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Hits: 2161
Director Joe Dante, who brought the world Gremlins back in 1985, teams up with Anton Yelchin (Star Trek, Odd Thomas) to deliver a hysterically funny comedy horror with more than a little gore and a lot of genre references. Written by Alan Trezza (who wrote and directed the 2008 short film of the same name) the film is about nice guy Max (Yelchin) whose girlfriend is needy and clingy, even after death.
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Hits: 2489
Directed by Dru Brown (helming his second feature length film) and written by Michael J. Kospiah The Suicide Theory is pure Australian “karmic” gold. After a 2014 festival run, the film was released in 2015 (in the USA). The film is set in Australia and starts in a convenience store.
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Hits: 2689
The 2015 horror film Exeter, directed by Conan the Barbarian and Friday the 13th remake helmsman Marcus Nispel, ( who also provided the story which was turned into a script by Kirsten McCallion nee Elms) feels like it was produced exclusively for the YouTube generation. Not that this is a bad thing.
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Hits: 4074
Thai action films have been ruling the martial arts film market for some time now. Movies like the 2008 martial arts action feature Chocolate with JeeJa Yanin as an autistic martial arts prodigy are almost eternally popular. ( Yanin was being groomed to be a female version of Tony Jaa.)
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Hits: 4237
After having to wait for iTunes to stop offering Avengers: Age of Ultron for purchase (sorry but if it’s to own, Blu-Ray with a load of extras is how this reviewer rolls) and giving punters the chance to just rent Joss Whedon and Marvel’s follow up to The Avengers(Assemble) the viewing experience turned out to be a somber revisit to the Marvel verse. The sobering sequel introduces two new characters, one lasting much longer than the other (Scarlet Witch aka Elizabeth Olsen) who becomes a member of the home team before the end credits roll.
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Hits: 3923
In his second short, and second time up to bat as writer, producer and acting in his own creation, Christopher T. Wood strikes once again but not out, hitting another homer with his spot on comedic story telling and performance. Previously Wood starring in the short, award winning, film Time to Kill (2014).
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Hits: 3301
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Starring Rinko Kikuchi (Pacific Rim, The Brother’s Bloom) and directed by David Zellner (who also co wrote the screenplay with brother Nathan and played the policeman in the film) Kumiko the Treasure Hunter is a whimsical, and somewhat melancholy, retelling of an urban legend. This tale of a socially inept misfit who travelled to America after watching Fargo, to find the money left by Steve Buscemi’s character in the Coen Bros cult hit, before being killed, was influenced by the real-life death of a Japanese office worked who killed herself 2001.
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Hits: 1885
Written and directed by Ramin Bahrani (an auteur who has been described as the new chronicle of US cinema) 99 Homes offers up a slice of the American dream that has been soured by the banks, entrepreneurs and an economy designed to suck the life out of the lower-middle class.
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Hits: 2488
Written and directed by Jake L. Reid (as Jake Reid) The Antwerp Dolls feels like a throw back to the 1980 cult classic The Long Good Friday (starring a young Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren and featuring a brief glimpse of pre-Remington Steele/James Bond actor Pearce Brosnan and a pre- Casualty Charlie – Derek Thompson) With more than a nod and a wink to Guy Ritchie’s London underworld of colorful gangsters, this “new vintage” glimpse at crime in the capital is enjoyable if not a little disjointed.
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Hits: 1958
Adapted from Amy Koppleman’s book of the same name, by Paige Dylan and Koppleman, directed by Adam Salky and starring Sarah Silverman, I Smile Back looks at a suburban familial nightmare of mental illness and addiction.
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Hits: 2163
One of the best things about being a “film critic” is discovering films that are so outside the “box” that it may as well not exist. Meet the Patels fits that description perfectly. A documentary, which the official site says started as a “home movie” that follows Ravi Patel’s search for the perfect mate. The film, directed by Ravi and his sister Geeta, is all about tradition, dating, creating new traditions and is chock full of comedic moments.
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Hits: 1640
It is oddly fitting that the documentary Cartel Land, directed and filmed by Matthew Heineman, should be making waves at the same time that the film Sicario has also been getting rave reviews from critics. While the documentary deals with meth and vigilantes on both sides of the border and deals with the reality of cartels, both productions have one thing in common; the tears of the innocent.
