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The Old Guard Review
Action franchise starters that never started an actual franchise; a conversation I pray The Old Guard never enters. Wanted. The Losers. Gina Prince-Bythewood’s Netflix adaptation of Greg Rucka and...
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You Should Have Left Review
David Koepp’s You Should Have Left commits the cinematic sin of embracing boredom with the utmost forgettability. Damned if I’m writing this review at 1:00 AM with droopy eyelids because by morning,...
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Jumbo Review [Chattanooga Film Festival 2020]
“Fortune favors the bold,” is a cornily-overused phrase that continues to be “overused” with purpose. Belgium’s Zoé Wittock could have scripted another lookalike coming-of-age teen romance. Instead,...
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Skull Review [Chattanooga Film Festival 2020]
Armando Fonseca and Kapel Furman’s Skull is a bloody-brutal, bloody-barbaric, blood-bloody-bloody Brazilian midnighter that emphasizes over-the-top deaths. A simple concept and to-the-point execution...
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Scare Package Review [Chattanooga Film Festival 2020]
Shudder’s upcoming Scare Package is a love-letter to genre obsessions inked in blood by horror-loving filmmakers. Any anthology comes with ups and downs, but thankfully the “ups” here swing bigger than...
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The Lovebirds Review
After The Big Sick, a reunion between Michael Showalter and Kumail Nanjiani should leave me more enthused. Add Issa Rae, and that’s doubly true. Alas, The Lovebirds sings no sweet songs of romance or...
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Scoob! Review
Legacy megafans of Mystery Inc. should take heed: Scoob! is less origin reboot, more launchpad for Hanna-Barbera’s cinematic universe. Truthfully, it’s sweet and sincere and stresses teachable moments...
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Blood Quantum Review
Jeff Barnaby’s Blood Quantum is an unconventional yet accessible strain of zombie cinema. Instead of keying into 28 Days Later ferocity as patient zero outbreaks spread, Barnaby favors an exploration...
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Extraction Review
“That’s certainly a Netflix Original!” is becoming a frequent description in my critical lexicon. It’s not a dig, but not a glowing recommendation, either. Filmmakers flock to the streaming...
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Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge Review
Moviegoers (er, Moviestayers under social distancing regulations) don’t primarily recognize Warner Brothers Animation for their cleave-and-dismember content, but after Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s...
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The Platform Review
You can add Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia’s The Platform to the universe’s ever-growing list of directorial debuts that showcase anything but novice skill sets. As Bong Joon-ho’s Snowpiercer and Ben...
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Bloodshot Review
Dave Wilson’s Bloodshot adaptation is a sanitized superhero origin story that never elevates itself above preconceived expectations. Vin Diesel plays deadly serious despite the film’s tone crying for a...
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The Hunt Review
After seeing The Hunt, you’ll understand how asinine pre-release protesters now sound (hindsight, dear readers). No political identification is safely coddled. Outrageous rhetoric isn’t intended to be...
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The Invisible Man Review
Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man confirms multiple, evident truths. For starters, Universal’s slate of classic monsters isn’t destined for only failed reboots and doomed cinematic worlds. Whannell,...
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Brahms: The Boy II Review
Brahms: The Boy II favors a benefit not all sequels can boast: the retaining of original creative parties. Writer Stacey Menear and director William Brent Bell both return in their respective roles...
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Fantasy Island Review
Jeff Wadlow’s Fantasy Island ain’t worth one ticket to paradise, let alone two. Blumhouse’s reworked ABC drama isn’t the ferocious sanctuary survival flick that trailers or posters promote, nor do its...
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Sonic The Hedgehog Review
Wow, talk about a bullet dodged. Jeff Fowler’s live-action Sonic the Hedgehog faced scathing internet ridicule over the title hero’s original animated personification (THEM CHOMPERS), but Paramount’s...
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Birds Of Prey Review
Whenever filmmakers hoist their freak flag highest, that’s when Warner Brothers’ DCU has “peacocked” its feathers with the most memorable results. Let Shazam merge low-key horror influences with...
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Gretel & Hansel Review
Gretel & Hansel is the most I’ve been taken by an Osgood Perkins production to date. Are those words meant to be interpreted in dual meanings? I’m no tease. Yes, 2020’s grim retelling of a fabled...
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The Turning Review
Floria Sigismondi’s The Turning, based on Henry James’ novella The Turn Of The Screw, is the exact spookless blunder that gives “January Horror” a pitiful reputation. Chad and Carey Hayes seem utterly...
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