’s another way to interpret the call for somewhat structured social play in the comedic thriller Game… Read More ›
Sometimes a film ends up at a boutique Blu-ray distributor because the conditions of its theatrical run rendered it forgotten and misunderstood. Other times, it’s because the film is an odious facsimile of a good film, and it tricks a… Read More ›
The phrase “style over substance” is a common complaint regarding certain films. In these instances, some films can be so aesthetically pleasing that they lose sight of the story. Such films can craft well-drawn characters and a richly detailed sense… Read More ›
I am not one for political movies as I don’t follow political landscapes in any way shape or form. I follow enough to understand North American landscapes, but anything past that and I am a deer in headlights when it… Read More ›
Anthology stories come in all shapes and sizes. They can be horror-based, like Satanic Hispanics (2022) or Tiny Cinema (2022); offer a western twang, like The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018); or they can be mission-oriented, like Give Me an… Read More ›
Every community has its stories — tales of victories and defeats, of perilous ends and new beginnings, and of the old guard and the new. Sometimes these take the form of myths and legends born from imagination and other times… Read More ›
When it comes to prison break films or life in prison films, there’s a certain level of escapism to be expected. Whether it’s Frank Darabont’s poignant 1994 hit The Shawshank Redemption or Don Michael Paul’s silly but fun-as-hell 2002 flick… Read More ›
The edgy and tumultuous 1970s brought us dark and gritty films like The Godfather (1972), The French Connection (1971), and The Deer Hunter (1978). The war in Vietnam, feminism and women’s rights, and satanic panic all brushing up against the… Read More ›