Dr. Vincent M. Gaine is a film and television researcher. His first book, Existentialism and Social Engagement in the Films of Michael Mann was published by Palgrave MacMillan in 2011. His work on film and media has been published in Cinema Journal and The Journal of Technology, Theology and Religion, as well as edited collections including The 21st Century Superhero and The Directory of World Cinema.
The serial killer narrative has been done to death, in TV series and movies. Within this sub-genre — that combines thriller and horror — there are masterpieces, there are turkeys and there’s the rest, that lack brilliance but offer some enjoyment. More specifically, homicide detective narratives set in small town or rural America veer from…
In recent years, Hollywood has taken a renewed interest in Russia, specifically as a threat to the US. The latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) continues this pattern, following the trend of such films as “The Sum of All Fears,” “The Bourne Supremacy,” “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol,” “Salt” and the TV series…
2018’s “A Quiet Place” is a terrifically focused and tightly wound horror film, which uses silence interspersed with jump scares to create a thoroughly thrilling experience. How then to follow it up with a “Part II?” Writer-director John Krasinski does so by expanding the world of the first film while also maintaining the focus on…
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…
Someone at Warner Bros. needs to learn the value of taking time. Since the halcyon (and pre-published) days of the Wizarding World, the studio has demonstrated a tendency to rush their franchises. Despite 2014’s superb “Godzilla” and 2017’s impressive “Kong: Skull Island,” the subsequent installments, 2019’s “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” and now Godzilla vs….
Early in Emerald Fennell’s biting and insightful Promising Young Woman, protagonist Cassie (Carey Mulligan, “Suffragette”) is catcalled by a group of workmen. It is a depressingly common scenario — a woman subjected to sexual objectification, for little reason other than men want to and can. But writer-director Fennell and star Mulligan strike a pose in…
A single environment further enclosed by the forces of winter has proved a suspenseful setting for many a film. From “The Shining” to “The Thing” to “The Hateful Eight,” filmmakers have taken advantage of isolation and inhospitable conditions to create scenarios that breed mistrust, paranoia and outright aggression. Some incorporate a wider expanse into their…
