Author: Francis Co

For a movie that featured busting a load in another man’s mouth as repeated punishment for (and get a load of this) resisting the idea of taking the load to begin with, The Shawshank Redemption struck me as surprisingly tame during its first hour. Though never shown, this was twice insinuated to the victimized protagonist…

With Hold the Dark, Jeremy Saulnier’s third such endeavor and fourth feature, the director’s reputation as a state-hopping connoisseur of America’s backwoods is well and truly confirmed. A reputation not so much for achievement as inclination; mainly an infatuation with subcultures situated at the peripheries of mainstream society. His penchant for uncompromising and violent depictions…

If one were to pen a tale championing the proper way to end a relationship, and forge toward greener pastures, House of Gucci puts forth an exemplary illustration of what calamities to avoid. That is, were it not for the combination of a biopic-period piece serving as the conceit for achieving so. What else can…

A copycat of Copycat. And Hitchcock.

I recently watched Goodfellas for the third…and final time, not because I intend to retire to eremitism, join a cult or end my life soon, but—to see how it held up. Seeing it first in 2004 while a twenty-year-old, English-as-a-second language twit enamored with mob flicks centered around New Yawk, big-city, third-world, streetwise culture; and,…

As has become customary of late, the sound mixing in Nolan’s much anticipated, much delayed film was a topic of contention, and though intentional, it seriously interfered with desired immersion. Decrypting whose desire it was optimized for—the audience’s or Nolan’s—just may yield the most succinct review possible. I could go one further and declare it…