Author: Derrick Murray

If I’m being honest, the recent rise of experimental horror has been largely a miss for me. Things like “Skinamarink” and “Mad God” are films I appreciate for their wild swings but don’t really care for their final product. Horror has been genre long unchanged and open to a freeform approach within the confines of its framework, and we often gravitate and praise films that execute the horror cliches well rather than champion ones that purposefully break free from them, existing on the fringes of a sprawling world. “Late Night With The Devil” somehow manages to exist on both planes;…

With any franchise that manages to overstay it’s welcome, those films are bound to have diminishing returns. There is only so much you can mine from preexisting lore and milk from the nostalgia well before it can no longer hide its cash grab overtones. “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” felt the most balanced of the two; a beautiful send off to the older generation and a welcomed ushering of the new. This can be attributed to the generational passing of directors, with a son taking up a father’s mantle which simply by default maintains a certain reverence for its source. “Frozen Empire” lacks…

“The Animal Kingdom” may not be the best of its kind, but for whatever it lacks in its narrative chaos it makes up for with a touching story about fatherly love, letting go, and discovering that things that seek to drive us apart may actually bring us together.

“Love Lies Bleeding” proves that the best love stories are founded on steroids and murder.

“Snack Shack” has enough of that 90s nostalgia to be worth the summer journey, even if the emotional impact and confusing tonal imbalance holds it back from reaching the heights it strives for.

The night is finally upon us! The 96th Academy Awards kicks of at 4pm PST live from the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, CA, airing on ABC. The anticipated awards show is hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, turning in his 4th time hosting the Oscars. Poised to win big is “Oppenheimer,” with an astounding 13 nominations including a nominee in every single above the line category. It will be a very interesting night as we see if months and months of sure fire winners actually come to fruition. [You can read our predictions here.] We’ve got you covered here, with all of…

It’s been a strange year for the Oscars. Not necessarily in terms of snubs or close races, but more so in just how predictable the winners seem heading into the final stretch. More than ever, the amount precursors and awards prognosticators have been painting a clearer and clearer picture of what we can expect on March 10th. What is perhaps most telling is how consistent the winners have been throughout the season. Sure, there’s been some surprises, but overall, the atomic bomb has been set off and seems to show no signs of letting someone else build a bigger bomb.…

It’s been a strange start to cinema so far in 2024. The power of Dumpuary (February for those keeping track) has been stronger than ever, with films like “Argylle” and “Madame Web” setting a new low for unwatchable, bad cinema. This is common place for the start of the year, and March looks to be on the rise in terms of quality with the highly anticipated “Dune 2” kicking off a new wave better offerings at the theater. Despite that, we’ve tried to see as many new releases as we can, whether it be smaller more independent films with limited…

One of my favorite films out of TIFF 2023 was a little indy family drama called “Seagrass.” It was one of the first films I saw at the festival, and even after some 60+ screenings still managed to crack my top 5 best films. A moving, intimate drama filled with layered and complex characters, “Seagrass” absolutely wrecked me with its affecting emotion and authenticity. The film has won numerous festival awards, including Best British Columbia Film and Best British Columbia Director at the Vancouver Film Festival, the FIPRESCI Prize at TIFF, and Outstanding Canadian Feature Film at Cinéfest. “Seagrass” had…

“Dune Part 2” may not do enough to drive me to deep dive into the lore or turn me into a diehard fan, but it does redefine scale, scope and spectacle, and sets a new bar for sequels. The spice is twice as nice in this absolute visual feast.