Unpopped Kernels: Oxygen (2021) – Review

by Jordan King Oxygen, the latest feature from The Hills Have Eyes rebootand Crawl director Alexandre Aja (and the French director’s first work in his mother tongue since 2003 slasher Switchblade Romance), sees Melanie Laurent in a tricky situation to say the least. Having torn her way out of a womb-like cocoon of sorts, Laurent’s character finds herself trapped in a cryogenic chamber with a … Continue reading Unpopped Kernels: Oxygen (2021) – Review

Unpopped Kernels: Loving Vincent (2017)

The work of Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh is known the world over. Iconic paintings such as ‘The Starry Night’, ‘Bedroom in Arles,’ and ‘Sunflowers’ are images people from everywhere will find familiar. His work and style are considered foundations of modern art, yet what is known of the man behind the paintings? Despite painting over eight hundred paintings in his own lifetime, he only … Continue reading Unpopped Kernels: Loving Vincent (2017)

The Best of…Tom Cruise

I know what you’re thinking: How can anyone sluice down over forty decades of over fifty films into a compact five movie list? True, the dazzling white teethed Cruise has been the epitome of Hollywood stardom for years and years, producing countless amounts of movies, and running in a hell of a lot of them. I also know what you are thinking: Here we go, … Continue reading The Best of…Tom Cruise

Unpopped Kernels: Beach Rats (2017)

British actor Harris Dickinson is a star in the making. He has nabbed the lead role in director Danny Boyle’s new ten-part television series, Trust, in which he plays John Paul Getty III in the other screen version (after Ridley Scott’s All the Money in the World) of the infamous 1973 kidnapping. You’ll see him in September opposite Amandla Stenberg in director Jennifer Yuh Nelson’s … Continue reading Unpopped Kernels: Beach Rats (2017)

Unpopped Kernel: The Villainess (2017)

by Ren Zelen Like so many recent Korean action flicks, Byung-gil Jung’s The Villainess starts off with a humdinger of an action sequence. One is barely settled in one’s seat before being immediately thrust into the midst of a violent melee with arterial blood spraying in all directions. The film’s intricately choreographed opening sequence offers nearly 10 minutes of nonstop carnage from a subjective POV, … Continue reading Unpopped Kernel: The Villainess (2017)