Author Archive
Film Review – Boston Strangler
The title of Boston Strangler (2023) references a series of murders that took place in the early to mid 1960s. However, it also operates as a sort of red herring. Yes, the film revolves around the manhunt of those responsible for killing over a dozen women in…
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Film Review – The Magician’s Elephant
The Magician’s Elephant (2023) is an animated fantasy that operates by the numbers. It’s colorful, bright, and has a strong central message about never giving up. Characters believe that anything is possible if we push beyond our comfort zones. There’s nothing egregious about the film –…
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Film Review – Scream VI
When the first Scream (1996) was released, it revitalized and recontextualized the horror/slasher genre. It was a self-aware send up, upending the tropes established in the 1980s. The result was such a surprise that it felt like anything could happen – no one was safe, the killer…
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Film Review – One Fine Morning
For many, life is not made up of big sweeping moments, but of small intimate struggles. Going to work, making money, taking care of our loved ones – these are the responsibilities that make up our daily existence. But the small things can eventually build…
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Film Review – The Strays
We all want a better life, but what lengths should we go to obtain it? Is wealth and privilege worth suppressing our very souls? That is at the heart of writer/director Nathaniel Martello-White’s feature length debut, The Strays (2023). He weaves a tale that has beats of the horror…
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Film Review – Hidden Blade
There are few films that evoke atmosphere and mood as well as Er Cheng’s Hidden Blade (2023). A spy thriller set in Japanese-occupied China during the height of WWII, the tone and visuals have such rich textures that every frame looks like an oil painting. Compositions place characters…
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Film Review – Sharper
Movies involving con artists must walk a narrative tightrope. Because they rely on surprise and misdirection, they run the risk of being more about the trick than the trickster. Filmmakers paint themselves into a corner by establishing stakes, but work out of it by saying…
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Film Review – Somebody I Used to Know
After tackling the horror genre with The Rental (2020), actor-turned-director Dave Franco has put his sights on the romantic comedy with Somebody I Used to Know (2023). Teaming up with co-writer/star Alison Brie, Franco weaves a familiar tale of romance, love triangles, and all the messiness that comes with it. Fans of…
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