movie review
Felony-focused film reviews; fictional movies and true crime documentaries depicting real-life stories or inspired by them.
Review of 'The Many Saints of Newark'
After all of these years -- 21 or 14, depending on whether you count from the beginning or the end -- The Sopranos is arguably still the best series ever on any kind of television screen. What's beyond argument is that The Sopranos started it all, and opened the gates, paved the way, for all the great television that ensued on cable and streaming screens.
By Paul Levinson4 years ago in Criminal
‘The Gateway’: Shea Whigham and Bruce Dern Make This Lowly Neo-Noir Thriller Worth Your Time
I’ll be honest, I only watched this film to see the underutilized Shea Whigham in a lead role. I’ve been a big fan of him ever since his supporting turn in the glorious HBO crime saga Boardwalk Empire. But on the cinematic screen, Whigham usually shows up in a bit part — though in some cases, like in Jon Watt’s Cop Car, Whigham still manages to be memorable.
By MovieBabble4 years ago in Criminal
Review of 'The Voyeurs'
We caught The Voyeurs -- not real people, the movie that just went up on Amazon Prime Video -- and enjoyed it. It's been compared by critics -- unfavorably, of course -- to Hitchcock's 1954 masterful Rear Window, but it's still worth watching, looking through, choose your metaphor.
By Paul Levinson4 years ago in Criminal
John And The Hole: Why You Probably Didn't Get It Or Like It
In order to understand and appreciate Pascual Sisto's 2021 indie-thriller, John And The Hole, you need to be able to understand, and perhaps remember, what it feels like to be an adolescent. This is no "scary movie"- this is a horrifying movie: This is a film about the undefined void between childhood and adulthood; The misunderstood and often misrepresented time that breeds countless stories of shocked and disgruntled parents who can't conceive of why their perfect little teenager is hitting rock bottom.
By Bonnie Joy Sludikoff4 years ago in Criminal
Movie Review: 'Ted Bundy American Boogeyman'
In my nearly 20 years of writing about the movies I have seen some disreputable filmmakers and Daniel Farrands, the director of such non-classics as The Haunting of Sharon Tate and The Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson, is among the most disreputable of them all. Targeting some of the most well known true crime stories in American history, Farrands doesn’t seek to shine a light on the gravest of evil, he seeks to exploit it as if it were just another horror story.
By Sean Patrick4 years ago in Criminal
Series Review: 'Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami'
Billy Corben has demonstrated the remarkable ability as a documentary filmmaker to find these brilliantly absurd stories amid larger, darker, overarching narratives. In his Cocaine Cowboys it was the way the smugglers and the members of law enforcement each seemed to marvel at their own audacity in how they conducted their adversarial business. For his newest foray into the Cocaine soaked world of the 1970’s and 1980’s, Corben is once again demonstrating this remarkable talent.
By Sean Patrick4 years ago in Criminal
Movie Review: 'The Five Rules of Success'
The Five Rules of Success stars Santiago Segura as X, a man who has just been paroled. We are not initially told why X was in jail but the movie indicates that he’s spent most of his formative years behind bars. X has no family and few prospects but he does have a set of rules to live by. X has spent his time behind bars on self improvement and that includes creating his own set of rules to live by that he believes will make him a success in the outside world.
By Sean Patrick4 years ago in Criminal
Movie Review: 'Downeast'
Downeast is a rarity in this modern movie world. It’s a tiny, independent, gritty crime thriller that doesn’t feel as if it is recycling every crime movie cliche. Sure, the characters and the situation are familiar but the setting is new and the characters are authentic and charismatic. Written and directed by Joe Raffa, Downeast is a smart crime drama pitched at a perfect moderate pace that allows the characters to breathe and lets the story to settle into a lovely rise and fall.
By Sean Patrick5 years ago in Criminal
Review; Holy Hell
Unfiltered reaction I listened to an episode of one of my favorite podcasts, Sinisterhood, about the the Bhuddafield Cult. Their reference material was a documentary titled Holy Hell. I had never heard of the Bhuddafield, and I am very intrigued by cults so I thought I would give it a try. The documentary starts off disorienting and confusing with a seagull, and weird people seemingly meditating. The images introduction of Will Allen, is gentle and you might get the impression that you are about to watch the story of a Catholic coming to terms with his sexuality through getting his film degree. I am a little confused because I mostly understand thats not what this is about, its an interesting choice of opening.
By Kelly Morris5 years ago in Criminal
