They did what I thought was impossible: figure out how to carry on the Scream franchise without Sidney Prescott. And, in a shocking turn of events, I’m happy about it. Like most fans of the heavily self-aware franchise, I saw the film as close to premiere day as I could. Scream is one of those series that is near and dear to my heart, as I’m … Continue reading Scream VI (2023): A Bloody Hell of a Good Time
Listen: save for Doctor Strange, Scott Derrickson can’t write a film for nothin’ (and I attribute Doctor Strange‘s success to the visuals and the control that Marvel had over the subject matter. There were standards to uphold.) Nearly every time I have watched a film written and directed by that man, I end up watching a film with flimsily put together characters who have little to … Continue reading The Black Phone (2022)
A Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer’s client, goes on the run, and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother. One of the few true horror films on AFI’s 100 Greatest Films list is this Alfred Hitchcock classic. Released in theaters in 1960, I remember reading somewhere that, once the film began, you wouldn’t be … Continue reading 14. Psycho (1960)
My significant other was in charge of getting these tickets for us on opening night. He chose an 11:45 PM showing. For a nearly 3 hour film. On a day that I worked. My faith that I would stay awake for the entire film was low. But, I was wrong. I was dead wrong. I was awake and enthralled for the full two hours and … Continue reading The Batman (2022): A Neo-Noir Beauty
I feel like I have been waiting so long for this sequel to come out. Although, let me just say, Candyman (2021) is definitely worth the wait. Directed by Nia DaCosta, Candyman picks up thirty years after the first Candyman film. We are introduced to an artist, Anthony McCoy, and his girlfriend, art gallery director Brianna Cartwright. Anthony, in trying to come up with some new work, decides to … Continue reading Candyman (2021)
When will people stop letting M. Night Shyamalan adapt work into a screenplay? Did studios learn NOTHING from Avatar: The Last Airbender? Old is adapted from the 2010 graphic novel Sandcastles by Pierre Oscar Levy and Frederik Peeters. And, in true Shyamalan fashion, he adds his own twists and explanations that, I assume, he thinks are clever. Old finds three groups of people traveling to a … Continue reading Old (2021)
An insurance representative lets himself be talked by a seductive housewife into a murder/insurance fraud scheme that arouses the suspicion of an insurance investigator. To me, Double Indemnity is the quintessential film noir. Although, this film was made before that term had ever even been used. It has everything that a film noir should have: narration, a femme fatale, an air of mystery, dramatic lighting, fast dialogue, … Continue reading 29. Double Indemnity (1944)
If you’re looking to watch a film that’s a good time with a solid plot and some fun characters, then absolutely watch the film Nobody. Written by the same man who wrote the John Wick films (Derek Kolstad), Nobody follows Hutch Mansell (Bob Odenkirk), a seemingly ordinary man who lives a seemingly routine life working in construction. When his house gets broken into, and his family’s lives … Continue reading Nobody (2021)
A U.S. Army officer serving in Vietnam is tasked with assassinating a renegade Special Forces Colonel who sees himself as a god. As per usual with films about Vietnam, there is a lot to unpack here. Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now begins with footage of bombs going off, destroying the landscape while the lyrics “This is the end, beautiful friend” plays, and that’s just where the … Continue reading 30. Apocalypse Now (1979)
Written and directed by Remi Weekes, in his directorial debut, His House is a harrowing horror film about a refugee couple who have escaped South Sudan and are trying to assimilate into the UK in order to, hopefully, gain citizenship and create a better life for themselves. All the while, they are being haunted by their past and by the fear of losing their culture and … Continue reading His House (2020): Horror Through Trauma
