While we know that some monsters are decidedly not lovable, the creature in Mexican director Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water, like many humans who roam the planet, is more of a lonely outcast seeking connection than a life-threatening presence. Performed by Doug Jones (“The Bye Bye Man”) underneath all the prosthetics, this monster…
Never tell Rian Johnson the odds! The director’s efforts in Star Wars: The Last Jedi prove that science fiction fables can be the jack of all trades: Clever, entertaining and stirring. That said, Star Wars: The Last Jedi is certainly a “Star Wars” movie — it has the showy exterior, the Jedi lore and the…
The sentimental struggles of the self-doubting artist are at the gooey center of Michelle Figlarz’s Paris-set short Absinthe, a viewing of which could benefit from a few shots of the green liquor to wash away the corny aftertaste. The story is concerned with wayward Simon (Larry Cech, “90 Minutes of the Fever”), whose passion for…
To describe what breed of horror movie Somebody’s Darling is would be a spoiler in itself. Suffice to say, it’s small-scale, slow-burning, strange and sometimes surreal. It’s also very good. The setting is Williamsburg University, in 2006. History student Sarah (Jessa Settle, “Accidentally Engaged”) and her bitchy buddies arrive at a frat party and find…
Dusting off the smell of the superhero ensemble disappointment of “Justice League” comes the trailer for Avengers: Infinity War and it does not disappoint. Putting differences aside that forced a split between the Avengers in “Captain America: Civil War,” the heroes — with the aid of Black Panther, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Strange,…
Justice League is absolutely fucking terrible. There I said it. Now let me tell you why. The characters suck. I hate Ben Affleck (“The Accountant”) as Batman. He looks fat and wears an ugly sweater in all his scenes as Bruce Wayne. This new version of Batman also looks very sluggish while fighting. It’s almost…
The unique selling point of superhero cinema is the presentation of superpowers on screen and the exploration of what it means to super and to be a hero. Ever since “X-Men” took advantage of digital effects technology to render eye beams and human-generated lightning bolts, the finest examples of superhero cinema have grabbed hold of…
