I was hoping for Rose Red to be worse than it was. There's a special feeling I get when I'm watching a particular Stephen King miniseries. You can watch King's film adaptations like The Shining or The Running Man and have a legitimately good time, but it's something else entirely to watch a King miniseries like The Tommyknockers or It, which are goofy, unhinged, and often unintentionally … [Read more...]
Malcolm and Marie (2021) Movie Review
Malcolm and Marie, written and directed by Sam Levinson, opens on our two and only main characters. Filmmaker Malcolm (John David Washington) and his girlfriend Marie (Zendaya) are returning home after Malcolm's latest film premiere. Malcolm puts on James Brown and is very pleased with how it went, particularly how he nailed his speech. He eagerly waits for the film reviews to come in while … [Read more...]
Film Review: A Christmas Tale (2008)
If you're like me, and you love to watch Christmas movies around December but are tired of the repeated viewings of chipper films like White Christmas or It's a Wonderful Life, then the French film A Christmas Tale is the perfect cure to your holiday movie burnout. It's an upper, too! … [Read more...]
The Haunting (1963) – A Film Review
Haunted houses have always intrigued me. I'm a skeptic of the supernatural, but I sometimes wonder about the catalysts that make people believe it. You hear stories about why a house gets haunted, but is it haunted by a premature and unjust death, or is it haunted because we perceive it that way due to hearing the stories? Is it the house, or is it just you? Is there a difference? Perhaps, but if … [Read more...]
Chocolate – Film Review
I grew up watching a lot of Martial arts films, and as much as I love the genre, it's not immune to its brand of formulaic trappings. Mobs of goons are always getting decimated by a single person, and fighters use the environment as weapons. Oftentimes there's a villain that the main character faces off with that has an unusual fighting quirk, and the protagonist is usually the underdog who still … [Read more...]
Film Review: Red Sun
Have you ever discovered a movie that you didn’t know existed, and you curse yourself for not knowing about it sooner? I had that experience with Red Sun. Two of my favorite actors, Charles Bronson and Toshiro Mifune sharing the spotlight in a spaghetti western? Sign me up! How has this movie eluded me for so long? Perhaps it’s because it’s not spoken about with the same reverence as other films … [Read more...]
Rock and Rule (1983) – Film Review
Rock and Rule is a film that I've noticed out of the corner of my eye for years now, but I never got around to watching it until recently. It looked like a movie after my own heart, with some fluid and trippy animation, an awesome rock and roll soundtrack, and an adult tone that set it apart from animated movies for kids. It read like a mix between a Ralph Bakshi production and the film Heavy … [Read more...]
Die Nibelungen (1924) Film Review
Die Nibelungen (“The Nibelungs”) is a series of two German silent fantasy films released in 1924 based on the epic Germanic poem Nibelungenlied (“The Song of the Nibelungen”), which was written around 1200 AD by an unknown author. It tells the story of a young hero named Siegfried (Paul Richter), son of King Siegmund of Xanten. While learning the art of sword forging from the great blacksmith Mime … [Read more...]
Birds of Prey – Film Review
I apologize in advance for the information I’m about to exposit, because I’m fairly certain that many people have expunged this information from their memories in order to preserve their mental health. Unfortunately, I need to bring it up to provide context for the film I will be discussing today. That information is this: Suicide Squad is a movie that exists. From its stunningly poor direction, … [Read more...]
Joyeux Noel – Film Review
On Christmas Eve during the First World War, one of the most unexpected yet heart warming events occurred on the Western Front: French, British, Scottish and German soldiers settled on a cease-fire, exited their trenches, met each other in no man’s land and celebrated Christmas together. They talked, showed photos of their loved ones to each other, exchanged food and drink, sang carols together, … [Read more...]