RODEO offers an escape for its young woman protagonist and the viewer
by Ashley Jane Davis, Staff Writer
All the characters are ones that you cannot identify by simply blurting out a stereotype.
RENFIELD is a spirited B-movie with a AAA budget
by Joe Carlough, Staff Writer
As an ardent supporter of B-grade schlock and gore, I really enjoyed watching Renfield, even if the constant action sequences sometimes sucked the life out of the movie.
MAFIA MAMMA is a skippable action comedy with little of either
by Billie Anderson, Staff Writer
It’s unfortunate that the most compelling part of the film, the part of the film that could have encompassed most of it (like The Lizzie McGuire Movie) was reduced to a brief 2-minute montage.
CHOP AND STEELE charts the incredible history two fake strongmen
by Alex Rudolph, Staff Writer
What's the worst reaction you've had to being tricked? I've been embarrassed and maybe a little angry, but then I've never been fooled into giving a platform to a fake strongman duo.
Scandinavian dark comedy SICK OF MYSELF blends body horror and social satire
by Tori Potenza, Staff Writer
Part dark comedy, part body horror, Sick of Myself is a fascinating look at someone who is so starved for attention they are willing to permanently disfigure themselves to get it.
Poorly assembled and lacking coherence, ONE TRUE LOVES is a disappointing romcom
by Ian Hrabe, Staff Writer
One True Loves was the most excruciating movie watching experience I’ve had in recent memory.
PAINT struggles to find good use for its Bob Ross-inspired character
by Matt McCafferty, Contributor
Paint leans on the real life success of Bob Ross to try and convince us that what happens in this movie is possible to some extent. Unfortunately, I didn’t buy into it all.
AIR dramatizes a fascinating story with light touch
by Ryan Silberstein, Managing Editor, Red Herring
Michael Jordan was inevitable, but what Air does is give an inside view of how improbable the Nike side of this deal actually was.
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.
THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE remembers how to take kids on an adventure
by Ryan Silberstein, Managing Editor, Red Herring
Quick references and background gags aside, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is not really a nostalgia play.
ONE DAY AS A LION scratches that ensemble action-comedy itch
by Alex Rudolph, Staff Writer
One Day As A Lion, the new film from director John Swab and writer/star Scott Caan, is one of the better recent films to take from Quentin Tarantino and the Coen brothers' 90s breakthroughs.
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES is a rip-roaring great time
by Emily Maesar, Associate Editor, TVJawn
Fear not, adventuring parties, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves absolutely rips. It’s a story that doesn’t shy away from the mythology, names, and locations of the well-worn Forgotten Realms, but is also deeply accessible to newcomers who may not know (or even really care to know) about the intricacies of the lore of Dungeons & Dragons.
IMAGINING THE INDIAN: THE FIGHT AGAINST NATIVE AMERICAN MASCOTING captures the scope of pain and the push back against it
by Daniel Pecoraro, Staff Writer
Imagining the Indian: The Fight Against Native American Mascoting is a thoughtful representation of this juncture in American culture: how far we’ve come, and how far we have to go.
FUGUE is a complex and fantastical film that defies genre
by Clayton Hayes, Staff Writer
Finally! Finally, more than six years after Agnieszka Smoczyńska’s directorial debut, The Lure (aka Córki dancingu) was first screened in the U.S., and over four years after it was released in Poland and screened at Fantastic Fest, we are finally getting a wider release of Smoczyńska’s second feature, Fugue.
SMOKING CAUSES COUGHING is the latest absurd comedy from Quentin Dupieux
by Gary M. Kramer, Staff Writer
Smoking Causing Coughing is the latest bit of whimsy by writer/director Quentin Dupieux. His films, Rubber, Wrong, Keep an Eye Out, Deerskin, and Mandibles, among them, are delightfully absurdist and deadpan.
THE FIVE DEVILS explores family dynamics and past trauma through magic
by Tori Potenza, Staff Writer
The realization that your parents are flawed is an essential part of growing up. It can also be a surreal, trying time for a child. This particular growing pain is an essential part of Léa Mysius' new film, The Five Devils.
YOU MUST REMEMBER THIS new season dives headfirst into the "Erotic 90s"
by Tori Potenza, Staff Writer
For the newest season, Karina Longworth continues on this path with “Erotic 90s” a time that was so sexually charged she had to make an extended season in order to fully explore.
THE LOST KING is a lighthearted archeological romp
by Daniel Pecoraro, Staff Writer
I’ll admit it: I’m the kind of person who appreciates a research montage. If you’re like me, then, you’ll enjoy The Lost King, the based-on-a-true-story archaeological caper starring Sally Hawkins.
SUPERCELL brings wonder and excitement to the small screen
by Miguel Alejandro Marquez, Contributor
Supercell is an intriguing, and surprising hidden gem that is entertaining from start to finish.
HBO's THE LAST OF US reminds us that making it out alive is a life changing event
by Jacob Harrington, Contributor
The ending of The Last of Us pulls you in two different directions.