Brooklyn Rules is the tale of three childhood friends and their relationships as they navigate life from crime to love and loss in Brooklyn during the 1970s and 1980s.
It didn't take long for me to be surprised that this film flew under my radar for so long. While it’s no Scorsese-esque masterpiece, it doesn’t need to be. Brooklyn Rules is a solid mob film with shades of A Bronx Tale and just a dash of that Scorsese touch.
The…
Charlotte is a young girl with a wild imagination. In her free time, she travels through her apartment building's ventilation ducts, getting herself into all kinds of mischief. One day during a meteor shower, a tiny piece of space material lands in the building and a spider emerges from it. Not knowing its origins, Charlotte takes it home and quickly discovers that it's highly intelligent, growing rapidly, and insatiably hungry.
Let me preface this by saying I absolutely hate spiders…
"In the year 2022, the international prison system is operated by private corporations. Criminals from all over the world are exploited at a profit. Prisons have become big business."
In the distant future of 2022, Captain J.T. Robbins is sent to prison for murdering one of his commanding officers in the military. He is condemned to a maximum-security complex reserved for inmates deemed too dangerous for the standard international prison system. The sentence? Life. Here, prisoners live under the thumb…
The Barker family is a well-off family in the suburbs who invite Pilgrim reenactors to stay with them for the few days surrounding Thanksgiving. The goal is to teach family unity and experience the hardships of their ancestors. The invited Pilgrims are very serious about their roles, even building their own dwelling in the backyard. The daughter, Cody, has been pampered her entire life and is in her rebellious phase, in which she lashes out against her family and tradition.…
"You aren't ever gonna sell this house, and you aren't ever gonna leave it either!"
"Baby Jane Hudson" is a former child star who sold out auditoriums with her song and dance routines in the late 1910s and early 1920s. Fast forward fifteen years, and Jane's sister Blanche is leaps and bounds more successful than her in film. Blanche knows that Baby Jane's early success gave her the platform to shine, and so she makes sure that her contract insists…
"They will say that have shed innocent blood but what's blood for if not for shedding?"
Helen Lyle is a college student writing a thesis on urban legends, and her research leads her to the murder of a woman who locals believe was killed by the mysterious "Candyman." Candyman is said to be a tortured soul with a hook for a hand. Though he died years ago, he continues to haunt the residents of Chicago's Cabrini Green housing projects, appearing…
31 DAYS OF HORROR 2024 - Film 34
"There's no need for hate, now, or love."
Citizens of San Francisco become alarmed when they start noticing that people they've known their entire lives have changed. Not physically, but on a personal and emotional level, becoming almost drone-like. Matthew and Elizabeth, who both work for the San Francisco Department of Health and take pride in their work, start to notice the same unsettling pattern, and it’s spreading fast. Worst of all,…
31 DAYS OF HORROR 2024 - Film 29
"I've been afraid a lot of times in my life, but I didn't know the real meaning of fear until...until I kissed Becky."
Dr. Miles J. Bennell returns to his small town early from a medical conference after hearing that several townspeople have suddenly fallen ill. When he arrives, though, everything seems perfectly normal, and those who’d urgently sought his help now feel no need to see him. This is a shock…
31 DAYS OF HORROR 2024 - Film 22
A scientist ships a relic from Brazil back to Chicago's Museum of Natural History. A relic that unleashes an ancient creature in the museum. A homicide detective and another scientist join forces to figure out what is causing the rash of gory killings which all have one thing in common. A missing piece of the brain.
The Relic is one of those late 1990s films that I saw a million times when…
31 DAYS OF HORROR 2024 - Film 20
Saturday Night Shorts: Film 262
A man enters his car in a dark public parking garage. He reverses out of the spot but doesn't get far when his vehicle's rear camera alerts him that he is close to hitting something. He peers into the camera and sees nothing behind him in the area lit by his lights, and a dark void far beyond their reach. As the alerts grow in intensity he…
2,100th Review
31 DAYS OF HORROR 2024 - Film 19
The Silence of the Lambs is a landmark of psychological thrillers with a twist of horror. What better film to mark my 2,100th centennial review milestone? As part of my ongoing 31 Days of Horror, this film stands out not just as a critical and audience favorite, but as one that reshaped the genre and I've had it pegged for today since I reviewed Braveheart for 2,000.
The plot centers…
31 DAYS OF HORROR 2024 - Film 16
"I'm going going, back back, to Cali Cali." - The Notorious B.I.G.
Jesse is a recent high school graduate living in an apartment complex with his Abuela in California. For his graduation present, he buys a camcorder and a GoPro camera, using them to investigate the strange sounds coming from his downstairs neighbor's apartment. He quickly learns that it's best to mind his own business when his curiosity leads him to discover…