Zoinks! The origins of the Mystery Inc. gang are revealed in the new computer animated Scooby-Doo feature that kids will enjoy more than parents. Read more
About the author
Joe Friar is a member of the Critics Choice Association (Los Angeles) and the HFCS - Houston Film Critics Society. A lifelong fan of cinema, he co-founded the Victoria Film Society, Frels Fright Fest, and is a Rotten Tomatoes approved critic. His reviews can be heard on Hit Radio 104.7 KVIC and read in The Victoria Advocate newspaper. He is a fan of Foreign Films, Independent Cinema, and Horror movies and he enjoys letting readers and listeners know about small films that might slip through the cracks unnoticed.
For those who love Rod Serling’s “Twilight Zone” and Chris Carter’s “The X-Files” comes this 1950s sci-fi thriller guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat. Read more
top story
In “The Godfather: Part III,” we watch a frustrated Michael Corleone played by Al Pacino deliver the line “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.” It’s a pivotal scene that indicates no matter what he does he’s trapped in a vicious cycle. Read more
Take the color palette of Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Valhalla Rising,” add a voiceover spoken in an undertone characteristic of Terrence Malick, and top it off with the excessive grandeur of John Boorman’s “Excalibur,” and you have arrived at Polish filmmaker Bartosz Konopka’s “Sword of God.” Read more
This past week I really began to miss the whole movie-going experience, especially after spending two to three days a week in a cinema reviewing films. Read more
Down the hallowed halls of elite Pennsylvania boarding school Haldwell, you’re more likely to hear the phrase “I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse” over “On Wednesdays we wear pink,” that’s because the debut feature by writer/director Tayarisha Poe has more in common with “The Godfather” … Read more
Each year, hundreds of filmmakers look forward to showcasing their latest work at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival in Austin. The five-day conference, which began in 1994 as an offshoot of the SXSW music festival, draws people from all the world and for many filmmakers, it’s a vit… Read more
Twenty-one-year-old musician Sidney Flanigan resembles a young Jodie Foster in her acting debut as Autumn, a pregnant teenager who takes a bus from rural Pennsylvania to New York to get an abortion. Read more
Now that movie theaters have shuttered, new films are being released via a new concept called “virtual cinema.” For a premium price, you can rent a new release, and, in some cases, part of the proceeds go to your favorite movie theater. Read more
Now that movie theatres have shuttered, new films are being released via a new concept called “Virtual Cinema.” For a premium price, you can rent a new release and in some cases, part of the proceeds go to your favorite movie theatre. You’ll have anywhere from 24 to 48 hours to watch the m… Read more
Pete Davidson’s character Zeke in Jason Orley’s “Big Time Adolescence” is this generation’s Wooderson, that beloved stoner played by Matthew McConaughey in Richard Linklater’s “Dazed and Confused.” Now imagine if Linklater gave us a closer look at his character’s life. The laughs would fade,… Read more
Director Alex Thompson and writer-actor Kelly O’Sullivan tackle subjects that have been stigmatized in the past, including queer marriage, abortion and postpartum depression, with the new drama “Saint Frances” about a 34-year-old waitress named Bridget (played by O’Sullivan), whose life take… Read more
Movie theaters across the nation are closing this week, including Cinemark in Victoria, as a safety precaution to battle COVID-19. All cinemas in more than 32 international markets already have closed and the box office here in the U.S. dropped significantly last weekend with Disney and Pixa… Read more
Haley Bennett clenches the spotlight for a career-high performance as a submissive housewife suffering from pica, a psychological disorder where she feels compelled to swallow inanimate and sometimes dangerous objects. As the compulsion intensifies her Cinderella marriage begins to crumble a… Read more
It’s been 10 years since Will Forte left Saturday Night Live after creating such memorable characters as MacGruber, Andy the "Oh no!" Guy, and the creepy voiced Tim Calhoun. Read more
Eighty-seven years after Claude Raines played the invisible man during Universal Pictures’ three-decade reign of iconic monsters, writer-director Leigh Whannell reboots the character that seems humdrum when compared to counterparts, Dracula, Frankenstein and The Mummy. Read more
'Ordinary Love' Review: Neeson and Manville appear together for the first time in the touching drama
Playwright Owen McCafferty wrote “Ordinary Love” after his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. The experience inspired the semi-autobiographical story as a couple played by Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville undertake a similar journey. Read more
Silent but deadly. Kitty Green’s muted Telluride Film Festival debut seems aimed at Harvey Weinstein as Julia Garner plays Jane an assistant working for a Tribeca film production company run by a manipulative mogul who is heard but never seen. Read more
When a movie begins with a quote from William Shakespeare and Beyoncé, it’s a sign that you’re about to watch a comedy. And when the director is Ant Timpson (the producer of “The Greasy Strangler,” “Turbo Kid” and “ABCs of Death”), you can bet it will be dark, bloody and gross. Read more
“The main thing that I always tried to be was … a good girl.” – Taylor Swift Read more
Bertrand Bonello’s last feature “Nocturama” about a group of young terrorists referenced George A. Romero and John Carpenter yet it was by no means a horror film. With “Zombi Child” the classical musician-turned-director slowly infiltrates the genre with a story about Parisian boarding schoo… Read more
While most of us are familiar with the movie “Joker” which received the most Oscar nominations with 11, and many of the other Best Picture nominees including the Netflix originals “The Irishman” and “A Marriage Story,” the shorts category is one that seems to elude most movie lovers. Many of… Read more
The most surprising thing about “Underwater” is that 20th Century Fox (now rebranded as 20th Century by new owners Disney) didn’t use the line “From the studio that brought you Alien” to promote this three-year-old film. But then again that may be overkill since this brazen deep-sea imitatio… Read more
Long before streaming and iPhones, VHS tapes were the medium of choice when it came to watching movies, recording television shows and capturing special moments with a camcorder. Read more
There are 9 million people living in Mexico City and only 45 emergency ambulances operated by the government. The densely populated capital city has been overrun by private ambulances competing for business, just like the one run by the Ochoa family in “Midnight Family” from director Luke Lo… Read more
EVENTS CALENDAR
Click on the logo to view and to submit items to the most comprehensive community events calendar in the Crossroads. Discover your moment. Discover361.
Most Popular
Upcoming Events
-
May 28
-
May 29
-
May 29
Featured Businesses
Commented