Reviews

Udine 2024 Review: CITIZEN OF A KIND, A New Kind of Hero Rises in Delightful Female-Centric Vigilante Drama

If its films and dramas are to be believed, South Korea is a land teeming with vigilantes. They are typically brooding, sharply dressed and very attractive characters with dark pasts who mete out justice with brute strength or elaborate schemes,...

Now Streaming: CITY HUNTER, Lighthearted Fanservice Adventure, Swamped By Blood

Ryohei Suzuki and Misato Morita star in the Netflix Original film, based on Tsukasa Hojo's manga series.

THE FEELING THAT THE TIME FOR DOING SOMETHING HAS PASSED Review: Comedic Discomfort in Millenial Ennui

While ennui and angst are common to many generations, I can imagine it could be much more accute among millenials - anything that might have been considered a 'normal' life gave up the ghost before they came of age. They're...

THE KING TIDE Review: The Fable of a Miracle Gone Wrong

Living in a harsh landscape, somewhat apart and isolated, means you make certain choices about how much assistance you will receive, and how much protection you will offer your community. It also means that legends can grow up around people...

THE BIG DOOR PRIZE S2 Review: Entering The Next Stage

Chris O'Dowd, Gabrielle Dennis, Ally Maki, Damon Gupton, Josh Segarra, Crystal Fox, Sammy Fourlas and Djouliet Amara star in the Apple TV Plus series.

Fantaspoa 2024 Review: THE COMPLEX FORMS, How Classic Auteur Cinema Would Be If It Had More Monsters

Strange things are happening at an ancient villa in the literal middle of nowhere. A bunch of men are gathered here, all of them with a peculiar contract. A middle-aged man named Christian (David White) is in the process of...

Calgary Underground 2024 Review: HUMANE, The Family That Slays Together Stays Together

Apocalypses in Canadian cinema tend to occur in slow motion, and have a subversive touch of quiet absurdity. The two undisputed classics of the genre are Don McKellar’s Last Night, and Bruce McDonald’s Pontypool. Caitlin Cronenberg aims for that lofty...

PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK 4K Review: Wow. Wow. Wow.

Peter Weir's magical mystery tour from 1975 looks like it was released today in the incredible-looking Criterion Collection 4K edition. This is why Australia is called "Oz."

THE MINISTRY OF UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE Review: Real-Life WWII Superspies Get the Guy Ritchie Treatment

With three films in four years, Guy Ritchie (Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant, Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, The Wrath of Man) has proven himself nothing if not prolific, specifically of broadly appealing, easily digestible, ultimately forgettable entertainments. As surface-deep as...

HANKY PANKY Review: Cheap, Dumb, Delightful

Lindsey Haun and Nick Roth directed the horror comedy, available April 19 on VOD. "It's a silly movie that just wants to make its audience smile, and it succeeds."

ABIGAIL Review: Ballet Gets Bloody Entertaining

It's a juggling act to get an entertaining horror film - one that's fun, funny, yet still scary, with a good share of violence and gore, a decent story with snappy dialogue, and a monster that an audience can root...

SASQUATCH SUNSET Review: Sometimes Comical, Sometimes Profound, Sometimes Meaningful

Riley Keough and Jesse Eisenberg star in a new film by directors David and Nathan Zellner.

THE COFFEE TABLE Review: Wallowing in Its Own Original Mess

New parents Jesus and Maria, still in the nesting phase after moving into a new apartment, need a new coffee table. Engaging with, or rather enduring, one of the oiliest, least competent, salesmen imaginable, it quickly becomes clear that the...

Fantaspoa 2024 Review: THE ISLAND BETWEEN TIDES, Supernatural Mind-Teaser About Time, Ghosts and Complicated Relationships

When Lily (Remy Marthaller) was a child, she followed a mysterious melody and wandered onto a tidal island, disappearing for several days – though, when she returned, she claimed she was actually gone for mere minutes. Sixteen years later, it’s...

TO DIE FOR 4K Review: This Film Kills

Nicole Kidman, Joaquin Phoenix, and Casey Affleck commit murder for fame and sex in Gus Van Sant's frigid satire.

Fantaspoa 2024 Review: MASTERGAME (Mesterjátszma), Visually Compelling Thriller with Chess, Trains and Bathroom Fights

It’s November 1956, and Russian tanks have just invaded Budapest, crushing the revolution. A young couple, István (Gergely Váradi) and Márta (Varga-Járó Sára), rushes for the last train that can get them out of the country. When aboard, they are...

Now Streaming: FRANKLIN, Tim Van Patten Elevates Historical Series

Michael Douglas stars as Benjamin Franklin, celebrity diplomat, in the limited series, debuting globally on Apple TV+.

Now Streaming: FALLOUT, Jonathan Nolan Elevates Video Game Series to High Art, Briefly

Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten, and Walton Goggins star in the Prime Video series.

Panic Fest 2024 Review: THE BUILDOUT, Beautiful Meditation on Grief and Friendship

Writer/director Zeshaan Younus' feature debut flirts with genre in the same way Tarkovsky and Malick flirt with genre.  The film follows two friends as they venture into the mysterious remote area in a vast Southern California desert that a religious...

IN FLAMES Review: The Supernatural Meets Patriarchal Conditioning

The term 'gaslighting' is now quite ubiquitous, and one which still remains scoffed at by many (usually those who hold power). But if you're a member of a marginalized group, that gaslighting could come not just from one person, but...