★★★★ Nicolas Cage somehow delivers one of his most unhinged performances yet while keeping it grounded in the grittiness of the movie, opposite an electric Joel Kinnaman, in Yuval Adler’s demented road trip horror/thriller, Sympathy for the Devil. This twisted little treat should give genre fans everything they want and more from one of cinema’s … Continue reading Film Review: Sympathy for the Devil
Fantasia 2023: The First Slam Dunk
★★★★ Come sports fans, come animation buffs, come consumers of impeccably-crafted dramas! Eye-popping, stunningly-realized animation is becoming all the rage lately, and Japanese import The First Slam Dunk, based upon the popular 90s manga and anime series, arrives at the festival to continue this trend. For what essentially boils down to one feature-length basketball match, … Continue reading Fantasia 2023: The First Slam Dunk
Film Review: The Beanie Bubble
★★★★ Growing up in the 90s, it was virtually impossible not to get caught up in the Beanie Babies craze. Adorable little understuffed creations with big personalities may seem commonplace today, but that was certainly not the case back then. Moms scoured store shelves to swoop up big-lipped fish and long-legged frogs like they were … Continue reading Film Review: The Beanie Bubble
Film Review: Cobweb
★★★★ Channeling J-horror vibes and Malignant meets The Black Phone energy, Cobweb is an eerie throwback horror doused in Halloween-season atmosphere. Written by Chris Thomas Devlin (2022’s excellent Texas Chainsaw Massacre) and directed by Samuel Bodin (Netflix’s Marianne), this simplistic but highly effective chiller follows many horror tropes, before consistently flipping them on their head. … Continue reading Film Review: Cobweb
OutFest 2023: Down Low
★★★★★ Queer dark comedies are few and far between, but if all of them were as batshit crazy as Down Low, we would truly be in the best timeline. Out actors Zachary Quinto (American Horror Story, He Went That Way) and Lukas Gage (Wyrm, Midnight Kiss) headline this wacky feature directorial debut from Rightor Doyle. … Continue reading OutFest 2023: Down Low
Film Review: They Cloned Tyrone
★★★ Weird, cerebral sci-fi-tinged movies are a dime a dozen. When they actually work (see: Get Out, The Stepford Wives, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), they can become instant-classics that carve themselves permanently into the pop culture mythos. They Cloned Tyrone has high aspirations, written and directed by Juel Taylor (Creed II, Space Jam: … Continue reading Film Review: They Cloned Tyrone
Film Review: God is a Bullet
★★★★★ Based on the book of the same name by Boston Teran, God is a Bullet may be the feel-bad movie of the year. The film, written and directed by Nick Cassavetes (Alpha Dog, John Q), has especially gnarly gore sequences, coupled with explicit sexuality/violence—think: a modern, less horror-centric The Last House on the Left … Continue reading Film Review: God is a Bullet
Film Review: Bird Box Barcelona
★ 2018’s Bird Box, adapted from the novel by Josh Malerman, still stands as one of Netflix’s most-streamed movies ever. The Sandra Bullock-led horror thriller featured a spectacularly tense atmosphere, by way of its The Happening meets A Quiet Place premise. Five years later, and Bird Box Barcelona enters a very different post-pandemic environment with … Continue reading Film Review: Bird Box Barcelona
Film Review: The Out-Laws
★★★★ From the writer of Tooth Fairy 2 and Sherlock Gnomes comes a new Netflix action rom-com for the raunchy R-rated set: The Out-Laws. Enjoyment of this surprisingly fun film will rely solely on one’s tolerance for actor Adam DeVine. Much of the humor leans on DeVine’s usual schtick (see: Workaholics, Mike & Dave Need … Continue reading Film Review: The Out-Laws
Film Review: We Might Hurt Each Other
★★★★ Formerly titled Pensive, co-writer/director Jonas Trukanas makes his directorial debut with instant-classic slasher, We Might Hurt Each Other. Jason Vorhees may be in the rearview for some horror fans—after all, the iconic villain has not seen a proper cinematic entry since 2009’s gory Friday the 13th. Yet, Lithuanian horror We Might Hurt Each Other … Continue reading Film Review: We Might Hurt Each Other