There are movies which are easy to watch, or rather, ones that the audience can receive without difficulty. Then there are more difficult watches, ones which require the audience to be an active viewer… or maybe even an active participant…. Read More ›
Sometimes it doesn’t matter how foolish the impetus for a plot is, but rather how the work follows up that foolishness. One well worn movie and television storyline has people covering up an accidental death. Often such tales are ridiculous, with… Read More ›
There can be no doubt that Charles Manson was a charismatic figure and that there is, quite clearly, a (morbid) fascination that still exists today around the crimes his “family” committed in the late ’60s. It is easy to sit… Read More ›
Computer generated special effects in this day and age are amazing things. What once may have seemed stiff and awkward now flows smoothly. The ability for the real and the imaginary to interact perfectly with one another is a delight, to… Read More ›
This critic, the vast majority of the time, does not enjoy writing a negative review (and he would suspect the same is true of others). Even when films are bad, a tremendous amount of effort went into creating them; people… Read More ›
While you may know Jessica Rothe from “Happy Death Day” and “Happy Death Day 2 U,” those are not the charismatic actress’s only enjoyable performances. After playing on the big screen around the country, “Tater Tot & Patton” is arriving on… Read More ›
There are times when, in writing a review, a critic is compelled to offer up some sort of explanation of the events of the film; a brief synopsis if you will. Then there are other films where anything more than… Read More ›
It seems so very improbable that after decades trying to make “The Man who Killed Don Quixote,” Terry Gilliam’s movie is going to finally hit theaters here in the United States. In fact, it is a remarkable enough occurrence that… Read More ›
When telling a story, the question of motivation is an important one – why do the people in it do what they do, what prompts them to follow a certain path. In movies (or books or TV, etc.), the reasons… Read More ›
It is a wonderful setup for a movie – two lonely houses on the prairie, no one around for miles, and some sort of evil spirit lurking. The spirit that comes at night, on the wind, and terrorizes the women… Read More ›
Once upon a time, there was a famous actress named Louise Brooks. This is true. When she wet to New York to study dancing, she was accompanied by a chaperone. This too, seemingly, is true. However, the new film written… Read More ›
There is a point in “Shazam!” when one of Batman’s batarangs is dropped to floor, harmlessly pinging out of site. This can be seen as a metaphor at this moment for the entirety of the DCEU – oh sure, the… Read More ›
At 158 minutes, writer-director S. Craig Zahler’s latest film, “Dragged Across Concrete,” is not exactly short. Instead—and happily—it is exactly how long it needs to be. Zahler has created a movie which is intricate and detailed, where nothing lags, where… Read More ›
In just a few weeks, the Jordan Peele produced update to “The Twilight Zone” is going to launch. It is impossible to know that fact and not look at Peele’s newest film, “Us,” and see it as him doing an… Read More ›
The best theme parks are truly magical places. They are these locales of wonder and excitement where anything and everything can happen. They are scary and fun and enchanting and eye-opening. They are places to wander by yourself and to… Read More ›
A description of Idris Elba’s first directorial effort, “Yardie,” would make the movie sound as though it is something with real weight to it. It isn’t. It is a movie which meanders, never quite at ease with where it is… Read More ›
There are moments in the new film, “Greta,” that are entrancingly artful. The opening credits play over the wonderful “Where are You,” and as they roll, the audience watches a young woman pick up a purse that has been left… Read More ›
Released in 2017, “Happy Death Day” offers up a wonderfully funny “Groundhog Day”-esque take on a serial killer story. An insufferable college student, Tree (Jessica Rothe), is forced to relive a day over and over again as a killer in… Read More ›
Sometimes in life you are forced to make a choice — you can either have option A or option B, but not both. Sometimes, each option is incompatible with the other. Try to get both, and what you end up… Read More ›
During one particularly telling scene in the biographical film “Fighting with my Family,” Vince Vaughn’s Hutch, a man who trains prospective WWE wrestlers, explains that wrestling ability is only part of what it takes to be a superstar in that… Read More ›
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