Fantasy

Nosferatu: A Bold Vision of a Familiar Story

A story become too familiar? After almost a century of Dracula narratives, whether they are adapted directly from the Bram Stoker novel or not, the character and his arc feels as familiar as a family heirloom, passed down the generations. This is part of why F.W. Murnau’s “Nosferatu” is the adaptation of the

story I come back to more often than any other- Murnau’s film feels like an oddity, like that weird uncle you don’t really want to talk about. And yet, it still has a place in the family, because the DNA remains constant.

Nosferatu: A Bold Vision of a Familiar Story

Comedy

Muppets Haunted Mansion

Among the new crop of family-oriented Halloween fare on Disney Plus is this little piece of amusement park magic. Now, if you’re any kind of Disney World fan, you already know that the Haunted Mansion is not just a beloved, 51 year old ride at Magic Kingdom, it’s got its own cult following. In the […]

Muppets Haunted Mansion

Drama

Hellbound

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4 out of 5. Imagine living in a world where bad people, like really bad, get short notice, aka prophecy, about their death within hours sent by Angels. And then, they come after the “sinner” to execute him in front of the shocked public. It’s a quiet day in a café where a […]

TIFF 2021: “Hellbound”

Fantasy

The Isle is a stale melodrama

The Isle has wonderful scenery but a boring, unimaginative plot. The Isle is a 2018 movie about some shipwrecked sailors who get stranded on a strange island, filled with curious supernatural elements. These elements have divided the inhabitants of the island and made them afraid of a Strange Haunting ™. It’s marketed as a mythological […]

The Isle is a stale melodrama

Drama

“Gaia” (2021)

“There’s something sinister in the woods.” It’s not a direct line of dialogue from NEON’s upcoming eco-horror film “Gaia” but it could have been. This eerie new chiller from director Jaco Bouwer utilizes the tried-and-true creepy forest setting to great effect, sucking us into another bizarre and unsettling deep-woods scenario that melds mystery with the […]

REVIEW: “Gaia” (2021)

Comedy

Palm Springs

It’s worth remembering that the script for Groundhog Day was, like, way darker than the final movie; the idea of a day endlessly repeating, and how that might feel for those trapped within it, has got legs. Remakes and sequels haven’t followed, and that’s a good thing, but the potential mileage is obvious, and it […]

Drama

REVIEW: “Undine” (2021)

Needless to say my expectations for the new Christian Petzold film were through the roof. The German filmmaker’s last two movies, 2014’s “Phoenix” and 2018’s “Transit”, are both snugly among my favorites from the last decade. His latest “Undine” has finally come to the States courtesy of IFC Films. And while it might not pack […]

REVIEW: “Undine” (2021)

Drama

A dark romantic fantasy, in and out of the water — “Undine”

Not everyone remembers that “Undine” or Ondine is a name from mythology, a water nymph of “The Little Mermaid” variety — one with a great gravitas attached to her love life. With or without that knowledge, the opening “break-up” scene in Christian Petzold’s German fantasy based on that myth is dark and intense. Johannes (Jacob […]

Movie Review: A dark romantic fantasy, in and out of the water — “Undine”

Adventure

John’s Horror Corner: The Ruins (2008)

MY CALL:  I love this flick! There’s nothing groundbreaking here, but it’s still a solid movie. We have an awesome cast giving good performances in a well-directed, deliciously gory killer plant movie. What more did you want?  MORE MOVIES LIKE The Ruins:  Well, for more killer plant movies I’d aim for Splinter (2008), Invasion of […]

John’s Horror Corner: The Ruins (2008), this “botanical horror” is a fun, gory, infection-based killer plant movie worth your time.

Action

Jupiter’s Legacy: Season 1

Jupiter’s Legacy premieres May 7 on Netflix. By Chris Flanagan Superheroes and comic book adaptations are everywhere. And Netflix is no stranger to greenlighting known properties that have a proven track record with literary fans into marquee tent poles that are required bingeing from the streaming giant. The Umbrella Academy, The Old Guard, Lucifer, and […]

Jupiter’s Legacy: Season 1 – Review

Action

Star Wars: The Bad Batch – Episode One Review

Quick Thoughts about Episode One – Star Wars: The Bad Batch is a welcome addition to the Star Wars animated world, and is refreshingly unique as it follows Clone Force 99, a group of defectively born, and battle-hardened clones throughout the post-Clone Wars universe.  The official synopsis for the show is “Members of a unique […]

Star Wars: The Bad Batch – Episode One Review

Drama

First Glance: “Oxygen”

An exciting first trailer as dropped for the upcoming Netflix survival thriller “Oxygen”. It comes from director Alexandre Aja whose last movie was the surprisingly entertaining “Crawl”. You know, the one about a father and daughter trapped inside their flooded home by killer alligators during a Category 5 hurricane. On paper it sounded ludicrous. But […]

First Glance: “Oxygen”

Amazon Prime Video

Carnival Row

 Amazon Prime          Orlando Bloom, Cara Delevingne   Jarred Harris   Suspense, Fantasy, Drama A serial killer is loose in Carnival Row, and the government turns a blind eye (as always) to lower class citizens. The human Rycroft Philostrate (bloom) is a detective or P.I. looking into the deaths of some fae […]

Carnival Row

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