At 88-years-old, Alejandro Jodorowsky remains the reigning
godfather of Avant Garde, surrealist cinema. So it’s no surprise that the
Chilean director’s latest, the highly autobiographical Endless
Poetry, is gorgeous, challenging, and weird as all hell.
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Wednesday, May 31, 2017
Monday, May 29, 2017
SIFF 2017: 'Small Town Killers' (2017) Movie Review
You ever get drunk, order a bunch of shit online, and be
totally surprised when it arrives? What do you do when the unwanted package
shows up on your doorstep? That’s what happens to sex-obsessed blue-collar BFFs
Edward (Ulrich Thomsen) and Ib (the perfectly named Nicolas Bro) in Danish
director Ole Bornedal’s black comedy Small Town Killers.
Only instead of a box of movies or a questionable clothing item like a
man-romper, they order a Russian hitman to kill their wives.
Thursday, May 25, 2017
Like 'Thunderheart'? Watch This 'Wind River' Trailer
Do you like Thunderheart? If the answer
is yes (which is the correct answer, by the way), you may want to check out the
trailer for Taylor Sheridan’s new feature, Wind River.
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
'Baywatch' (2017) Movie Review
Baywatch can’t decide what movie it wants
to be. Is it a foul-mouthed, satiric send up of the long-running cheeseball T&A
fest (the easy comparison is 21 Jump Street)? Or is it an
earnest action drama about a ragtag group of lifeguards becoming a family and
saving their beach? The attempt to be both ultimately drags director Seth
Gordon’s (Identity Thief) film down to drown in the watery
depths.
SIFF 2017: 'Bad Day For The Cut' (2017) Capsule Review
Never mess with a man’s mother. That’s cinematic villainy
101. It doesn’t matter how old the guy is, and in the case of Chris Baugh’s
debut feature, Bad Day for the Cut, that’s certainly the
case, because this old dude will mess you up but good.
Tuesday, May 23, 2017
SIFF 2017: 'Lake Bodom' (2016) Movie Review
I’ll give it to Finnish director Taneli Mustonen and the
crew behind the new slasher, Lake Bodom, they go for it with
gusto. Playing with horror tropes from a variety of subgenres, and even
sub-subgenres, individual pieces are fantastic. Taken together, however, the
whole is disjointed and watches almost like multiple shorts stitched together
with little care for continuity or reason.
Monday, May 22, 2017
SIFF 2017: 'Wulu' (2016) Movie Review
In Mali in 2007, drug trafficking was a growth industry. It
got so bad it ultimately contributed to governmental collapse and a military
coup d’etat a few years later. This is the world of Daouda Coulibaly’s debut
feature, Wulu, a rags-to-riches crime saga like you won't see anywhere else.
Friday, May 19, 2017
SIFF 2017: 'Bad Black (2016) Movie Review
If you’re not familiar with Wakaliwood, Bad
Black is your loud, raucous wakeup call. You need
to be watching the insane action movies coming out of Wakaliga, a slum in
Kampala, Uganda’s capital city. This shit’ll blow your mind.
SIFF 2017: 'Entanglement' (2017) Movie Review
Ben (Silicon Valley star Thomas
Middleditch) is depressed. In fact, Jason James’ dark comedy
Entanglement begins with montage of failed suicide attempts.
Fortunately, Ben’s too inept to die—he tries to gas himself with an exhaust
pipe, but a kid steals his car; he takes a bath with a toaster, but forgets to
plug it in; when he succeeds in slitting his wrists, he gets up to answer the
front door.
SIFF 2017: 'Time Trap' (2017) Movie Review
When a group of college students—and two tweens named Veeves
and Furby, brought along for specious reasons—head into a mysterious cave
system to find a beloved professor, himself searching for a group of hippies
who disappeared years before, they discover underground time is not the same as
surface time. And then shit gets real weird.
Thursday, May 18, 2017
'Okja' Trailer: Meet The Most Adorable Super Pig
Any Bong Joon-ho movie is worth getting excited about. But
when it’s about a little girl trying to rescue her best friend, a best friend
that just happens to be a giant pig monster, it has my full attention. The
Korean auteur’s latest premieres at Cannes tomorrow, and Netflix dropped a wonderful
new trailer for Okja.
