Sweet Parents is streaming on Prime There’s an old story, one where a couple goes to the big city. These two have an artistic way about them. They’re enchanted by the lights, the energy, the seemingly limitless possibilities. They look at each other and agree that one way or another, they can make a life […]

Hillbilly Elegy is streaming on Netflix There’s a story many of us tell ourselves about poverty.* Poor people are poor due to their own actions or inactions. They just want a handout from the government. They’re lazy. They’re not very intelligent or motivated, and when they do utilize a kind of low cunning, it’s to […]

All Joking Aside is streaming on Prime When it comes to the arts, there’s nothing harder than stand-up comedy. Don’t get me wrong; to play principal cello for the Boston Pops is an undeniable achievement. To create a magnificent sculpture is a feat that most people will never accomplish. Hell, writing a novel or screenplay […]

The Trial of the Chicago 7 is streaming on Netflix There’s a long and semi-proud tradition in Hollywood of the courtroom movie. Some of them, such as To Kill a Mockingbird, The Verdict, and 12 Angry Men stand the test of time.* They have something particular to say about the law, about justice, and how […]

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm is streaming on Prime How does he do it? He must have the luck of Loki or some other trickster god on his side, considering the pranks he’s pulled have edged out of the realm of the audacious and into the realm of the openly suicidal. How is it possible that Sacha […]

The Mortuary Collection is streaming on Shudder For a while there, horror anthologies seemed to be on the way out. You had your Twilight Zone: The Movie, your Creepshow, Body Bags, and others. Years passed, and while a steady stream of films was released that focused on short-form horror, not too many of them captured […]

Murder in the woods is streaming on Prime Slasher movies are a cultural fixture. They have been for a long time. So much so that, if you’re not into horror like myself, you still know the rhythms of the genre. Ask anyone from a grandma in Arkansas to a Generation Z-er in Los Angeles, and […]

Enola Holmes is streaming on Netflix   Perhaps the best part of a movie, for me, is the first couple of seconds. By that point, I have a broad idea of the premise. I’ve poured myself a drink. My brain is prepared. When the first production company logo appears onscreen, we’re in a Schrodinger’s Movie […]

The Devil All the Time is streaming on Netflix I’ve been to the South, but I’ve never been to The South. To clarify, years ago my wife and I took a week off for a road trip. We were on the East Coast then, and with the exception of a couple of trips to Florida, […]

IRL is streaming on Prime I’ve been involved in a few long-distance relationships. Despite taking place about a million years ago, I still remember them. Chiefly, I remember them being not entirely awesome. While everyone else went on dates or prowled bars or parties for ill-advised hookups, I waited by the phone. In between calls […]