My Review of They Will Kill You (2026)

 

Written by Kirill Sokolov And Alex Litvak

Directed by Kirill Sokolov 

Lily (re Asia): "Our offering is on the loose, be on the lookout. I just dropped her picture in the group chat."

Halfway through this film, I was struck by the most obvious realisation. I had already seen this before. I saw it when I had watched Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come. This film pretty much had the same premise. Did that bother me? Not really tbh.

The film started with Asia Reaves (Zazie Beetz) trying to protect her younger sister, Maria (Orefile Moloi) from their abusive father. Asia ended up in prison and Maria's life ended being a lot worse as a direct result.

Of course, Asia would get out of prison, take on the name of Isabel in order to secure a job at The Virgil. The place was run by Lilith Woodhouse (Patricia Arquette) and her husband, Ray (Paterson Joseph). It was a place that also had a few guests that would surprise Asia.

The guests being Kevin Sullivan (Tom Felton), Sharon Vanderbilt (Heather Graham) and a few others. Not only did they try to kill Asia but they're also members of a Satanic cult and they themselves couldn't be killed. Asia herself certainly tried to kill them but they refused to die.

On the plus side, she did reunite with her sister Maria (Myha'la) but both sisters were at odds with one another. Maria had joined the same Satanic cult and needed to make a sacrifice in order to solidify her loyalty to Satan (James Remar). 

The film certainly skimmed over Asia and Maria's abandonment issues and while the outcome was expected, I loved the madcap insanity that led to it. That and the fact that Satan was a talking pig's head was rather amusing. There was so much fun to be had with this one.

- The movie was broken up into various chapter titles. There's a nice supporting role for Angus Sampson as Asia's private investigator/lawyer.

- Patricia Arquette's Irish accent was not good. 

- Standout music: Dead Man's Bones Lose Your Soul.

- Chronology: A ten year time jump between the first scene and the main event. The Virgil was set in NYC.

They Will Kill You was a riot. Satanism, Tarantino style violence, sisterly relationships and awful corrupted people. Oh and a talking pig's head. I had a lot of fun with this one.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of The Devil Wears Prada 2 (2026)

 

Written by Aline Brosh McKenna

Directed by David Frankel 

Miranda: "I always knew that you would end up doing something great."

Andy: "You forgot I existed."

Miranda: "Right, but... before that, I knew."

Ah, the legacy sequel. For every Top Gun: Maverick, there are others that don't fare well. Then there's this sequel. I can't believe it's been twenty years but it has and the gang are back for this second offering.

Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), the fearsome icon she may be found herself at something of a disadvantage in this sequel. She might still have Nigel Kipling (Stanley Tucci) and new assistants in Amara (Simone Ashley) and Charlie (Caleb Heaton) but there were two people missing from her life that the events of this movie reunited her with.

Those women being Andrea Sachs (Anne Hathaway) and Emily Charlton (Emily Blunt). A rather public faux pas saw Irv Ravitz (Tibor Feldman) bring the former to something help Miranda with the running of Runway. The timing was great for Andrea, given that she just lost her job and was on the verge of writing a book about Miranda herself.

Then there's Emily. She's the senior executive at Dior and she was more than happy to help Miranda as long as it benefitted her. I've had a soft spot for Emily and the grudging admiration that Emily and Andrea have for each other was once again a lot of fun to watch. Emily also had a rich love interest in Benji Barnes (Justin Theroux).

Now, let's have a deep dive into Miranda as a character. She's a fearsome character but this was a movie that tried to deconstruct her with very mixed result. Was Miranda really a thing of the past? Was Emily justified in trying to take Runway from under her? Was Andrea really going to turn down so much money in order to profess her loyalty to Miranda?

I think both Emily and Miranda mostly had the measure of each other and I liked that Miranda also spoke sense into Andrea while giving Nigel his moment to shine. There's also a nice subplot involving Lucy Liu's Sasha that did lead into Miranda and Andrea's newly changed dynamic by the end of the movie. Print media might be struggling but there's clearly some fight in it.

- While there are plenty of cameos from the likes of Lady Gaga, Donatella Versace etc, people like Anna Wintour, Sydney Sweeney and Conrad Ricamora had their scenes cut.

- Andrea and Miranda had love interests in Peter (Patrick Brammall) and Stuart (Kenneth Branagh). Emily had two kids. Irv's son, Jay (B.J. Novak) didn't seem to care for Miranda.

- Miranda was the subject of certain memes and Andrea got her own assistant in Jin (Helen J. Shen). I also liked the return of Lily (Tracie Thoms).

- Andrea really was still living in a modern apartment twenty years on from the last time we met her.

- Standout music: Lady Gaga/Doechi's Runway, Miley Cyrus/Brittany Howard's Walk Of Fame and The Marias No One Noticed.

- Chronology: Twenty years since the first movie. Set in New York and Milan. 

Well, I'll admit that this was something of a sequel. The Devil Wears Prada 2 won't beat out the first movie in terms of quality but it turned out to be a much better handled return than I expected it to be. A good commentary on the industries respectively and some genuinely funny/sweet moments, I don't think we'll have to wait another twenty years for next one.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Honey Don't! (2025)

 

Written by Ethan Coen And Tricia Cooke

Directed by Ethan Coen

Honey: "Sorry, I think I left some lipstick down there."

MG: "It's okay, that's the only place I ever wear it."

One of a few films of last year that I didn't get through to watching, I remedied that yesterday and I had a good time with it. I'm not gonna say that I'm a hardcore Coen brothers fan but I've seen some of their movies and they're generally enjoyable.

Of course in recent years, both brothers have directed separately and it would appear that Ethan Coen wanted to a lesbian trilogy of sorts. Out of order, I'm reviewing the middle bit I guess. I guess I better find Drive-Away Dolls soon.

Anyways one of the currently popular collaborators with Ethan Coen would be Margaret Qualley. She's cast as the titular Honey O'Donahue. She's a lesbian private investigator that quite frankly feels like she's from another time altogether and got displaced into current day Bakersfield. I mean, she doesn't feel like a modern day person.

Saying that, her problems do seem universal enough with the death of Mia Novotny (Kara Peterson) forming a huge component to this movie. There are bodies dropping all over the place and there's also a rather sinister looking Reverend named Drew Devlin (Chris Evans). He's also a cult leader, who seemed to enjoy seeing himself while having sex with various women.

There's a subplot with the Reverend pissing off high ups and his sexy tunes with the charismatic Chère (Lera Abova) and getting killed as a result. I genuinely thought he was going to be the big bad of the movie, especially when Honey's niece Corinne (Talia Ryder) went missing.

