Prey. 2022. Directed by Dan Trachtenberg.
Dan Trachtenberg made a story telling event that should have had a theater run especially in IMAX like all Predator franchise films. Instead, Prey (2022) is now playing on HULU for everyone to view at home which is awesome. But, I think the Academy changed it rules for a film to be nominated, it must have a theater run. Prey showcases the feminine hunter/fighter instinct as Naru (Amber Midthunder) proves to her tribe that…
Everything Everywhere All At Once. 2022. Directed by Dan Kwan & Daniel Scheinert (Daniels). 🏳️🌈🫶🏳️🌈💖🏳️🌈🫶🏳️🌈🫶💖🏳️🌈🫶
We just left an IMAX auditorium in a multiplex in which there was a two to five minute standing ovation. It was if we were at a film festival. We were at a special opening night screening. Unfortunately, DANIELS were at SXSW. At any rate, Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022) {EEAAO} is like Dr. Strange (2016) meets a Sion Sono Film (e.g. Love Exposure or…
The Hateful Eight. 2015. Directed by Quentin Tarantino.
Quentin Tarantino has always stayed ahead of the competition. His eighth film The Hateful Eight (2015) is an exemplary example of another fine original screenplay by Quentin Tarantino. From the time we saw The Hateful Eight at an early screener in 2015 in Manhattan we were convinced this was Tarantino’s best. But, every time he releases a film he out does himself. He took a Western and combined it with a whodunnit…
Slow West. 2015. Directed by John Maclean.
Slow West (2015) is a drifting realistic view of the Wild West unlike a great deal of Hollywood depictions. John Maclean’s impeccably sardonic view of the West shot in New Zealand was a breath of fresh air that A24 films typically produce. In this case, Maclean’s Western benefits from Robbie Ryan’s (Marriage Story, C’mon C’mon, and The Favourite) cinematography showcases the literal cut throat environment that Jay Cavendish (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is naïvely navigating…
Bodies Bodies Bodies. 2022. Directed by Halina Reijn.
This is a well directed whodunnit that will keep one guessing until the end. In fact, it is a fresh take on a classic genre. Sarah DeLappe’s screenplay of Kristen Roupenian’s story about technology, drugs, and a group of millennials with old and new money in a hurricane party that goes sideways due to an initial murder. This initial murder creates chaos. Do not let anyone give you spoilers before seeing this…
Jackie Brown. 1997. Directed by Quentin Tarantino.
Jackie Brown (1997) is a reserved, seducing Tarantino film. In other words, Tarantino is riffing on Elmore Leonard’s “Rum Punch.” Leonard’s writing is full of brilliantly packed sentences. Tarantino wrote Jackie Brown for Pam Grier (Jackie Brown) whereas, Robert Forster (Max Cherry) plays Pam Grier’s mature love interest. One of the most beautiful aspects of Jackie Brown is Tarantino revamped the careers of Forster and Grier. Grier went on to do many more…
