As a film critic there is nothing better than watching a stimulating film. Something that feeds the mind and gives you nights of discussion with fellow cinephiles were one can debate the symbolism or message of a certain work or filmmaker. You know what else is great? watching a film that reminds you of the fun you’ve had as a kid or a teenager, a film that seeps into your memory and becomes a ... more >
Archives for October 2020
ARCHIVES

One truth and one prediction for ya: “Wolfman’s Got Nards” starts streaming today and fans of 1987 horror classic “The Monster Squad” will be all over it

Coherent and intense horror indie “Fishbowl” started streaming on Tuesday. We got a sit-down with the brother-sister team who directed it and this is what they said
Stephen and Alexa Kinigopoulos wanted to make a movie where they came from. The siblings, who co-directed the new psychological thriller “Fishbowl,” grew up near Baltimore, and so when they were seeking a setting for their film, they simply cast their gaze out the window. “When you’re surrounded by those locations every day, you maybe see them differently. And it’s always great to shoot in ... more >

Some thoughts on the pedestrian Ben Wheatley-directed “Rebecca” (hint: we did not like it all that much)
The new Netflix produced “Rebbeca” is a film haunted by the very present ghost of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1940 Oscar-winning namesake, also adapted from Daphne du Maurier’s 1938 gothic novel. Armie Hammer, who is carving out an interesting career for himself and who can be great, is much too wooden in his portrayal of the dashing and wealthy heir Maxim de Winter. Maxim cannot overcome nor recover ... more >

Mystery-tinged historical thriller “Fanxiao” (“Detention”) harks back to a dark period of Taiwan’s history
Taiwanese director John Hsu’s first feature length film is a political statement disguised as a historical thriller tinged with moments of horror. “Fanxiao” (“Detention” in the Mandarin original) is a compelling and generally effective hybrid that walks its characters through the hell of existing in a dystopian society while confronting the difficulties of their reality. Fang Ray-Shin and ... more >

Driving upstate and the world ends, “Save yourselves!”
“Save Yourselves” is a blend of indie relationship comedy, social commentary, and sci-fi/horror that is a unique and quirky little pleasure to help get you through the chaotic year that is 2020. As Kyoshi Kurosawa did so well in his prophetic 2001 Japanese horror film “Kairo” (“Pulse”), this film warns against the dangers of disconnecting; from the world, from our families, and from ourselves. Too ... more >