The shots are unreal. We fly behind and next to a bee in the jungle. We see lust on a young bonobo’s face. We watch lions and hyenas fight over a carcass in the middle of the night. National Geographic’s...
Ancient parasites rise from a small town, taking the most fearful and susceptible hosts. A young filmmaker finds herself as the only one who can sense the possessed resistance before the horror escapes and spreads. [Read the whole post on...
David Bordwell was a teacher who became a friend. He opened my eyes to what cinema actually is. His influence on multiple generations of filmmakers, scholars, critics, and movie buffs is incalculable. David wrote books on aspects of film style...
Richard Lewis was the first comedian I tried to model myself upon. That’s a nice way of saying I straight-up stole his look, vibe, and way of speaking for several years in the late 1980s and early ‘90s. I am...
Ali Abbasi brought her on as a casting director and as fate would have it Zar Amir Ebrahimi would go onto land the role that was originally not meant for her (as a journalist trying to solve serial murders of...
For some viewers, Cillian Murphy’s presence in “Oppenheimer” might have been confusing: I know I’ve seen that guy in something, but what? It’s a credit to the 47-year-old actor that, as in-demand as he is, he remains malleable enough not...
While trying to salvage her career, a disgraced journalist begins investigating a strange conspiracy theory. But as the trail leads uncomfortably close to home, she is left to grapple with the lies at the heart of her own story. ...
The 2024 Academy Awards take place on Sunday, March 10, and as usual there are 15 nominated short films across three categories: animation, documentary, and live action. As I do every year for Hammer to Nail, I watch all of...
Unlike most of the Oscar ceremonies over the last decade, the biggest question we’ll get answered on Sunday, March 10 isn’t what will win Best Picture, because we essentially already know that. Instead, the question is just how dominant an...
After their car breaks down in an eerie small town, a young couple (Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez) are forced to spend the night in a remote cabin. Panic ensues as they are terrorized by three masked strangers who strike...