Citizens of CineDump, we stand at the brink of a new decade, and, darlings, things are grim. But instead of losing hair and sleepover Q-Anon, anti-vaxers, Coronavirus, and everything else threatening to make this the second dark(er) age, let’s focus on what brings us all together--and tears us apart. That’s right--I’m talking about love, sweet love, but also, and perhaps more importantly, love, sick love.
Read MoreHer Name Was Christa (2020)
I hate to say it, but this movie has been sitting on my desk for about a month. James L. Edwards, the writer and director, personally delivered it to me, and honestly, I think that was part of the reason why it got thrown to the bottom of the stack. You see, I get shit sent to me all the time, and when a director reaches out the way that James did, it isn’t always a good sign.
Read MoreTeacher Shortage (2020)
From Troy Escamilla, the director of Party Night and Mrs. Claus, comes a new slasher called Teacher Shortage. I’ve been curious about this one for a bit, as I can remember when this went into production, and full disclosure, I know a few people that worked on the film. But regardless of my loose ties to the project, I’m here to tell you like it is… or isn’t.
Read MoreColor Out of Space (2019)
Filmmaker Richard Stanley has been largely absent from cinemas for decades now. His features Hardware and Dust Devil, both of which he wrote and directed, seemed to announce the arrival of an exciting new genre auteur. However, disaster struck on the problematic shoot for 1996’s The Island of Dr. Moreau.
Read MoreJudgement Night (1993) #RetroReview
Stephen Hopkins’ Judgement Night didn’t make much of a splash when it debuted in October of ’93, except with its soundtrack, which consisted solely of collaborations between hip hop and rock acts. However, in recent years, it seems to have gained a bit of a cult following. Last night, I threw on the Blu-ray after having not seen the film in at least twenty years.
Read MoreVHYes (2019)
VHYES, debuting this week in a limited release, takes the found footage genre and filters it through a quirky, off-kilter, Adult Swim-esque approach. Director Jack Henry Robbins uses highly fractured narratives to create a sort of collage that trades on nostalgia but is decidedly postmodern and faintly satirical. It’s high concept stuff but the director, his cowriter Nunzio Randazzo, and co-creator Nate Gold weave together some bizarre threads into a satisfying conclusion.
Read MoreJoker (2019)
Seasoned comic readers may remember DC Comics’ Elseworlds imprint, described as being stories where “…super-heroes are taken from their usual settings and put into strange times and places - some that have existed, and others that can't, couldn't or shouldn't exist. The result is stories that make characters who are as familiar as yesterday seem as fresh as tomorrow.” Angry, but artful, and featuring a riveting lead performance, Todd Phillips’ Joker again shows the elasticity of the superhero genre.
Read MoreRiki-Oh: The Story of Ricky (1991) #RetroReview
Gloriously over the top and magnificently gory, writer/director Ngai Choi Lam’s Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky from 1991 is one gonzo fun martial arts prison flick. A Hong Kong production that adapts the Japanese manga by Tetsuya Saruwatari and Masahiko Takajo, this film overcomes budgetary limitations with high-flying kung fu action and gruesome, if fairly unrealistic, effects work. In the far-flung dystopian future of 2001, the government has privatized everything, including prisons.
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