From Joe Lynch, director of “Everly,” comes Mayhem, an ugly mishmash of the zombie apocalypse and tower assault subgenres. Unwisely referencing “A Clockwork Orange” in the opening, with Rossini’s “The Thieving Magpie” overlaid on some stylized ultra-violence, Derek (Steven Yeun, “Okja”) explains the “IV7” virus via narration. It’s a condition which purportedly causes the sufferer…
We have a story in my family. I was three years old and grappling with the crisis of identity and insane jealousy that accompanied the new baby sister in my orbit. It must have been October because a small pumpkin was within my small reach. I seized said pumpkin and hurled it at said little…
Sometime in the 1990s, somewhere in Toronto, in the scuzzy Gemini Motel, a prostitute is raped. She becomes pregnant. Overcome with grief, she kills herself. Cut to 23 years later, and it seems the baby survived. Helen (Alanna LeVierge, “Mia and Me” TV series) is at a loss in the world. She’s drawn to the…
There is nothing remotely foreign about the well-known martial artist/action star Jackie Chan, as he has been kicking butt and taking numbers (mainly in humorous fashion) for nearly 50 years. Undoubtedly skillful and infectiously impish throughout his illustrious career in action cinema, Chan — whether in wild playful mode or pensive yet penetrating form —…
Here’s the thing about travel nightmares and existential crises, we’ve all had them. Jungle, based on Israeli adventurer, author and humanitarian Yossi Ghinsberg’s memoir of the same name, puts both on display to horrifying effect. This travel diary gone awry does to hiking in the Amazon what “Brokedown Palace” did to Thailand (in my 14-year…
A young boy, trailing his Radio Flyer down the sidewalk behind him, goes door to door collecting comics. But he is neither superfan nor traveling salesman. Professor Marston and the Wonder Women opens with a book burning demonstration after the most successful female superhero comic has been maligned by its self-righteous critics for its representation…
The irony and timely arrival of the conscientious and stirring drama Shot should not be lost on a majority of savvy movie-goers and television addicts. First, the film’s lead, Noah Wyle (also one of the many producers behind this urban narrative’s stark commentary on senseless violence), played a young dedicated doctor used to helping critically…
