My Review of Superman (1941)

 

Written by Seymour Kneitel And Isadore Sparber

Directed by Dave Fleischer 

Clark: "This looks like a job for Superman."

Am I really reviewing a ten minute animated Superman movie? Yes, yes I am. How could I not? After all, it's one of the first debuts for the character, cinematic wise. It's also a rather straightforward enough story.

There's Clark Kent (Bud Collyer). He's a reporter living in Metropolis and working for The Daily Planet. He's also the superhero known as Superman and the latter had a villain to take out in such a short space of time.

The villain in question was known as The Mad Scientist (Jack Mercer). He's got a deadly Electrothanasia-Ray that he intended to use on Metropolis. Superman to one side, the other obstacle for The Mad Scientist was a certain reporter.

In the early days, Lois Lane (Joan Alexander) really was the stereotypical damsel in distress and that's pretty much her function here. She's smart enough to work out where The Mad Scientist but still ended up being captured by the villain and needing Superman to rescue her.

The battle between Superman and The Mad Scientist was fairly straightforward too. The Electrothanasia-Ray got easily destroyed, the baddie defeated while Lois got her scoop and no one was the wiser on Clark's true identity. 

- Apparently there's seventeen of these short films on the character. They're in the public domain. This short is available on YouTube.

- Perry White (Julian Noa) also appeared while Jackson Beck voiced the narrator and a radio broadcaster.

- The catchphrase "Truth and Justice" popped up here.

- Chronology: 1940s Metropolis.

Superman (1941) told a pretty straightforward story and told it rather well. It's a great debut with some gorgeous animation and strong voice acting.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

Another Seaside Town Of Doom

It's been a while and there's some omission that will surface at a later but here's a rundown of recent shows that I've been watching.

9-1-1: Season 9 has probably been the weakest season of the show and there's a part of me that doesn't want to continue watching but I might. I do think Buck going from being kidnapped, having an addiction and now potentially being a father to his dead friends rambunctious son were all storylines that needed more time to breathe. Instead they're all rushed. As for Athena, I guess I am curious to see how she'll fare as a detective next season.

9-1-1: Nashville: Let's be honest, the rivalry between Blythe and Dixie might be repetitive every episode but it's one of the few times where the show's campiness actually works in it's favour. The diss track saga might even be the best story from this largely uneven first season. It even led to a fricking cat fight cliffhanger with the pair.

Daredevil: Born Again: A classic example of wanting to like a season, liking certain aspects but being largely bored with it as it further went along. At this point, I am well and truly over Matt Murdock vs. Wilson Fisk and if this show has any hope of going beyond next season, it needs to get over it as well. There was a decent rivalry between Karen and Heather, death for Vanessa and Daniel, the welcomed return of Jessica Jones but too often this season felt like it was sleepwalking.

The Boys: Season 5 hasn't turned out to be grand epic final that most fans were hoping but it's not quite been the Game Of Thrones style misfire. It's mostly been in between and would fall into "serviceable" at best. Too much time did seem to focus on setting up on Vought Rising and that much hyped Supernatural reunion amounted to very little. Homelander had too much plot armour as per usual but at least we're free of both him and Butcher. I've never been happier to see two main characters die than those two. I will not be covering that prequel series. After this final season, I'm definitely out of interest in this universe.

Widow's Bay: Matthew Rhys continues to build himself as an underrated king of television and his latest show would be one in my current favourite genre. Well, it's more horror comedy and the first half of the season has seen a lot of crazy shit happen in a seaside town. Rhys himself has proven to be well cast as the town's slightly inept Mayor doing his best to help his town and there's a good slew of characters for him to bounce off. I can see this show ending up in a few favourite lists towards the end of the year.

• Dan Stevens and Brian Cox will play different killers in the second season of Dexter: Resurrection. Uma Thurman and Desmond Harrington will also return.
• Sky have acquired the rights to the new Baywatch. The show will premiere on FOX from January 2027.
• A Texas based spin-off for Grey's Anatomy has been commissioned at ABC.
• Vision Quest will premiere on Disney+ from October 12th.
• HBO limited series The Chain has found it's lead in Jodie Comer.
• The Vampire Lestat will premiere on AMC from June 7th. An After show will also air alongside the new season.
• Season 6 of Only Murders In The Building has now gone into production.
• Stuart Fails To Save The Universe will now premiere on HBO Max from July 23rd.
• Scrubs has been renewed for an eleventh season at ABC.
• Netflix have renewed Running Point for a third season.
• The White Lotus has replaced Helena Bonham Carter with Laura Dern. Season 4 is now filming in France.
• Bridgerton will premiere it's fifth season in 2027.
• The final season of The Bear will premiere on FX from June 25th.

My Review of I Killed My Mother aka J'ai tué ma mère (2009)

 

Written And Directed by Xavier Dolan

Hubert: "What would you do if I died today?"

Chantale: "I'd die tomorrow."

