Juggernaut has an element it excels in – troubled characters gradually bringing their brooding funk to an explosive spill. I’d like to believe writer/director Daniel DiMarco is aware of how his film works, but the filmmaker consistently sidesteps around this area of strength. I don’t think DiMarco is clueless, but he’s making too much trouble for himself to seek out a challenge.
The Wasting is a small film with large misfires. It’s an unfortunate directorial debut from documentary writer Carolyn Saunders and, boy, what a reluctant debut it is.
Cruel Summer, a film based on a tragically wrongheaded crime, is a knockoff of Larry Clark’s Bully. I’m fine with that; following that model isn’t necessarily problematic.
Mom and Dad is a touchy sell, even if the film is up front with its maniacal plot about parents killing their children and how it shoots for the moon in terms of dark comedy.
Why can’t George Clooney make a movie that’s “simple”? I don’t mean “simple” as in unremarkable quality, but “simple” as in accessible entertainment.
By: Nick van Dinther As soon as you read the synopsis for Lost Solace, you can tell that this will be a unique story idea that, if executed well, will be a quite a treat for audiences. Thankfully, the film meets its potential and then some.
By: Trevor Chartrand Doomed by circumstance, citizens of the gritty slum town Badsville are generally faced with two options: escape the city or die trying. In a corrupt town ruled by gangsters and criminals, the world built in director April Mullen’s Badsville may be bleak and daunting, but it’s not a world without hope.
By: Nick van Dinther From the very first scene in Den of Thieves, it becomes fairly obvious that this is not going to be your typical shoot ‘em up popcorn flick. It’s actually a smart, well written, edge-of-your-seat thriller that defies all expectations.
Horror fodder like Friend Request tends to be dismissed based on its timely nature, which is really too bad. These digital age thrillers may borrow from other formulas (or other movies), but they certainly are not derivative. In the case of Friend Request, it owes a debt of gratitude to fellow social media flick Unfriended, but it fuses its modern premise of cyberstalking with revered lore and finds a good balance between “old” and “new”…
By: Nick van Dinther There are so many wonderful and creative upstart filmmakers putting out fantastic work. Whether they’re film students or people with a true passion for the industry, they do their best to fund an idea, bring it to life, and share it with the world. When they decide to release the project for profit however, it needs to meet a certain standard. Brownwell Entertainment’s Friends Don’t Let Friends, a horror/thriller about covering…