film review

Film Review: Survive the Night (2020)

I continue to struggle with my retirement from film reviewing. Each time I attempt to hang up my keyboard and ride off into the sunset, I find a new movie that I just can't wait to sink my analytical teeth into. Thus, today I am presenting a review that I penned for FilmMonthly.com somewhat recently;…Read more Film Review: Survive the Night (2020)

Film Review: In the Mouth of Madness (1994)

Like so much of my semi-recent foray into horror, John Carpenter's last good film, 1994's In the Mouth of Madness, came to my attention due to its Lovecraftian connotations. As the final installment of Carpenter's "Apocalypse Trilogy" (which also includes The Prince of Darkness and the classic science fiction film, The Thing), Madness is another direct…Read more Film Review: In the Mouth of Madness (1994)

Film Review: Shadow of a Vampire (2000)

Most people with even a cursory awareness of art cinema have seen or heard of Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, F.W.  Murnau's 1922 masterwork. Nosferatu is a film so powerfully rendered, so insanely memorable, that its continuing resonance over the past nine decades feels self-explanatory. This resonance has taken on many forms: from the appearance of the Nosferatu…Read more Film Review: Shadow of a Vampire (2000)

Film Review: Rasputin – Dark Servant of Destiny (1996)

Many were hit hard by Alan Rickman's death this past January, and it's easy to understand why. Immortalized by the Harry Potter franchise for his role as anti-hero Severus Snape, Rickman loomed large over a generation of moviegoers. The resonance of this role is so powerful that it's occasionally difficult to remember the varied nature of…Read more Film Review: Rasputin – Dark Servant of Destiny (1996)

Film Review: Apocalypto (2006)

It's sometimes hard to remember that Mel Gibson is a formidable filmmaker. After the controversial release of 2004's Passion of the Christ, his arrests, and his slew of unhinged, drunken tirades, this talent became understandably lost in the shuffle. His 2006 effort Apocalypto (the last film Gibson directed) however, is a clear reminder of his directorial strengths. This ambitious, Mesoamerica-set action film…Read more Film Review: Apocalypto (2006)

Film Review: Metropolis (1927)

Fritz Lang's towering Metropolis is a film that needs no introduction. Its influence on cinematic history is so powerful, so resonant to this day, that trying to write anything novel about it is probably an exercise in futility. However, seeing how futile is my middle name I've decided to give it the old college try,…Read more Film Review: Metropolis (1927)

Film Review: The Age of Adaline (2015)

Now available of DVD and BluRay, The Age of Adaline is a film that feels like it should mean more. Telling the story of a woman named Adaline (Blake Lively) who one day mysteriously stops aging, the film is the type of high concept epic that is rarely made, (unless you’re David Fincher and you…Read more Film Review: The Age of Adaline (2015)

Film Review: She’s All That (1999)

The paradigm governing the teen film shifted profoundly at some point in the last decade. The bizarre, stupefying fantasy lands commonplace in the genre 15-20 years ago have been dismissed, with million-dollar mansions being less frequently commandeered by teenagers for their private parties. There also isn't the same rigid hierarchy, where groups like the jocks continually…Read more Film Review: She’s All That (1999)

Film Review: The Great Mouse Detective (1986)

The Walt Disney Corporation went through hell in the immediate years leading up to the Disney Renaissance, which lasted from 1989′s The Little Mermaid to 1999′s Tarzan. When the release of The Black Cauldron in 1985 proved to be critically and commercially traumatic, the studio took a hard look at itself and its future with animated…Read more Film Review: The Great Mouse Detective (1986)