ART OF A HIT mixes horror, rock and roll, and 2000s nostalgia
by Jill Vranken, Staff Writer
What Art of a Hit does do well is give us an insight into the struggles of trying to make it in a cutthroat business, and what happens when the music stops.
BLACK DOG gets in the way of its own story
by Jon Jansen, Staff Writer
Despite its heavy-handed approach, Black Dog still finds enough in one of its characters to bring some intrigue to this standard coming-of-age story.
MAKE ME FAMOUS offers an intimate look into the life of a true starving artist
by Heidi Krull, Staff Writer
In Make Me Famous, director Brian Vincent explores the life of Edward Brezinski, a quirky painter from the East Village desperate to get his name in the conversation
HOLLYSHORTS FESTIVAL closes to rave reception for all things funny, funky and frightful
by Liz Wiest, Staff Writer
My classy remote Bitpix experience provided me with access to five provocative shorts that once again proved to me how dynamic the indie shorts circuit is, even post-strike.
SING SING is a moving performance showcase
by Darian Davis, Staff Writer
Sing Sing offers an escape from personal tragedy and from the walls of Sing Sing, even if it’s only a jailbreak of the mind.
MY PENGUIN FRIEND offers little other than adorable penguins, but is that enough?
by Kevin Murphy, Staff Writer
My Penguin Friend is a low-stakes adventure that offers charming scenes but no real tension or development.
THE GOOD HALF never finds anything meaningful to say about grief
by Megan Robinson, Staff Writer
The Good Half, directed by Robert Schwartzman, certainly means well as a piece of art about loss, but the execution is completely dull, making it devoid of any emotion.
RED ISLAND explores the effect of colonialism on childhood innocence
by Andrea Schmidt, Staff Writer
Though not a perfect film, Campillo’s Red Island remains a stirring evocation of childhood and the memory of colonial rot.
CONSUMED is a monster movie with not quite enough bite
by Rachel Shatto, Staff Writer
Consumed interrogates the fragility of the human body when facing down attacks coming from both external (a skin-stealing monster) and internal (corruption of body through disease).
ALIEN: ROMULUS feels like ALIEN: THE RIDE
by Ryan Silberstein, Managing Editor, Red Herring
Alien: Romulus feels like it was engineered in a lab from the parts of the previous Alien films, but it is a relentless thrill machine.
When a new aesthetician rises, the old one fades away in SKINCARE
by Chelsea Alexandra, Staff Writer
The cut-throat world of cosmetic beauty set the scene for the film to tap into interesting themes.
CLOSE TO YOU is reserved, but still provides a window into a transmasc experience
by Melissa Strong, Staff Writer
Viewers willing to look past Close to You’s imperfections will be rewarded with a moving take on an experience rarely explored in feature films.
Action Movie Countdown #2: In HARD BOILED, action is emotion
by Tessa Swehla, Staff Writer
Face/Off will always be his most famous film in the US, but before he began making American films, Hard Boiled was already a masterpiece.
With DUCHESS, Neil Marshall apes British crime films, gets bloody nowhere, innit?
by Alex Rudolph, Staff Writer
Marshall has made a Guy Ritchie or Matthew Vaughn movie, which is to say he's taking their recycled 70s and 80s crime tropes and recycling them again.
CALL BACK holds a mirror up to the Industry and HollyShorts audiences alike
by Liz Wiest
I found Call Back to be prolific, gorgeously shot, with a biting satirical lens capturing our reality at 110%.
STRANGE DARLING is a wicked cat and mouse thriller
by Vannah Taylor, Staff Writer
Strange Darling is wicked and playful, like a cat toying with its prey.
THE NIGHT IS YOUNG is an ambitious vampire flick
by Gary M. Kramer, staff writer
The Night Is Young is a mixed bag.
POPCORN FRIGHTS FEST offers thrills and chills in week one
by Avery Coffey, Staff Writer
Here’s three flicks Avery caught at Popcorn Frights Fest.
THE BUILDOUT is a slow burn into the unknown
by Vannah Taylor, Staff Writer
The mysteries of The Buildout are questions that are never clearly answered, and the terror is often hidden in small glimpses or lurking in the shadows.
GIRL YOU KNOW IT'S TRUE turns a punchline into prestige
by Susan Keiser, Staff Writer
Girl You Know It’s True wouldn’t be a Milli Vanilli biopic if it weren’t surface-level, but the obvious tropes are hit with a deft touch, and beyond the sex, drugs, and sushi rolls, there is a real heart to it.