Monthly Archives: January 2023

What, again with the incantations, the pentagrams, the “protective circle” of ashes? Another ancient text turns to flames when you say the wrong thing? Another horned demon skittering up the walls? Oy! “The Offering” is a New York Jewish trip … Continue reading →

The movies that matter in your life burn into the memory that first encounter with them.I saw “Chariots of Fire” at a preview in Charlotte, N.C., with local college and high school track teams in attendance, at a now long-closed … Continue reading →

“Under Her Control” is a surrogacy-gone-wrong thriller wrapped in a “Devil Wears Prada” package. This Spanish melodrama starts slowly and lumbers towards a Big Finish that isn’t nearly big enough to atone for the tedium that precedes it. First-time feature … Continue reading →

The sort of simple, indulgent reveries you could find on TV variety shows back in their Golden Age, turning over the camera and six minutes of your show to Orson Welles to improvise his way up to Sir John, Shakespeare’s … Continue reading →

You didn’t have to grow up in the ’70s, travel to America’s major cities back then to know what the decade looked like. And that was largely due to films lit and photographed by Owen Roizman. The director of photography … Continue reading →

Egyptian action auteur Peter Mimi is no stranger to Hollywood blockbusters. You don’t have read or watch interviews with him to have that confirmed. It’s right there on the screen. The latest from the director of “No Surrender” is a … Continue reading →

You’re going to have to trust me on this. Espionage thrillers are my jam, for obvious reasons. And “escape” narratives — in books or in films — have been a passion since I was old enough to read “Who Goes … Continue reading →

For a while, at least, I was thinking somebody dropped the ball with this domestic horror “comedy” “Who Invited Them.” “This is good enough to have played in theaters,” I said to myself, noting how a good cast does well … Continue reading →

Every movie set during the Holocaust has some merit, especially those based on historical accounts of survivors. Anyone who lived through that needs to be celebrated, and those who didn’t must be remembered. But not all concentration camp dramas are … Continue reading →

This Jan 27 B-movie release has a battle-tested villain, Arnold Vosloo, with Jacob Keohane as the lead, and Jackson Rathbone, Michael Ironside, Bruce Davison and Jorge Garcia in the supporting cast. And it features James Urbaniak as…HIMMLER? Now we’re getting … Continue reading →