The actual baddie turned out to be a better choice. Of course Honey's love interest, MG Falcone (Aubrey Plaza) would be the one responsible for Mia's murder. The chemistry with Qualley and Plaza definitely helped with this plot along with Honey herself finding another bad girl to tangle with by the end of this movie.

- Charlie Day popped up as Detective Marty Metakawich, who didn't get that Honey liked women. There's also a subplot where Honey confronted her father, played by Kale Browne.

- Billy Eichner also appeared as Honey's client, Mr. Siegfried. He was convinced his boyfriend, Colligan (Christian Antidormi) was cheating on him. He was correct.

- Standout music: Brittany Howard's We Gotta Get Out Of This Place, Margaret Qualley's Odd Wad Wankers and Wanda Jackson's Honey Don't.

- Chronology: Present day Bakersfield, California.

Honey Don't! I guess did make for a good lesbian B noir movie. Everyone's on fine form but it's Margaret Qualley seemed to have the most fun out of everyone. I enjoyed this one.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Half Man: "Episode 2"

 

Written by Richard Gadd 

Directed by Alexandra Brodski 

Ruben: "Just say the words."

Niall: "I need you."

I think this show will end up causing me a damn heart attack. It's the ultimate stress test and if the first episode didn't push that, this one sure as fuck did. I actually fucking gasped a few times.

Time moved faster in the flashbacks while going backwards in the present day. Flashbacks first though. Niall had the perfect chance to loosen Ruben's hold on him and he did the exact opposite. College can be stressful but adding Ruben into the mix was a powder keg waiting to go off.

Niall was warned by Lori not to contact Ruben. She knew that he wasn't a good influence on her. Given the events of this episode, it's even more frustrating that Niall ignored his mother's perfectly sound advice. Things really had the potential to go well for Niall had he not contacted Ruben.

There was his flatmates Joanna (Kate Robson-Stuart), Celeste (Philippine Velge) and Alby (Bilal Hasna). Ruben's presence caused tension between Joanna and Celeste and the worst case of crossed wires saw poor Alby getting badly beaten by Ruben. That scene was fucking horrific to watch and actively made me hate Ruben on the spot.

Let's talk about Alby, shall we? I fucking loved him as a character and the chemistry between Mitchell Robertson and Bilal Hasna was wonderful. I saw some say that Alby was pressuring Niall to come out but I didn't see it that way. Alby genuinely cared about Niall and like most characters, he recognised the toxic hold that Ruben had over him.

That same hold made itself too apparent in the present day when even Lori recognised that Niall had feelings for Ruben. The present day stuff led to Ruben's appearance and the reveal that Niall was marrying Alby (Charlie de Melo). Alby's reaction to Ruben's presence was rather telling. Even I was disturbed by Niall practically needing Ruben's permission to marry Alby.

- Alby still had serious facial scars in the present day due to how badly beaten up he was by Ruben. His full name was Albert Franklin Safadi.

- Ruben gave Celeste a lot of drugs, spat on Joanna and smashed up the kitchen. He was also reacting to his father having a child with another woman.

- Celeste called both Niall and Ruben "Porridge Nan" at different point. Niall was visibly upset by his "Student" mug being smashed. Alby likened Niall to a performer. 

- Alby was a fan of E.T: The Extraterrestrial and The Great Escape. Bob Geldof, not so much.

- Standout music: Yazoo's Only You, New Order's Blue Monday and Simple Minds Love Song.

- Chronology: 1989 at Glasgow University for most of the episode while the episode ended with Niall saying "I do" to Alby. 

Well, that episode was both terrifying and electrifying in equal measures. Last week, I praised the performance of both versions of Ruben and Niall and that should go without saying here. On top of that, I've got to praise both Bilal Hasna and Charlie de Melo, both of whom were on excellent form as Alby. 

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Love, Simon (2018)

 

Written by Elizabeth Berger And Isaac Aptaker

Directed by Greg Berlanti

Simon: "Yeah, maybe not that gay."

I did this the wrong way. You see, I watched all three seasons of sequel show, Love, Victor before ever watching this movie. It's taken me longer than I should've but I finally got around to watching this one. Better late than never I suppose.

Anyways our main character was a highschool student named Simon Spier (Nick Robinson). He's an average guy with a nice set of parents in Jack (Josh Duhamel) and Emily (Jennifer Garner) and not annoying younger sister named Nora (Talitha Bateman). So far, nothing out of the ordinary.

Simon's even got a great set of friends with Leah (Katherine Langford), Nick (Jorge Lendeborg Jr.) and newcomer, Abby (Alexandra Shipp). It's all pretty normal, except that Simon had a secret he was keeping from everyone that was about to come out with no way of stopping.

Yup, Simon's gay and he's been emailing another guy nicknamed Blue. There were three candidates for Blue. Those candidates were theatre guy Cal (Miles Heizer), cute server Lyle (Joey Pollari) and handsome jock Bram (Keiynan Lonsdale). At various points, each one of them was ruled out of being Blue but we'll get back to that in a bit.

Simon's biggest worry wasn't just finding out Blue's identity but he also found himself being blackmailed by annoying fellow classmate Martin (Logan Miller). The latter wanted to date Abby and forced Simon's hand in pushing them together. It seemed like a lot of people wanted to date Abby, including Nick and he eventually did.

Unfortunately for Simon not only did Martin out him after being rejected by Abby but Simon almost lost his friends by inadvertently messing with their love lives. He eventually got them back, even got an ally with fellow gay student Ethan (Clark Moore) and had the heartwarming scenes with both parents that were lovely to watch.

Now circling back to Blue, it turned out to be Bram and the reveal was nicely handled (amongst Martin's attempts of redemption). Like all romcoms, Simon got the guy, learned some much needed life lessons and things ended on a happy note for everyone concerned. 

- The movie's based on the book, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli.

- In the book, Leah was bisexual as was Cal but that wasn't addressed here. Leah's crush on Simon however was given some screen time. Simon used the alias of Jacques when emailing Blue.

- Both Tony Hale and Natasha Rothwell were given the vice principal/drama teacher roles of Mr. Worth and Ms. Albright. The latter in particular got a genuinely satisfying moment upon dealing with two homophobic students.

- Drew Starkey popped up briefly in the movie. Abby dressed as Wonder Woman for a party while Simon and Leah were John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

- Standout music: Brenton Woods The Oogum Boogum Song and Jackson 5's Someday At Christmas to name a few.

- Chronology: Set in a suburb in Atlanta, Georgia and taking in the likes of Halloween and Christmas at different points.

Love, Simon, in my opinion turned out to be an excellent coming of age story. It's everything a romcom for the younger generation need it to be and it's got a slew of great performances throughout. Nick Robinson's career definitely should've blown up more from this movie.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

DCU Blog - April 2026 Edition: Clayface Trailer, Lanterns Airdate And Major Casting News

Well, April turned out to be one hell of a month for DC fans. There really was so much going on.

