Movie Review: Small Town Crime

Small Town Crime *** / *****Directed by: Eshom Nelms and Ian Nelms.Written by: Eshom Nelms and Ian Nelms.Starring: John Hawkes (Mike Kendall), Anthony Anderson (Teddy Banks), Octavia Spencer (Kelly Banks), Robert Forster (Steve Yendel), Clifton Collins Jr. (Mood), Jeremy Ratchford (Orthopedic), James Lafferty (Tony Lama), Michael Vartan (Detective Crawford), Daniel Sunjata (Detective Whitman), Don Harvey (Randy), Stefanie Scott (Ivy), Caity Lotz (Heidi), Dale Dickey (Leslie), Michelle Lang (Tina), Stefania Barr (Kristy), Victor Medina (Fredrico), Sean Carrigan (Julian), Adam Johnson (Oliver). The new neo-noir film Small Town Crime stars John Hawk

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Movie Review: Lego DC Superheroes: The Flash

Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: The Flash ** ½ / *****Directed by: Ethan Spaulding.Written by: James Krieg & Jeremy Adams based on the DC Comics characters. Starring: James Arnold Taylor (The Flash / Barry Allen), Kate Micucci (Zatanna), Kevin Michael Richardson (Doctor Fate), Troy Baker (Batman / Bruce Wayne), Nolan North (Superman / Clark Kent / Kal-El / Killer Croc / Waylon Jones), Grey DeLisle (Wonder Woman / Diana Prince), Khary Payton (Cyborg / Victor Stone), Dwight Schultz (Reverse-Flash / Eobard Thawne), Eric Bauza (The Atom / B'dg / Jimmy Olsen), Tom Kenny (Plastic Man / Patrick 'Eel' O'Brian / The Penguin / Oswald Cobblepot), Phil LaMarr (F

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Movie Review: Tomb Raider

Tomb Raider ** ½ / *****Directed by: Roar Uthaug.Written by: Geneva Robertson-Dworet & Alastair Siddons.Starring: Alicia Vikander (Lara Croft), Dominic West (Lord Richard Croft), Walton Goggins (Mathias Vogel), Daniel Wu (Lu Ren), Kristin Scott Thomas (Ana Miller), Derek Jacobi (Mr. Yaffe), Hannah John-Kamen (Sophie), Nick Frost (Max). A part of me admires the new Tomb Raider, which is, of course, a completely unnecessary and unasked for reboot of a movie franchise that died 15 years ago, and hasn’t once been brought up in a conversation since. All those years ago, it was Angelina Jolie as the ass-kicking, brilliant Lara Croft, who had to sho

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Movie Review: Veronica

Veronica ** / *****Directed by: Paco Plaza.Written by: Fernando Navarro and Paco Plaza.Starring: Sandra Escacena (Verónica), Bruna González (Lucía), Claudia Placer (Irene), Iván Chavero (Antoñito), Ana Torrent (Ana), Consuelo Trujillo (Hermana Muerte), Ángela Fabián (Rosa), Carla Campra (Diana). In horror films there is a difference between a slow burn and the downright bland – and while that difference can vary by viewer, I’d argue that the Spanish horror film Veronica is much more of the later. The film was released on Netflix earlier this month – after being on the festival circuit last fall – and after receiving some attention as a film Netfl

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Movie Review: Take Your Pills

Take Your Pills ** / *****Directed by: Alison Klayman. Alison Klayman’s Take Your Pills is an advocacy documentary that basically argues – not incorrectly – that as a society, we are over medicating our children – one drugs like Ritalin and Adderall, which is essentially speed. We get them hooked on the drugs, that help keep them alert and focused, with no real plan to ever get them off the drugs – and as a result, we have a society of children on the drugs, who grow into adults who are still on the drugs. The most striking moment in the film comes late, when a college senior says that when they get out into the world, they don’t think they’ll co

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Movie Review: Wild Wild Country

Wild Wild Country **** / *****Directed by: Maclain Way & Chapman Way. The recent glut of documentary series that span multiple episodes and many hours telling a single story has mostly been a blessing – giving filmmakers a chance to more fully explore complex subjects that a two or even three hour runtime couldn’t adequately handle. At their best – like Ezra Edelman’s astounding O.J. Made in America, the result can be a masterpiece – one of the best documentaries ever made. There can be downsides of course (something like The Keepers doesn’t earn its runtime), but for the most part, I am glad of this recent development. The best new doc serie

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Movie Review: The Strangers: Prey at Night

The Strangers: Prey at Night *** ½ / *****Directed by: Johannes Roberts.Written by: Ben Ketai based on the screenplay by Bryan Bertino.Starring: Christina Hendricks (Cindy), Bailee Madison (Kinsey), Martin Henderson (Mike), Lewis Pullman (Luke), Emma Bellomy (Dollface), Damian Maffei (Man in the Mask), Lea Enslin (Pin-Up Girl). It felt rather lonely in 2008 thinking that Bryan Bertino’s The Strangers was one of the scariest films I had seen in years – most reviews dismissed it as another cheap horror movie, but it was a film that creeped me out to no end. To be fair, home invasion movies do that me more than most horror films do (I rarely get all

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