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Hits: 1630
Thrumming, strident and evocative of the “train” sound emitted by the surrounding native contingent in the 1964 film Zulu, or a rhythmic overbalanced bass emanating from a woofer one step from shaking itself to death, Sicario begins with a soundtrack guaranteed to elevate the viewer’s adrenaline levels. This foreboding score begins the film as two definitions of the title appear onscreen. One; being a zealot (a killer who hunted down invaders of their homeland), the other; meaning hitman. The Denis Villeneuve film is, fittingly enough, about both.
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Hits: 1949
Directed by Ohio filmmaker Chad Kapper, starring his son Christian and written by four hobby drone enthusiasts. Rotor DR1 feels a little like “A Boy and His Drone” but this experimental community film is entertaining despite its slow pace and awkward acting by some of the cast. Christian acquits himself rather well, as does his romantic interest Maya (played by Natalie Welch).
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Hits: 1856
Starring Ben Kingsley and Patricia Clarkson, Learning to Drive is a gentle, touching comedy about life changes and growing up “later in life.” Directed by Isabel Coixet (who worked with the two stars earlier in Elegy – 2009) and based upon an article written by feminist author Katha Pollitt, (then turned into a screenplay by Sarah Kernochan) this could be seen as an older “chick flick.”
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Hits: 1944
For those who lived under a rock in 1996, or conversely, like this reviewer, lived in another country where David Foster Wallace had not become an instant national icon, The End of the Tour is not just a brilliant introduction to the deceased author, but also serves as a sort of buddy movie in five acts.
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Hits: 2062
Trumbo, a recreation of the most shameful period of American history to date and a depiction of the force that was Dalton Trumbo who defied the blacklist could and should win Best Picture for 2015. Starring Bryan Cranston, who should already be making space for an Oscar, Diane Lane and John Goodman and directed by Jay Roach, this docudrama/biopic is a film that is impossible not to love.
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Hits: 1894
Room, starring Brie Larson and busy little newcomer Jacob Tremblay is a film that defies all expectations and delivers a win of epic proportions. Directed by Lenny Abrahamson (award winning Irish director of Garage and Frank) from the novel and screenplay by Emma Donoghue, Room is an intimate film.
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Hits: 1675
The Walk, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Philippe Petit (the only man to ever walk between the two towers of the World Trade Center) is directed by Robert Zemeckis (who also penned the screenplay) and despite the grand scope of the project; IMAX, 3D, feels like an ode to Jacques Tati, as well as the French high wire artist whose feat the film features.
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Hits: 1506
It is permissible to hate Tom Cruise a little. Especially when one is a scant four years older than the action star who is still in his “Peter Pan” years at 53. Cruise, in Mission Impossible:Rogue Nation may be a little bit older as Ethan Hunt, but he is no less limber or attractive to the opposite sex.
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Hits: 2260
Directed by Tom McCarthy (The Cobbler, The Visitor) who also co-wrote the screenplay with Josh Singer (The Fifth Estate, Fringe) Spotlight stars Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery and Stanley Tucci, and is about six Boston Globe reporters who uncover a massive cover up of priests who assaulted children all over the city.
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Hits: 3450
With a plot that could have been lifted from Noriko’s Dinner Table (Shion Sono 2005) Total Performance, written and directed Sean Meehan, follows actress Cori Sweeney (Tory Berner) who works for Total Performance; a company that helps people to rehearse for real life “problem” scenarios. A relationship in trouble, cheating spouses, a man wanting to fire an old friend, and in a nasty twist of fate, a cheating boyfriend who wants to ditch his girl.
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Hits: 3544
It might possibly be too picky to point out that the mustache on Lance Henriksen changes several times throughout the film but apart from this annoying occurrence, Stung is really just Eight Legged Freaks, with wings. Granted, also missing are David Arquette and these “killer wasps” may have a bit more in common with Irwin Allen’s 1978 film The Swarm, but this horror film does have its moments.
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Hits: 3336
Shaun the Sheep Movie from Studio Aardman, aka Aardman Animations, does it again, they go back to that Nick Park well. This time however, the Creature Comforts (1989) creator, Park himself, is in the producer’s chair versus the director’s one.Shaun the Sheep Movie from Studio Aardman, aka Aardman Animations, does it again, they go back to that Nick Park well. This time however, the Creature Comforts (1989) creator, Park himself, is in the producer’s chair versus the director’s one.
