Chase Whale
Featured Critic;
Los Angeles, California
In 2007, Chase Whale co-founded the little movie website that could, GordonandtheWhale.com (now defunct). Through GATW, he covered Cannes, Sundance, SXSW, the Toronto International Film Festival, and Comic-Con, along with junkets in London, Toronto, and other parts of the world. In 2009, NBC named him one of the 25 most interesting people in Dallas, along with Erykah Badu and Nolan Ryan. Later that year, The Wrap listed him among 30 Movie Insiders to Follow Right Now On Twitter. Before moving to LA, he was a member of the Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association, and the Austin Film Critics Association.
Review: SUN DON'T SHINE Haunts A Fateful Road Trip
There's a small scene in Sun Don't Shine that keeps playing over and over again in my head. A woman is telling a story about the time she was making a pizza and almost burned her house down. She mixed...
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That'll Do, Whale: Saying Goodbye to Film Criticism
My first film festival badge as press.This is my last post as a film critic. Seems like only yesterday two guys had a dream to make a fun movie website to belt out their affinity for all things cinema. Gordon...
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Watch: New Trailer for THE KINGS OF SUMMER is Funny, But Needs More Pizazz and Biaggio
This year's standout at the Sundance Film Festival was undeniably Jordan Vogt-Roberts' movie with a giant beating heart, The Kings of Summer. I called it "An unforgettable coming-of-age comedy," and decided after walking out from seeing it that it'll make...
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Interview: Shane Carruth Talks UPSTREAM COLOR
Interviewing Shane Carruth is just as complex as watching his movies, and rightfully so. After his feature film Primer released, he gained all kinds of buzz and had movie geeks (and large studios) foaming at the mouth. Instead of giving...
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First Teaser for the Sundance Hit THE KINGS OF SUMMER Will Make You Want to Dance, Dance, Dance
The most rewarding part of going to a film festival is walking into a film completely blind (figuratively, of course), without knowing a thing about it but maybe who made or stars in it, and walking out completely slack-jawed....
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Review: THE GIRL Lacks Power And Strength
Two films titled The Girl were released in 2012. One stars Toby Jones as Alfred Hitchcock and is about his unsuccessful journey to swoon Tippi Hedren (Sienna Miller) during the filming of The Birds and Marnie, which were shot back-to-back...
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Review: THE WE AND THE I Represents A Weak Fart Of Michel Gondry's Imagination
What's the time limit for mourning a bad film from one of today's most innovative filmmakers? Until their next feature? Forever? I want to discuss Michel Gondry's latest effort, The We and the I, a shockingly horrendous film that...
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Exclusive Interview: Horror Pundit and Acclaimed Artist Julian Hoeber
Visual artist Julian Hoeber has a flair for the dramatic. His busy hands range from painting, sculpturing (see the terrifyingly awesome image above), photography, installations, a "freestanding structure based on the architecture of 'gravitational mystery spots," filmmaker, and now, horror...
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Sundance 2013 Review: THE RAMBLER Wanders into Disorientation and Madness
If David Lynch and David Cronenberg teamed up with Werner Herzog early in their careers and made a movie together, it would have been Calvin Reeder's The Rambler. Wherever you stand with these three auteurs, that's either a big, big...
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Sundance 2013 Review: AFTERNOON DELIGHT Captures the Challenges of Seeking Love, Happiness, and Peace
Poor Rachel (Kathryn Hahn). Although she's married to the man of her dreams, Jeff (Josh Radnor), leads a really nice lifestyle, and has a healthy son, she's bored as hell as a stay-at-home housewife. Her friends are starting to suck,...
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Review: Quentin Dupieux's WRONG is Weird and Awesome
Writer / director / composer / editor / cinematographer / auteur / weirdo Quentin Dupieux is a guy who pulls the mat right out from under the Hollywood norm and takes bold and colorful chances. A couple of years ago,...
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Sundance 2013 Review: THE KINGS OF SUMMER - A Joyous, Feel-Good Movie About Being Young And Dreaming BIG
Note: Since screening at Sundance, Toy's House has been re-titled The Kings of Summer ahead of its theatrical release.The worst part about being a kid is the realization that one day you'll be an adult. Your only responsibilities are cleaning your...
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Sundance 2013 Review: THE NECESSARY DEATH OF CHARLIE COUNTRYMAN is the Unnecessary Death of a Potentially Good Movie
The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman is perhaps the worst film I've seen in a very, very long time. It stars Shia LaBeouf as the possibly-doomed titular role. Charlie just watched his mother (Melissa Leo, in the most tragically underused...
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Sundance 2013 Review: C.O.G. Paints a Riveting Portrait of Self-Discovery
Have you ever wanted to unplug from the world? I mean, really, really unplug. Not for a day, or a week, but for as long as you can possibly can. Or even better, what about giving life a change...
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Sundance 2013 Exclusive: Poster for Blue-Tongue Films' THE CAPTAIN Burns with Disorientation
If you're into short films, you need the Blue-Tongue Films collective in your life. Consisting of Nash Edgerton (The Square co-writer/director; stuntman pundit), Spencer Susser (Hesher writer/director), Joel Edgerton (Warrior, Animal Kingdom, Zero Dark Thirty actor), Luke Doolan, Kieran Darcy-Smith...
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Sundance 2013 Review: THE WAY, WAY BACK Wants You to Laugh as Hard as You Can. And You Will.
Being the awkward kid is the worst. Making friends is hard; everyone thinks you're one with the freaks, and contact with the opposite sex is pretty much non-existent. Since lack of confidence is always going to be an uphill...
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Sundance 2013 Interview: Six Questions with PIT STOP Co-Writer/Director Yen Tan
Last month, we premiered the first poster for Yen Tan's Pit Stop, which is is having its world premiere at Sundance today. Yesterday, our fearless leader, Todd Brown, posted the first clip for the film. To complete this trifecta of...
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Sundance 2013 Review: THE SPECTACULAR NOW is an Important Coming-of-Age Movie About Teens for Adults
The late John Hughes was the man in Hollywood who understood teenagers and teen angst better than anyone else in the industry. He knew how to tell beautiful stories about how sometimes being young can be weird and confusing,...
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Sundance 2013 Review: DON JON'S ADDICTION Bulks Up the Body and Career of Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Warning: the words "cock," "cum," and "masturbation" are used in this review. With that out of the way, let's get filthy.Joseph Gordon-Levitt is constantly on the move, making new projects with his online art collaboration company, HitRECord.org, and working...
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Review: LUV, An Almost Likable Movie About Unshackling the Past
While watching LUV, I kept thinking about a painfully true line of dialogue in Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia. The quote, which is a premonition for every character in the film, is this: "We may be through with the past, but...
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