I must begin this review, as I have done on several occasions, with an apology. I saw Mickey 17 over a week ago, and was planning to review it this past Wednesday, after a well-earned brief respite following the Oscar Blitz, where I posted for 51 consecutive days. It was meant to be a short … Continue reading The Working Dead – Mickey 17
I've always been a fan of Clint Eastwood, both as an actor and as a filmmaker. He's given some of the most electric performances in cinema history, and has directed some all-timers in the likes of Unforgiven, Million Dollar Baby, The Outlaw Josey Wales, Letters from Iwo Jima, and Changeling. However, as he's gotten on … Continue reading Presumed Guilty – Juror #2
If you're a regular reader, you know that I have a few default settings when it comes to how I judge movies. Like any human being I'm not always 100% consistent in my takes, as one, there are exceptions to every rule, and two, sometimes I just forget in the moment depending on how a … Continue reading A Shot Across Disney’s Bow – Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken
When I named The Estate as this month's "Redemption Reel," I may have oversold things. Reading it over again, in three paragraphs it might seem like I was pre-endorsing the film as one of the great comedies of the year, and if that's how it came off, I apologize. Mostly I was just delighted to … Continue reading Slags to Riches – The Estate
Things tend to get hectic this time of year. We're firmly into Awards Season, with the various studios all jockeying for position as they campaign to the Academy and outright bribe the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The International Feature entries start seeping into theatres, both independent and mainstream. As the holidays approach, there's an absolute … Continue reading This Film is Not Yet Watchable – November 2022
One of my favorite films of all time is the 1932 pre-Code horror film, Freaks. Like many of the great "monster" movies of the age, the film succeeds because of its very sympathetic treatment of the carnival workers that make up the bulk of its cast, asking the crucial, "Who is the real monster?" question … Continue reading Can You Read My Mind? – Nightmare Alley
Sometimes you just need two hours to feel good watching a movie. You don't need nomination-worthy performances, or spectacular scenery, or even an above average screenplay. Every once in a while, all you need is a couple of decent laughs and a formulaic plot to make you smile. That's what we get with Dream Horse, … Continue reading The Course of a Horse – Dream Horse
Let's just state the plain and honest truth. 2020 was the shittiest year any of us have experienced. Everything closed, Donald Trump tried to lead an insurrection, and 1 out of every 1,000 Americans died from a virus that could have been mitigated - if not contained - if we had a competent government response … Continue reading The Best (and Worst) of 2020, Way After the Fact
Summer has come and passed... you know the rest. Go wake up Billie Joe Armstrong, already. The autumn air is upon us, more theatres are opening up (except for Regal, which is closing some 350 locations, many of them permanently), and the deluge of online-only content is starting to abate. More films are getting their … Continue reading DownStream – Cruel Summer
Two years ago, Rian Johnson directed Star Wars - Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, arguably the most polarizing film in the entire saga. Some loved it, others hated it. As for me personally, I rated it as my #10 film of 2017 in one of the first ever posts I wrote on this blog. I wasn't … Continue reading Slashing Throats and Genre Conventions – Knives Out
I Actually Paid To See This 