“‘Kids vs. Aliens’ vs. Tolerance For Intentionally Crummy Cinema”

There’s a certain something – jay nay say kwa, I think the French say – that movies purposefully made to look amateur need to excuse themselves. This movie does not have that. Continue reading →

“Take a Trip to ‘The Alien Coast’ with St. Paul & The Broken Bones”

“You could travel the world / But nothing comes close / To the alien coast” Continue reading →

“‘Memory: The Origins of Alien’ Bears Abiding Fondness For A Sci-Fi Legend”

And now, we go back in time to an era of peak crime and the year of Three Mile Island, Voyager I and Jupiter’s rings, space shuttle orbiter Columbia, and the Iran hostage crisis; also the year of “Alien.” Coincidence? Probably. Continue reading →

The Alienist Review

As with Juan Carlos Medina’s The Limehouse Golem, my fondness for TNT’s The Alienist is derived in part because I’m just into this kind of story: Gothic or Gothic-adjacent procedurals, where the protagonist(s) stare head-on into a darkness they’re ill-equipped to fathom due to the constraints of their era they live in. Not that anyone living in 2018 … Continue reading →

Review: Alien: Covenant, 2017, dir. Ridley Scott

First thing’s first: Here’s the link to my review of Alien: Covenant at Paste Magazine. Second thing’s, uh, second: Spoilers. I have to get some shit off my chest after the baffling defenses mounted in the film’s favor by some of the most respected names in contemporary film criticism, mostly because their defenses hinge on the … Continue reading →

Review: Cowboys & Aliens, 2011, dir. Jon Favreau

It’s amazing that in a single year we saw the release of four alien invasion films, and of that quartet only one turned out to be any good. How do three different directors miss the mark making variations on the same type of movie? Being kind, Super 8 only falls off the rails in its last … Continue reading →

SXSW ’22 Coverage Round-Up

Old lightning wit strikes again. Continue reading →

“Hitch a Slimy, Slithering Ride with ‘Sputnik'”

Insert “in Soviet Russia” joke here. Continue reading →

“10 Underrated Movies You Can Stream Right Now”

Because not all great movies run in theaters, or they do, but they’re not in theaters now, or when they DID run in theaters, it wasn’t at a theater near you. Look, these are all good movies, is what we’re saying. Continue reading →

“Who Is ‘Captain Marvel’ Breakout Goose?”

Real talk: I wrote this piece just so I could use the phrase “jerkin’ your flerken.” Don’t act like you don’t adore me for it. Continue reading →

“Captain Marvel Review: How Brie Larson’s Training Shaped Carol Danvers”

Happy “Captain Marvel” weekend! In the first of Andy’s *three pieces* about the new Marvel movie, an appreciation for Brie Larson and her fondness of baked goods and weight training, and how all of that hard work (and not hard work) reflects on the screen. Continue reading →

When a Horror Movie Shows Too Much

Let me tell you a story about a guy named me who just got his first piece up in The Hollywood Reporter. It was a good piece, and in fact still is, and you should go read it. I’m not sure what else I’m doing here, really. I’m too excited by my THR debut. Sue … Continue reading →

Review Round-Up: Give The Mummy A Band Aid When It Comes At Night

(Author’s note: I’m trying this new thing where I will attempt to review movies here if I’m on assignment writing about ’em in other capacities elsewhere. So when I interview talent, write editorials, or compose lists, I’ll circle back around to this space for capsule reviews as buttressing corroborative details.) THE MUMMY, 2017, dir. Alex … Continue reading →

TV Review: Jessica Jones, 1.04, “AKA 99 Friends”

“Hey, what do you know? Hot on the heels of “AKA It’s Called Whiskey,” the fourth installment ofJessica Jones, “AKA 99 Friends,” bears out some of the exact concerns outlined by Jessica and Luke in their cathartic bonding: Being a hero puts a target on your back. In Jessica’s case, that means being held responsible … Continue reading →

10 Movie Monsters That Will Give You Nightmares

“Who doesn’t like a good movie monster? Whether it’s Count Orlok from Nosferatu or the Rhedosaurus from The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, cinema has a monster flick out there to suit your tastes. Maybe you’re a fan of Ray Harryhausen’s stop-motion skeletons, or perhaps the granddaddy of all kaiju, Godzilla. But there are movie monsters, … Continue reading →

Review: The World’s End, 2013, dir. Edgar Wright

Picture The World’s End as a bittersweet layer cake, a film about the double-edged sword of growing up that also serves as the capstone offering in Edgar Wright’s Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy. Have nine years really passed since Wright, along with his go-to leading men, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, vaulted into national prominence with … Continue reading →

Review: Iron Man 3, 2013, dir. Shane Black

Looking backward, there are more reasons than not to expect disappointment from Iron Man 3. For one, history shows that the third entry tends to be the worst in many franchises, a la  Return of the Jedi, The Godfather III, Infernal Affairs III, The Dark Knight Rises; for another, Shane Black’s contribution to the story of … Continue reading →

Review: Side Effects, 2013, dir. Steven Soderbergh

Is this it? Is this the final theatrical release for filmmaking maverick Steven Soderbergh? The man has been threatening to retire for the last couple of years, so at this point any such claims feel akin to crying wolf, but were he to fully cease making movies tomorrow, Side Effects is a reasonable enough film to end … Continue reading →

Review: Chronicle, 2012, dir. Josh Trank

Chronicle director Josh Trank deserves unquestioned accolades if only for how deftly he weaves together two tired ideas– found footage narratives and superhero origin stories– and ends up with something fresh and engaging. Frankly, he cheats at both (though more at the former than the latter), but when your primary cast members can levitate the camera … Continue reading →

Review: Moonrise Kingdom, 2012, dir. Wes Anderson

Moonrise Kingdom marks the most singularly Wes Andersony film of Wes Anderson’s career to date. It also represents a perfect vehicle for the quirks and tics that define his vision as a filmmaker– that impeccable and odd sense of style, seen in his set designs, costuming choices, and musical accompaniments, as well as the trademark … Continue reading →