On PLANET OF THE APES and how to do a reboot the right way
by Billy Russell, Staff Writer
Rise is not the series at its best. It gets better.
JURASSIC PARK III at 20: Why embracing its B-movie roots was the right movie
by Billy Russell, Staff Writer
Whereas Jurassic Park is a timeless classic, Jurassic Park III feels very specific to its early 2000s period, even more specifically to early 2000s Universal Pictures who was proudly cranking out B-movies with a budget
With a charming cast and earnest approach, TWISTER still thrills
by Billy Russell, Staff Writer
It’s dumb as a bag of tornadoes, but it works.
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK at 40 is still a non-stop thrill ride
by Billy Russell, Staff Writer
Raiders of the Lost Ark is a movie that has grown with me as I have grown.
PORT AUTHORITY is a raw look at masculinity
by Billy Russell, Staff Writer
Breaking down barriers isn’t an easy task and it takes lots of work.
BENNY LOVES YOU in an uneven attack on our love affair with nostalgia
by Billy Russell, Staff Writer
Benny Loves You feels like the antithesis of things like Ready Player One, where you will be rewarded by developing an encyclopedic knowledge of movies and TV.
THE TUNNEL turns disaster into high cinema
by Billy Russell, Staff Writer
What makes the film work as well as it does is that it never seems to take a ghoulish delight in the horrible things we’re witnessing.
Kongzilla Week: GODZILLA 1985 was the first film to make me cry
by Billy Russell, Staff Writer
It occurred to me recently that I haven’t seen Godzilla 1985 since I was a kid, and it was high time for a re-watch.
The Gush: TREMORS is horror fun for the whole family
by Billy Russell, Staff Writer
Growing up in a small town in the country, I identified with the rural town of Perfection, Nevada, the fictional center of action in the film Tremors.
Interview: COSMIC SIN director Edward Blake
by Billy Russell, Staff Writer
MovieJawn had an opportunity to chat with Cosmic Sin director Edward Blake.
COSMIC SIN barely executes on its potential
by Billy Russell, Staff Writer
Cosmic Sin is a well-made, slick-looking sci-fi movie that clearly has budgetary constraints.
Interview: THE CANYONLANDS director Brendan Devane
by Billy Russell, Staff Writer
MovieJawn had an opportunity to chat with The Canyonlands’ director Brendan Devane.
THE CANYONLANDS is a fun slasher throwback
by Billy Russell, Staff Writer
The Canyonlands harkens back to a simpler time of slashers, one that understands horror can be fun, not a slog through torture, misery and cynicism.
THE SHOOTIST: John Wayne, the End of an Era, and My Dad
by Billy Russell, Staff Writer
John Wayne may have finally won his Oscar for True Grit, but his best performance belongs to The Shootist.
BURN IT ALL is a conflicted and simplistic thriller
by Billy Russell, Staff Writer
A movie I had to take a day off from and sort of digest before I could commit to how exactly I felt about i
Split Decision: I always wanted to be a Tenenbaum
In honor of Bottle Rocket’s 25th anniversary, who is your favorite character in any Wes Anderson movie?
Identifying Features
by Billy Russell, Staff Writer
Three migrant boys venture to the United States and all three go missing. Two ventured up to Arizona together on a bus, looking for work, to start their own lives. One had come to the States four years ago, never to be heard from since. All three are presumed dead.
Read MoreBeasts Clawing at Straws
Written and directed by Kim Yon-hoon
Starring Jeon Do-yeon, Jung Woo-sung and Bae Seong-woo
Running time: 1 hour and 48 minutes
by Billy Russell
Many of the press materials for Kim Yong-hoon’s new film, Beasts Clawing at Straws, compares it to last year’s Best Picture winner, Parasite, but aside from some superficial similarities (they’re both South Korean pictures with a twisted sense of humor dealing with class struggles), the two have very little in common. I get it, though. Parasite was a big deal, the first non-English-speaking film to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards in the United States. If there’s a passing similarity, it makes sense to hitch yourself to its wagon and try to get in on some of its success.
Read MoreBetter Late Than Never - The Enduring Classic, The Seven Samurai
by Billy Russell
I don’t like to think of myself as a film snob, because, ugh. I hate to be the person who can’t enjoy a fluffy, inconsequential, even predictable movie because there are so many great movies out there, and why would I waste my time with something so pedestrian? As though it’s impossible to enjoy Dumb and Dumber and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre in equal measure.
Read MoreEnd of the World Streams
by Billy Russell
Streaming TV and movies during the era of COVID-19 has me thinking of apocalyptic movies and, brother, I have run the gamut in tone all over the place during this crazy lockdown stuff. So join me on my tour of the entire spectrum of emotions as lensed through “end of the world” flicks.
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