Death Knot is an ok horror debut
Cornelio Sunny dabbles in J-horror for his directorial debut in Death Knot from Well Go USA Entertainment. After the sudden suicide of their estranged mother, Hari (Cornelio Sunny), and his sister Eka (Widika Sidmore), return to their hometown to put their matriarch’s affairs in order.
Night Train is a quick actioner
Danielle C. Ryan is back in action with Night Train from Saban Films. Shane Stanley directs the film, while his frequent collaborator CJ Walley pens the script. La La Land teamster and single mother Holly McCord (Danielle C. Ryan) is driven to extreme measures to save her son’s life.
Tom Hanks saves the routine A Man Called Otto
Kicking off the 2023 viewing season, Netflix offers viewers a different streaming experience with their newest series, Kaleidoscope.
Sure to divide audiences and critics, Babylon is a mess
Oscar Winner Damon returns to cinemas with his fourth film in Babylon from Paramount Pictures. Before the opening credits, we meet Manuel “Manny” Torres (Diego Calva), a Mexican immigrant working odd jobs in the thriving silent film industry and aspiring filmmaker.
Brendan Fraser delivers a career best performance in The Whale
Love him or hate him, filmmaker Darren Aronofsky teams with comeback kid Brendan Fraser for his eighth feature film, The Whale from A24. Playwright Samuel D. Hunter pens the screenplay as an adaption of his same-titled play.
Puss In Boots: The Last Wish is delightfully fun for the family
Under the direction of Joel Crawford, Antonio Banderas makes a voice return to one of his most beloved characters in Puss In Boots: The Last Wish. Paul Fisher pens the film script, which marks a return to the Shrek universe for the first time in more than a decade.
Anna Gunna is out for revenge in The Apology
Filmmaker Alison Star Locke teams up with Emmy Award Winner Anna Gunn for her writing/directorial debut in The Apology from RLJE Films. In the aftermath of the disappearance of her daughter Sally twenty years earlier, recovering alcoholic Darlene Hagen (Anna Gunn) is preparing to host her family’s Christmas celebration with her best friend Gretchen (Janeane Garofalo).
Strong performances can’t save Empire of Light
Oscar-winning actress Olivia Coleman teams with Academy Award-winning director Sam Mendes for his latest awards bait performance in Searchlight Pictures Empire of Light from Searchlight Pictures. As with his last film, the phenomenal 1917, Mendes also pens the script for Empire of Light.
Violent Nights earns a spot on the nice list
Tommy Wirkola delivers a new fun film for our annual holiday viewing in Universal Pictures Violent Night. It’s another Christmas, and the Lightstone family is getting together. The family includes prodigal son Jason (Alex Hassell), his wife Linda (Alexis Lighter), and their daughter Trudy (Leah Brady).
Devotion glides to victory as crowd-pleasing entertainment
For his third film as director, J.D. Dillard adapts the 2017 biography Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship, and Sacrifice by author Adam Makos. The film shortens the title to Devotion and introduces audiences to the comradeship between naval officers Jesse Brown (Jonathan Majors) and Tom Hudner (Glen Powell) during the Korean War.
Standard plot twits fill The Minute You Wake Up Dead
Director Michael Maler follows up last year’s inspirational sports drama Heart of Champions with the mystery The Minute You Wake Up Dead from Lionsgate. Russ Porter (Cole Hauser) is a shady small-town stockbroker who just lost some of the townies a considerable amount of money. He begins dating a shy waitress named Delane (Jamie Alexander) to take away some of the stress in his life.
Hang up on Mel Gibson in On The Line
French director Romuald Boulanger collaborates with Mel Gibson for his second feature Saban Films’ thriller On The Line. Elvis Cooney (Mel Gibson) is a Los Angeles-based, provocative, and edgy overnight radio host who must play a dangerous game of cat and mouse with a mysterious caller while live on the air. Initially, Elvis thinks the whole thing is a joke until the caller, who calls himself Gary, kidnaps his family and threatens to kill them.