Mae Abdulbaki

1 month ago | screenrant.com | Mae Abdulbaki

The true crime genre is filled with a plethora of movies and TV shows (mostly the latter) — from docuseries to fictionalized takes of true stories, like Paramount+’s new series Happy Face, which follows the titular Happy Face Killer, aka Keith Jesperson (Dennis Quaid), and his daughter Melissa (Annaleigh Ashford). The eight-episode series, which was screened for review, offers a semi-scathing look at the glamorization of serial killers by underscoring the effect they have on those around them.

1 month ago | screenrant.com | Mae Abdulbaki

The Surrender Follow Followed Link copied to clipboard Sign in to your ScreenRant account The Surrender is a journey. It instantly drew me into the story as it centered on a mother-daughter relationship that was fraught long before the patriarch’s final days, the reason Megan (Colby Minifie) returns to her childhood home. Writer-director Julia Max creates a tense atmosphere that is ripe with conflict. There are supernatural elements to the story that bring the third act to its climax but the...

1 month ago | screenrant.com | Mae Abdulbaki

Ash Follow Followed Link copied to clipboard Sign in to your ScreenRant account Ash is unsettling, I’ll give it that much. Flying Lotus, who directed the film, knows how to set the tone for what’s to come and I was instantly drawn into the mystery. Visually, the film is wondrous yet creepy and Eiza Gonzalez and Aaron Paul are strong performers. Unfortunately, this is a situation where the script from Jonny Remmler doesn’t rise far beyond its intriguing premise, favoring the mystery over its...

1 month ago | screenrant.com | Mae Abdulbaki

Black Bag Follow Followed Link copied to clipboard Sign in to your ScreenRant account One of the most compelling elements of any film is the interpersonal relationships and the dynamics that can drive or destroy the narrative. Spy thrillers are typically associated with a lot of action — like James Bond — secrets and, less and less recently, allure. Steven Soderbergh’s Black Bag has the latter two in spades. There’s a little bit of action, but it’s nothing worth mentioning. That’s ok with...

1 month ago | screenrant.com | Mae Abdulbaki

Babak Anvari is perhaps one of my favorite filmmakers when it comes to setting the tone and building suspense. His breathtaking masterpiece, Under the Shadow, is one of my favorite horror movies, and his latest, Hallow Road, is no less disorienting and disconcerting. This time, Anvari, working from a script by William Gillies, takes the story from Iran to the UK.