Well, this one's been on my list for a while now and given that it's been seventeen years since it's released, I finally got around to seeing it. I can see why this has developed the following it's gotten.

Our protagonist was a man named Hubert Minel (Xavier Dolan). Hubert had something of a frustrating relationship with his mother, Chantale Lemming (Anne Dorval). Hubert for the most part loves his mother but also hated being her son. There's something believable in that sort of family dynamic. 

I think on Hubert's case, it's probably not helped by the fact that both him and his mother seem to clash a bit too easily and that the latter had a tendency to publicly embarrass Hubert as well. In fact, it's down to this that Hubert told his teacher, Julie Cloutier (Suzanne Clément) that his mother was dead. 

On top of that obvious lie that Julie quickly debunked, Hubert actually wrote an essay about Chantale being dead. It turned out that Hubert craved his family home as a child and that was where he ended up by the end of this movie. There's even a nice scene where it seemed like Hubert and Chantale came to some sort of truce with one another.

Another big part of this movie was Hubert's relationship with his boyfriend, Antonin (François Arnaud). The latter by contrast had a much healthier relationship with his own mother, Hélène Rimbaud (Patricia Tulasne) and even pointed out Hubert's selfishness in a way that actually made Hubert take note.

There's some legitimately strong chemistry between Xavier Dolan and François Arnaud with Antonin doing a lot to temper some of Hubert's worse qualities. That didn't stop Hubert from cheating on Antonin with Éric (Niels Schneider) in a minor subplot. Saying that, I'm glad both Hubert and Antonin were together by the end of the film.

- We did briefly meet Hubert's father, Richard (Pierre Chagnon). Hubert lashed out at him.

- Xavier Dolan wrote the script when he was sixteen. Hubert was sixteen for most of the film.

- Standout music: André Hébert's Des roses rouges pour toi maman.

- Chronology: During Hubert's teenage years in suburban Montreal. There's black and white scenes to an older version.

For a first time look into Xavier Dolan's filmography, it's not hard to see why I Killed My Mother (2009) would be held in such high regard. It's an impressive debut with strong central performances and a complex look at a mother/son relationship. I really liked this one.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Macabre (1980)

 

Written by Pupi Avati And Roberto Gandus And Lamberto Bava And Antonio Avati

Directed by Lamberto Bava And John Gayford

Opening Title Card: "Inspired by a series of actual events that took place in New Orleans a few years ago..."

Prior to yesterday evening, I didn't even know this movie was even a thing. Funny that. Anyways, I'll say that it's title though turned out to be rather justified, so points for that.

In this movie, you've got Bernice Stegers as the rather dissatisfied housewife Jane Baker. Despite living in a nice house with a seemingly nice husband, Leslie (Fernando Pannullo) and two kids, she's been sleeping with a man named Fred Kellerman (Roberto Posse) at a boarding house, owned by a nice woman named Mrs. Duval (Elisa Kadigia Bove) and her blind son, Robert (Stanko Molnar).

Anyways, Jane's affair was on the verge of being exposed by her bratty daughter, Lucy (Veronica Zinny) and the death of her son, Michael pretty much ended her marriage. There was also her affair being exposed and her lover dying in a grisly accident that she managed to survive.

The majority had Jane living with Robert at the boarding house as Robert's mother died off screen. Jane had been mostly distant with Robert until she tried one attempt of seduction. Then there's also how she coped with Fred's death. She didn't deal with it at all.

Nope, she dedicated a shrine to her dead lover and keeping with the macabre side of things, she kept his head. Worse than that, she often cavorted with it as well in some genuinely sickening to watch scenes. It also didn't long for both Robert and Lucy to discover this, though how they dealt with this information differed.

I knew there was something off about Lucy and felt vindicated when she confessed to killing her brother. Trying to trick Jane into eating Fred's earlobe was gross and Jane's reaction certainly pushed things into very dark territory. The ending with poor Robert. That man really suffered having to deal with that mother and daughter duo.

- John Gayford directed the English version. It's an Italian movie despite not being set in Italy.

- Lucy drowned Michael and Jane ended up doing the same to her. Robert got attacked by Fred's head, which came to life.

- Standout music: Norberto Gil Ventura's Jane In Love.

- Chronology: A year happened during the New Orleans set movie.

Macabre (1980) definitely lived up to it's title. It's definitely a rather messed up movie with some truly unhinged moments. Robert aside, I wouldn't say it's a movie with many sympathetic characters but isn't it amazing how awful both Jane and Lucy were? 

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Twinless (2025)

 

Written And Directed by James Sweeney

Dennis (to Roman): "You know how people say "just be yourself"? Like, what version of me? I hate most of them. But the version of me that was just hanging out with you, I... I wanted to be him all the time."

I'm going to start this review by pointing out that I'm a twin myself and the polar opposite of my siblings, though we do share some things in common. The premise of this movie certainly intrigued me.

