There are basically three types of so-called "popcorn movies." The first is the slew of mindless IP sequels, reboots, and other crass cash-ins, typically released during the Summer Blockbuster Season, which only exist to fill studio coffers and require almost no effort. There's nothing essential about them, and most are just downright garbage (see, or … Continue reading Catch Me if You Can – The Running Man
There are basically three types of story when it comes to movies adapted from the works of Stephen King. The first is intricate, metaphor-laden horror that can fascinate as well as terrify. This is where you get the likes of It, Carrie, and The Shining. The second is batshit insane horror and science fiction that … Continue reading Doing the Math – The Life of Chuck
We're a third of the way through 2025, and I can safely say that we're on track to have a much better year than the last two as far as cinematic quality is concerned. There are still myriad problems like the continued push for AI-generated content despite two labor strikes that halted the entire industry, … Continue reading This Film Is Not Yet Watchable – May 2025
A couple of weeks ago, I took a nasty fall. At least, it was nasty for someone my age. While going out to get some lunch, I ran into a couple of problems. The first was that the restaurant completely flubbed my order by giving me a ton of fries I didn't ask for. I … Continue reading This Film is Not Yet Watchable – October 2024
It's almost March, the time of year when things really start to turn around. The Oscars are handed out, the NCAA Tournament begins, snow starts melting, work tends to pick up in my little sector of the entertainment industry, and Hollywood studios start putting out some really good movies. Okay, everything but that last part. … Continue reading This Film is Not Yet Watchable – March 2023
Throughout the course of the year, there are a ton of terrible horror movies littered about the schedule. Most of the time, you can kind of tell that it's going to be crap because if it's released by a major studio (or Blumhouse) but not in October, that's almost an admission that the movie isn't … Continue reading This Film is Not Yet Watchable – October 2022
Yeah yeah, you know I was going to use this meme as a cover pic eventually. You can stop rolling your eyes. But there is a point to why I decided on such a tired joke to preface this particular edition of the column. And that's the fact that this month is almost entirely about … Continue reading This Film is Not Yet Watchable – May 2022
It's all but impossible to follow up Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece of horror, The Shining. It's beyond telling that no one's even tried until now, nearly 40 years after the original release. When you have such a definitive entry in the genre, it is a fool's errand to try to live up to it. So in that … Continue reading Doesn’t Shine As Brightly, But Still Good – Doctor Sleep
I confess that I've never read Stephen King's novel, It, nor have I seen the 1990 TV miniseries based on it (I was like, 8 years old at the time). So when I saw the 2017 film version of It, that was my first full exposure to the story. I was thoroughly entertained and quite excited for … Continue reading Add “SH” to the Front for Accuracy – It Chapter Two
Okay, right off the bat I feel I have to give away a major spoiler for Steven Spielberg's latest film, Ready Player One, based on Ernest Cline's best-selling novel (Cline also co-wrote the screenplay). Don't worry, I'm not telling you how it ends, just how it doesn't end. You see, it's a sci-fi film from Spielberg, but … Continue reading Future Gamers Go on a Cinematic Speed Run – Ready Player One
I Actually Paid To See This 