Matt Shiverdecker, Author at MendoWerks

“Halloween Kills” is a Middling Means to an End (Review)

19Oct

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Reviews

“Halloween Kills” is a Middling Means to an End (Review)

It was fun until it wasn't. That's how I felt about the latest effort to keep the twisted legacy of Michael Myers going. In 2018, David Gordon Green and his "Eastbound & Down" buddy Danny McBride were unlikely choices to reboot the "Halloween" franchise, but they managed to bring the series back to life with a fascinating exploration of personal trauma that was equally measured and brutal. For the follow-up, they leaned heavily on the brutality but left the script feeling like a parody of a horror sequel. That is probably the hardest element to overcome here. Since it was intended as a new trilogy, "Halloween Kills" was always going to feel half baked. It exists to bridge the gap between movies and, never fear, "Halloween Ends" (which it most certainly will not) is already ...

Creativity, Loss, and Passion Collide in “Bergman Island” (Review)

15Oct

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Reviews

Creativity, Loss, and Passion Collide in “Bergman Island” (Review)

In her English-language debut, French director Mia Hansen-Løve utilizes the inspiration of Ingmar Bergman to tell two stories in one. Both take place on the Baltic island of Faro, not far off the northern coast of Sweden. Bergman first went there in 1960 while scouting locations for "Through a Glass Darkly." He ended up shooting multiple feature films and two documentaries there and ended up building a house where he lived with Liv Ullmann. Chris (Vicky Krieps) and Tony (Tim Roth) are two American filmmakers who head to Faro on a creative pilgrimage. They are not married, but have a young daughter at home, so they've escaped to work on their separate screenplays and be inspired by the land that Bergman loved dearly. They stay in the home where "Scenes From A Marriage" was filmed...

“The Velvet Underground” Hits Apple TV and Select Theaters This Friday (Review)

12Oct

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Music, Reviews

“The Velvet Underground” Hits Apple TV and Select Theaters This Friday (Review)

Fresh off its successful screenings at the New York Film Festival, the first ever documentary from cinematic provocateur Todd Haynes is about to hit theaters and streaming this weekend. The director of "Velvet Goldmine" and "Carol" takes us on a deep dive into the history of one of rock and roll's greatest art rock bands, The Velvet Underground. If you're hoping for a straightforward approach, you won't get it here. Haynes returns to the more experimental techniques of his earliest work and features lots of split screens and rare archival footage presented in a collage method that would make Peter Greenaway proud. There are beautiful close-up establishing shots of each band member (Lou Reed, John Cale, Moe Tucker, and Sterling Morrison) that linger, capturing the intimate nature...

Looking to Fill 31 Days of Horror? Halloween Streaming Tips Are Here!

8Oct

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Reviews

Looking to Fill 31 Days of Horror? Halloween Streaming Tips Are Here!

Are you looking for some thrills and chills for streaming this spooky Halloween season? The good news is that there is something for everybody out there, you just have to know where to look. If all you want to do is watch scary movies for the next few weeks, you should really subscribe to Shudder. That's just what they do year-round: the best of horror, new and old. Favorites like "Carrie," "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre," "Hellraiser," and "Night of the Living Dead" are currently on hand along with brand new releases like the latest installment of the anthology series "V/H/S/94" and Simon Barrett's "Seance." https://youtu.be/opnSln8Ue2U Netflix already released the 'Fear Street' trilogy this year, but have a few more tricks up their sleeve for the month. Just this week they de...

Your Mileage May Vary With Audacious Palme d’Or Winner “Titane” (Review)

5Oct

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Reviews

Your Mileage May Vary With Audacious Palme d’Or Winner “Titane” (Review)

Just when you think you've seen it all, along comes a film like "Titane." Julia Ducournau's 2016 debut "Raw" had people passing out at the Toronto International Film Festival at its premiere screening. "Titane" is, in my estimation, even more extreme and difficult viewing while harboring an emotionally charged second act that is surprisingly sweet. Agathe Rousselle devours the screen as Alexia, a woman who survived a terrible car accident as a child and now lives with a titanium plate in her skull. The incident has left her scarred in more ways than one, but she maintains an strong affinity for automobiles. She spends her evenings grinding away as a dancer at an autoshow as men ogle the new cars and the women on display. Mostly polite, these guys often ask for autographs at ...

