Cabrini Featured, Reviews Film Threat
8400 seconds. 140 minutes. Two hours and 20 minutes. That is the seemingly daunting runtime of Cabrini, directed by Alejandro Monteverde, who came up with the story with screenwriter Rod Barr. Their inspiration is the life of Frances Xavier Cabrini, an…
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‘The Sweet East’ Review — Get Ayo Edebiri and Talia Ryder Out of There
The Big Picture The Sweet East is a well-shot though ultimately empty absurdist look at Eastern America. The film follows Lillian as she goes from a field trip to a more wandering and scattered series of encounters. Talia Ryder delivers…
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Dark Hallway Featured, Reviews Film Threat
One of the exciting aspects of film is when a filmmaker changes the narrative structure of a work. One can use flashbacks, or events could be shown, suggesting the whole story is a dream sequence. Tobias: Dark Hallway, written and directed…
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Kate Winslet Chews Every Scene In HBO’s Smart Deconstruction Of Political Upheaval
The leader of a fictional European country falls apart in HBO’s latest political satire, “The Regime,” premiering on March 3. The network has a long history of deconstructing power on shows like “Veep” and “Succession,” two programs that will undoubtedly…
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‘The Regime’ Review — Kate Winslet Reigns Over HBO’s Scattered Miniseries
The Big Picture Kate Winslet is a standout in HBO's The Regime as Chancellor Elena Vernham, a paranoid and germaphobic ruler. The Regime struggles to strike a balance between its comedic and dramatic beats. Rather than skewer its despicable subjects,…
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Fall of Hammerdome Featured, Reviews Film Threat
A sinister force has waged war with the Dwarven Kingdom in Berdian Torres’ animated short, Fall of Hammerdome. Our tale takes us to the land of Highreigne in the Kingdom of Thrum led by King Theos. One day, communication from…
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Hamlet Featured, Reviews Film Threat
When Roman Polanski made Macbeth for Hugh Hefner, he hired the theater critic Kenneth Tynan as a consultant. Tynan stressed the importance of a young lead because the lack of good parts in the play meant it was usually only staged by…
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Code 8: Part II Review
Summary Stephen Amell and Robbie Amell deliver as two very different characters. The sci-fi movie's visual effects make for exciting action sequences. Code 8: Part II elevates over the original film in all aspects. Stephen and Robbie Amell, the talented…
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Boss of the Toss Featured, Reviews Film Threat
I came into writer-director Chris Harboldt’s Boss of the Toss completely oblivious to the sport of cornhole. Now that I am up to speed, I still struggle to believe it exists. Well, more to the point that it has spent a century…
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Tyler Perry’s Dramatic, Sensual Netflix Thriller Is Overstuffed With Absurdity
Summary Mea Culpa is a poorly written and predictable Tyler Perry film starring Kelly Rowland and Trevante Rhodes. Despite starting as an interesting examination of a struggling marriage, the movie takes a turn for the worse with excessive drama. The…
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‘Spaceman’ Review — Adam Sandler Befriends Giant Spider in Netflix Sci-Fi Film
The Big Picture Sandler's subtle performance and acting with a space spider make Spaceman intriguing. The film struggles to make its multiple threads add up, leaving many characters on Earth underutilized. Johan Renck's directing and Jakob Ihre's cinematography effectively create…
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The Test Featured, Reviews Film Threat
The Test is a snapshot of immigrant life that more or less goes unnoticed. Filmmakers Claudia Myers and Laura Waters Hinson’s short documentary follows Eric Frimpong, a maintenance worker at a large senior living facility, The Goodwin House in Alexandria, Virginia. Frimpong…
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