Home — Crooked Marquee

The Broadway Roots of the Cinematic Dracula

May 4th, 2020

Imagine an early 20th century drawing room, or alternatively, a fog-laden crypt. Suddenly from the shadows he emerges—a man with pale skin,...

The Strange Case of Dana Carvey, Leading Man

Mar 27th, 2020

Typecasting is a dirty word for many performers, especially an actor. It implies that their abilities are limited to a small number of roles, when...

Sundance Review: <i>Palm Springs</i> — Bill Bria

Sundance Review: Palm Springs

Jan 30th, 2020

At this point, the “Help, I’m trapped in a time loop!” premise has become a Hollywood staple — don’t forget that we have not one, but two...

Sundance Review: <i>Kajillionaire</i> — Bill Bria

Sundance Review: Kajillionaire

Jan 30th, 2020

Kajillionaire is writer-director Miranda July’s first feature film in nine years, and while it’s set in the present day, you’d be forgiven for...

Sundance Review: <i>The Night House</i> — Bill Bria

Sundance Review: The Night House

Jan 29th, 2020

Horror filmmakers love to build stories filled with outrageous furnishings, but any lasting power their movies have is due to how hard they strike a...

Sundance Review: <i>Worth</i> — Bill Bria

Sundance Review: Worth

Jan 26th, 2020

Worth begins with a lighthearted, dynamic, Aaron Sorkin-esque scene that sees lawyer Ken Feinberg (Michael Keaton) introducing his class to the...

Bill Bria Says Don't Forget: <i>Villains</i> — Bill Bria

Bill Bria Says Don't Forget: Villains

Dec 23rd, 2019

The “home invasion” subgenre has been flipped on its head a number of times, enough that Villains’ concept of two petty criminals breaking...

Bill Bria Says Don't Forget: <i>The Death of Dick Long</i> — Bill Bria

Bill Bria Says Don't Forget: The Death of Dick Long

Dec 23rd, 2019

In the social wasteland that is the end of the 2010s, empathy seems to be on its way out. Daniel Scheinert, one half of the directing duo that made...

<i>1941</i>: Spielberg's First Musical — Bill Bria

1941: Spielberg's First Musical

Dec 17th, 2019

The end of the 1970s saw some of the American filmmakers who had risen to prominence during the decade come under fire due to their hubris. The...

Review: Sequestrada

Dec 5th, 2019

If Sequestrada were a documentary, it might be a success. Onscreen titles explain the plight of Brazil’s indigenous tribes, who have been...

<i>Sleepy Hollow</i> and the Rise of Gothic Noir — Bill Bria

Sleepy Hollow and the Rise of Gothic Noir

Nov 19th, 2019

Washington Irving’s 1820 short story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is a classic of Gothic horror, an atmospheric and ambiguous tale about a...

Review: <i>Feast of the Seven Fishes</i> — Bill Bria

Review: Feast of the Seven Fishes

Nov 18th, 2019

Holiday movies, especially Christmas movies, tend to be high-concept affairs, featuring guardian angels, kid-made booby traps, or ghosts haunting a...

<i>Shocker</i>: Wes Craven's Would-Be Freddy Competitor — Bill Bria

Shocker: Wes Craven's Would-Be Freddy Competitor

Oct 28th, 2019

In 1989, the popularity of the Nightmare On Elm Street series and its flagship character, Freddy Krueger, were still going strong. Wes Craven, who'd...

How <i>The Wild Bunch</i> and <i>Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid</i> Helped the Western Ride into the Sunset — Bill Bria

How The Wild Bunch and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Helped the Western Ride into the Sunset

Oct 7th, 2019

Perhaps the most notable example of a prominent movie genre that disappeared almost entirely is the Western. Once inescapable — there were close to...

NYFF Report: Reality vs Fiction

Oct 3rd, 2019

Film is a strange medium. It requires creating images and moments that must have the semblance of reality but which are totally fictional. At least,...