Review: Over Your Dead Body
Jorma Taccone’s long‑awaited feature *Over Your Dead Body* adapts the Norwegian thriller *I onde dager* into a black‑comedy murder‑marriage satire starring Jason Segel and Samara Weaving. The film mixes over‑the‑top gore with rapid‑fire jokes, delivering a high laughs‑per‑minute ratio despite a mis‑judged assault scene. Its 105‑minute run pits a bickering couple against unexpected cabin intruders, blending horror, slapstick and sharp dialogue. The movie opens this weekend, aiming to capture both genre fans and broader comedy audiences.
Beautiful Mediocrity: Mulholland Falls at 30
*Mulholland Falls* turned 30 this year, a 1996 neo‑noir that assembled a high‑profile cast and veteran cinematographer Haskell Wexler but slipped into obscurity after a muted box‑office debut. Directed by Lee Tamahori, fresh from New Zealand success, and scripted by National...
Classic Corner: Bad Day at Black Rock
John Sturges’s 1957 film *Bad Day at Black Rock* follows war‑scarred veteran Macreedy, played by Spencer Tracy, as he confronts a hostile desert town that hides the murder of a Japanese‑American farmer’s father. The movie fuses Western, film‑noir, and social‑justice...
The Best Movies to Buy or Stream This Week: Christy, Gilda, Trouble in Paradise, and More
The weekly column spotlights the most compelling titles to buy or stream, ranging from classic 4K restorations to fresh originals on major platforms. It highlights Criterion’s 4K upgrade of Ernst Lubitsch’s *Trouble in Paradise* and the noir classic *Gilda*, while...
James and the Giant Peach at 30: A Musically Disappointing Sophomore Slump
Disney’s 1996 stop‑motion adaptation of Roald Dahl’s *James and the Giant Peach* turned 30, yet it never matched the cult status of *The Nightmare Before Christmas*. The film paired Henry Selick’s direction and Tim Burton’s production with a voice cast...
The Road Not Taken: Jeff Nichols’s Midnight Special 10 Years On
Jeff Nichols’s 2016 sci‑fi road drama Midnight Special opened with a $20 million budget but earned under $10 million worldwide, far short of Warner Bros.’ expectations for a $100 million‑plus blockbuster. The studio’s focus on high‑budget franchise returns clashed with Nichols’s intent to...
Shadow of a Doubt: The Enduring Mysteries of Exit Through the Gift Shop
A March 13 Reuters investigation claims the elusive street artist Banksy is Robin Gunningham, who now operates under the name David Jones. The report arrives as the mystery surrounding Banksy fuels the cult status of his 2010 film *Exit Through the Gift...
VODepths: What to See (and Avoid) on Demand This Week
This week’s VOD slate offers a mixed bag, ranging from the abysmal Russian family comedy “Papa Bear” to the modestly entertaining body‑horror “Thinestra.” The releases include a self‑referential horror‑romance, a spaghetti‑Western‑tinged drama starring John C. Reilly, and a teen radio‑show...
American Berserk: Chuck Norris and Invasion U.S.A.
In 1985 Cannon Films released *Invasion USA*, the most ambitious Chuck Norris vehicle of his early career, produced under a six‑picture deal that followed the successful *Missing in Action* series. Norris co‑wrote the script after reading a *Reader’s Digest* piece on...
Three Decades of Sniper, the Unkillable Action Franchise
The *Sniper* franchise, launched in 1993 with a modest $19 million box office, has just released its twelfth entry, *Sniper: No Nation*, on VOD and DVD. Over three decades the series has outlasted many higher‑budget action franchises, maintaining a core fan...
Classic Corner: The Falcon and the Snowman
John Schlesinger’s 1985 film *The Falcon and the Snowman* dramatizes the real‑life espionage case of Christopher Boyce and Daulton Lee, two privileged California youths who sold U.S. secrets to the Soviet Union for modest pay. The movie, scripted by Steven...
Slither at 20: The Way of the Gunn
James Gunn’s first feature, the body‑horror comedy *Slither* (2006), was produced for $15 million but earned only $12.9 million in theaters before becoming a cult hit on DVD and streaming. The film showcases Gunn’s blend of grotesque humor and genre‑bending storytelling, a...
Classic Corner: One-Eyed Jacks
Marlon Brando’s sole directorial effort, *One‑Eyed Jacks*, ballooned to twice its schedule and three times its budget, with Brando shooting more than a million feet of film before Paramount trimmed the cut to a marketable 141 minutes. Released in 1961,...
Serpent’s Path: An Unseen Revenge Drama From Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Imperial Era
Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s 1998 revenge thriller *Serpent’s Path* finally receives a US theatrical rollout, opening at New York’s IFC Center and expanding nationwide through April, paired with his experimental 2024 short *Chime*. The film was shot in a single week as...
Inside Man at 20: How Spike Lee Put a Crew Together to Pull Off a Brilliant Heist
Spike Lee’s 2006 heist thriller *Inside Man* marks its 20‑year anniversary, showcasing a rare convergence of A‑list talent—Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, Willem Dafoe—and Lee’s signature visual flair. The film weaves classic robbery mechanics with pointed social commentary, from...