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 […]
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 […]
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
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)
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”
Wasn’t I just saying there has been no shortage of horror movies in 2021? Now Searchlight Pictures is adding one to your watchlist. “The Night House” comes from horror director and fan David Bruckner. It premiered way back at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. With Covid-19 (hopefully) in our rear view the film is finally […]
First Glance: “The Night House”
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4 out of 5. Every parent wants his or her child to succeed; be a good child, law obedient, get an education, find a well-paid job, get married, have children and live happily ever after. Cole’s (Caleb McLaughlin) mother, struggling in Detroit with her son, is fed up with all the issues he […]
Film Review: “Concrete Cowboy”
There’s no ennui like French ennui, a message given another big screen treatment in “The Salt of Tears,” a tale of a young cabinet-maker apprentice who cannot find love to fill the void in his empty soul. The latest from French baby boomer filmmaker Philippe Garrel (“In the Shadow of Women,” “Wild Innocence”) is a […]
Movie Review: French learn that love is stained with “The Salt of Tears (Le Sel des larmes)”
Casey Affleck stars as a psychiatrist protecting his family from the unhinged brother of a patient in the new thriller “Every Breath You Take”. It’s directed by Vaughn Stein who did last year’s relatively fun but wacky “Inheritance”. This time Stein doesn’t have that kind of outlandish plot angle to play around with. Instead he’s […]
REVIEW: “Every Breath You Take” (2021)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) Director – Milos Forman (Man On the Moon) Cast – Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Brad Douriff, Danny DeVito, Will Sampson, Christopher Lloyd Plot – Troublemaker and criminal R.P McMurphy (Nicholson) is transported to a mental facility run by Nurse Ratched (Fletcher) where he is to be evaluated […]
Young love is tested by illness and honesty issues in “Caught by a Wave,” a scenic Italian romance set against a sailing backdrop. The leads are pretty and the locales romantic, but the scenario is generic and the pacing funereal in this dry-eyed weeper of rehab and regattas. Sailing camp on the isle of Favignana […]
Netflixable? Teen Italians, in love and facing tragedy — “Caught by a Wave”
THE DEVIL READS SALINGER The literary world is filled with plenty of famous authors that have gone on to cultivate a mass following with their works; becoming classic within their own right and touching the lives of many individuals and many generations around the world. Of course, the inane quirks and obscure facts are […]
A husband’s violent reaction becomes the talk of the neighborhood when he catches his cheating wife in the act. I noticed this film was on Prime and decided to watch it. Also the premise sounded interesting. This film marked the film debut of Beulah Bondi. This film is a bit of a curio as although […]
“Better Days” is a searing indictment of bullying culture and China’s insanely intense college admissions system, all tucked into a sadly compelling romantic thriller. The added-attention of an Oscar nomination gives a welcome boost to a movie much of the world missed in late 2019, but one well worth enduring and embracing. “Enduring” because Derek […]
Movie Review: Bullying as a romantic thriller — China’s Oscar contender “Better Days”
Destiny is a funny thing. When things go from bad to worse, fate plays a trick to change everything in an unthinkable way, to make things happen for the right people at the right time. Emma (Clarisse Albrecht), an Afropean woman, got herself into legal trouble when she was caught transporting drugs in the airport […]
Accidents happen on the road. Whether it’s the result of a crash, fight, or just a dead car battery. But what can we do to come out of such a situation? Do we just call for help or try to be proactive and fix the situation by ourselves? It’s hot weather conditions and Safa (Safa […]
SXSW 2021: “Are You Still There?”
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4 out of 5. In a very strict culture, two people who love each other must get married first before they are allowed to get close to each other. If intimacy occurs before marriage, it can be punishable with something as harsh as a death sentence. Nazli and Emre, escaping their homes, hope […]