Author Archive
Film Review – Turning Red
Disney/Pixar’s latest animated offering, Turning Red (2022) is a candy colored, pop-infused adventure. It continues the studio’s streak of family oriented fun while highlighting more serious, adult-centered issues. The approach has solidified to the point that each film has become a variation of the same themes. Characters…
READ MORE
Film Review – After Yang
Writer/director Kogonada’s After Yang (2022) is a film of subtle, moving power. Its effect doesn’t make itself known right away but washes over us like a dream. Adapted from Alexander Weinstein’s short story “Saying Goodbye to Yang,” Kogonada’s sci-fi tale explores loss, grief, memory, family, and the invisible ties…
READ MORE
Film Review – Fresh
***Warning: This review contains minor spoilers*** Dating can be a stressful and embarrassing undertaking. There are the mundane, recycled questions (“Where are you from?” “What do you like to do?” “What are you into?”), dinners populated with eating and awkward silences, and the inevitable moment…
READ MORE
Film Review – No Exit
No Exit (2022) is the kind of thriller that sneaks up on you. The premise is familiar and it takes a while to get going. Once it does, we surprisingly get caught up in it. It doesn’t necessarily do anything new, but has enough style and…
READ MORE
An Appreciation – Five Easy Pieces
Whenever we talk about Five Easy Pieces (1970), the conversation almost always comes back to the infamous diner scene. Oil rigger Bobby Dupea (Jack Nicholson) tries to get a specific food order, to which the waitress sternly declines. After a heated back and forth, Bobby coolly stands…
READ MORE
Film Review – Hard Hit
Writer/director Changju Kim’s Hard Hit (2021) is a solid, throwback thriller. A remake of the Spanish film, Retribution (2015), this South Korean offering has the DNA of tense, location-specific action films of the past. Characters trapped in a vehicle wired with a bomb will call to mind the premise of Speed (1994).…
READ MORE
Film Review – Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)
The appeal of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) – and part of the reason it has had such a lasting legacy – was in how it embraced its luridness. With its grainy film stock, shocking violence, and guerilla-style approach, the film’s sole purpose was to disturb…
READ MORE
Film Review – Kimi
In 2013, director Steven Soderbergh announced that he would be taking a leave from filmmaking. Since then, he’s arguably been more prolific than ever, heading numerous movie, TV, and off-Broadway projects. Apparently, his short-lived hiatus only worked to spark his creativity. He’s one of the few filmmakers…
READ MORE