Adria Arjona has joined the cast of Man Of Tomorrow (July 9th 2027) but is she playing Maxima or Wonder Woman? Time will tell on that one. Filming has now begun on the Superman (2025) sequel. Andre Royo has also been cast in an undisclosed role.

Charles Dance has been cast as Christopher Dent for The Batman - Part II (October 1st 2027). Filming starts from June in London.

James Gunn has recently confirmed not to expect The Authority any time soon, due to the script not working out.

Season 3 of My Adventures With Superman will premiere at midnight from June 13th on Adult Swim's Toonami with a next day release on HBO Max.

Supergirl (June 26th 2026) got her flowers at both CinemaCon and CCXP Mexico this month. Both Milly Alcock and Craig Gillespie were promoting the movie at both events.

We will be seeing more of Sean Gunn's Maxwell Lord in future DCU projects. I imagine that'll be sooner than later.

James Gunn has also stated after filming for Man Of Tomorrow is complete, he'll discuss what is and isn't canon from The Suicide Squad and Blue Beetle in relation to the DCU. 

The first trailer for Clayface (October 23rd 2026) has been watched by over 11 millions views on YouTube so far. The movie will be set before the events of Superman (2025).

Funko Pops will be released for John Constantine, Midnighter, Apollo and Dreamer to commence with Pride Month.

Correction from last month but Dark Knights Of Steel will be released from July.

Lanterns will seemingly air on HBO from August 16th. The trailer is currently down.

Both Booster Gold and Paradise Lost are still in development with the latter being in extreme development.

Sidney Chandler is rumoured to be cast as Nosferata for the second season of Creature Commandos.

The fourth episode of the Krypto show is now available on YouTube.

That's it for this month. We're going to get a lot of more reveals over the coming months.

My Review of Michael (2026)

 

Written by John Logan

Directed by Antoine Fuqua

Michael Jackson: "I believe music can change the world. Spread love, joy, and peace. That is what I want the world to feel... magic!"

I'm not gonna lie. I had preconceived notions before watching this biopic. My fear was that it was going to be a heavily sanitised affair and to be honest, those fears were justified. This biopic needed a far more objective pair of hands working on it. That's not what we got here.

Casting Michael Jackson's own nephew Jaafar to play the infamous singer was alarming enough. I'll give Jaafar some credit. He did look and sound enough like his uncle to suspend some disbelief but it's still not something that should've been done in the first place.

Of course the movie started off with Michael (Juliano Krue Valdi) at the start of the Jackson 5 being worked excessively by his his overambitious and violent father, Joe (Colman Domingo). Joe's mistreatment of Michael was something that the movie didn't shy on. It was made pretty clear that Joe had no problem hurting his son for success.

As Michael got older, he wanted a solo career and independence from his family. He needed his legal team to almost trick Joe in order to let him record a solo album. The latter resented Michael's solo success but it was also the thing that gave Michael the confidence to take his career to the next level.

The movie delved into Michael visiting children's hospitals but there was a bigger focus on his body issues. There was scenes that focused on his vitiligo and rhinoplasty. There are some of the stronger moments in this movie along with the consequences of a stage accident.

Getting to the music side of things, most the Jackson 5 and Michael's biggest hits are recreated here. They're done reasonably well with the movie ending on the Bad tour at Wembley Stadium.

- There's some solid performances from Nia Long, Miles Teller and Kendrick Sampson as Katherine Scruse-Jackson, John Branca and Quincy Jones respectively.

- Not all of MJ's siblings feature in the movie and scenes with Kat Graham's Diana Ross were cut from the movie.

- Standout music: The likes of Billie Jean, Bad, I Want You Back etc are done well.

- Chronology: This movie covered from 1969 to 1988 in Michael's career and life.

Michael (2026) needed a more objective pair of hands working on this movie. It's too sanitised  and often quite bland at times too. Jaafar did an okay enough job in taking on his uncle's legacy. It'll make enough for that sequel to happen.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Things Like These (2025)

 

Written And Directed by Max Talisman

Zack A: "I like you and I'm trying so hard not to."

Zack M: "Yeah, that's what liking someone is like. It's terrifying. All you wanna do is run."

Sometimes you hear about a movie being so bad that morbid curiosity will take over and you've got to watch it. That's partly why I chose to watch this one last night. I'd love to say that the reputation wasn't deserved but I'd be lying.

First things first and because I try to be fair, I will give writer, director and lead actor Max Talisman props for trying to tell a slightly different gay romance. Saying that, he should've put his business hat on here and not cast himself as one of the leads. This movie would've benefitted from a more experienced actor in the role.

Anyways our writer and director cast himself as Zack Anthony. He's a fat guy (something which the movie isn't shy about mentioning) who's also an aspiring writer of vampire fiction. This film opened up with him getting dumped by Ben (James Leone). The latter isn't just repulsed by Zack's physical appearance but his personality in general.

Zack A's personality in general definitely would be one of the biggest problems with the movie. In some ways, we're clearly meant to find his bluntness more charming but oftentimes, it did come across as far too rude. Fortunately, Zack A did manage to temper some of that attitude upon meeting the love of his life.

Yup, this was where Zack Mandel (Joey Pollari) aka Zack M factored into things. Zack M quickly ditched his boyfriend of two years Eric (Taylor Trensch) in order to hook up with Zack A. Slightly stretching credulity a tad it turned out that both Zacks met at a summer camp fifteen years prior and were each others first kisses. Also both mens penchant for self sabotage provided some moderate tension before the big finale reunion at a high school prom.

Yeah, there's a lot of contrivances and sitcom/romcom style tropes that alternate between kind of endearing and rather annoying at times. Zack M's friend Ava (Jackie Cruz), boss Margie (Cara Bueno) and father Paul (Eric Roberts) are a mixed bag of characters. Saying that, Ava can be thanked/blamed for reuniting the Zacks. Zack A's friends get some focus as well but seem slightly less drawn out.

- Zack A's book was called Undeath In The Family. He got a publishing deal while Zack M got fired and decided to set up his own talent agency.

- Zack A made a point about hating actresses but didn't mind his straight actor friend, Peter (Danny Chavarriago). Willem Belli also had a brief cameo appearance.

- Standout music: There's a decent cover version of Linger during the prom scene.

- Chronology: Alternates between New York and Jersey, over the course of week during the winter.

I will give Things Like These points for effort and for trying something a little different in the gay romcom genre. I think there's a lot of gay men who are similar to Zack A and wanting to find their Zack M. I just wish the chemistry with Max Talisman and Joey Pollari was there but sadly it's desperately lacking.

