Boston Hassle - There Were No Gods Left (Page 6)

There Were No Gods Left

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Boston Hassle

A collection of 167 posts

The Many Faces of Amsterdam

The Many Faces of Amsterdam

David O. Russell’s new film is kind of like a moralizing version of the great political thriller The Parallax View with the quips of Bullet Train. [And] I suspect that sounds like an ill-advised way to spend an evening.

Run Away from The Greatest Beer Run Ever

Run Away from The Greatest Beer Run Ever

In Farrelly’s political perspective, politics is something lighter, almost unimportant, and he goes to great lengths to purge real political gravity from his films.

Don't Miss Out on the Restored Version of Drunken Master II (The Legend of Drunken Master)

Don't Miss Out on the Restored Version of Drunken Master II (The Legend of Drunken Master)

It’d be a mistake of a lifetime to miss out on quite possibly your only chance to ever see this film on the big screen.

'Cobra' and Its Many Twists

'Cobra' and Its Many Twists

Even with the subtitle to this review, I’m not sure it’s possible to be fully prepared for the sheer number of haphazard and clunky twists in R. Ajay Gnanamuthu’s Cobra, a globe-trotting spy movie about a genius mathematician turned into an unwitting heterodox assassin (Madiazhagan “Madhi,” played

'Seoul Vibe': Takes Inspiration in 'Extreme Job' and 'Baby Driver'

'Seoul Vibe': Takes Inspiration in 'Extreme Job' and 'Baby Driver'

Unfortunately, Seoul Vibe’s action isn’t as slick as Baby Driver; nor is it as funny as Extreme Job.

'Beast' Shows Up Shy of Canon

'Beast' Shows Up Shy of Canon

The most realistically rendered animals since 2019’s Lion King.

'Carter' is a Visceral Trainwreck

'Carter' is a Visceral Trainwreck

Basically 'The Bourne Identity' meets 'Hardcore Henry' directed by a would-be Michael Bay

'Luck' and the Unlucky Trend

'Luck' and the Unlucky Trend

The last three films I watched, in order, would be Bullet Train (2022), Final Destination (2000), and Luck (2022). By happy coincidence, all three concern the theme of luck, or more accurately, bad luck, from a similar perspective: it’s just random happenstance and our interpretation of the happenstance that

Bullet Train At Least Has a Train

Bullet Train At Least Has a Train

The world is a better place every time a new train movie graces a multiplex for the first time. That’s a hill I’m comfortable dying on. And despite all efforts to undermine this by stunt person turned director David Leitch, this is still largely true for Bullet Train.

Netflix's First Blockbuster in 'The Gray Man'

Netflix's First Blockbuster in 'The Gray Man'

The word “blockbuster” etymologically comes from news reporting of the allied bombs rained on fascist Italy. They demolished entire blocks. Eventually, it became shorthand for something shocking—and then about a decade later, to specifically designate movies of a broad appeal and massive cultural impact. Blockbusters, in the modern sense

'The Sea Beast' doesn't live up to its hype

'The Sea Beast' doesn't live up to its hype

In a society in which Minions: The Rise of Gru has taken over the youngest minds while simultaneously managing to somehow make Twitter a worse place, the divide of quality in kids’ movies becomes all too clear. With the decline of Pixar and the relatively stagnant Dreamworks Studio, Laika Studios

'The Beguiled' meets '10 Cloverfield Lane' in Kelsey Egan's 'Glasshouse'

'The Beguiled' meets '10 Cloverfield Lane' in Kelsey Egan's 'Glasshouse'

The late Victorian glass structure of the Pearson Conservatory (built in 1882) stamps the landscape of the South African Eastern Cape with a reminder of British colonialism—and it makes one magnificent main set location for writer-director Kelsey Egan’s Glasshouse. In fact, it’s the film’s only location.

Special Effects Cinema at Its Finest: S.S. Rajamouli and RRR

Special Effects Cinema at Its Finest: S.S. Rajamouli and RRR

In his review of Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith (2005), Roger Ebert wrote with his usual eloquence, “special effects should be judged not by their complexity but by the degree that they stimulate the imagination.” This lesson was neglected, discarded, or perhaps never learned by many of

Hustle, the Best Sports Movie Based in Philly?

