London Film Festival Review: Damiano and Fabio D’Innocenzo’s ‘Bad Tales’
“Damiano and Fabio D’Innocenzo’s second feature, ‘Bad Tales,’ is morbidly curious and content to simmer in its own pessimism.”
Shudder Slashics: Joe Giannone’s ‘Madman’ Squanders Its Potential
“‘Madman’ frequently flirts with boundary-pushing concepts but ultimately settles for clichés or, worse, just weasels out completely and falls flat on its face.”
London Film Festival Review: Natalia Meta’s ‘The Intruder’
“‘The Intruder’ interpolates the parts of Giallo without the scares, keeping true to the genre’s more strictly crime-oriented titles like ‘The Cat o’ Nine Tails.'”
In Praise of 90s Gwyneth Paltrow
“It’s easy to feel a sense of loss for the great actress and movie star that Paltrow could have become, had she not lost interest in the profession and shifted her attention to her questionable business empire.”
Shudder Slashics: Buddy Cooper’s ‘The Mutilator’ Still Boasts a Killer Hook
“Having the killer unmasked and identified is a fresh take on a well-worn trope, while the accidental matricide angle offers a unique, strong premise to kick-start the eventual mini-massacre.”
Review: Luis Iga’s ‘Murder in the Woods’
“‘Murder in the Woods’ is a slight but entertaining offering, sold completely and committedly by a talented cast of fresh, new faces and with a bonus appearance by the always-welcome Danny Trejo to boot.”
Review: Christopher Nolan’s ‘Tenet’
“With ‘Tenet,’ Nolan evolves as a surrealist director, yet his writing style does not similarly advance.”
‘I’m Thinking of Ending Things’: Charlie Kaufman Knows You Can’t Always Get What You Want
“Point of view and selfhood have assumed for Kaufman a place of great consequence from ‘Being John Malkovich’ to ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’ to ‘Anomalisa,’ and ‘I’m Thinking of Ending Things’ is a remarkable extension.”
Fantasia 2020 Review: Brea Grant’s ’12 Hour Shift’
“As the debate rages on about whether strong female characters in movies should evoke admiration through heroism or just be flawed, human and sometimes downright unlikeable, it’s nice to see that Brea Grant created a film that’s full of different women.”
Review: Claire Oakley’s ‘Make Up’
“When ‘Make Up’ reaches the light at the end of its twisted tunnel, its culmination is gratifying and sumptuously-realised.”
Review: Bong Joon-ho’s ‘Parasite’ (Black and White Edition)
“The black and white edition of ‘Parasite’ is a gift, and the real beacon shining brightly in the dark.”
Review: Dave Franco’s ‘The Rental’
“The ideas present are intriguing, however The Rental’s ultimate staying power is questionable.”
Lodge Kerrigan’s ‘Clean, Shaven’ and the Cinematic Virtue of Empathy
“‘Clean, Shaven’ depicts a culture in which there is little empathy for the mentally ill, perhaps because it is a culture influenced by fictional portrayals in which people like Peter are predominately unfeeling mad killers.”
Escape to Paradise: The Unusual Sweetness of ‘Carlito’s Way’
“What both Pacino and De Palma vividly convey throughout the film is that there’s absolutely nothing dubious or spurious about Carlito’s conviction in his ability to evolve.”
Martin Scorsese, ‘Mean Streets’ and Caravaggio’s Moment of Illumination
“In Caravaggio and Scorsese’s art, the silent actions of male and female characters speak louder than words. We don’t need to hear Holofernes scream to understand what Judith has taken.”
Tearing Down the Monument: Sean Connery’s 1970s
“In my hatred for the Bond franchise, I feel I may have done a disservice to its star. I have always had a tendency to discount Sean Connery as an exquisitely sculpted statue, capable of filling out a tuxedo very nicely but little else.”
World Cinema Project: Behind Closed Doors – ‘The Housemaid’ and ‘Insiang’
“One of the great joys in viewing the films amassed under the World Cinema Project banner is discovering the richness of a nation’s cultural and scenic backdrop.”
The Disaster Area: From ‘Airport’ to ‘Airplane!’ – Part Three
Part Three of a Four-Part Disaster Movie Series by Bill Bria
Review: Christian Sparkes’ ‘Hammer’
“Hammer’s short length may feel like a detriment to some and seem too sparse, with its brevity making for some awkward moments. That said, it’s a refreshing change from the sprawling crime sagas of late…”
Josephine Decker Casts a Spell with Elisabeth Moss in ‘Shirley’
“Moss is nothing short of phenomenal in ‘Shirley,’ filling out her performance with a steady flow of poisonously perfect wisecracks, putdowns and insults…”