By Clement Obropta Shazam! (2019) starts in the ’70s with Merlin-esque wizards, mystical Magic 8 Balls, rich kids in limousines and gargoyle incarnations of the seven deadly sins. It only grows more incomprehensible from there. Once it gets to present-day Pennsylvania, Shazam! follows Billy Batson (Asher Angel), a troublesome foster kid abducted by a wizard … Continue reading
By Jake Triola There’s a man and a woman, and they commit a crime, and they run off, and they’re chased, and it’s exciting, and it’s fun, and it’s a race, and it drifts, and it’s cool, and it’s miserable, and it’s dangerous, and it’s classic. Who’s heard this? Fritz Lang, Luchino Visconti, Joseph H. … Continue reading
By Jackson Diianni Forget horror movies. Clean, Shaven (1993) is the scariest movie you’ll ever see. This is the debut film of Lodge Kerrigan, who directed and produced it. The plot follows two characters; a schizophrenic and a policeman. The policeman is tasked with tracking the schizophrenic, who has escaped from a mental institution and … Continue reading
By Jake Triola Not much more can be said about the “aching lushness” of Paweł Pawlikowski’s latest film. I won’t make comparisons to Casablanca (1942). They’re valid, but clearly not the essence of what the filmmaker is going for. But who can really know the intentions of any artist, and why does it matter once … Continue reading
By Brendan McMahan Everything is still awesome. The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part (2019), directed by Mike Mitchell, is emerging as a witty, moving, and solidly entertaining sequel to the beloved first installment. The film picks up five years after the events of The LEGO Movie (2014). The audience has been let in on … Continue reading
By Jackson Diianni The Wrestler (2008) immerses us in the life of Randy “the Ram” Robinson (Mickey Rourke), an aging ex-professional wrestler who has fallen on hard times. Randy seems to have lost the ability to regulate what is healthy for him and he struggles to maintain a meaningful relationship with anyone in his life. … Continue reading
The staff at Filmic Magazine is proud to present its fifth annual Top 10 list! Filmic contributors were asked to vote on their favorite movies of the year and discuss the merits. These are the results. HONORABLE MENTIONS Avengers: Infinity War (Dir. Anthony Russo, Joe Russo) A Quiet Place (Dir. John Krasinski) THE TEN 10. … Continue reading
By Jake Triola John Cassavetes is a filmmaker whose influence is undeniable, not only in the way he “made” movies (as in the ways they were constructed and the methodologies he employed) but in the way he made them. He just made them, and he kept doing so. Over and over. No distribution? No big … Continue reading
By Stephen Shea Serenity (2019) is the latest film from director Steven Knight, the director of Locke (2013) and creator of Peaky Blinders. Serenity follows Matthew McConaughey as Dill, a fisherman with a storied past hiding out in a small fishing town on an isolated island. Dill is quickly approached by his ex-wife played by Anne … Continue reading
By Jackson Diianni Michael Mann’s Thief (1948) begins with a ten-minute scene depicting a bank heist. Frank (James Caan), a master safecracker, breaks into a vault and steals a set of priceless diamonds. He doesn’t trip any alarms, he doesn’t leave any trace. He and his cohorts disappear into the night undetected. Cut to the … Continue reading
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