It’s hard to imagine an American comic book movie that’s as proudly naïve and nostalgic as the fizzy Bollywood musical “The Archies,” which relocates the happy stock characters of “Archie” comics to a fantasy version of mid-‘60s India. It’s harder still to imagine another achingly sincere and light-hearted comic book adaptation that doesn’t also slavishly…
“I’m not a serial killer, I’m somebody who solves a problem for somebody else.” Yep. Netflix has debuted a 3-minute behind-the-scenes look at David Fincher’s The Killer, his assassin thriller from this year that’s now streaming on Netflix worldwide. Fincher is notoriously quiet about the behind-the-scenes, so it’s nice to get any time with him…
Folk singer Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) is auditioning for Bud Grossman (F. Murray Abraham) in a last-ditch effort to salvage his fading chances of making it as a folk singer. This single pivotal scene defines what the Coen Brothers superb “Inside Llewyn Davis” is all about. During his audition toward the end of the film,…
Some things never change, according to the song that opens this film of the Broadway stage production. But as the final song reminds us, some things do change, and what happens between are the kinds of changes that happen to us and the changes we make happen. The Tony-nominated musical is based on a beloved 2007…
Celebrate the holidays with some ho-ho-horror movies. By Meg Shields · Published on December 7th, 2023 Welcome to Horrorscope, a monthly column keeping horror nerds and initiates up to date on all the horror content coming to and leaving your favorite streaming services. Here’s what to watch in December 2023: Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong…
In which Todd Haynes goes full Pedro Almodóvar and never looks back. By Meg Shields · Published on December 7th, 2023 There is a moment early in the set-dressing of May December when my jaw swung open like the doors of a well-loved saloon. On paper, it’s nothing out of the ordinary: a caress between a married…
“I don’t always feel like the most reliable source…” Gravitas posted the official trailer for this indie horror creation called Soft Liquid Center, made by a filmmaking duo called “Perry Home Video“. It premiered at a few fests earlier this year, including at the RiverRun & Chattanooga Film Festivals, with a VOD release set for…
A little over halfway through “Saltburn”—writer/director Emerald Fennell’s early aughts-set class study—it’s clear the jig is up. Wealthy golden boy Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi) takes the shape-shifting Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) on a road trip to what he believes is a broken household helmed by a drunken, destitute mother. Winding down country roads in Felix’s…
You do a disservice to Werner Herzog’s movies—and maybe Herzog himself—by uncritically reducing them to extensions of his singular personality, known predominantly in American pop culture as a whimsical mythomaniac with a funny accent. To their credit, the makers of the artist’s profile documentary “Werner Herzog: Radical Dreamer” interview some of Herzog’s collaborators, including a…
“They will be remembered.” Master Chief is back!! Fire up the first look teaser trailer for the exciting second season of the live-action Halo series on Paramount+. Much like the other epic sci-fi series Foundation on Apple TV+, it looks like they’re kicking things up quite a few notches for Season 2, going even bigger…
Godzilla turns 70 next year, and to celebrate, his parent company Toho Studios waited until the end of this year to release the most conventional Godzilla movie in recent memory. “Godzilla Minus One” may also be the most sobering and least flamboyant Japanese-produced Godzilla movie since the original 1954 nuclear lizard disaster pic (though “Godzilla…
When I got to Boston in the winter of 2008 for schooling, I knew almost no one. I had family that I roomed with for a semester and took it as my burden that by living an hour’s train ride away, it wouldn’t be feasible or realistic to try and do much in the city, and…
“Family Switch” is a Dad Joke of a movie, genially corny but enjoying its corniness so much that it invites us to enjoy it, too. It is a body-switching movie where a character assures everyone, “This is a completely unique and original situation that has literally never happened before,” followed by a series of lightly…
A familiar voice cast returns for this bold, heartfelt, self-referential new take on a much-loved story. By Valerie Ettenhofer · Published on November 28th, 2023 Reboot, remake, revival, reimagining, legacy sequel: there are a half-dozen names for the surprising second comings of beloved and mediocre franchises alike, but none of them describe the precise alchemy of Scott…
The story of Maureen Kearney is one of the most confounding scandals of the present day. Kearney was a labor representative for workers in the French nuclear industry. In the early part of the 2010s, the Irish-born Kearney discovered dealings that would throw France’s nuclear sector into the hands of Chinese interests> one of many…
Only the living care about the cost of revenge. By Rob Hunter · Published on November 27th, 2023 John Woo may not be a big name for current filmgoing audiences — and to be fair, it’s been twenty years since his last wide theatrical release in the U.S. — but action fans know that he’s the real…
“Where did the money come from?” Another official trailer has arrived for the Hong Kong film called The Goldfinger, which is exactly what is listed (in English) in the title card of this trailer. The film is also going under the title Once Upon a Time in Hong-Kong, written and directed by the filmmaker Felix…
It could be argued that Oscar winner Julianne’s Moore’s finest hours are in her leading roles with writer/director Todd Haynes. From her ability to pull off a scene with emotional theatrics to sell her character’s turmoil to how she can shatter the viewer with a glance or a line reading, Haynes–a visionary who emphasizes character…
Just over 25 years after the debut of the original film, Nickelodeon reignited the nostalgic cult flame with the Paramount+ release of “Good Burger 2.” Dexter (Kenan Thompson) is a failed entrepreneur, and after his latest business venture literally goes up in flames, he returns to Good Burger hoping for a crutch from Ed (Kel…
“Why do I pull out my hair?” That’s the question Kelly typed into Google one day while in lockdown. And she ended up on a journey into the depths of the internet, spiraling around the hallowed halls of Google. Trichotillomania! is an animated short made by filmmaker Kelly Schiesswohl (aka “kelly4.me“) based in NYC. It’s…
“There’s an ocean of consciousness inside each of us. It’s an ocean of solutions… When you dive into that ocean, that consciousness, you enliven it, it grows and the final outcome of this growth of consciousness is called enlightenment – which is the full potential for us all.” It’s time for something relaxing. We all…