When I was in University, the buzzword we were told audiences would flock to was “authenticity,” but today, if you listen to industry talk, the word of the moment is “spectacle,” which the prevailing wisdom defines as “big and flashy… Read More ›
drama
Shout! Studios and GKIDS Films release a HD home edition of Takehiko Inoue’s “The First Slam Dunk” that’ll have you out of your seat until the shot clock stops.
Sports films are often used as a metaphor for something else. The grit, the determination required to succeed either as a team or an individual being a symbol for some other kind of battle. In the feature film directorial debut… Read More ›
Romantic mystery “Darkest Miriam” may leave stones unturned but captivates with Britt Lower’s performance. [Tribeca Film Festival]
The first thing that I learned about Naomi Jaye’s (The Pin) newest feature, Darkest Miriam, was that it was executive produced by Charlie Kaufman (I’m thinking of ending things), and that automatically adds a level of intrigue and suspense to… Read More ›
Strong performances never give the game away in dramatic thriller “The Weekend.” [Tribeca Film Festival]
We’ve seen nearly every iteration of meeting one’s parents that could possibly exist from Meet the Parents (2000) to Ready or Not (2019) and Get Out (2017), so when audiences get another family-gathering thriller, they typically know what they’re getting… Read More ›
Early Val Kilmer mystery thriller “Thunderheart” is well worth the HD upgrade in a brand-new home release transfer.
The beginning of the 1990s was uncharted territory for a young, newly established Val Kilmer. He broke out as the villainous, cock-sure “Ice” in Top Gun (1986) years prior and Willow (1988) was a success, but its visual effects and… Read More ›
Writer/Director Ran Huang asks “What Remains” in the darker grey areas of ethics and morality.
What Remains is a film that presents itself as a detective procedural with a possible serial killer being interviewed by his psychiatrist and a detective trying to piece together the killer’s muddled and confused confessions of murder and rape. What… Read More ›
Arrow’s 4K release of “American Gigolo” delivers high quality bangs for your buck.
When thinking of ‘80s filmmaking, most fans often point to the usual suspects: John Hughes teenage dramedies, over-to-top action spectacles, along with a few (now iconic) slasher flicks. But one early example of the decade deserves its flowers just as… Read More ›
Paramount Pictures releases “Chinatown” in 4K UHD for its 50th anniversary.
Even though I’d had every plot point of Chinatown (1974) spoiled for me by film school staples like Robert McKee’s STORY, by the end of my first watch through of the new 4K edition from Paramount Presents, I still wanted… Read More ›
“Restless” does not let the characters or audience know a moment of peace. [Tribeca Film Festival]
If you’ve ever lived somewhere that wasn’t remote farmland in the midst of nowhere, you’ve most likely hated a neighbor. I adamantly refuse to believe at some point in one’s life there hasn’t been a neighbor that hasn’t driven you… Read More ›
For all the women who’ve never been “Satisfied,” comes a documentary that centers actor Renée Elise Goldsberry’s quest to achieve it. [Tribeca Film Festival]
“… if you know anything about me, I have spent the last 10 years of my life, what some would consider the lifeblood of a woman’s career, just trying to have children. And I get to testify in front of… Read More ›
Buy a ticket and take the ride as The Criterion Collection brings the polarizing cult classic “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” home in stunning 4K.
Two guys, a trunk full of drugs, and the open road leading to the place of sin itself. Not Hell … but close enough. Las Vegas. Add in some counterculture themes such as the Vietnam War and its relation to… Read More ›
“Oh, Christmas Tree” may be short but its boughs hold insight aplenty. [Tribeca Film Festival]
The Duplass family have a way with creating something special and emotional and heartfelt. Whether it be 11 minutes or 90 minutes long, when they want to make something spectacular, their collective foot is on the gas, and they know… Read More ›
“McVeigh” takes audiences inside the events that lead to the event that seared this name into U.S. history. [Tribeca Film Festival]
Slow burn movies have a time and place in the world, and when they focus on absolute tragedy and devastation, they have to be handled with class and taste. Thankfully, Mike Ott (California Dreams) and co-writer Alex Gioulakis (Unemployable) handle… Read More ›
Dramedy “Griffin in Summer” is a story of first love that stands out by being ordinary. [Tribeca Film Festival]
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 ›
The first episode of the Tim Burton-centric docuseries provides its own deep dive while priming the audience for three more installments. [Tribeca Film Festival]
Tara Wood is certainly not shy when it comes to making documentaries on some of Hollywood’s more popular or polarizing voices as her two previous directorial outings have presented themselves (co-director of 21 Years: Richard Linklater and QT8: The First… Read More ›
“One from the Heart: Reprise” is a booby, bloated, bad masterpiece.
At the peak of the DVD/VHS era, studios would often release worse, extended, “unrated*” cuts of films with more boobs and cursing to trick a few customers into purchasing the film a second time. That’s what Francis Ford Coppola (The… Read More ›
Romantic dramedy “The Everything Pot” is a bunch of mishegaas with a thoughtful center. [Tribeca Film Festival]
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 ›
Filmmaker Sabrina Van Tassel’s “Missing from Fire Trail Road” is an evocative condemnation of the culpability of North America against its Indigenous peoples. [Tribeca Film Festival]
The version of American History that most students learn is that the American Revolution took place largely due to the concept of “taxation without representation.” That the colonists found it frustrating and unfair to have to send taxes to a… Read More ›
The site and sounds of horror thriller “A Desert” will chill you to your bones. [Tribeca Film Festival]
Joshua Erkman (director and co-writer) and Bossi Baker (co-writer) are certainly going to be names to look out for in the future. Both of them have teamed together to direct and co-write their first feature, A Desert, which focuses on… Read More ›
“Handling the Undead” fumbles its selected genres of arthouse drama and zombie horror.
From a modern-day perspective, zombies come in one of two flavors: they’re either creatures of chaos or walkers fueled by wacky circumstances. Yet, in the new film Handling the Undead (based on the book of the same name by Let… Read More ›