In a time of political divisiveness, The Hunt more or less aims to be the South Park of social horror. It has no greater ambition to say something overt about the world in its cavalcade of gore and tension. The film would sadly rather stew in the extreme lunacy of Continue Reading
The Video Game Movie Curse is Dead
I think there’s an odd conception about movies based on video games, that they must suffer from some curse. I wrote a book called Pixels to Premieres: A History of Video Game movie and when I sold the book the most common comment was “that must’ve been an agonizing book Continue Reading
Revenge of the Nerds is Worse Now More Than Ever
1984’s Revenge of the Nerds is a film that has not aged well. At all. This notion has been a little easier to accept shortcomings that become more obvious over time. The lead nerd of Louis having sex with a woman under a false identity is basically rape, the race Continue Reading
“Onward” Review
Pixar once more does what they do best: a detailed sense of worldbuilding with a movingly emotional story behind it. Considering their previous films that mostly relied on aged and long-awaited sequels (worthy as they may be), Onward features an original blend of suburban fantasy amid a tale of loss Continue Reading
Missing the Movie Theater
The last movie I saw prior to the Coronavirus pandemic shutdown was a preview screening of Bloodshot, a routine and forgettable action picture of Vin Diesel playing a cyborg seeking revenge. I sat there in the theater with the comfy seats, the massive screen, and Dolby sound, not the least Continue Reading
“Sonic the Hedgehog” Review
Sonic the Hedgehog, personally, is a conflict of nostalgia. I grew up playing the Sega Genesis games which made the blue blur becom an icon of my childhood. I also grew up watching mindless 90s-cool media like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and still hold an affinity for which is partial Continue Reading
“Birds of Prey” Review
Birds of Prey is exactly the movie-makeover the character of Harley Quinn needed. With Margot Robbie providing the highlight performance of the abysmal Suicide Squad, she now gets to break out in a film that can better use her and free her from the tired superhero formula. No more stopping Continue Reading
“Bad Boys For Life” Review
There’s an admirable brashness to the Bad Boys saga that takes a unique turn in Bad Boys For Life. On the surface, yes, it’s little more than a one-last-time mission for the aged cop duo. But unlike Michael Bay’s bombastic entries prior, this third film feels a little more grounded Continue Reading
“Underwater” Review
About 1/3 of the way through Underwater, one character remarks that what happens next better not be some 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea shit. And it sort of is. And that’s okay. Underwater makes itself known quite early that it aims to be little more than an atmospheric and thrilling Continue Reading
Top 10 Films of 2019
What a whirlwind of a year it’s been. We saw a legacy of Marvel movies and a trilogy of Star Wars draw to a close, even though we know they won’t be slowing down coming into 2020 as the Disney movie-money train is chugging hard. We saw Green Book win Continue Reading