From the jump, The Napa Boys feels like it starts halfway through its own mythology. Not in a clever mystery box way, but in a what did I miss and was I supposed to already love these people kind of way. The movie drops you into wine country with zero patience for orientation, which is either part of the joke or a dare to the audience to catch up or get out of the way.
Read MoreClueless Energy, Earnest Heart: The Way Things Used 2 B
The Way Things Used 2 B wears its heart on its low-rise jeans. Written and directed by Kurstin Moser and Ciara Naughton, the short comedy is a clear love letter to early-2000s rom-coms, leaning hard into nostalgia, character-driven humor, and the comforting predictability of the genre. For anyone who grew up dreaming of kissing Jude Law in a rainy British village or riding off into the sunset with Matthew McConaughey, this one knows exactly who it’s playing to.
Read MoreThe Moment Is a Pop Star Panic Attack, and Charli XCX Owns Every Second
Before getting into The Moment, I have to say this upfront. I saw Charli XCX back in 2013 at Filter Magazine’s Showdown at Cedar Street during SXSW. Look at that lineup and tell me that was not an all-timer.
Read MoreGore Verbinski Comes Back Swinging With a Batshit, Brilliant Time-Loop Nightmare
There is a moment early in Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die where Sam Rockwell barrels through an 11-page monologue, soaked in sweat, paranoia, grief, and caffeine, and you either buy in completely, or you check out forever. Gore Verbinski knows this. The film knows this. It dares you to get on board, and once you do, it never looks back.
Read MoreBikini Nurses and the Art of Beautiful Chaos
At a glance, Bikini Nurses sounds like pure grindhouse silliness. Give it a few minutes, though, and it quickly reveals itself as something far stranger, warmer, and more self-aware than the title lets on. Directed by Jamie Grefe, this cult comedy uses exploitation aesthetics as a Trojan horse for a surprisingly sincere story about art, memory, love, and holding onto the places that give life meaning.
Read MoreCabins, Chaos, and End Times Comedy: Weekend at the End of the World Is Dumb Fun With a Dragging Pulse
Some movies aim for reinvention. Weekend at the End of the World just wants to throw you into the woods, crank up the chaos, and see if you laugh before the world ends. Directed by Gille Klabin, best known for The Wave, Weekend at the End of the World is a horror-comedy that wears its influences proudly.
Read MoreLove, Calculated and Complicated: Materialists Proves Romance Is Never Clean
When Materialists arrived, it came with marketing that suggested a slick, modern rom-com. What it delivered was something far more interesting. This was a romantic dramedy with bite, emotional messiness, and a lot on its mind.
Read MoreFrom Fine to Frenzied Perfection: Re-Animator Lives Again
There was a time when Re-Animator didn’t fully click for me. I thought it was good, fun even, but it didn’t immediately register as the genre-defining classic so many swore by. That changed with repeat viewings.
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