Rating: 5 out of 10 

My Review of Half Man: "Episode 1"

 

Written by Richard Gadd

Directed by Alexandra Brodski

Ruben (to Niall): "My brother from another lover."

My original plan for this show was to watch it weekly and then do a series overview. However, after watching the first episode late last night, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I also couldn't wait until the end of next month to do a series review, so I'm doing this instead.

Things started off with the wedding of Niall Kennedy (Jamie Bell). We don't see the person that Niall's marrying but we do see his estranged "brother" Ruben Pallister (Richard Gadd). They're in a barn, their interactions laced with a strong homoerotic tension and then Niall ended up being punched by Ruben.

After that, it's basically a look into their past as teenagers in 1980s Scotland. The younger Niall (Mitchell Robertson) wasn't pleased about the recently released Ruben (Stuart Campbell) sharing a bedroom with him. At this point, it's largely implied that Niall and Ruben's mothers - Lori (Neve McIntosh) and Maura (Marianne McIvor) are in a relationship with each other. Ruben seemed less phased by this than Niall was.

Of course for Niall, not only did he have to deal with Ruben being a volatile presence in his life, he was also victim of being bullied by the likes of John (Scott Greenan), Drew (Calum Manchip) and Murray (Gordon Brown). The bullying bordered on homophobic until Ruben put a stop to it. Niall returned the favour by helping Ruben pass his prelam.

Then there's Mona (Charlotte Blackwood). I could be wrong but I really do get the vibe that Niall's gay because the only he seemed to be able to have sex with Mona was when he looked at Ruben. Ruben also seemed to be kind of aware of that too. For two guys who were essentially "brothers", the homoerotic tension between the two of them was off the flipping charts.

While the majority of this first episode largely focused on the younger versions of Niall and Ruben, we did go back to the older versions to cap the episode off. Ruben went from trying to steady Niall's breathing to trying to suffocate him. Ignoring the "weeks ahead" trailer that gave some context, Ruben was genuinely terrifying in his interactions with Niall in both timelines.

- I wish HBO Max and BBC1 had synced up the release better. Why are they five days apart? This feels like it should be a Sunday show.

- There's a nice supporting role for Stuart McQuarrie as the weary teacher, Mr. Jenkins. He had a few funny lines.

- Niall liked Indiana Jones and Doctor Who. Neve McIntosh played Madame Vastra during the Steven Moffat era of the show.

- Ruben gifted Niall a pair of boxing gloves. Niall wanted to be a writer and his father died when he was eight. Ruben was in Young Offenders. Ruben gave Niall the nickname of "Bambi".

- Standout music: Ian Dury's Clever Trevor was used well during the end of the episode.

- Chronology: Mostly in 1987 and a more present day setting for the older versions of Niall and Ruben.

The first episode really stuck the landing and I've been thinking about it since last night. Richard Gadd clearly wants to give a more layered insight into masculinity. That was evident with Baby Reindeer but this show definitely seems like it's going to push that conversation even harder and I can't wait to see more.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Project Hail Mary (2026)

 

Written by Drew Goddard

Directed by Phil Lord And Christopher Miller

Ryland (re Rocky): "He tells me what to do, he tells me why to do it, he tells me how to do it, he tells me when to do it, and then when I do it, he's like, "what are you doing?""

Okay, decided to finally catch up on one of the biggest movies of 2026 so far. I had to see this one. There was way too much surrounding it. Did it live up to the hype? Yes it did.

Ryan Gosling has had such a mixed bag at the box office. He's had a strong of flops and I genuinely this was going to be another. I thought it's budget alone wouldn't get made back. I was wrong. Anyways on to the actual movie itself.

There's a science teacher named Ryland Grace (Gosling). He's also a former molecular biologist but teaching middle school science became something that he genuinely liked doing. He seemed content with it as a profession but fate had other ideas for Ryland.

In particular a bunch of scientists and government officials under agent Eva Stratt (Sandra Hüller) have discovered that the sun has started to dim due to a microorganism and it's up to both Ryland and other scientists to figure out to stop this. This was something that Ryland had to be persuaded into doing by excessive force.

The movie bounced between the build up of sending Ryland into space and then everything that Ryland got up to while he was in space. In particular, there's the introduction of an alien named Rocky (James Ortiz) and it's the biggest highlight in the movie. Yes, Ryan Gosling's best scene partner was through a puppet controlled alien.

Watching Ryland and Rocky form a bond and learning about each others cultures was fun. It's a friendship that was nicely fleshed out during the second and third acts of the movie and both characters bonded over a similar mission. By the end of this movie, I think Ryland made the right choice about his future.

- I'm going to give this movie props for avoiding a Ryland/Eva romance as I felt the more professional relationship worked much better.

- The film's based on a 2021 book of the same name by Andy Weir.

- Ryland and Rocky lamented about past lovers. Rocky didn't quite perfect the first bump.

- While it was totally predictable, I did smile when Ryland referred to Rocky's girlfriend as Adrian.

- Standout music: Sandra Hüller's version of Sign Of The Times certainly hit the spot.

- Chronology: 2032 Earth, space, Venus, the 40 Eridani A System and the biodome on the Eridanians planet.

After watching this film, I get the hype for Project Hail Mary. While I'll admit that I did think it lagged a little, once Rocky was introduced, I really do think the movie came alive. Ryan Gosling definitely gave one hell of a performance too.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Apex (2026)

 

Written by Jeremy Robbins

Directed by Baltasar Kormákur

Ben (to Sasha): "It's very simple. You've got until the very end of this song to get as far away from me as you can."

Time for some action survival shenanigans then. Let's get Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton and place them in a 95 minute battle of determination of wits. Only one will survive and yes, it's the one you'd expect to survive.

First though, a little context. Let's open with Theron's thrill seeking Sasha who was married to a man named Tommy (Eric Bana). Rock climbing was a thing for these two but it also led to the death of Tommy.

Sasha of course was grieving the loss of her husband and had intended to scatter his ashes. She also had the misfortune to encounter a strange man named Ben (Egerton). Sasha knew he was a bit off but not the extent he'd reveal himself to be when they met a second time.

It turned out that Ben was a serial killer and he had Sasha marked as his next victim. Ben's also something of a thrill seeker too and wanted to give Sasha a head start into the wilderness first. This did add some more tension to the movie.

I'll give the movie pointers for the cat and mouse antics with Sasha and Ben. Sasha's determined to stay alive, even when Ben's got the jump on her and bombarding her with unwarranted observations about her dead husband. Ben's big problem was that he enjoyed the build up a bit too much.

