★★★★★ A grounded, frequently disturbing sci-fi/fantasy drama, The Animal Kingdom tears into chilling body horror elements and complex commentary about embracing the animal inside. Set in the near future, a “disease” characterized by physical, animalistic transformations has spread across the world. Those infected face intense outward discrimination, not to mention asylum experimentation. Embracing the obvious … Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2023: The Animal Kingdom
TIFF 2023: Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person
★★★★ In the most uniquely-titled movie of the entire festival, Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person delivers a modern coming-of-age vampiric dramedy with a subtle and elegant flair. This unique film marks the directorial debut of Ariane Louis-Seize, who co-wrote the screenplay with Christine Doyon. Together, the duo craft a genre-blending feature spilling over with … Continue reading TIFF 2023: Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person
Fantasia 2023: The Primevals
★★★★ Emerging out of its seemingly permanent slumber, Full Moon’s magnum opus (watch out, Puppet Master!) finally arrives nearly three decades after its initial production timeline. Taking some obvious inspiration from projects including Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, and The Land of the Lost, The Primevals captures a similar lightning-in-a-bottle energy. Initially filmed in 1994, the … Continue reading Fantasia 2023: The Primevals
Tribeca 2023: Elemental
★★★★ Any new Pixar film is cause for celebration. While many modern animation studios have tried to keep up with the consistently excellent quality of the Disney/Pixar collaborative brand, few have resulted in their staggering frequency of masterpieces. Coming on the heels of Turning Red and Lightyear, Elemental reminded me most of Inside Out—definitely a … Continue reading Tribeca 2023: Elemental
Film Review: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
★★★★★ Serving as the definitive Spider-Man cinematic experience, Across the Spider-Verse expands the scope of the mythology like never before, forming a deeply emotional visual extravaganza. This trio of directors (Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson) have crafted a movie that manages to transcend its complex inspirations. While the previous animated iteration, Into … Continue reading Film Review: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Film Review: The Little Mermaid
★★★ Love them or hate them, the live action Disney remake is here to stay. The newest, 2023’s reimagining of The Little Mermaid, seems to be one of the most divisive yet, judging by early online reactions. For me, the film was a long time coming—as a child, I would rewatch the 1989 original on … Continue reading Film Review: The Little Mermaid
Film Review: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
★★★★★ Cementing itself as one of the greatest action/sci-fi trilogies of all time, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 delivers a stunning spectacle of effects, and dazzling emotionality to boot. James Gunn pulls out all the stops to make sure the Guardians are given a sendoff worthy of celebrating. A particular standout this go round … Continue reading Film Review: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Film Review: Beau is Afraid
★★★★★ Ari Aster’s film career thus far could lovingly be called divisive and polarizing; for this viewer, both Hereditary and Midsommar are among the best horror films made in the last decade. With Beau is Afraid, Aster enters his dark dramedy era in a flourish of brashness and a crescendo of emotionality. Due to the … Continue reading Film Review: Beau is Afraid
Film Review: The Portable Door
★★★ In the time since the Harry Potter series began, countless imitators and outright copycats emerged in an attempt to emulate its tone and style. Few, if any, survived. The newest in a long line of these types of films is entitled The Portable Door, based on the seven-book series written by Tom Holt. A … Continue reading Film Review: The Portable Door
Film Review: Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
★★★★★ Having freshly rewatched 2000’s wildly misguided and ridiculously campy Dungeons & Dragons, the prospect of a new take on the tabletop classic was probably the last thing on any film buff’s mind. Infamously, that iteration was a box office bomb that failed to kickstart a new franchise despite the presence of a relatively solid … Continue reading Film Review: Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves