Dangerous Animals has the potential to be a sleeper hit of the summer. So, it’s unfortunate Sean Byrne’s horror-thriller film has been released prematurely. But nevertheless, the film will initially attract a crowd from the squeamish to the chortling yucksters who share a mutual interest – everybody loves a shark movie. While Byrne’s movie has plenty of deep sea casualties, the film’s secret sauce is the star power of Jai Courtney; a comment that could be…
Charles Grodin was a fascinating performer and public figure. While occasionally disarming his stoic presence for his audience, the actor always appeared to have more personality and tricks underneath his tough exterior. In Charles Grodin: Rebel with a Cause, documentarian James L. Freedman (Glickman) attempts to pinpoint the core of Grodin’s strengths, and his persistence to always be fair. The doc also follows his career as an actor, producer, director, talk show host, and activist….
Few movies can pull off comedy that’s been conceived from clumsy Americans on vacation. I Don’t Understand You is one of those anomalies. Former Big Mouth co-stars Andrew Rannells and Nick Kroll star as Cole and Dom, a married couple who have been trying to adopt a child with no such luck. After several attempts, they’re matched with expectant mother Candice (Amanda Seyfried) just before a vacation to Italy to celebrate their 10th anniversary. Now with…
The Woman in the Yard finds Blumhouse Productions singing a different tune compared to their back catalogue of modern horror classics. It’s a tune that’s still worth singing, but it isn’t without some unnecessary vibrato that may rub some people the wrong way. The premise starts out simple enough: a single, depressed mother, Ramona (Danielle Deadwyler of Netflix’s western The Harder They Fall) and her two kids (Peyton Jackson, Estella Kahiha), who already have a tense…
A family dramedy takes a sharp turn into high-strung farce in Bad Shabbos, a twisty walk across a tightrope from co-writer/director Daniel Robbins. Taking place during the Jewish Sabbath where those who participate are encouraged to rest with family, Robbins and co-writer Zack Weiner don’t waste a moment to build comedic tension. New extended family members are being welcomed while snarky swipes from an existing feud threaten to derail the introductions, followed by a misfired…
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…