I will admit to anyone who asks, I am a fan of the Saw Franchise. However, the last Saw film that I truly enjoyed was “Saw VI” back in 2009. Since then, “Saw 3D: The Final Chapter”, “Jigsaw”, and “Spiral: From the Book of Saw” have been released to much, including my own disappointment. That streak has been broken September 2023. The night I saw a new direction in the Saw franchise with “Saw X.”
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The rebooted trilogy that included digitally enhanced actors portraying apes, most notably Andy Serkis who played the lead, Caesar, comes to its conclusion in “War for the Planet of the Apes.” A film directed by Matt Reeves and also starring Woody Harrelson, Steve Zahn and Amiah Miller.
With “War for the Planet of the Apes” only days away, I thought it would be fun to look back at how it all started. That film is “Planet of the Apes” made in 1968 by director Franklin J. Schaffner and based on the book written by Pierre Boulle.
In 1999, Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez wrote and directed one of the most successful independent films of all time when they made the critically acclaimed “The Blair Witch Project.” Now, seventeen years later, director Adam Wingard helms a new generation’s “Blair Witch” story which doesn’t veer too much off the course of the original story and still falls to the main criticisms of the first film. Continue reading
Lance Clifton, an unpublished author and high school poetry teacher, walks into his home to find that his troubled teenage son, Kyle, has killed himself by erotic asphyxiation. To save embarrassment, Lance not only hangs his son in a closet, he also pens a suicide note. However, what Lance didn’t expect was that the entire high school would become inspired by the note. Continue reading
In writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson’s debut film, we meet a man named John (John C. Reilly) who is taken from the street into a diner by Sydney (Philip Baker Hall.) We learn that John is completely broke and can’t even pay for his mother’s funeral. Sydney offers to take him to Reno where he can show him how to turn his life around.
Lloyd Dobler goes on a date with the valedictorian of his high school even when his friends tell him it’s a bad idea. His attitude is what’s the worst that could happen? He finds out the answer to that question but refuses to let her go in Cameron Crowe’s directorial debut. Continue reading
One of the most anticipated films of the year has finally arrived with a new director, new cast members and a throng of excited fans filling theatre seats. Does it live up to the hype or will it fall into the “let’s just move things along” middle chapter category?
I am looking at the poster for John Carpenter’s “The Ward” and it has a quote from a critic that says “Carpenter proves he is still the master of shock.” That is clearly a statement taken out of context because the next sentence must be something like, “This movie is so bad it is shocking Carpenter could be involved.”
