THE DEAD DON’T DIE takes the tropes, idioms, and beloved foibles of low-budget zombie flicks and, with a skillful flick of its auteur’s cinematic wrist, recontextualizes them into a stylized gloss on the new normal of 2019. Certainly the “Make America White Again” ball cap sported by the most reviled citizen (Steve Buscemi) of sleepy… Read More »
ISN’T IT ROMANTIC
It’s a clever premise that propels ISN’T IT ROMANTIC, using the idiom of rom-coms to give us just that, but a rom-com that affirms that the regular Joe and Jane out there can also be the star. One that deconstructs every cliché with self-aware relish, while also staying open to the magic of true love.… Read More »
THE SPY WHO DUMPED ME
There is much that is very right with THE SPY WHO DUMPED ME. There is also much that is very wrong with it. It makes for an irksome cinematic experience in which one finds oneself rooting for the flick to pull itself together before the final credits. Spoiler alert, it doesn’t happen. The kitschy-coo title… Read More »
FUTURE ’38
There is a dividing line for those contemplating a viewing of FUTURE ’38. It has to do with wordplay. If you love puns you will be charmed by the whole-hearted impudence of this self-conscious parody. If not, best to move along, though you will miss a fine excursion into dead-pan drollery. As premise, we have… Read More »
THERAPY FOR A VAMPIRE ( Der Vampir auf der Couch)
THERAPY FOR A VAMPIRE is a droll and loving homage to those classic Universal horror films from the 1930s. This is not pastiche, though. The gothic castle awash in spectral moonlight vies with a dash of Hitchcock’s VERTIGO, and a feminist attitude that is the perfect foil for the king of Penis Envy himself, Sigmund… Read More »
LAZER TEAM
LAZER TEAM is a cheerfully cheesy homage to great and not-so-great sci-fi movies of days gone by. With a goofy sense of humor, a droll use of irony, and whipsmart comedic instincts, it tells the time-honored tale of misfits finding the greatness within themselves, while also saving the earth from evil alien invaders. It takes as… Read More »
SPY
When I reviewed BRIDESMAIDS, I spent a great deal of my verbiage on Melissa McCarthy’s supporting performance. Rarely had I seen an actress, or actor for that matter, so fearless, so sure of him- or herself, and with such a preternatural gift for discovering humor in the most unexpected places. She was nominated for an… Read More »
Wayans, Marlon — A HAUNTED HOUSE
Its not often that my heart is broken in the first minute of an interview, but such was the case when talking to Marlon Wayans about A HAUNTED HOUSE on December 3, 2012. As is my wont, I included some of his upcoming projects in my introduction, one of which, a bio-pic of Richard Pryor,… Read More »