On its surface, Little Monsters is merely a fun, visually compelling mashup of Peter Pan and Beetlejuice, as well as a movie that seriously overestimates the charms of one Howie Mandel. Beneath that surface, its intended subtext taps into common childhood anxieties about moving to a new place, fitting in, and the overwhelming dread that […]

You’ve probably heard of MGM and United Artists, but what about the very lovely Cannon Films? It was a studio that took on the Hollywood big boys in the 1980s. For a glorious, plate-spinning few years it became the world’s largest independent movie production company, cranking out up to six low-budget pictures a month. How […]

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 […]

DUHHHHN-DUH DUHHHHN-DUH DUHN-DUH-DUHN-DUH-DUHN-DUH deeleee-dee! DUHN-DUH-DUHN DUH-DUHN Yes, I have it on good authority that’s how the famous danger theme of Jaws was written, by the same man who wrote the Star Wars score, John Williams…here’s a sample from his notebook entitled “Imperial March”: “BWAHM-BWAHM-BWAHM-teedee-BWAHM-teedee BWAHM (higher) BWAHM-BWAHM-BWAHM-diddliy-BWAHM-teedee-BWAHM (maybe a little ‘toodley-deedly’ here–ask George–too many BWAHMs?)” […]

It was a nine-year wait between writer-director-producer-actor-composer Shane Carruth’s first film, Primer (perhaps the most realistic, challenging, and compelling time-travel movie ever made), and his masterpiece, Upstream Color, an even more complex and challenging movie, and certainly a more visually appealing one. It has now been nine years since the latter was released, with no […]

On January 04, 2018 I wrote an article about Movies That Ruthless Reviews Eagerly Anticipates in 2018. Terry Gilliam worked on this film for an unbelievable 30 years before it finally came to fruition. This is after 10 attempts for this off and on film. No one but the whacky genius Terry Gilliam could have […]

“Top Gun: Maverick” – Shock and awe. If ever there was a movie where my expectations were set to negative one million, it’s every Fast and Furious movie. One tick higher was Top Gun: Maverick. Like every other Gen X/Millennial, I have fond memories of the original Top Gun, complete with the ability to sing […]

What are these sick bastards doing? Actually, Ben, Kristy and Liz aren’t sick bastards. They’re lovely guys partying on the Western Australian coast who are about to undertake an eleven-hour drive inland to see the world’s second biggest meteorite crater. One of Wolf Creek’s great strengths is the steady way it builds up these three […]

I despise Stephen King, his novella of Rita Hayworth, and The Shawshank Redemption. It was anun-readable blot of blueberry mustard smeared on a Maine tourist map from 1973. Why ’73? Well, that’s the last year of Maine’s state pride as it is the last year it WOULD NOT be associated with this human cowlick with […]