Based on Adam Cesare’s popular YA novel of the same name, Clown in a Cornfield is a mishmash of pseudo comedic and horror elements, but it doesn’t come together as a cohesive horror-comedy. Director Eli Craig (Tucker & Dale vs. Evil) is given an array of teenage anti-heroes; a clan of “bad apples” who have given their town an infamous reputation from phoney online videos featuring a ghoulish, stalking clown named Frendo. When they begin to be…
As usual, considering that Durga Chew-Bose’s Bonjour Tristesse is based on Francoise Sagan’s novel of the same name, I can’t comment on how faithful this movie is to its source material. However, considering how unsatisfied I was by the end credits, I did some research to understand the film’s relation to the novel. Suddenly, the stars aligned and I figured out the root of my agitation. Sagan’s Bonjour Tristesse was published in 1954, predating the French New Wave…
Sharp Corner is a character study of repressed, prickly ambiguity from writer/director Jason Buxton (Blackbird). The McCalls feel as though they’ve moved into the perfect house, until they discover an unfortunate wrinkle behind their rural address. Their new house looks out to a winding backroad that challenges vehicles to its turn. The drivers that succumb to the rough road turn up in the McCalls’ front yard where they’re either fatally injured or dead. This becomes…
Reviewing Rust is tough when all you want to do is write a eulogy for Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer who was killed on set by a functioning gun serving as a prop. While that approach to writing about Rust may sound cliché, it’s also the only way to acknowledge the sensational camerawork in Joel Souza’s western (which Hutchins shares with their replacement cinematographer Bianca Cline [Marcel the Shell with Shoes On]). As silhouettes drape across the…
Approaching Cheech & Chong’s Last Movie as a newbie is an odd choice by me. However, the comedy duo have been in the pop culture limelight for decades, and have become synonymous with stoner comedies. Hell, they practically invented the sub-genre. I figured I’d knew enough to hang with these pals for their last outing. Except, Cheech & Chong’s Last Movie isn’t necessarily a “Cheech and Chong comedy”. Instead, it’s a documentary about the duo disguised as…