One of the films that generated a lot of buzz at the Sundance Film Festival in 2023 was Magazine Dreams, from writer and director Elijah Bynum. Star Jonathan Majors was definitely on the come up, starring in critically acclaimed pieces like The Last Black Man in San Francisco and Lovecraft Country and playing Kang in the MCU. …
Leigh Whannell’s Wolf Man, starring Christopher Abbott, Julia Garner, and Matilda Firth arrives on home video this week. The film received mixed reviews from critics (including our Manuel São Bento), but a UHD Blu-ray release is always a reason to celebrate, and this one is no exception. So, let’s take …
HBO’s The White Lotus proved a revelation upon its release in 2021. The results of seasons one and two delivered one of the most entertaining series in recent memory. Show creator and writer Mike White struck a seamless balance, providing a sharp satire and critique of the rich. Not only …
Samara Weaving has become a recurring presence in horror, thriller, and action flicks with a touch of dark humor. From The Babysitter to Ready or Not, along with Guns Akimbo and Azrael, the Australian actress has cemented herself as a modern-day final girl, embracing roles that balance stylized violence and …
Well. If we thought the previous episode of Reacher was plot heavy, in Smoke on the Water all those plot points have babies, meaning there’s an entire family tree of stuff going on that, thanks to the spoiler restrictions from Amazon, reviewers cannot reveal. It’s understandable since so much modern-day …
The news that Amazon are now the owners of the James Bond franchise has landed with some surprise amidst this new season of Reacher. It’s not so much the sale but the fact that the Broccoli family, who creatively controlled the series for over fifty years, relinquished those creative rights …
I will bet a hundred billion dollars the character of Dominique Kohl (Mariah Robinson) was named after the heroine of The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand’s smash-hit novel from 1943 that introduced the political philosophy of objectivism to the world. Objectivism has been an incredibly influential ethos in economics and politics in …
Long Day’s Journey into Night has been a core of the theatrical canon since its 1956 debut. It won the Pulitzer Prize posthumously for its author, Eugene O’Neill, and has been in worldwide repertory ever since. The role of the mother, Mary Tyrone, is one of the best in the …
Acting as a true, unapologetically enthusiastic celebration of Hong Kong action icon Jackie Chan, Kung Fu Rookie (or Timuchin), is a fun homage to a significant figure in martial arts cinema. With Chan’s Karate Kid: Legends releasing in a few months and his classic Rumble in the Bronx celebrating its …
In The End, Joshua Oppenheimer turns his camera from documentary towards fiction while continuing his exploration of the lies people tell themselves. The film opens with a young man (George Mackay) painstakingly painting miniature figures and landscapes onto a large diorama; on closer inspection, the diorama seems to encapsulate a …
Luck is not a belief unique to Americans, but The Luckiest Man in America – a half-fictionalised dramatisation of real events directed by Samir Oliveros – makes the case that no one commits to the myth of random good fortune with as much aplomb as does the denizens of the …
Dawn breaks over the Maine countryside as Duke (Donald Sales) and Reacher (the remarkable Alan Ritchson) drive back to the compound and discuss the infuriating Angel Doll (Manuel Rodriguez-Saenz). In the kitchen, Reacher tries to glean intel from housemaid Annette (Caitlin McNerney) and sharp-tongued English chef Agnes (Helen Taylor), though …
This second episode of the new season of Reacher is a day without much sunshine. By which is meant Reacher (the magnificent Alan Ritchson) has only one physical fight in Truckin’. It is between Reacher and Paulie (Olivier Richters), the unpleasant thug who is literally double Reacher’s size. Fortunately, Reacher …
Bong Joon-ho is one of the most fascinating filmmakers of the century. From The Host to Parasite, not forgetting Snowpiercer or Okja, the writer-director jumps from genre to genre, blending distinct tones with remarkable balance and efficiency. Joon-ho fits into that special category of filmmakers who simply cannot make a …
The most popular American TV show is back, and as the first three (plus!) episodes of the new season of Reacher recently dropped on Prime Video, it’s worth discussing why this show – the modern James Bond – has been such a smash hit. The similarities with James Bond do …
France-based game developers Don’t Nod, the creators of the award-winning and critically acclaimed Life is Strange, have helmed a new story-based choose your own adventure game titled Lost Records: Bloom & Rage after Square Enix sold the rights to Life is Strange to Deck Nine. The first of two parts, …
The return of one of the greatest comic book TV series of all time is ready to shake up the world with Daredevil: Born Again. Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio return to their lead roles as Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk. I consider the original Netflix three seasons the best comic book …
The Sundance Film Festival is a home for independent cinema. It’s somewhere for creatives and filmmakers to express themselves through obscure art. Being so obscure can lead to many films garnering a pulverizing response. It can sometimes lead films down the awards show circuit, like 2022’s best picture winner, Coda, …
One of the many reasons I love film and television is its ability to comment on the world. A piece of content can take a real-world context (i.e., a global pandemic or world disaster) and wrap it in an even more heightened setting. The results can create something entertaining while …
If there’s one person you want to cast in your movie about a man waging war against local thugs, who slowly but surely has a mental collapse, it’s the ever-eccentric Nicolas Cage. Pair Cage with Lorcan Finnegan, director of bizarre suburban horror Vivarium, and you have a match made in …