“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 ›
Are you reading me? Well, I’m the only review here, so you must be reading me. That’s right this review is going to jump into Martin Scorsese’s universally loved Taxi Driver (1976). While it is important to state this 100… Read More ›
It’s no small feat and an incredible gamble to make a film. It requires a team of creatives working tirelessly toward the same goal, forced to confront their limitations and turn them into opportunities at every step. In the case… Read More ›
When you think of the scariest films you’ve ever seen, what is it about them that truly scares you? Is it the immediate fear of being gutted by a silent, masked killer? Is it the ethereal impermanence of a ghostly… Read More ›
Jean-Pierre Melville’s 1967 French classic Le samouraï (The Samurai) is a testament to why people love cinema. And if it’s not considered as such, then it damn well should be. Its mere existence is a miracle of the hybrid hitman/samurai… Read More ›
Having never seen Lana and Lilly Wachowski’s second feature, I was immediately intrigued when I saw it was being added to the Criterion Collection. Knowing quite literally nothing about the movie other than the fact that it was a Wachowski… Read More ›