'Carnage For Christmas' (2024) Movie Review

19-year-old Australian dynamo Alice Maio Mackay already has a hell of a roster of low-to-no-budget horror movies under her belt with the likes of T-Blockers, So Vam, and Bad Girl Boogey, among others. And now she’s back to throw her hat in the holiday horror ring with Carnage for Christmas, a bloody fun yuletide romp that’s definitely going into my regular seasonal rotation. 

SIFF 2023: 'The Night Of The 12th' Capsule Review

As the protagonist of The Night of the 12th says, every investigator has one case that haunts them, that they never solved and can’t let go. They let you know from the jump exactly how this will play out.

'Decision To Leave' Trailer: Park Chan-Wook's Latest Brings The Mood And Mystery

UPDATE: We've now added a full trailer for Decision to Leave as well as two additional clips. Find them down below.

ORIGINAL POST: In this house we celebrate Park Chan-wook. The South Korean director has helmed a ton of masterpieces and films that rank among our all-time favorites. (Oldboy, The Handmaiden, Stoker, to name a few.) So, of course, we’re excited anytime he has a new movie coming out. His next, Decision to Leave,  premieres at Cannes this month and there’s a brief, esoteric trailer to get us pumped up.

'Knives Out' (2019) Movie Review

A tried and true Hollywood staple that’s fallen by the wayside in modern times is the whodunnit. And it’s a crying shame, because, when done well, they’re a damn fine time. While I wasn’t a fan of Kenneth Branagh’s adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express, I appreciate the effort. When it comes to Knives Out, Rian Johnson’s new, modern-day riff on Agatha Christie, I appreciate the effort as well as the result, which is an absolute blast and one of the most entertaining movies of 2019.

'Knives Out' Trailer: Rian Johnson Returns With A Throwback Murder Mystery

I’m definitely in the camp that Star Wars: The Last Jedi is great, and I love that long ago, far, far away galaxy. That said, I’m happy director Rian Johnson still takes the time to make twisty, clever, albeit smaller genre movies. Especially his upcoming murder mystery Knives Out. It’s one of my most-anticipated movies of the year, and this first trailer does nothing to dissuade my excitement.

Slamdance 2019: 'Lost Holiday' (2019) Movie Review

All kinds of wacky shenanigans and general mayhem happen over the holidays as old friends, now scattered to winds, return to their former homes, see faces they haven’t seen in years, revisit old haunts and wounds, and take stock of their lives. In the case of Michael Kerry Matthews and Thomas Matthews’ microbudget mumblecore noir, LostHoliday, this set up includes becoming amateur detectives and trying to solve a kidnapping.

'Terminal' Trailer: Margot Robbie, Simon Pegg, Mystery, And Revenge

I had never heard of writer/director Vaughn Stein’s directorial debut, the neo-noir Terminal, before a teaser dropped the other day. But it stars Margot Robbie and Simon Pegg, and has a, over-the-top, color-saturated, hyper-stylization that definitely doesn’t look like much else. Check out the full new trailer below.

'Murder On The Orient Express' (2017) Movie Review

This first paragraph has little to do with the movie we’ll be discussing today. We’ll get to that, but I have to get something off my chest first. Multiple times walking out of Kenneth Branagh’s adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express, which, admittedly, isn’t great, I overheard people ask, “Have you heard of her before?” Her being AGATHA FUCKING CHRISTIE. Only the most celebrated mystery writer of all fucking time. Apologies, I needed to yell about that for a moment. I’m rage hyperventilating just thinking about it. Onward.

'The Snowman' International Trailer: Detective Harry Hole Is On The Case

Okay, so Tomas Alfredson’s upcoming adaptation of Jo Nesbo’s serial killer thriller, The Snowman, looks grim, tense, and disturbing. What footage we’ve seen overflows with creepy imagery, it has a fantastic cast, and should be a white-knuckle ride later this fall. There’s nothing even remotely humorous about it. So why can’t I take it seriously? Why do I laugh every time it comes to mind? Because the protagonist’s name is Harry Hole, that’s why. Don’t get me wrong, the film still looks promising as all hell, but I know myself. I know I’m going to laugh inappropriately when the movie introduces Detective Harry Hole. That’s a fact. Anyway, here’s a new international trailer. (Yes, I know it's pronounced "Hoo-Leh," but I'm still going to giggle.)

'Wind River' (2017) Movie Review

Taylor Sheridan won acclaim for writing recent crime dramas Sicario and Hell or High Water, which afforded him the chance to direct his own script, Wind River. Beginning with the murder of a young woman on an isolated Wyoming Indian reservation, the story follows Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner), a tracker grieving his own loss, as he helps Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen), a newbie FBI agent, stalk the killer. As he says early on, he “hunts predators.”

'Atomic Blonde' Trailer: Watch Charlize Theron Pummel Most Of Berlin

With the likes of War for the Planet of the Apes, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Dunkirk, and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets on the way, we still have a ton of potentially awesome movies to look forward to this summer. One of those I’m most excited for, however, is Atomic Blonde, which just dropped an action-heavy new Australian trailer. Check it out after the jump.

