Author: Derrick Murray

Derrick Murray is a Los Angeles based stand up comedian, writer, and co-host for The Jack of All Nerds Show.

You have to respect workhorse filmmakers who bang out 3 films a year and rarely miss. It’s a class of veteran savoy that is rare even among the best of them, and Kiyoshi Kurosawa earns his stripes by living behind the camera and delivering one banger after another. “Cloud” is no exception, a haunting pressure cooker comprised of Kurosawa’s incredible patience that is always rewarded in the end. He has a knack for cluing you in on exactly what he wants to say but never giving away too much, keeping an ace or two up his sleeve to keep you…

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When it comes to the summer blockbuster, no one comes to them for the plot. It’s all about thrills and chills, how big can you go and how long you can keep people as entertained as possible. “F1: The Movie” is a frustrating experience because on the entertainment front, it delivers in just about every single way you would want from a “car go fast vroom vroom” racing film. But even for a predictable underdog sports drama, “F1” is a mess. Packed with lackluster characters and a checklist of cliches, it is held together only by its innovative and engrossing…

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2025 has been an interesting year for cinema. All throughout the strikes and other extenuating circumstances, the common turn of phrase for almost 2 years was, “survive until 25.” Now that the year is upon us, the lineup has been met with quite a bit of trepidation and middling responses. That’s not to say the films have been bad, but aside from a few surprise standouts there has been very little that feels like the clear frontrunner for best of the year and/or strong awards contenders. It’s still early, and the fall festival season is about to get underway in…

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