Author: Rob Dean

One word that has come to define Jackie Chan through his long, storied career is “authenticity.” Chan’s authentic nature extends beyond his famed choice of performing his own physically taxing stunts. It lies in the humanity he’s always shown in his movies, whether that means embracing comedy as a sort of clown prince of kung fu or simply willing to be a good-natured man quick to smile as other action stars prefer the glowering stoicism that became so popular in the ’80s and ’90s. So while it is definitely surprising to learn that he has taken on a more grim…

Since 1993’s “Groundhog Day,” there have been a growing number of instances in TV and film of using the “one day on a loop” plot point. In fact, at the rate they’ve been churned out, it’s fair to say that it’s less of a trope than a full-fledged subgenre. Whether it’s the horror of “Triangle,” the comedy stylings of “Premature,” the crime caper elements of “Retroactive” and “Blood Punch,” or the sci-fi action of “Edge of Tomorrow,” this subgenre allows for an exploration of other cinematic staples in new and interesting ways. Playing with the Sisyphean nightmare of repetitive life,…

For the previous 12 years, Fantastic Fest has been a time of unbridled passion about film for cinephiles and movie nerds alike. Genre aficionados and those looking to find something new on the big screen gathered for one week to escape from the real world and retreat into a bubble that consists of drinking, camaraderie, soaking in new visions and voices from around the world, and then geeking out about seeing these films with each other. The darkened movie theaters in an Alamo Drafthouse act as a buffer from the woes of the real world and a chance to reconnect…

Darren Aronofsky has always been a singular filmmaker with a unique voice that meditates on the thin lines that separate madness from sanity. He mainly has two thematic motifs that he returns to throughout his work. The first is the divide between the spiritual and the physical, noting the limits of mortality and physical needs while the soul aspires for something more. The second, closely related theme is obsession, an unstoppable force that inexplicably drives people beyond their breaking points in the hope of attaining something that lies just beyond their reach. These two elements are contained within his latest…

In the past two months, American cinema lost two of the most influential filmmakers of the 20th century. The deaths of George Romero in July and Tobe Hooper on August 26th mark the passing of two outstanding artists who made singular movies whose effects have reverberated throughout cinematic history since their release. And while both have a checkered filmography that boasts many fine efforts with their own ardent fans, the two will forever be known primarily for one film each. “Night of the Living Dead” and “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,” respectively, are behemoths in both American cinema and especially…

Though the era of the American Frontier has long since passed, the spirit of living on the edge of the unknown lingers in many parts of the country. A gray morality, punctured by acts of savagery and a unique interpretation of justice, permeates these isolated lands with people living by their own sets of codes. Taylor Sheridan, the writer of “Sicario” and “Hell or High Water,” tackles that theme again in his directorial debut “Wind River” by looking at what it means to live in a different type of border town, this time on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming,…

With Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk” and Kathryn Bigelow’s “Detroit” currently playing in theaters, it’s a good time to reflect on the role that movies play in telling historical tales. There’s a long tradition of the arts using the past for dramatic narratives, whether it’s Shakespeare’s plays about British royalty or the oral tradition of many cultures preserving epic stories for generations. The past is merely the prologue to today’s events, and a lot can be learned from what has come before. Mistakes can be avoided, new insights can be gleaned and an appreciation for the difficulties faced by ancestors are just…

If style was all that a film needed to succeed, “Atomic Blonde” would be one of the best movies of the year. Production design, lighting and cinematography are all on point to deliver some of the best looking moments in recent memory. Unfortunately, the film’s insistent, convoluted plot constantly gets in the way of its aesthetically pleasing scenes and excellent action sequences so that it becomes a bit of a chore to get through. What should’ve been a straightforward spy thriller with badass set pieces instead becomes a slog towards a conclusion that is pretty obvious no matter how much…

Through the course of centuries of storytelling, it’s inevitable and natural that certain patterns emerge and clichés become shorthand to affect audiences emotionally. Success breeds imitation, which gives rise to formula and then to familiarity and oversaturation. Every genre is guilty of propagating the same tropes and story beats within their own kingdom, but it seems that none is more culpable than the romantic comedy. It’s a subgenre that should inspire innovation, for what in the human condition is more individualistic than love and a sense of humor? And yet too often audiences are subjected to well-worn tales that they’ve…

Where does true power lie: in the ability to dominate another or in the capacity to show mercy? Violence will always beget more violence, retributions occurring cyclically for years and generations to come. But when is it a necessary tool to acquire change? These are some of the pressing and weighty issues brewing in “War for the Planet of the Apes,” a film that has no right to be as heady or emotionally engaging as it is. The latest installment in the “Planet of the Apes” franchise (arguably the best series in cinematic history), “War for the Planet of the…