Werewolves. Vampires. Zombies. Each of these monsters of the dark owe their origins to legends and myths, to a time before science when fear ran roughshod over reason. That part of ourselves remains present even now and yet we find… Read More ›
fantasy
A Conversation with writer/director Jim Picariello. [Real to Reel Film Festival]
“Reel Conversations” highlights filmmakers behind official Real to Reel Film Festival Selections. On this episode of “Reel Conversations,” Thomas Manning speaks with Jim Picariello, the writer/director for The Mushroom Huntress. Jim Picariello is a Real to Reel alumnus, and The… Read More ›
Despite an engaging aesthetic and good performances, “The Block Island Sound” doesn’t totally manifest. [Fantasia Film Festival]
Everyone has their favorite urban legends, mine typically revolve around abandoned places and towns that have no explanation in their abandonments. Others like bigfoot, the Loch Ness monster, or the Bermuda Triangle. It’s easy to see that the latter is… Read More ›
Following the fish-out-of-water rom-com formula, “A Mermaid in Paris (Une sirène à Paris)” is a dazzling visual treat. [Fantasia Film Fest]
Multi-talented writer and director Mathias Malzieu, who is known for his success as a novelist and musician as well as filmmaker, returns to this year’s virtual Fantasia Film Festival with a delightful grown-up fairytale. Malzieu’s previous animated film, Jack and… Read More ›
Fantasia International Film Festival Selection, “Morgana,” is a must-see story for women of all ages. [Fantasia Film Festival]
Among the list of things that you might expect to save your life one day, perhaps one of the least likely is a night with an escort and a headfirst dive into the world of feminist pornography production. For middle-aged… Read More ›
Teddy Grennan takes a stab at rape-revenge with “Ravage,” a well-intentioned but misguided horror flick.
Anyone familiar with rape-revenge films knows that the formula for this horror sub-genre can be particularly tricky. While the genre continually offers up new ways for audiences to process and discuss trauma, rape-revenge films can be quite problematic when not… Read More ›
Alexandra Shipp shines in supernatural romance “Endless.”
Let me describe to you a movie in brief: two young lovers are ripped apart as one dies tragically while the other tries to cope with life without their partner, except — and here’s the twist — the one who… Read More ›
STX Entertainment’s “The Secret Garden” adapts the classic novel into something familiar, yet new.
In the years since its original publishing in 1911, author Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden has been replicated for stage and screen and has often been assigned for summer reading for many students, as was the case for this… Read More ›
Bold, loud, and making no apologies, “We Are Little Zombies” is a striking feature debut for Makoto Nagahisa.
In spite of its colorful style and quirky video game motif, We Are Little Zombies is a surprisingly somber and thoughtful experience as it explores loneliness, death, and grief amid several ear worms. Written and directed by Makoto Nagahisa, We… Read More ›
Mind-bending docu-puzzle “In Bright Axiom” sets out to defy expectations, but gets lost in its ambition.
If you spend time with kids on a regular basis, then at some point you’ve probably been asked to play a confusing game with vague rules and unclear objectives that the kids invented themselves. It might be a live-action-role-playing-game that… Read More ›
Feminist folktale horror film “The Other Lamb” is resonant and memorable, but loses itself in symbolism.
If Céline Sciamma’s recently-released Portrait of a Lady on Fire paints a picture of female community and camaraderie at its best, honing in on the lives of women as they create space for each other outside of patriarchal society, then… Read More ›
Now available on home video, director Neil Marshall’s “Hellboy” has freshman growing pains and potential for a great sophomore outing.
During ” The Forever Warriors: Story and Characters”, part one of the three-part documentary “Tales of the Wild Hunt: Hellboy Reborn,” lead actor David Harbour acknowledges that audiences are weary of anything seeming like a reboot or a remake. In… Read More ›
“Down A Dark Hall” is a surprisingly elegant and beautifully constructed YA adaptation.
Lois Duncan deserves more respect as an author, at least from people of a certain age who grew up reading her books. To many people, Duncan’s novels, however silly they could sometimes be, were the first tastes of dark, twisted… Read More ›
If audiences are lucky, Jack Sparrow’s fifth outing, ‘Dead Men Tell No Tales’, will put all future stories to rest.
An alternate, shorter take of this review was originally published for CLTure on their site on May 26th, 2017. As the latest, and hopefully last, film in the Pirates of the Caribbean series, Dead Men Tell No Tales attempts to go back to its roots,… Read More ›
‘THE SPACE BETWEEN US’ is visually majestic and narratively predictable.
Many look up at the night sky and see boundless wonder waiting to be explored. In the vastness, there’s hope to find something greater than ourselves and what we know. For the few that have broken the bonds of gravity… Read More ›
‘Kubo and the Two Strings’: A Dark, Mystical Child’s Tale For All Ages – New Release Review
Laika Studios, creators of ParaNorman and Coraline, once again proves that stop-motion in cinema can convey powerful themes all while being sold as a children’s story. Their latest, Kubo and the Two Strings draws its inspiration from Japanese folklore, in… Read More ›