Dylan O'Brien as an actor has definitely done his best to shed his teen heartthrob identity from his Teen Wolf days by taking on of a variety of different roles. In this movie, he's a set of twins. There's Rocky, who's gay and Roman who happened to be straight.

Then there's Dennis, played by writer and director James Sweeney himself. Dennis was briefly involved with Rocky until the latter ghosted him for George (Chris Perfetti). Dennis was also one of two people who last saw Rocky alive before the latter got hit by a car.

Now that wasn't strictly Dennis's fault but everything else from that point onwards absolutely was. No one told Dennis to wear a wig and attend Rocky's funeral and no one told Dennis to befriend Roman under false pretenses. These were things that Dennis chose to talong with lying about having a dead twin.

It's a pretty messed up lie because the sad thing was that under different circumstances maybe Dennis and Roman would've been friends. They enjoyed grocery shopping together and each others company. However it was Dennis inadvertently pairing Roman with his co-worker, Marcie (Aisling Franciosi) that saw the big lie unravel.

I do like that in spite of his growing resentment towards Marcie, Dennis knew that he couldn't lie to Roman any longer. I don't like that Roman's reaction was a violent one, even if the movie made a point of highlighting his anger issues. There's a rather bittersweet final scene between Dennis and Roman that ended the movie on a complicated note.

- There's a few strong support performances from Lauren Graham as Rocky/Roman's mother, Lisa, Susan Park as Dennis's boss Sage, Tasha Smith as twinless twins group woman Charlotte and Francois Arnaud as Roman's gay friend, Sammy. Katie Findley also appeared.

- Dennis's "twin" was called Dean. He pretended he wanted to be a lawyer, worked for a book company before switching to real estate after being fired.

- Standout music: Haim's Leaning On You and Evan and Jaron's Crazy For This Girl.

- Chronology: The movie was mostly set in Portland, Oregon and briefly in Moscow, Idaho. Halloween, Christmas and Valentine's Day all factored in.

Twinless turned out to be an interesting second effort from writer/director James Sweeney (I may or may not watch his debut, Straight Up at a later date). Solid enough chemistry with Dylan O'Brien and a rather murky story, it did make for an interesting experience.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Half Man: "Episode 4"

 

Written by Richard Gadd 

Directed by Eshref Reybrouck

Ruben (to Niall): "I'm the soundtrack to your greatest moments and it pains you to know that all of your achievements fill you with a void whereas a smile from me fill you with all the fucking energy you need."

What a fucking episode. Earlier in the year, I said the Dear Henry episode of Industry Season 4 was my favourite due to the toxicity of the Henry/Whitney ship but that's starting to look relatively tame compared to the absolute insanity of Ruben/Niall.

We've left the younger versions of both men behind and it's now Richard Gadd and Jamie Bell back at the forefront. We're also into more recent history with Ruben and Niall having very different lives where one turned out to be a more successful than the other. In some ways, it's not actually that surprising.

Prison seemed to be the making of Ruben in a way. He did some reading, showed a little self reflection and while he contemplated getting revenge on Niall, he actually avoiding interacting with him. Until Niall literally forced his hand into doing so. Niall really was his own worst enemy.

Niall's post trial life was mostly shit. He wrote one book that barely sold 100 copies and his editor Daniel (Tim Downie) wasn't impressed with his recent follow up efforts. He also made himself vulnerable to blackmail when Glenn (Mark Kydd) caught him having sex with men in the bathrooms of the library.

Niall's life was such a car crash that Lori had no choice but to admit that Ruben's been bailing Niall out for a while. Niall trashed Ruben's car and scared the latter's wife. Then there was that whole hospital scene.

I'm trying not to be too hyperbolic here but if Richard Gadd and Jamie Bell don't get Emmy nominated for this episode alone, I will be genuinely shocked. Both men give such visceral performances as Ruben and Niall tore into one another. Both men made valid points at each other and both seemed to come to some form of an understanding as well. It's incredible television. 

Cutting back to the present day, Ruben commanded the wedding speech and certainly unsettled both Niall and Alby. As for the last scene, I didn't see that coming and it's gonna be interesting to see how that will transpire on screen.

- Lori kept saying she wasn't homophobic but the way she treated Niall, it did seem like she didn't like him being gay.

- Maura tried to kill herself while Ruben was in prison. I'm not surprised the trial broke Lori and Maura up.

- Niall's former bully Gus (Sandy Batchelor) turned out to be gay but was married to a woman and had kids. Joanna (Kate Robson-Stuart) had her own kids and got an apology off Ruben off screen.

- Ruben married Mona (Amy Manson) and told Niall that Maura referred to him as King Rat. Ruben also sexually assaulted Niall in hospital.

- Standout music: Devastations The Saddest Sound.

- Chronology: The flashbacks were set in 2008. Niall had quite Oxford and was sectioned after having a breakdown.

