Apr
11
ANTIVIRAL is set in an alternate-but-not-too-alternate universe where fame is everything, and the grand bulk of the economy seems built around markets in steaks cloned and viruses farmed from celebrities. The film marks the directing debut of Brandon Cronenberg — son of David Cronenberg — and while its biologic creepiness demonstrates a clear blood-line (we …
Apr
08
The new EVIL DEAD, directed by feature newcomer Fede Alvarez, may seem to be the latest chapter in Hollywood’s ongoing descent into creative bankruptcy. But is that actually so? Cinefantastique Online’s Steve Biodrowski, Lawrence French, and Dan Persons get together to debate whether this return to Sam Raimi’s prototypical cabin-in-the-woods bloodbath is yet another wan …
Apr
01
With its nuanced evaluation of modern warfare and the place of the soldier in today’s society, G.I. JOE: RETALIATION represents an innovative vision of armed conflict waged on a global scale. Oh, who are we kidding? G.I. JOE: RETALIATION is the second entry in the toy-based franchise, featuring Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis, and Ray Stevenson …
Mar
31
Breaking through the clichés is what writer/director Sally El Hosaini is all about. Her debut feature, MY BROTHER THE DEVIL, is about Egyptians living in London, and there isn’t a terrorist among them. There are, however, artists, students, drug dealers, petty thieves, and in the middle of it, two brothers, elder Rashid (James Floyd) and …
Mar
28
Okay, yet another reason not to move to Southern California. In DETOUR, an ambitious businessman gets trapped in his car when it’s knocked off the road and buried in a mudslide. Actor Neil Hopkins carries most of the weight of this existential nightmare, playing a man confronting a modern-day Premature Burial, trapped in a vehicle …
Mar
03
Can a well-meaning inventor of largely useless, if not downright dangerous, gadgets find fulfillment and meaning in these desperate times? MASTER OF INVENTIONS may not have the answer, but it does have a lot of fun with the question. Produced independently and distributed for free on the web (yes, you can watch in now, here …
Jan
21
Screw the armed guards in the schools, let’s get some firepower into the home, ’cause there’s definitely some malignant stuff going on there. In MAMA, a young couple (Jessica Chastain and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) are saddled with a pair of literally feral children and have to contend with the challenges not only of raising a pair …
Jan
18
The small town comes complete with big personalities in FAIRHAVEN. In tracing a couple of days when Dave (Chris Messina), an exile from the titular Massachusetts fishing town presently living la vida loca on the west coast, returns for the funeral of his estranged father and reunites with his old friends, the questing Jon (Tom …
Dec
24
And a happy holiday to you all! And once you’re done unwrapping the gifts and singing the carols and observing whatever expressions of faith you feel are appropriate for the time (if any), you may want to reinforce the communal feeling with a visit to the cinema for something the whole family can enjoy. In …
Dec
20
The ‘burbs are alive with the sound of music. Especially in the sixties, especially if you were a teen in New Jersey jamming with your friends in a garage and dreaming of being the next Rolling Stones. NOT FADE AWAY is the directorial debut of THE SOPRANOS creator David Chase, a canny look back at …