It should go without saying that of course Sasha would be the one to survive. She had Ben at a disadvantage and used it to get rid of him altogether. Ben completely deserved his fate but it's amusing that in spite of his mistrust for Sasha, he still couldn't stop her from getting the better of him.

- There's a rather nice shot of a naked Taron Egerton swinging from a big rope halfway through the film.

- Ben practiced cannibalistic rituals and had previous victims carcases in a cave. He also killed his own mother.

- Standout music: Leonard Cohen's Boogie Street.

- Chronology: First scene had Sasha and Tommy climbing the Troll Wall in Norway before the main action took place in Wandarra National Park, Australia.

I'll admit they I thought Apex (2026) was decent enough. It's not the type of movie that will leave a lasting impression but it's a diverting 95 minutes with both leads on good form. Good enough weekend viewing.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Misery (1990)

 

Written by William Goldman 

Directed by Rob Reiner

Annie (to Paul): "I'm your number one fan. There's nothing to worry about. You're going to be just fine. I will take good care of you. I'm your number one fan."

Okay, if I said this was my favourite adaptation of a Stephen King novel, what would that say about me? An absolute cautionary tale in fan worship can take a hold of your senses and turn someone into something far scarier than anything a writer could come up.

This was a story about a woman named Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates). A retired nurse, widowed and living on a farm, her life wasn't much to write home about. As she dealt with an increasingly cruel world, she at least had some literary solice with the exploits of Misery Chastain. Those books were a lifeline to Annie.

Not only just the books but the author behind them - Paul Sheldon (James Caan) was someone who Annie worshipped the ground of. Annie's literary escape and her real life collided when a snowstorm brought Paul into her life for real. Yup, he was badly busted up and who better to take care of him than Annie herself.

Okay, I'll stop. Annie might be the hero of her own story but in the book and the movie itself, she's unquestionably the villain of the piece and one of the most menacing baddies ever committed to the page and screen. To say this was one of Kathy Bates best performance would be underselling it.

Throughout the movie, Annie went from girlishly charming towards Paul to losing the absolute plot upon realising the latter had killed off her favourite character. Her violent outbursts are genuinely shocking, no more than when she decided to break Paul's ankles as a result of him sneaking out of the room.

Annie's other method of dealing with Paul was to get him to write a new Misery book that would resurrect the character. There's a scene where Annie gave Paul one of the best critiques about fairness in writing. I actually think that critique alone helped to make Paul a much better writer.

Saying that, Annie might have gotten the book she wanted all along but she didn't get to live long enough to enjoy it. That fight to the death scene with her and Paul was brutal to watch but only one of them was getting out of that place alive. The ending itself certainly show that Paul won't be forgetting Annie for the rest of his life.

- In the book, there's more details on Annie's victims, a different foot outcome and paragraphs of Misery's Return. None of these appear here.

- Annie had a sow named Misery and she really hated swearing. That didn't stop Annie from swearing itself. I also loved husband/wife duo, Sheriff Buster (Richard Farnsworth) and Deputy Virginia (Frances Sternhagen). Lauren Bacall appeared briefly as Paul's agent, Marcia Sindell.

- Paul's real life background was more in line with the Fast Cars book they Annie made him burn.

- Stephen King was so impressed with Kathy Bates performance that he wrote Dolores Claiborne for her.

- Standout music: Jr. Walker and the All Stars Shotgun and Liberace's Piano Concerto #1.

- Chronology: Paul was living in New York City but was heading to Silver Creek, Colorado before Annie got to him.

Misery (1990) to me is easily the best performance that Kathy Bates and James Caan have given in their careers. It's also the best Stephen King adaptation and one that's painfully on point about fanaticism getting out of hand.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

My Review of Stand By Me (1986)

 

Written by Raynold Gideon And Bruce A. Evans

Directed by Rob Reiner

Gordie: "I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?"

In a few months time, this movie will hit it's 40th anniversary and it's also one of the best adaptations of a Stephen King short story (specifically The Body). 

You've got four young lads - Gordie Lachance (Wil Wheaton), Chris Chambers (River Phoenix), Teddy Duchamp (Corey Feldman) and Vern Tessio (Jerry O'Connell). Each of them with their own distinct personalities but it's Gordie that was the unofficial centre focus of this story

The lads heard about a dead body of a boy named Ray Brower. Well, it was Vern eavesdropping on his brother, Billy (Casey Siemaszko) and the latter's friend, Charlie (Gary Riley) talking about it. Gordie and company decided that they are going to find the body first before Billy and his friends, led by Ace Merrill (Kiefer Sutherland) get there first.

It's a fun journey where the lads had to dodge trains, fend off actual leeches, ridicule each other at every turn and even combat the cantankerous Milo Pressman (William Bronder) and his not so vicious dog, Chopper. Pressman in particular got under Teddy's skin, making him a rather callous adult.

One of the best things about this movie was how we got to know bits about each of the lads. Teddy's dad was abusive, Chris propped up Gordie but kept putting himself down while Vern and Teddy would drift apart from Gordie and Chris at a later date. Gordie dealing with his older brother, Denny (John Cusack) dying was also rather affecting.

As for the body itself, there's a good stand off between the boys and that gang with Gordie humiliating Ace. The latter's a scumbag, nicely played by Sutherland. Ace himself did vow revenge but no one took him seriously. By the way the film ended, I don't think Ace got his chance to get even.

- The last scene had Richard Dreyfuss as the older Gordie who became a writer. Chris was a lawyer who got stabbed. Gordie read about his death at the start of the movie.

- The grossest moment was Teddy recalling the story of David "Lard-Ass" Hogan (Andy Lindberg) and a certain pie eating contest.

- Gordie's father was the couch from A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge and his mother was in Gremlins, Footloose and Back To The Future.

- Ray Brower was in the Lard Ass story. I hadn't realised that until I read up on the movie.

- Standout music: Ben E. King's Stand By Me of course.

- Chronology: Mostly in 1959 during Labor Day, Castle Rock but the first and last scenes are set in 1985.

Stand By Me would definitely be in my Top 5 in terms of Stephen King adaptations. It's such a perfect movie and one that does have a genuinely timeless feel to it. A brilliant movie with a great commentary on friendship.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

My Review of The Young Offenders (2016)

 

Written And Directed by Peter Foott

Conor: "There are two things you need for an adventure, a treasure map and someone dumb enough to go with you."

I'll admit that while I haven't discussed this on my blog, I do from time to time watch the popular RTE/BBC series of the same name. This movie, released a decade ago really did lay the groundwork for the ongoing TV show.

It's set in Cork and the offenders in question are local fuck ups Jock Murphy (Chris Walley) and Conor MacSweeney (Alex Murphy). Two young lads who bring out the worst and sometimes the best in one another. They also wreck everyone around them and often on purpose.

