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Welcome, one and all, to the Festival of Films blog! Here, we strive not just to review films but to discuss how the art of film reflects society and the broader human condition. Comments and spirited discussion are always strongly encouraged. Just remember to keep it respectful, of course. Here's lookin' at you, readers!
Category Archives: Thriller
After scoring with Haywire and Magic Mike just last year, eclectic and prolific director Steven Soderbergh insists that Side Effects will be his last theatrical film before retirement. That’s too bad because his latest, an icy, craftily constructed pharmaceutical mystery-thriller, is … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Drama, Features, Thriller
Tagged Catherine Zeta-Jones, Channing Tatum, Jeremy Kibler, Jude Law, Rooney Mara, Side Effects, Steven Soderbergh
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If you ever wondered how 1972′s Deliverance would play out with women—minus the inbred banjo players—on a smaller, cost-effective budget, Black Rock would be the result. But that comparison undersells what this film has going for it. With the story conceived … Continue reading
Posted in Drama, Features, Thriller
Tagged Black Rock, Deliverance, Jeremy Kibler, Kate Bosworth, Katie Aselton, Lake Bell, Mark Duplass
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At this point, any film presented, written or directed by “Splat Pack” horror guru Eli Roth (2006′s Hostel and 2007′s Hostel: Part II) prevents us from wanting to vacation to another continent ever. Aftershock, his latest independently funded project—which he co-wrote, produced, … Continue reading
Posted in Features, Thriller
Tagged Aftershock, Andrea Osvart, Eli Roth, Hostel, Jeremy Kibler, Lorenza Izzo, Nicolas Lopez
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Since Matthew McConaughey has stopped straining to be likable (but came off smug and smarmy) with a renissance of dark, slippery roles in Bernie, Magic Mike, Killer Joe, and The Paperboy, he has really formed into a star with genuine acting … Continue reading
Posted in Drama, Features, Thriller
Tagged Jacob Lofland, Jeff Nichols, Jeremy Kibler, Matthew McConaughey, Mud, Ray McKinnon, Reese Witherspoon, Take Shelter, Tye Sheridan
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Most pieces of art are inherently self-indulgent anyway, but three out of four of writer-director Rob Zombie’s films have been freakishly aggressive, excessively ugly assaults on the senses. The jury is still out on whether or not the shock rocker-turned-shock … Continue reading
Danny Boyle is a filmmaker whom we can always trust to give us something fresh and exciting in any genre or no genre at all. Ranging from 1996′s brutally real but energetic drug-addiction dark comedy Trainspotting to 2002′s grippingly scary zombie-movie … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Features, Sci Fi, Thriller
Tagged 127 Hours, Anthony Dog Mantle, Danny Boyle, James McAvoy, Jeremy Kibler, Rosario Dawson, Slumdog Millionaire, Trance, Vincent Cassel
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The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree in Antiviral, the feature debut of Brandon Cronenberg, son of David. As should be expected from anyone with the surname of the King of Venereal Horror, the film is icky and strange, daringly … Continue reading
Posted in Features, Sci Fi, Thriller
Tagged Antiviral, Brandon Cronenberg, Caleb Landry Jones, David Cronenberg, Jeremy Kibler, Malcolm McDowell, Sarah Gadon
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Maybe catching Evil Dead at your local multiplex this past weekend wasn’t your bag. Or maybe, you’re like me and you’re too poor to attend the theaters every weekend. Given that, perhaps you still wanted to catch a horror film … Continue reading
Posted in Features, Thriller
Tagged Charlie Clouser, Daniel Schaub, Marcus Dunstan, Patrick Melton, The collection, The Collector
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When released in 1981, Sam Raimi’s micro-budgeted, Karo syrup/milk/creamed corn’ed backwoods-splatter flick The Evil Dead was almost slapped with an X rating and cited as one of the most violent films of its time. Even when being spectacularly gross, it was … Continue reading
Posted in Features, Thriller
Tagged Bruce Campbell, Evil Dead, Fede Alvarez, Jane Levy, Jeremy Kibler, Lou Taylor Pucci, Sam Raimi, The Evil Dead
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Check out my reviews of the original films by clicking each name: The Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, and Army of Darkness. Early posters for Evil Dead boasted that it would be “the most terrifying film that you will ever … Continue reading
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