There are basically two elements of a music documentary that determine its quality for me. The first is the story. Tell me stuff I've never heard before and would never really know other than by doing independent research. The world of the music industry, particularly from the mid-20th century on, is a fascinating and endless … Continue reading The Greatest Band You’ve Never Heard Of – The Sparks Brothers
I feel like singing. It doesn't happen all that often, but every once in a while, a movie comes along that puts a song in my heart. I was just as surprised as anyone else that this would be the one to do it, but I cannot deny it when inspiration strikes. So sit back, … Continue reading Crime Continues to Pay – Cruella
First off, I just want to deliver a brief apology for the delay in this review. I saw this movie a few weeks ago, but then spent about two weeks covering this year's Brooklyn Film Festival for my friends at "No Rest for the Weekend." I'll have a recap post in the coming days, but … Continue reading Sounds Easy Enough – A Quiet Place Part II
I apologize if that headline is not grammatically correct. My knowledge of Spanish is comprised entirely of what I remember from Sesame Street and the Taco Bell menu, so I'm relying on Google Translate and hoping the conjugation is right. Anyhoo, after a surprisingly kick-ass trailer for this movie, as noted in the May edition … Continue reading Morir Las Vegas! – Army of the Dead
Today is Memorial Day, the day where Americans honor their fallen military over the course of our history. We're also living in an era where fascism is once again on the rise, anti-Semitism runs rampant, and certain seats of government throughout the country are working with increased zeal to dismantle the very foundations of representative … Continue reading Five Stages of the Third Reich – Final Account
There's an odd weather condition in southern California known as the "June Gloom." Here in SoCal it's a bit of an annual tease. Sometimes we're in drought conditions, and some years we're not, but in either case, we basically only get rain during the winter months, occasionally dipping into April. But once spring is in … Continue reading This Film is Not Yet Watchable – June 2021
Going into this review, I need to make one thing perfectly clear. I have not seen the entire Saw series leading up to this point. I've seen the original, which I actually rank among my all-time favorite horror movies. I enjoyed Cary Elwes' performance, I liked the central conceit of giving bad people a chance … Continue reading Going Around in Circles – Spiral: From the Book of Saw
It's been a month since what may have been the most batshit Oscars ceremony ever, and a lot of that train wreck was necessitated by the world's adjustment to the COVID-19 pandemic. Timelines got shifted, streaming movies became an option, and the need for social distancing resulted in the whole affair being awkwardly staged at … Continue reading Somewhat Back to Normal – 94th Oscars Announced!
Tyler Sheridan has carved himself quite a nice little niche in the neo-Western movement. From his days acting on Sons of Anarchy, to his lauded scripts for Sicario and Hell or High Water, he's more than established himself as having a uniquely fun understanding of both sides of the law, and how to depict it … Continue reading A Delayed Burn – Those Who Wish Me Dead
Guy Ritchie and Jason Statham have been quite the dynamic duo over the last two decades, particularly Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, which were Statham's first roles overall. The two have an understanding bordering on rapport when they work together, filling in each other's creative gaps with ease. Statham isn't the best … Continue reading Shoot Up and Drive – Wrath of Man
I Actually Paid To See This 