Author Archive
Film Review – Downhill
Downhill (2020) is a remake of the Swedish Force Majeure (2014). Of all the films that could have had an American retelling, Force Majeure would not have been the first one to come to mind. Part of the reasoning is that nearly half the dialogue…
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Film Review – Sonic the Hedgehog
The big story surrounding Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) involved the design of the furry blue main character. Adapted from the popular SEGA videogame, the initial design of Sonic (Ben Schwartz) was met with a mix of shock and disgust. With beady little eyes, long limbs,…
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Film Review – Horse Girl
There is a lot going on in Horse Girl (2020), and it very nearly manages to pull it off. It’s the story of an introverted character slowly losing their grip on reality, with the film itself following suit. It has a strong central performance, with…
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Film Review – A Sun
The Taiwanese film, A Sun (2019) made the festival rounds last year and just hit Netflix for a wider audience. Directed and co-written by Mong-Hong Chung (along with Yaosheng Chang), this is an emotionally devastating story of family, regret, tragedy, and reconciliation. There is a…
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Film Review – Troop Zero
Troop Zero (2020) is so sugary sweet that it should come with a health warning. There are moments where the sentimentality is so abundant that Steven Spielberg may think to himself, “Ok, this might be too much.” But beneath the cutesy exterior lies a message…
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Film Review – Dolittle (2020)
Dolittle (2020) is the kind of middle-of-the-road film that is frustrating to write about. On one hand, it’s not remarkable enough to jump over the moon and sing its praises. On the other, it’s just competent enough to provide some level of entertainment. It’s the…
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Top 15 Films of 2019 – Allen’s Picks
2019 was such an excellent year in film that I seriously debated pushing this list out to 25, maybe even 30 entries. There was such an abundance of quality work that whittling it down to a small grouping is about the equivalent of a parent…
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Film Review – Underwater
It’s rare for a film to start at the beginning of the second act. Normally, we are given some introductory scenes where we learn a little bit about our characters and their relationships. This is meant as a set up so that we understand what…
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