Published in Cinapse·PinnedTop 10 2021 Films to Make You More Empathetic“Movies are the most powerful empathy machine in all the arts.” — Roger Ebert — Empathy — the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. There’s simply no art form quite like a movie. From playful children’s comedies to bracing meditations on death and dying, the format contains multitudes and can take us places few other mediums can. Giant sci-fi epics can make…Features12 min readFeatures12 min read
Published in Cinapse·PinnedTop 10 Action Films of 2021A great year for redemptive action — Another year, another sampling of the freshest action cinema the planet had to offer. My lists tend to eschew four quadrant blockbusters which neither need the attention nor, in my estimation, are quite pure-blooded action films. It’s also worth noting that the United States of America isn’t the only place…Top 109 min readTop 109 min read
Published in Cinapse·Jan 9Top 10 Action Films of 2022One of the best years for action in recent memory — 2022 is one of the most invigorating years for action cinema in recent memory; providing a frankly massive amount of inspiration for what the future of action cinema could be. This was a year of international excitement, with some of the very best action films hailing from all around the…Top 109 min readTop 109 min read
Published in Cinapse·Oct 15, 2022NO ESCAPE (1994): A Classic Ray Liotta Action Film B-Side is Resurrected“You want it? Come and get it” — “I once was lost, but now I’m found” — No Escape (1994) Did I just kick off this review with a (sacreligious?) quote from an anthropomorphized Blu-ray? Maybe. But don’t let that stop you from reading on about how MVD label Unearthed Classics has lived up to its name most…No Escape6 min readNo Escape6 min read
Published in Cinapse·Sep 29, 2022Fantastic Fest 2022: Shark Movie Sidebar Extravaganza!Mako, Year Of The Shark, Tintorera, and Aatank… in that order — A glorious thing about Fantastic Fest is that their programming isn’t always about “newest, latest, best”. Each year there’s a sidebar programmed to expand us film geeks’ palettes. I will admit that I don’t always take full advantage of these tracks each year. But this year I made a point…Fantastic Fest5 min readFantastic Fest5 min read
Published in Cinapse·Sep 28, 2022Fantastic Fest 2022: VENUS Executes Multiple Genres DeftlyShe’s a 10, but she’s hunted by gangsters and haunted by witches — Lucia is a club dancer. We meet her in the midst of a pulse-pounding night at the club when she leaves her post and promptly attempts to rob her employers. She’s confronted by a bouncer and only barely escapes with her life and a duffel bag full of stolen pills…Venus4 min readVenus4 min read
Published in Cinapse·Sep 27, 2022Fantastic Fest 2022: VESPER: Seeds of Hope in a Poisoned PlanetVanishing Waves filmmakers craft a visionary sci-fi epic — The world has been biologically poisoned. Animals are gone, and bizarre new plantlife has emerged. Oligarchies have ascended, ruling with advanced biotech that is sealed off in citadels. …Vesper5 min readVesper5 min read
Published in Cinapse·Sep 26, 2022Fantastic Fest 2022: SOLOMON KING Rediscovered, Restored, RighteousDeaf Crocodile rescues a lost film, society wins — Solomon King Writer/Director/Star Sal Watts was a man of many talents in Oakland, CA in the 1970s. He ran clothing shops, a radio show, and owned multiple businesses. So when he and his network of friends and family decided to make a movie, they had the resources at their disposal…Fantastic Fest3 min readFantastic Fest3 min read
Published in Cinapse·Sep 25, 2022Fantastic Fest 2022: BAD CITY, a Yakuza Street Brawling ExtravaganzaKensuke Sonomura has a fresh vision for action cinema — Having almost 100 IMDb credits to his name, with experience as an actor, writer, director, and producer all the way back since the mid-1990s, Bad City star Hitoshi Ozawa absolutely commands the screen as the central character Torada. That’s why it’s pretty crazy that I am not personally very well…Fantastic Fest4 min readFantastic Fest4 min read
Published in Cinapse·Sep 24, 2022Fantastic Fest 2022: KIDS VS. ALIENS Marks Jason Eisener’s Amblin-esque Return to Narrative FeaturesThe Hobo With A Shotgun guy is back… and this time he’s terrorizing the children — Sometimes, it truly is about the simple pleasures. Clocking in at a glorious and refreshingly brief 75 minutes, Kids Vs. Aliens offers nothing if not what it promises in the title. There are so many kids. And they’re so versus so many aliens! But delivering on a premise like this…Fantastic Fest4 min readFantastic Fest4 min read