Jake Gyllenhaal Dials Up A Killer Performance in “The Guilty” (Review)

1Oct

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Reviews

Jake Gyllenhaal Dials Up A Killer Performance in “The Guilty” (Review)

Confession: I was skeptical when I learned that there was an English-language remake of Gustav Möller's debut film, "The Guilty" ("Den skyldige"), on the way. I caught the original at Austin's Fantastic Fest back in 2018 and it was the Danish submission for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Academy Awards. What I said about "The Guilty" at the time holds just as true in this well-honed update from director Antoine Fuqua ("Training Day") - this is "an outrageously tense and effective movie that hinges entirely on a bravura performance." In the American version, that lead role is covered by Jake Gyllenhaal. He plays Joe Baylor, a police officer who has been taken off the streets and thrown into a 911 call center. We meet Joe on his last night taking calls. He's abr...

Amazon’s “Everybody’s Talking About Jamie” is Flamboyant Fun (Review)

24Sep

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Reviews

Amazon’s “Everybody’s Talking About Jamie” is Flamboyant Fun (Review)

There are a lot of genuinely impressive elements about "Everybody's Talking About Jamie." For starters, it is the first feature film for director Jonathan Butterell and the first leading role for star Max Harwood who plays the title character, Jamie Campbell. As a flamboyant teenager in Sheffield, England, who dreams of becoming a drag queen, Jamie lives with his loving single mother Margaret (Sarah Lancashire). She supports him with all her heart and would do anything to help him achieve his goals, standing as the polar opposite of his homophobic and distant father, Wayne (Ralph Ineson). Jamie doesn't have many friends at school except for Pritti (Lauren Patel), a young Muslim girl who also gets mistreated by bullies at school and stands in solidarity with him even when she do...

James Wan’s “Malignant” is Magnificently Brutal (Review)

21Sep

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Reviews

James Wan’s “Malignant” is Magnificently Brutal (Review)

Over the course of his directorial career, James Wan has launched the successful horror franchises for "Saw," "Insidious," and "The Conjuring." His latest effort is unlikely to spawn any sequels (famous last words for this genre, I know), but it does deliver a wildly imaginative and terrifically blood-soaked thrill ride. Annabelle Wallis ("Peaky Blinders") stars as Madison Lake, a pregnant woman living with an abusive husband. Early on in the film, he throws her against their bedroom wall during an argument and nearly knocks her unconscious. She is able to lock him out of the room, which sends him to the living room couch for the night. Madison wakes up hours later with her head bloodied to the sounds of an intruder. By the time she makes it downstairs, she finds her husband g...

17Sep

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Reviews

What’s Up With “Licorice Pizza”?

Film nerds started buzzing this week when official social media accounts turned up for the upcoming movie from Paul Thomas Anderson. His highly anticipated follow-up to "Phantom Thread" was shot under the working title of "Soggy Bottom," but we now know it will officially be called "Licorice Pizza." Twitter started to buzz earlier in the week when moviegoers at Tarantino's New Beverly Cinema reported the trailer had started to show up before screenings there. Subsequently other theaters like Chicago's Music Box Theatre were posting that they had gotten a 35mm treat from the director (note the lead on the print still retains the original name). https://twitter.com/musicboxtheatre/status/1438544757647683587 https://twitter.com/newbeverly/status/1438212828385591299 What ...

St. Vincent Checks in to “The Nowhere Inn” (Review)

14Sep

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Music, Reviews

St. Vincent Checks in to “The Nowhere Inn” (Review)

The evolution of Annie Clark as a musician has been pretty incredible to watch over the years. From the quieter introspection of her 2007 debut album "Marry Me" to the full-on glam rock persona she has taken on more recently, she has become an award-winning artist recording as St. Vincent. Despite the acclaim and a rabid fan base, she isn't exactly a household name. That's where the fun begins in "The Nowhere Inn," a film that begins with Clark in the back of a limousine. The driver rolls down the window to make sure she knows that he's never heard of her and then calls his son and puts him on speakerphone to make sure it's clear that they don't really believe she's famous because they've never heard of her. Director Bill Benz ("Portlandia") helps bring this wild mockumentary to lif...