Yorgos Lanthimos is a blunt and studied filmmaker who takes the craft seriously, using what he learned from watching filmmakers such as Buñuel, Suzuki, and Peter Greenway to create his own signature style. Lanthimos’s pictures can be tales of crushingly grim dysfunction (“Dogtooth” and “The Killing of a Sacred Deer”) or darkly seriocomic romps that focus on the profane cruelty of their characters (“The Lobster” and “The Favourite”). With each new project, the gloriously distinctive director continues to be one of the few modern filmmakers who desires to treat the process as high art. Guided by ..read more

Force Majeure Written and Directed by: Ruben Östlund Starring: Johannes Bah Kuhnke, Lisa Loven Kongsli, Clara Wettergren, Vincent Wettergren, Kristofer Hivju, Fanni Metelius Trailer courtesy of Magnolia Pictures. With the release of “Downhill” this weekend, it was a good time to visit the inspiration for that film, Ruben Östlund’s “Force Majeure,” a classic black comedy about family, relationships, emotions and adventures. Oh, and avalanches. We cannot forget about the avalanches. Tomas (Johannes Bah Kuhnke) is a successful businessman. He has a wife, Ebba (Lisa Loven Kongsli) and two young k ..read more

You might be inclined to think that something kinky, even debaucherous, is going on in Carlos Puga’s “Full-Dress.” I went in to this film cold turkey and I have to say that I’ve never laughed harder than I did with this film. Puga cleverly opens “Full-Dress” in a very macho way a la Quentin Tarantino. The danger is plausible. The cinematography is on point. The characters chew through their lines like they’ve been in A-list films before. Then, Bertie (Jimmy Akingbola) says “Stop being so dramatic,” before a bombastic opening credit sequence runs. Courtesy of Standard Arts. The story behind ..read more

Tribeca Film Festival 2023- “Hey, Viktor!” The mockumentary has been around for decades, but it was Larry David’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” that set the tone for actual performers playing over-the-top versions of themselves and their everyday lives. Cody Lightning’s “Hey, Viktor!” is that type of fake documentary with Lightning playing a sillier version of his own self trying to find interest in his screenplay for “Smoke Signals 2”. Former child actor Cody Lightning is a man with a big personality and bad luck. Cody rides the long-faded (and very minor) glory of his small role in the 1998 hit “Sm ..read more

The enjoyment of a film boils down to its context. That’s not a cop-out, nor is it really a requisite. You might wonder why this context is important enough to know when discussing Elizabeth Banks’ Cocaine Bear. It isn’t important, other than distinguishing the characteristics of Cocaine Bear along the lines of what I am already familiar with. Loosely inspired by actual events in 1985, Elizabeth Banks‘ Cocaine Bear shouldn’t work. Characters are at their nerve center, and, despite some questionable computer graphics work on the main antagonist, the ensemble that Banks assembled makes the entir ..read more

Five minutes into writer/director Daniel Antebi’s “God’s Time”, it is abundantly clear that first time actress Liz Caribel Sierra has serious skills. Her character Regina is pure fire from moment one and the newcomer dives into the deep end of her multilayered role. Full of agressive attitude and passion, Caribel Sierra’s work here is an exciting and realistic portrayal of a young New York woman and struggling addict trying to live a life she cannot handle. As a first-time actress, this is an incredible piece of work. Antebi’s film centers around two friends from Regina’s group Dev and Luca (B ..read more

In the new film “El buen patrón” (“The Good Boss”), Javier Bardem continues to prove he is one of modern cinema’s finest actors. With pure charisma and the tightest of grasp regarding the depth of his character, Bardem crafts one of the most natural and powerful creations of his career as Julio Blanco, the owner of a successful Spanish factory that manufactures industrial scales. In the clever and deceptive moment where we first meet the character, Blanco seems to have a fatherly aura towards his employees. The company is up for regional government award for business excellence and the jefe is ..read more

Death Drop Gorgeous Directed and Written by Michael J. Ahern, Christopher Dalpe, & Brandon Perras- Sanchez Starring Wayne Gonsalves, Michael McAdam, Christopher Dalpe, Complete Destruction It is exciting when filmmakers show their love for a certain genre of cinema by crafting a love letter to the films and styles that have influenced them while still assuring their work is unique and original. As a modern filmmaker, you can pay your tributes and populate your film with homages, but make sure you find your own voice or your work will become lost in a sea of imitators and phonies.  Fi ..read more

Kajillionaire Written and Directed by: Miranda July Starring: Evan Rachel Wood, Debra Winger, Gina Rodriguez, Richard Jenkins Trailer courtesy of Focus Features. Our lives are blessed with riches beyond our wildest dreams, and we don’t even recognize it. This saying isn’t a famous quote or even something someone wrote down on a napkin in a diner. No, this is the truth behind Miranda July’s brilliant dark comedy, “Kajillionaire,” which hits cinemas on September 25th. Evan Rachel Wood plays Old Dolio Dyne, Robert (Richard Jenkins), and Theresa’s (Debra Winger) adolescent daughter. They are a ti ..read more

Sam’s Toilet Paper Caper!: A White Gold Parody Written by Sam Irvin Illustrated by Dan Gallagher The Movie Revue is proud to offer this review of Sam Irvin’s parody, Sam’s Toilet Paper Caper!: A White Gold Parody, chronicling his adventures to acquire the Holy Grail of pandemic household items: toilet paper From the onset of COVID-19 here in the United States, there seemed to be a rush on everyday goods, such as masks, and gloves, items that could offer protection from the unseen and the unknown. This made sense since we did not know as much about the virus’s communicability in late February ..read more