One person in particular who was exasperated by them was Conor's long suffering mother, Mairéad (Hilary Rose). Mairéad spent most of the film at her wits end with both Conor and Jock while also having to deal with the toothache from hell. 

At times, Mairéad was almost too harsh on both lads, something which she was even called out on but she's also the best parental figure they have. Mairéad did soften as the film went along and lets just say that she's handy with a pot when the situation called for it.

Both lads have lost a parent each. Conor lost his father and Jock his mother. Jock also had to deal with an abusive father (Michael Sands). That was something that even overzealous Sergeant Healy (Dominic MacHale) could sympathise with. That was when he wasn't spending most of them time trying and failing to stop both Jock and Conor's petty crime spree.

There's inspiration from a real life drug bust that had Jock and Conor looking to get their hands on seven million worth of cocaine. That brought in volatile characters like Billy Murphy (Shane Casey) and the nail gun wielding Ray (PJ Gallagher). Both are brilliantly psychotic baddies but I think Billy was the funnier of the two. He was the one that had the better focus on.

- In the series, PJ Gallagher would go on to play Jock and Conor's school principal. Mairéad works at the fish mongers.

- Jock and Conor used Billy Murphy masks to commit their crimes, which got Billy sent to prison.

- Standout music: Sultans of Ping F.C.'s Where's Me Jumper?

- Chronology: A large part of the plot was based on a massive cocaine seizure that happened in 2007.

The Young Offenders (2016) was an absolute riot. A genuinely funny debut/prelude to the popular series. So many funny lines, some genuinely outlandish scenes (especially with that nail gun) and a few nice emotional ones too. 

Rating: 8 out of 10 

Horror Franchises Update

This might be something I do every once in a while but there's been a few horror franchise news bits that I've wanted to talk about. Here goes.

First of all, let's talk about the Friday The 13th. We haven't had a movie since 2009 but after what has seemed like an eternity, prequel series Crystal Lake will finally come out this year on Peacock. Linda Cardellini will take on the role of Pamela Voorhees while Callum Vinson will play the young Jason Voorhees. Other cast members include William Catlett, Devon Kessler, Gwendolyn Sundstrom and Cameron Scoggins. The pilot episode was written by Brad Caleb Kane and Bryan Fuller while directed by Michael Lennox. UK/Irish viewers will get the show on SkyAtlantic and Now TV.

Back in 2024, the Child's Play franchise came to something of a standstill when SyFy's Chucky TV Series abruptly ended after three seasons and worse still, it ended on a cliffhanger. Now, it seems like a new movie from creator Don Mancini could be in development that may also resolve that cliffhanger. Of course, we do need proper confirmation but hopefully that'll be soon. It's be nice to have a new movie for the franchise's 40th anniversary in 2028.

Speaking of anniversaries, we're two years away from the Halloween franchise hitting the big 50 mark and no sign of an upcoming movie or streaming show. However we will be getting a new game coming out in September on the usual platforms. The game has Michael Myers going after a new bunch of teenagers and it looks pretty decent.

Now let's talk about Mike Flanagan for a moment. First of all in October, Amazon Prime will premiere Carrie, starring Summer H. Howell in the title role. The miniseries will run for eight episodes with many Flanagan's alumni factoring into the cast. Meanwhile on October 23rd, Clayface which stars Tom Rhys Harries in the title role will release it's first trailer tomorrow. Mike Flanagan co-wrote the script with Hossein Amini doing rewrites. The movie was directed by James Watkins. Meanwhile Flanagan's yet to be titled The Exorcist movie starring Scarlett Johansson is currently being filmed in New York with a March 12th 2027 release date. Flanagan has also signed on to direct a new version of The Mist for the WB while still trying to work on a series adaptation of The Dark Tower for Amazon Prime.

• Filming for the third season of Wednesday (Netflix) has moved to Paris. It'll be released next year.
• A seventh Final Destination movie is in development.
• The trailer for Practical Magic 2 was released. The film will be in theatres from September 11th.
• A new movie for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre has found it's writer and director in Curry Barker.
• Skeet Ulrich has confirmed that filming for the third Five Nights At Freddy's will start soon.
• A new Gremlins movie is also in development.
• The Saw franchise will be overseen by Blumhouse with James Wan also returning in a creative capacity.
• Dan Stevens will be in both The Terror: Devil In Silver (AMC) and Dexter: Resurrection (Showtime/Paramount+) this year.
• Irish fans have Hokum coming out May 1st, starring Adam Scott.
• Gay themed Australian horror Leviticus will get a US theatre release from June 19th.
• Evil Dead Burns will be in theatres from July 10th.
• Amy Madigan will likely reprise her iconic villain role in Gladys, which will be in theatres from September 8th 2028.

A change of pace for this blog or perhaps not. This might be a sporadic thing I do.

My Review of Outcome (2026)

 

Written by Jonah Hill And Ezra Woods

Directed by Jonah Hill

Reef: "I have a lot to apologise to you for."

I fancied something a bit lighter last night, so I opted for this. I knew the reviews weren't good but I was curious to see if it was a total disaster or just mediocre at best. It's mostly the latter.

When he's not getting his action on, Keanu Reeves can sometimes do a bit of comedy. In this movie, he's playing a 56 year old slightly washed up actor named Reef Hawk. He's stepped from acting to focus on sobriety and building a new home. He's also on the verge of cancellation.

That's the main plot for the movie as a mystery blackmailer was threatening to destroy Reef's reputation. Fortunately, Reef had a support system with friends Kyle (Cameron Diaz) and Xander (Matt Bomer) and his crisis lawyer, Ira Slitz (Jonah Hill). All of them were on the case to nail down who was blackmailing Reef.

It didn't take long for this movie to reveal that Reef had annoyed so many people in his career. There was a former agent named Richie "Red" Rodriguez (Martin Scorsese). Reef's attempts of asking Red how he was getting on led to a clumsy scene about crossed wires. Saying that, I did find Scorsese funny in his few scenes with Reeves.

Someone who wants a lot funnier was Susan Lucci as Reef's mother, Dinah Hawk. I could see why Reef had the issues he had with her. There's also some entertaining enough scenes with David Spade as Buddy and that crisis meeting that it included Laverne Cox as Virginia Allen Green was the height of cringe with some choice references.

The best part of the movie would be Reef's relationships with both Kyle and Xander. I do think Keanu Reeves had the best chemistry with Cameron Diaz and Matt Bomer and there's a good sense of real history between the three of them. By the end of the film, it was nice to see them reunited.

- Drew Barrymore popped up as herself and her reaction to Xander completely missing the point of E.T was funny.

