post

‘TWISTERS’ Isn’t a Disaster But It Won’t Blow You Away Either 

by Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged , , , , , , , 2 Comments

Nearly 30 years after the release of Jan de Bont’s natural disaster thriller and meteoric box office hit Twister, the winds of its legacy blow once more. Swept up in the industry’s recent trend of mining intellectual property from nearly every existing franchise over the last century, Twisters emerges as a largely cynical attempt to reignite box office flames in the natural disaster genre stratosphere. Though its tracking to do some major numbers across international territories looking for an all-ages summer hit, one is left with the sinking feeling that with all the assembled talent and massive budget, we could just do so much better than this. Bolstered by the emerging talent of rising stars in the form of director Lee Isaac Chung (Best Picture nominee Minari) and current Hollywood it-guy Glenn Powell, Twisters isn’t a disaster, but it won’t blow you away either. Read More

post

Eerie and Atmospheric ‘LONGLEGS’ a Supernatural Serial Killer Haunt 

by Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged , , , , 6 Comments

Longlegs, NEON’s much-anticipated horror film from Oz Perkins (The Blackcoat’s Daughter, Gretel & Hansel), straddles the line between detective procedural and supernatural haunter with a masterful command for atmosphere and tone. As thematically dark and unforgiving as it is formally constructed and rhythmically precise, Perkins’ nightmarish vision of a satanic doll maker (played with creepy but characteristically over-the-top intensity by Nicolas Cage) and the FBI agent (Maika Monroe) pursuing him is in no rush to reveal its macabre story, demanding patience from viewers in pursuit of a frightful theatrical experience. Read More

post

Psalms and Sleaze Line the End of Ti West’s Trilogy in ‘MAXXXINE’

by Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

Celebrity and faith are at impassable odds in the capstone to Ti West’s surprise trilogy, MaXXXine. What started with ’70s shlock in X, then traveled back in time to WWI-era West Texas with the outstanding technicolor prequel Pearl, now arrives in 1980s Hollywood in MaXXXine. The titular character, consistently played with wild-eyed abandon and gnawing verve by Mia Goth across the three films, grapples with the events of her blood-soaked past, sheds her present porn star celebrity, and charges into a bright future as a legitimate actress. Read More

post

Effective ‘A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE’ Expands Franchise Through Renewed Intimacy

by Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged , , , , , 6 Comments

If you’re going to have a movie that’s basically 90% a silent film, you can’t do much better than casting the venerable Lupita Nyong’o in the starring role. The Academy Award nominee has the ability to absolutely command the screen with her physicality, combining her incredibly expressive eyes and ticcy body language, and her strengths prove a perfect fit for the very particular demands of the Quiet Place universe. The Academy has often overlooked horror performances, but awards recognition or not, Nyong’o is offering next-level genre work in the dramatically effective and true-to-its-roots prequel A Quiet Place: Day One. Read More

post

‘KINDS OF KINDNESS’ A Freaky Foray Into Yorgos’ Hilarious Depravity 

by Posted in Most Popular, Out in Theaters Tagged , , , , , , , , 7 Comments

A trio of demented fables make up Yorgos Lanthimos’ most recent film, Kinds of Kindness. An anthological miasma of the bizarre and misanthropic, Yorgos returns to his biting roots as a somewhat impenetrable provocateur, escaping easy explanation at every turn, armed with a razor sharp sense of satirical humor. Featuring an outstanding ensemble cast that cycles through various characters throughout the film’s distinct – and mostly unconnected – three short, Kinds of Kindess filters the filmmaker’s most esoteric curiosities through an almost Black Mirror filter, making for a collection of works that are strong and striking on there own merit but add up to something entirely captivating when taken as a whole. Read More

post

‘THE BIKERIDERS’ A GRUFF MOTO-DRAMA ABOUT “COOL GUYS” AND “GOOD OLE TIMES”

by Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , 7 Comments

Arkansas-born filmmaker Jeff Nichols has a way of channeling a certain kind of Americana onto the screen that few of his contemporaries are able to capture. There’s a very particular kind of grit and masculinity that defines a Nichol’s feature, with characters experiencing gnawing heartache and an often overbearing patriarchal sense of responsibility, despite often being on the fringes of society, manic or mad to many outsiders looking in. This is as true in Take Shelter and Mud—both about ‘crazed’ outsiders—as it is in Loving and Midnight Special, the former depicting Richard and Mildred Loving’s arrest for their interracial marriage in 1960s Virginia, and the latter a sci-fi drama about a father protecting his ‘powered’ son at all costs. Read More

post

‘YOUNG WOMAN AND THE SEA’ Is a Welcome Return to the Inspirational Disney Sports Drama

by Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged , , , , , , , , 6 Comments

