DC Filmdom

2 weeks ago | dcfilmdom.com | Eddie Pasa

I imagine if director Christopher Landon were to receive instructions like those given in the Mission: Impossible TV series and movies, it’d go something like this: “Your mission, Christopher, should you choose to accept it, is to read the Drop script by Jillian Jacobs and Chris Roach; assemble a cast and crew capable of the high-wire act depicted therein; wring all possible tension out of every setup and execution; and finally, unleash Drop on an audience and show no mercy.” You know what?

3 weeks ago | dcfilmdom.com | Eddie Pasa

Freaky Tales is a fun, Pulp Fiction-esque ride through late 1987, replete with interesting characters, ties to historical events, and an out-of-this-world cast. But my problem is that writers/directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck go to considerable lengths to give us a setup that includes a mysterious green glow that never gets explained. Instead, we only see how it has affected the citizens of Oakland, California, during a time of personal upheaval for their characters.

1 month ago | dcfilmdom.com | Eddie Pasa

Here’s what you need to know about Death of a Unicorn: It’s a modern fairytale, replete with arch characterizations and storylines straight out of a Brothers Grimm collection. After suffering a grievous loss, our underdog heroes are forced into a situation by more moneyed and evil superiors that makes them consider their principles carefully.

1 month ago | dcfilmdom.com | Eddie Pasa

The kids these days use the word “cringe” to describe anything uncomfortable or someone’s detestable behavior… and Asian Persuasion is full of both. An amalgam of Cyrano de Bergerac and every break-up/make-up movie, Asian Persuasion uses overtired Hollywood clichés to tell its story, but its own voice gets buried under implausible, overly exaggerated scenarios. It also espouses ugly masculinity in its lead character, who uses people as his puppets to get his own ends.

1 month ago | dcfilmdom.com | Eddie Pasa

On the face of it, Anthony and Joe Russo’s adaptation of Simon Stålenhag’s illustrated novel The Electric State fulfills its purpose. It moves like a movie should and entertains just as much. Those looking for something to check out on Netflix on a rainy Saturday afternoon could do worse. But surface-level entertainment is exactly what it is, swinging wildly in differing tones to try to keep our attentions or to gloss over the fact that there’s not much beneath its polished sheen.