Movies I wish I had skipped. This could be for any number of reasons: the film was made sloppily, the narrative didn’t engage me, or I simply could not connect with the film in any way for whatever reason.
The found footage horror film The Houses October Built begins with documentary archival footage and inter-titles that describe how dangerous haunted house attractions can be.
This intro is appropriate, given that the film is a restructuring of a 2011 documentary film by the same filmmakers. It is seemingly impossible to find a copy of this documentary, so one can only assume that Continue reading The Houses October Built (2014) Movie Review
American Assassin opens on Mitch Rapp (Dylan O’Brien), our handsome action hero, proposing to his girlfriend (Charlotte Vega) on a beach in Spain. Because we need Rapp to become a grizzled action hero with a chip on his shoulder, decked out in a scraggly beard so that we know he’s in grief, his girlfriend has to die in a random act of violence.
Enter the CIA in the form of the dueling ideologies of Irene Kennedy (Sanaa Lathan) and Stan Hurley (Michael Keaton). They recruit Rapp in an elite anti-terrorism unit, a unit so cutthroat that it Continue reading American Assassin (2017) Movie Review
In the New York Post review of Darren Aronofsky’s new feature film Mother!, critic Sara Stewart calls the film “a Rorschach test of a movie to interpret however you like.” Not only is this statement accurate, but it is the fatal flaw that sinks this unwieldy monster of a film.
There is so much to unpack with Mother! that it becomes not a question of “what?” but a question of Continue reading Mother! (2017) Movie Review
In Kodachrome, Matt Ryder (Jason Sudeikis) is an arrogant, childish talent agent for musicians. When he loses one of his premiere acts, he finds himself on the verge of losing his job. Lying his way through a conversation with his boss, he buys himself a week to book a major up-and-coming act.
He can get a meeting with this act in Chicago, but only if he accompanies his dying, irate, and estranged father Ben (Ed Harris) to Continue reading Kodachrome (2017) Movie Review (TIFF 2017)
At the world premiere of Morgan Spurlock’s latest documentary—a sequel to Super Size Me, the film that put him on the map—Spurlock dialed the PR knob to 11 by providing the audience with a free meal from his new restaurant venture “Holy Chicken.”
The food truck outside of the venue served fried chicken sandwiches that looked somewhat grotesque and felt slimy to the touch. There were side choices that included fried green beans, which the charming young woman behind the counter referred to affectionately as simply “greens.” They offered soda and water (the water was dubbed “Holy Water,” perhaps because it was the closest thing to a healthy option on the menu).
Why would the man who injured his body by eating McDonald’s for 30 days straight decide to open a fast food chain? Could it be a statement on Continue reading Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken (2017) Movie Review (TIFF 2017)
In Death Note, the Netflix original film based on the anime and manga of the same name, Light Turner (Nat Wolff) stumbles upon a book that carries with it enormous power. Write someone’s name in the Death Note while picturing their face, and they will die.
Light and new love interest Mia (Margaret Qualley) use the book to Continue reading Death Note (2017) Movie Review
This review of Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury’s Inside is part of the New French Extremity Retrospective series.
Inside begins, as its title suggests, in utero, with the image of a fetus that is about to be ruptured by an unseen car wreck. Four months later, the survivors Sarah (Alysson Paradis) and her unborn child are ready for the impending birth. It is Christmas Eve, and the newly widowed Sarah is despondent about the prospect of her first baby.
An understandable apathy, to be certain. The cruelty of having one of the Continue reading Inside (2007) Movie Review
Patricia Dombrowski (Danielle Macdonald) is a 23 year old woman who lives with her mother (Bridget Everett) and grandmother (Cathy Moriarty) in suburban New Jersey. She works as a bartender, but that is not enough to make ends meet with her grandmother’s medical bills and her mother out of work. She has dreams of leaving this rundown life behind her and moving to New York to pursue her rap career.
Her boyfriend Jheri (Siddharth Dhananjay) pushes her to this end, goading her into Continue reading Patti Cakes (2017) Movie Review
Birth of the Dragon is a biopic of legendary martial arts and action film star Bruce Lee (portrayed here by Philip Ng). It tells the story of his rise to prominence in the Western world, and the confrontation between him and martial arts master Wong Jack Man (Xia Yu).
Except, Birth of the Dragon really wants to focus on Continue reading Birth of the Dragon (2017) Movie Review
Isaac is a 40-year-old out of work actor who pays his bills teaching acting classes. His girlfriend of 10 years (Judy Greer) is cheating on him. His cynical siblings (Siri Appleby and Martin Starr) see past him. His high maintenance parents (Rhea Pearlman and Fred Melamad) don’t listen to him.
One of our first exposures to Isaac is in his element as an acting teacher. On stage, Alex (Michael Cera) and Tracy (Gillian Jacobs) play out a scene until Isaac steps in. Isaac idolizes Alex, whose approach to acting is rife with farcical nonsense about colors and animals, and demeans Tracy.
This routine is a snapshot of Isaac: deep-seated anger and regret suppressed and projected onto younger talent. The manner by which he Continue reading Lemon (2017) Movie Review
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