Note: Since The Innkeepers is in limited release this weekend, we’re re-running Shannon’s original review from SXSW 2011. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Ti West struck gold with horror fans when House of the Devil came out in 2009. Devil was a fitting throwback to the horror films of the ’80s, and West proved to be a...
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Note: If you have any interest at all in seeing this film, I firmly advise that you go in completely cold and don’t read this until after you’ve seen it. I don’t know if Chronicle is the first found-footage superhero film, but I’m certain it’s the best—and will remain so for a very long...
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Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim work best in sketches. If you’re reading this, I suspect you’re a fan of Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, if not, it’s a sketch show that’s best bits mock public-access television, from the strange and self-aggrandizing programs to those car commercials from the local dealer who insists...
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On this episode of the Almost Locals Only podcast John and Shannon give their reviews of the Liam Nesson staring The Grey. They also discuss A Dangerous Method and this Tuesday’s Academy Award nominations, and the snubs that always come every year with them. Show notes (podcast recorded Thursday January 26, run time 39mins...
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David Cronenberg has always been drawn to psychologically challenging material, especially when it has to do with breaking societal taboos. Flip through his filmography (Videodrome, The Fly, Dead Ringers, Naked Lunch, Crash) and you’ll see some seriously depraved stuff. He has mellowed substantially in recent years (The History of Violence, Eastern Promises), but thankfully,...
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Maybe I was overly optimistic, but Harold Lloyd’s classic “Safety Last!” was the first association I found myself thinking of as I waited for the unfortunately limp Man on a Ledge to begin. In the infamous sequence from the silent film, Lloyd scales a building (and hangs from a clock) which provides shock, humor,...
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January is usually known as an arid wasteland for new film releases. Studios dump all the films that weren’t good enough for awards consideration, and the results are not pretty. My expectations for The Grey were tempered accordingly. I expected a campy creature-feature, nothing more. What I got instead was a complex, touching and...
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On this episode of the Almost Locals Only podcast John, Shannon and Nat get together for the third year running to talk their favorite films of the year 2011. Great goodness that concession stands packed with snacks salty and sweet! Give the show a listen! Show notes (podcast recorded Wednesday January 18, run time...
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I suspect this film will be quite polarizing for audiences, but not for the reasons you may think. Though Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close takes place in the days, weeks and months following 9/11, it is essentially devoid of controversy or political overtones. The tragedy serves as a catalyst for the story of one...
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I think George Lucas deserves some credit where it’s due, and say what you will about the prequels, the opening to Revenge of the Sith, with the dogfight over the planet was pretty awe-inspiring. So when the trailer for Red Tails came out, I was excited to see a Lucasfilm production that focused mainly...
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