One of the sad side effects of the COVID pandemic was the complete reshuffling of the movie release schedule, by necessity, due to the shuttering of theatres nationwide. Some films went online, others got delayed multiple times, and some appear to be all but abandoned at this point. For me, the biggest hit was that … Continue reading Same Old Song and Dance – Respect
First things first, my apologies for not getting this column out sooner, as we're already into Labor Day Weekend, and some of the "films" (air quotes) mentioned here have already been released. The last few weeks have been insanely busy with my 9-to-5, leaving very little time to take care of business here. I still … Continue reading This Film is Not Yet Watchable – September 2021
It really is amazing to me how wide the chasm of quality is between movies based on existing video games and those based on the general ideas and concepts of video games. In my near-40 years, I've only enjoyed two direct adaptations, the 1995 Mortal Kombat, which as I've noted was a perfect storm of … Continue reading He’s Your Buddy, Friend! – Free Guy
I mentioned in my review of The Sparks Brothers (which remains the best theatrically-released documentary I've seen this year) that one of the few setbacks for Ron and Russ Mael in their careers was the collapse of a collaboration with director Tim Burton on a feature film. However, as noted, even that heartbreak has since … Continue reading A Puppet Cheer – Annette
There's a common saying in the pop culture community regarding great character actors. They're grouped together as "That Guy"s, people we see all the time, across tons of movies and TV, but for the most part their names aren't often remembered except by fans until they get their moment in the sun to play a … Continue reading A Good Day to Dye – Swan Song
Over the last few years, the DC Extended Universe has seemingly - and finally - come into its own. With dud after dud from Batman v. Superman to Justice League, the ship really feels like its been righted, thanks to the overwhelming success of Wonder Woman, Birds of Prey, and Shazam!. There's still a misstep … Continue reading This is What Happens When You Try – The Suicide Squad
Tom McCarthy has proven himself as a thoughtful and insightful writer and director over the last two decades. The crowning achievement of both was Spotlight, which won him an Oscar for Original Screenplay as well as Best Picture. It's one of the greatest films of the century so far, highlighting the yeoman's work that goes … Continue reading A Complete and Total Knox-off – Stillwater
A couple years ago I got to briefly meet director David Lowery at a Q&A following his film, The Old Man & the Gun. As much as I enjoyed the film, I was captivated by Lowery's reverence for Robert Redford as an actor, and for the Western film genre that he was both deconstructing and … Continue reading It’s Not Easy Being Gawain – The Green Knight
I've mentioned before that one of my favorite movies is Hirokazu Kore-eda's After Life from 1998, easily one of the most profound existential explorations ever put to celluloid. In it, a group of dead social workers welcome the souls of the recently deceased to a way station of sorts, where they spend a week interviewing … Continue reading Live to Work, Work to Live – Nine Days
In many ways M. Night Shyamalan is a perfect representation of his hometown of Philadelphia. He's a foundational figure in modern cinema, with both a reverence for the traditions that made him and an idealism for what could be. Despite myriad talents, he often gets overlooked compared to other big city directors, never quite getting … Continue reading Life’s a Beach, Then You Die – Old
