The Cinematic Review-verse

Poster of 'Sinners.' Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.   'Sinners' was not your typical Southern period drama. That's because it included vampires on the hunt in 1930s Mississippi while Michael B. Jordan ran a juke joint whose set design reminded me of 'The Color Purple' (1985). Despite the horror scenes throwing me off, I enjoyed the powerful performances of Jordan and Miles Caton and the powerful direction by Ryan Coogler. Besides those two things, I really enjoyed the Southern blues soundtrack. I first learned about the connection between the blues and African Americans back in college, and it felt great to see some black pride in the music of a dark time. Taking place in 1932 in Mississippi, twin brothers Smoke and Stack Moore, played by Jordan in dual roles, are opening their own juke joint with money stolen from gangsters. They recruit their cousin Sammie, played by Caton, to play, and pianist Delta Slim, played by Delroy Lindo, as a performer. Their ...

Hell of a Summer poster. Courtesy of 30West. On Friday, April 4, 2025, I witnessed Finn Wolfhard and  Billy Bryk 's directing debut of Hell of a Summer . The cast was led by Fred Hechinger, who played the " camp leader " of Camp Pineway and tried to keep his younger counselors safe from a serial killer who crashed the bonfire. There were dark moments from the killings to the offbeat humor of the younger cast, but Hell of a Summer  was a good movie with fun, sentimental moments between the cast, Wolfhard's assembling of sound and production designers, songs from bands such as The Turtles or The Animals , and throwback to old-timey things such as the camp itself with its arts and crafts center or it's non-working landline phone. Fred Hechinger played Jason, a 24-year-old man who returned to his childhood summer camp, Camp Pineway, as head counselor. His sweet, optimistic nature was not to be deterred by his age, the offbeat humor of his mentees--be it a goth, vegan...

Michael Keaton returns as the lead in Tim Burton's 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.' Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures. Despite some good undead makeup and laughs brought back by returning Michael Keaton , Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was not a sequel that needed to happen. Most of the cast was funny and goodhearted, the new addition Willem Dafoe, in particular, but the problems were Beetlejuice being stuck in his old ways instead of evolving, and the plot was confusing. It wasn't better than the first film. Taking place almost 40 years after the original Beetlejuice, a now-grown Lydia Deetz (played by Winona Ryder ) has a daughter, Astrid, played by Jenna Ortega , Wednesday . And though not as big with the undead as in her teenage years, she is still haunted by Beetlejuice, played by Keaton. And Beetlejuice has his own hauntings to deal with now that a soul-sucking ghost, played by Monica Bellucci, has a bone to pick with him. Catherine O'Hara, Jenna Ortega, Winona Ryder, ...

  Hi, everyone. Hope you enjoyed your weekend. I watched Lisa Frankenstein today. In it, Kathryn Newton from Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania plays a high school senior who bonds with Cole Sprouse playing a dead guy brought back to life in a Frankenstein esque manner. Though there were some good moments between Newton’s 80s gothic fashion sense, Sprouse’s funny struggles at re-adapting to humanity, and some new wave, pop or soft-rock music, I give the film a 5.5/10. That’s because I didn’t like Sprouse’s character being silent and turning into some crazed psycho killer-type boyfriend. I’d have liked it better if Sprouse got to be shared with Newton’s school and got to restart his life. Seemed like more horror than comedy if you ask me, and not the kind that would give you a rush like The Beekeeper or something. With respect to the cast and crew, do something different next time, or show what footage got cut. As for the audience, I don’t recommend the movie. But I am open to co...