Review: “In the Heights”

We’re likely all familiar with how ground-breaking Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway musical “Hamilton” was, but it’s safe to say that that show might not exist were it not for the success of Miranda’s first show, “In the Heights.” When “In the Heights” opened on Broadway in 2008, it entered a space predominantly inhabited by shows made […]

Review: “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It”

“The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” opens with what is arguably the most chilling sequence of the entire series so far. It’s 1981, and paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) are at the home of David Glatzel (Julian Hilliard), an eight-year-old boy who is possibly possessed. As the […]

Review: “Undine”

Writer/director Christian Petzold’s “Undine” opens with a conversation, the kind of conversation that most viewers will immediately recognize, and the kind that the titular protagonist (played by Paula Beer) clearly dreads. Undine is sitting across from her boyfriend, Johannes (Jacob Matschenz), at an outdoor café, and he is breaking up with her. He’s met someone […]

Review: “Spiral”

If you were to peek inside my brain while I was watching “Spiral,” my train of thought was likely running something like this: “I really regret watching this—oh actually maybe this isn’t bad—no wait I regret this.” To say that I’m not the target audience for the “Saw” franchise, of which prior to “Spiral” I […]

Review: “Army of the Dead”

I’m pretty sure that the title of director Zack Snyder’s “Army of the Dead” refers to the zombie horde that has overtaken Las Vegas, but it also fits the posse of inert human characters assembled to combat them. “Army of the Dead” kicks off its truly great premise really strong, but soon devolves into an […]

Review: “A Quiet Place Part II”

So many of my memories of movies are inextricably linked to watching them in the theater. I don’t necessarily believe that a movie is better or worse depending on where and how you watch it. But the experience around watching a movie at home, on your TV, on a computer, in crowded a theater, in […]

Review: “Cruella”

Something really strange happened to me while I was watching “Cruella,” the latest animation to live action Disney prequel/remake. Disappointed by Disney’s recent installments in their series of nostalgia cash grabs and not impressed with the trailers for this one, I was fully prepared for “Cruella” to not be a good time. But less than […]

Review: “Those Who Wish Me Dead”

It’s been a minute since Angelina Jolie has starred in a proper adult action movie- in fact, her last one was “The Tourist” in 2010 (god, remember “The Tourist“?). But Jolie is back at it, soon to appear in Marvel’s “The Eternals,” and currently starring in writer/director Taylor Sheridan’s “Those Who Wish Me Dead.” But […]

Review: “Mortal Kombat” (2021)

I knew before I even started to watch “Mortal Kombat” that it was not made for me. I have only a cursory familiarity with the video games it is based on, and have not seen the 90s movies that it is a reboot of (1997’s “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation” was in particular a critical and commercial […]

Review: “Nobody”

It’s hard to believe that Hutch Mansell is the sort of guy who could kill you with his bare hands if he wanted to. Firstly, because he’s such a mild-mannered guy with a seemingly monotonous life, as a montage of his day-to-day activities at the start of the film “Nobody” demonstrates. He’s married with two […]