REVIEW: Annabelle Comes Home [2019]

Miss me? After an excitingly popular debut during The Conjuring‘s prologue, the creepily revamped Annabelle doll (its real-life counterpart was actually a Raggedy Anne) earned the title role in the first spin-off of this ever-growing horror universe. That installment left much to be desired with screenwriter Gary Dauberman eventually redeeming himself three years later on Annabelle: Creation thanks in part to director David F. Sandberg. You might assume this demonic vessel would then be left alone since its tragic trajectory had now been fully drawn from the home of its…

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REVIEW: Sparkle [2012]

“You snuck out of the house for less” I can’t wait for the Director’s Cut. No, not Criterion’s much ballyhooed 216-minute edit of Michael Cimino‘s Heaven’s Gate. I’m talking about Salim Akil‘s Sparkle. I need to try and piece together the gaps leading towards its imploded Motown trio’s back-up singer earning a sold out first ever solo show with full orchestra and gospel choir after barely receiving two minutes of unsolicited time from the record executive who already dropped her once. I don’t care if her voice is like listening…

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REVIEW: The Deer Hunter [1978]

“One shot” Michael Cimino’s masterpiece The Deer Hunter is one of the greatest films ever made. Concerning a group of steel worker friends in Pennsylvania, the movie shows us the comradery and good natured fun they enjoy together leading up to their departure for Vietnam. We open on the day of Stevie’s (John Savage) wedding, a joyous time before the hell that will soon swallow them whole. A very traditional Russian ceremony leads into a raucous reception at a friend’s bar (George Dzundza), where at its conclusion Robert De Niro’s…

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