The first the question was can Rocky return. Then the question became can Rocky help usher in a whole new franchise based around his first big nemesis. The new question became: can the movie spin off series go on without Rocky? Rocky has only really played a supporting role in the “Creed” movies but without his connection to the “Rocky” movie universe, could “Creed” thrive? The answer is a resounding and emphatic yes.
Tag Archives: Drama
Influencer (2022)
One of the best things about “Influencer” is about how absolutely unprepared I was for it. I didn’t know what was getting in to with Kurtis David Harder’s film, as I knew almost nothing going in to “Influencer” and I ended up with what amounts to a pretty slick and tense crime thriller. “Influencer” is a movie that is absolutely disarming and completely out of left field, as director Kurtis David Harder successfully subverts a lot of expectations with thrillers of this ilk. The movie is set in a foreign, mysterious land, centered on two gorgeous American women that are traveling abroad. From that smaller concept, Harder uses this as a launch pad to introduce us to one of the more sociopathic and cunning movie villains that I’ve seen in years.
Moon Garden (2023)
It truly is remarkable what Ryan Stevens Harris has brought to the film world with “Moon Garden.” In a year packed with big films, “Moon Garden” will definitely sneak up on audiences. It deserves a massive crowd of film goers as it’s one of the finest fantasy films I’ve seen in years. A surefire mix of Neil Gaiman, Guillermo Del Toro, and Mike Mignola, “Moon Garden” is an absolute masterpiece about the loss of innocence and a little girl’s quest to make it back home. I knew “Moon Garden” was something special going in, but I never thought it’d end up being such an emotional, heart wrenching, and inventive fantasy gem from beginning to end.
You Have to See This! Selena (1997)
Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and Redbox
If you’re a tik tok addict as yours truly is, then you’ll have noticed the more entertaining memes of adult Latina women introducing their daughters (or younger female friends or family) to “Selena.” It’s a bittersweet series of memes that inspire big laughs and big frowns all around. Like everyone in the nineties, the young women quickly fall head over heels in love with Selena Quintanilla. And like every person in the nineties, the rug is pulled right under them when shockingly she dies a pointless, tragic death. The series is interesting as it serves only to illustrate how much of a spell Selena put on people around the world.
White Men Can’t Jump (2023)
After the horrendous “House Party” remake, it’s pretty clear that director Calmatic is a nineties kid who loves the decade. The problem is that like “House Party,” his modern remake of “White Men Can’t Jump” can’t quite catch the lightning in a bottle energy and flavor that the originals held. He packs his soundtrack with nineties hip hop, nineties references, and even revives nineties-esque fashion for his characters. But when it comes down to it, “House Party” and “White Men…” had a real spontaneous energy about them that Calmatic can’t grasp, yet.
Five Websites To Find The Best Short Films, Part 2
Early Internet viral short “George Lucas in Love.”
Seven years ago I posted a list of five great websites you can find the best short films, and thankfully more indie film websites have continued popping up. The need for short films hasn’t thinned over the years, thank goodness. Short films are great launch pads for big time directors, they’re great for proof of concepts to sell to studios, and they can just be mini-masterpieces that, at most, are about thirty minutes.
Hell, major film festivals like Fantasia, Slamdance, and Sundance still have short film line ups, so there’s no denying short films are absolutely valid forms of filmmaking. If you find a great short film, time just flies. That’s the joy of being a film lover.
If you fancy yourself a connoisseur of short films, or are interested in reviewing them for your blog, or podcast, or tiktok, here are five I wholeheartedly recommend.
Pillow Party Massacre (2023)
One of the things I wish horror movies would stop doing is the meta-dialogue drop where a character proclaims “I feel like I’m in a horror movie!” to which someone replies “Well this isn’t a horror movie! This is real life.” Please stop that. I know I’m watching a horror movie. I don’t need to know that the characters know that we’re watching a horror movie. That said, “Pillow Party Massacre” is a mix of “I Know What You Did Last Summer” and “Slaughter High” but with none of the fun hacking and slashing that goes with them. There’s nary a pillow party or a respectable massacre to be had.
You Have to See This! Shiva Baby (2020)
Streaming on Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max
It’s unreal that Emma Seligman is a newcomer director when watching “Shiva Baby.” She manages to build and introduce us to what is easily one of the most chaotic and absolutely uncomfortable movies I’ve ever seen. “Shiva Baby” is a master class in making its viewer absolutely uneasy and anxious as Seligman just revels in amping up the anxiety to every single bit of her narrative every minute. Seligman, despite making “Shiva Baby” her work of absolute love, is not one who ever lets her characters off the hook. Despite focusing the entirety of “Shiva Baby” on her central protagonist Danielle, Seligman has a great time making her squirm, panic, and just about heave in sheer horror as she twists the screws on her throughout “Shiva Baby.”