By Ali Moosavi. Politics is a dirty game, no matter which side of the table you’re on.” –Brian Skiba There is a certain genre of film which, perhaps unkindly, can be called “Budget Action”. These are not the big budget action movies starring Keanu Reeves or Tom Cruise; or even […]
Tradition Thriving on the “Bloody” Frontier: The Pale Door
By Matthew Sorrento. Co-writer/director Aaron B. Koontz’s perceptiveness for the Western genre makes The Pale Door into a worthy hybrid horror.” It must be an assignment in a screenwriting course somewhere, or maybe a guidebook: “From Dusk to Dawn It” – begin your script as road movie, and bring your […]
Dickens, With Added Wit: Armando Ianucci’s Recipe for The Personal History of David Copperfield
By Elias Savada. Bold, delightful, and eternally optimistic, The Personal History of David Copperfield is very clever indeed, without a hint of Victorian stuffiness.” It’s been filmed, telefeatured, and serialized for tv more than a dozen times, but the new version of the Charles Dickens classic from director Armando Ianucci gives it […]
Hey Guys, Where Have You Been? Bill & Ted Face the Music
By Elias Savada. Here’s an inane and silly tonic, one that might lift people’s souls in these sad times. Like Santa Claus coming down the chimney at Christmas, Bill & Ted Face the Music offers a crazed, intoxicating gift” It’s been nearly three decades since Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter […]
What We Already Know, Too Well – Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump
By Michael Sandlin. Dan Partland’s well-intended but flawed documentary has at least done its democratic duty and created a forum for these previously silenced psychiatrists to outline just how much of a deranged wingnut Donald Trump really is.” In some ways, it seems almost unfair to single out Donald Trump […]
“Middle of the Road” Survival: Brendan Walsh’s Centigrade
By Thomas Puhr. Maybe not all true stories, however incredible, are well suited for cinematic adaptation; I would rather have seen a documentary about these events.” It’s becoming increasingly difficult to separate new films from COVID-19. Any 2020 release in which characters find themselves confined to small spaces (Relic) or […]
A Total Vision: The Twilight Zone by Barry Keith Grant (TV Milestone Series)
“The Monsters are Due on Maple Street” (1.22, 4 March 1960) A Book Review by Ali Moosavi. Grant states that his aim was to ‘offer the most productive and comprehensive account of The Twilight Zone possible.’ He has undoubtedly succeeded….” The Twilight Zone, created by Rod Serling, is undoubtedly one […]
Last Stop for the Train to Busan: Yeon Sang-ho’s Peninsula
By Elias Savada. All the things that made the original so great are lacking in its new CGI-heavy follow-up. Its heart is still pumping with adrenaline, though” You know the saying. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. The problem with South Korean fillmmaker Yeon Sang-ho’s new zombie […]
When Man Becomes Animal: Jimmy Henderson’s The Prey
By Thomas Puhr. Henderson version of Connell’s ‘The Most Dangerous Game’ quickly ditches visual fluidity once the hunt begins and instead settles for a series of repetitive shootouts and sequences of aimless wandering” With its brisk pacing, memorable characters (Count Zaroff is a blueprint for countless villains), and tailored-for-classroom-discussion themes […]
In Search of the “Sonic Novum”: The Sound of Things to Come: An Audible History of the Science Fiction Film by Trace Reddell
Decoder (1984) By Tony Williams. Much of value appears in this book, and the hard read required is often worth it to discover some unique insights.” Emerging from the prestigious University of Minnesota Press, The Sound of Things to Come is a weighty tome in more than one sense. As […]