Kevin Murphy

No big review here, just some love for a movie that impressed me and that I want to support. @watchingmrpearson is a strong drama with a magnificent lead performance by @oenhugoarmstrong and a good supporting cast in @sambullington @dominikazawada and @garrizo14 and deals with the very universal themes of aging and dementia. @dillonbentlage is a clearly talented director, and co-writer @s1m0n_kk not only crafted genuinely moving dialogue but also some pseudo-noir one-liners that are a real treat. The billiards scene is one of my favorite sequences I've seen this year. It's returning to theaters in CT, MA, and NH this weekend, May 14-17, and if you're able to make it I encourage doing so. You can find locations and tickets on the official site. And if you want my full review, you can find it over at @moviejawn !

Shout out to @salemhorror for another incredible festival. MovieJawn is so grateful to be part of such an amazing event and we are thrilled to have met so many film pals while visiting Witch City! We can't wait to return for year 10, see you soon old sport! Watch out for our dispatches from the fest coming to MovieJawn.com compliments of @murphofilmo , @the.oldsport , and of course everyone's favorite cinematic correspondent, Tommy Udo. #salemhorrorfest #salemhorror #filmfest #moviejawn #moviezine

SHF photo dump! I didn't really get a ton of good ones, but... Featuring: 1. The @salemhorror banner on opening night 2. The wonderful @imvictoriaprice and her show-stealing dog Allie at her keynote speech. (Victoria's speech, I mean, but if Allie wants to give one she's got an audience) 3. Day 1 bedhead. First time couch sleeping in a long while and my body didn't hate me for it. 4. Huge croissants that are cheaper than the smaller ones I'm used to eating. Legitimately stunned me. 5. Tommy Udo, buckled up for safety. 6. Eggs Benedict with spinach from Red's and I can tell you I WILL be going back there. 7. @bitbarsalem has Time Crisis II and you bet your ass I used my last cash dollar to get tokens to play it 8. I also attended my first drag show! Didn't have great seats but @dickkayin had two killer performances that I loved watching. Awesome experience, I want more. 9. @michaelberryman_official is such a sweet, nice guy. I was nervous- of course- but he's super chill and we had some time to chat over the course of the day since his table was next to our @moviejawn table. 10. The laziest cashier I've ever met. Cooper didn't give a shit until we had snacks. Sweet boy, though. 11. @katespenser and I laughed too hard at this to not get a picture of it. Or several. @the.oldsport might have the best but I haven't seen the one she took yet. (Hint hint) 12. Last day bedhead. I feel like you can really tell how much energy the weekend took.

I'm tired but hi here's a little thing about @salemhorror and how awesome all of it was. The people who run it are great, the filmmakers I met were fantastic, and it was amazing being able to speak to @imvictoriaprice (and Allie) and Michael Berryman. I'm going to have a capsule piece in @moviejawn later this week covering my favorite stuff and there's lots I want to spotlight but for now, I need to get home and nap. It's been a long weekend. 😴

Last day of @salemhorror and we are still smiling! 🎃 Come say hi 👋🏻 to us @salemaccesstv - we will be slingin’ zines and chatting movies until 2pm. #movies #salemhorror #moviejawn #moviezine

MovieJawn is on tour! First stop @bestvideohamden - where you can find a grand selection of physical media and a copy of your favorite movie zine! Next stop: @salemhorror ! Where we will be slingin’ zines and watching movies all weekend. Come say hi to @katespenser , @murphofilmo , Tommy Udo, and @the.oldsport at @salemaccesstv

I have a backseat travel buddy here at @salemhorror and so long as he stays on his side there won't be any issues. @the.oldsport

MovieJawn has arrived @salemhorror ! Watch out for our coverage this weekend and catch us @salemaccesstv slingin’ zines starting tomorrow. We can’t wait to watch all the spooky flicks! #salem #salemhorror #horrormovies

