Movie reviews of Eric Hillis

The ideas Blank brings up are more interesting to ponder than to actually watch play out on screen however. Review

The Settlers treads a Conradian path as its protagonists venture toward a beating heart of darkness. Review

As you would expect from a Michael Mann movie, Ferrari at least looks good. But you can't polish a turd. If it works better it looks better. The reverse is rarely true. Review

Godzilla Minus One is a proper spectacle, the sort of movie that makes you feel like an ant as you stare up at the screen. Spectacle is nothing without heart though, and Godzilla Minus One throbs with humanity. Review

What's most disappointing about Silent Night is that its silent conceit is no more than a gimmick that often takes us out of the movie. Review

If you want to see an affable drama about brotherly bonding on the high seas, you're covered by about half of Finestkind's runtime. But be prepared to slog through a crime thriller that's no more engaging than any of the many straight to VOD efforts that can be found lurking in the depths of a streaming service. Review

With creepy kids, a spooky well, a curse and even a sinister woman with lank hair, The Ghost Station transposes all the classic J-Horror elements to a Korean setting. It's not an entirely successful transition but with its light touch and brisk pace, The Ghost Station might be the ideal movie to introduce younger viewers to the thrills of East Asian horror. Review

Leave the World Behind could be placed in a time capsule to represent the worst aspects of made for streaming movies of the early 20th century. It looks like a TV show rather than a movie; it's glacially paced and in bad need of some judicial editing. Review

Its biggest problem is that it never establishes who we're supposed to be rooting for here. None of the characters are likeable, and the movie keeps shifting its perspective. Review

With its focus on cinematic ambience and character building over didactic sermonising, Monica is a key work of trans cinema. Review

After forcing us to suffer through its numbingly bad original songs, Wonka finally gives in and breaks out the classic Pure Imagination near the end in a desperate attempt to send us home happy. Review

I have to say it's something of a whiplash. Having been fully on board with the simple but well-handled exploitation fare Wexler was serving up, I struggled to follow the movie in its new direction, which takes it into the realms of young adult fantasy. Review

The film ends at the point where most noir thrillers are set to ramp up the tension, leaving us to fill in the blanks ourselves. It's a sign of how invested we've become in McKenzie's incredible performance that we feel cheated by this ending. Review

It often feels like we're simply watching plot beats rehashed from dozens of existing post-apocalyptic, disaster and zombie movies. It's the presence of the outstanding Byung-hun that gets us through such patches. Review

While it's as doleful and deadpan as any of his films, Fallen Leaves might be Kaurismaki's most accessible film to date. Review

As a story of one performer who discovers they can't live in the shadow of a fellow artist who burns too brightly, Maestro is a better version of A Star is Born than Cooper's actual take on that oft-told tale. Review

If you want to learn about Napoleon, pick up a book or watch a documentary. If you want a historical romp that's as bawdy as it is bloody, Scott's film is a pleasing diversion. Review

The performance of young Sentíes is astonishing. Review

As it is it's a merely serviceable horror-comedy that will probably function best as a means for horror fans to introduce their kids to the genre. Review

How this all ends is moot; it's about the time we get to spend with these two women, neither of whom are particularly remarkable, which makes their relationship all the more affecting. Like our mothers, Swinton and Hogg won’t be around forever. Cherish them while you can. Review

The trouble is, everything that's interesting about Saltburn, i.e. the subversion of the Servant/Teorema trope, is in our heads rather than on screen, as the movie's final act reveals that rather than subverting this convention it's simply repeating it. Review

Lost in the Night is never quite as tense or suspenseful as its premise might suggest, and Emiliano never really seems to be in any tangible jeopardy until very late on. Review

The catty frisson between Portman and Moore is enough to keep us superficially hooked, but we're left wondering if Haynes has bluffed an opportunity to interrogate one of the great taboos. Review

Thanksgiving does just enough to deliver on its premise, but despite some fun kills it feels like a missed opportunity to kick off a new slasher franchise. Review