Yes No Maybe So: "Godzilla v Kong"

Tony here. I’m a forever defendor of Gareth Edwards’ 2014 Godzilla picture. It’s an atmospheric, artful take on a big, blustery blockbuster featuring giant monsters. The acting is better than it has any right to be and there are images and wholesale sequences which evoke the best of Spielberg; Edwards sought to restore mystery and majesty to the genre. After Edwards’ film ONLY made $530 million worldwide, Warner Bros would return to the brainless goofiness of old (think the 1997 Godzilla) with Kong: Skull Island and Godzilla: King of the Monsters, seeking out higher dollars by doubling down on dumbing it down.

Despite interesting directors at the helm, they’re both mildly entertaining if overwrought examples of studio factory filmmaking, and Godzilla v Kong looks to continue this trend based on its trailer, a piece of unintentional hilarity...

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Review: "Blair Witch"

by Chris Feil

Revamping The Blair Witch Project for a new generation comes with a lot of baggage. The 1999 horror benchmark delivered unforgettable chills for some, though it's still debated by others for just how scary it actual is. More importantly, the film was the original viral sensation, catching the zeitgeist just as the internet first exploded. Recalling Cannibal Holocaust's faux documentary aesthetic, it also all but invented the found footage genre the moment before documenting our every movement with a recording device became commonplace.

Simply, Project was orchestrated in the right way at the right time. Unfortunately, this Blair Witch is a shadow of the original's terror and cultural relevance...

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Review: The Guest

Hey, folks. Michael Cusumano here to give some love to one of the under-the-radar gems of 2014.

Watching Adam Wingard’s The Guest lets the viewer experience what it would be like to fish an unexpected masterwork out of a bargain bin full of trashy VHS horror movies. The film is a superior example of what Rodriguez and Tarantino attempted with Grindhouse, at once a glorious homage to the horror schlock of the late 70’s and 80’s and a skillful subversion of the same. Wingard’s movie walks this tricky tonal tightrope with swagger, oozing stylistic flash and scored with a soundtrack of pseudo-80's synth you will want to make out with. I think it’s safe to say The Guest is going to achieve cult status pretty much the instant the light from the projector hits movie screens.

The plot could be easily summarized as Bourne meets Halloween, but that glib pitch meeting capsule would scarcely hint at the layers of wit built into this movie. The story opens on all-American soldier David (Dan Stevens) recently returned home from overseas, arriving at the doorstep of the family of his dead brother-in-arms in order to pay his respects, deliver his friend’s final message to his family, etc. Laura (Sheila Kelley) invites David to stay in her son’s old room after she is moved in equal parts by grief over her dead son and David’s piercing blue eyes...

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