The Last Stop in Yuma County by Hope Madden Writer/director Francis Galluppi was chosen to helm the next Evil Dead film. Don’t know him? Wondering what the visceral spew gods Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell see in him? The Last Stop in Yuma County may be your best chance to find out. The filmmaker’s first feature boasts a collection of genuine talent, each playing a character who shows up one fateful morning at an out of the way diner known for rhubarb pie so good you’ll die. They’re not there for the pie, though. Gas truck’s late and this is the last station for a hundred miles. They’re waiting ..read more

Lazareth by Rachel Willis After a deadly virus strikes, a trio of women turn their home into a sanctuary, cut off from the outside and safe in director Alec Tibaldi’s film, Lazareth. As years pass in this virus-plagued world, we watch Lee (Ashley Judd) and her nieces Maeve (Sarah Pidgeon) and Imogen (Katie Douglas) carve out rituals and chores to keep themselves going. With a truck that somehow still works, Lee makes trips into town for supplies, but as she warns the girls, things in town are bad. There is a lot of information given in a small amount of time that stretches the thin cord of bel ..read more

The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something has Passed by Hope Madden no one told you when to run you missed the starting gun Pink Floyd sang of a particular worrisome anxiety. Joanna Arnow perfectly articulates the emotion, or lack of, right from the title of her feature, The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something has Passed. Arnow writes, directs and stars as Ann with unerringly deadpan delivery. Ann suffers from Millennial malaise. Her job evokes no passion. Her family is clingy and yet distant. Even her interest in BDSM, in Arnow’s hilariously banal depictions, is lifeless. Growing li ..read more

Force of Nature: The Dry 2 by George Wolf For a film called The Dry 2, Force of Nature is often soaking wet. And that’s pretty indicative of a movie that seems intent on working against itself. Writer/director Robert Connolly and star Eric Bana return from 2020’s The Dry, again adapting a Jane Harper source novel about an Australian federal agent on a case that stirs up painful memories. The first one dealt with a drought, so The Dry. This one occurs in the middle of a nasty storm, but it’s a sequel, so The Dry 2. Let’s move on. Bana is agent Aaron Falk, who teams with partner Carmen (Jacqueli ..read more

Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World by Matt Weiner An overworked production assistant driving all over Bucharest to collect footage for a workplace safety video doesn’t sound like the most likely candidate for an era-defining film that best captures the current political and social moment. Yet with Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World, writer and director Radu Jude has made an unsparing, pitch-black comedy with a sprawling but never dull nearly 3-hour runtime that attempts to distill the last decade-plus of precarity and decline felt by so many workers. What’s miraculo ..read more

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes by Hope Madden and George Wolf Seven years after Matt Reeves wrapped up the solid Planet of the Apes trilogy with a thrilling, full-on war movie, director Wes Ball takes the reins for a new chapter with a relevant conscience. “You take his name, but twist his words.” The characters may be talking about Caesar, leader of the ape revolution, but the filmmakers are aiming higher. After a quick update on the rise of the apes, Ball and screenwriter Josh Friedman settle in “many generations” after Caesar’s death. Young ape Noa (Owen Teague) is part of a clan that bo ..read more

Foil by Christie Robb When high school buddies Dexter (writer/director Zach Green) and Rex (writer Devin O’Rourke) meet up again on the eve of their ten-year reunion weekend, they decide to make the catch up more exclusive and head out West—into the sunset. Or, in this case…East. They’re taking the road from Bakersfield, CA into the desert toward a camping trip for two. To Olddale, where there’s rumors of a paranormal vortex. Dexter hopes the mysterious vibes will unlock a font of inspiration. He’s a struggling director with a pitch meeting on Monday and a notebook full of empty pages and the ..read more

Mind Body Spirit by Hope Madden There is something clever underlying directors Alex Henes and Matthew Merenda’s first feature, Mind Body Spirit. Anya (Sarah J. Bartholomew) is sharing videos of her journey to wellness. She’s just moved cross country into the home her departed grandmother Verasha left her. She never knew her grandmother, but she sees this as an opportunity for a new life. Her only friend on this side of the country—wellness influencer Kenzi (Madi Bready)—stops by occasionally to check in and collab on videos. But she can’t really get behind Anya’s new direction, taken from a ha ..read more

The Fall Guy, Unfrosted, The Idea of You, Prom Dates, The Coffee Table, In the Company of Kings The post Screening Room: Fall Guy, Unfrosted, The Idea of You & More appeared first on Maddwolf ..read more

Unfrosted by George Wolf Boy, Jerry Seinfeld knows how to get clicks before a new movie drop, doesn’t he? In case you missed his recent impression of Grandpa Simpson yelling at a cloud, Seinfeld has taken his talents from the stifling confines of sitcoms to Netflix for Unfrosted, his debut as a feature director. Also writing the script with regular contributors from both Seinfeld and Bee Movie, Jerry returns to the familiar ground of cereal for a silly and star-studded riff on the 1960s space race. Jerry plays Bob Cabana, top exec at Kellogg’s during their reign as the kings of breakfast. But ..read more