Reviews

Writer’s note: This review briefly discusses a plot point involving stalking, if you need resources on stalking and domestic violence, please visit https://www.thehotline.org/. The personal is political and art is political. I’ve learned this in…

Upon finishing Antebellum, I needed about half an hour to gather my thoughts. I then needed another two hours when I saw the overall critics and audience consensus on Antebellum was definitively disappointed. Did I…

In Spiral, we follow Malik (Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman) as he moves to a small town with his partner Aaron (Ari Cohen) and Aaron’s sixteen-year-old daughter Kayla (Jennifer Laporte). They instantly notice the town is not accustomed to…

At this point, we should pay attention anytime Shudder picks up a horror movie out of a festival. Or, when they pick up a film in general, for that matter. The service’s original programming is…

Right off the bat, Minor Premise has one of the better science fiction premises you’ll see. Ethan (Sathya Sridharan), a reclusive doctor hoping to continue and surpass his father’s legacy, is making an update to…

I’ve learned something about myself over the last few years: I have a serious soft spot for grimy, street-level New York City movies. (“It’s almost another character in the movie!”) Anyone who frequents this website…

The world has changed a lot since the characters of Bill and Ted first hit the big screen. Bill and Ted, if you don’t know, are two loveable Californian simpletons who were prophesied to one…

Horror-comedy is an absolutely fascinating genre. It’s an excellent means of psychological and social commentary, while also being light and often so outlandish that one has to laugh between the jump scares. In my experience,…

If there’s one kind of movie that bores me the most, it’s the by-the-numbers biopic, which often plays like creatives formed the script by glancing at a Wikipedia page. You can forget most biopics about…

As the uncertainty of 2020 continues, there is one thing that we can be certain of, and that’s that we have another Christopher Nolan hit on our hands. A film that has seemingly united the…

If you’re as obsessed with true crime stories as I am, you know the frightening concept of regular people suddenly turning homicidal. In some cases, we could have seen it coming. A past riddled with…

A renowned philosopher and swordsman of the early Edo period, the life of Miyamoto Musashi has been told onscreen countless times since the late 1920s. Most notably in Hiroshi Inagaki’s Samurai Trilogy, where the legendary…

The most ingenious line from Wes Craven’s Scream (among many other great soundbites from a continually prescient movie) is Billy Loomis noting, “movies don’t create psychos, movies make psychos more creative.” Jay Baruchel’s Random Acts…

Back in 2005, American cartoonist Matt Furie created the popular webcomic, Boy’s Club. A re-creation of his halcyon days with his college roommates, Boy’s Club was composed of deadpan comic vignettes of 4 anthropomorphic humanoid…

If you name your movie, “The Travelling Cat Chronicles”, you immediately have my attention. Just think of all the possibilities for a movie with that title! (Also, cats!!!) Although, the actual material isn’t as zany…

Host was filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic (so quite recently…) and completely via Zoom. It’s based on director Rob Savage pranking his friends on the software, which went viral. (For all the fun, you can find…

Genre festivals like Fantasia do incredible work in programming an eclectic variety of cinema that is proudly and unapologetically so far from the norm. Whether it’s films with bold and transgressive storytelling, films that are…

Sputnik is a perfect example of how to take a premise that has been done almost perfectly in the past and show the audience that there is room for more. Once you look past the…

Gutterbug is the feature film debut of numerous folks, from director Andrew Gibson, who co-wrote the film with Chris Tobin, to the stellar supporting cast Justin Pietropaolo (Slim) and Hannah Mosqueda (Jenny). The film follows…

Call Me By Your Name, a gay coming-of-age romance, blew people away in 2017. I had not seen a film that touched me with a gay male protagonist so much until I watched No Hard…

“The desire to be a politician should bar you for life from ever being one.” – Billy Connolly Since 1935, The American Legion has sponsored Boys State (and Girls State, which is somehow a separated…

Lara, Jane-Ole Gerster’s sophomore feature, follows Lara Jenkins, a divorced mother on her 60th birthday. Not only is this her birthday, but it is also her son’s first solo concert as a pianist and composer.…

World War II was as far-reaching as its name would suggest. Not only did soldiers and civilians die, but their friends, families, and even hometown acquaintances were all affected by this devastating war. Summerland highlights…

The Killing of Two Lovers begins with an unbelievably harrowing moment, showing a painful closeup of David’s (Clayne Crawford) face as he stands over the bed with a cocked gun, pointing it at his wife…

Movies have trained us not to trust AI. We’ll never forget seeing Hal 9000 lay waste to a group of astronauts; Skynet has threatened to destroy humanity so many times, it has become synonymous with…

There’s something about micro-budget, social realist, mumblecore adjacent independent films with an emphasis on naturalism and a kind empathy for deeply flawed and troubled characters that feels so invigorating. Canadian director, Kazik Radwanski’s deeply uncomfortable…

She Dies Tomorrow is the latest film from writer/director/actress Amy Seimetz. It is her second feature film in the director’s chair, but she has directed a fair amount of TV including some episodes of Atlanta…

Initially, the concept of Palm Springs is easy to grasp. Boy meets the girl. Boy and girl hook up. From this point on, however, it becomes a bit of a whirlwind. Partly produced by The…

A mob enforcer with a troubled conscience, a crime boss who wants to go legit, and an oilman with a fatalistic code of honor. These are the three main players of Scott Wiper’s The Big…

Samurai Marathon desires to be placed among the ranks of impressive historical Japanese films that have come before it. The filmmakers were inspired by history and took a small moment of Japanese history and wrapped…

I grew up in a Catholic household, went to Catholic high school, and went to church every Sunday. So yes, Catholic guilt is coursing through my body every waking moment. Seriously, the amount of guilt…

As far as foreign-language films go, I am in love with cinema from all over the world, with Korean cinema taking a strong lead. Being from a country with a small number of movies that…

Biopics, or biographical films, are often difficult to pull off. They are often polarizing, especially among those who are experts or fans of the subject. Bohemian Rhapsody was revered in many ways, but historians and…

Promising to do for Airbnb what Unfriended did for Skype, The Rental takes two genre types and blends them to chilling effect. Two couples, comprised of Silicon Valley tech-bro Charlie (Dan Stevens) and his partner…

Clearing up after a film shoot, Day (Theeradej Wongpuapan) takes a break to float in a 6-meter deep pool on an inflatable. Unfortunately, it’s a slowly draining pool and after a little nap, he wakes…