Twisted Pair Review: Neil Breen’s Latest Exercise in Baffling Anti-Cinema
The deeply strange Neil Breen returns with an even more deeply strange entry in his filmography of homespun, barely-coherent ‘psychological thrillers.’ This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood One doesn’t review a Neil Breen movie so much as ponder its existence. It’s not even a question of how it got made—we know it was financed ... Twisted Pair Review: Neil Breen’s Latest Exercise in Baffling Anti-Cinema
Scrooged at 30: How Bill Murray Turned A Christmas Carol On Its Head
Three decades later, Bill Murray’s dark turn on Ebenezer Scrooge remains as adored by its fans as it was a nightmare to make. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood In December of 2015, Netflix aired A Very Murray Christmas, an original holiday special hosted by Bill Murray, who at some point in the past fifteen ... Scrooged at 30: How Bill Murray Turned A Christmas Carol On Its Head
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs Review: The Coen Brothers Spin Six Tales of Old West Tragicomedy
The Coen brothers return to the Old West for a darkly comic anthology of six stories of doomed men and women out on the frontier. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood Watching a Western movie means feeling a strange surge of patriotism, of pride and awe for the American men and women who made ... The Ballad of Buster Scruggs Review: The Coen Brothers Spin Six Tales of Old West Tragicomedy
The Christmas Chronicles Review: Kurt Russell Saves the Holidays
Netflix continues its encroachment into the Hallmark Christmas movie game with a treacly kid’s flick elevated greatly by Kurt Russell as a Santa Who Bangs. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood The Hallmark Channel runs somewhere between 30 and 418 new Christmas movies every holiday season. I haven’t seen a single one of them. ... The Christmas Chronicles Review: Kurt Russell Saves the Holidays
10 Horror Movies For People Who Don’t Like Horror
This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood Let me rephrase that right from the beginning. This list really should be “10 Horror Movies for People Who Normally Aren’t Into Horror Movies, But Might Be Willing to Give Them a Shot,” but that’s just too long for a title. Horror is the genre most often forced ... 10 Horror Movies For People Who Don’t Like Horror
Brooklyn Horror Film Festival Dispatch, Part 2: Level 16, Rusalka
This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood In my last post I suggested that the unofficial theme for the 2018 Brooklyn Horror Film Festival is “horror is whatever you want it to be.” With that expansion of themes and ideas comes a flexibility in using both real life issues and fantasy to create something new ... Brooklyn Horror Film Festival Dispatch, Part 2: Level 16, Rusalka
Brooklyn Horror Film Festival Dispatch, Part 1: Tower. A Bright Day, Empathy, Inc., Antrum
This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood As horror continues its gradual moving away from traditional monsters and slashers to rawer, more unsettling scares that are COMING FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE, we can look forward to more internet discourse about whether a movie qualifies as “horror.” This requires the sort of pedantry that is the ... Brooklyn Horror Film Festival Dispatch, Part 1: Tower. A Bright Day, Empathy, Inc., Antrum
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina TV Review: A Total Witch Hunt
This Riverdale-ified reboot of Sabrina the Teenage Witch is chock-full of scares, sex and a hefty dose of camp, making for a 21st-century Gothic delight. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood It is not at all an astute, original observation that horror, even in a subtle way, tends to reflect current events. Vampires once ... Chilling Adventures of Sabrina TV Review: A Total Witch Hunt
Five Movies We’re Dying to See at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival
This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood Now in its third year, the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, taking place October 11th through the 18th, has become one of the fastest rising venues to catch the next best thing in scary movies months before everyone else gets a chance. This year’s line-up showcases both new faces ... Five Movies We’re Dying to See at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival
All About Nina Review: Mary Elizabeth Winstead Struggles to Succeed in the Standup Boys’ Club
Mary Elizabeth Winstead lashes back at the stiflingly male-dominated world of standup comedy in Eva Vives’ acerbic, stunning debut. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood “Isn’t it great how all of the sudden they know that we’re funny?” comedy club owner and former stand-up Pam (Pam Murphy) tells her younger counterpart, Nina Geld (Mary ... All About Nina Review: Mary Elizabeth Winstead Struggles to Succeed in the Standup Boys’ Club
