To paraphrase the introduction to Dan Olson’s video essay regarding watching Contagion dozens of times during the early months of the pandemic: this is not a review, it is a raw nerve. As M. Night Shyamalan’s latest film came to a close, I began to lose sight of the film itself, and I started to…
So, I guess I should preface this review by saying that I never decline an opportunity to champion one of the great filmmakers of our time. Regardless of where you stand on M. Night Shyamalan, his releases tend to be events amongst critics and film buffs alike. This is exactly why I need to get…
Where to begin with Nicolas Cage‘s latest endeavor? For starters, it’s titled Pig, and the story is about Cage’s bearded Oregonian wilderness-living recluse searching for his kidnapped truffle pig. What many, including myself, thought would be along the lines of A24’s drama First Cow meets Mandy actually turns out to be a bit more complex…
“It’s not perfect, but it works.” This line from Dr. Frank Tassone (Hugh Jackman) about halfway through the film builds the central contradiction that propels Cory Finley’s Bad Education like a rocket duct-taped to the bottom of a cheap skateboard. The polish and cold finesse of Finley’s previous film, Thoroughbreds, is noticeably missing here, trading…
At the end of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, four teenagers returned from a life-threatening video game where they all lived as characters in the game that were opposite versions of themselves and found they could set aside their differences and become a close-knit group of friends. They destroyed the game to ensure no one…
Cinema Etc. 