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In the small South Korean community of Hope Harbor, the local police chief and a rookie officer must defend their home from a bizarre, seemingly monstrous threat they are clearly unprepared for. The movie starts solidly and impactfully for its first couple of acts; however, filmmaker Na Hong-jin fails to deliver a realistic ending, which… Continue reading HOPE: A South Korean “Monster” Thriller That Goes A Bit Too Far

Until last weekend, I had never watched 1998’s Practical Magic. For whatever reason, a horror/rom-com about witches just never interested me. However, when I did receive the screening invitation to Practical Magic 2, I knew I had some homework to do. After watching the sleek and lean 106-minute affair, I didn’t exactly feel like I… Continue reading PRACTICAL MAGIC 2: An Unnecessary Slog of a Sequel

Sometimes a movie doesn’t have to reinvent anything to be a good time. Mayday, now streaming on Apple TV, is exactly that kind of movie: fast, funny, action-packed, and familiar enough that there are very few surprises. Still, thanks largely to the chemistry between Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh, I had a lot of fun… Continue reading Mayday Review: Familiar Action, Great Chemistry, and a Scene-Stealing Kenneth Branagh

Filmmaker Joe Swanberg, one of the founding fathers of Mumblecore, is back with another examination of love, sex, and relationships. In The Sun Never Sets, Swanberg and his wonderful cast present a story and characters whose romantic entanglements drive them mad and push them to do extreme things. Though the movie is labeled a drama,… Continue reading THE SUN NEVER SETS: Love and Relationship Insanity

Adam Wingard made a name for himself in genre filmmaking with his feature You’re Next and followed up with the also enjoyable The Guest. The director took on a few more movies before tackling a franchise feature, Godzilla vs. Kong, and then Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. Though Wingard cut his teeth making genre… Continue reading ONSLAUGHT: A Grindhouse Return to Form For Adam Wingard

I grew up with Looney Tunes, so Coyote vs. Acme had me before it even got going. There is something wonderfully comforting about seeing Wile E. Coyote, Road Runner, Foghorn Leghorn, and so many other familiar faces back on screen, especially when the animation has such an old-school feel. Director Dave Green clearly understands that… Continue reading Coyote vs. Acme: a Delightful Trip Down Memory Lane

Written and directed by Macon Blair, Idiots presents an entertaining but slightly disturbing film that offers commentary on the wealthy’s entitlement and the state of influencer media today. Though I often laughed and was genuinely surprised and appalled, Idiots definitely drives its points hard. It definitely comes across as a slap to the face of… Continue reading IDIOTS: A Dark and Crazy Ride That Offers Commentary on Modern Media

I have seen my share of post-apocalyptic movies, and Ridley Scott’s The Dog Stars does not bring anything new to the table. The movie features some moderately compelling characters, but it doesn’t do anything particularly exciting or dynamic with them. I have never read the novel by Peter Heller that inspired this adaptation. Still, I… Continue reading THE DOG STARS: A Very Derivative Post-apocalyptic Affair

At this point, I know exactly what to expect when I walk into a Jason Statham movie, and I am perfectly fine with that. In fact, that is part of the appeal. He plays essentially the same character over and over again: tough, controlled, perpetually underestimated, and capable of dismantling a room full of bad… Continue reading Mutiny: Delivers Exactly the Jason Statham Movie I Wanted