In this edition of Bite-Sized Reviews, I give you my thoughts on last year’s M. Night Shyamalan release, a Greek Yorgos Lanthimos flick, an animated film that blew me away, and an Alice Rohrwacher film that I can’t stop thinking about.
Continue reading “‘La Chimera,’ ‘Dogtooth,’ ‘Trap,’ and ‘Look Back’ | Bite-Sized Reviews”
Directed by Jesse Eisenberg — Screenplay by Jesse Eisenberg.
Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain follows Jewish American cousins David (played by Jesse Eisenberg) and Benji (played by Kieran Culkin) as they travel from New York City to Poland for the purpose of taking part in a Holocaust tour group, as well as to visit the childhood home of their late grandmother in an attempt to establish a deeper connection to their heritage. On the trip, their rapport is put to the test, as David, a family father, is much more introverted and reserved, while Benji, a drifter with very little going on in his life, is extremely outgoing and extroverted to the degree that David isn’t comfortable with.
Continue reading “A Real Pain (2024) | REVIEW”
Directed by Pascal Plante — Screenplay by Pascal Plante.
Pascal Plante’s Red Rooms (original title: Les Chambres Rouges) is a dark psychological thriller that follows a Montreal-based model named Kelly-Anne (played by Juliette Gariépy), who has an unhealthy interest in the trial of Ludovic Chevalier (played by Maxwell McCabe-Lokos), a man accused of having murdered three young women. The trial, which has become somewhat of a media circus, has attracted different kinds of people, including Clémentine (played by Laurie Babin), a woman who is portrayed as a fan of Chevalier and who believes he is innocent. As the trial moves forward, Kelly-Anne, who has an interest in computer technology, and Clémentine form a friendship, but their intentions don’t seem to align.
Continue reading “Red Rooms (2023) | REVIEW”
Directed by Halina Reijn — Screenplay by Halina Reijn.
Arguably, one of Nicole Kidman’s most iconic films is the erotic mystery psychological thriller Eyes Wide Shut by auteur Stanley Kubrick. It is crazy to think that it’s been more than twenty-five years since its release. But now the time has come for Nicole Kidman to make her glorious return to the erotic thriller. Or, you know, that is the general idea with Babygirl from Bodies Bodies Bodies-director Halina Reijn. But is it actually the glorious return that we’re all hoping for? Well, let’s just say, I have thoughts.
Continue reading “Babygirl (2024) | REVIEW”
Directed by Leigh Whannell — Screenplay by Leigh Whannell and Corbett Tuck.
It’s strange to think back to now, but the final film that I saw in theaters before the world shut down as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 was Universal and Blumhouse’s The Invisible Man from Upgrade director Leigh Whannell. Now, almost five years later, Leigh Whannell has taken another Universal Monster under his wings with Wolf Man, as he has taken over a project that was once envisioned as Ryan Gosling vehicle from Blue Valentine and The Place Beyond the Pines director Derek Cianfrance,. Instead, Whannell’s leads are Christopher Abbott (Sanctuary) and Julia Garner (Ozark). With an early-to-mid-January release, is Whannell’s second Universal Monster adaptation as good as his first? Well, let’s have a look.
Continue reading “Wolf Man (2025) | REVIEW”
In this edition of Bite-Sized Reviews, I reveal my thoughts on a horror video game adaptation, a Jack Black-led Christmas film, an Apple TV+ film whose title references a Frank Sinatra song, and an indie horror film with an interesting premise.
Continue reading “‘Fly Me to the Moon,’ ‘Late Night With the Devil,’ ‘Dear Santa,’ and ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ | Bite-Sized Reviews”
Directed by Jacques Audiard — Screenplay by Jacques Audiard.
As was already evident based on Julia Ducournau’s Titane and Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance, modern day French filmmakers sometimes gravitate toward these ambitious and unique films that defy genre conventions and classifications (and that are difficult to describe to acquaintances without getting strange looks) with great success. Un Prophet and Dheepan director Jacques Audiard, a Palme d’Or winning filmmaker, had similar aspirations recently with his Emilia Pérez, which is arguably most succinctly described as a gender transition musical crime film (mostly set in Mexico and mostly in Spanish) despite the fact that it contains even more sides than even that brief description encompasses. Emilia Pérez has already earned Audiard and his cast plenty of awards attention including the Jury Prize and Best Actress award (for its four female principal actresses) at the Cannes film festival. Nonetheless, the film has also been met with criticism from both Mexican audiences and the LGBTQ+ community. Setting aside all of the praise and all of the controversy, how good is the actual film itself? Well, let’s have a look.
Continue reading “Emilia Pérez (2024) | REVIEW”
In this post, I’ll give you my thoughts on my first Aki Kaurismäki experience, a 2-time Cannes award winning Farhadi film, an underseen Joaquin Phoenix film, and Viggo Mortensen’s latest film as a writer-director.
Continue reading “‘Fallen Leaves,’ ‘C’mon C’mon,’ ‘The Salesman,’ and ‘The Dead Don’t Hurt’ | Bite-Sized Reviews”
In addition to all of the other reviews I’m publishing by themselves, and other relevant articles to kick off the year, I am also starting the year by publishing a small handful of bite-sized review compilation posts. In this edition, I’ll give you my thoughts on two Danish films from last year that didn’t fully win me over, as well as an American horror film released 12 months ago, and John Krasinski’s family film about imaginary friends.
Continue reading “‘Night Swim,’ ‘IF,’ ‘For Evigt,’ and ‘Birthday Girl’ | Bite-Sized Reviews”
Directed by Robert Eggers (The Witch; The Northman) — Screenplay by Robert Eggers
Everyone knows the name Dracula. That name and character have become such an indelible part of horror fandom and popular culture since the original Bram Stoker epistolary gothic horror novel was published back in 1897 and forever put a name to the quintessential vampire figure. It’s a character that has been played by so many iconic actors through time including Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee, Nicolas Cage, and Gary Oldman. You may not have seen all of those films, but, I’m pretty sure, even if you haven’t seen a ‘Dracula movie’ before, certain images instantly pop into your head due to cultural osmosis when you hear the name. I am, however, not as certain most people know about ‘nosferatu,’ and, unless you’re a cinephile or a horror aficionado, you almost definitely don’t know who, or what, Count Orlok is. Kids may dress up as Dracula for Halloween (and many probably do), but you’re going to have to search for quite some time if you want to find someone who dressed up as Orlok.
Continue reading “Nosferatu (2024) | REVIEW”
I'm Jeffrey Rex 