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Hits: 4262
It could be seen as tiresome for a joke about taking knives to a gun fight to last almost two hours, as does The Ridiculous 6, but then a slapstick comedic attempt at a video game western could be forgiven for a having too much of a mediocre thing. Fans of Adam Sandler, may enjoy this star studded offering, while others may want to do as “Smoking Fox” suggests and “gouge their eyes out,” after 159 minutes of nonstop Sandler.
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Hits: 3169
Directed by Sean Meehan (who co-wrote the film with Daniel Bérubé) Mallas, MA is the Audience Choice Award winner of the 2013 Boston 48 Hour Film Project. The seven minute film is about a pair of con-artists who are playing ghost busters for the benefit of a small Maine town and inadvertently get busted.
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Hits: 2579
Directed, shot, edited and co-written by Mark Battle (with Pamela Conway) and produced by Sweven Films; Here Lies Joe is a short look at depression, suicidal tendencies and two people who connect as they each compulsively seek death. Dean Temple is Joe Barnes and Andi Morrow is “Z” two disparate souls who meet at a suicide addict meeting, chaired by Bill (Timothy J. Cox). Bill attempts to have the small group talk about their feelings.
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Hits: 2720
Without even going into the Marvel verse too deeply, Ant Man skirts along the edge of all things Avengers without encroaching on Iron Man territory. Michael Douglas enters into the spirit of superheroes with the gravitas of an elder statesman (with a mean temper) and the film ends with a teaser that has a surprise appearance of Captain America.
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Hits: 2946
Written and directed by Phil Newsom, this 2012 film, starring Timothy J. Cox and Kristi McCarson tells the story of Bob, the “Simple Mind” of the title and it delivers a three-punch combo of a film. In essence, Newsom and his story give the viewer an ending worthy of O. Henry on steroids but with a few brilliant and disturbing twists along the way.
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Hits: 2818
The 2015 science fiction film Turbo Kid is a Canadian/New Zealand production with a 1980s feel that features some over the top blood-spilling a’la Takashi Miike. In terms of gore and fountains of blood, this tri-directed film looks and sounds like a cross betweenNight of the Comet, The Last Starfighter and Ichi the Killer. With a stripped down means of transportation by all of the film’s characters; BMX bikes, and one big name star, and oh what a name, in Michael Ironside who brings his iconic status to the film, this action adventure sci fi offering entertains to the nth degree.
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Hits: 2501
Directed and co-written by Zachary Lapierre (the other scribe on the film was Ian Everhart who also acted as cinematographer on the short) Dirty Books is set in a high school and features a “newsman” who reacts angrily at the establishment’s move into the new millennium. Starring Timothy J. Cox as Dr. Bradley the school principal, Ansley Berg and Noah Bailey (as David Burroughs the paper’s publisher and head editor) Dirty Books has a hidden message, or perhaps an uncomfortable truth in its tale of paper versus the Internet.
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Hits: 3186
Directed by the legendary Woo-Ping Yuen from a screenplay by The Forbidden Kingdomscribe John Fusco, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny is a epic return to the world of the original film directed by Ang Lee way back in 2000. Before looking at the film and its plot and players, it has to be said that there is literally beauty in each and every frame of this “Western” Asian drama.
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Hits: 3328
Written by Tess Masters (The Love Punch, My Family) and directed by In-betweenersmaestro Ben Palmer Man Up is a rom-com of a very British sort, where the filmmakers go back to the make-believe England created so brilliantly by Richard Curtis in films like Love Actually and Four Weddings and a Funeral.
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Hits: 1444
Directed and co-written by Matthew Mahler (the other scribe on the project was Ross Mahler) and starring Timothy J. Cox What Jack Built is a one man show. This could have been called “A Man and His Box” as it really does feel that this silent protagonist is alone in this world except for his “creation.” It could also be classed as a silent film, in as much as Cox’s character Jack, never really says anything.