The fourth episode set a high bar for the last two episodes. It's an incredible piece of writing, acting and plotting. Both Richard Gadd and Jamie Bell were utterly sensational throughout. 

Rating: 9 out of 10 

Doctor Who - AMC+ Acquire US Streaming Rights

I was hoping the next time I'd do a Doctor Who blog it was going to be revealing information about this year's Christmas special but apparently not yet. 

With the Disney+ deal well and truly over, it's been revealed that the 2005-2022 era of Doctor Who will exclusively stream on AMC+ for US audiences from June 11th. I can't say it's entirely a shock.

There was rumours for a while that the show would land on that particular service. Could this mean that the BBC have a potential new streaming partner from 2027 onwards? I guess we'll have to wait and see.

As for this year's Christmas special, it looks like we're going to have to wait a while before any news coming to light.

Meanwhile Big Finish and fans of the Fugitive Doctor in general can enjoy the multimedia event, Circuit Breaker. This event will also include a novel written by Jo Martin herself, due for release in September.

As for The War Between The Land And The Sea, I think we can safely assume that Disney+ will never release this show. It's been five months since it aired on BBC1 and not a sign yet they're bothered with it.

I'll post more Doctor Who stuff when new information comes to light.

My Review of Juice - Series 2 (2025, BBC3 Series)

 

Written by Mawann Rizwan And Nabhaan Rizwan And Emily Llyod-Saini

Directed by Eros V

Winnie: "Welcome to adulthood, Jamma."

Jamma: "I don't like it."

Winnie: "No, it's not very nice."

I watched this last year but I had forgotten about it until the other day. I went back to rewatch it and I'll admit that it's a bit of a patchy second series of the zany show that got better as it went along.

The rest of the first series saw Jamma (Mawann Rizwan) and therapist boyfriend Guy (Russell Tovey) break up. In between that time, Jamma also decided to become an actual clown and in no surprise whatsoever, he's rather bad at it. He also really missed being with Guy, so most of this series was Jamma trying to get back with him.

For Jamma, this meant becoming the very thing he dreaded more in thr world. He became boring for half the series, courtesy of making a deal with Kevin Eldon's Majal character. This would be something that have some rather unique consequences as the series went on.

It also turned out that making deals to change yourself was a family trait. Saif (Jeff Mirza) had made a similar pact and it was partly a reason why he was avoiding divorcing Farida (Shahnaz Rizwan). When he plucked up the courage, things took another shift between the pair.

Then there's younger brother, Isaac (Nabhaan Rizwan) and flatmate/friend, Winnie (Emily Llyod-Saini). They get some fun moments in the series, including a realisation that they're not compatible as a couple. On the other hand, Isaac's quest to find his trauma certainly had an amusing final outcome.

Going back to Jamma and Guy. It was obvious that they would reunite before the show ended but both characters needed to get their shit together so their reunion would feel earned. Guy also spent a lot of the series promoting a book and dealing with some past family trauma of his own.

- Episode titles were Sup, House Sh*tting, Emporium's New Clothes, The Bullfighter And The Egg, The Storm Is Coming and Last Chapter.

- Mark Gatiss guest starred in the penultimate episode as Guy's father. Julien Ovenden's Nigel was teased as a love rival but he turned out to be straight.

- Standout music: Shik Ma Van by Mawann Rizwan.

- Chronology: Six months since the events of the first series. 

Series 2 didn't initially land as well as the first series but I'm glad I did a rewatch of it. Seeing it a few months again later gave me a better appreciation for this show. That last episode also felt like a neatly wrapped series finale to me.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Lee Cronin's The Mummy (2026)

 

Written And Directed by Lee Cronin

Katie: "Don't worry, grandma, it's fun to be dead!"

Ah, it was time to check out this take. It's not really part of the Universal Monsters but more of a reimagined version with an even heavier focus on a father and daughter. Of course that's the biggest strength of the film.

The father being a TV reporter named Charlie Cannon (Jack Reynor). He's living in Cairo with his pregnant wife, Larissa (Laia Costa) and their children, Katie (Natalie Grace/Emily Mitchell) and Sebastián (Shylo Molina/Dean Allen Williams). Theyre a happy family until they weren't.

Early in the movie, Katie encountered a creepy woman known as the Magician (Hayat Kamille). She was the mother of Katie's friend, Layla (May Elghety/Aisha Laouini). She also abducted Katie and it was years later before Charlie and Larissa were reunited with their daughter.

Katie didn't exactly return as the same child she was beforehand. She was using Morse Code to reveal stuff about her friend Layla and her abduction and it turned out that Katie and her younger sister Maud (Billie Roy) were both possessed and had no problem disrupting a funeral among other destructive things that happened throughout the film.

I got to be honest. While there's a few decent jumpscares in places, I found myself struggling to keep with this movie. There's a fair bit to try and engage with and it's not very engaging to watch. Characters die, get possessed and so on. It's been done better in other movies.

