The events taking place in “Luce” are the kind that are likely to generate a multitude of discussion and debate. J.C. Lee’s play turned screenplay is a riveting exploration into the social, physiological, and racial discussions currently being had in our society, albeit from a different perspective. However, it’s difficult to absorb entirely what “Luce” is trying to explore […]
Them That Follow is not a horror movie, but you wouldn’t know that from the marketing and especially the poster which features a snake wrapped about lead actress Alice Englert neck. To the films credit, the subject matter is quite horrific. Religious fanaticism set in the backwoods of the Appalachian Mountains, finds an all-star cast
Filmmaker Tate Taylor reunites with his award winning actresses Octavia Spencer (“The Shape of Water”) and Allison Janney (“I Tonya”) following their blockbuster collaboration on “The Help” back in 2011. “Ma” is something entirely different for everyone involved, especially Spencer nay-sayers who thought the Oscar winner wouldn’t have a career following Minny Jackson. The three
If anyone cares to remember the 2015 Jennifer Lopez trash cinema “The Boy Next Door,” where a realistic situation is turned into smut tv on screen, that’s exactly what you are getting with “The Intruder.” These movies (I refuse to call them films because there is zero cinematic integrity) are bad on their own, but
You might not expect to see the most suspenseful movie of the year at the Toronto International Film Festival, but Hotel Mumbai is just that film. To make things more impressive it’s from first time feature film director Anthony Maras. Hotel Mumbai encapsulates the citywide terror attacks that occurred in Mumbai, India in 2008. It’s
Following up on the kind of success Jordan Peele had with directorial debut “Get Out” was always going to be an anticipated event, hard to satisfy. “Us” will please the fans who discovered “Get Out” before it became a phenomenon and Oscar winner. What it won’t do, is make the leap to awards contender or bring in audiences who typically stay far away from the horror movies. That doesn’t
Of the myriad of films I have viewed in my years attending the Toronto Film Festival, “Out of Blue” is by far the worst. It goes beyond bad acting, an uneven screenplay and a low-quality production. Director Carol Morley has essentially transformed a low budget television episode into a disproportional murder mystery. Honestly, I’ve seen
Irish director Neil Jordan is a bit unpredictable when you sit down for his films. “The End of the Affair” was unpredictably sexual, “The Brave One” outrageously violent and suspenseful, even his vampire flick “Byzantium” gave the genre a completely different perspective. His latest thriller “Greta” makes very good use of Isabelle Huppert, recently Oscar
There is an emerging trend in the film industry of remaking and Americanizing foreign films for the US Market. Of course this is nothing new, it’s been happening for decades, but never in such large numbers. The level and quality of foreign films is what has changed, as seen in the 2018 Academy awards race
The complexity of the plot in Serenity (which is far from serene) hypes up the excitement and intrigue, and keeps you guessing throughout. The theme of “What is real?” gives it an added boost in depth as the viewer is forced to ask the question over and over in terms of the plot, but also in terms of