An amuse-bouche of mystery and rising tension bursts into shocking flavor in the early courses with the introduction of a familiar but always startling red claret, finishing with redolent notes ranging from The Wicker Man to Ratatouille (the movie, not the “peasant dish” after which it was named), which combine in the climactic denouement to…

The gross silliness of Heaven’s Gate reminded me to always cast critical eye on even Westerns. They should not get a go-bye simply because I love Westerns, that’d just be goofy. Although goofy is in vogue these days, it’s best to subscribe to the old values. So, when Amazon Prime offers a Western staring Emily…

Brad Whitewood Sr. reveals his true colors in At Close Range (1986) It takes more than an hour of this very nicely photographed neo-noir crime pic for Brad Sr. (Christopher Walken) to show he’s a nasty fucker. Up until then, he’s merely a thief, the leader of a tightly knit bunch of rural crims that…

“My Year in Movies – 2022 Edition” – Was I talking about gas? It’s been a couple years, but we’re finally back to the film world resembling something like pre-Covid times. This is good news, because the world outside of film continues to resemble a horror show. As I said back at the end of…

Heroes are OK but when it comes to memorability, villains tend to piss all over ’em. This glaring divergence has long plagued creators and can be traced back at least as far as Shakespeare. Take The Merchant of Venice. Shylock’s vengeful demand for a pound of flesh ensures his status as an all-time bad guy,…

It’s award consideration season, so here’s my consideration. Synopsis Won’t anyone pay attention to what’s really happening? Writing I don’t know what’s really happening. The film has a very distinct three act structure that would have been better suited as vignettes. The first act introduces Professor Jack Gladney (Adam Driver), an expert in Adolf Hitler…