Reviews

Movie Review: BROOKLYN 45

BROOKLYN 45 key art | ©2023 Shudder

Rating: Not Rated Stars: Anne Ramsay, Ron E. Rains, Jeremy Holm, Larry Fessenden, Ezra Buzzington, Kristina Klebe Writer: Ted Geoghegan Director: Ted Geoghegan Distributor: Shudder/AMC+ Release Date: June 9, 2023 Much of BROOKLYN 45 rolls out as though it could be a stage play. Most of it occurs on a single albeit large set. It also has what is more a theatrical than a film convention, a group of middle-aged friends coming together for what’s meant to be a friendly social gathering that becomes an exploration of ethics, duty, responsibility, guilt, and a lot more. But then there’s the supernatural […]Read On »


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Movie Review: BLUE JEAN

BLUE JEAN movie poster | ©2023 Magnolia Pictures

Rating: Not Rated Stars: Rosy McEwen, Kerrie Hayes, Lucy Halliday Writer: Georgia Oakley Director: Georgia Oakley Distributor: Magnolia Pictures Release Date: June 9, 2023 BLUE JEAN is set in 1988 Newcastle, England. Margaret Thatcher is the British Prime Minister, and building walls in this largely working-class city are painted with slogans about making sure that children are being taught “traditional values.” So, it’s thirty-five years ago, but some issues remain sadly resonant. Jean Newman (Rosy McEwen) is a teacher and sports coach at a secondary school (that’s high school for us U.S. folks). She is in her late twenties or […]Read On »


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Movie Review: THE ANGRY BLACK GIRL AND HER MONSTER

THE ANGRY BLACK GIRL movie poster | ©2023 RLJE Films

Rating: Not Rated Stars: Laya DeLeon Hayes, Denzel Whitaker, Chad L. Coleman, Reilly Brooke Stith, Keith Holliday, Amani Summer, Edem Atsu-Swanzy, Ellis Hobbs IV, Dale Cordice Jr., Jeremy DeCarlos, Beth Felice, Tracie Frank Writer: Bomani J. Story Director: Bomani J. Story Distributor: RLJE Films/Shudder/Allblk Release Date: June 9, 2023 (theatrical); June 23, 2023 (digital) There is a lot of mostly good metaphor in THE ANGRY BLACK GIRL AND HER MONSTER. It also works as a fairly straight Frankenstein tale. The main question here might be with the title. Our protagonist, Vicaria (Laya DeLeon Hayes) is indeed angry, but so is […]Read On »


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Movie Review: SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE

SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE | ©2023 Sony/Marvel

Rating: PG Stars (voices): Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfield, Oscar Isaac, Jake Johnson, Issa Rae, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Velez, Jason Schwartzman, Daniel Kaluuya, Shea Whigham, Amandla Stenberg, Karan Soni Writers: Phil Lord & Christopher Miller & Dave Callaham, based on the Marvel Comics Directors: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson Distributor: Sony/Columbia/Marvel Release Date: June 2, 2023 The Marvel Cinematic Universe has for awhile now been walking the self-awareness tightrope. This was wonderfully enjoyable and inventive in 2018’s animated feature SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE, in which teen Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) not only becomes Spider-Man, […]Read On »


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Movie Review: THE BOOGEYMAN

THE BOOGEYMAN movie poster | ©2023 20th Century Studios

Rating: PG-13 Stars: Sophie Thatcher, Chris Messina, Vivien Lyra Blair, Madison Hu, David Dastmalchian, Marin Ireland, LisaGay Hamilton, Maddie Nichols, Leeann Ross Writers: Scott Beck & Bryan Woods and Mark Heyman, screen story by Scott Beck & Bryan Woods, based on the short story by Stephen King Director: Rob Savage Distributor: 20th Century Studios Release Date: June 2, 2023 Stephen King’s short story “The Boogeyman” manages to start out sad and disturbing, and then scare the daylight out of you. Because of the specifics of the short story, a major studio release based on it was very likely to take […]Read On »


