While re-visiting Twixt for this new "Authentic Cut," cheekily retitled 'B'Twixt Now and Sunrise,' I was unexpectedly overcome with emotion. I was in the minority when this film was first released in 2013 as I thoroughly enjoyed Francis Ford Coppola's work here and was excited to see if it holds up a decade later.
I daresay that it more than holds up. The Authentic Cut is actually about 10 minutes shorter than the theatrical release, but Coppola has only made the movie more intense with its new brevity. While there are a few additional scenes and a slight change to the ending, the film pretty much survives intact from its original release and I couldn't be happier.
When struggling supernatural fiction writer Hall Baltimore (Val Kilmer) arrives in an isolated small town as part of...
Nic Cage. Western.
Those are two words that seem incongruous together, but I'm here to tell you that after watching The Old Way, I'm sort of sad that it took Hollywood this long to get Nic Cage in a Western film. To be fair, the genre has been in a bit of a slump since its mini-resurgence around the release of Unforgiven in the early 1990s.
With the onset of Covid, the Western has enjoyed a bit of a renaissance as they tend to be easier to shoot with fewer special effects. Also, there are plenty of scenes set outside in a Western, so they tend to not be super spreader events. And yet, we had to wait until 2023 to get Nic Cage in one.
That is a shame.
Academy Award winner Nicolas Cage (1995, Actor in a Leading Role, LEAVING LAS VEGAS) stars in his first-ever Western as Colton Briggs,...
If Mindcage were made in the mid-1990s, it's possible that it would have been right up there with Seven in terms of culturally-relevant filmmaking, but alas it's 2023. While viewing Mindcage is sort of a trip to a simpler time when serial killers were all the rage, it didn't pack in all the conveniences of the intervening 30 years and we are left with a bit of a nostalgic fluff piece where the parts are definitely more than its sum.
And yet, there is just something mesmerizing about John Malkovich and his performance alone is worth a watch. That said, I'm not surprised that critics are mostly panning this movie while audiences seem to be connecting with it in a much more positive way.
We constantly talk about the disconnect between critics and "real audiences," but this void is the...
The last (and only) time we saw Bruce Willis onscreen with John Travolta, Bruce was filling John with lead as Pulp Fiction was reaching its crescendo. Ever since that moment, movie fans have been clamoring to get the two titans of action films together once more.
Enter Pardise City.
What should have been a slam dunk, home run, and whatever other sports metaphor you want to toss around is another wasted opportunity in the waning moments of Willis' career. Since his Aphasia diagnosis, as fans, we have been counting down to the end of Willis' acting resume with one disappointing movie after another.
Thanks to Bruce Willis' consummate chase for that elusive payday, he has no shortage of films in the can. Of course, no one knew about his condition when he was filming these movies and the...
As most of you know by now, my daughter and I record a horror podcast, so any chance to review a horror film allows us to watch it together. This was the case when the opportunity to review Smile came up.
I'm a huge horror nerd and I had been hearing so many good things about Smile, I was sure that my review would be glowing. Well, I wouldn't go so far as to call it glowing, but there were a few derivative moments that made me wonder what all the fuss was about.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it, but I would adjust your expectations if you're expecting something as revolutionary as Nope or Pearl. Still, Smile was a decent watch and a worthy addition to the annals of horror.
After witnessing a bizarre, traumatic incident involving a patient, Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) starts...
It's no secret that I absolutely adore the Vestron Video Collector's Series from Lionsgate. It doesn't hurt that I watched most of these films when they came out repeatedly.
But as we've detailed here numerous times, this Vestron series is taking these cult movies and giving them the red-carpet treatment they deserve. With the spate of streaming services popping up, there's a real void for films from smaller studios or boutique labels that no longer exist.
Many times, these films get lost in litigation (Dogma anyone?) and never see the light of day again. Sometimes, however, these movies get a boost thanks to the fine people at Lionsgate. The result is the Vestron series where not only are the films being made available again but they are loaded with bonus features that would make any...
Look, I make no apologies. I absolutely adore Kevin Smith. I have been fortunate to meet him on several occasions and even introduce him during the Red State stop at my alma mater, Butler University back in 2011.
Heck, my daughter was conceived that very night, and no, prima nocta was not invoked by Smith. So, if you're expecting anything less than a glowing review, then I'd recommend you keep searching.
And yet, not two minutes into Clerks III, I was full-on cursing Kevin Smith for one particular event that occurred in the interval between Clerks II and the latest movie. I will try to avoid as many spoilers as possible, but no guarantees. Somehow, I was able to navigate the minefield before watching it and I truly hope that you go into it as pristine as possible.
Clock back into the...
As someone with a young child participating in her first band concert last night with her shiny new clarinet, I've been inundated with countless renditions of 'Good King Wenceslas' in the last several months. So, imagine my delight when I dug into Medieval and saw King Wenceslas on the screen.
Only one problem, he wasn't THE King Wenceslas of the fabled Christmas carol. Apparently, Kings Wenceslas are as common as Kings Henry in England and this story revolved around Wenceslas IV while the famous song is based on the original King. Five hundred years between them aside, I wasn't prepared at all for all of the exquisite violence that marked the end of the Middle Ages.
It's one thing to learn about the brutality of feuding nobility and the ravages of the plague in a history book. Still,...
As many of you know, my love of horror has been rekindled recently as my tween daughter begins her journey in this wonderful genre. Since we are starting back in 1960 with Psycho and trying to work our way up in a lazy chronological order, it will be a while before she sees films from Ti West or Jordan Peele.
And yet, it's hard to keep her on track because these newer films are really leading to a renaissance of the genre. I have already seen a handful of fantastic horror films in 2022, but West's X might be the best of the bunch.
A throwback to the classic slasher films of the 1970s, X is both an homage to these films and something uniquely its own. The driving force behind X is the dual performances from actress Mia Goth. She plays both Maxine, an aspiring adult film star, and...
It's no secret that I absolutely adore the Vestron Video Collector's Series from Lionsgate. It doesn't hurt that I watched most of these films when they came out repeatedly.
But as we've detailed here numerous times, this Vestron series is taking these cult movies and giving them the red-carpet treatment they deserve. With the spate of streaming services popping up, there's a real void for films from smaller studios or boutique labels that no longer exist.
Many times, these films get lost in litigation (Dogma anyone?) and never see the light of day again. Sometimes, however, these movies get a boost thanks to the fine people at Lionsgate. The result is the Vestron series where not only are the films being made available again but they are loaded with bonus features that would make any...
