Jeremy Saulnier, the mind behind recent indie thriller successes Blue Ruin and Green Room, began his feature directorial career in 2007 with the low-budget horror comedy Murder Party. In it, a man (Chris Sharp) finds an invitation to a Halloween “murder party,” makes himself a cardboard knight costume, and ventures to the secluded warehouse where the party is taking place.
Instead of a costume party, though, the loner Christopher finds himself a Continue reading Murder Party (2007) Movie Review
A recent early review of Ouija: Origin of Evil—the unasked for sequel to 2014’s Ouija—by the A.V. Club is entitled “Ouija: Origin of Evil is much better than it needs to be.” Indeed, critic Katie Rife describes director Mike Flanagan’s (Oculus, Hush) film as “more thoughtful and more meticulously crafted than it needs to be.”
The remainder of the review is more conventional, about what one would expect from a horror movie review. What is most troubling about this review is Continue reading Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016) Movie Review
Christopher Guest has made a career out of droll, talking-head mockumentary films that satirize naive, self-centered hopefuls in one career or another. While the formula has certainly worked for Guest in the past, there is a precipitous threshold over which the deadpan ensemble piece becomes reductive.
Mascots is Best in Show with people in costumes. The ensemble of eccentric sports mascots travel to the annual mascot competition to compete for the Golden Fluffy award. Many of Guest’s go-to players return: Continue reading Mascots (2016) Movie Review
Off the coast of Japan, a massive “anomalous” underwater volcano causes damage to the underground tunnel system and arouses the attention of the Prime Minister and his cabinet. But is it really a volcano…
Of course, it is really the most famous of all kaiju: Godzilla. Shin Godzilla (or Godzilla Resurgence as it is being dubbed in the West) is the first Continue reading Shin Godzilla (2016) Movie Review
STDs are inherently scary. But there are STDs, and then there are…stranger STDs. Sam (Najarra Townsend) attends the party of an old friend, reluctantly drinking as she waits for her girlfriend Nikki (Katie Stegeman) to arrive. When she doesn’t, she is instead coaxed into the car of a creepy, standoffish man. From the next morning forward, nothing is quite the same for Sam.
Contracted takes an interesting perspective on sexuality in light of Continue reading Contracted (2013) Movie Review
It’s Christmas in October at CineFiles, as we watch last year’s Krampus, a film about the eponymous antithesis of Santa Claus, a half-goat, half-demon who punishes naughty children during the holiday season.
In Krampus, we meet a strained nuclear family: the workaholic father who Continue reading Krampus (2015) Movie Review
We continue our Halloween Horror trilogy, in which we discuss the three films oft-recommended by Stuart Wellington on the comedy podcast The Flop House. In this installment, we talk about Head of the Family, an exploitation horror film in its truest form.
The person behind Full Moon Features, home to many Continue reading The Flop House Trilogy: Head of the Family (1996) Movie Review
Nate Parker’s directorial debut has been steeped in conversation since its premiere at Sundance. First it was a conversation of high praise: standing ovations and the timely antidote to #OscarsSoWhite controversy. Then, it became a conversation of divisive controversy involving the personal life of the director himself. What is most important in this roller coaster conversation should be the film itself. So let’s talk about that.
Nat Turner (Parker) is a slave in 19th century Virginia. The film, however, is more readily powerful when it Continue reading The Birth of a Nation (2016) Movie Review
Rachel (Emily Blunt) has an overactive imagination, living vicariously in her mind through the fantasy lives of strangers that she sees from her daily train commute. In particular, she is fascinated by a couple whose true lives are far less glamorous than the sex appeal that is seen as a blip on the passing train.
The Girl on the Train is a mystery of sorts, but it is more akin to Continue reading The Girl on the Train (2016) Movie Review
Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck), once an army brat raised under the strict militaristic rule of his father, is a crackpot accountant whose Asperger’s syndrome and radical upbringing create an eccentric skill set.
Armed with a poorly-motivated narrative deadline—do the job in time or go to jail—Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) is an analyst in the Treasury Department tasked with finding a “black money” operator who has worked with numerous terrorist cells, a man who is none other than Christian Wolff.
The narrative of The Accountant weaves in and out of chronologies, perhaps needlessly, in order to Continue reading The Accountant (2016) Movie Review
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