TIFF: Ruth Paxton’s flinty first feature uses horror expectations to tell an uncomfortable character-centric story.
‘A Banquet’ Review: Overstuffed and Underfed, This Chilling Debut Bites Off More Than It Can Chew
‘As in Heaven’ Review: “The Curse of Femininity”
The Toronto International Film Festival kicked off with a rocky start. However, the first films to initiate the festival were anything but disappointing. As in Heaven (Du som er i himlen), Tea Lindeburg’s directorial debut, was nothing short of an artistic dream. On a farm in the 1800s, a young 14-year-old girl named Lise (Flora […]
‘As in Heaven’ Review: “The Curse of Femininity”
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TIFF 2021: “Dear Evan Hansen”
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 5 out of 5. There are always moments when we think we are misunderstood, blamed and judged for something we had nothing to do with. Also, people think if we are emotional, loud and extremely cheerful or angry from the outside, we are bad and should be ignored. Evan Hansen (reprising his role […]
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TIFF 2021: “Drive My Car”
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 5 out of 5. Japanese cinema is always exquisite, deep and insightful. It knows how to play with words and carefully translate them into actions. And actors? Oh boy! How marvelous they all are. If you find me exaggerating, then you probably haven’t seen “Drive My Car” yet. Yusuke and Oto are a […]
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‘Impeachment: American Crime Story’
American Crime Story is back with its third season after three years off the air. While it previously had tackled murderous subject matter, it has now gone into politics. Impeachment: American Crime Story tells the story of how the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky scandal came to be and what followed. Based on the subject matter and […]
‘Impeachment: American Crime Story’ Ep. 1 Review
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Review: “Annette”
Toward the end of Noah Baumbach’s 2019 film “Marriage Story,” Charlie, played by Adam Driver, breaks into an emotional rendition of Sondheim’s “Being Alive” from the musical “Company” while at a restaurant with friends, facing the dissolution of his marriage. It’s a beautiful scene—my favorite in the entire film, actually—and one that made me immediately […]
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Review: “Free Guy”
Guy is not the kind of character you’d usually want to play in a shooter game. In fact, he’s not the kind of character you’d normally be able to play at all. Guy is a non-playable character, or NPC, a background figure created to populate a video game’s environment, whether to just provide atmosphere or […]
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Brazil: The Absurdity Of Oppression
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 8 out of 10. SPOILERS! What the hell has happened? I myself am a man strongly averse to sci-fi ever since the innocent first days of my life – and proud of it ever since. Now look at the blog: Arrival, Children of Men, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, even The Prestige! And […]
Brazil: The Absurdity Of Oppression
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Quiz: Mirror, Mirror, On The Wall…
Who’s the greatest quizmaster of them all? Aw, thank you! You’re too kind- Oh, hello there! Welcome to the 12th edition of the Over-The-Shoulder quiz! Apologies for the mix up in the posting – it became apparent to me earlier this morning that I wouldn’t be able to get out the film review today. But […]
Quiz: Mirror, Mirror, On The Wall…
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“Candyman” (2021)
Sometime last year, in the early throes of quarantine, I watched the 1992 film “Candyman” for the first time, in preparation for Nia DaCosta’s new take on the story, which was delayed multiple times from its original June 2020 release date due to the pandemic. I pressed play sometime after midnight, which was a mistake—something […]
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Val (2021)
Title – Val (2021) Director – Ting Poo & Leo Scott (feature debuts) Cast – Val Kilmer, Jack Kilmer Plot – An exploration of the life and times of Val Kilmer, utilizing countless hours of footage the ailing performer shot across his journey as both an upcoming actor and one of the hottest stars in Hollywood. […]
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RED NOTICE (2021)
Red Notice (2021), Gal Gadot, Dwayne Johnson, Netflix Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot and Dwayne Johnson’s latest action/crime/comedy, Red Notice tells the story of an Interpol agent. One whose job it is to track the world’s most wanted art thief. From writer/director Rawson Marshall Thurber; additional key cast includes Vincenzo Amato, Ivan Mbakop and Ritu Arya. Talk about […]
RED NOTICE (2021): New Trailer From Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot…
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Reminiscence
Why are sci-fi/private detectives are such a common breed? Sure, Blade Runner and its sequel made a nice job of updating Hammett and Chandler to the 21st century but both films flopped hard on release. Their cult status, however, seems to ensure that there’s a steady stream of mob bosses presiding over augmented realities, film […]
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Worth
How much is a human life worth? As a philosophical question, it’s emotionally fraught and almost unbearable to contemplate. Can you put a dollar amount on a life? You can, actually. Uncomfortably. And people have. They do it all the time. You may even know how much yours is worth in the event of your […]
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Le Samouraï
I remember seeing a quote from one of my favourite directors, Jim Jarmusch. He is an inspiration of mine and there was an article with him released back in 2004. The article was about his golden rules of filmmaking. They included: Rule #1: There are no rules. There are as many ways to make a […]
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Candyman
I think one of the horror films that has really stuck with me the most has been Candyman which was released in 1992. It was directed by Bernard Rose and was based on a Clive Barker short story called The Forbidden. Clive Barker of course made Hellraiser, which I have not fully gotten into yet. […]
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Fast And The Furious 9: The Fast Saga
Dom Toretto, Letty and their son are finally living the live they have always wanted. Off the grid and in the middle of nowhere with nothing around them but themselves. However, as we all know danger lurks around every corner and so Dom and Letty along with their crew are once again forced to save […]
Fast And The Furious 9: The Fast Saga – MOVIE REVIEW
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The Hitman’s Apprentice – Léon: The Professional (1994)
Walking a fine line. So this is about a hitman named Léon (Jean Reno). He sticks to his code and leads a life of solitude. That’s all about to change when he takes in his 12-year-old neighbor named Mathilda (Natalie Portman). Her entire family got gunned down by a corrupt DEA agent (Gary Oldman). Mathilda […]
The Hitman’s Apprentice – Léon: The Professional (1994)
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Quiz: Bespectacled!
Well, it feels like we haven’t had a quiz in ages, so I’m delighted to announce that we’re back – and hopefully with a bang. Your task is simple: just name the film these lucky pair of glasses appears in. But before we begin, here are the answers from the last quiz, titled BOOM! Yes, […]
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Glasshouse
I am a fan of a post-apocalyptic/dystopian nightmare done well, and I wasn’t sure that’s what Glasshouse promised, but boy did it deliver. Glasshouse is an official selection of the Fantasia Film Festival 2021. The Premise: Living in a glasshouse in total isolation, a matriarch helps her family survive The Shred, a dementia-like virus that […]
