In a Violent Nature (2024)

Exclusively In Theaters on May 31st from IFC Films. 

When you’re a slasher movie buff as I have been for thirty years, you become convinced that you’ve seen it all. Every new kind of effect or aesthetic has been approached, all with varying degrees of success. So when a movie like “In a Violent Nature” comes around and changes your mind, it’s quite a special occasion. Chris Nash sets out to not only re-think the slasher movie, but deconstruct it, and succeeds with flying colors. He the best horror movie of the year, a nihilistic, gory, viciously mean slasher movie that’s also incredibly creepy, and downright haunting in its commentary about the unpredictability of nature.

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Hanky Panky (2023)

Now Available to stream on VOD.

It takes a special kind of balls to make a film so utterly abstract and bizarre and not pay the cast. But the press release insists that “nobody got paid” therefore they must have had a lot of faith in this project. Lindsay Haun and Nick Roth’s horror comedy is a weird cabin in the woods sitcom that pits a bunch of new age yuppies against a weird evil force. This force involves a sentient talking handkerchief, a supernatural fedora and a main protagonist who has an encyclopedic knowledge of finer materials and clothing fabrics.

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Five Favorite Fictional Movie Stars

This year’s “The Fall Guy” is not just an action picture that adapts the classic Lee Majors series, but it also triples as a fun satire of Hollywood and an ode to the noble profession of stunt performers. In “The Fall Guy” Colt Seavers is attached to major movie star Tom Ryder, a bloated, obnoxious super star who shows little respect to Colt. When he suddenly goes missing, it’s up to Colt to find him and hopefully bring him back to his job in one piece.

In honor of Tom Ryder, I thought I’d list five of my favorite fictional movie stars, these are five people that are absolute Hollywood nightmares.

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Navy SEALS (1990)

Now Available at Vinegar Syndrome and Amazon.

Lewis Teague’s action thriller feels a lot like one of the last vestiges of the Reagan Era, where movies marketed on promoting military and America, and “Navy SEALS” feels like too little, too late. Even for the eighties, “Navy SEALS” is corny jingoistic propaganda that teams a slew of great movie stars to deliver what is basically a middling attempt to recapture some of the “Top Gun” glory of the eighties. Even star Michael Biehn didn’t like “Navy SEALS” explaining that it was one of his worst movie making experiences of his career.

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The Fall Guy (2024): The Extended Cut [Digital]

Now Streaming on Digital.

It’s such a damn shame that audiences weren’t more receptive to “The Fall Guy” because this has the potential to really blossom in to a big franchise if it were given the chance. David Leitch produces not only a great action comedy, but also a movie that simultaneously satirizes Hollywood and pays tribute to stunt performers across the world. “The Fall Guy” knows its premise and uses the opportunity to paint the picture of being a stunt worker in film as a noble profession that is often dismissed and ignored. “The Fall Guy” first and foremost is a great action picture, one filled with great talent that helps keep the admittedly convoluted premise afloat.

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You Have to See This! Tommy Boy (1995)

Currently Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, AMC Plus, Philo, Fandango at Home

Chris Farley would have been sixty this year had he not sadly passed away at the young age of thirty three. One of the best cast members of the iconic late night comedy show “Saturday Night Live,” Farley was looking up at a promising second chapter in feature films. Farley was very much loyal to SNL and only made small cameos in movies featuring his “SNL” co-workers. And although they were small, Farley had the tendency to make the best out of his small roles. Whether it’s the maniacal bus driver in “Billy Madison,” the lovable Ronnie in “Coneheads,” or Milton in “Wayne’s World 2,” Farley was skilled enough to know that there were no small roles, just small actors.

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