Tag: Raúl Castillo

Film Review: “The Hand that Rocks the Cradle”

The beautiful modern house shines in this otherwise uninspired remake

Polly (Maika Monroe) and Caitlin (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) rock the cradle in ‘The Hand that Rocks the Cradle.’

Another 1990s thriller has been remade (see: Presumed Innocent; Fatal Attraction): the 1992 film The Hand that Rocks the Cradle. Stylishly directed by Michelle Garza Cervera (Marea Alta), the new The Hand that Rocks the Cradle is tense and atmospheric, but bears the brunt of its predictability and slow pace. The original film was wickedly outlandish, helping it achieve status over time as the quintessential “evil babysitter” movie. Unfortunately, the remake lacks the willingness to let loose. Continue reading “Film Review: “The Hand that Rocks the Cradle””

Film Review: We the Animals

Where the wild things draw

Evan Rosado as Jonah in We the Animals.

Racing, clawing, screaming, drumming, dreaming their way through an impoverished childhood are three young boys at the center of Jeremiah Zagar’s heartfelt but lacking film We the Animals.

Based on the 2011 novel of the same name by Justin Torres, Zagar’s film locates its heart, its head, and its attitude squarely with Jonah, played by Evan Rosado.  As the youngest of three boys, Jonah prefers drawing to fighting, and dreaming to adolescent scheming. In upstate New York, where Jonah and his brothers play out their childhoods, dangerous overpasses become impromptu playgrounds, and wild runs through the woods can take up whole afternoons. TV, video games, even radios are nowhere to be found. These are semi-feral boys left to their own devices for long periods of time.

Continue reading “Film Review: We the Animals“