My life at the movies.
Directed by Brian De Palma. Starring Andra Akers, William Finley, Margo Norton, and Jared Martin.
Brian De Palma’s debut feature. Describing this Möbius strip of a film will prove tricky. Spoilers follow. Continue reading...
Directed by Gareth Evans. Starring Dan Stevens, Richard Elfyn, Paul Higgins, and Bill Milner.
In 1905 England, Dan Stevens plays a drifter searching for his kidnapped sister inside a mysterious religious cult. Continue reading...
Directed by Tod Browning. Starring Mary Nolan, Edward G. Robinson, Owen Moore, and Rockliffe Fellowes.
Starts strong, with gangster Edward G. Robinson noticing crook Owen Moore’s presence in town. Robinson shakes down Moore, demanding half of any job he’s planning to pull. Robinson also takes an interest in Moore’s moll, played by Mary Nolan. Continue reading...
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan. Starring James McAvoy, Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, and Anya Taylor-Joy.
A sequel of sorts to both Split and Unbreakable. Bruce Willis returns as the indestructible David, who opens the film hunting Kevin, the multiple-personality Horde, played by James McAvoy. Soon both find themselves institutionalized alongside the catatonic Mr. Glass, played by Sam Jackson. Their presence awakens Glass, who sets to work orchestrating an escape for himself and the Horde. Continue reading...
Directed by Rob Reiner. Starring Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher, and Bruno Kirby.
The snappy dialog, Meg Ryan’s charming performance, and the terrific New York City location photography make for a pleasant watch.
Directed by David Cronenberg. Starring Ronald Mlodzik, Jack Messinger, Paul Mulholland, Iain Ewing, Arlene Mlodzik, Clara Mayer, and Glenn McCauley.
David Cronenberg’s first feature. Proffered as an educational film from the fictional Canadian Academy of Erotic Enquiry, the film documents telepathic experiments conducted on a group of young people. Continue reading...
Directed by Patty Jenkins. Starring Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig, and Pedro Pascal.
Gadot radiates charisma, but can’t overcome the nonsensical script overflowing with emotive melodrama but devoid of emotional stakes. The two-hour-plus runtime feels like the first cut of a first draft screenplay. Best part goes to the end-credits tag.
Directed by Tommy Wirkola. Starring Geir Vegar Hoel, Ørjan Gamst, Martin Starr, and Jocelyn DeBoer.
Picks up where Dead Snow ends. That film’s lone survivor must stop Nazi zombies from destroying a small Norwegian village. Continue reading...
Directed by Tommy Wirkola. Starring Jeppe Beck Laursen, Charlotte Frogner, Jenny Skavlan, and Geir Vegar Hoel.
Norwegian pre-med students travel to a remote snowbound cabin where they encounter that most heinous of evils: Nazi zombies.
The location photography lends a polished sheen while the over-the-top mix of black humor, cartoonish violence, and gore had me cackling throughout. I loved it.
Followed by Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead.
Directed by Michael Dougherty. Starring Adam Scott, Toni Collette, David Koechner, and Allison Tolman.
“Santa’s Shadow” Krampus and his nightmarish helpers descend on a dysfunctional suburban family. Great creature effects and solid performances compensate for an unfocused script lacking resonance.
