“The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.” – Proverb of unclear origin. In our lives, there are those who are family by DNA and those by relationships. When those who sired us, grew up… Read More ›
dark comedy
Open Dialogue with “18 ½” director Dan Mirvish.
Noel and Thomas Manning travel back in time and explore what may have happened to the lost 18 1/2 minutes of Richard Nixon tapes with director Dan Mirvish. Mirvish brings a “what-if story” to life, and on Meet me at… Read More ›
Filmmaker Rafael Toledo is set to make an explosive impression with his short film “Blockbuster.” [Slamdance Film Festival]
In an era where it seems like most major studio releases are one giant computer-generated sequence after another, there’s something desirable about watching a film with practical effects. Realism is overrated when there’s something tangible before us, even if it… Read More ›
Fresh off its theatrical road show, satirical thriller “Wrong Reasons” is coming available via MVD Visual.
After making multiple documentaries centered on Kevin Smith’s creative process making films like Jay & Silent Bob Reboot (2019) and Clerks III (2022), writer/director Josh Roush unleashes his own intellectual progeny, Wrong Reasons. Conceived prior to the initial COVID-19 lockdown… Read More ›
Ilulian Postelnicu thrills as put upon cop in “Men of Deeds.”
What matters more? Getting things done or getting them done the right way? That’s the question at the heart of Paul Negoescu’s Men of Deeds (Oameni de treabă), screening in select NYC theaters beginning August 4th and in L.A. at… 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 ›
Darkly comic thriller “Wild Men” examines the tolls of toxic masculinity.
Being a man sucks and this is why the patriarchy needs to go. Society, at least in America, subscribes to the idea that being a man requires a certain toughness, a rigidity, an emotional distance from things happening around them…. Read More ›
Actor Zoey Deutch brings top-tier villain energy in satirical comedy “Not Okay.”
When watching Quinn Shephard’s Not Okay, it may feel familiar to another movie that came out last year based on a popular Broadway show of the same name. The plot is so eerily similar, but with a wider net of… Read More ›
You’ve heard of the restaurant at the end of the world. How about the rest stop at the end of existence? It’s “Glorious.” [Fantasia International Film Festival]
There have been many films conceived, shot, and released since COVID-19 quarantines more or less stopped the world. Some of them put the virus front-and-center (The End of Us), while others used the period as an opportunity to tell a… Read More ›
The choiceless choice of survival easily leads one to presume that “We Might As Well Be Dead (Wir könnten genauso gut tot sein).” [Tribeca Film Festival]
Perspective is everything. Without it, we have no way to measure one experience against another. However, the limitation of perspective is that we, as individuals, tend to forget that what we perceive exists within a narrow scope defined by our… Read More ›
Discover the missing minutes of the Nixon tapes in historical fiction comedy/thriller “18 ½.”
18 and a half minutes. A lot can happen in that time. Depending on where you live, you can get to the store, purchase accoutrements, get home, and make a meal. Or perhaps you can work in some exercise, jogging… Read More ›
Rita Moreno is the teacher you love to hate in Maureen Bharoocha’s “The Prank.” [SXSW Film Festival]
School days offer bored kids the opportunity to imagine wild scenarios about notable teachers. Students love to speculate on the personal lives of their instructors and wonder what goes on after the bell. What if the rumors turn out to… Read More ›
The answers offered within the bonus features for Camille Griffin’s “Silent Night” home release create more questions.
According to the 2021 TIFF Q&A with Silent Night writer/director Camille Griffin and cast members Keira Knightly (Atonement), Matthew Goode (The King’s Man), and Roman Griffin Davis (Jojo Rabbit), their film was one of the last to wrap production in… Read More ›
“Silent Night” Blu-ray Giveaway
At the end of 2020, director Camille Griffin’s directorial debut, Silent Night, inspired audiences to consider the end of it all. Her dark comedy brought together a host of incredible talent to explore what the end of the world might be… Read More ›
Just because you “Don’t Look Up,” doesn’t mean it’s not happening.
Don’t Look Up is, by far, the strongest, most searing piece of cinema writer/director Adam McKay (The Big Short; Vice) has put before us. Unlike his last two films which presented real-world events through a comedic lens, Don’t Look Up… Read More ›
Writer/director Camille Griffin’s directorial debut “Silent Night” is a hilariously dark and downright torturous microcosmic exploration of living on Earth.
The holidays are always rife with possibilities. They are an opportunity to gather together, to rekindle connections or foster already burgeoning affections. They are also an opportunity to air grievances, the energy of renewal spurning some to unleash that which’s… Read More ›
We are all just “Bloody Oranges (Oranges sanguines)” and we’d be better served to remember it. [Nightstream]
Director Jean-Christophe Meurisse’s (Apnée) Bloody Oranges (Oranges sanguines) mixes truth with fiction to create a concoction that’s as eager to amuse as it is to profoundly unsettle. Its premise is of three interwoven stories involving a dance competition, a finance… Read More ›
“Hellbender” shows off one family’s filmmaking talents but falls flat under the weight of its poorly developed plot and dialogue. [Fantasia International Film Festival]
From Rosemary’s Baby to False Positive, Psycho to Mommie Dearest, motherhood and the horror genre are a match made in heaven. The labyrinth of psycho-socio-political issues surrounding motherhood, pregnancy, and the mother-child relationship has truly found its home in horror… Read More ›
If you go into writer/director BenDavid Grabinski’s film clinging to expectations, your cinematic experience won’t end “Happily.”
Shot over 20 days with the intent to premiere at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival, writer/director BenDavid Grabinski’s genre-hybrid Happily eventually hit select theaters on March 19th, 2021, along with a simultaneous VOD and digital release. The film is difficult… Read More ›
Fistful of Features explores writer/director BenDavid Grabinski’s dark comedy “Happily.”
Welcome to Fistful of Features, a celebration of film preservation through physical media and the discussion of cinematic treasures to maintain their relevance in the cultural lexicon. Today we’ll be focusing on the directorial debut of BenDavid Grabinski, a morality… Read More ›