Every once in a while, I am glad to watch a movie that I wouldn’t normally watch. This, however, was not one of those times. In the 80 minutes that I sacrificed watching Breaking Infinity, an indie film about time travel, I did wonder if I could use their equipment to go back and not…
Son of Monarchs, a feature film written and directed by Alexis Gambis, a microbiologist and film director/screenwriter, is not the type of work likely to be appreciated — or perhaps even tolerated — by moviegoers that prefer tightly constructed, thematically succinct cinema. It is multi-layered in its storyline with a mélange of styles that range…
Ben Wheatley is a prominent and potent voice in British cinema. His sophisticated use of practical limitations such as small casts and contained environments have created strong impressions such as the constant menace and discomfort of “Kill List” and the black humor of “Sightseers.” His distinctive use of space in “High-Rise” and “Free Fire” are…
Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone are back, six months after the release of their last (and worst) film, “Superintelligence.” Their latest work, Thunder Force, is a superhero comedy telling the story of best friends Lydia (McCarthy, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”) and Emily (Octavia Spencer, “The Shape of Water”), who become the superhero duo known…
Simon West’s Skyfire is equal parts “Jurassic Park,” “Armageddon,” and, well, “Volcano”: A tireless, heart-pounding leap beyond such niceties as logic and character development into the well-trod terrain of super-duper action movie. And by that purple prose, I mean that it’s a damn fine movie to veg out to and just enjoy for what it…
When it comes to creating horror, a key aspect is the surrounding environment. From Gothic castles to creepy houses to underground caverns to spaceships, if the characters are in a threatening environment the audience can feel unnerved. Thus, part of the work is done and you can develop further tension with set pieces and jump…
The Invisible Man has been the cinematic subject of effects extravaganzas (most notably James Whale’s 1933 adaptation of H.G. Wells’ classic novel), wartime propaganda (“Invisible Agent”), deadpan comedy (“Memoirs of an Invisible Man”), and psychosexual satire (“Hollow Man”), but rarely has he ever led a straight horror film. This is the hole that filmmaker Leigh…
