Category Archives: Movies

Review: Elevation

Posted on July 23, 2025 by philipbrasor

Monster movies and so-called post-apocalyptic fiction are usually predicated on high-concept gimmicks. Sometimes the gimmick has a gloss of scientific credibility, such as the theory in The Last of Us that a killer fungus which has taken over the world … Continue reading →

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Review: Immaculate

Posted on July 17, 2025 by philipbrasor

It’s surprising that there hasn’t been more cinematic glosses on Rosemary’s Baby considering how irresistible is the notion of a child born of physical Satanic paternity, but this son-of-a-nun horror story isn’t much of an addition to the sub-genre. For … Continue reading →

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Review: Strange Darling and Drop

Posted on July 11, 2025 by philipbrasor

Whiplash thrillers have become a kind of cottage industry in B-movie Hollywood, confounding critics who, in service to readers, have to circumvent crucial plot points so as to not spoil the intended effect. JT Mollner’s Strange Darling is more inventive … Continue reading →

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Review: A Different Man

Posted on July 10, 2025 by philipbrasor

Though Aaron Schimberg’s 70s-styled black comedy seems to be about how we address disability as a society, it’s really about casting, and not just its own choice of actors. The main plot line has to do with a small Off-Broadway … Continue reading →

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Review: Harbin

Posted on July 4, 2025 by philipbrasor

So far I haven’t seen any reports about Japanese right-wing action against this South Korean film about the 1909 assassination of former Japan prime minister Hirobumi Ito by Korean independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun in the titular Russian-controlled Chinese city. Officially, … Continue reading →

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Review: Memoir of a Snail

Posted on June 27, 2025 by philipbrasor

If Britain’s Aardman has become the studio that has done the most to preserve the art of stop-motion animation, Australia’s Adam Elliot has been the artist who’s advanced it further in terms of visual inventiveness and narrative rigor. Like Jan … Continue reading →

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Review: Ghostlight

Posted on June 26, 2025 by philipbrasor

It goes without saying that movies don’t have to be perfect to be emotionally effective, and sometimes filmmakers who trust their instincts make better moves that those who strive for something sublime. This small drama about a middle aged blue … Continue reading →

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Review: Fremont

Posted on June 25, 2025 by philipbrasor

Sometimes the context of a movie is more interesting than the movie itself. Watching this well-made Jarmusch pastiche I kept asking myself about the Afghan diaspora and its immediate impact on the titular central California city. Quite a few obviously … Continue reading →

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Review: 28 Years Later and Sinners

Posted on June 21, 2025 by philipbrasor

Danny Boyle’s 2002 feature 28 Days Later is considered a watershed movie, since it reinvigorated the zombie genre with new ideas, the most potent of which was that the monsters moved fast and struck fast. Technically speaking, it wasn’t a … Continue reading →

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Review: Novocaine and Hidden Face

Posted on June 20, 2025 by philipbrasor

Nepo baby Jack Quaid has carved out a nice pop culture niche with his Hughie Campbell character on the hit Prime series The Boyz: milquetoasty on the outside but with the soul of a tiger when push comes to shove. … Continue reading →

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