FOLLOWING FILMS

Twisters is the kind of film that knows exactly what it is: a big, boisterous, effects-laden spectacle designed to be enjoyed on the biggest screen possible. Yet, as the summer blockbuster season winds down, the film has found a new home on VOD, offering viewers the chance to experience its thrilling storm chases and heartfelt moments from the comfort of their own living rooms. Director Lee Isaac Chung, best known for the intimate drama Minari, takes a surprising detour into the realm of disaster cinema with Twisters. The film follows a familiar formula established by its predecessor. Kate Carter (Daisy Edgar-Jones), a haunted meteorologist, returns to tornado alley to confront her past and potentially change the future. Her path intersects with the charismatic and reckless storm chaser Tyler Owens (Glen Powell). The dynamic between the two, a blend of rivalry and attraction, provides a compelling emotional core amidst the chaos. What Twisters lacks in originality, it makes up for in s...

  Written and directed by an ensemble filmmaking team including : Jennifer Reeder (Knives and Skin), Chloe Okuno (Slut), Simon Barrett (The Guest), Timo Tjahjanto (Impetigore), Ryan Prows (Lowlife), Steven Kostanski (PG: Psycho Goreman) Produced by : Josh Goldbloom, Brad Miska and Kurtis Harder (Spiral), Executive Produced by : David Bruckner (The Night House) and Radio Silence (SCREAM, Ready or Not) Starring : Anna Hopkins (“The Expanse”), Christian Lloyd (“American Gods”), Kyal Legend (“Backstage”) and Budi Ross.  The Film(s) In V/H/S/94, after the discovery of a mysterious VHS tape, a brutish police swat team launches a high-intensity raid on a remote warehouse, only to discover a sinister cult compound whose collection of pre-recorded material uncovers a nightmarish conspiracy. Holy Hell - Directed by Jennifer Reeder A story about dirty cops getting what they deserve. A satisfying wraparound that ties all the films together and gives the piece an overall sense of thematic...

2022 Director: Jason Satterlund Starring: Jonathan Rosenthal and Tamara Perry A bottle episode is a device most commonly associated with television that limits locations to only one room or set. Famously, episodes of SEINFELD, BREAKING BAD, and THE SOPRANOS have used a limited scope to create some of their most memorable episodes. Films as diverse as 12 ANGRY MEN, MY DINNER WITH ANDRE, and ROPE have all played in this claustrophobic sandbox. Going on three years of pandemic-induced isolation, it makes sense that filmmakers are gravitating towards limited scope in their narratives. Not only is it a way to help ensure safety on a set it's a logical way to reflect the loneliness and dread we are all experiencing.         Miles Willis, a wounded Army soldier, is having a bad day. Not only has he been shot but he finds himself trapped in a gray tiled room that defies his basic understanding of physics. Gravity appears to be subjective if not manipulated, the tempera...

  2021 Directed by: Josh Ruben Written by: Mishna Wolff Stars: Sam Richardson and Milana Vayntrub It is incredibly difficult to get one thing right when you are making a film be it a horror, comedy, or mystery. To get all of those right and execute a horror/comedy/mystery that delivers on all fronts is a Herculean task and should only be attempted by someone with a clear vision and a complete lack of risk aversion. WEREWOLVES WITHIN is a screwball comedy with enough horror to satisfy the Fango crowd and a whodunit mystery that in no way feels tacked on or arbitrary. Forest ranger Finn Wheeler (Sam Richardson) is having a tough time with his girlfriend and sees his new assignment to Beaverfield as the perfect way to be less available. He is introduced to the residents of this small mountain community through the local mail carrier Cecily Moore (Milana Vayntrub). To say the townsfolk are eccentric would be understating it. After a blizzard takes out the town's power...

