Indie Reviews
Now Streaming: TALES OF HALLOWEEN, Good Scary Stories, Well Told
Horror anthologies have made a pretty healthy comeback in the last few years; some are ok, some are regrettable, and some have awesome production values as well as good stories, such as Tales Of Halloween. Created by director Axelle Carolyn,...
Review: FIST OF FEAR, TOUCH OF DEATH, Bruce Lee Goes Karate Crazy
Fred Williamson, Ron Van Clief, and Adolph Caesar appear in a prime example of Bruceploitation from 1980, directed by Matthew Mallinson and heading to Blu-ray.
Now Streaming: HAUNTERS: THE ART OF THE SCARE, Rather Disturbing Reality
Jon Schnitzer's documentary, now streaming on Shudder, is rather riveting to watch.
Review: SERVANTS, Visually Captivating Artful Period Film About Persecution
The visual storytelling takes over the verbal narration in Ivan Ostrochovský's sophomore feature fiction film about Church's collaboration and Communist persecution.
Now Streaming: SOME KIND OF HATE, Supernatural Slasher Delivers Bloody Justice
Ronen Rubinstein and Grace Phipps star in Adam Egypt Mortimer's debut feature from 2015, new on Shudder.
Miami 2020 Review: FABULOUS, Likes, Dislikes, and Rivalry
I'm amazed at all the social media apps there are to engage with friends and strangers (and I gave up trying to keep up after Instagram). And apps like Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok,YouTube, and I'm sure more that I don't know...
Miami 2020 Review: AND THE BIRDS RAINED DOWN, Life and Love in Isolation
Maybe it's the current state of the world, but I often find myself thinking about running away from civilization, or at least, moving to the outermost fringes off it. Finding some activity to generate a small income, living in peace...
Miami 2020 Review: THEY CALL ME DR. MIAMI, The Man and the Outrageous Image
I read a quote once that was attributed to Cher, in regards to her plastic surgeries: "If I want to put my tits on my back, that's nobody's business but my own." Whether she actually said it or not, I...
Miami 2020 Review: THE SLEEPWALKERS, Family Constraints and Subtle Patriarchy
There's an old stereotype that girls are harder to raise than boys. While this may be true, I think it's not because girls are more difficult, but that our world and society makes life harder for girls. They learn far...
Miami 2020 Review: WHITE LIE, The Finer Details of the Con
Everyone wants to be loved. Many people also want attention and love from strangers. In our social media age that gives us access to strangers around the world, the allure of the like, the retweet, the reply, can be irresistable....
Miami 2020 Review: PACIFIED, Hope and Resignation in the Favelas
American director Paxton Winters spent seven years with the community of Morro dos Prazeres, one of the many favelas that encapsulate Rio de Jainero. Anyone familiar with Brazilian cinema will know these as the home of the working class and...
Now Streaming: LOST GIRLS Sheds Dramatic Light on a Little Known, True-Crime Mystery
Amy Ryan, Thomasin McKenzie, and Gabriel Byrne star in director Liz Garbus' dramatic mystery, now streaming on Netflix.
Miami 2020 Review: LOS LOBOS, A World Too Big and Too Small
A new country, a new city, a new home, can mean hope for renewal and improvement; but it can also mean despair and desperation. For the thousands of people who have crossed the Mexico/USA border, forced to leave their countries...
Miami 2020 Review: THE LAST RAFTER, The Search for Home
For years, many Cubans risked life and limb to cross the near 200-kilometre stretch between their island and the United States, in motorboats, row boats, and handmade rafts. A particular policy, colloquially named ‘Wet Foot Dry Foot’, allowed Cubans a...
Review: THE HUNT, Satirical Action Thriller Takes Aim at Divisive America
Betty Gilpin stars in an entertaining action-thriller, directed by Craig Zobel.
Miami 2020 Review: CHARM CITY KINGS, The Family We Have, The Family We Make
Mouse (Jahi Di'Allo Winston) loves two things above all else: animals and dirt bikes. His natural affinity for caring leads him to a part-time job at a local veterinary clinic, but now that summer has arrived, his Sundays will be...
Miami 2020 Review: ARAB BLUES, Cultures Clash in Modern Tunisia
For many first-generation immigrants, or those taken to another country at a young age, the place they could call 'home' is often difficult (not least if you're a person of colour raised in a predominantly white culture). Do you continue...
Berlinale 2020 Review: THERE IS NO EVIL, Country Eating Its Children
Banned filmmaker "spreads propaganda against the Islamic government" portraying the mechanism of the complicity run by an authoritarian and oppressive regime.
Berlinale 2020 Review: NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS, Not Another Teenage Abortion Drama
Eliza Hittman delivers empathic and intimate drama transcending the central subject of teenage abortion.
Miami 2020 Review: EDUARDO AND MONICA, A Charming and Charmed Love Ballad
The how and why of love is one of life's great eternal mysteries. Thousands of books, songs, works of art, films, have been made on the subject, and we're still no closer to an answer. But then, there is no...
