Saw X (2023)
Inevitably, in almost all longer-running slasher franchises, the attention shifts away from the protagonists and their fellow victims and toward the killer. The filmmakers know who we’ve come to see and what we’re there to see them do. The mystique … Continue reading Saw X (2023)
Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
At the outset of Spider-Man: Far From Home, we see Peter Parker (Tom Holland) suffering from superhero fatigue, hoping that his class’ summer field trip will give him some much-needed respite from the burden of being the web-slinger. He just … Continue reading Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
Godzilla: King of the Monsters baffles me. It reeks of that sequel syndrome that aims to “give the fans what they want,” a not-so-subtle implication that Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla (2014) didn’t live up to its namesake. And look, some of … Continue reading Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
The French Dispatch (2021)
Touted and marketed as Wes Anderson’s “love letter to journalism,” The French Dispatch feels more like a love letter not to news reporting, but to the necessity of artifice to storytelling. The titular magazine is a harken back to The New Yorker style articles, … Continue reading The French Dispatch (2021)
Impetigore (2019)
Most of us consider ourselves decent people, and for those of us who aren’t complete misanthropes, we generally consider those around us decent people. Desperation, though, drives decent people to extreme behavior. We understand this, when it comes to survival. … Continue reading Impetigore (2019)
Resurrection (2022)
A uniquely modern iciness permeates Resurrection, a coldness that skirts underneath its psychological-thriller surface and bolsters the debilitating anxiety emanating from Rebecca Hall. She plays Margaret, a woman who has carefully constructed a rigid life for herself. She lives an almost … Continue reading Resurrection (2022)
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)
Texas Chainsaw Massacre follows in Halloween Kills’ footsteps of “re-quels” that (seemingly) misunderstand what made their killers so terrifying, so unique, and so resonating with audiences in the first place. Gone, here, is the hyperactive and sheer-terror-hysteria of Leatherface in Tobe Hooper’s 1974 … Continue reading Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)
Hellraiser: Hellseeker (2002)
While that final “twist” pretty successfully destroys anything interesting that came before it, I vibed with this more than the banality of Inferno. I know this isn’t saying much, given where I’m at in my journey with this franchise, but we’re … Continue reading Hellraiser: Hellseeker (2002)
Hellraiser: Inferno (2000)
Unsurprising given its director, Inferno prominently features the sort of stuffy, religious moral handwringing that would make Clive Barker’s stomach churn. Despite his often obnoxious social media presence, this isn’t a jab at Scott Derrickson, whose eye as a filmmaker at least … Continue reading Hellraiser: Inferno (2000)
Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996)
This puppy is right up there with The Curse of Michael Myers when it comes to “compelling high-concept horror butchered and stymied by studio interference and production problems.” Even so, there’s a palpable texture and atmosphere here, particularly in the 18th Century … Continue reading Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996)
The Movie Morgue 