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Udo Kier Gives An Unforgettable Performance in “Swan Song” (Review)

20Aug

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Reviews

Udo Kier Gives An Unforgettable Performance in “Swan Song” (Review)

Todd Stephens wrote, produced, and directed this new drama starring legendary German actor Udo Kier that had its world premiere earlier this year at the virtual edition of the SXSW festival. Older members of the LGBTQ+ community are not often given a chance to tell their stories or see themselves represented in popular culture, so it's a real treat to see Kier absolutely eat up every inch of the screen as Pat Pitsenbarger, an aging gay man who is miserably spending his final days trapped in a nursing home facility in Sandusky, Ohio. In a tale that is thankfully not as common now, we learn that Pat's long term partner David had passed away in the 90s due to complications from AIDS. At that time, before queer people could get married, many couples did not have legal protections. He l...

Nicolas Cage Returns To Form in ‘Pig’ (Review)

10Aug

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Reviews

Nicolas Cage Returns To Form in ‘Pig’ (Review)

The last few decades have been a whirlwind of ups and downs for Nicolas Cage's career. He's gone from headlining blockbuster movies to frequently taking on mostly straight to video titles. Every few years he still manages to come along with a performance that is so outstanding that it defies some of the other work he seems to be taking more for the paycheck. I'm thinking of his brilliant turn in David Gordon Green's 2013 film "Joe" or Panos Cosmatos' insane horror film "Mandy" from 2018. You can safely add "Pig" to this list. In Michael Sarnoski's directorial debut, Cage plays Robin Feld. At one time, he was at the top of the culinary world in Portland, Oregon. After a massive personal loss, the renowned chef walked away from society and became a recluse. As the film begins, Ro...

Sundance Hit ‘How It Ends’ Brings The Apocalypse Home (Review)

23Jul

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Reviews

Sundance Hit ‘How It Ends’ Brings The Apocalypse Home (Review)

When the end credits began to roll on its brisk 82-minute running time, I said to my partner how much I enjoyed "How It Ends" and that it reminded me of the glory days of American independent film in the 90s. He laughed and noted that the whole time he was thinking about Richard Linklater's 1990 classic, "Slacker." There is a shared cinematic universe between the two - both features offer a meandering "day in the life" scenario giving the viewer a series of characters who float in and out of the film and give us a handful of perfect moments. While "Slacker" showed us a random day in late 1980s Austin, Texas, this literal doomsday comedy has us on the streets of Los Angeles in the 24 hours before a giant meteor makes contact with Earth and kills us all. Zoe Lister-Jones and her hu...

Take a Wild “First Date” This Holiday Weekend (Review)

2Jul

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Reviews

Take a Wild “First Date” This Holiday Weekend (Review)

A debut film can often act as a calling card in the industry. Even if it doesn't find a huge audience, the right buzz can earn enough of a following to become a cult classic and lay the groundwork for bigger things. That, in a nutshell, is exactly what I anticipate will happen for Manuel Crosby and Darren Knapp, who wrote and directed "First Date," an incredibly fun and totally bonkers movie that premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival. https://youtu.be/EDNarSyQEcc Tyson Brown plays Mike, a shy high-schooler who has had a crush on a girl at school named Kelsey (Shelby Duclos) for a long time and finally decides to work up the nerve to ask her out. The only problem? He doesn't have a car. All he needs to do is get a decent ride and pick her up for a date. If it...

Tribeca 2021: “Werewolves Within” (Review)

22Jun

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Reviews

Tribeca 2021: “Werewolves Within” (Review)

It takes a very careful balance to create a successful horror comedy film. If you want to expand beyond genre lovers, you need a strong cast of characters and a way to still have some impactful scares and enough laughter to lighten the mood along the way. Mishna Wolff (with her first screenplay) and director Josh Ruben have very loosely adapted a multiplayer Ubisoft VR game from 2016 where a town is being attacked by a werewolf and the players have to figure out if one of their own is the culprit. The residents of Beaverfield are a motley crew and they don't seem to get along too well. A proposed gas pipeline coming through town is only dividing them further. Enter Finn (Sam Richardson, "Veep," "Detroiters") - a forest ranger who is brand new to the community. He is a genuinel...

Sundance Gem “Together Together” Hits VOD (Review)

11May

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Reviews

Sundance Gem “Together Together” Hits VOD (Review)

"Together Together" was acquired for release by Bleecker Street who bought it before its Sundance Film Festival world premiere earlier this year, where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in the Dramatic category. After a decent start at the box office a few weeks back that has already seen it sell over $1.2 million worth of tickets, Nikole Beckwith's second feature film is now available for home viewing. It stars Ed Helms ("The Office") as Matt, a single man in his 40s who has been unlucky in love and finds himself desperate to be a father. Patti Harrison, who is an absolute riot on Hulu's "Shrill," stars as Anna, a young woman who Matt hires to be his surrogate. We rarely get to see a movie about a platonic relationship between a man and a w...

Bob Odenkirk Delivers A Bit Of The Old Ultra-Violence in “Nobody” (Review)

23Apr

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Reviews

Bob Odenkirk Delivers A Bit Of The Old Ultra-Violence in “Nobody” (Review)

If you're anything like me, the name Bob Odenkirk immediately serves up thoughts of laughter. Originally a comedy writer for Conan O'Brien, "Saturday Night Live," and, of course, the co-star of HBO's cult classic "Mr. Show with Bob and David," he transitions into full-blown action star in this new thriller from director Ilya Naishuller ("Hardcore Henry"). Odenkirk plays Hutch Mansell, quite literally a morality play "everyman." He works in a boring office for his father-in-law and lives a very quiet life with his family. There isn't much spark left with his wife Becca (Connie Nielsen) and his son Brady (Gage Munroe) bears obvious disdain towards him. It's not until their house is broken into and a confrontation is had with the robbers that it becomes clear that things may not be ex...

Gloriously Goofy “Barb & Star Go To Vista Del Mar” Out Now on Blu-ray and VOD (Review)

9Apr

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Reviews

Gloriously Goofy “Barb & Star Go To Vista Del Mar” Out Now on Blu-ray and VOD (Review)

Comedians Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo became fast friends after meeting at The Groundlings, a Los Angeles-based improv comedy theater in the early 2000s. In 2011, the duo earned an Academy Award nomination for their uproarious "Bridesmaids" screenplay. A full decade later, Wiig and Mumolo have brought us two of the most gloriously goofy characters ever to be unleashed on audiences. They've now written, produced, and starred in "Barb & Star Go To Vista Del Mar," which is directed by Josh Greenbaum (better known as an award-winning documentarian behind "Becoming Bond" and "The Short Game"). Barb (Mumolo) and Star (Wiig) have best friends for their entire lives and pretty much spend every waking moment together. After the store they work in closes down, they decide to take ...

Oscar-Nominated “The Father” Debuts on VOD Today (Review)

26Mar

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Reviews

Oscar-Nominated “The Father” Debuts on VOD Today (Review)

Movie theaters around the country are operating at lower capacities and many have remained closed entirely due to COVID-19. This has helped prompt Sony Pictures Classics to experiment with Premium Video On Demand for the first time with their highly acclaimed new drama, "The Father." It's the debut feature from Florian Zeller and is adapted from his own 2012 play "Le Père." Anthony Hopkins stars as an elderly man with dementia who is struggling to make sense of his surroundings. His daughter Anne (Olivia Colman, "The Crown") is trying to figure out how to balance her personal life while making sure her father is properly cared for. As his memory ebbs and flows, he forgets faces, places, and experiences. After angrily accusing a caretaker of stealing his watch (when in actuality...