Monthly Archives: September 2020

“Spiral” is a cleverly-conceived riff on familiar horror themes, an attempt to make a gay “Get Out.” A same-sex couple moves to suburban Illinois with one partner’s teen daughter, and weird, scary things begin to happen. But this film, not … Continue reading →

Here’s a sadistic Spanish thriller that begins dark, turns darker and ends darkest of all, with unhealthy servings of paranoia and claustrophobia along the way. Mario Casas (“The 33”) is Angel, “The Paramedic” (“El practicante”). And Angel first gives us … Continue reading →

Call it “Adult erotica” fiction, or adult erotic romances, but chances are, you hadn’t heard this literary genre mentioned in polite company. Then “Fifty Shades of Grey” blew up the best seller lists and the motion picture box office. And … Continue reading →

A LOT of famous to famous-ish voices populate this 2018 BRON Studios/Canadian production, just now heading into release. James Marsden and Rosario Dawson, Jane Krakowski, Nathan Fillion, Rob Riggle and Alfred Molina, anyone? “Henchmen today, supervillain tomorrow.” It seemingly had … Continue reading →

“No Escape,” a “Saw” like murder-puzzle thriller originally titled “Follow Me,” hits enough of its marks to earn a “not half bad” label. It may not do the best job of putting-us-in-the-hero’s predicament. But as for the grisly chills and … Continue reading →

While that tagline about drive-in theaters could apply to most any film due out over the next few months, it used to be that drive-ins had whole genres of film all to themselves. “A drive-in movie” pre-dated the home video … Continue reading →

Joel and Aimee and a Jeep and “The Monster Uprising.” Kinda goofy, kinda gonzo. Dylan O’Brien, Jessica Henwick and of course, Michael Rooker — in the Woody Harrelson role — are the stars. “D’ja ever hear of a fool’s errand?”

A family gathers at the parents beach house for a not-quite-holiday get-together in “Blackbird,” a downbeat but arresting and intimate melodrama based on the Danish film, “Silent Heart.” Daughters Jennifer (Kate Winslet) and Anna (Mia Wasikowska) and their families are … Continue reading →

I tend to look askance at movie-making nepotism, but Merawi Gerima’s debut feature, “Residue,” has me rethinking that. “Residue” is an immersive, impressionistic sketch of a Black DC expat coming home to a place he swore he’d put in his … Continue reading →

This looks fun, in an early Guy Ritchie but in Ireland sorta way.