  “Rick and Morty: Seasons 1-4 - Now Available On DVD & Blu-ray From creators Justin Roiland (“Adventure Time”) and Dan Harmon (“Community”), go on an intergalactic journey across the multi-verse with the release of Rick and Morty: Seasons 1-4 boxed set, now available on DVD & Blu-ray from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.  Binge on one of cables #1 watched comedies - and follow the misadventures of America’s favorite crazy scientist and his grandchildren with this outrageous boxed set which includes all 41 episodes from the first four seasons of the award-winning series, along with copious special features, including audio commentary, deleted scenes, “Inside the Episode” segments, numerous featurettes, past animatic sketches, and more.. Rick and Morty: Seasons 1-4 is priced to own at $79.99 SRP for the DVD ($89.99 in Canada) and $89.99 SRP for the Blu-ray ($99.99 in Canada), which includes a Digital Copy (U.S. only). 

The 18 disc Blu-ray set Mill Creek has released for THE SHIELD marks their finest work to date. Everything from the quality of packaging to the number of extras makes this set a must own for any fan of the controversial series. THE SHIELD follows Detective Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis - GOTHAM, FANTASTIC 4) and his corrupt cohorts who are tasked with ridding Los Angeles of its most violent criminals using any methods they deem necessary. From the first episode on, this crime drama was constantly calling into question its anti-heroes methods and taking an uncomfortable look at our criminal justice system. By creating complex characters on both sides of the law, show creator Shawn Ryan (S.W.A.T., TIMELESS, THE UNIT) dissolved the thin blue line over the course of his series 7 seasons. Full 4k HD restorations of each episode, along with dozens of hours of special features including deleted scenes, commentaries from the cast and crew, and tons of featurettes made it impos...

All of the releases in Mill Creek's Retro Look VHS Collection have throwback VHS-style slipcases that will look great on any physical media collectors shelf. These are bare-bones releases but for anyone interested in shelf aesthetic, you won't be disappointed in any of these Blu-rays. KRULL Set in a mystical time and place that is somehow neither the past nor the present, where extraordinary creatures of myth work their incredible magic, and where a horrific, omnipotent Beast is the ruler. This is the planet of Krull! Prince Colwyn sets out on a daring mission to rescue his young bride who is held captive by the Beast. But slayers and alien beings under the command of the Beast oppose him at every turn. Colwyn must first reach a faraway cavern to recover the legendary Glaive, a flying blade capable of phenomenal powers. I'm not sure if this a new scan for the Mill Creek Retro Collection but man does this transfer look gorgeous. The rich color pallet of Peter S...

Much like NEWS RADIO , ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT , and GET A LIFE , Dan Harmon's COMMUNITY was a trailblazing sitcom with a vocal fanbase. "Six seasons and a movie" became a rallying cry for the Browncoats of Greendale Community College. These dedicated viewers managed to keep COMMUNITY on the air for several years after rumors of cancellation began to surface. In fact, rumors of the show's demise began to circulate before the first season had even finished airing. After the second season  COMMUNITY  was regularly on critics "best of" and "underrated" lists but the show never crossed over as a mainstream hit. Not to throw shade, but when shows like BIG BANG THEORY are cultural mammoths it's no wonder quality stuff slips through the cracks. We as audience members demand lowest common denominator drivel, shying away from innovative and challenging entertainment. COMMUNITY was self-referential and meta before those were common tropes in telev...

2018 Directed by Mark C. Smith A film about two silent lemurs in hot air balloons is not only one of 2018’s finest animated shorts but one of finest films of the year. I cannot understate the beauty of Smith's TWO BALLOONS, along with its aesthetic the simplicity of its narrative, it's stunning. This 9 minute short strikes a rare emotional honesty that is sadly lacking in most feature-length films, let alone in an animated short. The detail displayed in the stop-motion animation and charming score from Peter Broderick make this simple story utterly re-watchable.    While comparisons will undoubtedly be drawn to Wes Anderson, Smith’s exploration of humanity through these air-born primates shares more DNA with the films of Hal Ashby. It could be that I spent the morning re-watching SHAMPOO and THE LAST DETAIL but Smith seems more concerned with his films emotional resonance than its quirky details. It would be nearly impossible to spoil the film by describing th...

