The Holdovers feels like the kind of movie that hardly gets made anymore, or at least hardly gets made for the masses: an emotionally resonant, character-based drama for adults. A beautiful film that’s sweet but not cloying, that pulls on the heartstrings without being manipulative. It all just feels so…true.
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Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out! 1989
An exceptionally dull holiday slasher that seems to be embarrassed about being a Christmas movie or a slasher. Casting someone as charismatic as Bill Moseley as your killer and then giving him nothing to do but grunt “Laura…” now and then is a real bonehead move. How in the hell is this from the same guy that gave us Two Lane Blacktop?
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Thanksgiving 2023
So, listen, I really like Eli Roth as a writer personality. Listening to him talk about horror movies in podcasts, in interviews, on his show The History of Horror… it’s clear that the dude is a deep well of knowledge and is truly in love with the genre.
As a filmmaker though? He’s a little hit-or-miss with me. I loved Cabin Fever when it came out 20 (!!) years ago, but the quality of his work has been declining pretty steadily since…
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Prey 2022
A meat-and-potatoes reset of the Predator franchise that gets the series back to its roots: a big ass alien monster vs a skilled human warrior. That’s all this is; Prey isn't breaking any new ground, but treading familiar areas with a modern touch. Beautifully photographed with intense gore-filled action sequences, and all anchored by a star-making turn from Amber Midthunder. Would love for this to start a trend where we see the Predator battle warriors from across the ages. Predator vs Viking, anyone?
