Skip to content
  • weekly digest email
  • join my Patreon
  • join my Substack
  • my books
  • about/contact
  • twitter
  • rotten tomatoes
  • letterboxd
  • goodreads
  • pinterest
  • rss
FlickFilosopher.com

film criticism by maryann johanson | handcrafted since 1997

  • on Netflix
  • movies for the resistance
  • classic film virgin
  • directed by women
    • Where Are the Women? project
  • cinemas
    • US and Canada
    • UK and Ireland
  • dvd/vod
    • US and Canada
    • UK and Ireland
  • 2023’s films ranked
    • 2022’s films ranked
    • 2021’s films ranked
    • 2020’s films ranked
  • all recent posts
    • archives by month
  • all reviews
    • A–M
    • N–Z
    • Oscars Best Pix
    • Oscars Best Animated Pix
  • new comments

black comedy

Violent Night movie review: ho ho holy shit

Sat, Dec 24, 2022
1 comment

Many movies have attempted to replicate the festive insouciant brutality of Die Hard. No movie has come closer to this lofty goal than this dementedly delicious nightmare before Christmas.

| 1 Comment

Wild Men (Vildmænd) movie review: mild men, more like

Wed, Aug 10, 2022
2 comments

This Danish black comedy is a meandering exploration of masculinity in the 21st century, and though it’s more miss than hit, it’s charming and bittersweetly heartfelt in its bumbling and bungling.

| 2 Comments

Bullet Train movie review: total derailment

Sat, Aug 06, 2022
8 comments

The cast is, on paper, terrific, but there’s nothing engaging in their bloody savagery. A misfire of a supposed action comedy, this mind-numbing mess is by turns grating, tedious, and infuriating.

| 8 Comments

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent movie review: Cage, staged

Thu, Apr 21, 2022
4 comments

Amusing but instantly forgettable, fueled by a self-congratulatory smugness and self-reference. The best bits are the sincere stuff: a scene-stealing Pedro Pascal and a sweetly vulnerable Nic(k) Cage.

| 4 Comments

Don’t Look Up movie review: is the sky falling?

Fri, Jan 14, 2022
10 comments

I laughed a lot while also feeling sick to my stomach. As subtle as a sledgehammer, almost obnoxious… and yet it might as well be a documentary. Is it elegant? Is it art? Who the fuck cares?

| 10 Comments

Silent Night movie review: house party at the end of the world

Sun, Dec 19, 2021
3 comments

Apocalyptically sorta-satirical, bone-deep terrifying slap in the face that humanity has properly earned. Formidable, intense… and funny, in a very dry way that is nevertheless difficult to laugh at.

| 3 Comments

Naked Singularity movie review: New York misery

Thu, Aug 19, 2021
3 comments

A very good cast makes a valiant go of it, but a hugely ambitious experimental novel has been boiled down to a tepid mishmash of genres: social-justice drama + black-comedy heist + sci-fi mind-bender.

| 3 Comments

Riders of Justice and Pig movies review: rethinking the revenge movie

Fri, Aug 06, 2021
7 comments

Two brilliant dramas upend cinematic tropes of male vengeance with precision, patience, and grim humor. These are radical rethinks in emotional maturity surrounding men’s grief, remorse, and shame.

| 7 Comments

The Suicide Squad movie review: primrose psychopaths

Tue, Aug 03, 2021
5 comments

Spanks the 2016 film and sends it off to the corner to think about what it did. This one is the definite article: Gory, grim, bleakly funny. Full of feverish, anarchic energy and exhausting cynicism.

| 5 Comments

Zola movie review: speed bumps in the road trip

Fri, Jul 02, 2021
2 comments

A deliciously badass style — part 70s grindhouse, part verité pseudo-documentary — and all-in performances are undermined by an exploitive gaze, and a combination of failed caper and failed satire.

| 2 Comments
Older posts
Page1 Page2 … Page30 Next →

sf/f/h flash fiction by me

Cultural Artifacts cover
now on Kindle Unlimited!

try KU for free:
US Amazon
Can Amazon
UK Amazon

please help keep truly independent film criticism alive!
support my work at Patreon  support my work at Substack
Pledge your support now at Patreon or Substack.
FREE weekly digest and daily streaming recommendations via Substack.
Or make a one-time donation via Paypal.

shop to support




Watch on Apple TV

FlickFilosopher.com does not accept ads, guest posts, link placements, or sponsored content.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

member
Online Film Critics Society


member
Alliance of Women Film Journalists

Tomatometer-approved critic on
Rotten Tomatoes



top critic
Movie Review Query Engine

Amazon US author page
Amazon UK author page


executive member
International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences
Copyright © 1997–2023 MaryAnn Johanson. All rights reserved.
No content appearing on this site may be reproduced, reposted, or reused in any manner without express written permission.
privacy policy | hosted by Fused