- That reference to Jussie Smollett really didn't work during that crisis meeting scene.

- Standout music: Joey Lawrence's Give My Regards To Broadway.

- Chronology: Reef had been sober for five years. He was also in Albuquerque.

Outcome (2026) isn't a bad film but it's definitely one of those movies that was wisely put to Apple TV rather than sent to theatres to die. Good enough performances, some funny moments but also some misjudged ones too.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Euphoria - Season 2 (2022, HBO Series)

 

Written And Directed by Sam Levinson

Maddy: "Wait, is this fucking play about us?"

If the first season had buzz about it, then the second season absolutely blew up. I remember back in 2022 when this particular season first aired on HBO, it was impossible to avoid it. In fact, some of the most meme'd moments are from this season alone. There's a lot to unpack here.

Let's look at Rue once again, shall we? The girl was doing very little to stay off drugs in the first season and this time around, she was actively putting herself into more danger because of her addiction. The opening episode alone had her and new girl Faye (Chloe Cherry) stripped along with Fezco and almost killed.

This season introduced a drug dealer in retired school teacher Laurie (Martha Kelly). She might seem like a harmless pusher but her interactions with Rue are some of the most quietly frightening moments in the season. Laurie's a woman who'll help you come down off a bad dose while also threatening to sell you to pay off a debt in the same breath. She's legitimately terrifying in the few scenes that she appeared in this season.

Also when Rue wasn't pissing off drug lords, she was actively pissing off both her mother and sister, her friends and even her sponsor. All of them bore the brunt of Rue at her absolute worst and the inclusion of fellow addict Elliot (Dominic Fike) certainly fucked up the Rue/Jules dynamic. I don't even dislike Elliot but it's hard not to blame him for his part in that particular relationship going south nonetheless.

Going back to the drugs plot this season, I like that we had someone actually challenge Fezco's duality with being a good person but also a drug dealer. Making that person be Lexi was a smart creative choice and there's something rather charming about the Lexi/Fezco relationship in this season. They even each other out in a nice way. Throw in Faye being an entertaining enough presence and what happened to Ashtray and Fezco really went through it this season.

Now what about everyone else? Lexi wrote a play that let's be honest as funny as it was, it was also incredibly mean spirited and showed how blasé the school were that they allowed her to run in the first place. Saying that, watching the various audience reactions and Ethan's sublime range while pretending to be Suze Howard (Alanna Ubach) and Nate was freaking hysterical.

Then there's the Maddy, Nate and Cassie triangle. I do think that while this season tried to humanise Nate and give him more context, he's still an awful person and tried too much to blame Cassie for something he took part in as well. Maddy on the other hand at least managed to get revenge and even clarity while Cassie destroyed her only friendship for a guy that wasn't worth it. As for Kat, she really did get fuck all to do because have a few erotic fantasies and dump Ethan. No wonder Barbie Ferreira decided to leave the show.

- Episode titles were Trying to Get to Heaven Before They Close the Door, Out Of Touch, Ruminations: Big and Little Bullys, You Who Cannot See, Think of Those Who Can, Stand Still Like the Hummingbird, A Thousand Little Trees of Blood, The Theater and Its Double and All My Life, My Heart Has Yearned for a Thing I Cannot Name.

- Flashbacks for the season included Fezco's backstory with his grandmother and Ashtray, Rue's father's funeral and Cal's relationship with a male classmate. Nate took revenge on Cal and almost atoned for Jules.

- Suze had some genuinely hilarious moments and I loved how into Lexi's play she was. Let the woman watch her Millionaire Matchmaker in peace.

- There's a nice moment in the season where Rue/Jules spoof classic romances ranging from Snow White to Brokeback Mountain.

- Standout music: Lana Del Rey's Watercolor Eyes and Bonnie Tyler's Holding Out For A Hero.

- Chronology: Took place during New Year's Eve at the start. Rue managed to stay clean, post finale.

I'll admit that while Season 2 definitely had some similar problems to the first season, it's also the best season to boot. Going back and properly watching it, there's a lot that worked and the bits that didn't aren't enough to derail the season either.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of The Gates (2026)

 

Written and Directed by John Burr

Derek (re Jacob): "We saw something and now the psycho is after us."

To get the elephant out of the room first. This movie was the last thing that James Van Der Beek filmed prior to his untimely passing. In this movie, he's taken on something of a villainous role. Actually, he's definitely the villain of the piece.

Throw in a gated community as the main setting and you've got Van Der Beek as Pastor Jacob. He's set up the perfect neighbourhood to keep any one he saw as undesirable out but when it came to getting away with murder, he had an obstacle to overcome.

The obstacle ended up being three outsiders - Derek (Mason Gooding) and his friends Kevin (Algee Smith) and Tyon (Keith Powers). These three men saw Jacob strike and potentially kill a woman named Elizabeth (Elle Evans). Jacob also had a tight-knit community to mostly protect him.

It's interesting that you had characters like former alcoholic Christopher (Brad Leland) and wannabe singer Roxy (Sofia Hublitz) having very different interactions with Derek and his friends. Roxy was willing to help get the men out of the community if she could join them. There's a plot where one of the men had to sing for the access code.

Then there was Christopher. He was quick to disbelief Derek and friends until Jacob's action made him realise that the pastor was off his rocker. Same was applicable to Officer Bobby (Kylr Coffman) and both men didn't live to tell the tale.

As a villain, I think James Van Der Beek did a decent job as Jacob. He certainly got more threatening as the movie progress and Mason Gooding's Derek was a decent foil to him. There's also a good insight into the fractured relationship between the three outsiders that got resolved by the end of the movie.

- Derek wanted to be a lawyer while Kevin had been a football star. Christopher admired that about him.

- Derek's family also factored into the movie when Pastor Jacob later threatened them.

- I do think it's funny that none of the men thought to steal a phone during a party where everyone was distracted.

- Chronology: Set within a gated community for the majority of the film.

The Gates (2026) isn't what I'd call a must see movie. James Van Der Beek did give a good performance as Jacob and the film itself took a few surprise twists along the way.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Undertone (2026)

 

Written And Directed  by Ian Tuason

Justin: "Don't be afraid of the dark. Be afraid of the silence."

Podcast horror, anyone? Well, that's more or less the premise of this movie along with some Catholicism for good measure. There are two main characters but only one of them was seen throughout the entire movie.

The seen character of course being Evangeline "Evy" Babic (Nina Kiri). She runs a podcast called The Undertone with her unseen but largely heard friend Justin (Adam DiMarco). Given the genre of this movie, of course it's a horror podcast.

