In an indefinite future, cybernetic enhancements have become a growing trend. On the forefront of this advancement is Major (Scarlett Johansson), a human mind placed into a robotic shell. To some, the perfect weapon.
The premise of Ghost in the Shell leaves the narrative bleeding with Continue reading Ghost in the Shell (2017) Movie Review
The Dark Tapes is an independent found footage horror anthology. It is a film in the same family as the V/H/S films, The ABCs of Death, and the recent XX. The difference between those films and this is that, while other anthology films split its work among multiple directors who each take on a self-contained short, The Dark Tapes is a film written by one screenwriter (Michael McQuown, who also shares directorial credit with Vincent Guastini).
As such, the frame narrative should share some cohesion across the film. The immediate impression, thus, is that the various “chapters” bleed together. Glitches transition between the shorts on the “tape.”
What this does at first is cause Continue reading The Dark Tapes (2017) Movie Review
A family of three move into a quaint rural home that was once the site of a double homicide, perpetrated at the hands of a man (Pruitt Taylor Vince) who hears the voice of the devil in his head.
Jesse Hellman (Ethan Embry), father and husband, is a contract painter and metalhead. He’s a young-at-heart, hippie-looking pot smoker who hates painting flowers for banks. And he also picked the wrong house to move into.
Sean Byrne, whose directorial debut The Loved Ones provided an Continue reading The Devil’s Candy (2017) Movie Review
After a practical joke goes wrong, Jason Scott (Dacre Montgomery) has to come to detention every Saturday in order to graduate. There, he meets a prep-turned-punk Kimberly (Naomi Scott) and an “on the spectrum” nerd Billy (RJ Cyler).
When Billy helps Jason with his house arrest bracelet problem, Jason agrees to drive Billy to an abandoned quarry, which happens to be the site of Continue reading Power Rangers (2017) Movie Review
In anticipation of April’s release of The Fate of the Furious, the eighth installment in the The Fast and the Furious franchise, CineFiles is taking a retrospective look back on all of the series’ films. In this edition, we look at the third entry into the series (but the sixth film chronologically?), The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift is widely considered the black sheep of the now incredibly successful Fast & Furious franchise. This is due mainly to the film’s tangential narrative from what has essentially become a testosterone-infused soap opera.
But let’s not judge a book by its preconceived notions.
Tokyo Drift opens on a car race over the ownership of a woman. So…it’s not looking good so far. Unlike the previous two Fast & Furious films, however, this opening race Continue reading The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) Movie Review
At CineFiles, we like to stay current. We try our very best to see the big new releases right as they come out, so that we can get reviews out to you lovely readers in a timely manner. This task is not always easy, especially given that our choice of pronoun can be deceiving in terms of number agreement.
So, yeah, we didn’t see Lights Out last Summer. What’s it to you?
All joking aside, Lights Out is the number one genre movie that I regret not seeing last year. As such, I’m back almost a year later to pick up the slack. I watched Lights Out (thanks, Cinemax), so let’s talk about it.
Lights Out is the feature length film from David F. Sandberg adapted from the short film by David F. Sandberg. The short film is an intriguing game of Continue reading Lights Out (2016) Movie Review
In anticipation of the release of Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant, CineFiles is looking back on the Alien franchise as a whole. Today, we look at James Cameron’s sequel film Aliens, a film that takes the formula of the 1979 original film and spins it in a new direction.
57 years after the events of Ridley Scott’s Alien, Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) wakes up from stasis. The only survivor of the Nostromo incident, Ripley accompanies a crew of military to LV-426, the planet where the Nostromo first encountered the eponymous creature.
Like the 1979 original, Aliens begins with characterization by way of politics. The heads of the mission, both military and civilian, sit at a different table at the mess hall while the army grunts act amateurish nearby. The characters adhere more to Continue reading Aliens (1986) Movie Review
Big Ape. Island. 1970s Vietnam backdrop. Movie. Synopsis over.
Kong: Skull Island is a Vietnam era period piece, something that acts as an important backdrop in the film. The stereotypes of U.S. in 1970s wartime dictate exposition and characterization.
The setup of Kong is messy in its expediency. A constant underscore of period relevant soundtrack keep conversations short and lacking in anything more than political platitudes.
Characters, as a result of this expediency and poor scripting, are Continue reading Kong: Skull Island (2017) Movie Review
As a precursor to the April 14 release of The Fate of the Furious, the eighth film in the Fast & Furious franchise, CineFiles is taking a look back at the 16 years of Fast films, starting here with 2001’s The Fast and the Furious.
What can be said about a film centering around underground drag racing, in which characters risk their lives for the respect of the win? Hopefully a lot given that film spawned a billion dollar franchise.
The Fast and the Furious, as a franchise, has developed into an enigmatic phenomenon of action schlock. But in 2001, The Fast and the Furious the film was merely a Continue reading The Fast and the Furious (2001) Movie Review
In preparation for the May 19 release of Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant, CineFiles is taking a retrospective look at all of the Alien films. To begin, we look at the 1979 original, Alien. The film is largely heralded as a classic, and for good reason. Let’s get into it.
Ridley Scott’s Alien is, perhaps, the perfect horror movie. The best? Now that is up for debate. But it is inarguably Continue reading Alien (1979) Movie Review
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