Monthly Archives: May 2021

A horror thriller coming your way, and mine, June 1. Doesn’t look like much, but you never know.

Writer-director Cathy Yan’s playfully cynical “Dead Pigs” is bucket of cold water dumped on Chinese avarice at the start of The Chinese Century. Before “Birds of Prey,” Yan cooked up this week Chinese satire painted in broad strokes with a … Continue reading →

An upscale ghost story slated for late August release, this looks damned creepy. A good actress can make you believe in ghosts.

Southern drawls lure English actors like soccer hooligans hunting for that next warm beer. And truth be told, when “Game of Thrones” siren Emilia Clarke trots out her Kentucky/Appalachian accent out in “Above Suspicion,” I have to say, I was … Continue reading →

The finale to “Threshold,” a supernatural thriller about a junkie who figures she’s possessed, is a doozy — alarming, rattling and with a neat little twist that underlines its point. And it’d have to be, considering the general snooze this … Continue reading →

SCENE: Generic “horror movie” sitting room — rough-hewn Irish doorjambs, stained, peeling and faded wallpaper with “shadows” of items formerly hung on it, a withered wreath and a sinister painting illuminated by a single, battered table lamp on a battered … Continue reading →

A little fighting back against the horror, from Quiver May 21.

Over his comic lifetime, Billy Crystal has made more people laugh in more venues than just about anybody alive. Stand-up to sitcom, “Saturday Night Live” to Oscar host, one-man Broadway show to movies, he’s created and forgotten more characters and … Continue reading →

The movies have always been glib in how they depict mental illness. And there are a few minutes at the beginning of “Paper Spiders” where you can wonder if we aren’t about to be treated to more of the same. … Continue reading →

Another May 7 release, a thriller, that literally just popped up on the date.