Hustle, the Best Sports Movie Based in Philly?

Like most teenage boys, my first occupational dream was athletic: professional hockey player. Once I realized my physique had different ideas, I entertained a less common dream: that of an amateur scout. I even tried learning Swedish. There’s something so pure and simple about scouting: watching the sport you

Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Magical Run and The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972)

Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Magical Run and The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972)

From 1971 to 1975, Rainer Werner Fassbinder directed 18 films or mini-series. The titles include Beware of a Holy Whore (1971), The Merchant of Four Seasons (1972), World on a Wire (1973), Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974), and The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972). Fassbinder’s four

Top Gun: Maverick, the Best Looking Blockbuster of 2022 ...So Far

Top Gun: Maverick, the Best Looking Blockbuster of 2022 ...So Far

The best movie I’ve seen so far this year with a budget north of 100 million.

Eros and Near Dark

Eros and Near Dark

Sex and the social bonds between humans aren’t one and the same, but they both reflect the “creative impulse.” It’s in this sense that Near Dark is erotic cinema.

Boston Turkish Film Festival Review: Anatolian Leopard

Boston Turkish Film Festival Review: Anatolian Leopard

With a premise that promises sadness, Anatolian Leopard delivers. A zoo in Ankara, Turkey on the verge of being privatized and transformed into an amusement park named “Aladdin’s Magic Lamp” by Saudi Arabian business magnates loses its endangered Anatolian leopard to a mundane illness. Aging zoo director Fikret (Uğur

Review: Yaksha: Ruthless Operations (2022) dir. Na Hyun

Review: Yaksha: Ruthless Operations (2022) dir. Na Hyun

The city of Shenyang in Northeast China sits on the border of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea—and as the largest city in the region bordering the world’s most elusive country, it serves as the mingling and work hub for the world’s spies. At least, that’

Buddhism, Christianity, and a New Filmic Grammar in The Sky Is Everywhere

Buddhism, Christianity, and a New Filmic Grammar in The Sky Is Everywhere

There are few more complete stylists working in the English language.

Review: Dog (2022) dir. Channing Tatum and Reid Carolin

Review: Dog (2022) dir. Channing Tatum and Reid Carolin

The buddy-dog road trip movie sounds about as generic and Disneyfied as just about any genre can be. And the fact that Channing Tatum’s Dog is too mature—in comedic material if not always in theme—to completely fit into this box of expectations is probably the best thing

Review: Don't Look Up (2021) dir. Adam McKay

Review: Don't Look Up (2021) dir. Adam McKay

When 12 soccer players from Thailand were trapped in a cave in July of 2018, billionaire Elon Musk live-tweeted his company’s efforts to build two escape devices: a slide and a submarine-like pod. The soccer players were rescued without the help of the South African billionaire, and he appeared

A Misunderstood Masterpiece: CHUNGKING EXPRESS

A Misunderstood Masterpiece: CHUNGKING EXPRESS

Wong Kar-wai is one of the best filmmakers from one of the most significant film movements, the Hong Kong New Wave. I’d argue he is one of the best filmmakers, full stop without any necessary qualifications. And, in my opinion, Chungking Express is his best film. Supposing one plus

No Kings in King Richard

No Kings in King Richard

The critically beloved Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) wandered from its most interesting subject, Freddie Mercury (Rami Malek), to re-frame the success of Queen through the surviving members of the band. At times, the movie’s very purpose seemed to be to set the record straight on who wrote what song, whose

Rebecca Hall's Directorial Debut in Passing

Rebecca Hall's Directorial Debut in Passing

Based on Nella Larsen’s 1929 novel, Passing, notable actor Rebecca Hall makes her directorial debut with a film whose existence feels improbable if not for Netflix: an earnest black and white film about Black women “passing” as white in a 4:3 aspect ratio with a forceful cast. With