Short running time feature dramas have an obligation to get down to business, to not squander screen time on clutter. There’s no room for extraneous characters, scenes jammed in that don’t advance the plot, needlessly obscuring relationships when the occasional Big Reveal is mystery enough. “Alice Fades Away” is a Southern Gothic thriller with abuse […]
Movie Review: “Alice Fades Away” in this Southern Gothic thriller
Iranian-American director Kourosh Ahari delivers a striking feature film debut with “The Night”, a cerebral slice of psychological horror that impresses as much with its style as it does with its ability to get under your skin. Set within the creepy confines of an old history-rich hotel, “The Night” does what so many other good […]
We’re at that time of year in the UK right now where the rain falls pretty much every day and the sun is nowhere to be seen after 4PM. I don’t know about you, but those kinds of conditions always draw me towards the darker side of cinema. Now isn’t the time for a fluffy […]
By the time it reached streaming screens in 2021, The Empty Man was so buried that it might as well have never existed. Although filming wrapped in 2017, 21st Century Fox didn’t release it before they were acquired by the Walt Disney Company in early 2019. Realising that this type of horror didn’t really sit […]
Not to be a broken record, but what are they NOT teaching in film school about editing and pace these days? Is everybody taking their filmmaking cues from limited series (streaming) television? Because up here and Down Under, I’m seeing scores of movies that drift like an ice flow, taking forever to get to whatever […]
Movie Review: “Rage” rage at this pokey thriller from Down Under
Look what you have done ! (Regarde ce que tu as fait !) is a psychological thriller short film, featuring three actors playing in a No Exit mysterious atmosphere.Look what you have done ! tells the story of a man, Jacob, who finds himself confronted with his heinous deeds. While Kendra, a psychologist, tries to […]
Short Film: LOOK WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!, 10min., Switzerland, Thriller
Written, directed, produced, and co-edited by Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr., “Wild Indian” tells the unsettling story of two men inextricably linked by a violent crime from their childhood. It’s a piercing and clear-eyed examination of trauma, guilt and embracing identity rather than running from it. Told through a deeply authentic indigenous perspective, “Wild Indian” contextualizes […]
SUNDANCE REVIEW: “Wild Indian” (2021)
Imagine waking up in the bottom of a hole – you, your spouse, your kid. You’ve been drugged, and now you’re being held hostage. There’s no way out. Worse, your son is missing. What happened to him? Is he hurt? Worse? Who’s doing this, and why? Imagine waking up in the bottom of a hole […]
Sundance 2021: John And The Hole
“Some things never let us go” is the tagline of the new film THE LITTLE THINGS out in select theaters and streaming today on HBO Max. Problem is, even with three Academy Award winners – Denzel Washington (Training Day, Glory), Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody) and Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club) – this film not only […]
MMT Quick Review of THE LITTLE THINGS
While not as prominent in today’s news headlines as the current global pandemic, opioid addiction is ravaging lives at its own unspeakable rate. The new drama “Crisis” from director Nicholas Jarecki’s (“Arbitrage”) looks to tackle the issue head-on by using its star-studded cast to cover several interconnected storylines. Jarecki’s goal is to show how the […]
As far as “fears” go, I typically prefer mysterious and unknown peril to frights shoved in my face, explained, back-storied and underlined. But that’s now how the “Wrong Turn” movies work. For twenty years these films have gotten good looking actresses and actors lost in America and the world’s fast-disappearing wild places, menaced by whatever […]
Movie Review: “Wrong Turn” leads to terror and torture porn on the Appalachian Trail
Seven years ago, Cass was one of the brightest students in medical school, along with her closest friend, Nina. Then, after a rape scandal that involved Nina, they both dropped out. Fast forward to present day, Cass was a 30 years old, living with her parents, and single. During the […]
Movie Review: Promising Young Woman
Godzilla vs. Kong (2021), Rebecca Hall, Warner Bros. Pictures Eiza González, Alexander Skarsgård, Millie Bobby Brown and Rebecca Hall are the stars of new action/sci-fi/thriller Godzilla vs Kong. Directed by Adam Wingard; Godzilla vs Kong pits two of motion picture history’s greatest monster icons against one another. The fearsome Godzilla and the mighty Kong find […]
The 39 Steps was arguably Alfred Hitchcock’s most adventurous adaptation at the time that it was released. It’s based on the novel by John Buchan, published in 1915, which tells the story of Richard Hannay, played here by Robert Donat, who becomes embroiled in an international conspiracy on the dawn of World War II. For […]
Hitchcock: The 39 Steps (1935)
Brothers Conor and Jake Allyn grew up Dallas, Texas and made frequent trips across the southern border into Mexico with their father. The many visits opened their eyes to a much different side of Mexico and ultimately helped inspire their new film “No Man’s Land”. This modern-day western uses a reverse migration story of sorts […]
REVIEW: “No Man’s Land” (2021)
MY CALL: Although far from great, this was a pleasantly surprising SyFy original TV movie. The acting and creature effects were more than sufficient to entertain me through this otherwise very familiar story. MORE MOVIES LIKE Dead in the Water: Well, first off, Sea Fever (2019) did it better. Looking for much better horror at […]
John’s Horror Corner: Dead in the Water (2018), a serviceable SyFy original creature feature at sea.
As the powerhouse explains, a neck injury enhanced her demented turn as Shirley Jackson. But other than that, Moss insists she’s no method actor.
Elisabeth Moss Runs on Pain, Real and Imaginary, in ‘The Invisible Man’ and ‘Shirley’
Cassie (Carey Mulligan) was once a promising young woman, a fact her parents take the opportunity to remind her of every morning at breakfast. Now 30, friendless, living at home despite heavy parental hinting that it may be time to move one, an unambitious med school dropout turned barista, Cassie’s parents (Jennifer Coolidge, Clancy Brown) […]
Director: Christopher Landon Starring: Kathryn Newton, Vince Vaughn, Celeste O’Connor Review Author: Tony Synopsis: Millie is a high school student forced to survive the cruel world of high school while comforting her damaged mother following the recent death of her father. To make matters worse, the town’s infamous serial killer, The Blissfield Butcher, has reemerged. After a faithful […]
Getting into the business. So this is about big-time drug dealers in Arkansas. There is a hierarchy in the occupation, and at the top of the pyramid is a man named Frog (Vince Vaughn). Two up-and-comers (Liam Hemsworth, Clark Duke) are starting to prove themselves, but they have yet to meet the man in charge. […]
Southern Drug Kingpin – Arkansas (2020)
