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Category Archives: Reviews
Intruder Alert: Hush (2016)
Oculus director Mike Flanagan’s latest Blumhouse production Hush arrives with a tantalizing hook: it’s a slasher movie featuring a deaf woman as the protagonist. On a purely conceptual level this is a thrilling idea. I always feel that many filmmakers today miss the … Continue reading
Posted in Movies Watched In 2016, Reviews
Tagged Hush, John Gallagher Jr., Kate Siegel, Mike Flanagan
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Bride of Re-Animator (1989)
Brian Yuzna’s follow up to Stuart Gordon’s beloved Re-Animator(which Yuzna also produced) is pretty satisfying as far as 80s horror sequels go. As is generally the case, the credo seems to be “more is better”, I feel like the body count … Continue reading
Posted in Arrow Films, Movies Watched In 2016, Reviews
Tagged Brian Yuzna, Bride of Re-Animator, Jeffrey Combs
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Thinking Comes Later: Inherent Vice (2014)
Paul Thomas Anderson is like a god to me. I know I’m not at the only one to feel that way. Anderson is to us what I imagine Scorsese was to cinephiles of the 70s and 80s. He’s one of … Continue reading
A Man Obsessed: The Offence (1973)
Sean Connery and Sidney Lumet made five films together and The Offence was their third. It is an ugly, angry picture that has since been overshadowed by bigger, classic films but that isn’t to say it’s bite has become any less severe. … Continue reading
Posted in Movies Watched In 2016, Reviews
Tagged Sean Connery, Sidney Lumet, The Offence
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Grey Gardens (1975)
As far as slices of life go, Grey Gardens is especially bizarre. An eccentric little film about two eccentric ladies, it brings to mind that line in Pulp Fiction: “Just because you are a character, doesn’t mean you have character”. Well, both Big … Continue reading
Posted in Movies Watched In 2016, Reviews
Tagged Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Grey Gardens
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The Actor’s Movie: Tootsie (1982)
Last year, Tootsie was voted the greatest film of all time by a handful of actors and I thought it was a refreshing choice for the top spot. There’s clearly something about this movie that resonates with actors, that speaks to them and showcases … Continue reading
Posted in Movies Watched In 2016, Reviews
Tagged Bill Murray, Charles Durning, Dustin Hoffman, Geena Davis, Jessica Lange, sydney pollack, Terri Garr, Tootsie
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In a World… (2013)
A joyous and idiosyncratic directorial debut from Lake Bell. The great pleasure of In a World… comes from it’s setting in the world of voice-acting. Carol Sotto (Bell) is a vocal coach looking to get into doing voice-overs for movies. … Continue reading
Posted in Movies Watched In 2016, Reviews
Tagged Fred Melamed, In a World..., Lake Bell, Rob Corddry
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Sympathy for the Parasite: Shivers (1975)
“Roger, I had a very disturbing dream last night. In this dream I found myself making love to a strange man. Only I’m having trouble you see, because he’s old… and dying… and he smells bad, and I find him … Continue reading
Night Tide (1961)
Night Tide walks the tightrope between B-movie and arthouse sensibilities with varying degrees of success. The atmosphere drips off of the film. It’s vision of spooky seaside loneliness certainly registers and the black and white photography feels very much of … Continue reading
Posted in Movies Watched In 2016, Reviews
Tagged Curtis Harrington, dennis hopper, Night Tide
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Excellence vs. Excess: Ben Wheatley’s High-Rise (2016)
Early on in High-Rise, Dr. Robert Laing (Tom Hiddleston) demonstrates the dissection of a human skull by tearing the face off of a severed head. This being a Ben Wheatley movie, we see the moment in glorious detail: flesh, muscle … Continue reading
"This Film Should Be Played Loud" 