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.
“Our Friend” is a beautiful and heartwarming film about the Teague family’s courageous battle with cancer. Based on the 2015 Esquire article by husband Matt (played by Casey Affleck), a veteran journalist, the film features extraordinary performances by Affleck, Dakota Johnson as wife Nicole… Read more
The Houston Film Critics Society (HFCS) has announced the nominations for the 14th Annual Film Awards which will be televised January 31st on Houston’s independent TV station KUBE 57. Read more
The Liam Neeson action film has become synonymous with the Clint Eastwood Western. It doesn’t matter what character the actors are playing; you know what to expect when you buy that movie ticket. Director Robert Lorenz who worked with Eastwood on several films including “Million Dollar Baby”… Read more
Tune in to The CW Network tonight at 7:00pm for the inaugural Critics Choice Super Awards honoring the most fan-obsessed genres including Superheroes, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Action, and Animation. Read more
Four years before “The Matrix” was unleashed, Keanu Reeves was already warming up for the role of hacker Thomas Anderson aka society’s savior Neo, by starring in another cyberpunk sci-fi thriller 1995’s “Johnny Mnemonic.” Read more
In the past, Hollywood has given us the thrillers “Sleeping with the Enemy” with Julia Roberts and “Enough” with Jennifer Lopez about women who have temporarily escaped their abusive husbands. Then there are the more disturbing and authentic films like Paddy Considine’s “Tyrannosaur” with Ol… Read more
In 1995, the #1 song in the country was Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise" and while it wasn't featured in Kathryn Bigelow's sci-fi fantasy "Strange Days" it would have been at home on the film's soundtrack. Read more
Meet recent Texas A&M graduate Cheyenne Chapel. She grew up in Chappell Hill, Texas, a small rural community located between Brenham and Hempstead where her love for art as a child evolved into a job working for Pixar Animation Studios owned by the Walt Disney Company; Not too shabby for… Read more
Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s… Wonder Woman? Writer-director Patty Jenkins’ “WW84” evokes the spirit of Christopher Reeve’s Superman films for the sequel to the 2017 film starring Gal Gadot as the mild-mannered Diana Prince who transforms into the world’s greatest fema… Read more
I’m not sure if an apocalyptic thriller is something we need to close out 2020. It’s definitely not the feel-good movie of the year. There is however an omnipresent sense of hope that mankind will survive in “The Midnight Sky,” which features a group of astronauts returning to Earth after sp… Read more
“A-one, a-two, a-you know what to do” chants Cutler (Colman Domingo), the bandleader and horn player for Ma Rainey (Viola Davis) aka “The Mother of the Blues,” as the four-piece band rips into another rousing rendition of the song that gives the film its title. Read more
“Half Brothers” could be dubbed “Planes, Games and Automobiles” as the road trip buddy movie from director Luke Greenfield (“Let’s Be Cops”), pairs odd couple Renato (Luis Gerardo Méndez), a successful aviation executive from Mexico, with his newly discovered sibling, American free spirit As… Read more
Seven years after making their debut, everyone’s favorite cave family returns in an all-new adventure that reinforces the theme of “family.” DreamWorks Animation — the studio responsible for the “Madagascar” and “How to Train Your Dragon” franchises — once again delivers a dazzling prehistor… Read more
Riz Ahmed can’t catch a break as a musician. The Emmy-winning actor plays a rapper on the brink of stardom when he’s struck down by an autoimmune disease in “Mogul Mowgli,” which just opened the Houston Cinema Arts Festival. This weekend, Ahmed can be seen in the theatrical release of “Sound… Read more
When you think of Rockport, Texas, what comes to mind? Fishing? Whooping cranes? Perhaps the plethora of art galleries? Well for the last 13 years, the small coastal city has been home to the Rockport Film Festival which draws movie lovers and filmmakers from around the country to celebrate … Read more
The 2020 Victoria Texas Independent Film Festival has come and gone. This year’s event featured a slew of quality films, but it lacked the pizzazz that usually accompanies the fest —attendees would mingle with filmmakers, spirits and good food was had by all, and roaming from one venue to an… Read more
Based on the novel by Larry Watson, “Let Him Go” tells the story of a retired sheriff (Kevin Costner) and his wife (Diane Lane) who are willing to do whatever it takes to rescue their young grandson from an abusive new stepfather (Will Brittain) and his family several states away. Set in the… Read more
This Halloween you get an extra hour to stay up late and watch scary movies as Daylight Savings Time ends at 2 a.m. Sunday. Clocks go back one hour so that extra hour of sleep will come in handy if you choose to curl up with a few horror films after hours. Read more
This Sunday, October 25 the Houston Film Critics Society invites you to join them for POTUS Fest: Cinema in Chief, a virtual salute to films about US Presidents and the election process. Read more
Beginning on Thursday, Oct. 22, movie fans will once again have the opportunity to watch an assortment of independent films as the 9th annual Victoria Texas Independent Film Festival (VTXIFF) gets underway. Read more
We all know that Liam Neeson has “a very particular set of skills” and in “Honest Thief” from director Mark Williams (“Ozark”), they include robbing banks, taking down crooked FBI agents and breaking hearts. Read more
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