Crime

THE UNFORGIVABLE (2021): The Things I Liked…

I’m glad that Sandra Bullock said yes to The Unforgivable, a well-executed tale of one woman’s journey to reconnect with her sister after finishing a twenty-year prison sentence. Directed by Nora Fingscheidt, what stood out immediately, in addition to the excellent performances, is how engaging the story is. I cared about Bullock’s character and couldn’t wait for […]

THE UNFORGIVABLE (2021): The Things I Liked…

Crime

WEST SIDE STORY

Hollywood loves a remake. Sometimes it’s a successful foreign film recast with English-speaking celebrities. Sometimes it’s a decent story that just didn’t work the first time around. Most of the time, it’s a hollow-minded cash-grab by a studio rejiggering its intellectual property. But now and then, it’s a filmmaker of regard taking a bonafide classic […]

WEST SIDE STORY

Crime

The Forever Prisoner (2021): It was torture indeed

HBO documentary “The Forever Prisoner” is often sobering and chilling in its calm but blistering presentation on what the US government allowed to happen in the name of War on Terror. While it did not surprise or shock you much if you are familiar with its main subjects, the documentary is still captivating as providing […]

The Forever Prisoner (2021) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): It was torture indeed

Comedy

Zola (2020)

Zola (2020) Y’all wanna hear a story? Perhaps this is simply what happens when you turn a Twitter thread into a movie. Zola, the film’s origin lies in a 148-tweet thread posted by Zola the person — A’Ziah ‘Zola’ King — in October 2015, detailing a wild, chaotic road trip from Detroit, Michigan to Tampa, […]

Zola (2020)

Crime

Musical Masterpiece: Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story”

I remember the first time I saw “West Side Story.” I watched the 1961 film during class at my Catholic elementary school decades later — on a square TV on a rolling cart — and it was transformative. I immediately loved the music, choreography, dancing, characters, and storytelling. I watch that version from time to […]

Musical Masterpiece: Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story”

Comedy

Ruthless People

I wasn’t old enough to beat the 18 certificate back in 1986, and it’s been a long, long wait for me to finally catch up on Ruthless People, 35 years to be exact. Directed by the Airplane team of David Zucker, Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, and written by Dale Launer, it’s never been remade […]

Ruthless People

Action

Del Toro remakes a dark classic,”Nightmare Alley”

Oscar winner Guillermo del Toro’s take on “Nightmare Alley,” a noirish carny novel first adapted for a Tyrone Power film in 1947, is a pitiless vision of an underworld of grifters and tent-show hustlers. Stunningly-detailed, with an A-list cast up and down the line, it’s a gorgeous and gloomy dip into the dark side, immersive […]

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Crime

HOUSE OF GUCCI

What in the world is House of Gucci about? On the surface House of Gucci is inspired by the true story of the Gucci family, a one-time dynasty that fell once family members started backstabbing each other with backroom dealings and buyouts. But what is the movie up to? What does it hope to gain by telling this story […]

HOUSE OF GUCCI

Crime

Malignant

Yikes! One of the unexpected fallers in 2021’s race for the drastically reduced box-office prizes on offer was James Wan’s return to the horror territories that he’d previously made his own. After the promising Dead Silence, the Insidious and Conjuring movies made Wan a brand, even if both franchises fizzled out in terms of appeal. […]

Malignant