Tag Archives: USA

Review: Joe (USA 1970)

Posted on June 20, 2017 by David

Joe has a weird, outsized reputation that contrasts with its relative obscurity – it is a film more talked about than watched. And Joe is a truly odd duck, a Cannon-produced hippie-sploitation movie that points an accusing finger at the … Continue reading →

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Review: The Neon Demon (France/Denmark/USA 2016)

Posted on June 6, 2017 by David

Nicholas Winding Refn’s fable-like dissection of the feminine beauty standard is a truly odd duck. Visually gorgeous, and cold as ice, this story of a young model’s attempts to make it in Los Angeles often zags when you expect it … Continue reading →

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Review: Whiplash (USA 2014)

Posted on May 30, 2017 by David

Whiplash is a perfect example of a mediocre narrative redeemed by an outstanding finale. J.K. Simmons is great – he has always been great since making his first splash on Oz – but this film doesn’t ask him to stretch beyond his … Continue reading →

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Review: Gamer (USA 2009)

Posted on May 9, 2017 by David

I was hoping for the insane highs of Crank 2, but this Neveldine/Taylor joint was a little too bland. The central metaphor – with Gerard Butler as a convict put under the control of rich gamer geeks and forced to … Continue reading →

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Review: Captain America: Civil War (USA 2016)

Posted on April 27, 2017 by David

Entertaining enough, for a lumbering behemoth that had to service over a dozen major characters and advance multiple plot threads.

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Review: Missing in Action (USA 1984)

Posted on April 9, 2017 by David

I like Joseph Zito, but this quickie Vietnam revenge actioner starring Chuck Norris that Cannon rushed out in time to beat Rambo: First Blood, Part II is a real stinker. The narrative is incredibly choppy, and the action scenes are … Continue reading →

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Review: Punk Vacation (USA 1990)

Posted on April 6, 2017 by David

This movie is profoundly confused.  The filmmakers basically took all the tropes of the 60s biker film (think The Wild Angels or The Glory Stompers), and moved them into the 1980s while substituting new wave punks for the traditional leather-clad … Continue reading →

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Review: Hell Comes to Frogtown (USA 1988)

Posted on April 1, 2017 by David

I watched this grotty little treat recently as a tribute to the late, great Rowdy Roddy Piper. Actually, I did see about half of this on late night HBO as a misguided teen, but pretty much forgot everything.

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Q&A: The Blackcoat’s Daughter with Oz Perkins, Kiernan Shipka and Lucy Boynton

Posted on March 30, 2017 by David

Last Thursday, March 23, the new Alamo Drafthouse NYC in Brooklyn hosted a special screening of the well-received first film by Osgood Perkins, The Blackcoat’s Daughter.  The Blackcoat’s Daughter is a psychological horror film set in a girls’ boarding school … Continue reading →

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Review: Phantasm: Ravager (USA 2016)

Posted on March 27, 2017 by David

It breaks my heart to have to give this film a bad review. I love the Phantasm film series. The first one is a freaky trip, and the second one is a campy, action-packed blast – and both do an … Continue reading →

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