Some movies, like this one, begin really well before sputtering to a weak conclusion. The crime drama Disturbing the Peace is a prime example, although it’s fall into mediocrity comes quickly and with alacrity. Once it turns bad, it becomes pretty […]
Continue reading »Category: Recent Releases
Blackbird (2019) ☆ ☆ 1/2
Actors love this type of material, which allows them to interact within an ensemble without fantastical storylines or cutting edge special effects to upstage them. Blackbird is a uniquely human story, with its characters trying to come to grips with […]
Continue reading »Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) ☆ 1/2
Last weekend I saw 1967’s kiddie-oriented monster movie King Kong Escapes (on Svengoolie’s show) for the first time since I was a kid. It’s a stupid, nonsensical, goofy Japanese-American monster movie with King Kong and his mechanical doppelgänger, and I quite […]
Continue reading »The Last Shift (2020) ☆ ☆
Character studies are not my favorite type of film, probably because so often the central character which the filmmakers wish to spotlight is deeply flawed in some manner. That isn’t very entertaining to watch, at least to me. I’m not […]
Continue reading »The Devil Has a Name (2020) ☆ ☆
Once in a while a film will tackle the subject of corporate poisoning of public land, and the people who live on it. The best of them, like Erin Brockovich (2000) and Dark Waters (2019), are palpably sincere efforts to tell heart-wrenching […]
Continue reading »Spontaneous (2020) ☆ ☆ ☆
Among the odder films I’ve seen recently is this comedic dramatic teen horror opus which explores the bizarre phenomenon known as “spontaneous combustion.” Turns out that spontaneous combustion is an ingenious framework for a horror film because that unexplained and […]
Continue reading »Grizzly II: Revenge (1983) ☆
If you were asked which movie featuring three current and future Oscar winners is among the worst ever made, Grizzly II: Revenge would be a great response. Why is a 1983 movie here among Recent Releases? The project was abandoned post-production […]
Continue reading »The Father (2020) ☆ ☆ ☆
Another type of film that is tough to watch is the psychological drama such as The Father, where things simply are not what they seem. Part of the fun of such a film is trying to deduce what is real and […]
Continue reading »Before the Fire (2020) ☆ ☆
There are bound to be a host of cinematic explorations of our Covid year (hey, “Our Covid Year” is a promising title!), and, in fact, some have already appeared. I think the early ones, like this film and Songbird, for instance, […]
Continue reading »The Jesus Rolls (2019) ☆ ☆
Faithful readers, you are in for a rare spectacle. This is going to be a double review, and I may very well go off the rails delivering it. Every once in a while I become provoked, and I must respond. […]
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