Forbidden Fruits starts as a riff on Mean Girls, but set in a mall (somehow still thriving in 2026) at a store halfway between Forever 21 and Nordstrom, called “Forever Eden”. The “Plastics” are replaced by the “Fruits”, Apple (Lili Reinhart), Cherry (Victoria Pedretti), and Fig (Alexandra Shipp), twenty-somethings whose views of social dynamics and […]
Author: Austin Noto-Moniz
Alpha Review
Bursting onto the scene with a strong voice, a distinct style, and a fresh tale is a fantastic way to get yourself noticed. But if your follow-up repeats (or even deepens) the same beats and style, you risk pigeonholing yourself as a certain kind of director. Some are perfectly content to explore the same themes […]
Crime 101 Review
It’s not particularly original to compare Crime 101 to Michael Mann’s Heat, but that’s only because of how nakedly writer/director Bart Layton is quoting it. His adaptation of Don Winslow’s 2020 novella brings a modern flare to the car chases, adds a subplot of criminal in-fighting, and dials down the moral complexity, but the story is […]
Iron Lung Review
Until a few weeks ago, I’d never heard of the video game Iron Lung. Neither had I heard of the YouTube channel Markiplier, much less Mark Fischbach, whose name it bears. His feature film debut (which he wrote, directed, edited, and starred in) only came to my attention as it gained press for its impressive distribution […]
We Bury the Dead Review
While the zombie movie refuses to die, it’s certainly not thriving. In the years since the onset of COVID-19, only a handful of films featuring the archetypal monster in one form or another get released every year, and vanishingly few cause a stir. It should come as no surprise that audiences cannot get excited about […]
100 Nights of Hero Review
From the very first shot, 100 Nights of Hero fits into a particular style of indie film that’s been emerging over the past few years. It’s difficult to track down those I haven’t seen, as there aren’t many and there’s no name linking them. But you know it when you see it. They utilize a vibrant, […]
Sisu: Road to Revenge Review
Sisu has had a strange life. Made by the same team that gave us Rare Exports, it landed fairly quietly at TIFF 2022. Its reception was warm enough, however, to be picked up for distribution. Although its US release didn’t light the box office on fire, it performed quite well relative to its budget and […]
Keeper Review
With Longlegs, director Osgood Perkins burst onto the scene. It may have been his fourth movie, but it represented a stark evolution of his style into something more technically precise, more tonally playful, while still staring into the darkness. That shift, combined with Neon’s brilliant marketing and audience hunger for Maika Monroe’s return to horror, […]
Dream Eater Review
The first movie from Eli Roth’s new production studio, The Horror Section, was Jimmy and Stiggs, a jaw dropping descent into goopy, neon madness. It was a perfect midnight movie that nonetheless played the multiplex. That was all it took to convince me that seeking out the studio’s films moving forward would be worthwhile. Roth […]
Anemone Review
When Daniel Day-Lewis announced his return to acting for the first time since Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread, the industry reacted with cautious excitement. Not that anyone in their right mind feared his otherworldly skill had atrophied in his absence. Rather, it was the impetus. It’s impossible to fault him for coming out of retirement […]










