FILM: Insidious: Chapter 2

Do you remember those campy House movies that came out in the 80s—with the Vietnam vet and the caterpillar-dog? James Wan’s Insidious movies have a lot in common with those: the spooky realm just outside the house, the son who needs to be rescued by his heroic dad and, of course, the goofball humor. Insidious: Chapter 2 picks up where Insidious More...

FILM: Short Term 12
Short Term 12 is the story of a young counselor at a foster-care facility for at-risk teenagers. When I read this brief synopsis, I thought, “this movie has the potential to be extremely cliché via young counselor More...

FILM: The World’s End
One night, twelve pubs, at least one drink in each. This pub crawl is a premise for disaster, but in The World’s End, the threat of alcohol poisoning is far eclipsed by blue-blooded robots. This film is the third More...

FILM: In A World… starring Lake Bell
Lake Bell stars in In a World Lake Bell (No Strings Attached, It’s Complicated) writes, directs, and stars in her quirky comedy: In A World. Bell plays Carol Solomon, a struggling voice coach living at home with More...

FILM: Paranoia starring Liam Hemsworth, Gary Oldman, and Harrison Ford
I was hoping for noir but I saw a generic thriller. Maybe it’s the corporate spying aspect or the overwhelming importance of a lucrative career that serves as a tough sell for me, but this is a slickly made, not More...

FILM: Shadow Dancer
The story of Shadow Dancer is based in Northern Ireland in the 1990’s. While the political turmoil during this time is set as the backdrop, Shadow Dancer is the story of one woman’s struggle to navigate her More...

FILM: The Kings of Summer
If you can steal some cash from your dad’s wallet, slap together a ragtag shack in the woods and survive on Boston Market chicken all summer long, you may give the boys in Jordan Vogt-Roberts’ coming-of-age More...

FILM: Évocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie
Évocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie is a great documentary ride. In the light of our current spate of reality T.V. shows you might not recall, know or even care about, there was a time during the late 80′s More...

FILM: Australian thriller Wish You Were Here
Australian writer director Kieran Darcy-Smith riveted me at the Sundance Film Festival a few years back with his dark look at family crime, Animal Kingdom. Now back with the co-written tale of a nasty holiday trip, More...

FILM: The East
Director and co-writer Zal Batmanglij and his star and co-writer Brit Marling seem to have a thing for cults. Certainly their audience is in danger of joining a cult – of admiration for these two talented More...