TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM brings the turtle power back to movie theaters
by Billy Russell, Staff Writer
The Turtles and I go way back.
Flop and Fizzle #9: WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER gives us the summer camp experience we need
by Billy Russell, Staff Writer
For a blissful 92 minutes, whenever I’m watching Wet Hot American Summer, all that matters is Camp Firewood and its cast of characters, who, after twenty years of annual rewatches, feel like old friends to me.
Hell on Earth: War in Cinema –HEARTBREAK RIDGE (1986)
by Billy Russell, Staff Writer
Heartbreak Ridge is a movie only Clint Eastwood could have made, and he only could have made it during a time in his career when he was taking his biggest risks as a filmmaker, storyteller and an actor.
SUBSPECIES V: BLOOD RISE is a worthy prequel focused on character and filmmaking fundamentals
by Billy Russell, Staff Writer
Blood Rise has no interest in pandering fan service. It instead wants to service its fans by creating an entry worthy of the series.
Hell on Earth: War in Cinema – SAVING PRIVATE RYAN and THE THIN RED LINE 25 Years Later
by Billy Russell, Staff Writer
I thought Malick and Spielberg were on opposite ends of the filmmaking spectrum, but in truth, and especially with films like this, it’s more like a Venn diagram that overlaps in the middle.
Ranking the EVIL DEAD franchise (so far)
by Billy Russell, Staff Writer
Looking back at the history of the beloved horror franchise.
ENYS MEN is an audience endurance test
by Billy Russell, Staff Writer
I like to see something that looks and feels organically-created by an artist, rather than a committee at a market research lab. Enys Men is nothing if not ambitious on that front.
Disc Dispatch: The Belle Starr Story Has Never Looked Better
by Billy Russell, Staff Writer
The Belle Starr Story is, amazingly, the only spaghetti western ever directed by a woman. As such, it has a unique look at its characters, in a way films rarely did, or even do today, with an eye for commentary on sexuality and gender.
SUPER MARIO BROS. at 30: Feels like the gritty reboot of a beloved franchise
by Billy Russell, Staff Writer
The Mushroom Kingdom is a dystopian, urban nightmare, akin to Blade Runner. Super Mario Bros. may have been better received if it wasn’t the first time out as a movie.
WILD THINGS at 25: Silly thriller hides a sly comedy within
by Billy Russell, Staff Writer
It’s a shame that Wild Things so successfully disguised and marketed itself as a sleazy, exploitative thriller, because hardly anyone knows the truth, that Wild Things is a subversive, witty satire.
My Life at the Movies: 1999 and 2019
by Billy Russell, Staff Writer
1999 and 2019, as two decades, and one millennium, closed. I spent them at the movies with the people that I love
DARK CITY at 25: A film packed with details that help tell the whole story
by Billy Russell, Staff Writer
To this day, even though it has a pretty decent cult following, Dark City is a criminally-underseen movie.
Nostalgia on Top of Nostalgia in THAT 90S SHOW
by Billy Russell, Staff Writer
That 90s Show is a reboot/nostalgia-fest of a show, lovingly crafted in the shadow of its predecessor, That 70s Show, which itself was nostalgic for a specific time and place.
The UNIVERSAL SOLDIER franchise turned its sequels into explorations of existential horror
by Billy Russell, Staff Writer
Junky action movies are like pizza: They’re all good, some are just better than others.
Sundance '93 Flashback: EL MARIACHI endures as a low budget masterpiece
by Billy Russell
This week, we thought we’d celebrate 30 years since the 1993 Sundance Film Festival, considered one of the defining moments in modern indie filmmaking.
BLAST FROM THE PAST: Looking back at Brendan Fraser
by Billy Russell, Staff Writer
In honor of his buzzy new role in The Whale, we look back at one of Fraser’s most charming 90s roles.
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT stands alongside the original as a brutal and moving war film
by Billy Russell, Staff Writer
It’s a brutal, honest film, like its predecessor, and the source material it’s based on. All Quiet on the Western Front is a must-see film, but it isn’t an easy one to sit through.
Even 10 years later, BURNING LOVE is still a pitch-perfect rendition of reality dating shows
by Billy Russell, Staff Writer
Burning Love was a dead-on parody of reality dating shows in the vein of The Bachelor, The Bachelorette and Rock of Love, for good measure.
Spielberg Week: DUEL, Dads, and Demonic Trucks
by Billy Russell, Staff Writer
“What the hell is Duel?” I asked.
STARSHIP TROOPERS at 25: Growing up with giant bugs and social satire
by Billy Russell, Staff Writer
Starship Troopers knows the mechanisms of fascistic totalitarianism, and knows the power of propaganda.