★★ Tollbooth seems to be attempting an emulation of Guy Ritchie style, but instead ends up feeling like a dollar-bin discount version. Most people’s lives are unremarkable, an opening-movie narration tells us, and that is absolutely the case with the shady individuals we follow in the film. A lack of grit or grime automatically sets … Continue reading Film Review: Tollbooth
SXSW 2022: Shining Girls
Last year’s SXSW Film Festival saw a host of excellent television show premieres, including Them, Made for Love, and the Freeform breakout, Cruel Summer. This year may be decidedly less stacked on the television front; however, a couple of options broke out of the gate early to show promise. Based on the novel by Lauren … Continue reading SXSW 2022: Shining Girls
SXSW 2022: Clean
★★★ (Written by Allison Brown) Clean, directed by Lachlan Mcleod, is a singular look into the niche industry of trauma cleaning services, as well as a deep dive into the life of its most notable success story, Sandra Pankhurst. Sandra defines trauma as “an incident that happens out of the blue;” her service covers cleaning … Continue reading SXSW 2022: Clean
Film Review: Gasoline Alley
★★★ For those following Devon Sawa’s mid-life career revival, the seasoned actor has been cranking out some exceptionally good performances in nearly all of his work. Next up, we have hardboiled action thriller Gasoline Alley, which calls upon Sawa to play grizzled tattooist, Jimmy Jayne. If there is one thing I can walk away from … Continue reading Film Review: Gasoline Alley
Film Review: Last Looks
★★★★ A quirky Neo-noir mystery film, Last Looks is significantly better than I was initially anticipating. Despite a fantastic cast, it had been a long while since I watched Mel Gibson in a movie I genuinely loved. I have no clue where the spotty British accent came from, but Gibson is having a great time … Continue reading Film Review: Last Looks
Sundance 2022 Wrap-Up
2022's all-virtual Sundance Film Festival brought together a variety of films, with the festival's usual eye for exciting new voices on full display. It seemed this year that nearly every selection featured at least one big-name actor in the majority of the projects. Below is our full coverage for the Sundance festival, and links to … Continue reading Sundance 2022 Wrap-Up
Sundance 2022: Emily the Criminal
★★★★ Our final film of the virtual 2022 Sundance Film Festival, dark crime thriller Emily the Criminal, thankfully closes out our festival experience with a big taser-injected bang! The always-reliable Aubrey Plaza plays Emily, the titular character, a woman whose past continues to cause problems. Convicted of aggravated assault back in 2015, Emily’s record follows … Continue reading Sundance 2022: Emily the Criminal
TV Review: The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window
Described by Netflix as a “dark comedy thriller,” the preposterously titled, The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window is one of the most ridiculous mystery shows to emerge in quite some time. With Kristen Bell at its center (who is no stranger to mysteries considering her tenure on … Continue reading TV Review: The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window
TV Review: The Afterparty
I have been waiting for a show to come around like 2022’s The Afterparty—one in which the central mystery is as compelling as the acting performances. The dark comedy is perfectly on brand for this collection of character actors to each have a moment in the spotlight. Perhaps the single most exciting thing about the … Continue reading TV Review: The Afterparty
Our Favorite Films of 2021
As another year comes to a close, we shut the book on a year of surprising and often excellent movies. We reveal our choices for our favorite movies of year, along with some yearbook-style superlatives! Be sure to let us know which movies in 2021 connected with you! Movie Yearbook Superlatives! Best musical sequence JOSH: … Continue reading Our Favorite Films of 2021