Movie reviews of Eric Hillis

Dickey and Studi are two actors that have been specifically typecast, she for her rugged looks, he for his ethnicity, so it's a delight to see them play two very everyday people. They look like Americans rather than American movie stars, their faces weather beaten but beautiful, much like the land around them. Review

We're never quite sure who the real victim of the story is, or who's the antagonist, as this is a complex tale of humans trying to do their best for one another, even if it's in a manner that seems counterproductive to others. Review

Aase and Schrooten display enough chemistry to suggest that had they been gifted a better script, Revealer could have been a winning horror-comedy. Review

If you can trust the filmmaker at the wheel, Roving Woman takes you on a charming journey through that most cinematic corner of the US. Review

While Billy plays a large role in the narrative, Peace in the Valley is ultimately Ashley's story. We watch as she copes with her loss in a very human, very messy way. Review

After a tense first half grounded in real-life fears, A Wounded Fawn becomes a tedious supernatural horror desperate to hammer home a point the movie made far more effectively in its earlier scenes. Review

I expected You Can Live Forever to be an angry film, one that would leave me feeling furious against religion and its narrow-mindedness. I didn't expect it to be such a warm and romantic tale whose primary agenda is to inspire tolerance from both sides of its central debate. Review

There's an effective and occasionally charming drama in Blaze, but it's buried beneath a layer of unnecessary glitter. Review

Viewers' mileage will vary, but Crawford is such a fascinating screen presence that his tortured face should be enough to hold the attention of most. Review

It's a shame that there's so much nonsensical clutter in The Black Phone, as in its best moments, Derrickson displays a talent for crafting a tense sequence. Review

In his movie debut, Smallwood, previously a jobbing TV actor, is quite the find. He's somewhat let down however by a film that resorts to "elevated horror" gimmicks to portray his psychological state. Rather than simply letting his leading man use his acting skills, Thompson throws in hallucinations and a needless bit of body horror, which momentarily take us out of what is really a grounded human drama. Review

With a supporting cast comprised largely of real life porn stars and filmmakers, Pleasure certainly isn't an exposé of that most exposed industry. Review

Boulocq films at a quiet remove, his camera a silent, unobtrusive observer that rarely gets into the faces of the film's characters. The silence of the penant Humberto is contrasted with the bombastic, flamboyant nature of Carlos, for whom everything is a show. Review

Watching Dominion in the slipstream of Top Gun: Maverick, a blockbuster that gets everything right that this film gets wrong, is like eating your mum's fish fingers the day after your cool aunt brought you to McDonalds. Review

Played with quiet brilliance by Katlein, Simi makes for an engaging lead, the sort of protagonist we just don’t see in horror movies. Review

Like Carpenter, Keating makes great use of the empty space of his widescreen frame, keeping us constantly on edge looking for figures in the shadows and mist. Review

The film contains some stellar performances from its ensemble cast. In its best moments it's a reminder of a time when Hollywood would commit to telling such stories. But that ensemble is also the film's biggest stumbling block, as the story moves back and forth between characters so often that we never really get to know who these people are, simply what they represent. Review

As the film progresses it becomes less clear whether Okuna is really examining America's self-centred place in the world, as her movie evolves into a more run of the mill stalking thriller. Review

Hardy aside, the film simply doesn't work. There's barely a narrative here, with some details teased only to never be elaborated upon. Review

Hadžihalilović began her career as a collaborator of Gaspar Noe, a filmmaker often accused of being nothing more than a shock merchant. That's an accusation that certainly can't be leveled at Hadžihalilović, whose films could honestly use a shock or two to keep us awake. Review

While initially intriguing, Men soon reveals itself as a shallow attempt to replicate the unique atmosphere of 1970s folky gems like Robin Redbreast, Images and Penda's Fen. Review

While Castellari is a great action director, I'm not convinced that he's a great director. His movies really lag in between the shootouts and car chases, and he struggles to get his actors to make anything out of the one-dimensional characters his scripts usually lumber them with. Review

Whether it's a case of being lost in translation, the dialogue is particularly limp, with characters spelling out the messy plot through their various arguments. If you're after over the top violence you'll be satisfied however. Review

I think this is how Elvis fans want to remember their idol, as a man with a voice that had to be heard, but Luhrmann is only interested in the surface spangles. Review