Genre: Drama
Actor: Aaron Spivey-Sorrells, Adriene Mishler, Brenda Isaacs Booth, Brian Mays, David Gordon Green, Erin Elizabeth Reed, Gary Poulter, Heather Kafka, Jonny Mars, Lazaro Solares, Lico Reyes, Lynette Walden, Nicolas Cage, Robert Johnson, Ronnie Gene Blevins, Sue Rock, Tye Sheridan
Director: David Gordon Green
If you like any of the following: Irish accents, Woody Harrelson, Pulp Fiction, or dark comedy; then this is the movie for you. This mix of violence, mafia, existential talk, and painfully comical situations might not be for everyone, but it has every component to make its target audience very pleased. And given how chaotic and crazy it can get, it should be enjoyed one take at a time, focusing on each delightful scene rather than the overall plot. Directed by Martin McDonagh, Seven Psychopaths makes a perfect comeback after In Bruges, without veering very much from it (consequently if you like this movie make sure you check out In Bruges too).
Genre: Comedy, Crime
Actor: Abbie Cornish, Amanda Warren, Brendan Sexton III, Christian Barillas, Christine Marzano, Christopher Gehrman, Christopher Walken, Colin Farrell, Crispin Glover, Frank Alvarez, Gabourey Sidibe, Harry Dean Stanton, Helena Mattsson, James Landry Hébert, John Bishop, Johnny Bolton, Joseph Lyle Taylor, Kevin Corrigan, Kiran Deol, Linda Bright Clay, Long Nguyen, Martin McDonagh, Michael Pitt, Michael Stuhlbarg, Olga Kurylenko, Patrick O'Connor, Richard Wharton, Ronnie Gene Blevins, Sam Rockwell, Samantha Cutaran, Tai Chan Ngo, Tom Waits, Woody Harrelson, Zeljko Ivanek
Director: Martin McDonagh
A first feature by stuntman-turned-director Andy Armstrong, Squealer is supposedly based on real events that shook Canada in the 1990s. Robert Pickton or the Pig Farmer Killer was perhaps the inspiration for the eponymous Squealer in the 2023 film; the physical resemblance is uncanny. Extraordinarily cruel serial killers make good gore material and we love to see it, but the problem is that the audience today wants something new and fresher. Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a classic, but it's hard to make a film as misogynistic and hit the same charge as it used to. In Squealer, it is only female bodies that are shown dismembered, cut open, sliced, and diced; for men, all this happens off screen. This is only one example of how the film reiterates some of its onerous tropes, without really updating them. It's not exactly good taste to hammer bits of comedy in the dialogue too, as it feels disconcerting amidst the rivers of blood and cruelty.
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Actor: Danielle Burgio, Graham Greene, Holly Kaplan, Katherine Moennig, Ramona DuBarry, Rebecca Knox, Ronnie Gene Blevins, Sydney Carvill, Theo Rossi, Tyrese Gibson, Wes Chatham
Director: Andy Armstrong