Ben Wheatley is a tricky director for me. On paper, I should be fully on board with his stuff; in practice, I'm constantly left feeling like I've missed the one piece that will let me enjoy what I've just watched. I keep trying and it never quite sticks for me (though Kill List is great and bleak, no doubt). A Field in England is little different, though I can identify more parts that I really like. Visually it's a gorgeous experience, and the occasional posed moments, like visions of a live nativity, are phenomenal. The dialogue is also damned funny more often than I expected, which adds to the feeling early on of a twisted kind of "dudes hanging out" tale. That gets distorted and transfigured before too long, and the dreamlike tone dissolves into a nightmare of alchemical making. We are meant to question the reality of what happens- the mysticism feels grounded and the visions of it so subjective as to be untrustworthy. That Whitehead changes is undeniable; all else that happens is up for some debate. For example, there's a bunch of barriers crossed (or stopped just short of), and plenty can be drawn from that, whether that distance traveled is physical or metaphysical, whether one of those is a boundary between reality and fiction, or the rational and the magical. There's even contrails in one shot which are certainly unintentional (with a low budget and limited schedule you get what you get, especially outdoors), but could also be read as a further twisting of where and when that specific moment occurs, deep into hallucinations as it is. The film doesn't explain itself, and for the second time with Wheatley that works for me. I have a loose grasp on what I think it means and I'm satisfied with that, because it offers a rich visual fable of sorts, with performances that hooked me and a personality that feels unique. It's a niche film, a British psychological psychedelic folk horror dark humor piece (and yes, all those adjectives feel needed), but for those who are on its wavelength, it is exactly what the alchemist ordered. #filmreview #moviereview #afieldinengland #benwheatley #folkhorror

MJ's @murphofilmo shares what's on his watch list for this year's @salemhorror film fest. Find his flick picks here: MovieJawn.com #SalemHorrorFest kicks off Thursday until May 3, join us! Snag your tickets/passes: SalemHorror.com #TheLonePiper #VeryProsperousMen #Dance! #TheMeInTheTV #TheMid-NightDriver #LilysRitual

I'd better lead with this before getting into the review: HUGE TRYPTOPHOBIA WARNING. I don't even have that and it seriously skeeved me out in one scene. Analog and found footage horror are such oversaturated subgenres these days that it takes something special and unexpected to set a movie apart from the others. Sometimes that's personality, sometimes it's interesting technical execution, and every now and then it's a moment that legitimately feels fresh and new. Man Finds Tape starts as kind of a creepypasta story (and openly calls its "found tape" narrative such), but its fake-documentary framing gives it a bit of a different flavor and sets it up that we, as outside observers, are just as immune to whatever weirdness is going on as Lynn, the documentarian. It's compelling, eerie stuff, and I was thoroughly enjoying a film with the expectation of giving it an above-average rating. And then it suddenly twists in a single scene that had my jaw drop. So much changes- not necessarily for the better, but it's such a huge swing that I have to respect it. It moves past this reveal pretty quickly and on to something else, something that would be darker if the movie sold it better. Unfortunately, its final act feels a little bit silly compared to the first 45 minutes. A lot of what's here works super well if you're receptive to its approach. Even though most of the ending fell flat to me, there's a lot of wild ideas at play that made me eager to see where things would go. Its format generally works well, and I give it full credit for spookiness. I kind of want to watch it again, honestly, since I didn't even engage with the aspect of surveillance here that feels relevant, if secondary, to the weirdness on display. Man Finds Tape is a flawed but fascinating entry into its genre, and one that never feels stale. #filmreview #moviereview #manfindstape #analoghorror #foundfootage

MJ’s @MurphoFilmo says on top of Watching Mr. Pearson’s exploration of dementia and nostalgia, there’s a lot here about the nature of caregiving and those who work in it. MJ’s Sankeerthna Vedamtam says Bait provides a confident slice of actor life, as the cast and crew fill every single frame with lived-in chemistry and a sense of crazy, “are you down for this?” scheming camaraderie that simply radiates. MJ’s @lizkhawiesta says Erupcja is a stylish film that takes a glimpse into the renowned Didion dichotomy of “the people we love and the people we marry”. MJ’s @RachiePants123 says for those who find the saccharine happily-ever-afters of Hallmark and Lifetime fare just a bit too twee and rote, but want that same kind of cinematic comfort food that centers a different kind of love, You’re Dating A Narcissist! will scratch that itch. Read these and more on MovieJawn.com!