A good old-fashioned Disney sports drama, complete with a plucky underdog story, historically accurate social injustices, and a score with more swells than the English Channel, Young Woman and the Sea is a return to form for the studio behind uplifting sports dramas like Remember the Titans and Cool Runnings. Based on the true story of swimmer Trudy Ederle, this triumphant tale of human perseverance takes place in the years following the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote in the United States, though it did little to change their daily lot. Despite suffragette efforts for equality, sports remained strictly a man’s game. When Trudy Ederle sets her sights on becoming the first woman to swim across the English Channel, she must battle both the harsh conditions of the sea and the turbulence of a patriarchal system not only standing in her way but actively sabotaging her efforts to succeed. Read More

post

Quieter ‘FURIOSA’ Still a Furious Vision of Dystopian Moviemaking Mania, With Prequelitis

by Posted in Most Popular, Out in Theaters Tagged , , , , , , , , 4 Comments

Prequelitis, for the purposes of this review, refers to a narrative condition often present in movie prequels, where the story is constrained by the need to align with an already established endpoint. This means that the destination and eventual fate of a character are predetermined in a sense, which can put unnatural constraints on the creative freedom of any film. The challenge of prequelitis is to craft a compelling journey that leads to a known outcome, maintaining tension and interest despite the audience’s keen awareness of where the story will ultimately lead. Some do this masterfully (Andor, Better Call Saul) while others get bogged down in plot machinations and narrative clutter (Solo: A Star Wars Story, The Hobbit Trilogy). Both usually involve filling in backstory, explaining character motivations, plenty of franchise Easter Eggs, and setting up plot points that will pay off within this journey and in future storylines, all while maintaining an aesthetic and tonal consistency with its original intellectual property. Read More

post

SIFF ‘24 Capsule Review: ‘EXCURSION’ Beleaguers An Interesting Premise With Mundane Execution

by Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged , , , , 6 Comments

In the Bosnian dramatic export Excursion, the story centers on teenage Iman (Asja Zara Lagumdžija), who uniquely weaponizes the middle school rumor mill against herself and her budding sexuality, leading to a self-implosion that’s both intriguing and exasperating. Directed by Una Gunjak, this introspective coming-of-age drama moves at a glacial pace, often feeling more like a sequence of introspective vignettes than a cohesive narrative. While Lagumdžija delivers a compelling performance, the film struggles to maintain cinematic engagement, with its minimalist style and prolonged scenes that contribute little to narrative progression. Ultimately, Excursion fails to resolve its central conflicts in a compelling manner, leaving much to be desired in terms of emotional payoff and narrative closure. Despite its promising premise, the film largely feels like a missed opportunity to explore themes of impulsive teenage angst with the depth and nuance it deserves. (C) Read More

post

Apes Strong in Another Technical Marvel for Resilient Franchise with ‘KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES’

by Posted in Most Popular, Out in Theaters Tagged , , , , , , , 1 Comment

That rare franchise that continues to find new ways to engage its IP by heading in exciting and interesting directions, The Planet of the Apes has flexed its simian strength once more. Coming off a terrific rebooted trilogy (Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and War for the Planet of the Apes) that earned its crown as one of the best – if not in conversation for the best – post-modern movie trilogies, director Wes Ball had some significant expectations to contend with. Thankfully, Ball has risen to the occasion, ushering in a new dawn of this saga, and gone to war for the kind of emotionally-driven, intellectually-satisfying narrative that Apes has carved out for itself in an increasingly anti-intellectual blockbuster market.  Read More