The Farrelly brothers arguably peaked with There’s Something About Mary, a caustic slice of anti-80s nostalgia that marked the precise moment when grossout comedy started to give way to cringe comedy. We start with a parody of the 80s fetish for the 50s – a bucolic neighbourhood, where Ted Stroehman, played by Ben Stiller, is […]
Farrelly: There’s Something About Mary (1998)
Some science-fiction junkies like me might be tempted to approach the new film “Voyagers” with a touch of caution. The movie’s first trailer showed off a fairly interesting premise and a cast rich with sparkling young talent. And then you have the description going around calling it “Lord of the Flies in space” which only […]
REVIEW: “Voyagers” (2021)
Fresh off of his 78th birthday, screen legend Christopher Walken is still working and has a new movie on the way. “Percy vs Goliath” is a biographical drama that actually came out in Canada late last year. Now, ahead of its upcoming US premiere, the film has dropped a new trailer and Walken fans have […]
First glance: “Percy vs Goliath” (2021)
Melissa McCarthy’s collaborations with writer-director and husband Ben Falcone have been pretty brutal. Falcone has directed McCarthy in four previous movies. Of those, 2018’s abysmal “Life of the Party” has the highest Rotten Tomatoes score at 38%. Yes I know, review aggregators aren’t infallible and they don’t always represent the quality of a movie. I […]
REVIEW: “Thunder Force” (2021)
It took a while, but the long-delayed psychological thriller “The Woman in the Window” is finally set to see the light of day. Originally owned by 20th Century Fox, the rights then went to Disney following their acquisition of Fox. Now Netflix is set to release the film next month. It’s directed by Joe Wright […]
First Glance: “The Woman in the Window”
I reviewed Éric Rohmer’s A TALE OF SPRINGTIME for Cinefile Chicago. A restored version opens for a virtual run at the Music Box Theatre today. Éric Rohmer’s A TALE OF WINTER (France)Available to rent through the Music Box Theatre hereA TALE OF WINTER is the second film that Éric Rohmer made in his “Tales of […]
Éric Rohmer’s A TALE OF SPRINGTIME
MY CALL: It may run a bit too long, but this remains a strong recommendation for fans of hard-R graphic violence in their Sci-Fi. Plus the action effects of these robots is excellent! MORE MOVIES LIKE Monsters of Man: For more smartly written Sci-Fi killer robots, go for Chappie (2015), Black Mirror S4 segment ‘Metalhead’ […]
John’s Horror Corner: Monsters of Man (2020), a very violent killer robot Sci-Horror that is worth your time.
Disney was the big winner overall, powered by “Soul’s” five awards and “The Mandalorian’s” three.
VES Awards 2021: Netflix’s ‘The Midnight Sky’ and ‘Mank’ Take Top VFX Honors
Director Evgeny Ruman Staring Mariya Belkina, Vladimir Friedman, Evelin Hagoel Rated M Score 4/6 Victor and Raya Frenkel were the golden voices of the Soviet film dubbing for decades. All the western movies that reached Soviet screens were dubbed by them. In 1990, with the collapse of Soviet Union, the Frenkels decided to do Aliyah […]
Golden Voices
Writer and director Brenda Chapman paved the way for many women in animation. Photo by Taylor Jewell/Invision/AP found here. BIO: So maybe you’ve never heard of Brenda Chapman; you’ve almost certainly seen her work. This Illinois native has made major strides for women in animation. She was the first woman ever to direct an animated […]
Brenda Chapman (1962 – )
These are twenty-six Asian short films you shouldn’t miss at the 38th Busan International Short Film Festival which will take place from April 21st – 26th (2021) in Busan, Korea.
26 Asian short films you shouldn’t miss at the 38th Busan International Short Film Festival (Part 1)
Idris Elba is an actor I’ve always admired. Whether he’s speaking with power and passion as Nelson Mandela or declaring himself Black Superman in “Hobbs & Shaw”. He has always possessed both leading man charisma and supporting role restraint. He uses a little of both in the new Netflix drama “Concrete Cowboy”, directed by Ricky […]
REVIEW: “Concrete Cowboy” (2021)
Two first-year students (Sam Claflin, Max Irons) at Oxford University join a secret society – loosely based on the real life Bullingdon Club – and learn that their reputations can be made or destroyed over the course of one evening. This is another of those films where the premise sounded interesting. I also noticed they […]
The Riot Club (2014)
It takes a few minutes to get past the feeling that “Here Are the Young Men” isn’t a simplistic “Trainspotting” homage, some sort of boys-come-of-age, generationally-indulgent wank with an Irish accent. The characters are “types” — the rebellious lad entering the workforce with lust in his heart and a mouth always open for whatever pill […]
Movie Review: Irish lads Come of Age in a Toxic Time — “Here Are all the Young Men”
Part of me wants to sit back and just enjoy Godzilla versus Kong, but the other part of me wants to really think about what it’s doing. First of all, it’s a fun movie. It’s entertaining. There’s action and drama and comedy and all the other crap you need to have a successful movie. The […]
The changing origins of Godzilla and Kong
Her world, her secrets, her legacy….as Marvel Studios releases the new official trailer for their upcoming superhero movie Black Widow. View trailer below. In Marvel Studios’ action-packed spy thriller “Black Widow,” Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by […]
Black Widow New Official Trailer
Indecent Proposal was Adrian Lyne’s spiritual sequel to Fatal Attraction – and it’s a fascinating benchmark for how the erotic thriller had shifted in the previous six years. The genre moved so rapidly, and converged with the straight-to-video market so dramatically, that by 1993 it was already in its final throes – at least as […]
Lyne: Indecent Proposal (1993)
After dropping the more familiar narrative constraints of its first season and delving into more unknown territory, Snowpiercer manages to form its own riveting path through the snow. Through this season, the narrative and characters are propelled into so many unexpected directions that it makes this season a much more surprising and engaging watch. Right […]
SNOWPIERCER Season 2 is elevated by edge-of-seat thrills and the phenomenal presence of Sean Bean!
Beyond The Dream Hong Kong (2019) Dir. Kiwi Chow “I thought love was only true in fairy tales / Meant for someone else, but not for me” This thing called love is a fantasy for some of us, yet, a condition exists which convinces people someone – a celebrity or somebody they know – is […]
Movie Review – Beyond The Dream
Producer Sam Raimi helped lure some big names to “The Unholy,” a Catholic “Our Lady’s no ‘lady’” thriller timed to hit theaters for Easter. Biggest and best of all is the lead, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, cast as a cinematic cliche but delivering the goods as the latest take on the jaded, liquor-loving journalist trope, this […]
Movie Review: Jeffrey Dean Morgan releases “The Unholy”
