Monthly Archives: March 2021

“Know Fear” is a grisly haunted house story distinguished mainly in the extensive use of the sound effect of a knife plunging into flesh. “CHUCK CHUCK CHUCK squish squish squish.” It’s a short thriller that tosses us right into “the … Continue reading →

Painter, collagist, poet, public scold, filmmaker and performance artist David Wojnarowicz cut a wide swath in the in the narrowest of narrow lanes of the New York art world of the 1980s. He was a phenomenon of AIDS era East … Continue reading →

Jason Bateman and Bobby Cannavale join the…fun? This doesn’t look funny at all, but well — we’ll just have to see. April 9 on Netflix.

Joe Manganiello, Ellar Coltrane, Helena Howard, Elena Kampouris and Thomas Lennon star in this ’80s tale of alt-rock/indie rock fans who turn “fanatic” when Manchester’s own The Smiths decide to hang it up. Joe Man-Jello as a DJ? Totally see … Continue reading →

“Sentinelle” is a French vengeance tale that dispenses with developing peripheral characters and concentrates solely on its long she-wolf heroine. But even she is short-changed in this tight but illogical skips-a step-or-three thriller. The Ukrainian model-turned actress Olga Kurylenko, of … Continue reading →

Damn. No over-budgeted, under-scripted thirty-years-too-late Eddie Murphy sequel should EVER deliver as many smiles as “Coming 2 America.” Not enough funny lines? Maybe a miscalculation, setting most of this “fish out of water” story in Africa instead of Queens? But … Continue reading →

“Xico’s Journey” is a cheerful, colorfully-animated and culturally-aware Mexican cartoon about legend and myth and two kids and a dog who want to save their picturesque village from fracking. Although it scores points for tapping into Mexican heritage and myth … Continue reading →

In April the weather should be warm enough to make this Antarctic (and Arctic) true story endurable. Norway’s greatest modern hero gets a bio pic that Samuel Goldwyn’s releasing in the US.

Scan your memory banks and run through the legions of YA sci-fi adaptations that have made it to the screen. Try and conjure up a sliding scale, say “Hunger Games” to “The Giver” or “Ender’s Game” or “City of Ember” … Continue reading →

“Fresh off the Boat” author and producer Eddie Huang makes his feature filmmaking debut with “Boogie,” a fresh and feisty sports dramedy that takes movie formulas and cultural tropes out for a spin. Sports movie formula? It’s all about “the … Continue reading →