Monthly Archives: January 2022

When it comes to breakout feature films, heart, spirit and novelty, aka “freshness” trumps almost everything else. Show us a world that most of us have had no entre to, populate it with colorful characters and try to err on … Continue reading →

 Nobody sets out to make cinematic pablum as bland as “The Royal Treatment.” Then again, as there are entire TV channels devoted to edge-free “meet a prince” female wish-fulfillment fare, maybe they do. Apparently, Netflix is getting into that … Continue reading →

So what does the sanctuary-set thriller “Confession” have that makes it stand out other movies with the same setting and similar “Father, I have sinned” messaging? Aside from being the longest 80 minutes of your January, 2022 movie-watching month? Stephen … Continue reading →

In the ’70s, city kids across America got the jump on the rest of us by falling into “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and discovering Meat Loaf ahead of the curve. On the screen, Marvin Lee Aday lights up that … Continue reading →

Anyone who grew up during the first Cold War remembers “Duck and Cover” drills, the “Domino Theory,” the proven-accurate warnings of communist enslavement and the Red Baiting by a political party that would later come to embrace minoritarian rule and … Continue reading →

It happens so fast, so abruptly, that we’re almost as rattled and surprised as the character it happens to. Officer Mike Tan’s department-issued pistol goes off as he draws it out of its holster. He wasn’t pointing it, wasn’t in … Continue reading →

A dramatic romance with twists, the picture has the A24 seal of approval. This Feb. 11 release gives us an Apple option for our Valentine’s Day viewing. Looks complicated.

There’s something to be said for a B-movie that doesn’t deviate from formula, that pulls you in to its simple “revenge” plot and doesn’t let go until the credits roll. Oscar-winner Adrien Brody knows what I’m talking about. Sure, he … Continue reading →

This Feb. 17 release produced a trailer that gave me a chuckle or three. Prom King “evolves” into a leader of witches, plainly under false pretenses.

Check out the DIY energy in this fly-on-the-wall take on misspent youth, high school recklessness and aimlessness. “Fight Club” “Sk8rboi” garage band suburbanites misbehaving as only they can (and get away with it). “Therapy Dogs” has its premiere at Slamdance, … Continue reading →