- May Calamawy had a decent supporting role as Detective Dalia Zaki. 

- Nasmaranian was the entity possessing most of the characters in the movie.

- Standout music: Sharmoofer's Khamsa Santy.

- Chronology: Takes in Aswan, Cairo and Albuquerque, New Mexico.

I wanted to like Lee Cronin's The Mummy but I genuinely struggled to engage with it. It's a bit too long, plodding and even the few decent jumpscares weren't enough to save it. I wouldn't recommend it.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

American Horror Story - Season 13 Casting/Spoilers/Disney Upfronts 2026

With filming for Season 13 of FX's American Horror Story continuing, I wanted to hold back on posting more stuff but after last night, I felt another blog was in order.

First of all, let's confirm some returns, shall we? In the above picture, we had the very people at the Disney Upfronts last night. Over the last few weeks, it's been confirmed that Sarah Paulson, Emma Roberts, Gabourey Sidibe and Angela Bassett are reprising their Coven roles. Yup, we get to see Cordelia Goode, Madison Montgomery, Queenie and Marie Laveau in the upcoming season.

Now what about Evan Peters? If rumours are correct, he'll be reprising his role of James Patrick March from Hotel. It's also likely he'll play another character in the season. Billie Lourd and Leslie Grossman will reprise Mallory and Coco St. Pierre Vanderbilt respectively from Apocalypse. There's still a question regarding who Kathy Bates might be playing but an educated guess, it's likely Madame Delphine Lalaurie once again.

There's no question mark surrounding Jessica Lange. She's absolutely reprising her Murder House character, Constance Langdon. Keeping with that ...

Last month Joey Pollari was confirmed as a new male lead for the thirteenth season. It's been revealed (not officially) that he'll be playing a new character named Ben DeSoto. Pollari's character encounters the number 13 in unusual places and filming confirmed that Ben will interact with Constance in the Apollyon Hotel. This will also be the third season in a row set in New York.

Pollari's casting wasn't the only thing revealed over the last few weeks. While we're still in the dark about who John Waters and Ariana Grande are playing, we do know that Avantika and Alex Consani have been cast, likely as new witches. However the biggest casting actually came at the Disney Upfronts last night.

Fresh from his performance as JFK Jr. in FX's Love Story, Paul Anthony Kelly was introduced on stage as a new cast member for American Horror Story. Dressed in cultish robes and a mask, the actor joked about being a fresh nightmare and 13 being his lucky number. Could he be playing a baddie this season? 

I did say that the show needed more men this season and it seems like Ryan Murphy has gotten the message. Other rumoured cast members include Jamie Brewer, Mena Suvari, Seth Gabel, Zach Villa and Fedor Steer. Most of these actors will be reprising characters from previous seasons. 

As for everything else, Ryan Murphy has directed the first episode of Season 13 with Tim Minear and Jennifer Salt returning as producers. Both Charlie Carver and Ned Martel will be writing for the show and Crystle Roberson Dorsey will direct some episodes. On top of that, a recent bit of filming at an airport indicated that references to every previous season will be made.

As for the logline, we got something to mull over ....

"Created and produced by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, 'American Horror Story' has redefined the genre with various installments featuring a creepy murder house, a coven of witches, a traveling freak show, a haunted hotel and the apocalypse itself. Which iconic horrors will return to haunt the hallowed halls of 13 and what new terrors await? Light your candles, draw your pentagrams and prepare for a supreme surprise."

I can't lie, that does sound pretty exciting. A nice mix of a greatest hits package along with some new elements in the mix. I'm looking forward to seeing how they're going to make 13 into such a plot point. While the official subtitles has yet to be confirmed, I think we can all guess what it'll be.

American Horror Story Season 13 will air on FX from September. Disney+ for everyone else.

My Review of 8mm (1999)

 

Written by Andrew Kevin Walker 

Directed by Joel Schumacher 

Max California: "There are some things that you see, and you can't unsee them. Know what I mean?"

I remember I watched this movie as a teenager and for some reason, I just ended up revisiting it the other day. It's a movie with a heavy subject matter and a performance from Nicholas Cage that's in the middle of his performances I guess.

Cage played a private investigator named Tom Welles. Welles was contacted by Daniel Longdale (Anthony Heald). This was on behalf of a wealthy but surprisingly decent widow named Mrs. Christian (Myra Carter). Basically she discovered about her late husband that she rather wished she hadn't.

The something being a snuff movie in his possession. Mrs. Christian wanted Welles to find out if the woman in the film was actually alive. Welles took on the case and learned that the woman was called Mary Ann Mathews (Jenny Powell) and that naturally led into a rather dark underbelly in itself.

Taking on the role of sidekick/fetish expert was adult video store clerk Max California (Joaquin Phoenix). He's a great foil to Welles and I actually really liked the back and forth both men had with each other. It also helped that Max genuinely wanted to help Welles get justice but at a price.

