Searching is the latest entry in the ever-growing subgenre of computer movies, that is, movies that consist entirely of screen-captured images of computer (or in this case, any digital device) screens. Up until now computer movies had been dominated by horror outings like the surprisingly not-terrible Unfriended series, but Searching is a mystery-thriller through and through. Continue reading
Lily (Anya Taylor-Joy) is in a bad place. She’s in trouble with her posh boarding school, and stuck at home between semesters with her well-meaning but uninvolved mother and douchebag-extraordinaire stepfather, Mark (Paul Sparks). He and Lily live together in hostile tension, both affecting a façade of chilly politeness that barely conceals their mutual hatred for one another. Meanwhile, the mother of Lily’s middle school classmate Amanda pays her to tutor her daughter, itself a transparent excuse to provide Amanda with some social contact. Amanda has become an outcast after brutally killing her family’s crippled horse, which in her mind was an act of mercy. Continue reading
Hey all, my podcast is finally up on Soundcloud, so give it a listen below; you can expect more episodes in the coming weeks. For the first episode, my brother Sean and I analyze the 2015 thriller The Invitation. This is an in-depth discussion, so expect major spoilers. Enjoy!
American Assassin opens strong, with civilian Mitch Rapp (Dylan O’Brien) witnessing the murder of his girlfriend during a brutal terrorist attack. It’s a heart-pounding sequence, turning a paradisiacal beach vacation into a chaotic bloodbath in the span of seconds. Continue reading
Take one part Single White Female, a dash of The Cable Guy, update it for the Instagram generation, and what do you get? A pretty good movie, as it turns out. Continue reading
On paper, it’s easy to write off Wind River as another police procedural. Its core elements (dead girl, snowy setting, city cop in the country) are hardly unique, yet the movie manages to create something fresh and affecting out of its well-worn parts. Continue reading
Subgenre: Thriller
Summary: Healthy patients at the same hospital begin dropping into comas for no apparent reason. Continue reading
Subgenre: Thriller
Summary: A victimized high school girl uses her telekinetic powers to get revenge on her tormentors. Continue reading
Subgenre: Foreign / Serial Killer
Summary: After his fiancé is brutally murdered, a secret agent goes to disturbing lengths to exact revenge on the killer. Continue reading
How well do any of us remember high school? Like any other period in our lives, time slowly reduces those four years to a handful of moments: football games, prom, graduation. But what about the things we’d like to – and often do – forget: the adolescent discomforts, the cutthroat social ladder, the kids excluded for being different? Continue reading