Never underestimate the effect a great director, or pair of directors, will have on an actor. Case in point: Uncut Gems. The Safdie Brothers and Adam Sandler came together to create such an amazing performance, that I might even be willing to say Sandler got Oscar snubbed. Maybe. Sandler embodies the character so fully that I could no longer tell I was looking at The Water Boy. Not only do the Safdies nail it in directing the acting, but the whole film is expertly done. They do an excellent job putting you into the anxious, fast-paced world of Howard Ratner. You spend all of the movie anxiously glued to the screen, waiting to see how the charismatic sleaze-ball stays alive. While not talked about as much, the Safdie Brothers also create an extremely grounded and believable New York. It feels so lived in and alive, much as it did in their previous film, Good Time. Part of this has to do with them hiring many non-actors from New York for fairly major roles. All in all, Uncut Ge...

If there’s one thing – and there is more than one thing, by the way – that’s refreshing about the new web series  Wildcats  it’s that it’s got something to say. Sure, it’s funny, and the cast – led by New York actor Linnea Sage – are particularly funny, but it encompasses an important and empowering message that most television series, let alone web series would be bothered or brave enough to include.

Mexican director Guillermo Del Toro sure does love his bugs. It seems like he always finds a way to incorporate them somehow into each one of his films, so naturally he'd want to make an entire movie based on giant, slimy, disgusting, and deadly bug-like creatures. And where would be the best city setting for a story about nasty, sub-terranean dwelling mutant insects? The Big Apple, of course!

I discovered the vehicular action/horror movie Highwaymen a decade ago, having sought it out because it was The Hitcher director Robert Harmon 's first foray into film in a long ass time. I dug the hell out of it, and quickly logged it on my Guilty Pleasure list. How does Highwaymen hold up 10 years down the road? Stick with me. Renny Cray embarks on a bloodthirsty rampage to avenge the death of his wife, who was struck down by a serial killer -- a man who hunts and kills women using his '72 El Dorado.

He may not be the most consistent of storytellers, but director Eli Roth 's films still pack a punch. Without a doubt his latest, The Green Inferno , will carry on that tradition. The teaser trailer appeared about a month ago, promising the grim return of the cannibal sub genre . This full trailer re-enforces in my mind that audiences are in for a hell of a ride. Take from that what you will.

You read that headline right, 80s shock comedian Bobcat Goldthwait directed a horror movie about Bigfoot . And it's called Willow Creek. I'm just gonna pause and let Basementites digest that for a moment. Now that that's sunk in, I've heard a lot of good buzz about Willow Creek, which screened at Fantasia last year. The flick's a hard mother to track down, so news of a pending release date is good for us fans of indie horror.

It's been a long time since Eli Roth  directed a horror movie. He returns with a vengeance with The Green Inferno , which was acquired by Open Road Films at last year's Toronto International Film Festival . And if you thought Roth couldn't top Cabin Fever and the Hostel films, think again -- this one's about cannibals baby!

The trailer for the Michael Bay -produced, Jonathan Liebsman-directed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie doesn't hit until Thursday, but a few screen caps have already appeared online . . . and we stole them for your eye holes. I admit they don't show much, but they are actual images from the controversial reboot of the popular cartoon, film and toy series, and hence warrant some interest.

It's news like this that makes me rue the day we moved to French Polynesia! But a few lucky souls who live in some select cities in the United States can catch the original 1954 Toho Studios Godzilla (American version with Raymond Burr) on the big screen right before the new Warner Bros. flick hits theatres.

Which, when you think about it, is all one really needs from a Liam Neeson action movie set on an airplane. Anything less would be recalculous. Director Juame Collet-Serra's thriller features Neeson as an air marshal who must spring into action when passengers are threatened on an international flight. Judging from the preview, there's a lot a red herrings and text messaging going on as well. Non-Stop looks like the kind of movie that could be good or it could be ass. Either way, Neeson is always dependable even if the movies he's in -- I'm talking about YOU Unknown and Taken 2 -- are not. This will be a rental or cheap matinee for sure. Non-Stop hits theatres Feb. 28. Source: The Verge Related articles Forget the Snakes. LIAM NEESON ON A PLANE = True Danger 'Non-Stop' Trailer: Liam Neeson Can Still Kick Ass at 40,000 Feet (VIDEO) Liam Neeson In First Trailer & Poster For 'Non-Stop' Non-Stop - Trailer Liam Neeson Accidental...

We try to be as on-the-ball as we can here in The Basement, but once in a while things get by us. So, when the opportunity presents itself to tell you fine Basementites about a project we missed, we do. Good news for the makers of the upcoming thriller Dark --  the project's Kickstarter campaign hit the half way mark -- $25,000 of $50,000 raised -- after two weeks of crowdsourcing. I call that impressive. Know what's also impressive? The flick is produced by the legendary Joe Dante and written by Gut writer/director Elias. You all know Gut right? We talked about it during the last season of our show. Here's our thoughts . Dark is a wicked cool idea for a thriller: a disturbed young woman must confront her worst fears when she finds herself trapped alone in a New York City loft during the 2003 blackout. Dante and Elias have brought together a pretty good cast of hotties too. Whitney Able of Monsters fame plays Kate, the disturbed young woman, while Alexandra Brec...