You People (2023) - Movie Review

I wasn’t even planning on watching this. I was originally going to check out Rebel Moon, but then I read up on how there was going to be a director’s cut, and given… well, everything to do with Zack Snyder and extended cuts, I want to both avoid the larger conversation as best I can while also giving him the best chance possible. So, as a result, that review is getting moved to early next year. And out of blind panic, and remembering that this film was a talking point earlier in the year, I basically went “fuck it” and picked this. Words cannot express how much I regret that decision.

You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah (2023) - Movie Review

Well, the last two days have been a bit of a rollercoaster. Going through Happy Madison’s output for the year has led to some pleasant surprises, some unsurprising duds, and some genuinely amazing stuff. And I don’t know if it’s because I’m going into this directly after having my heart torn open by Leo, but this coming-of-age teen flick… it’s alright. Just… alright.

Shiva Baby (2021) - Movie Review

This film hurts to watch. Not in the sense that it’s bad (far from it, as I’ll get into), but because it is an incredibly visceral representation of an equally visceral reaction to stressful social situations. Or, for quite a lot of people out there (myself included), social situations in general. It’s one of the shorter films I’ve looked at this year (about 78 minutes including credits), and its premise is a seemingly simply one. It involves college student Danielle (Rachel Sennott) attending shiva, along with her extensive extended family, and just happening to bump into Max (Danny Deferrari)… who is also her sugar daddy. Cue the panic.

An American Pickle (2020) - Movie Review

 

I’ve made it no secret that I am a serious fanboy of Point Grey Pictures, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s production studio. I await every new release from them with bated breath, and every time I expect the bottom to fall out from their enviable track record over the 2010s… well, between The Interview and Game Over, Man!, it hasn’t been spotless but it has kept me entertained for a very long time by now. Their latest is something of a torch-passing moment for solo debut director Brandon Trost, who worked as DOP on some of PG’s bigger successes like The Night Before and The Disaster Artist. And honestly, even removing my own biases from the equation, this is one hell of an opening sprint.

The Vigil (2020) - Movie Review

Well, this is a nice surprise: A horror flick released during lockdown that doesn’t make me think literal cabin fever is the better option. Not only that, this is quite a refreshing feature within its sub-genre of supernatural horror. Mainly, because it's one of a rare few that taps into superstition outside of the Christian camp.

Uncut Gems (2020) - Movie Review

What irony that a film all about a compulsive gambler would find me actually cashing in on one of my bets. A couple of years ago, between Adam Sandler’s work on Sandy Wexler and The Meyerowitz Stories, I saw a major shift in his place as an actor. The kind that not only gave hope for bigger and better things to come, but also gave the impression that the man could be on the verge as a serious breakthrough, big enough to possibly warrant some re-evaluation of someone most audiences wrote off years ago. Meyerowitz may have shown that that shift wasn’t a fluke, but this film outright confirms that rejuvenation.