A love story about loss and trauma wrapped in pseudo-horror. — People are judgmental. They cheer for a talented 29-year-old, a rapidly emerging storyteller, but hate him for not delivering near-perfect movies all the time. They love an eerie drama filled with ghosts but hate a love story about trauma and loss for not being the same. …

How the powerhouse urban western put Sly back in the game. — After Rambo, First Blood, Sylvester Stallone was always trying to be this big, masculine hero on the screen. In the 80s and 90s, he was more of an athlete than an actor, representing a one-man army, tough and resourceful, unable to die by mortal human hands. The characters he played…

‘Big Time Adolescence’ is a cautionary tale about boys and men. — Watching Hulu’s Big Time Adolescence the other night reminded me of a short period of my teenage life when I used to hang out with guys who consumed and sold drugs. The movie is about a 16-year-old teenager Monroe (Griffin Gluck) who befriends his older sister’s college dropout ex-boyfriend Zeke…

Depicting the ugliness of death and the beauty of friendship. — In thirty-one years, I had my own encounters with death. I worked one year in an NHS hospital, at the A&E unit, as a porter. I’ve seen people in pain and agony, and I’ve seen people die. …

Unconditional love is the magic dust of hypocrites — I used to be obsessive about being right. I fought barren, long, and irrelevant arguments for momentary satisfaction. I wanted the truth to come out — have my ex say that I wasn’t as important as anyone else in her life — without thinking of repercussions. Which shattered my heart…

He’s a solid actor when he wants to be. — Jean-Claude Van Damme might have been a bit of an egomaniac throughout his career — just ask the legendary John Woo, who worked with him in his prime. But he was never a talentless hack. Van Damme sold muscles and karate kicks rather than acting performances but wasn’t a bad…

Mourning is to love someone eternally — For most of us, grief is a quiet act; it’s like a process of soundless pictures popping up in our minds. With it, there comes a heavy, almost palpable, silence that whispers: “you’re alone.” No conversations and no laughter. When that silence becomes your company on most days, you know…

Charlie Hunnam and Jack O’Connell fill Max Winkler’s latest film with heart. — I used to know guys who would kill for each other. They weren’t violent by nature but stood up for one another when needed to. The brief story I’m about to tell you happened a long time ago. After an altercation in a club, someone smashed a beer bottle on…

Reminiscing with a tremendously failed horror is fun sometimes. — I had this idea the other night at 11:32 PM to re-watch “Thir13en Ghosts”. So I did what every decent cinephile would do and looked it up to put my virtual hands on it quickly. You see, back in 2001, my little puberty brain didn’t know anything about critics and…

Sofia Coppola goes easy on the brain in her latest film — luckily. — I never liked Sofia Coppola’s widely celebrated Lost in Translation. I always thought it’s a pretentious intellectual masturbation. The kind of film you would expect from a legendary director’s daughter. But, I like to give second chances, so seven years later, I watched Somewhere with the criminally underrated Stephen Dorff…

Thomas Bezucha’s neo-western revises conventional roles. — Ever since I’ve seen Kevin Costner’s epic western Dances With Wolves as a kid, I enjoy watching him play strong and stoic gunslingers. These are roles that best suit him, but more importantly, he performs them with gravitas. He delivers authenticity that comes through the screen every single time. …

The movie ‘Relic’ explores the darkness of a cruel mental illness. — My best friend’s grandma died recently. She was battling with dementia for a year or two. She forgot things. Once, she thought that his grandson was his son. She often asked about someone’s whereabouts that she saw five minutes ago in the kitchen. She started wandering off. Eventually, she was…

Ron Howard’s 1991 action drama about firefighters still appeals to men. — There are so many stories in Ron Howard’s 1991 movie, Backdraft. There is the main one about two brothers who follow their late dad’s footsteps to become a ballsy firefighter. There is the story of the Engine 17 Chicago Fire Department, a loyal and tenacious crew of great firemen. There…

Jet Li used to be my number two Jackie Chan. — Jet Li’s first wave of non-Chinese movies wasn’t all that great, but I loved all of them as a kid. After watching one, I used to kick the shit out of the couch’s pillows. No object was safe in our living room. Broken windows, scratches on the TV screen, faded…

The underrated hidden gems of the year — This year we were short on blockbusters as cinema was canceled along with our holiday plans. However, being at home more than we wanted to, it opened up the possibilities to check out the film supply of some new and old streaming services. …