Author: Laurie Coker

SXSW 2022: LINOLEUM

It can be tough to review a film with detail and flourish and not reveal the surprises that make it entertaining. Linoleum, a film from director Colin West, starring Jim Gaffigan, had its Indy film premiere at SXSW digitally and in-person and provided a delightful and subtly cool diversion. This is the writer/director West’s second… Continue reading SXSW 2022: LINOLEUM

SXSW: APOLLO 10 1/2

The name “Boomer” seems to have a super negative connotation for some – namely millennials, but I am proud to have grown up when drinking out of the hose, climbing trees, having dirt fights, swimming in the resaca, catching fireflies, playing freeze tag, family game night, and the Wonderful World of Disney were cool.  Richard… Continue reading SXSW: APOLLO 10 1/2

SXSW 2022: THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’s title sums it up. Nicolas Cage and Pedro Pascal star in this laugh-out-loud, utterly silly, action-packed homage to Cage himself. Director/co-writer Tom Gormican with Kevin Etten has created a wild and hilarious farce with leads who have excellent and excitingly entertaining chemistry. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent pleases… Continue reading SXSW 2022: THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT

SXSW: A GIRL FROM PLAINVILLE – LIMITED SERIES

A girl from Plainville, Massachusetts, made headlines, and the series A Girl from Plainville chronicles the tale of Michelle Carter, a young woman who encouraged her boyfriend Conrad “Coco” Roy III to get back in his truck and kill himself. A Girl from Plainville takes viewers inside the lives of Michelle, Conrad, and their families,… Continue reading SXSW: A GIRL FROM PLAINVILLE – LIMITED SERIES

SXSW 2022: X

Horror or porn or both – the latter seems the direction for X, a new film by director Tim West. West helms this 1979-based horror flick, Grindhouse style, that centers on the filming of a porn movie.  Unlike other more successful offerings in the horror genre, like the terrifying Texas Chainsaw Massacre, X, even with… Continue reading SXSW 2022: X

SXSW 2022: The Thief Collector

Do we know our neighbors? Can we truly know everything about our families? Allison Otto’s The Thief Collector is an art heist documentary that builds slowly, into a surprising, “seriously?” moment that pleases – in its story and in Otto’s intriguing way of telling it. Otto has created a documentary that is an entertaining blend… Continue reading SXSW 2022: The Thief Collector

SXSW: EVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE, ALL AT ONCE

I like whacky films as much as the next guy. Cowriters/directors Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert take on familiar themes at a breakneck pace, taking the best advantage of their impressive cast. Plot twists, action, weirdness, bizarre, asinine, silly, riotous – sign me up. Everything, Everywhere, All at Once goes beyond these descriptors and offers… Continue reading SXSW: EVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE, ALL AT ONCE

The 355

‘The 355’ Strange title, but as obscure movie titles typically go, its origin is revealed during some not so random moment in the film. Sadly, ‘The 355,’ a gender flipping, mission impossible, flounders in every aspect and misses its mark. Its super-powered, all-star cast promises far more than the film delivers. Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyong’o,… Continue reading The 355

JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION

Jurassic World Dominion arrives in theaters June 10, 2022. The Prologue, a new, five-minute special prologue to Jurassic World Dominion, directed by Dominion director and co-writer Colin Trevorrow, is not featured in the film itself but is separate, original content. The Prologue serves as the beginning of a story that will be continued in theaters… Continue reading JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION