Screenwriter and playwright Stephen Karam makes his big screen directorial debut with “The Humans”, an upcoming adaptation of Karam’s 2016 Tony-winning Broadway production. What looks like a talky drama looks to turn into something deeper and slightly more unsettling. I like the vibe and the cast makes it even more compelling. In the film Beanie … Continue reading
REVIEW: “Malignant” (2021)
CLICK HERE to read my full review in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette James Wan not only cut his teeth in the horror genre, but he’s also the man behind the camera of such franchise-launching movies as “Saw”, “Insidious” and “The Conjuring”. All three were modestly budgeted but wildly popular chillers. Wan stepped away from the spooky … Continue reading
REVIEW: “Sweet Girl” (2021)
Netflix’s “Sweet Girl” starts with a bang. The very first scene sees none other than Aquaman himself Jason Momoa standing on the roof of PNC Park in Pittsburgh. The blinding spotlight from a police helicopter beams down on him while FBI agents quickly converge. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this”, he painfully utters before … Continue reading
First Glance: “West Side Story”
Or better put, Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story”. The director’s long-awaited re-imagining of the Leonard Bernstein Broadway musical gave us a small tease during the last Academy Awards ceremony. Now 20th Century Studios has unveiled a bonafide trailer – a deeper look at a project that has an old-school look but with some catchy modernized … Continue reading
REVIEW: “The Card Counter” (2021)
Following in the footsteps of the stellar “First Reformed” was never going to be easy. But filmmaker Paul Schrader’s latest “The Card Counter” is a noble effort. In fact in some ways Schrader’s new film makes for a compelling companion piece to that highly acclaimed 2018 character study. In “First Reformed” Ethan Hawke played a … Continue reading
REVIEW: “Kate” (2021)
(CLICK HERE to read my full review in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette) It seems like only a few days ago that I was reviewing a movie about a female assassin who dreams of a normal life but is bound to her violent (and apparently popular with moviegoers) profession. Of course it came packaged with a traumatic … Continue reading