My continued complaint with filmmakers is they don’t watch enough other films. “Blackbird” might have been an award-worthy, groundbreaking new take on the terminally ill/assisted suicide moral dilemma if a handful of other films on the same subject hadn’t gotten their first. Roger Michell (“Notting Hill,” “My Cousin Rachel“) isn’t known for originality, in fact, […]
It’s been four years since The Zellner Brothers delivered the oddity known as “Kumiko.” The filmmaking duo co-directed, wrote and star in their latest, “Damsel,” which is both a modern interpretation of and a spoof of the classic western. “Shitty in new and fascinating ways,” we hear in the opening sequence. “Damsel” is less of
Another day, another unnecessary sequel. The original Alice in Wonderland (2010) director Tim Burton has abandoned the project (still a producer) while The Muppets director James Bobin takes over. For all intents and purposes Alice Through the Looking Glass appears to be the same; familiar cast, characters, and style. However, it’s a complete departure from
It’s been a while since Guillermo del Toro was attached to something worthy of praise. His crowning achievement Pans Labyrinth (2006) remains his best work to date. It was the bombastic Pacific Rim (2013) that introduced del Toro to a worldwide audience, which makes Crimson Peak, a much smaller project, feel like a bit
When director David Cronenberg is good, he is really good, but when he is bad, it’s difficult to sit through his films. A History of Violence will always be his modern masterpiece in my mind, and often his best work has been with Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises, A Dangerous Method). Mortensen dropped out of this