The Haunting of Hill House: Netflix Adapts Shirley Jackson’s Novel, Loses Some of Its Essence
Netflix’s adaptation of the classic Shirley Jackson horror novel boasts a brilliant cast and some intriguing scares, but disappointingly reduces the book to a spooky soap opera. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood To ask “why was this made” when it comes to a remake or reboot is to be rhetorical – the answer ... The Haunting of Hill House: Netflix Adapts Shirley Jackson’s Novel, Loses Some of Its Essence
BoJack Horseman Season 5 Review: Forgiveness, Change, and Free Churros
In total, the fifth season of Netflix’s animated series juggles as many dark laughs out of the difficulty of breaking out of toxic behaviors, cementing its place as one of the most emotionally complicated shows on television. Minor spoilers ahead for the rest of season 5; check out our season 5 preview here. This piece ... BoJack Horseman Season 5 Review: Forgiveness, Change, and Free Churros
BoJack Horseman Season 5 TV Review: As Devastating and Bleakly Funny As Ever
Netflix’s bittersweet tale of talking animals and the vagaries of celebrity returns for a thoughtful fifth season filled with even more emotional depth and acerbic wit. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood Television’s best series about depression returns for a fifth season, and with some stark reminders about how doing the right thing and ... BoJack Horseman Season 5 TV Review: As Devastating and Bleakly Funny As Ever
Film Review: Sierra Burgess Is a Loser Mistakes Frumpy for Failure
Netflix updates Cyrano de Bergerac for the social media era in this clunky teen rom-com, which distastefully hinges on a young girl’s perceived unattractiveness. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood Now that they have a smash hit in To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, Netflix needs to up its game in providing youth-oriented ... Film Review: Sierra Burgess Is a Loser Mistakes Frumpy for Failure
35 Years Later, Cujo Remains a Scary, Shaky Stephen King Adaptation
Lewis Teague’s adaptation of Stephen King’s Cujo turns thirty-five today, and is a perfect example of the thrills and pitfalls experienced by the average King film adaptation. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood August marks 35 years since the release of the movie adaptation of Stephen King’s Cujo. A modest hit at the box ... 35 Years Later, Cujo Remains a Scary, Shaky Stephen King Adaptation
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before is Netflix’s Love Letter to Love Letters
Netflix’s latest dalliance in the teen rom-com genre is a real charmer, a sunny, bittersweet confection with plenty of welcome twists to high school romance. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood I still remember the first boy on whom I had a real, fill my diary crush. Mike O’Brien, seventh grade. Tall, lanky, with ... To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before is Netflix’s Love Letter to Love Letters
Fantasia 2018: Hurt Is Blumhouse’s Latest, Spookiest, Most Uneven Scare-Fest
Blumhouse’s latest thriller is tense and deceptively clever, but undoes its thrills with no shortage of irritating fakeouts. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood Trauma appears to be the monster in Sonny Mallhi’s Hurt, but things aren’t exactly as they seem. While the Blumhouse-produced thriller maintains an almost uncomfortable sense of tension, it suffers ... Fantasia 2018: Hurt Is Blumhouse’s Latest, Spookiest, Most Uneven Scare-Fest
Fantasia 2018: The Witch in the Window Scares Without a Drop of Blood
Andy Milton’s atmospheric haunted house film is inscrutably scary and beautifully lit, balancing bone-chilling existential horror with compelling domestic drama. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood Here it is, 2018’s version of The Witch and It Follows, a horror movie in which half its audience will appreciate its slow, moody burn, and the other ... Fantasia 2018: The Witch in the Window Scares Without a Drop of Blood
Fantasia 2018: Lifechanger is a Bleak & Eerie Story About Identity & Never Letting Go
Justin McConnell’s lean, fascinating horror-drama blends an intriguing structure with some novel investigation into the psychology of its shape-shifting horror monster. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood There’s stalking, and then there’s what the narrator of Lifechanger does. Canadian horror-drama from writer-director Justin McConnell, it jumps right into the action right away, with Drew, ... Fantasia 2018: Lifechanger is a Bleak & Eerie Story About Identity & Never Letting Go