Release: Friday, November 8, 2018 →Theater Written by: Taika Waititi Directed by: Taika Waititi New Zealand writer/director Taika Waititi has always been the magic elixir to make things better. Viago the vampire was one of my favorite characters in the frightfully funny comedy What We Do in the Shadows (2015). In 2017 he gave the MCU a whack of … Continue reading Jojo Rabbit
Drama
Month in Review: November ’19
Production slowed a little during November. Am I bummed about that? Yes. Is there anything I can do about it now? Not really. I didn't even realize it was December until I checked my calendar late Saturday night/early Sunday morning and noticed I hadn't yet published my latest installment of The Marvelous Brie Larson. So, technically, … Continue reading Month in Review: November ’19
The Laundromat
Release: Friday, September 27, 2019 →Netflix Written by: Scott Z. Burns Directed by: Steven Soderbergh The Laundromat is a new film from Steven Soderbergh that tries to make you mad at the world in a way that will remind you most of Adam McKay's The Big Short. Stylistically the two are nearly identical. They both use big … Continue reading The Laundromat
Dolemite is My Name
Release: Friday, October 4, 2019 (limited) →Netflix Written by: Scott Alexander; Larry Karaszewski Directed by: Craig Brewer The way Craig Brewer captures the response to Dolemite, the movie-within-his-movie and at least part of its raison d'être, is so warm and uplifting. Yet it's also quaint if considering today's cinematic landscape. Cynics like me are tempted to dismiss the ending as … Continue reading Dolemite is My Name
The Perfection
Release: Friday, May 24, 2019 (Netflix) →Netflix Written by: Eric C. Charmelo; Nicole Snyder; Richard Shepard Directed by: Richard Shepard Thanks to Twitter, The Perfection will be remembered more for its gross-out moments rather than what it's actually about. The notorious Netflix horror/thriller certainly does get messy and intense, but it is more skin-crawling in terms of its thematic content. … Continue reading The Perfection
Wounds
Release: Friday, October 18, 2019 (Hulu -- U.S./Netflix internationally) →Hulu Written by: Babak Anvari Directed by: Babak Anvari The word 'wounds' really makes me feel icky. It's a trigger for me like 'moist' is for others. (Sorry if I just made you wince.) I hate. The word. Wounds. Masochist that I am, I chose to watch a movie … Continue reading Wounds
In the Tall Grass
Release: Friday, October 4, 2019 (Netflix) →Netflix Written by: Vincenzo Natali Directed by: Vincenzo Natali Last year Netflix inadvertently triggered the Bird Box Challenge, which set a new standard for stupidity when it comes to audience interaction/reaction. This year it's given us another curio ripe for parody in the form of Vincenzo Natali's In the Tall Grass. A horror film … Continue reading In the Tall Grass
Month in Review: September ’19
I don't really know what happened, but in September I found a bit more rhythm and motivation to put up content. Maybe I was starting to feel guilty calling myself a "blogger" by putting up nothing but empty wrap-around posts and the occasional streamed review (see August -- that was dire!). I have been one … Continue reading Month in Review: September ’19
I Am Mother
Release: Friday, June 7, 2019 →Netflix Written by: Michael Lloyd Green Directed by: Grant Sputore I Am Mother is another movie ideally suited for those of us already harboring a healthy distrust of robots. An often disconcerting experience, this post-apocalyptic thriller from Australian and first-time director Grant Sputore uses the relationship between a matronly AI and her flesh-and-blood daughter to … Continue reading I Am Mother
Ad Astra
Release: Friday, September 20, 2019 →Theater Written by: Ethan Gross; James Gray Directed by: James Gray Ad Astra is not the increasingly familiar, inspiring saga of human achievement the marketing has been pitching it as. It's something much more honest and intriguing -- a terrifyingly lonely quest for truth that dares put us in our place and puts potential limits … Continue reading Ad Astra
