A BORING, FORMULAIC, AND FORGETFUL ENDEAVOR Actor Liam Neeson has definitely made a name for himself in Hollywood. The Northern Ireland actor has turned a fine career of being leading man, but (like many actors in Tinseltown) humbly began in either smaller feature films or in supporting roles with some recognizable rising acting talents, […]
A TIRESOME CHORE TO ENDURE Neil Marshall has certainly run the “cinematic” gambit; delving into a variety of positions in his filmmaking career. After seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark at age eleven, Marshall was inspired to become a film director; producing home movies on a Super 8 mm film as well as attending […]
Llewelyn Moss stumbles upon dead bodies, $2 million and a hoard of heroin in a Texas desert, but methodical killer Anton Chigurh comes looking for it, with local sheriff Ed Tom Bell hot on his trail. The roles of prey and predator blur as the violent pursuit of money and justice collide. (Letterboxd) Masterfully shot […]
Prisoners of the Ghostland is a collaboration between America’s most bonkers actor, Nicolas Cage, and Japanese auteur Sion Sono, known for grotesque violence, extreme eroticism, and surreal imagery. I’m not the biggest fan of Nic Cage’s recent reincarnation as a b-movie cartoon, but I thought this combination was made in movie heaven and couldn’t wait to […]
Sundance 2021: Prisoners of the Ghostland
Really bad decisions and horror movies go together like peanut butter and jelly. There are countless examples: reading the blood-inked Necronomicon, attempting to tame a zombie, reaching down to pull the mask off a downed serial killer, saying Candyman’s name five times to a mirror. In the upcoming “The Devil Below” a group of amateur […]
First Glance: “The Devil Below”
Short running time feature dramas have an obligation to get down to business, to not squander screen time on clutter. There’s no room for extraneous characters, scenes jammed in that don’t advance the plot, needlessly obscuring relationships when the occasional Big Reveal is mystery enough. “Alice Fades Away” is a Southern Gothic thriller with abuse […]
Movie Review: “Alice Fades Away” in this Southern Gothic thriller
Iranian-American director Kourosh Ahari delivers a striking feature film debut with “The Night”, a cerebral slice of psychological horror that impresses as much with its style as it does with its ability to get under your skin. Set within the creepy confines of an old history-rich hotel, “The Night” does what so many other good […]
We’re at that time of year in the UK right now where the rain falls pretty much every day and the sun is nowhere to be seen after 4PM. I don’t know about you, but those kinds of conditions always draw me towards the darker side of cinema. Now isn’t the time for a fluffy […]
Behind Her Eyes (2021), Simona Brown, Netflix Simona Brown, Eve Hewson and Tom Bateman are the stars of Behind Her Eyes; a new Steve Lightfoot directed Netflix mystery/thriller series about Louise; a single mom with a son and a part-time job in a psychiatrist’s office. Things get complicated when Louise begins an affair with her […]
BEHIND HER EYES (2021): New Trailer From Eve Hewson, Simona Brown, Tom Bateman…
By the time it reached streaming screens in 2021, The Empty Man was so buried that it might as well have never existed. Although filming wrapped in 2017, 21st Century Fox didn’t release it before they were acquired by the Walt Disney Company in early 2019. Realising that this type of horror didn’t really sit […]
Not to be a broken record, but what are they NOT teaching in film school about editing and pace these days? Is everybody taking their filmmaking cues from limited series (streaming) television? Because up here and Down Under, I’m seeing scores of movies that drift like an ice flow, taking forever to get to whatever […]
Movie Review: “Rage” rage at this pokey thriller from Down Under
Look what you have done ! (Regarde ce que tu as fait !) is a psychological thriller short film, featuring three actors playing in a No Exit mysterious atmosphere.Look what you have done ! tells the story of a man, Jacob, who finds himself confronted with his heinous deeds. While Kendra, a psychologist, tries to […]
Short Film: LOOK WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!, 10min., Switzerland, Thriller
Written, directed, produced, and co-edited by Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr., “Wild Indian” tells the unsettling story of two men inextricably linked by a violent crime from their childhood. It’s a piercing and clear-eyed examination of trauma, guilt and embracing identity rather than running from it. Told through a deeply authentic indigenous perspective, “Wild Indian” contextualizes […]
SUNDANCE REVIEW: “Wild Indian” (2021)
Imagine waking up in the bottom of a hole – you, your spouse, your kid. You’ve been drugged, and now you’re being held hostage. There’s no way out. Worse, your son is missing. What happened to him? Is he hurt? Worse? Who’s doing this, and why? Imagine waking up in the bottom of a hole […]
Sundance 2021: John And The Hole
“Some things never let us go” is the tagline of the new film THE LITTLE THINGS out in select theaters and streaming today on HBO Max. Problem is, even with three Academy Award winners – Denzel Washington (Training Day, Glory), Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody) and Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club) – this film not only […]
MMT Quick Review of THE LITTLE THINGS
Crisis (2020), Armie Hammer, Quiver Distribution From writer/director Nicholas Jarecki; new drama/thriller Crisis stars Gary Oldman, Armie Hammer, Evangeline Lilly and Greg Kinnear. The focus is on three stories about the world of opioids. I’m not fully loving this trailer edit, but, hopefully the actors involved will deliver something memorable overall. I know that I’ve […]
CRISIS (2021): New Trailer From Gary Oldman, Armie Hammer, Evangeline Lilly, Greg Kinnear…
While not as prominent in today’s news headlines as the current global pandemic, opioid addiction is ravaging lives at its own unspeakable rate. The new drama “Crisis” from director Nicholas Jarecki’s (“Arbitrage”) looks to tackle the issue head-on by using its star-studded cast to cover several interconnected storylines. Jarecki’s goal is to show how the […]
As far as “fears” go, I typically prefer mysterious and unknown peril to frights shoved in my face, explained, back-storied and underlined. But that’s now how the “Wrong Turn” movies work. For twenty years these films have gotten good looking actresses and actors lost in America and the world’s fast-disappearing wild places, menaced by whatever […]
Movie Review: “Wrong Turn” leads to terror and torture porn on the Appalachian Trail
Seven years ago, Cass was one of the brightest students in medical school, along with her closest friend, Nina. Then, after a rape scandal that involved Nina, they both dropped out. Fast forward to present day, Cass was a 30 years old, living with her parents, and single. During the […]
Movie Review: Promising Young Woman
Godzilla vs. Kong (2021), Rebecca Hall, Warner Bros. Pictures Eiza González, Alexander Skarsgård, Millie Bobby Brown and Rebecca Hall are the stars of new action/sci-fi/thriller Godzilla vs Kong. Directed by Adam Wingard; Godzilla vs Kong pits two of motion picture history’s greatest monster icons against one another. The fearsome Godzilla and the mighty Kong find […]