SIFF 2017: 'Wind River' (2017) Capsule Review

Taylor Sheridan won acclaim for writing recent crime dramas Sicario and Hell or High Water, which afforded him the chance to direct his own script, Wind River. Beginning with a murder of a young woman on an isolated Indian reservation, the story follows a tracker (Jeremy Renner), grieving his own loss, as he helps a newbie FBI agent (Elizabeth Olsen), stalk the killer. As he says, he “hunts predators.”

'Dig Two Graves' Trailer: Never Go Into A Tunnel In The Woods With A Hillbilly In A Top Hat

I don’t exactly know the deal with Dig Two Graves. A horror, fantasy, mystery, it’s about to get a day-and-date theatrical and VOD release in March. It’s also apparently been kicking around since 2014. I have a vague recollection of hearing the name floated, though there are almost no reviews or any other information available. But a new trailer actually looks pretty awesome—weird and creepy and gothic, not to mention a freaky backwoods moonshiner in a top hat. I’m in. Take a look for yourself.

'Inferno' (2016) Movie Review

Watching Ron Howard’s new thriller, Inferno, I couldn’t help but mentally compare Tom Hanks’ adventurous Harvard symbology professor and puzzle enthusiast, Robert Langdon, to Matthew McConaughey’s Wooderson from Dazed and Confused. He keeps getting older, but his youngish, brown-haired female sidekicks stay (roughly) the same age.

'The Girl On The Train' (2016) Movie Review

The easy comparison for Tate Taylor’s mystery thriller The Girl on the Train is Gone Girl. They’re both based on massively popular, best-selling novels, books that became bona fide cultural sensations, and the marketing team has done everything in its power to evoke David Fincher’s artfully trashy noir. More accurate comparisons, however, are the generic thrillers that populate the Lifetime Movie Network. (Also, I can’t be the only one annoyed that every mystery with an adult female protagonist has to be The Girl did This, The Girl with That, This Girl, can I?)

'Dark Places' Movie Review: Some Places Should Stay Dark

The Charlize Theron-starring mystery thriller Dark Places finally opening in theaters marks the end of a long, strange journey. Based on the novel by author Gillian Flynn, the film has been in the can for a while now—principal photography wrapped in 2013—and with the hype surrounding Gone Girl last year, also adapted from a Flynn novel, it would have made sense to release it then to capitalize on the attention. Instead, it languished on the shelf, hitting theaters in France in April, and was actually available to DirecTV customers back in June.

Clive Barker's 'Lord Of Illusions' Blu-Ray Review

Are you in the mood to sit on your couch and watch a supernatural detective story starring Scott Bakula? If the answer to that question is yes, you’re in luck, as Clive Barker’s Lord of Illusions just got a special edition Blu-ray release, including an extended director’s cut, courtesy of the fine folks at Scream Factory. If you’re familiar with their work, you know that means you get an awesome movie and a fantastic package of extra goodies.

'Gone Girl' Movie Review: Low Trash As High Art

When David Fincher’s “Gone Girl” starts out, Ben Affleck’s Nick Dunne is just a normal guy, taking out the trash on what looks like just another normal morning. But this day is anything but normal. First, it’s his fifth wedding anniversary, and you know from word one that it’s not a happy marriage. It’s also the day that his wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike), goes missing and Nick becomes the most notorious man in the media-hungry world. What follows is part mystery, part thriller, and part razor sharp indictment of our news-as-entertainment society, all wrapped up with constantly shifting ground and a wicked sense of humor you don’t see coming.

'Prisoners' Movie Review

The first shot of director Denis Villeneuve’s (“Incendies”) new thriller, “Prisoners,” shows a sparse winter forest in Western Pennsylvania. A wide spectrum of grays, this is a harsh, desolate place, but, as a deer creeps into the frame, you see there is life. You also bear witness to an inherent brutality as a young hunter, Ralph Dover (Dylan Minnette), kills the doe at the urging of his father, Keller (Hugh Jackman). Not only does this initiate you into the world of the film—we’re talking about a where every choice is morally ambiguous, gray if you will, though some are so dark as to be damn near black—but it also sets up a tense, quiet atmosphere punctuated by stunning violence. “Prisoners” is a mystery that is as physically and emotionally pulverizing to you the viewer as it is to the characters.

RIP Elmore Leonard: Take One Last Lesson From The Master

 

Like many people, I woke up this morning to the news that legendary crime and mystery writer Elmore Leonard has passed away at the age of 87. I started reading books like Get Shorty, Maximum Bob, and Rum Punch in junior high. While in the intervening years I moved away from his fiction for periods of time time, I always admired his prose. Along the way, I realized he also wrote films that were just as badass as his books.  Movies like 3:10 to Yuma, Joe Kidd, and Mr. Majestyk (who else beside Elmore Leonard and Charles Bronson could make melon farming kick so much ass?) are important works of the stern-faced, stoic, gritty genre that I hold very near and dear to my heart. Justified, a show not only based on Leonard’s work, but produced by him as well, is currently the reigning champion of gravelly crime dramas on TV.

There isn’t much that I can say about Leonard that hasn’t already been said with more eloquence elsewhere, so I think it’s best to let the man speak for himself. What follows are Elmore Leonard’s 10 rules forwriting. Not only to do they offer valuable advice to anyone looking to hone their craft, they provide a quick insight into the way his mind worked. Read them, learn them, love them. Enjoy.