Monthly Archives: March 2021

This looks like a hoot. Coming very soon from IFC.

Yeah, Margot Robbie’s back. Oscar winner Viola Davis is here. But Idris, Cena, Alice Braga, Joel Kinnamon, Jai Courtney, Peter Capaldi and Michael Rooker? UP grades, my dears. UPgrades. This looks ultra violent and James Gunn funny/cool. Aug. 6.

“Boys vs. Girls” is an homage to those wacky/edgy kids summer camp comedies of yore, a “Meatballs” for a new generation…or rather it might be if it hadn’t been such a limp biscuit. It’s a period piece send-up of such … Continue reading →

The latest beta test of the Screenplay Cliches Bot is titled “The Oak Room,” a moody, talky, stunningly-dull and hilariously-trite “thriller” mostly set in a bar — a couple of bars — in remote, snowy Ontario. Cliche #1? “Bar’s closed.” … Continue reading →

The mythic Japanese Namahage demon is a sort of twisted, monstrous “You’d better watch out, you’d better not cry, better not pout” character meant to give little children character and “good ethics” as they grow up. In the corner of … Continue reading →

“Better Days” is a searing indictment of bullying culture and China’s insanely intense college admissions system, all tucked into a sadly compelling romantic thriller. The added-attention of an Oscar nomination gives a welcome boost to a movie much of the … Continue reading →

If Hollywood is going to give screenwriting Oscar nominations to “Borat” movies, brace yourself for pranks, pranks and more pranks pictures. “Bad Trip” is more at the “Bad Grandpa” with Johnny Knoxville end of the practical joke pictures spectrum. A … Continue reading →

The first names that come to mind when you hear the literary term “magical realism” are South American, the second Bengali, and so on down the line. But Iranian actress/author Shahrnoush Parsipour took her shot at this blend of harsh … Continue reading →

A sparkling supporting cast can’t save “The Seventh Day,” a tepid exorcism thriller that begins with promise and dies pretty much the moment the “lead” steps into the spotlight. It’s got Keith David as a stalwart priest trying to save … Continue reading →

A little history we in the West don’t know. This post WWI period piece opens May 7.