Is there a long-running blockbuster movie franchise that is more dependably good than the Mission Impossible films with Tom Cruise? I don’t think there is.
Author: Chris Burlingame
Portrait of the Explorer as an Old Fart
It’s been fifteen years since Harrison Ford donned his famous fedora atop Indiana Jones’s head. But! The iconic archaeologist is back for what is likely a final exploration.
Fast X: Infinity War?
Fast X is the tenth F&F movie and it’s reported to be the penultimate in the franchise. Number eleven will be the final chapter. Or maybe not. How many farewell tours has KISS embarked on? Either way, Fast X is the first half of what will likely be a film epic. In 2025, we’ll see things blow up in ways people in 2023 never dreamed of. Consider it: Fast and the Furious: Infinity War.
SIFF interview: Documentary filmmaker Penny Lane is a Good Samaritan
I believe most writers, especially those of us who cover the arts, have a small “dream interview” list, people that we’d love to talk to, should the stars align. High on my shortlist for about a decade has been documentarian Penny Lane. She’s directed some of the most unique and memorable documentaries in recent years, full of vivid characters. Some of her most notable films include Our Nixon, Nuts!, Hail Satan?, and Listening to Kenny G. She’s like a Gen X Errol Morris and she’s amazing.
SIFF 2023: Shout at the devil with Even Hell Has Its Heroes and Satan Wants You
Short reviews of two documentaries: Even Hell Has Its Heroes, about the NW rock band Earth, and Satan Wants You about the Canadian roots of the Satanic panic.
SIFF 2023: NW Connections: Poets and Puns
Two local documentaries, both making their world premieres at SIFF, are reviewed (and recommended!).
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret is a wonderful adaptation of a remarkable book
When I first learned that a movie for the Judy Blume classic novel of adolescent angst Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, I couldn’t help but feel cynical. It’s hard not to be considering how many great books I cherish have been turned into forgettable adaptations over the past few years. It brings me great joy to report back that the new film adaptation of Margaret is…quite good.
Judy Blume Forever is a loving tribute to one of the world’s most beloved authors
Judy Blume is such a wonderful subject for a documentary it’s almost a surprise that we’re just getting a doc about her life now. A career-spanning film about Ms. Blume’s life is long overdue. Besides being an almost-universally beloved author who has more people that confess to her (mostly adolescents) than the Pope, she just radiates warmth.
The Broken Lizard team tries to tell the story of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I don’t think they read the book
In this telling from the Broken Lizard team (Super Troopers, Club Dread), the time is 1186 France and Quasimodo (Steve Lemme) makes torture devices. He’s a loveable, harmless, area man who builds torture devices for a living. There’s a rivalry between the power-hungry King Guy (Jay Chandrasekhar) and the power-hungry Pope Cornelius (Paul Soter). From what I can tell, France has never had a King Guy and Pope Cornelius reigned from 251 to 253 AD.
I saw Renfield so you don’t have to
To its credit, Renfield doesn’t take itself seriously for even a moment. That’s usually fine but the jokes and gags here fell flat almost 100% of the time. I wish there was a sense of cleverness to the humor, but there just isn’t. The acting (save for Cage) is unconvincing and the action scenes are campy (in a bad way).