If anything is apparent after watching Roxy Shih’s (List of a Lifetime) newest feature, it must be that she is a fan of Robert Eggers’s The Lighthouse as Beacon feels like an eerily possible sequel/prequel to said movie. There’s a… Read More ›
thriller
“Blind War” Blu-ray Giveaway
The latest action thriller from The Sniper director Huo Suiqiang, Blind War, starring Andy On (100 Yards; Undercover Punch and Gun), initially released in 2022 before landing on Well Go USA’s martial arts streaming service Hi-YAH!. Now, Well Go USA is set… Read More ›
Satirical slasher “#AMFAD: All My Friends Are Dead” takes on the shallow nature in U.S. culture. [Tribeca Film Festival]
Every story is designed to convey something. Doesn’t matter if it’s a comedy, drama, mystery, or horror tale, from the surreal to the pointed, stories possess something that they want to pass along to the audience. Some grow richer through… 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 ›
Religious thriller “Exemplum” is a good idea whose parts are stronger than the whole.
When the institution becomes bigger than the idea which spawned it, a problem forms. Ideas are free-flowing, malleable, capable of change with new information or situations. Institutions are rigid, structured, and harder to redirect once a flow is created. If… Read More ›
Writer/director Savi Gabizon remakes his own adult drama for American audiences with the Richard Gere-led “Longing.”
There are many reasons films get adapted. Sometimes it’s because a film wasn’t received well or, confusingly, because a film was received extraordinarily well. Adaptations aren’t necessarily a bad thing. Because someone sought director Roger Corman’s 1960 Little Shop of… Read More ›
On the “Night Shift,” you’ll find another home where you’re never alone.
There’s no place like home. Except in horror films, in which case, there’s no place that’s safe. Part of the tension in a good horror film is the realization that danger lurks whether you’re in a cabin in the woods… Read More ›
Grab your Tropical Fruit Bubblicious and Skittles buckle up for another ride with Mike and Marcus in “Bad Boys: Ride or Die.”
The Bad Boys franchise has become a staple in the “buddy cop” genre. The film delivered the expected goods, thanks to the banter of Martin Lawrence (Life) and Will Smith (Men in Black). Add in director Michael Bay (Armageddon) (the… Read More ›
The Criterion Collection welcomes the iconic horror of 1960’s “Peeping Tom” with a brand-new 4K UHD edition.
Obsessively pursuing art is the focus of Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom (1960). The parallels to artistic pursuit as it pertains to a filmmaker are hard to miss, as are the Freudian psychoanalytics. Both of which are apt as Powell (The… Read More ›
A Conversation with “In a Violent Nature” actors Andrea Pavlovic and Ry Barrett.
Writer/director Chris Nash’s first feature-length film, In a Violent Nature, premiered during Sundance 2024 and left audiences stunned, a feat it’s continued to do through festival screenings leading up to the wide U.S. release on May 31st. Ahead of the… Read More ›
“Anatomy of a Fall (Anatomie d’une chute)” releases a beautiful Criterion Blu-ray with special features.
Awards season has come and gone once again, like another overblown, overwrought, overlong thief in the night, spanning an impressive seven months from the beginning of the Venice Film Festival to that of the Academy Awards. Though, unlike other years,… Read More ›
“In a Violent Nature” delivers on its name.
When you see a movie is a sponsorship of IFC Midnight and Shudder, there is a certain expectation for the film, an expectation that it is going to be something uneasy, disturbing, f-ked up, and downright gross. Now, with all… Read More ›
“Crimson Peak” revels in its full Gothic glory in 4K UHD and an abundance of bonus features.
Guillermo del Toro (Pacific Rim; The Shape of Water) calls Crimson Peak (2015) his most beautiful film, comparing this gothic romance to the works of Charles Dickens (Great Expectations; David Copperfield), Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice; Emma), Emily Bronte (Wuthering… Read More ›
Horror thriller “The Coffee Table” weaponizes intrusive thoughts and interpersonal tension to upend audiences from uncomfortable start to disquieting end.
“For want of a nail …” Requiem for a Dream (2000), The Fountain (2006), and Uncut Gems (2019) are examples of a type of film which is well-made, thoughtful, subject to acclaim, and less likely to be revisited, the latter… Read More ›
“Narc” keeps its noir essence in high definition thanks to Arrow Video.
When reviewing a label release for something I have never seen, it is always interesting to see how the movie looks and what the restoration does to it as there are no nostalgia/rose-colored glasses towards the project itself. The only… Read More ›
“Faceless After Dark” is fury manifested on digital as it rages against parasocial relationships and the commodification of people. [Atlanta Film Festival]
Photosensitivity Warning: There are multiple sequences — some short, some prolonged — of intense strobing and glitching effects, which may trigger migraine or other neurological issues. In the age of digital media, developing parasocial relationships occurs before most even realize… Read More ›
“The Crow” 4K Digital Code Giveaway
The 1990s brought forth a number of cinematic comic book adaptations. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Dick Tracy, and Darkman in 1990; The Rocketeer in 1991; Batman Returns in 1992; Batman Forever, Judge Dredd, and The Mask in 1995; The Phantom in 1996; and,… Read More ›
With “The Crow” in first-time 4K UHD, it’s easy to believe that love will prevail.
Photosensitivity Warning: The opening sequence and several throughout the film include either flashes of light or strobing that may be triggering for photosensitive viewers. There are certain phrases, certain references, one can make that will elicit a specific response within… Read More ›
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi utilizes a documentary-style approach in new film “Evil Does Not Exist” in order to examine the conflict of ecological harmony and capitalistic indifference. [Atlanta Film Festival]
In nature, there’s no such thing as evil. There’s the ecosystem with predator and prey, but while there are behaviors that some groups would define within a power dynamic, it’s atypical for the natural world to engage in behavior humans… Read More ›