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Movie Review: CRACKED

CRACKED movie poster | ©2023 Film Movement

Rating: Not Rated Stars: Chayanit Chansangavej, Nichkhun Horvejkul, Nutthacha Nina Jessica Padovan, Passalak Supasiripaisarn, Byron Bishop, Sahajak Boonthanakit, Nualpanod Nat Khanpukdee, Kunkanit Khumkrong Writers: Onusa Donsawai, Pun Homchuen, Eakasit Thairaat Director: Surapong Ploensang Distributor: Film Movement Release Date: May 26, 2023 (VOD and DVD) The title of CRACKED refers literally to the cracks in two valuable paintings, and metaphorically to the psyches of several people affected by them. Ruja (Chayanit Chansangavej) is a young Thai woman living in a big city with her little daughter Rachel (Nutthacha Nina Jessica Padovan). Rachel’s father, much loved by Ruja, has apparently passed away […]Read On »


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Movie Review: COUNTRY OF HOTELS

COUNTRY OF HOTELS movie poster | ©2023 Terror Films

Rating: Not Rated Stars: Siobhan Hewlett, Matthew Leitch, Adam Leese, Michael Laurence, Charles Pike, Sabrina Faroldi, Ben Shafik, Olegar Fedoro, Mia Soteriou, Eugenia Caruso Writer: David Hauptschein Director: Julio Maria Martino Distributor: Terror Films Release Date: May 26, 2023 (digital) Despite one great jolting jump scare, COUNTRY OF HOTELS is less the horror movie that’s advertised and more a surreal mixture of David Lynch and TWILIGHT ZONE, minus the zinger twist. We begin with a man we’ll come to know as Pauly Blumenthal (Adam Leese), doing what appears to be a vlog on his laptop. Pauly is complaining that all […]Read On »


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Movie Review: INFLUENCER

INFLUENCER key art | ©2023 Shudder

Rating: Not Rated Stars: Cassandra Naud, Emily Tennant, Rory J. Saper, Sara Canning, Paul Spurrier, Justin Sams Writers: Kurtis David Harder & Tesh Guttikonda Director: Kurtis David Harder Distributor: Shudder Release Date: May 26, 2023 INFLUENCER begins with a shot of what looks like a small forested island. The island looks larger as we zoom in on a young woman lying face-down on the beach. Who is this, and how did she get here? Flash back to Madison (Emily Tennant), a young travel vlogger in Thailand, whose online persona is having a much better time than she is. Madison’s boyfriend […]Read On »


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Movie Review: MOTION DETECTED

MOTION DETECTED movie poster | ©2023 Freestyle Digital Media

Rating: Not Rated Stars: Natasha Esca, Carlo Mendez, Roland Buck III, Katelyn MacMullen, Bob Clendenin, Kemberli Flores, Julie Brister Writers: Justin Gallaher & Sam Roseme Directors: Justin Gallaher & Sam Roseme Distributor: Freestyle Digital Media Release Date: May 19, 2023 (VOD and digital) MOTION DETECTED immediately sets itself apart from both conventional haunted house and berserk security system stories by combining the two subgenres. In the opening section, we see a little girl witness a 3D video glitch in a lovely old-fashioned house, as an AI voice alerts us, “Motion detected.” The video glitch reaches out of a closet and […]Read On »


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Movie Review: MASTER GARDENER

MASTER GARDENER movie poster | ©2023 Magnolia Pictures

Rating: R Stars: Joel Edgerton, Sigourney Weaver, Quintessa Swindell, Esai Morales Writer: Paul Schrader Director: Paul Schrader Distributor: Magnolia Pictures Release Date: May 19, 2023 MASTER GARDENER is one of those films that makes a reviewer contemplate existential questions. These are not just the ones within the framework of the movie, like the nature of redemption, and what qualifies as redemption, but also the nature of reviewing. Whatever the purpose of a review may be, it is not to criticize a filmmaker for doing something different with the subject matter than the reviewer would have done. On the flip side, […]Read On »


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