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Hits: 2109
Written and directed by Jason Krawczyk He Never Died stars Henry Rollins (Sons of Anarchy, Con Man) and while it is publicized as a dramedy/thriller, it feels more like a supernatural drama without the thriller and the comedy is of the blackest sort. The film is dark and odd and one of those features that is impossible to stop watching.
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Hits: 1975
Directed and co-written by Ravi Kapoor (the other scribe on the project was Kapoor’s wife Meera Simhan who also plays the mother in the film) Miss India America is about Lily Prasad (played brilliantly by Tiya Sircar), an addicted to winning high school student. Lily graduates, she is the class valedictorian, and things in her meticulously planned life go awry almost immediately.
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Hits: 2400
Co-written by Paul Rust and Paul Reubens (who is Pee Wee Herman) and directed by John Lee, Pee Wee Herman’s Big Holiday is meant to be an amusing revisit to the world that made Reubens a house hold name.
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Hits: 1973
Nicolas Cage’s return to horror in this 2015 offering is not as laughably bad as the The Wicker Man remake or as pointless as Ghost Rider, but Pay the Ghost is more humdrum hokum than real horror. Based on the novel by Tim Lebbon, a screenplay by Dan Kay and directed by Uli Edel the film is about a child stolen from his father at a Halloween carnival.
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Hits: 2009
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For a film almost universally slammed by critics the world over, “Moonwalkers” is surprisingly fun, if one takes the film as black comedy versus the straight up kind. Unloved and misunderstood, this “inspired by true conspiracy theories” movie may be an oddity, to be sure, but it is great fun to watch.
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Hits: 2107
“Hush” is brought to us by the same man who scared the dickens out of audiences with the 2013 horror film “Oculus;” Michael Flanagan. Flanagan directed and cowrote “Hush” with the film’s star Kate Siegel, who plays the deaf/mute heroine; author Maddie.
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Hits: 2415
Directed by Adam Levins from a screenplay by Simon Fantauzzo (who co-wrote the original story with William Borthwick) “Estranged” features some of the best of British in this Gothic horror returned to the genre’s roots. James Cosmos, Craig Conway, Nora-Jane Noone, Eileen Nicholas, James Lance and Amy Manson star in this dark, twisted and oddly intimate horror film.
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Hits: 2695
“Victoria” co-written and directed by Sebastian Schipper is a “one take” wonder. All 134 minutes of the film is done in one continual shot and follows the award winning star Laia Costa, who plays title character Victoria. The camera watches the young woman as she experiences a long life-changing night with Sonne Frederick Lau and his three friends in Berlin.
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Hits: 2606
Apartheid may be over, but the events of a small South African village still resonate with its inhabitants in “LadyGrey.” Directed and co-written by Alain Choquart the melancholia of a community forced to continue a tense and uneven existence is, despite the bleakness of its characters, a beautiful experience.
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Hits: 2311
The 2015 comedy ‘Hot Pursuit’ is streaming on Hulu at the moment and while it was hammered by critics when it hit theatres last year, the ‘I Love Lucy’ Meets ‘The Gauntlet’ film is not that bad. There are bits where the stars, Reece Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara absolutely kill it in terms of comedy. Unfortunately there are also things about the film that do not work.
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Hits: 2298
Written by Laura Brennan and directed by Anthony DiBlasi (Last Shift, Dread) ‘Most Likely to Die’ could be seen as a “#FlashbackFriday” slasher film. A nostalgic look at a genre that has sliced and diced countless teens and 20 somethings since the 1980s. The film will be released on Friday the 13th in a limited theatrical release and on demand.
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Hits: 2130
With music by Danny Elfman, directed by Rob Letterman (from a screenplay by Daniel Lemke based on a story by Scott Alexander and Larry Kraszewski influenced by R L Stine’s books) ‘Goosebumps’ is great fun and a lovely homage to the man who has spellbound kids for years. It is interesting to note that Tim Burton was originally slated to direct the film and one wonders how different his ode to Stine would have been.
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Hits: 1764
Not being an Adam Sandler fan, expectations for “The Do-Over” were not high (basement level would be an adequate description) and his latest offering did not disappoint. The mid-life crisis buddy movie was not horrible but neither was it very good. The best thing that can be said of Sandler’s most recent attempt at comedy is that it was marginally better than “The Ridiculous 6.”