★★ Hopeful that Blumhouse's newest would be supercharged by a performance from West Side Story Oscar-winner Ariana DeBose led to my interest in House of Spoils, a wicked culinary flick with a witchy twist. Unfortunately, the trailer gave away the only moments of actual action and terror. Writer/director duo Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy … Continue reading Film Review: House of Spoils
TV Review: Disclaimer
Based on the acclaimed novel from Renee Right, Alfonso Cuaron wrote and directs all episodes of Apple TV+'s intriguing dark drama, Disclaimer. Told in seven distinct chapters, Disclaimer's psychological narrative weaves together themes of deception, trauma, and family secrets. At the center is a riveting turn from Cate Blanchett, whose powerful emotional display practically ensures … Continue reading TV Review: Disclaimer
Fantastic Fest 2024: V/H/S Beyond
★★★★ Did anyone know in 2012 that the horror anthology V/H/S was destined to become a long-running franchise? Certainly, all the pieces were there, along with an easily palatable premise rife for exploration. That first film contained all the trademarks of series potential, including a wraparound segment and many not-so-connected scary stories strung together. The seventh … Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2024: V/H/S Beyond
Film Review: Salem’s Lot
★★★★ Despite wrapping filming back in 2021 and numerous tweets from the King himself calling for its release, WB has fully dragged their feet in unleashing the vampiric vision of writer/director Gary Dauberman. Why this latest iteration of Salem's Lot took so long to emerge from its coffin is anyone's guess, especially since Dauberman penned … Continue reading Film Review: Salem’s Lot
Film Review: Amber Alert
★★★★ Hayden Panettiere leading a harrowing thriller that handles a topic as unnerving as child abduction could have gone in a variety of different, potentially distasteful directions. Thankfully, that was not the case with this surprisingly decent cat-and-mouse thriller, written and directed by Kerry Bellessa. Interestingly enough, 2012's Amber Alert was also helmed by the … Continue reading Film Review: Amber Alert
Fantastic Fest 2024: Apartment 7A
★★★★ Despite being regarded as a stone-cold horror classic and inspiring countless films (and several seasons of Ryan Murphy's American Horror Story), the original 1968 Rosemary's Baby has never been a favorite of mine. The themes have aged well but the pacing has not—for the majority of the runtime, I was pretty bored with the … Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2024: Apartment 7A
Film Review: Long Gone Heroes
★★★ Apparently, the worst thing to ever happen to Venezuela was "discovering the oil underneath it." Yes, Long Gone Heroes has arrived in a blaze of glory to proclaim loudly that oil mining is bad, and corruption runs deep. Writer/director John Swab leans into every gritty action cliche in the book, collecting an ensemble of … Continue reading Film Review: Long Gone Heroes
Film Review: Uglies
★★★★ Acclaimed director McG, responsible for some of my favorite films, including The Babysitter and Charlie's Angels, sets his crosshairs on the young adult dystopian sci-fi world of Uglies. Based upon the four-novel series Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, this creative, beauty-obsessed world of perfection seems too good to be true. A place free from conflict, … Continue reading Film Review: Uglies
TIFF 2024: The Paradise of Thorns
★★★★★ Just mere months ago, same-sex marriage was officially passed in Thailand. Just as with America, the specifications and outer reach of the recognition may take a long while to be properly calibrated legally speaking. How apt that The Paradise of Thorns, somehow the debut feature and subsequent masterpiece of writer/director Boss Kuno, essentially explores … Continue reading TIFF 2024: The Paradise of Thorns
Film Review: The Critic
★★★ (Written by Intern, Sean Barry) The Critic aptly rewards patient viewers by steadily improving in quality as the story progresses. Despite a relatively slow beginning, tensions snowball until its gripping conclusion. A surprising story structure ultimately makes this project more than a simple star vehicle for veteran actor Ian McKellen. Gorgeous period-accurate costumes, sets, … Continue reading Film Review: The Critic