Author Archive
Film Review – The Substance
Whoa. The Substance (2024) is one of the most freewheeling, grotesque, and beautiful films you’ll see this year. It is extreme in nearly all phases – thematically, conceptually, and cinematically. Writer/director Coralie Fargeat – who gave us the excellent thriller Revenge (2017) – is back with an even more bombastic…
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Film Review – The 4:30 Movie
It’s been a long time since Kevin Smith burst onto the scene as part of the American Independent New Wave of the 1990s. In films like Clerks (1994), Chasing Amy (1997), and Mallrats (1995), Smith became a voice for a very specific subset of Generation X. His ruminations over relationships, comic books, movies, and…
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Film Review – Speak No Evil
I’ll admit to you, dear reader: When I heard that there would be an English language remake of the Danish film Speak No Evil (2022), I was not immediately bursting with anticipation. Don’t get me wrong, it is a tense and disturbing psychological thriller. I was left…
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Film Review – Strange Darling
***Warning: This Review Contains Major Spoilers*** Strange Darling (2023) might be one of the biggest surprises of the year. It’s a finely constructed, smart, and tense thriller. Writer/director JT Mollner has crafted a story that upends our preconceived notions about gender dynamics, the horror/thriller genre, and about storytelling…
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Film Review – The Killer (2024)
I’m not one to automatically disregard remakes of beloved movies. Sometimes a fresh new perspective on a familiar story can help us better appreciate the original. But there are instances where the very notion of a remake is preposterous. Case in point: The Killer (1989). John Woo’s…
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Film Review – Skincare
There are a lot of themes running throughout Skincare (2024), but I’m not so sure it examines any of them thoroughly. It has the tone of a satire, but what exactly is it satirizing? Is it about the shallowness of Hollywood? Is it about a female trying…
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Film Review – The Clean Up Crew
The Clean Up Crew (2024) has a lot of ingredients to make for an entertaining crime thriller. Big name actors, plenty of action, and sly dark humor are all at play. Unfortunately, the overall picture is not as good as the individual pieces. This is a…
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Film Review – Borderlands
I should start this review by admitting that I have never played the Borderlands video games. I’m fully aware of their existence and how beloved they are among fans. Fate just didn’t have it in the cards for me as a casual gamer. That said, I don’t…
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