The bad guys in this movie were as clichéd as you could get. It wasn't too shocking that Longdale ended up being involved in the seedy world of those type of movies and he got a much deserved comeuppance. Of course he was more of a bit player.

The real villains were pornographer Dino Velvet (Peter Storm are) and his right hand "Machine" (Chris Bauer). Both are pretty despicable characters and both get their just desserts as did Eddie Poole (James Gandolfini). The events of the movie rightly impact Welles going forward.

- Other actors who popped up here included Norman Reedus as Warren Anderson and Catherine Keener as Welles's wife, Amy.

- Mark Walhberg was originally cast as Max California but dropped out.

- Standout music: Aphex Twins Come To Daddy was frequently used.

- Chronology: Took place in both Hollywood and North California.

8mm isn't an easy watch. It tackled a very dark subject matter and did it's best to give it the necessary weight required. It's fairly successful with solid performances throughout. Not a career high or low for anyone involved.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Abandoned (2022)

 

Written by Erik Patterson And Jessica Scott

Directed by Spencer Squire

Sara: "You know I don't mind a little haunting. We'll take it."

Well, this might be one of the dullest horror films I've had the misfortune to watch. Let's take a young couple with a new baby, plank them in the middle of nowhere and have some spooky shit happen.

It's a simple premise that's so ineptly executed that it beggars belief. The couple in question being a school teacher Sara (Emma Roberts) and farmer Alex (John Gallagher Jr). They're not exactly having the best of times.

I felt at the start of the movie, the rather obnoxious realtor was trying to give both Sara and Alex an out when it came into moving into the farmhouse. It turned out that a woman died in that house along with her baby and father. The woman also looked a bit like Sara, despite being played by Addy Miller.

Anyways the movie trundled along at an excruciating pace with baby Chris constantly crying and Sara being unable to placate in spite of her best efforts to do so. Various items kept going missing, Chris ended up in danger a few times and Sara and Alex fought with each other.

All of them stuff should've resonated and felt real but it's tackled so poorly that I ended up rooting for the creepy ghosts haunting the place. Yes, there's ghosts and at some point Sara managed to loosen their hold on the place and live a happy life with her husband and son.

The only actor in this movie who seemed to bother to try to make the material work was Michael Shannon as Chris Renner. He had connections to the opening kill and tried to help both Sara and Alex as much as the script would allow him to. Michael Shannon was thoroughly wasted though.

- By the end of the movie, Sara was pregnant with her second child. 

- Emma Roberts went barefoot for most of this film for god knows what reason.

- Standout music: Thr Turtles Happy Together.

- Chronology: Present day in that abandoned farmhouse. The murders took place forty years beforehand.

Abandoned is an absolute crapfest that foolishly takes itself far too seriously for it's own damn good. The scares are barely tepid, the ending was rushed, Michael Shannon was the only actor who made an effort and I wished that I hadn't wasted any time on this. Best avoided.

Rating: 2 out of 10 

My Review of Bros (2022)

Written by Billy Eichner And Nicholas Stoller

Directed by Nicholas Stoller

Aaron (to Bobby): "Hey! If you don't trust me, that's fine. But if for some reason, underneath all that strength and confidence, you still don't trust that you are lovable enough, I'm living proof... .that you're wrong."

I've been putting this one off for a long time and I was going to leave it until next month but boredom got the better of me. There's a reason I left this one so long and it's the lead actor.

I don't dislike Billy Eichner as an actor but he's quite abrasive at times and for a romcom, I did question whether he was the right choice to lead one. Watching this movie still didn't give me a definitive answer by the way. The box office numbers would suggest no by the way but are they always a good indicator?

Like all romcoms, everyone's well off or affluent enough to afford decent apartments. With Eichner's character, he's playing an opinionated LGBT podcaster named Bobby Lieber. Bobby's not into relationships and had a dim view on certain type of men.

There's Aaron Shepard (Luke Macfarlane). He's the more masc for masc kind of gay man that made Bobby self conscious and Aaron's in a lawyer job that's not satisfying him creatively. Bobby and Aaron try the casual relationship for some of the movie but it got serious rather fast and their differences ended up causing some problems for them.

There's such a thing as being too forthright and Bobby being that was vexing for Aaron when the latter's parents came to town. That led to a temporary split between the two of them. Of course this being a romcom, both men learned from each other before inevitably reuniting with each other.

Aaron learned to loosen up a bit and go into the actual line of work he wanted to do while Bobby embraced a genre of music that normally wasn't to his taste. The reunion was sweet and I'll admit after a shaky start, there's some genuinely solid chemistry between Billy Eichner and Luke Macfarlane. 

- While she's certainly not popular these days, I did find Debra Messing rather funny being exasperated by gay men mistaking her for her most iconic character.

- There's some great supporting roles from LGBT actors such as Dot Marie Jones, Guillermo Diaz, Harvey Fierstein, Amanda Bearse, Jai Rodriguez and TS Madison to name a few.

