Author: Rob Dean

With no duds in the chapters, “Predator: Killer of Killers” is one of the most successful anthology films ever made. Most anthologies have one part that simply doesn’t work as well as the rest, but there is no such lull in the latest entry to the “Predator” franchise. The animation is impressive, the action impeccably choreographed and rendered, and the storytelling is bare bones but engaging. The overall sparsity of dialogue is actually a strength in that it keeps each segment lean and engaging—the clear direction by Dan Trachtenburg and Joshua Wassung makes for easy to grasp narrative but doesn’t…

“Friendship” is an interesting comedy film because, despite its insane moments, it’s about something incredibly relatable: it’s hard to make friends as an adult. And adult male friendships are especially difficult to nurture. Something that makes writer/director Andrew DeYoung’s movie work so well is that seed of reality buried in the heart of its otherwise bonkers events. It also helps that star Tim Robinson, in full “I Think You Should Leave” mode, is a dynamic performer who commits fully to the reality of the story and his (intensely) flawed character. And, of course, that it’s hilarious. A comedy with honesty…

On its own, “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” is a fine film with a couple of stellar moments and impressive sequences. Taken in context of the entire “Mission: Impossible” series (especially the last three directed by Christopher McQuarrie), however, and its light dims with the comparison. This is made all the more complicated by the fact that McQuarrie (who co-wrote), star/producer/driving force Tom Cruise, and co-writer Erik Jendresen make many attempts to tie all eight films in the franchise (so far) together with numerous callbacks to all of the previous entries, meaning that it’s difficult to just assess on…

While a skinhead spewed geysers of blood after a punk hit him with a rusty weapon in “Freaky Tales,” the word that came to mind was “disparity.” I can watch folks wallop Nazis all day long, and especially seeing a bunch of late ‘80s punks of all different stripes beat up these Hitler youth thugs should be immensely entertaining. And yet…it all felt distant and removed from being truly enjoyable. The sentiment was there, the gore was there, it was even artistically shot in a clever way…but something about writers/directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s “Freaky Tales” just doesn’t exactly…

Watching director Flying Lotus’ sci-fi horror film “Ash” reminded me of the worst acid trip I ever had. A large group of friends and I had all taken it together and were doing fine initially. Eventually people peeled off the main group, telling me before they went away and leaving me to inform the rest of the people. This happened twice which is apparently the amount of times it was needed for my friends’ LSD-addled brains to decide I was murdering these folks. And they outright said as much. Suddenly I was thrust into a world where the reality of…

Being clever is never enough. There are plenty of smart films out there that intelligently dissect some issue or ironically juxtapose points of view in some ingenious manner, but the truth is a lot of them are boring or far too self-important or so proud of their own skill that it feels awkwardly indecent to watch them masturbatorily flail about on screen. “Heretic” is a very clever movie—but it’s also one that is incredibly entertaining and oddly touching thanks to deft writing, skilled direction, and exceptional performances. Religion is a tricky subject to approach—it’s at once something that is deeply…

“Venom: The Last Dance” is an incredibly frustrating movie because its center is such an interesting and entertaining element, but it’s surrounded by way too much uneven nonsense. The “Venom” series has always been lackluster yet propelled by Tom Hardy’s dual performance as Eddie Brock and the Symbiote. Watching the actor be in full gonzo mode as he spars with himself, while also voicing the playfully extreme alien, is truly a fun thing to behold and always engaging. But despite this jewel, the rest of the films have provided incredibly disparate moments of bad exposition, awkward attempts at pathos, surprisingly…

Since people have been telling stories, there have been romantic tearjerkers. Tales of star-crossed lovers, or relationships seemingly cursed for one reason or another, have been told for centuries upon centuries in all sorts of ways. Plays, poems, paintings, pop ditties…in all manner and method of the arts, there are powerful works devoted to the brokenhearted. Movies are no exception, having also reflected those eternal feelings of doomed courtship in titles like “Love Story,” “Untamed Heart,” or “The Fault in Our Stars.” We know that relationships end, sometimes beyond the control of the people in them, and we are fascinated…

“You have to turn your brain off to enjoy it” is one of the dumbest bits of media commentary that plague our arts and entertainment landscape. To be sure, there are some films that require you to be on their wavelength (or buy into their reality as they define it) to fully enjoy it. But that doesn’t mean you have to suspend critical thinking in order to fully appreciate it. Any work that insultingly demands such a moronic approach is a truly insulting piece of content that probably couldn’t withstand an iota of criticism or humanity before the pillars all…

As much as people bemoan it and deny it, all art is political. By its very existence, it is made at a specific time and place, built on what has come before, is made by a specific group of people, and reflects (however inadvertently) the status quo and more. Who is telling what stories when can’t help but comment on the current state of society—its values, fears, aspirations, and more. So, to any that object to “The Apprentice” for being political, then share that objection with “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” and “We Live in Time” as well. But also, those that dismiss…