Anthony Francis
‘Música’ Film Review: The Rhythms of Life and Love
The rhythms of life abound in director/writer/star Rudy Mancuso’s debut feature film, Música, a charming little piece about finding love and searching for one’s role in the play of life. In this fantastically imaginative piece, Mancuso stars, directs, co-writes (with
‘Sting’ Film Review: Spine-Tingling Arachnophobic Chills
“Creepy Crawlies, creeping round my creepy house.” These lyrics from the Horror Rock group Scary Bitches perfectly capture the unnerving chills found in writer-director Kiah Roache-Turner’s Sting, a thrilling creature feature about a young girl, her family, and the man-eating
Samurai Saturdays: The First Two Zatoichi Pictures
I have long immersed myself in Japanese cinema. Growing up with a father who introduced me to Eastern movies at a young age, by the time I was a teenager, Japanese (and Chinese) films became my favorites, continuing to this
‘Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire’ Film Review
Godzilla. King Kong. Together again. What else do you need? With the release of the original King Kong in 1933 and Godzilla in 1954, the two movie titans have been thrilling audiences for over 90 years. Now comes Godzilla x Kong:
‘Sugar’ Series Review: A Stunning and Ultra-Inventive Neo Noir
An extremely well-crafted and completely enthralling love letter to film noir (and a bit more), Apple Tv’s Sugar, is a most welcome new series. Through its unique tone and sharply focused scripts, this engrossing piece excels in placing its allegiances
‘DogMan’ Film Review: A Preposterous and Unimaginative Waste
Luc Besson has always been a frustrating filmmaker. His early French films, 1985’s Subway, !988’s The Big Blue, and 1990’s La Femme Nikita showed a director who could combine interesting stories with inventive craftsmanship. Those works combined deep characterizations and
‘The Listener’ Film Review: A Riveting Tessa Thompson Chats With a Fractured Society
In 1988, Oliver Stone released his undervalued adaptation of Eric Bogosian’s one man show, Talk Radio. Both the play and Stone’s film were commentaries on the broken America of the time, each one using the voices of varied phone callers
Steve McQueen: The Roles That Almost Were
Rightfully branded “The King of Cool”, Steve McQueen walked it like he talked it. He was not a manufactured Hollywood pseudo-tough guy like we see today. McQueen was the real deal. His characters were hard bred and so was he.
‘Exhuma’ Film Review: A Studied and Intelligent Korean Horror Tale
Writer-director Jang Jae-hyun obtained a funeral director’s license to ensure his latest work, Exhuma, properly portrayed the intricacies of the burial process, while concurrently ensuring an accurate portrayal of shamanism in Korean culture. With his 2015 feature length debut The
‘Late Night With the Devil’ Film Review: A Retro Horror Thrill Ride
If one is going to make a retro-styled motion picture about the devil manifesting itself on a late-night talk show, the filmmakers had better lean into it and make good on such a premise. With the devilishly entertaining new release,