Francis Annan’s Escape from Pretoria describes the real-life adventures of political captives Tim Jenkin and Steven Lee as they attempt to leave the titular prison before their sentences are up. Set in the apartheid era of South Africa, the film spends most of its run-time within the walls of the prison itself, leaning on a…
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…
The horror genre relies, to an extent, on the utilization of familiar tropes. The use of these tropes can reward and subvert expectations, and how these tropes are used contributes to the film’s effectiveness. Audience familiarity is both an opportunity and a difficulty for filmmakers: Give the audience what they want and they welcome it,…
“Yet if hope has flown away, in a night, or in a day, in a vision, or in none, is it therefore the less gone?” — Edgar Allen Poe Winner of the Critics’ Week Grand Prize at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, I Lost My Body is an animated film about the attempt to recover…
Bram (Ben Platt, “Ricki and the Flash”) is a keen journalist who is stuck working for a small-time newspaper writing lists of recommendation when his heart is set on tackling hard hitting new stories. In addition to writing The List, (such as where to eat the best hot dog), he is also reporting on the…
Standing Up, Falling Down fleshes out a narrative that’s been done before, and frankly, it feels like a story that’s a little outdated and a little played out. Scott (Ben Schwartz, “Blue Iguana”) returns home after striking out as a comedian, having to hit the restart button and figure out his life. He meets Marty…
H. P. Lovecraft, writer of weird and horror fiction, creator of Cthulu mythos and widely revered/reviled literary figure. Richard Stanley, director of “Incidents in an Expanding Universe,” “Hardware,” “Brave” and, originally, “The Island of Dr. Moreau” before powerful and irresistible forces wrested that particular beast from his grasp. Nicolas Cage, Oscar-winning actor, prolific performer, butt…
