Murder, mayhem, sorrow, grief, pain, redemption: these are universal aspects of storytelling that transcend time and place. For stories that combine these to the point where pulpy isn’t just a way to describe the story but the viscera that remains… Read More ›
“Oh, I like murder.” Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap Act I, Scene 1, Page 11 Murder mysteries are a staple of storytelling. Whether set upon a stage, in print, broadcast on your television, presented on the silver screen, or in your… Read More ›
If you’re an adult of a certain age, when you hear the name “Fletch,” you immediately think of Chevy Chase. Across two films, Fletch (1985) and Fletch Lives (1989), audiences watched the fast-lipped investigative reporter find his way into and… Read More ›
Spoiler Warning: This review will quickly spoil the major twist revealed at the end of Orphan (2009), but not for Orphan: First Kill (2022) because I’m not a sadist. There’s something wrong with Esther, and it has been for much… Read More ›
Continuing their reimaging of Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot detective stories, Oscar-winning actor/director Kenneth Branagh (Belfast) and screenwriter Michael Green (Murder on the Orient Express) re-team for Death on the Nile. This star-studded crime drama not only offers thrills, chills, and… Read More ›
I love a film that plays with conventions. It can be a rom-com that positions itself as a traditional romance involving the ability to time travel but it’s really a story of fathers, sons, and family (About Time). It can… Read More ›
There was a viral tweet going around a few days ago from E! News with some truly stunning pictures of Anne Hathaway and a caption that read “Did Anne Hathaway make a deal with the devil? She is literally aging… Read More ›
There are very few movies instantly recognized as a crowd favorite, but when they’re discovered in that sweet spot of magic, one would do quite literally anything to witness said film with a packed audience. Bitch Ass, the new horror… Read More ›
Chinese adventure hybrid Schemes in Antiques from director Derek Kwok (Immortal Demon Slayer) may feel, to American audiences, like a mash-up between National Treasure (2004) and Ocean’s Eleven (2001). It’s at times silly, serious, delicate, and violent, all while using… Read More ›
Allow me, first, to share a memory: November 2006. EoM editor Crystal Davidson and I journeyed to the Magic Johnson Capital Center 12 to see the latest James Bond film, Casino Royale. I was fan of the films (had even… Read More ›
Writer/director Alex Piperno’s first feature-length film, Window Boy Would Also Like to Have a Submarine, debuted in 2020 and is now screening during the 52nd Nashville Film Festival. Piperno’s tale is one of the most unique cinematic experiences I’ve had… Read More ›
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 discussing an independent horror film from the festival circuit that… Read More ›
When it comes to a certain kind of film, audiences almost always know what they’re in for based on who’s distributing it. Arthouse drama or fantasy? The mind goes to A24. Family-friendly in live-action or animation? First thought: Walt Disney… Read More ›
It all begins with a story. A young man (Will Cassayd-Smith) is sharing a smoke with his Russian neighbor, Roman, who unexpectedly asks if Will could watch a package for him for about two weeks while he leaves town. The… Read More ›
“During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heaves, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country; and… Read More ›
By the end of Akira Kurosawa’s 1949 detective drama, Stray Dog, there is not a character that escapes the fray without rolling around in the mud, figuratively and literally. Every decision has consequences, and every action has a reaction. Some, more… Read More ›
The deconstruction and evaluation of superheroes in cinema and television didn’t begin with Zack Snyder or Eric Kripke, though they are the ones most widely known for it at the moment. Their stories take a darker look at the notion… Read More ›
Kourosh Ahari’s psychological thriller, The Night, is a stellar example of a film that may not have the next best original ideas within its genre, but is so well done that it is nonetheless entertaining and worthwhile. Despite a handful… Read More ›
Sometimes, writers get a tad bit lazy with their narratives and throw in a character with amnesia as a cheap and easy way to wiggle themselves out of plot holes and avoid the extra work of coming up with a… Read More ›
Writer/director Adam Egypt Mortimer is developing a very specific artistic aesthetic after only three full length features. The first, Another Kind of Hate (2015), appears to explore bullying with a supernatural bend. The second, Daniel Isn’t Real (2019), is an… Read More ›