Author: Jeff Mitchell

‘Spencer’: Larrain and Stewart bestow a royal and unconventional biopic

Jeff Mitchell

“Spencer” (2021) – Diana Frances Spencer was born on July 1, 1961 in Norfolk, England, and – seemingly – every moment in her life was cast in a spotlight – the size of the London Eye – beginning on July 29, 1981.  On that date, she became Diana, Princess of Wales.  Yes, a wealth of her experiences are well-documented, but perhaps, not those moments behind palace walls.   Well, instead of steering into typical cinematic practices, director Pablo Larrain and screenwriter Steven Knight take a noticeably unconventional approach with their…

Five of our favorite ferocious and frightening films for Halloween

Jeff Mitchell

Halloween is right around the creepy, chilling corner, so here are five of our critic’s favorite, ferocious, and frightening horror films! All-time: “The Thing” (1982) – John Carpenter’s remake of “The Thing from Another World” (1951) has a deserved reputation for its extreme gore and wild practical effects, but it’s much more than buckets of blood and innards thrown at the screen.  It’s an intense whodunnit and works exceptionally well in the isolated confines of a U.S. Government station located on Earth’s most lonely continent.  Kurt Russell leads an exceptional…

Movie of the Week: ‘Frankenstein’

Jeff Mitchell

“Frankenstein” (1931) – Even 90 years after its initial release, this monster movie classic holds up. Although not particularly frightening, director James Whale’s picture hits an 11 on the disturbing scale and is essential for anyone who has never seen it (or hasn’t seen it in a long time). Sure, we’ve all been dumbed down by experiencing Frankenstein’s Monster in seemingly hundreds of incarnations and, especially, spoofs (“The Munsters”, “Young Frankenstein” and even “Weird Science” immediately come to mind), but after viewing “Frankenstein”, you’ll be easily reminded why the story remains…