In 2014, Marvel Studios unveiled Guardians of the Galaxy, a rock-centric space oddity unlike anything Marvel had released before. Through the direction of James Gunn (Slither/The Belko Experiment), Marvel introduced the world to a rag-tag group of miscreants and killers… Read More ›
This review was originally published for CLTure on their site on February 18th, 2017. Famed director Zhang Yimou (Hero/House of Flying Daggers) brings the flourish and beauty of Chinese cinema stateside with The Great Wall, a tight action-packed fantasy adventure starring Matt Damon, Tian Jing,… Read More ›
The things that terrify us are rarely the things that go bump-in-the-night. Instead it’s the less sinister, yet equally malignant, living among us that pose the greatest threat. Evil doesn’t wear a sign as a warning. They creeps in when… Read More ›
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 ›
M. Night Shyamalan erupted onto the scene with 1999’s The Sixth Sense and has a string of semi-hits and full-on flops ever sense. For many, Shyamalan’s signature “twist” ending is a parody of what it once was because it has… Read More ›
Ringing phones, text alerts, and quiet chatter are all hallmarks of a disruptive audience at the movies. It’s disrespectful to those in attendance and disruptive to the narrative of the film. However, it’s also very telling of how said audience… Read More ›
Based solely on the trailers, audiences know that some stories are going to be hard to watch. It’s understood that you’re going to be twisted, even torn, but it’s rare that a film actually rips you apart before piecing you… Read More ›
Tis the season and that means cinemas are soon to be flooded with Dickensian tales of heartbreak and redemption. Collateral Beauty, the latest holiday offering, teams director David Frankel (Marley & Me) and writer Allan Loeb (The Space Between Us)… Read More ›
An alternate version of this review, originally published for CLTure, was posted on their site on November 18th, 2016. Adolescence is a difficult time for us all. Our bodies change. Our friends change. Our interests change. For many, those changes feel less like the beautiful escape… Read More ›
An alternate version of this review, originally published for CLTure, was posted on their site on September 29th, 2016. Adapting stories from books requires more than just a best-selling story. It needs a director who can encompass the ideals of the author and bring the internal vision… Read More ›
An alternate version of this review, originally published for CLTure, was posted on their site on September 29th, 2016. April 20th, 2010, off the coast of Louisiana, a semi-submersible oil rig known as the Deepwater Horizon exploded, killing eleven people and causing the largest oil spill… Read More ›
One of the largest, most combative issues in the current election is the cost of an education in the United States. Some argue that the high cost of tuition is to blame for massive student debt. Others proclaim that the quality… Read More ›
Coming off the heels of a cross-country road show, Yoga Hosers, writer/director Kevin Smith (Mallrats/Dogma)’s second film in his True North Trilogy, will finally receive a nationwide release. Full of the juvenile slapstick humor Smith built an empire upon, Yoga… Read More ›
From the creative team of Fede Alvarez and Sam Rami, who brought you Evil Dead (2013), comes Don’t Breathe, a claustrophobic suspense-filled horror-thriller that twists and turns all the way to the credits. Don’t expect a gorefest this time around… Read More ›
As the sun begins to set on summer, Walt Disney provides us with one more golden through director David Lowery’s reinterpretation of the 1977 classic musical Pete’s Dragon. Lowery (Ain’t Them Bodies Saints) shoves off the seafaring locale, the songs,… Read More ›
To herald the start of the fourth season of their Film School Shorts on PBS, northern California-based KQED has made the acclaimed short film, The Lotus Gun, available for instant streaming. Written and directed by Amanda Milius, daughter of John… Read More ›
Suicide Squad, DC Films’ third live-action feature in the newly established DC Extended Universe, is intended to connect with audiences in a way Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice failed to. Batman V Superman, even months after its release, is… Read More ›
A shorter version of this review, originally published for CLTure, was posted on their site on July 14th, 2016. For most folks, everyday life is a series of innocuous moments: getting up, eating breakfast, kissing your family before you leave the house for work, the commute, the… Read More ›
A shorter version of this review, originally published for CLTure, was posted on their site on July 6th, 2016. From the studio that brought you Despicable Me and Minions, comes The Secret Life of Pets, an animated tale (tail?) that provides a peek into the lives of… Read More ›
I wrote a shorter version of this review originally for CLTure and it was posted on their site on June 30, 2016. There is barely a bookshelf that has not held the weight of their words of Roald Dahl. His stories delight our… Read More ›