The Bikeriders

The Bikeriders

The young woman recalls her experiences with a Chicago area motorcycle club in The Bikeriders. In 1973, Kathy Bauer (Jodie Comer) gives an interview to Danny Lyon (Mike Faist), about what happened to the Chicago-based Vandals Motorcycle Club, which Lyons previously followed as a young photographer. Kathy first encountered the club, founded by Johnny Davis…

Featured image for review of West Side Story on Sean Kelly on Movies

West Side Story (2021)

Steven Spielberg directs a new big-screen adaptation of the acclaimed stage musical with West Side Story. In 1957 Manhattan, the street gangs of the caucasian Jets and Puerto Rican Sharks fight for control of San Juan Hill on Manhattan’s West Side. The gang leaders of Riff (Mike Faist) and Bernardo (David Alvarez) are ready to…

Trouble

Trouble

A filmmaker seeks to reconnect with her estranged Northern Irish father in Trouble. Mariah Garnett travels to Vienna to meet her father David, who she hasn’t seen since she was two years old. Growing up in Belfast at the height of The Troubles, David was the subject of a 1971 BBC news story, solely for…

Free Fire

Free Fire

A arms deal devolves into a shootout in Free Fire. IRA members Chris (Cillian Murphy) and Frank (Michael Smiley) arrive at a warehouse in 1978 Boston to perform an arms deal, arranged by their intermediary Justine (Brie Larson). They are soon met by representative Ord (Armie Hammer), who leads them to conduct business with South African…

The Hateful Eight

The Hateful Eight

Note: This review is for the 187 minute 70mm roadshow cut of the film Quentin Tarantino returns with the snowbound Western The Hateful Eight. Stuck in a blizzard, bounty hunter Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson) hitches a ride with “The Hangman” John Ruth (Kurt Russell), who is heading into the town of Red Rock to deliver…

Yakuza Apocalypse

Yakuza Apocalypse

Takashi Miike gets foolish in the action-comedy Yakuza Apocalypse. When vampire Yakuza boss Kamiura (Lily Franky) is taken out by an unusual syndicate, his young protegé Kagayama (Hayato Ichihara) inherits his boss’ vampire powers. Creating a gang of vampire Yakuza out of the local citizens, Kagayama prepares to battle the evil syndicate, which includes a…

Mugshot

Mugshot

Originating after the invention of the daguerreotype in the 19th century, mugshots were originally intended to keep track of criminals.  However, aside from their use in law enforcement, they are considered by many to be a form of entertainment.  In addition, these photographs can be used as a visual history of the time period they…

Attack the Block

Attack the Block

Attack the Block is a British sci-fi/horror/comedy that has been getting a lot of buzz for the past few month and it finally received a limited North American release. The film has simple enough plot – a group of alien creatures attack a group of hoodlums within a south-London apartment block.  However, there is something with…

Gran Torino

Gran Torino

The catching up on late-2008 films continues with this film, which I saw last night. If it is true that this film will be Clint Eastwood‘s final acting role, I can say that he went out with a bang. In this film, Eastwood channels the spirit of Dirty Harry as a grumpy, old racist man,…