Hands That Bind
Kyle Armstrong’s sophomore feature Hands That Bind is a western that’s more introverted than expected.
Bruce Dern
Ravage
Ravage is essentially a campfire story for mature audiences: there’s a lot of build up, an unsettling suggestion of what could happen, and then a freaky follow through. What we learn throughout the film, however, is that writer/director Teddy Grennan and the film’s nincompoop producers are incapable of closing their set-ups. This is demonstrated by some earlier mini murders, making us apprehensive about its grand finale when a ludicrous torture chamber is invented and utterly…
Nation’s Fire
An ensemble story depends on memorable performances and compelling writing. Neither are found in Thomas J. Churchill’s overexposed, patriotic thriller Nation’s Fire.
Freaks
You don’t so much watch Freaks as you do discover it. As the writers and directors of this terrific flick, Zach Lipovsky (co-producer of Afflicted) and Adam Stein do a good job building anticipation in their sci-fi/thriller. Each scene contains clues, and it’s up to the audience to piece the film’s premise together up until the somewhat typical finale.
The Hateful Eight
The Hateful Eight is, fittingly, Quentin Tarantino’s eighth film, and by far his weakest.
Nebraska
By: Addison Wylie I’ve been selling Nebraska to people as “a charming version of Fargo without the violence”. That gets attention fairly quickly. Alexander Payne’s drama, however, is more quaint than quirky. Nebraska’s prominent road trip involving a distracted father Woody (played by Bruce Dern) and his patiently courteous son David (played by Will Forte) coasts along flat landscapes. The two converse about the past and the exciting current possibilities of million dollar winnings Woody…