We Have A Ghost (2023) - Movie Review

Christopher B. Landon’s latest film sees him shift from the ‘(insert ‘80s movie) but it’s a slasher’ prompting that’s been part of his last handful of releases, but only somewhat. He’s still quite indebted to the nostalgic films of that era; it’s just that the specific horror genre flavouring is different.

In this case, we have a haunted house story that plays out like a cross between Beetlejuice and E.T., showing Kevin (Jahi Winston) moving into a new house and making friends with ghost Ernest (David Harbour), while Kevin’s father (Anthony Mackie) and brother (Niles Fitch) try to make bank off of Ernest on social media. And honestly, the entertainment value varies quite a bit depending on what is being pulled from.

Synchronic (2021) - Movie Review

Normally, when picking a movie to review, it usually involves some light Googling and finding names that I either recognise directly or recognise any of the work associated with them. This is why I tend to pick out specific members of the cast and crew whenever I do these write-ups. However, this film is a bit different to that as, aside from Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead’s names being attached to last year’s excellent She Dies Tomorrow, I have no real experience with their own bodies of work. Nor was I all that aware of this film was even about, doing my best to let the initial trailer and as few plot details as possible in the process of finding somewhere to watch it stand on their own. I don’t normally allow myself the opportunity to go into a film blind, but I have to admit, this is one hell of a film to go into knowing as little as possible.

The Woman In The Window (2021) - Movie Review

There’s something… refreshing about this movie, and I mean that in the worst way possible. Where other films usually take time for the flaws within to really present themselves, The Woman In The Window almost seems eager to get it all out in the open within the first five minutes. As Bruno Delbonnel’s camera work glides across the house of Amy Adams’ Anna, a child psychologist with agoraphobia, it lingers on a TV set playing a stuttering slideshow of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window. With how much older cinema gets shown throughout, including a few more Hitchcock efforts, it gives this inexorable feeling that I’m watching the result of someone who’s been stuck inside for months with nothing but black-and-white flicks for company, and decided to write a screenplay because they need something, anything, to alleviate the cabin fever.

Of course, the actual genesis of this story is far more complicated than that, to the point where it could take up the bulk of this review all on its own (here’s a beat-by-beat breakdown of the author done by the New Yorker a couple years ago), but that impression still lingers regardless. Not that this is the first modern film to crib heavily from Rear Window, but this is a weirdly straight-forward example of such, as if it’s trying to pre-empt critics and general audiences pointing out such things. Then again, that ranks fairly low on my list of priorities with this particular flick. I am far less sceptical of a story being retold than I am of it being retold well. And to be brutally honest, this isn’t Rear Window. Or Disturbia. Or even Bart Of Darkness. This film wishes it could reach that level of genuine quality.

Seberg (2020) - Movie Review

I don’t think there’s a single actress working today who could take this role other than Kristen Stewart. As much as the white liberal populace could quite easily take a shine to stories like that of the real-life philanthropist and actress Jean Seberg, the narrative of a white woman implanting herself into the protests and struggles of the Black Panther Party isn’t something just anyone could pull off. With how high-profile Stewart has grown of late, and how endearingly riot grrl her public persona has become, her status as one of the mainstream's favourite social subversives makes her ripe for this kind of story. And thankfully, through thick and thin, she manages to pull it off.

Detroit (2017) - Movie Review

The plot: On July 23rd, 1967, a riot starts on the streets of Detroit in response to a police raid. A state of emergency was declared by Governor Romney, allowing the National Guard and military officers to step in and provide assistance. In the midst of all this, a seemingly mundane incident at the Algiers Motel soon turns into calamity as the police forcefully try and get to the bottom of the situation. Even if it means shedding blood and tears to do so.

Triple 9 (2016) - Movie Review

For the average filmgoer (going purely by my own experiences pre-Critic), the most common conversation to spring up when it comes to what film they decide to go see goes something like this:

"Hey, [famous Oscar-winning actor] is in this new movie? Wanna go?"
"Nah, I don’t like that guy that much. How about that new [lesser-known but still popular actor] movie?"
"How about [obscure actor that you mention only to appear cooler to your peers because you seemingly know something that they don’t]? She’s got a new movie out."

Okay, maybe that last one only happens when the filmgoer in question is talking to someone like me, but point still stands: Unless you’re someone who takes the time to look into who and/or what is behind the newest releases, it’s usually the cast list that takes precedent. But what happens when said film has an ensemble cast of actors that, hopefully, will end up causing debate over whose film it truly is. Of course, that’s usually the case with good films involving star-studded casts. Too bad we haven’t got one of those today, unfortunately.

The Night Before (2015) - Movie Review

  

Well… that last one didn’t go well. Maybe we need to push a little further past simple dysfunction and go head-first into insanity. After all, even more so than the grouchiness, Christmas’ simplicities have given way to quite a bit of eccentricity in retaliation. Die Hard is a quintessential holiday movie, Weird Al Yankovic’s doomsday-ready carols are being sung with gusto, and there’s even a film set to come out this year based on the Germanic Yuletide monster Krampus… that will hopefully hit cinema screens by the end of the year because, good God, I want to see a Christmas monster movie! I talked all about it a couple years back by highlighting a TV episode about a Bogan Genie Santa, in case there’s any more doubt on the issue. Anyway, for our second attempt at finding a decent Christmas movie, it’s time to revisit an old friend who nearly caused a world war (which, let’s face it, is still less ridiculous than being led by the Human Hairpiece) as we delve into another Christmas stoner flick. Yes, thanks to Harold & Kumar, this is a sub-genre that already exists.