Altered (2006)
Dec 21, 2007Captured Alien
A fine film from The Blair Witch Project co-director Eduardo Sanchez about the tensions among a group of friends who hold a captured alien in their garage that then begins to affect them
Brad William Henke
Hollywoodland (2006)
Feb 26, 2007The Death of TV Superman George Reeves/True Crime
A film based around the suicide of tv's Superman George Reeves, questioning whether it was a murder. The details are discussed in depth without ever arriving at a solution, while the casting adds up to an absorbing mystery
The Frozen Ground (2013)
Nov 23, 2022True-Life Serial Killer
A film based on true-life serial killer Robert Hansen who would fly girls out into the Alaskan wilderness and then hunt them. Nicolas Cage is the dogged detective up against John Cusack as the killer
Pee-Wee’s Big Holiday (2016)
May 7, 2016Overgrown Adolescent's Nonsense Adventures
Pee-Wee Herman is a deliberately annoying character that is either adored or intensely loathed by audiences. This third film closely follows the structure of the first film with Pee-Wee in a series of nonsense adventures on a cross-country journey
Split (2017)
Feb 4, 2017Split-Personality Psycho
M. Night Shyamalan's name took a nosedive throughout most of the 2000s (although I am prepared to defend him) but he received some of his best notices in years with his collaborations for Blumhouse, This split personality thriller, anchored by a tour-de-force performance(s) from James McAvoy, continues the upward trend
Bright (2017)
Jan 1, 2018Alternate Present Where Fantasy Creatures and Humans Coexist
Set in an alternate version of the present where fantasy creatures – orcs, elves, fairies – live alongside humans, this comes with a cleverness, while being played as a buddy cop drama that anchors it with a realism
The Tank (2017)
Feb 7, 2019NASA Environmental Habitat Drama
Thriller set around a NASA habitat built for future Mars exploration in the Arctic where the team is torn apart by the isolation and mental instability of team members. There is nothing here that holds you particularly gripped.
Wounds (2019)
Apr 26, 2021Mysterious Cellphone Exerts Malevolent Influence
Iranian director Babak Anvari impressed with Under the Shadows. This is his follow-up where barman Armie Hammer’s life is turned upside down after he picks up a sinister cellphone
The Stand (2020-2021)
Mar 5, 2021Showdown Between the Forces of Good and Evil After the Collapse of Civilisation/Stephen King Adaptation
The Stand is in my opinion Stephen King’s greatest book. The question is whether this new mini-series version will improve on the laughably failed 1994 version