- Aaron wasn't lying when he said that The Hangover was his favourite movie. I like it when people admit something very mainstream is their favourite rather than their Letterboxd favourite.

- There's cameos from the likes of Seth Meyers, Ben Stiller, Amy Schemer, Kristin Chenowith and Kenan Thompson. Some of them played some very famous LGBT people.

- Standout music: Nat King Cole's Love Is Here To Stay, Orville Peck's Turn To Hate and Billy Eichner's Love Is Not Love.

- Chronology: Took place over several months, included Christmas and then three months later in New York.

I think I seriously misjudged Bros (2022) as a movie. I ended up liking it a lot more than I thought I would and while I'm not sure Billy Eichner is a leading man for this genre, I'll admit there's good chemistry between him and Luke Macfarlane.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Half Man: "Episode 3"

 

Written by Richard Gadd 

Directed by Alexandra Brodski 

Ruben: "Say it, please I need to hear it. Who am I?"

Niall: "My brother from another lover."

We are now at the halfway point in this limited series and while time continued to move slower in the present day, things were speeding up in the past a lot.

It's been four years since Ruben viciously attacked Alby and his day in court was imminent. During that time, Ruben was volunteering with young lads and seemed to enjoy being a positive influence on them. Niall was also graduating from college.

It's funny that in the previous episode, Lori was determined for Niall to keep his distance from Ruben but this time around both her and Maura wanted Niall to lie in court. I was rather disgusted with the idea of Niall being strong armed into lying that Alby groped Ruben just so the latter would avoid prison. Niall almost went through with it.

Fortunately there was Joanna. She was the only one who actually confronted Niall on his sexuality, blasted Ruben to his face and to both Lori and Maura and even accepted that Niall was gay. There was a subplot where Niall and Joanna briefly dated and thankfully it was just brief. Joanna for the win in general. 

The court case was rough itself because while Ruben might live Niall in his own fucked up way, the latter made the right call by going against Ruben and sticking up for Alby. Ruben vowing to make Niall ugly still packed a punch. 

As for the present day, both Niall and Alby were now married. The reception was tense as anything and it got even more tense when Ruben sat beside Niall and decided to give a speech. That was a way to end this one on.

- I spotted another Doctor Who actor in Anjli Mohindra as Ava. She was in the previous episode as well.

- Niall's best man went from promising to protect him to moving very fast when Ruben appeared.

- I know Maura was dead in the present day but I thought she was faking cancer in the past to manipulate Niall to help Ruben avoid prison. Ruben alluded to being abused by his father.

- Alby was in a coma for six months. Joanna didn't want to be a teacher, in spite of her qualifications and Niall was in a production of Hamlet at one point.

- Standout music: Echo And The Bunnymen's The Killer Moon.

- Chronology: The flashbacks were set in 1993. Present day was the reception.

A strong third outing. The 1993 flashbacks made progress in Niall getting closer to accepting his sexuality and Ruben's hold on him starting to falter. If this was the last episode for the younger versions, then both Stuart Campbell and Mitchell Robertson went out on a strong note.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Lurker (2025)

 

Written And Directed by Alex Russell 

Oliver (to Matthew): "I guess that means you're like my best friend."

Catching up with movies, this one's due to make its debut on HBO Max this month. It's been on my list for a while and it's a tale about toxic friendships.

You've got two men. There's aspiring singer/musician Oliver (Archie Madekwe) who definitely wanted to have a huge career but found himself surrounded by too many yes men. To be fair that wasn't something Oliver seemed to be that bothered about for most of the movie.

On the other hand, there's also retail employee Matthew Morning (Théodore Pellerin) and to be fair, the movie was more geared towards his obsession with Oliver than anything. Matthew was desperate to be a part of Oliver's life, no matter what.

At first, Matthew succeeded in doing just that. He bonded with Oliver over obscure music, got the backstage pass and found a way to make himself vital by helping Oliver with his documentary. Despite the fact that some of Oliver's crew were a bit wary of him, things were going Matthew's way.

Where it went wrong was Matthew reluctantly agreeing to let his former co-worker Jamie (Sunny Suljic) into Oliver's world as well. This brought Matthew's jealous side and it had been up to Shai (Havana Rose Liu) to tell Matthew that he was no longer part of the group.

Of course Matthew wasn't going to accept that and created a scenario that forced Oliver into taking him back into the group. There's a real battle of wills between Oliver and Matthew but the latter made a point about wanting it more. Matthew wanting it more might have compromised his morality but it certainly got the desired results throughout. 

- Matthew's only family figure was his grandmother, who appeared in a few scenes. Despite the premise, Matthew was seemingly straight.

- Oliver didn't have supportive parents when it came to his music career. He also feared being misunderstood the most.

- Standout music: Oliver's Love And Obsession was fitting considering the events of this movie.

- Chronology: Mostly set in Los Angeles but there was a trip to London and the movie ended with Oliver being a Grammy nominee while promoting his documentary at a film festival.