Despite his lack of a physical appearance through proceedings, it's Justin that brought things into chaotic focus when he sent Evy a series of strange letters and audio files. Both of these things turned out to be a very bad idea in the long run.

Justin heard dangerous and malicious things from the audio files but Evy spent most of the movie in denial about what he heard. There's also the fact that Evy was taking care of her comatose mother (Michèle Duquet). That played a role into proceedings.

I'll admit that the movie was a bit hard to stick with. Despite it's short length, it felt a bit disjointed at times. There's various callers, including one looking for a Mary that drove Evy nuts before things ended on a horrifying note.

- The movie was inspired by the writer/director caring for his parents. It's even filmed in his childhood home.

- Justin was originally played by Kris Holden-Ried before being replaced by Adam DiMarco.

- Standout music: Steph Copeland's Baa Baa Black Sheep.

- Chronology: Set over the course of a night in Evy's house.

I wanted to like Undertone (2026) but I found it a slog to get through. It's very uneven as a movie, though Nina Kiri and Adam DiMarco give it their all.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Thrash (2026)

 

Written And Directed by Tommy Wirkola

Dee (to Will): "Bet you never saw this on Shark Week."

Remember a couple of years there was a film named Crawl (2019)? If you've seen that movie, you'll know what to expect with this one. Instead of alligators, this one had sharks. Lots of them.

It also had a lot of human characters that mostly interconnected with one another. Humans who brought out the best and worst in one another. I'm gonna break it down.

First of all, there's Lisa (Phoebe Dynevor). She was recently dumped by her boyfriend and she was due to give birth. She got caught up big time in the Category 5 hurricane and came close multiple times to being shark food. As did her baby boy, whom she gave birth to at the worst possible moment.

Fortunately for Lisa she managed to make a new friend in agoraphobic girl Dakota (Whitney Peak). The latter was dealing with the loss of her parents but found herself stepping into something of a heroic role due to Lisa needing her. It's a nice character that developed throughout the movie.

Dakota also had an uncle named  Dr. Dale Edwards (Djimon Hounsou). He was a marine expert that knew his stuff about sharks. Saying that, while he's an expert, he practically took forever to be reunited with Dakota and it was the arrival of a much bigger shark that actually saved the day in a roundabout way.

The funniest story in the movie involved three siblings - Ron (Stacy Clausen), Will (Dante Ubaldi) and Dee (Alyla Browne). They had to deal with terrible foster parents Billy (Matt Nable) and Rachel Olsen (Amy Matthews). Let's just say that their storyline involved deaths that were more funny than sad and that dynamite shouldn't be left near children.

- Sony were originally going to release this in theatres before sending it to Netflix.

- Alternative titles for this movie included The Rising, Shiver and Beneath The Storm.

- Standout music: Tennessee River Crooks White Lightning.

- Chronology: Set in the fictional town of Annieville. Lisa mentioned being from New York.

Thrash (2026) was a lot of fun. Yes, it's a very trashy C-horror movie that definitely wouldn't feel out of place on SyFy in the 2000s. If you're not expecting fine art, you'll have a good time with this one.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Euphoria - Season 1 + Specials (2019-2021, HBO Series)

 

Written by Sam Levinson And Hunter Schafer 

Directed by Augustine Frizzell And Sam Levinson And Jennifer Morrison And Pippa Bianco

Rue: "I know it all seems sad, but guess what? I didn't build this system, nor did I fuck it up."

With the show's third and likely final season currently airing, I went back to the beginning to weigh up the pros and cons od this show overall. Sam Levinson certainly knows how to divide an audience and with this show, it's a case of flashes of brilliance mixed with so much frustration.

I'll give him credit for giving Zendaya her most influential role to date. Casting her as the show's protagonist - a queer drug addict named Ruby "Rue" Bennett, both Levinson and Zendaya have crafted one of the most complex female protagonists in the last decade.

The show started with Rue coming out of rehab after yet another overdose and her relationship with her mother, Leslie (Nika King) and younger sister, Gia (Storm Reid) doesn't much improve throughout the season. While She's relationships with Leslie and Gia get a fair amount of screen time, other characters and relationships are prioritised more.

In particular, Rue struck up a romance of sorts with transgender classmate Jules Vaughn (Hunter Schafer). I'd say for the most part, it's a sweet relationship with Rue genuinely in love with Jules but it's also marred by codependency and it's not a shock the two of them broke up by the finale.

Rue and Jules of course are the subject of special episodes that exposed some of the best writing on the show. When Sam Levinson dials down the sexual gratuity and general violence, he's capable of thoughtful conversation. Both Zendaya and Hunter Schafer certainly helped in that regard too.

These specials worked as two handers. Rue in a cafe during Christmas Eve with her sponsor, Ali Muhammad (Colman Domingo) and then Jules in a therapy session with Dr. Mardy Nichols (Lauren Weedman). They're easily the show at its best.

As for the rest of the show, there's a a slew of characters that intersect with Rue and Jules. For example, there's the deeply misogynistic and possibly closeted jock, Nate Jacobs (Jacob Elordi) who both terrorised Jules and his own girlfriend, Maddy Perez (Alexa Demie), resulting in both women having to lie to the police in order to send an innocent man to prison to save Nate's skin.

Other characters who made an impression included Nate's closeted father, Cal (Eric Dane), sister duo Lexi (Maude Apatow) and Cassie (Sydney Sweeney). The former was a good friend to Rue while the latter was repeatedly shamed for her promiscuity and had been dating Nate's friend, Chris McKay (Algee Smith). There was also Rue's dealer, Fezco O'Neill (Angus Cloud) who had his own moral code and cam girl Kat Hernandez (Barbie Ferreira). All of whom are given a decent amount of screen time. 

- Season 1 titles were Pilot, Stuntin' Like My Daddy, Made You Look, Shook Ones Pt. II, '03 Bonnie And Clyde, The Next Episode, The Trials And Tribulations Of Trying To Pee While Depressed and And Salt The Earth Behind You.

- Special titles were Trouble Don't Last Always - Part 1: Rue and Fuck Anyone Who's Not a Sea Blob - Part 2: Jules.

- The show's based on an Israeli series of the same name that only lasted ten episodes.

- Most of the episodes focus on a view point of a character but it's Rue narrating the show for the majority of the time.

- Standout music: Labrinth was responsible for most of the music. Still Don't Know My Name being the strongest.

- Chronology: The show is set in the fictional town of East Highland, California. The likes of Halloween, Christmas and New Year's are all touched upon.

Season 1 of this show easily would be the best but it also highlighted Sam Levinson's strengths and weaknesses as a writer/director/creator. There's moments of brilliance, moments of frustration and moments where it's too exploitative for it's own good.  Either way, it sticks with you as a show.

Rating: 7 out of 10