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
13 SIFF 2017 Films You Need To See
Tuesday, May 16, 2017
'Alien: Covenant' (2017) Movie Review
In 2012, Ridley Scott ventured back to the site of one of
his greatest cinematic triumphs with Prometheus. This sci-fi
opus, set in the Alien universe and serving as a precursor
to one of the all-time greats, is uneven at best. I’m a staunch defender—it’s
ambitious, full of lofty themes, moody and tense and creepy all in a line with the
original, not to mention gorgeous—but I understand where the detractors come from.
'War For The Planet Of The Apes' Trailer Will Finish The Fight
Who knew motion capture monkeys would be the of the most
affecting blockbuster movie characters of the last few years? But here we are. As
we prepare to wrap up the trilogy (though one producer said there could be more
movies down the road), 20th Century Fox has unleashed a ferocious new trailer
for War for the Planet of the Apes.
Friday, May 12, 2017
'Deathgasm' Director Teams Up With Harry Potter For Insane Sounding Action Comedy 'Guns Akimbo'
New Zealand-based demonic heavy metal gore fest
Deathgasm was one of my favorite movies of 2015. It’s like
everything I love all in one place. Director Jason Lei Howden just lined up his
second feature, an action comedy also steeped in violence, called Guns
Akimbo. And he’s teaming up with Harry Potter himself, DanielRadcliff, to star.
The 'Turbo Kid' Team Is Back For Horror Thriller "Summer Of '84"
Tuesday, May 9, 2017
'King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword' (2017) Movie Review
Do you lament the lack of sword and sorcery movies coming
out of Hollywood? Well, fans of the likes of Krull,
Beastmaster, Hawk the Slayer, and the
slew of awesomely cheesy dudes-with swords-fighting-evil-magicians-movies that
proliferated the early 1980s, are in luck with Guy Ritchie’s King
Arthur: Legend of the Sword. I won’t necessarily say it’s good, but
it’s a decent modern approximation of those movies, for both good and ill. It’s
crazy, but not quite crazy enough. And though there are delirious highs, there
are crushing, cringe-inducing lows. So, you know, par for the course.
Monday, May 8, 2017
'Blade Runner 2049' Trailer: Ryan Gosling Wants To Ask Harrison Ford Some Questions
I’m admittedly skeptical about things like sequels to
game-changing classics that arrive, I don’t know, let’s say 35 years after the original.
In most cases, I’d rather Hollywood leave well enough alone, but since that’s
never going to happen, at least we can hope these movies are good. And holy
shit, does Blade Runner 2049 look good. Check out the new
trailer below. Any lingering skepticism (very little at this point) I had just
got blown to dust.
Friday, May 5, 2017
Watch The Trailer For Stylish Cannes-Bound South Korean Thriller 'The Merciless'
Over at least the last couple of decades, no one does gritty
crime thrillers quite like South Korean filmmakers. There’s a laundry list of
incredible titles from a collection of my favorite directors currently working
anywhere, and it looks like Byun Sung-hyun wants to add his name to that roster
with The Merciless. Check out the international trailer for
Cannes-bound picture.
Thursday, May 4, 2017
Gareth Evans' Actioner 'Apostle' Goes To Church In First Image
After Merantau, The Raid,
The Raid 2, and even that short, I’m completely in the bag
for anything Gareth Evans does next. That especially includes his upcoming
Apostle, which, in addition to being a Gareth Evans movie,
also has an awesome cast and sounds freaking rad. It’s still off in the distant
future, but now we have our first look at Apostle. Check it
out after the jump.
Wednesday, May 3, 2017
'Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2' (2017) Movie Review
What’s the one thing Guardians of the
Galaxy, Marvel’s 2014 deep space adventure, is missing? That’s right,
Kurt Russell. Fortunately for everyone, writer/director James Gunn’s follow up,
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 rectifies that oversight with
a vengeance. Oh yeah, and there’s Baby Groot, who may be the most adorable
character to ever grace the silver screen.
Monday, May 1, 2017
Full 'It Comes At Night' Trailer Is Terrifying
A24’s upcoming horror It Comes at Night,
from Krisha director Trey Edward Shults, debuted with a
surprise screening this weekend at the inaugural Overlook Film Festival (one of
many, many reasons I’m bummed I didn’t make it to this awesome new genre fest
in my own back yard). The internet had a collective orgasmic freakout, which
only makes me want to watch this right now. And to accompany the unexpected
premiere (it’s reportedly still a rough cut with unfinished special effects),
there’s a creepy new trailer. Check it out after the jump.