Review: ‘Cocaine Bear’: High Concept, High Bear… High Art?

Inspired by the real-life urban legend of “Pablo Escobear”– a black bear who died after ingesting 30+ kilograms of cocaine discarded by notorious drug trafficker Andrew C. Thornton in 1985– Cocaine Bear proposes a profound and thought-provoking hypothetical: what would happen if a bear ate 30 kilograms of cocaine… and lived? Opening with an educational Wikipedia citation, the film informs the viewer that black bears are usually nonviolent, nonconfrontational creatures (probably out of some moral obligation to prevent a modern day “Jaws Effect”— Cocaine Bear Effect?) but contrasts their natural disposition with the mind-altering effects of crack cocaine to make the harrowing conclusion that a “Cocaine Bear” (i.e., a bear high on crack cocaine) would be an unstoppable beast, driven by an unadulterated lust for human blood, flesh, and of course… cocaine.

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Review: ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ is Full of Holes

Set in the aftermath of the tumultuous events of 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, the third installment of the Ant-Man franchise, and the beginning of Marvel Studios’ Phase Five, wastes no time getting to the heart of the action, and more importantly, a proper introduction to the new “big bad.” Unfortunately, Phase Five starts not with a bang, but with a mess of characterization, pacing, and green-screen level CGI. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania loses sight of its characters, and in the process delivers a final product devoid of meaningful stakes and filled with lackluster action. 

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Review: ‘Knock at the Cabin’ is a Good Thriller but a Watered-Down Adaptation

M. Night Shyamalan releases are interesting. His early career is lined with amazing films with crazy twists that shift your perspective of the film, and then he released The Last Airbender and a couple other flushers, and his career has been shaky since. A lot of people really liked Split, a solid horror movie with a rising star in Anya Taylor-Joy. Then Glass became the movie people regretted was ever made, and Old was just, it wasn’t great. So, coming into Knock at the Cabin, most had the same coin flip mentality as I did: will this be something great, or will this be something that is simply there? I am here to say, I don’t know. Knock at the Cabin is an interesting film in many respects, yet also a boring film in many other respects.

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Review: ‘Infinity Pool’: A Vacation that Goes off the Deep End

An affinity for the unsettling seemingly runs in the Cronenberg family, and Brandon Cronenberg’s latest work Infinity Pool certainly upholds this legacy. Failing novelist James Foster (Alexander Skarsgård) and his well-off wife Em (Cleopatra Coleman) are vacationing at a high-end resort located on a developing island country when they meet the mysterious Gabi (Mia Goth) and Alban Bauer (Jalil Lespert). The Bauers charm the Fosters into venturing outside of the resort grounds for some sightseeing in the countryside, off limits due to strict— and violent— government regulations. After a reckless mistake finds the couple in trouble with the law, they discover the depraved manner in which justice is served in this country. 

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Review: ‘Plane’ Didn’t Land

In today’s day and age, big budget action films dominate the box office. Wowing the audience with violence, CGI, and outlandish heroic feats, they seem to always bring in raving reviews and satiate the viewers need for a just resolution. But in Plane, one doesn’t need to be an expert to see that in writing this film doesn’t satisfy.

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Review: ‘M3GAN’ Brings Fun Back to the Movies

Recently it’s felt like a lot of movies don’t know how to have fun anymore, they’re either too serious or take on a self-aware tone when dealing with any dramatic or over the top elements.  M3GAN, directed by Gerard Johnstone, is a step forward towards creating films that can be over the top and crazy.  Yet, these films totally embrace that and don’t feel the need to make it more than it is, they’re okay with it just being a silly movie.  A summation of the plot reveals how absurd this film really is.  M3GAN tells the story of an orphaned child named Cady (Violet McGraw) who becomes attached to a new type of doll which her adoptive Aunt Gemma (Allison Williams) gifts her, M3GAN.  She is a robot that can perfectly fill the place of a human friend.  Things go awry though when M3GAN goes too far in her defensive and caring nature of Cady and people get hurt. 

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