For the most part, I rather liked Lurker as a movie. We've done these toxic/obsessive friendship tropes and there's certainly blurred lines between how Matthew viewed Oliver throughout the whole film. Good performances from the leads help it.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of The Drama (2026)

 

Written And Directed by Kristoffer Borgli

Emma (to Charlie): "Do you live around here?"

Well, I've been waiting a bit to watch this one. It's garnered a bit of a reputation but was it as good as everyone said it was? Funnily enough, it was.

I'm actually surprised they didn't try a Valentine's release for this one because it would've been perfect. Anyways you've got a couple named Emma Harwood (Zendaya) and Charlie Thompson (Robert Pattinson). Their journey to the altar was draught and that's an understatement.

Their meet cute stemmed from Charlie faking an interest in a book that Emma was reading in a café. It was also during their first encounter that it was revealed Emma was deaf in one ear. Charlie assumed it was since birth. The real story on the other hand was a lot worse.

With Charlie and Emma about to get married, there was a dinner with their friends Mike (Mamoudou Athie) and Rachel (Alana Haim). The dinner took a dark turn when they all confessed to their worse deeds. Emma admitting that she originally planned a massive shooting wasn't on my bingo card.

I'll admit that genuinely shocked me when she went into detail and while Rachel's reaction was one that most people would have, the latter would get progressively annoying as the movie went on. In particular, at the actual wedding itself, Rachel delivered the type of speech that would kill any friendship stone dead.

As for Charlie and Emma, the latter's confession which came with flashbacks of her being an anti-gun activist during her high school years created a lot of tension. Their wedding day couldn't go without Charlie getting punched by a co-worker's boyfriend. As for the ending, well we did get another meet cute, so maybe Charlie and Emma will be fine.

- Misha (Hailey Gates) was the co-worker that Charlie attempted to kiss when he was having a meltdown about Emma.

- Charlie cyberbullied a kid, Mike used an ex-girlfriend as a human shield and Rachel locked a disabled child in a trailer overnight.

- Emma's father was in the military, adding more context to her story. Charlie's grandparents were also alive.

- Rachel's cousin Sam (Anna Baryshnikov) was a victim of a school shooting but survived. I didn't like the way Charlie accosted her.

- Standout music: Mackeeper's Pieces Of You.

- Chronology: Set in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Two years timeline.

I really did like The Drama (2026) a lot as a movie. There's genuinely great chemistry with Zendaya and Robert Pattinson. They're wonderful to watch and i can't wait to see how they will interact in two other movies coming out this year.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Drive-Away Dolls (2024)

 

Written by Ethan Coen And Tricia Cooke 

Directed by Ethan Coen

Jamie: "I've had it with love. I know bards and troubadours are high on it, but I don't believe it's relevant to the modern twentieth soon to be twenty first century lesbian."

Last week, I made a booboo and watched Honey Don't! before I watched this one. Not that it mattered because they're separate stories, despite the link that was Margaret Qualley.

In this movie, she's a much different character named Jamie. Jamie had issues with fidelity and it led to her relationship with Sukie (Beanie Feldstein) coming to an ending. Sukie got to keep the dog. Sukie didn't want the dog. Sukie's also not someone to mess with when she's mad. 

Anyways, Jamie spent most of the movie with her friend Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan). The latter was planning a trip to Tallahassee and she wasn't amused with Jamie being inquisitive about her sex life. It turned out that Marian hasn't had it in a while since a former conservative ex-girlfriend.

Now the big thing about this movie actually started off with a character named Santos (Pedro Pascal) who got a horrible death when he tried to flee away with a mystery briefcase. That briefcase also ended up in the car that Jamie and Marian were currently driving in. Needless to say, that put both women in considerable danger.

Enter the danger in the form of a motley trio consisting of Chief (Colman Domingo), Arliss (Joey Slotnick) and Flint (C.J. Wilson). These men were determined to get that briefcase back and while two of them underestimated Sukie, it didn't take too long for them to catch up with Jamie and Marian. It also took very little for one of the men to go rogue as well.

As for the briefcase, what was the big deal? Well it turned out that it contained certain toys shaped from something that Gary Channel (Matt Damon) didn't want made public knowledge. He got his item back, Jamie and Marian got a million bucks and we met the latter's aunt for a very funny final scene.

- The alternative title was Henry James's Drive-Away Dykes. Jamie made a point of not being an avid reader.

- Miley Cyrus had an uncredited role as Tiffany Plastercaster. We should've gotten more of her.

- Standout music: Linda Ronstadt's Blue Bayou and The Liverbirds Peanut Butter.

- Chronology: 1999 in Philadelphia, Tallahassee and Massachusetts.

I had great fun with Drive-Away Dolls. A chaotic road trip with two likeable characters, a fun commentary on love in many forms and a great use of certain actors. 

Rating: 8 out of 10 

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