Written and directed by Boots Riley Starring Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, Poppy Liu, Eiza González, Demi Moore, LaKeith Stanfield, Will Poulter, and Don Cheadle. This may not vibe with me as strongly as Sorry to Bother You had, but hot damn, this is so self-assured about presenting its anti-capitalist commentary in such a colorfully bonkers fashion that I simply must have a hoot … Continue reading Review of I Love Boosters
Written and directed by Elliot Tuttle Starring Reed Birney and Kieron Moore This takes a bold path towards challenging us with its deeply uncomfortable material, and it achieves that with quite a nimble hand. What writer-director Elliot Tuttle does to keep things afloat with Reed Birney and Kieron Moore onboard as the starring duo deserves admiration, because this could have easily collapsed into a bucket … Continue reading Review of Blue Film
Directed by Valerie Weiss Written by Casey Schroen Starring Bailey Noble, Jeanine Mason, Michael Grant Terry, Bill Sage, Dendrie Taylor, Kyanna Simone Simpson, Alexis Rosinsky, and Timothy Granaderos Damn, a lesbian action thriller that shows off the badassery of archery? Now this is the suspenseful substance that we need more of. As someone who’s taken precisely one archery lesson, which occurred on my 18th birthday, … Continue reading Review of The Archer
Written and directed by Larry Cohen Starring Eric Roberts, James Earl Jones, Megan Gallagher, Richard Bright, Janine Turner, Eric Braeden, Nick Chinlund, Red Buttons, James Dixon, and Stan Lee The chaotic creativity of this 1990 flick is absolutely something that belongs in Larry Cohen’s distinct filmography, and it’s all such fun to gobble up. I can understand why I’d come across a review that compared … Continue reading Review of The Ambulance
Written and directed by Curry Barker Starring Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, Megan Lawless, Cooper Tomlinson, Andy Richter, and Curry Barker Good lord, this is one of the most anxiety-inducing movies I’ve seen in a long while, allowing the dread and the bleakness to wrap themselves around me as I witness the horrifying and heart-wrenching consequences of an incredibly foolish wish. I had already been onboard … Continue reading Review of Obsession
Written and directed by Makoto Shinkai Starring Hisako Kanemoto, Kazuhiko Inoue, Miyu Irino, Rina Hidaka, Fumiko Orikasa, Sumi Shimamoto, Junko Takeuchi, Kanae Itou, and Tamio Ohki This touching and sorrowful tale proves to be a compelling entry in Makoto Shinkai’s oeuvre while being evocative of Studio Ghibli’s work. It’s interesting to go through reviews for this and see just how many people accuse it of … Continue reading Review of Children Who Chase Lost Voices
Created by Steven Conrad Starring Jason Bateman, David Harbour, Linda Cardellini, Richard Jenkins, Joy Sunday, Arlan Ruf, Peter Sarsgaard, Chris Perfetti, Wynn Everett, Aizley Ford, and Maddyn Kendall With its ability to subvert my expectations and weave a nuanced sweetness and poignance into its narrative, this HBO Max offering turns out to be one of the more surprisingly worthwhile shows as of late. The trailer … Continue reading Review of DTF St. Louis
Directed by Graham Mason Written by Graham Mason and Ikechukwu Ufomadu Starring Ikechukwu Ufomadu, Matt Barats, Ana Fabrega, Grace Rex, John Early, Aparna Nancherla, Anthony Oberbeck, Jessica Damouni, and Stavros Halkias With its quirky sense of humor, this takes its Columbo- and The Naked Gun-esque tale of murder down a stylistic and endearing path that gets quite a few chuckles out of me. I’ll admit … Continue reading Review of Inspector Ike
Directed by Phillip Noyce Written by Terry Hayes Based on the 1963 novel Dead Calm by Charles Williams Starring Nicole Kidman, Sam Neill, Billy Zane, and Benji (the dog) By trapping us out on the ocean and offering up three stars who are all on their A-game, this thriller whips up such a deeply claustrophobic atmosphere for me to sink my teeth into. There are … Continue reading Review of Dead Calm
Created by Nicolas Winding Refn and Ed Brubaker Starring Miles Teller, Augusto Aguilera, Cristina Rodlo, Nell Tiger Free, Jena Malone, John Hawkes, Babs Olusanmokun, William Baldwin, and Callie Hernandez This mesmerizingly pessimistic expression of Nicolas Winding Refn’s avant-garde style gives me precisely what I desire when it comes to this sort of slow-burn and dreamlike storytelling. My god, I had this on my watchlist for … Continue reading Too Old to Die Young
Directed by BenDavid Grabinski Written by BenDavid Grabinski Starring Vince Vaughn, James Marsden, Eiza González, Keith David, Jimmy Tatro, Stephen Root, Ben Schwartz, Arturo Castro, Emily Hampshire, and Lewis Tan With its dynamic action thrills, clever laughs, and likable stars, this lands as the sort of incredibly charming ride that I’d love to see more often. I remember hearing about this a few months ago … Continue reading My review of Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice
Directed by Alain Guiraudie Written by Alain Guiraudie Starring: Pierre Deladonchamps, Christophe Paou, Patrick d’Assumçao, Jérôme Chappatte, Mathieu Vervisch, Gilbert Traïna, Emmanuel Daumas, Sébastien Badachaoui, and François-Renaud Labarthe A tranquil lake that queer men use as a cruising spot creates a perfectly atmospheric backdrop for the erotic and murderous tension of this tale. It’s certainly one of the most slow-burn movies I’ve seen in a … Continue reading Stranger by the Lake Review
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