Reviews

Quirky ‘Death of a Unicorn’ could use just a bit more weird

Death of a Unicorn (2 ½ stars out of 4) A movie like “The Room” becomes infamous because it took itself seriously, with disastrous results. It was bad because it couldn’t help itself, and that turned it into a cult classic. A movie like “Sharknado” is a very different...

Zamibian drama ‘Guinea Fowl’ is not what you might expect

On Becoming a Guinea Fowl (3 stars out of 4) Made in Zambia by director Rungano Nyoni, “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” is a compelling if deceptive exploration of culture and family dynamics. The film opens late at night as the protagonist, a young woman named Shula...

Musician-turned-filmmaker Flying Lotus shows promise with sci-fi horror ‘Ash’

Electronic musician Flying Lotus returns to the silver screen with his latest sci-fi-horror film “Ash”. The film made its world premiere at the SXSW film festival and opened wide on March 21.  The film follows Riya as she awakens in her space station on a foreign...

Why you need to watch “Kubo and the Two Strings” (2016) now that it’s back on Netflix!

Premise A young storyteller, Kubo (Art Parkinson), lives the truth of his stories as he must find an ancient suit of armor to fight against the vengeful Moon King (Ralph Fiennes). A Dying Art https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r01mk6F_Pk See how stop-motion played a...

Soderbergh delivers with tense, stylish spy thriller ‘Black Bag’

Black Bag (3 ½ stars out of 4) When you break it down, Steven Soderbergh’s “Black Bag” becomes a bizarre recipe of pop culture elements: start with a “Mission: Impossible”-style save the world premise, but set it inside a British Intelligence internal subculture that...


Death of a Unicorn (2 ½ stars out of 4)



A movie like “The Room” becomes infamous because it took itself seriously, with disastrous results. It was bad because it couldn’t help itself, and that turned it into a cult classic. A movie like “Sharknado” is a very different animal (pun slightly intended). “Sharknado” wanted to be a cult classic, and


On Becoming a Guinea Fowl (3 stars out of 4)



Made in Zambia by director Rungano Nyoni, “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” is a compelling if deceptive exploration of culture and family dynamics.



The film opens late at night as the protagonist, a young woman named Shula (Susan Chardy), is driving home from a costume party. Her absurd dress—similar to the bulbous


Black Bag (3 ½ stars out of 4)



When you break it down, Steven Soderbergh’s “Black Bag” becomes a bizarre recipe of pop culture elements: start with a “Mission: Impossible”-style save the world premise, but set it inside a British Intelligence internal subculture that feels like a more adult version of TV’s “The Office.”



Next, execute the plot like a classic Agatha


With the recent release of Osgood Perkins's horror-comedy The Monkey, another Stephen King story has now been adapted into a film. The Monkey is inspired by a short story of the same title from a short collection called Skeleton Crew. While The Monkey might not be the most unique story from King to be adapted into a film, there is


Premise



Based on the true story of the LeRette family, young Austin (Jacob Laval) navigates life with brittle bone disease and autism, which--try as they may--can't break him down.







Far more than I expected



I was anticipating a cheesy, possibly religious family flick, but I was surprised by the quality and how stylized it was right off the bat. It's fun and


Captain America: Brave New World (2 stars out of 4)



It’s a given with Marvel productions these days that if you want to understand the latest release, you need to be familiar with half a dozen previous offerings. Julius Onah’s “Captain America: Brave New World” stays true to this trend, but wavers on a shaky foundation of sub-par predecessors and bland


An Interesting Pattern



While this conversation isn't anything new, I noticed an interesting trend with my favorite movies I watched this last year--they were primarily foreign films. As we all have witnessed, movies and shows coming from other countries have become more accessible and mainstream thanks to streaming services, and there are always a few movies highlighted each year during the


September 5 (3 1/2 stars out of 4)



Earlier this year, “Civil War” used a group of photojournalists to explore a nightmare future where ideological tensions boiled over into organized warfare on a national scale. In “September 5,” director Tim Fehlbaum uses a group of television broadcasters to explore the true story of a terrorist attack during the 1972 Olympics.



Many will