“‘The Twilight Zone’ Season 2 Is Well-Crafted Gloom Burdened By An Overabundance Of Ideas “

In which I Peele back the layers on the Twilight Zone”s modern day revival, now in its second season. Continue reading →

“How ‘Twilight’ Sparked A YA Craze It Then Helped Destroy”

I wonder if I’m being overly critical of Twilight here, suggesting that it’s Twilight‘s fault YA has apparently moved on from genre to more reality-based material; I do very much loathe Twilight, because I love hewing to popular opinion, but at the same time I’m grateful for it as a basis for the careers of Robert Pattinson … Continue reading →

Review: Twilight Samurai, 2002, dir. Yoji Yamada

Hiroyuki Sanada may well be the best actor whose name you’ve never heard, but whose face you swear you’ve seen before. Like countless other Americans I suffer from a crippling addiction to television juggernaut Lost, a show that went from character driven, high-concept science fiction recalling Jules Verne to a nebulous and frustrating series of … Continue reading →

“With ‘Cosmopolis,’ a Limo Ride That Redefined Robert Pattinson’s Career”

With this byline, an article that one day will hopefully prove to redefine Andy Crump’s career. Continue reading →

“‘What We Do In The Shadows’ Season 3 Lends Thoughtful New Depth To The Hilarious Vampire Series”

I’ll probably be writing about this show forever, which feels appropriate because, y’know, vampires. Continue reading →

“‘Chaos Walking’ Stumbles, Trips, Faceplants”

Just gonna pat myself on the back for this headline, what a stroke of genius. Continue reading →

“Scream Factory’s New ‘The Kiss of the Vampire’ Blu-Ray Revisits a Morbid, Kinky Classic”

It’s more of a bite than a kiss, but when the end result is you become a bloodsucking fiend, who’s keeping count? Continue reading →

“‘Driveways’ Bids Farewell to Brian Dennehy, Giant with a Gentle Heart”

Not Brian Dennehy’s last-last role, but it might be his last great role. We’ll see once his last-last movies come out. Continue reading →

Review: What We Do in the Shadows, 2015, dir. Taika Waitit & Jemaine Clement

“After suffering from post-Twilight defanging since 2008, vampires are on the mend. Last year’s one-two punch of A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night and Only Lovers Left Alive, along with films like Neil Jordan’s underappreciated 2013 joint Byzantium, helped creatures of the night reclaim their teeth on the big screen bit by bit; these … Continue reading →

Review: The Hunger Games, 2012, dir. Gary Ross

There’s so much surrounding The Hunger Games— socially, artistically, politically– that it’s hard to know where to start in writing a review about the latest pop-cultural literary and cinematic phenomenon. It feels somewhat gauche to begin by comparing Gary Ross’ adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ award-winning young adult novel to  Twilight, to which it owes something of a … Continue reading →

Review: Arthur, 2011, dir. Jason Winer

The biggest crime committed by Jason Winer’s remake of Arthur, the 1981 Dudley Moore classic, is failing to justify its own existence. Winer clearly either isn’t particularly fond of that staple Moore picture, or he didn’t find inspiration in it; Arthur just goes through the motions, following beat after beat and sequencing from one moment to … Continue reading →

15 Films ACVF Is Excited About In 2012

In my book, 2011 has been a great year for movies. Good stuff has abounded throughout this particular revolution of the planet, both on the side of light lifting– Limitless, Paul, Cedar Rapids, Captain America— and in the realms of more substantial material, such as Drive, Weekend, The Tree of Life, and Win Win. Even … Continue reading →

…And Your Next Franchise Is…

…a movie based on a book you may not have read yet and might not be aware of if not for rags like Entertainment Weekly enthusiastically jamming the upcoming film adaptation down your damn throat at every opportunity. I’m not bitter, really. Color me more perplexed. If you ask EW— or any other major media … Continue reading →

Due Respect and the Spider-Man Reboot

As a rule, I’m not against the idea of remaking or rebooting movies, be they standalone titles or franchises; I think remakes are largely unnecessary, and frequently epitomize an absence of vision or creativity, but bad films can benefit from a good remake– and it’s not like people haven’t remade movies in the past. But … Continue reading →

2011 Rising: My Films to Watch (pt.2)

Part 2 of my 2011 preview commences…now! (Part 1 can be perused here, at your leisure.) X-Men: First Class— By happy coincidence, the first trailer for Matthew Vaughn’s period prequel to the X-Men franchise hit just last week, and guess what? It looks really good. Focusing specifically on the relationship between Erik Lehnsherr, the man … Continue reading →

Groovers and Mobsters Present: Vampires

    “Let the Right One In” (2008) “Are you my age?” “Yes. But I’ve been this age for a very long time.” Twelve year old Oskar is the product of a life of neglect; his parents, divorced, appear to have come to the consensus that neither wants him, and he’s alone in school where … Continue reading →

Review: Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, 2009, dir. Paul Weitz

I’m of the firm belief that movies should always be made with the utmost care in craftsmanship no matter who they’re being made for. This belief seeps into every aspect that goes into the finished product that we end up seeing on the big screen after we buy our tickets and find our seats, from … Continue reading →

Review: Daybreakers, 2010, dir. Michael and Peter Spierig

2003 brought us the campy Australian horror comedy, Undead, a refreshing take on the zombie genre courtesy of Michael and Peter Spierig. The film’s low budget and B-movie sensibilities lent it a certain scrappy charm; combined with the interesting perspective the siblings brought to the story, Undead became something of a cult favorite. All of … Continue reading →