★★★ How to Deter a Robber starts off very strong right out of the gate, with a solid foundation of humor within a dysfunctional family unit. It seemed to me like it would be able to maintain the same level of snarky humor and snappy dialogue throughout the duration. However, the first half of the … Continue reading Film Review: How to Deter a Robber
Film Review: Zola
★★ Based on a series of tweets chronicling how “me and this bitch here fell out,” Zola lacks the stylistic craftsmanship that could have made this strange story crackle and pop. It plays out as if you are just reading the Twitter thread that inspired it, and it sadly works better on paper, where your … Continue reading Film Review: Zola
Film Review: Bad Detectives
★★★ Bad Detectives feels like a movie you would catch on cable halfway in and potentially stick around for the chemistry between its two leads. After their grandfathers pass away unexpectedly, clashing personalities Nic O’Connell (Freya Tingley) and Ping Liu (Dralla Aierken) discover their mysterious deaths might actually be murders. They want the case reopened … Continue reading Film Review: Bad Detectives
Tribeca 2021: Clean
★★★★ Clean tells a gripping, slow-burn tale punctuated by brutal bursts of violence through the gritty filter of noir. Clean (played by Oscar Winner Adrien Brody) is just a simple garbage man, but he is stained. “No matter how hard I try, I can’t wash away the past,” Clean opines during the opening scene. The … Continue reading Tribeca 2021: Clean
Film Review: The Birthday Cake
★★ A simple glimpse at the cast list for The Birthday Cake was enough to get me on board, featuring a wide array of actors from shows I love. Penn Badgley (Gossip Girl, You), Ashley Benson (Pretty Little Liars, Spring Breakers), Jeremy Allen White (Shameless), David Mazouz (Gotham)… the list goes on and on. Throw … Continue reading Film Review: The Birthday Cake
Tribeca 2021: No Man of God
★★★ Serial killers are all the rage these days. Similar to Netflix’s dark drama series Mindhunter, director Amber Sealy and writer Kit Lesser (Sinister) present No Man of God, which examines charismatic murderer Ted Bundy (Luke Kirby in an uncanny portrayal) through interviews and analysis amongst the creation of FBI profiling. The true crime film … Continue reading Tribeca 2021: No Man of God
Tribeca 2021: Catch the Fair One
★★★★ (Written by Allison Brown) Catch the Fair One caught me off guard as one of the stronger Tribeca contenders I’ve seen yet! With its dark, gritty and gloomy turns, it is impossible to not be engaged in Kaylee’s struggle to find her missing sister, Weeta (Mainaku Borrero). The film invokes notes of Taken, with a female edge; … Continue reading Tribeca 2021: Catch the Fair One
Film Review: Gully
★★★★ Sometimes having low expectations is key to finding the biggest surprises. In a movie heavily inspired by Clockwork Orange, three promising young men spiral out of control, fueled by drugs and video game violence. Gully was a selection at 2019’s Tribeca Film Festival, and its delayed release undoubtedly has a lot to do with … Continue reading Film Review: Gully
Film Review: Cruella
★★★★★ “Born brilliant, born bad, and a little bit mad.” Bookended by two outrageous and fantastic performance by a pair of Hollywood’s best Emmas, Cruella scrapes a PG-13 grit through the lens of the memorable 101 Dalmatians villain. I’d say she is actually one of the most iconic villains of all time. Previously played in … Continue reading Film Review: Cruella
Film Review: The Catch
★★★ The Catch is an old-fashioned crime drama set against the backdrop of coastal Maine. When Beth (Katia Winter) makes a surprise visit back home, she sets off a chain of events that effects her entire family. Still haunted by flashbacks of a tragic accident, Beth reconnects with her unstable ex-boyfriend Dicky (James McMenamin), and … Continue reading Film Review: The Catch