★★★ Netflix’s action shoot-em-up, Kate, comes on the heels of several excellent movies from the streamer. While it may not reach the high highs of last month’s Gunpowder Milkshake, Kate will thrill fans craving John Wick-style visceral combat and choreography. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is firmly channeling Jason Statham in Crank, and every second of her … Continue reading Film Review: Kate
Film Review: The Gateway
★★★ A generic crime thriller that we have seen countless times before, The Gateway tries to keep it interesting by adding in a child endangerment angle. If one has seen any other 90’s action thriller dealing with drugs on the run, this film does indeed evoke a particular feel and style. In that regard, maybe … Continue reading Film Review: The Gateway
TV Review: Only Murders in the Building
Hulu’s newest drama series, the mystery whodunnit Only Murders in the Building, has A-list talent, but commits the biggest genre cardinal sin: the central mystery is simply not that exciting. It brings together three crime podcast obsessed tenants who all live in the same apartment building—Oliver (Martin Short), content to direct as his day job, … Continue reading TV Review: Only Murders in the Building
Film Review: Echoes of Violence
★★★ Echoes of Violence, evoking slow-burn crime thrillers of yesteryear from writer/director Nicholas Woods, clumsily handles big topics like immigration and sex trafficking. However, its devotion to unfolding the story in an almost Tarantino style makes this a must-see. It spends a significant amount of time intimately acquainting us with its unique set of characters, … Continue reading Film Review: Echoes of Violence
Film Review: Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman
★★ Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman exists nowhere on the same level as previous film iterations we have been gifted, including Zac Efron and Luke Kirby as the lead character. This time around, Chad Michael Murray plays the serial killer as a hunky misunderstood creep that is more D-list horror movie than true crime thriller. Director … Continue reading Film Review: Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman
Film Review: Midnight in the Switchgrass
★★★ Midnight in the Switchgrass is like every other mystery/crime movie you have ever watched. Set in 2004 Pensacola, FBI agents (played by a very bored Bruce Willis and Megan Fox, who flexes her survival muscles from Till Death) are hot on the trail of a sex-trafficking ring. Their investigation crosses paths with a serial … Continue reading Film Review: Midnight in the Switchgrass
Film Review: How to Deter a Robber
★★★ 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