Monthly Archives: November 2020

The idea of multiple universes, multiple realities, multiple “outcomes” to life and our existence gets a sleep-inducing workout in “Expulsion,” a no-budget thriller about scientists who DIY a teeny tiny Haldron Collider in a desert Southwest garage. Indifferently-acted, with funereal … Continue reading →

You never want to “grade on the curve” when it comes to film reviews. But “Love in Dangerous Times” comes as close to earning an exception as anything I’ve come across of late. It’s a no-budget indie romance about loneliness … Continue reading →

A little celebration of Sean as Bond, at AMC and (I think) other cinemas with an eye toward using nostalgia and our affection for Sean Connery, who just died at 90, to lure in patrons. C’mon out. Party like it’s … Continue reading →

“My Summer as a Goth” is a coming-of-age tale with too much black, too much makeup, and synth rock, it’s the “Strike a Pose” or “How I spent my summer vacation” romances. A winning cast, novel “tribal” setting and some … Continue reading →

Sordid, slow and stupid, “True to the Game 2” is a drug-trade sequel to the 2017 thriller about falling in love with a drug dealer and paying the price. An opening scene shoot-out and a trio of coordinated brawls in … Continue reading →

It begins and ends as an elegy, a somber remembrance of past times and personal loss set against a spare, plaintive plucked-guitar score. The story has a seething villain and climaxes in a fine, melodramatic fury. But “Let It Go” … Continue reading →

In the title role of Tatsushi Ohmori‘s “Mother,” Masami Nagasawa gives us one of the great screen monsters of recent memory. Her Akiko Misumi is a Japanese “Mommy Dearest” — cruel, callous, self-absorbed, violent and still enough of a hot … Continue reading →

Today’s assignment, class, is compare-and-contrast “Come Play,” now in theaters, with “Noise in the Middle,” now streaming. They’re both thrillers about haunted children. Their shared hook? Both the kids are autistic. “Come Play” has a name cast and a few … Continue reading →

The formula goes way back before “Airplane” or even its antecedent, “Kentucky Fried Movie.” Scholars trace it back to 1941’s “Hellzapoppin,” a farcical musical that made the transition from Broadway to the big screen pretty much intact. Unfortunately (for you), … Continue reading →

“His House” is a high-minded horror film, a ghost story/witch movie with a message. If it’s not as edge-of-your-seat frightening and involving as “Get Out,” its elevated intentions still put it in the same conversation. It’s as current as a … Continue reading →