Category Archives: Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news

You glance at the credits to “Bitter Victory,” a World War II in the Libyan desert thriller starring Richard Burton, Curd Jürgens, Ruth Roman, Nigel Green and Christopher Lee, the only true “war” movie of director and co-writer Nicholas Ray, … Continue reading →

This Sept. 29 release, about a literal “lady killer,” is from Soi Cheang, and looks like a step up from his many “Monkey King” thrillers.

This Sept. 29 release (streaming on Shudder) is from the screenwriter of “The Tunnel” and could be a subtitled scare, for those who don’t mind reading the reactions in Norwegian.

On the film festival circuit, one sees a lot of indie films that invite us to appreciate them via the literary practice of “biographical criticism.” A festival-goer learns of what the filmmaker’ went through to get their story on screen, … Continue reading →

Awards season awards bait from Netflix? “Nyad,” about the swimmer turned broadcaster turned AARP-aged “one last hurrah” woman who attempted to swim from the U.S. to Cuba, will play in theaters in October before moving to Netflix later in the … Continue reading →

There’s a “Nefarious” vibe to this Sept. 22 release, with a murderous chuch shooter (McCord) telling her interrogator (Cain), with a “Hell is real” and “deal with the Devil” message. Sept. 22 in theaters, streaming shortly thereafter.

“Friday Night Plan” is a genial but utterly generic “get-to-the-big-party” teen comedy, a slow-footed Indian version of a universal formula that was never limited to just Hollywood, which has taken many a swipe at it over the decades (“Can’t Hardly … Continue reading →

“Borderline” is an awful, amateurish “psychosexual thriller” that lurches between straight-up sexual exploitation and heavy-handed downward-spiral-of-drug-addiction cliches. There have been good pictures with this common title, so don’t confuse them. Rich Mallery is the writer-director of this leering “let no … Continue reading →

“Rotting in the Sun” is the most sexually explicit gay missing person hunt in the history of cinema. It’s a dark, deadpan comedy that isn’t really funny, but whose premise is the the quintessence of “permission to laugh.” A suicidal … Continue reading →