2018 Directed by : Duncan Skiles Starring : Charlie Plummer, Dylan McDermott, Samantha Mathis, Madisen Beaty It can be painfully difficult to recognize the faults of our parents. They love, support, and provide for you. They are the center of our worlds for a large portion of our adolescence. Many of us are unable to fully appreciate how screwed up our childhoods were until we enter adulthood. For Tyler, (Carlie Plummer) that possibility becomes apparent far sooner. Tyler is about as all American as they come. A level-headed young man raised in a small working-class community. He's a Boy Scout and attends church every Sunday. When he accidentally uncovers his fathers (Dylan McDermott) cache of sadistic pornography he becomes suspicious that he could be the son of Clovehitch, a local serial killer who was never apprehended. Director Duncan Skiles never takes the expected route with any of the somewhat familiar ground he covers in THE CLOVEHITCH KILLER. Kassi (...

With a little over a week to go until this year's LAFF kicks off, we decided to take a look at the films that have us most excited. This is by no means a complete list of all the films, just the ones we have earmarked as the must-see titles. FUNKE  Evan Funke was one of the hottest young chefs in Los Angeles when he inexplicably walked away from his critically-acclaimed and wildly popular restaurant, Bucato, leaving behind him a wake of financial and personal upheaval. Years later, as Evan begins mounting his comeback, he reconnects with his maestra, a virtuosic pasta teacher in Bologna, Italy and partners with Janet Zuccarini, a Canadian restauranteur undertaking her first venture in the U.S. Eyeing one of the most competitive and expensive streets in America as a stage for the dying art of handmade pasta, he battles many obstacles on the road to opening a restaurant that he hopes will become his legacy and repair the mistakes of his past. In his feature debut,...

Exorcism films do not begin and end with William Friedkin's THE EXORCIST. With entries as varied as BEETLEJUICE, CONSTANTINE, and THE RITE, the exorcism sub-genre of horror films is far more diverse than many immediately recognize.   With THE SONG OF SOLOMON director Stephen Brio has added a unique take on the possession movie. In his film, the Catholic church attempts to save the soul of Mary (Jessica Cameron) who appears to have been possessed after witnessing her father's brutal suicide. Mary is off camera while her father takes his own life. In a scene that could play as a confessional or an accusation, the family's patriarch lists off the reasons why he is being forced to use his knife on Mary and himself. He details how they were a good, loving family and he can't understand why she is accusing him of abuse. Using demonic control as a metaphor for trauma survival is something so natural, I can't believe it's not woven into every film of t...

2018 DIRECTOR: Jonathan Watson WRITER: Luke Del Tredici CAST: Danny McBride, Rosemarie DeWitt, Luke Wilson, Elizabeth Gillies and Kaitlin Olson The Story Cassie (Rosemarie DeWitt) has seen better days. As a single mom and real estate agent in the midst of the housing crisis of 2009, she struggles to keep her head above water. She shares custody of her 14-year-old daughter with her ex-husband Scott (Luke Wilson) and continually dodges calls from collection agencies. Being 6 months behind on the mortgage and trying to play nice with an ex who left her for a woman half his age is the perfect recipe for desperation. Any problems Cassie thought she had were pleasant distractions in comparison to what happens after she meets Sonny (Danny McBride). He is a violently disgruntled homeowner whose life is falling apart. After an unfortunate encounter with Cassie's Boss (Seth Rogen), he decides to take her along as he spirals out of control. Sonny purchased a home and feels that h...

Directed by: Jack C. Newell Written by: Stephanie Mickus Cast: Mia Rose Frampton, Stony Blyden, Juliette Angelo, Beau Brooks High school is a strange time. For me, I like to frame that period as fraught with anger and rebellion. I tell myself that I was an artist trapped in a small town, a poet searching for his muse. The time when I was politically and emotionally alive. But then I look at the photos. Read some of the writing. And, oh boy, the truth crashes over me like an unwelcome but humbling wave of reality. The smoking without inhaling, the clothes from Structure (Burroughs didn't spend his paycheck at the mall), and the many, many, many configurations of embarrassing facial hair and coiffures, I was in desperate need of an identity. On the surface, it might not sound like I would have a lot in common with a teenage girl dying of cancer, but HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL showed me otherwise. Hope Gracin (Mia Rose Frampton) has fully embraced her identity as the gi...

