We have, somehow, reached mid-October, and that means it’s time for horror movies (not that you can’t watch them any time). Out today on Blu-ray is “The Night House,” a mediocre haunted house film made quite good due to the… Read More ›
Lass is More
Now That it’s Out, was “Free Guy” Worth the Wait?
Do you ever sit there for months on end waiting for a new movie or game or book or album to come out? How often does all that anticipation, all that build up, find you disappointed when the thing finally… Read More ›
“Breakdown” vs. “Hardball”: Direct vs. Meandering
The Kurt Russell movie, “Breakdown,” knows what it’s about: this is the story of one man doing everything he can to rescue his wife after she is kidnapped. That’s it. The Keanu Reeves movie, “Hardball,” doesn’t know what it’s about:… Read More ›
“The Forever Purge” is the Scariest Yet
There can be a sense of relief sometimes when one finishes watching a scary movie — the credits roll, the thing is over, and you can look out your window and remind yourself that the real world is just not… Read More ›
Yucking it up with “Jungle Cruise”
I love the Jungle Cruise ride at Walt DisneyWorld. I know that it’s a little corny (or a lot corny), but it is an absolute favorite. I was, perhaps, a little trepidatious when it was announced that they were going… Read More ›
“Star Trek” and the Quest to be Better
At its best, “Star Trek” shines a light on our own humanity. It shows us how we could be better, how we could do more. It offers us not just those lofty ideals, but identifies its characters as being less… Read More ›
“Nashville” and “A Place in the Sun” and America
The movies “Nashville” and “A Place in the Sun” are both great. They both offer up not just engrossing stories, not just wonderful filmmaking, but important thoughts about the American Dream and the ways in which we can destroy it…. Read More ›
“Luca,” “Profile,” and Being Happy in your own Skin
We are better when we can be ourselves and have confidence in the knowledge that those around us will accept us as such. One needs look no further than Disney-Pixar’s “Luca” to see just how much it means to be… Read More ›
“The Stairs” Offers up a Path to Highs and Lows
Mysteries are great. Suspense and scares are great. There is no reason why every little thing happening in a film has to be explained. There is no reason why we have to understand exactly how the horror in a horror… Read More ›
“Lasso” is More
Listen, I’m not going to lie to you — I took last week off from the podcast. It’s the summer, I’m allowed to take a week off. Odds are, honestly, that I’m going to take another week off before the… Read More ›
We Dive in as SpongeBob Goes “On the Run”
That fellow who lives in a pineapple under the sea (SpongeBob SquarePants) premiered his Nickelodeon series back in 1999. Now, here in 2021, his third big movie, “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run,” is out on Blu-ray. Although Josh… Read More ›
“Almost Famous,” “Boogie,” and Growing Up
The transition from childhood to adulthood is different for everyone, but, whatever the specifics of the shift, it is almost certainly not a smooth one. There are bumps and jerks and difficulties along the way. That it happens to all… Read More ›
From “Cruella” to “Dalmatians,” is this Prequel Worth it?
Disney’s “Cruella,” which stars Emma Stone as the titular villain who eventually torments many a dog in the Disney classic, “101 Dalmatians,” is not available for purchase digitally. I, for one, am always a little skeptical of such origin stories… Read More ›
Final Thoughts Before Leaving the World of “Biomutant”
A few weeks ago we delivered to you the first of two promised episodes on the open-world RPG “Biomutant.” It wasn’t a teaser as much as it was a review in progress. Well, this week, we’re finishing our discussion of… Read More ›
Indiana Jones Whips his way to 4K
We love the Indiana Jones movies. Well, we love three of them and tolerate a fourth and hope that the fifth allows our hero to ride off into the sunset in perfect fashion. Timed to coincide with the 40th anniversary… Read More ›
Getting to Know “Biomutant”
Up today on the podcast we have the first of two planned installments on the video game, “Biomutant.” A post-apocalyptic role-playing game, “Biomutant” allows you to wander about a destroyed version of our world as a… well, a kind of… Read More ›
“Super 8” and Super J.J.
One of the arguments you may have heard against hte work of J.J. Abrams is that he’s always borrowing from something else, he’s always taking something that’s already been done, rejiggering it slightly, tossing in lens flare, and sending it… Read More ›
“My Fair Lady” and the Last Minute Change
There is no doubt that “My Fair Lady” is a classic. It is a great movie. There is also no doubt that the ending… well, the ending may be its downfall. Henry Higgins is a bad person throughout the film… Read More ›
“Spiral,” “Army of the Dead,” and Movie Webs
Although I regularly think of moviegoing as a near religious experience, another thought came into my mind recently — what if we looked at movies as akin to a spider’s web? Surely you’ve had this happen to you before. You… Read More ›
“Speed,” “Shrek,” and Greatness
We have recently seen “Speed” and “Shrek” arrive on 4K UHD. These are both excellent films. They were excellent when they first came out in theaters, and they’re still excellent today. One of the crucial things to note about both… Read More ›
