The Circle of Life Featured, Reviews Film Threat
Art is a reflection of life, and that’s true for Shaily Sanghvi’s short film, Pirouette: The Circle of Life. Pirouette is a poem…a reflection on the theme of finding one’s purpose in life. The short opens with a ballet dancer…
Read more
A Compassionate Spy Featured, Reviews Film Threat
NOW IN THEATERS! In the wake of Nolan’s sweeping 3-hour political epic Oppenheimer, writer-director Steve James has produced a modest documentary that will serve as an unofficial companion piece. In 1953, J. Robert Oppenheimer was dragged before the Atomic Commission, overseen…
Read more
Attack of the Swole People Featured, Reviews Film Threat
Director Elijah Broughton and screenwriter Sean Furey bring some sci-fi fun with their alien invasion short film, Attack of the Swole People. A government Agent (Rachel Noble) and her Rookie partner (Ian Kramer) are called to investigate the mysterious death of…
Read more
Late Checkout Featured, Reviews Film Threat
The stripped-down retro slasher Late Checkout, from director Josh Graves, peels off the needless fat and gets straight to the bloody core. The screenplay, written by Graves and Molly Souza, wears its minimalist strategy on its cut-off sleeve. Every move is…
Read more
What Did Deborah Do? Featured, Reviews Film Threat
Writer-director Julius Charles Ritter’s feature, What Did Deborah Do?, is one of those films where I’m still wrestling with the plot even now as I write this review. Is this a good thing? I think so. The film opens with the…
Read more
Quantum Cowboys Featured, Reviews Film Threat
PORTLAND FESTIVAL OF CINEMA, ANIMATION & TECHNOLOGY 2023 REVIEW! The frontiers of your imagination will expand into a horizon of unseen wonders in director/co-writer Geoff Marslett and co-writer Howe Gelb’s animated trippy time travel western Quantum Cowboys. Using rotoscope animation…
Read more
August at Twenty-two Featured, Reviews Film Threat
In the wake of the WGA and SAG strikes, I’d like to say this is a wonderful time for non-union indie films to flourish and thrive. 1960, when the last strike of this kind took place, was the advent of…
Read more
Seavenge Featured, Reviews Film Threat
After the release of Jaws into theaters nearly 50 years ago, the onslaught of sharks on the silver screen has been surging and steady. That wave of shark flicks continues to crash onto feature-length tides, both indie and big-budget, such as House Shark and The…
Read more
What Comes Around Review: A Tense Thriller of Love and Deception
What Comes Around is an immersive thriller that takes audiences on a rollercoaster ride of emotions. The film explores the complexities of a young love affair that gradually morphs into a menacing game of cat and mouse, leaving the audience…
Read more
The Mistress Featured, Reviews Film Threat
Greg Pritikin has come a long way since his early comedies, including the underrated Dummy. The writer-director now enters horror territory with The Mistress. Starring a cast of up-and-comers including John Magaro, Kat Cunning, and Chasten Harmon, the movie does not lack…
Read more
Ben Wheatley’s Sequel Is A Big, Amateurish Mess
Ben Wheatley undoubtedly blew some cinephile minds a few years ago when he was announced as the director of “Meg 2: The Trench,” a follow-up to 2018’s fun-enough August blockbuster “The Meg.” Turns out Wheatley’s attempt at being a popcorn…
Read more
Wreck Room Featured, Reviews Film Threat
Nothing beats a trip around the whipping post in Canadian punk director Becca Kozak’s short Wreck Room. Framed with X-Ray Spex playing “Oh Bondage Up Yours” in the background, we see a girl (Chloe MacLeod) grabbed off the street by a…
Read more