By Elias Savada. Cruise and company battle an out-of-control sentient AI creation called ‘the Entity,’ which seems to have no weak points and quite a global advantage…. Preposterous? You bet. Fun? Of course!” All the movie magic and stunt work you’ve grown to admire in the Mission: Impossible series comes […]
Clocking Out after 42 Years: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
By Elias Savada. For the most part Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny captures the frantic life of its central character — whether he wants it or not — racing around the planet for pieces of its past. It’s a grand send off.” The tired, gruff archeology teacher is […]
Wickedly Funny Adventure Awaits: The Flash
By Elias Savada. The never-ending humor, miracle casting, excellent action sequences, bright script, and spot-on direction offer its audience a wonderful undertaking at the multi-plex.” The continuing rebirth of Warner Bros.’ DC Universe, and the “true beginning of the DCU” announced by James Gunn, the DC Studios co-CEO and mastermind […]
A Short, Sweet Dream: Theodore Schaefer’s Giving Birth to a Butterfly (2021)
By Thomas M. Puhr. Pleasantly rough around the edges and anchored by two strong female performances, the co-writer and director’s feature debut offers a bit more than homage but never quite escapes its influences.” David Lynch has become a convenient (and sometimes lazy) point of comparison for any film with […]
“When the Music’s Over” – Jim Morrison: The Genius of an Unsung Filmmaker
A Book Review by Jonathan Monovich. Author Fabrizio Federico argues that Morrison’s ultimate goal was to encourage self-discovery and help listeners think freely in an era defined by chaos.” Though best best known as the singer of The Doors, Jim Morrison’s tumultuous life could have ended up quite differently had […]
Mastering the Multiverse –Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
By Matthew Sorrento. It’s invigorating to see a broad entertainment reach the heights of cinema’s visual potential.” While preparing the classic horror comedy Re-Animator, producer Brian Yunza had his director Stuart Gordon and other team members sit for a marathon VHS film festival of recent horror. The purpose: to top […]
Our Only Physical Carrier: Claire Simon’s Our Body (Notre Corps)
By Yun-hua Chen. A natural continuation of Simon’s perpetual quest to intimately connect with humans in various conditions and manifestations.” From life’s inception to its inevitable conclusion, from the intricate tissues within us to the complexities of our identities, Claire Simon’s Our Body looks into the gynecological experience with remarkable […]
A Picture of Then and Now: Risto Jarva’s Time of Roses (1969)
By Jeremy Carr. A seemingly intact image is a big lie”— This assertively obstruse line comes at the beginning of Time of Roses (Ruusujen Aika), which is itself, particularly at the beginning, a rather obstruse film. But as the picture progresses, the ostensibly elliptical declaration becomes central to what emerges […]
Scared Stiff: Ari Aster’s Beau is Afraid (2023)
By James Slaymaker. The prospect of Aster breaking away from the restrictions of a three-act generic formula may initially sound promising, offering Aster the opportunity to liberate his style and delve into more unbridled filmmaking territory; unfortunately, however, Beau is Afraid feels just as airless and over-calculated as the efforts that preceded […]
Notes from Uncanny Valley: Franklin Ritch’s The Artifice Girl (2022)
By Thomas M. Puhr. Franklin Ritch’s feature debut hinges on its ability to make you think you’re watching one kind of movie before becoming another, and then another. If you like cerebral, speculative science-fiction, then you should seek this one out.” The first lines of dialogue in The Artifice Girl […]