Monthly Archives: August 2023

This supernatural thriller about someone or someTHING manipulating Tunisians into setting themselves on fire looks creepy, and the unusual setting gives it bonus points. Look for “Ashkal” on Friday.

“Dead Shot” is a lean, myopic thriller that remembers the IRA wars against UK “paras” and special units as tit-for-tat violence that couldn’t help but turn “personal.” Set against the IRA London bombing campaign of 1975, it enfolds dueling personal … Continue reading →

A profane, all-star stoner comedy about talking/insulting/swearing pooches is the very definition of a sleeper-wannabe hit for the “Dog Days” of August. I chuckled at the trailer. Let’s see if this delivers. “Strays” opens Friday.

“The Murderer” is a comical Thai whodunit featuring grisly (ish) deaths, goofy, conflicting versions of how they occurred and a grumpy senior cop nicknamed “The Hot-Headed Crime Buster” who tries to sort out the truth from the conclusions he’s more … Continue reading →

Very bad and interminably long, “Storage Locker” brings together a perfect storm of terrible script, inept acting and cheese-puff (as opposed to the more expensive “cheese ball”) effects. It’s about a nerdy comic book collector (Avery Mayo) who gets mixed … Continue reading →

This Silver Bear winner from the Berlin Film Fest takes us back to 1960s Indonesia for a sultry tale of infidelity and the secrets women keep from each other and their men. A lot more Indonesian cinema is making its … Continue reading →

For a “lost” film and legendary “problem” production, “The Man on the Eiffel Tower” (1949) certainly offers up a lot of delights for a cinephile. If you’re looking for the film that convinced the great Charles Laughton that he should … Continue reading →

“Gran Turismo” is a beautiful looking film. Jacques Jouffret photographed it like the slickest car commercial you’ve ever seen, and Austyn Daines and Colby Parker Jr. edited us right into and inside the race cars and the races recreated here. … Continue reading →

Got my notebook, two pens — real movie critics take notes and an Eagle Scout is always”prepared” — and my seat set to rumble and shake at my favorite local Regal Cinema, aka “the office.” This could be fun, and … Continue reading →

“Klondike” is a stark, immersive drama about being trapped on the front lines of a new war when all hell breaks loose. The “new war” was the last Russian-backed assault on Ukraine, the so-called “separatists” uprising in Donetsk Oblast, Russian-instigated … Continue reading →