Director: Sasha Louis Vukovic Writer: Sasha Louis Vukovic Stars: Teresa Marie Doran, Dan Lin, Sari Mercer The 1920s are often referred to as the "roaring 20s." A time when the automobile boom had started to kick in, radio was the most popular form of mass media and telephones began to connect millions of homes. This was a good time for (white, heterosexual, male) Americans that didn't mind going to a speakeasy for a cocktail. For minorities and women? Not so much. Women were granted the right to vote in 1920 and Jim Crow laws were looming in the not too distant future. FLORA   is set somewhere in a North American forest during the summer of 1929. A group of students has been sent out to examine and catalog the native plant life of a remote wooded location. Where the junior botanists uncover a deadly mold that kills almost everything it comes in contact with.    While not overtly political, Sasha Louis Vukovic uses FLORA s time period as a sali...

Directed by: Robert D. Krzykowski Starring: Sam Elliott, Adrian Turner, Caitlin FitzGerald, Ron Livingston, and Larry Miller The 22nd edition of Montreal's Fantasia International Film Festival was the site for the world premiere of Robert D. Krzykowski's THE MAN WHO KILLED HITLER AND THEN THE BIGFOOT on July 20th, 2018. The film has easily one of the best titles I've seen in years and somehow manages to subvert the expectations of a name like that and deliver something far more interesting and sober. Calvin Barr (Elliot) is a legendary World War II veteran who has the distinction of being the man who secretly assassinated Adolf Hitler. An act that has left him with remorse and regret. He quite possibly saved millions of lives but he killed a man, no matter how justified, at the end of the day he still carries the weight of that one moment. Killing Hitler forever changed the course of history and in turn destroyed his life. As we meet Calvin he is in the twilight ...

Somewhere in between THE A-TEAM and ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ lies the Sylvester Stallone prison break for hire franchise, ESCAPE PLAN . In the latest installment,  ESCAPE PLAN 2: HADES,  structural engineer Ray Breslin (Stallone) teams up with former rival Trent DeRosa (David Bautista) to rescue his team. When Ray discovers where his team is being held he reaches out to Trent, a mercenary working in hostage recovery and Bug (Pete Wentz) a notorious weapons dealer to rescue his comrades and save Yusheng. In order to complete the mission, Ray must break into Hades a prison known as the Land of the Dead. Director Steven C. Miller is easily one of the most prolific filmmakers working in the action genre today. With 15 credits to his name in 6 years, he is consistently turning out throwback spectacle that would have felt cozy on the shelf of any Blockbuster in the late 80's. With ESCAPE PLAN 2: HADES Miller has infused the action tropes of the 80's with styli...

2018 Directed by: Joel Potrykus Starring: Joshua Burge If you take Ven diagram of David Lynch and Kevin Smith, then divide the result by Castaway, you get an idea of what Joel Potrykus has done with his latest effort, RELAXER . Abbie (Joshua Burge) is an impossibly sedentary 90s slacker dedicated to concurring Pac Man without leaving the couch. Set in the days and months leading up to Y2K,  RELAXER presents a slightly augmented version of history through the eyes of its singularly motivated protagonist. For a film set in one room and primarily focused on a single character, RELAXER moves through an impressive number of tones and visual styles. One of the biggest challenges with limited storytelling is in the cinematography. Potrykus manages to keep the film interesting from that perspective by shifting through distinct techniques for each of the film's 3 acts. At times warm and inviting, at others disgusting and uninhabitable, the apartment at the center of the fi...

Mike Diana is an outsider artist working in comic books. Unlike what most would associate with the medium, Diana uses his funny books to tackle subjects like the environment, consumerism, and pedophilia. Through graphic depictions and dry social commentary Diana pushes the boundaries of acceptable speech and taste so much so he has the distinction of being the first person to be convicted of artistic obscenity. BOILED ANGELS: THE TRIAL OF MIKE DIANA opens with the following: "The uncensored art shown in this film is deliberately and aggressively NON PC. It is meant to provoke, disturb, shock, offend, and confront the viewer. If graphic depictions of sex and violence disturb you, STOP watching the film NOW." It's the perfect way to open the film as it contains imagery that will make many viewers uncomfortable. And if you are unable to get past that imagery to see the tragedy of Diana's story, the film has no interest in speaking to you. The film mirrors its su...