My Review of Boots: "Sink Or Swim"

 

Written by Greg Cope White

Directed by Silas Howard 

Ray (to Cameron): "We're getting our shit back."

Four episodes into this show and it was the turn of Ray McAffey to be the focus of things. We opened with a flashback to a younger version with his father, Harlan (Anthony Marble) putting a lot of pressure on Ray. This was something of a theme with Ray - being afraid to fail because of his father's pressure.

In the current timeline, Ray failed to be a floater and it bothered. Being torn asunder by McKinnon, Sullivan and Howitt in front of everyone definitely didn't help matters either. It was safe to say that Ray's sense of worth had plummeted. Luckily, Cameron had a solution for that.

Cameron's great solution involved some payback at Sergeanf Knox, who was now in charge of the platoon next door. Cameron made it look like 2033 stole all of 2032's toilet roll, which sparked Ray into retaliation with Santos, Ochoa and Hicks to assist him. Hicks in particular had a little too much fun with the idea of payback.

Anyways, their plan was mostly a success and Ray managed to get his confidence back. I know it was somewhat based on a lie but he managed to prove to McKinnon that he could float and the depths that Cameron would go to help his friend was commendable. In fact, it also led to the best scene in the whole episode.

The dynamic between Cameron and Sergeant Sullivan took another interesting turn. The latter knew that Cameron faked the toilet paper theft and got Cameron to be honest in a way that even Sullivan couldn't dismantle. Sullivan has been a dick to Cameron but here was angsting over his own past catching up with him.

Whatever happened in Guam clearly will come out. Sullivan didn't want to re-enlist because Fajardo was getting too close to figuring out things. Sullivan's moment with Cameron in the dumpster clearly changed his mind. Of course, there's now also someone actually coming after Sullivan, so we're definitely about his time in Guam in the second half of the season.

- The writer of the source material, Greg Cope White wrote this episode. It felt more personal than the first three, especially with Cameron/Sullivan scenes.

- Why did Nash pretend to be responsible for Hicks's notes? I got a brief shock with how nonchalant Fajardo was in killing the snake with the butt of Ochoa's rifle. 

- Standout music: The Charlatans Then and Little David Wilkins Yesterday, Tomorrow And Today.

- Chronology: Santos has been stuck as a recruit for six months while Sullivan's antics in Guam were also six months ago.

Sink Or Swim explored Ray's issues with success/failure pretty well while also introducing a potential love interest for him. Of course the highlight was the Cameron/Sullivan scenes and the hints of the latter's backstory.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Boots: "The Confidence Course"

 

Written by Andrea Ciannavei

Directed by Phil Abraham 

Sullivan (to Cameron): "If there are no faggots in my Marine Corps, then why are you still here?"

There's certainly a line between cruelty and compassion and in this episode, Sullivan's rapport with Cameron was oscillating between the two. Its like Sullican recognised something in Cameron that's also in him.

Yes, if I hadn't been spoiled for the episode, I definitely would've suspected that Sergeant Sullivan was gay and the way he was openly scornful towards Cameron during their scenes also got undercut by at least two moments where he showed compassion too. I'm surprised other recruits didn't pick up on it.

The titular course certainly nearly broke Cameron. Taking on new guy's Santos Santos (Rico Paris) bad shoelaces nearly screwed him over. However while he was mostly failing with the physical obstacles this, Cameron earned "brownie" points in another way. Yes, delivering a giant turd won him over with his fellow recruits this episode.

Going back to Sullivan, the episode ended with a letter from "W". The letter was short but enough to unsettle Sullivan by the end of this one. I thought Sullivan was too much of a dick before but this episode hinted at some layers with him. Not to mention, Max Parker's rather handsome to look at as well.

As for the rest of the episode, there was some nice character moments among the recruits. You can sense the tension between Cameron and Ray while the former grew closer to Nash. There was also a nice friendship between Ochoa and Mo Mason (Logan Gould) before the latter assaulted Howitt during a panic attack. I really liked their scenes this week.

As for the real world away from the Marine Corps, Barbara was sleeping with Sergeant Pitowski and attending a support group for mothers of Marines. Barbara managed to make one friend/client while also allowing the group to think that Cameron was dead. Maybe Cameron had a point in not being that close to her.

- Santos had a wife and kids and took an interest in Eduardo and Ray's heritages. Nash was inspired by Jesse Jackson, Hicks stole a snake, Cody wrote a letter to John and Slovacek talked about his criminal antics.

- McKinnon educated the recruits on a World War II soldier and had black sand from Hiroshima. He also replaced Nash with Aantos as his Squad Leader.

- Standout music: Abba's Fernando.

- Chronology: A week since the events of the first episode. Cameron was literally holding his poops in for just as long.

The Confidence Course put the recruits through their paces, including that uncomfortable scene with the tear gas. It's still a really good episode, giving more details on the recruits along with Sullivan. 

Rating: 8 out of 10

Freddy's Nightmares - Episodes 21-25 Reviews

I've finished off the first season and I'm working my way through the second season, so this blog will give a little of both.

Episode 21: Identity Crisis

Well, the title certainly lived up it's name. The first half of the episode focused on Buddy Powers. He was a man that was struggling for relevancy to the point where even his teenage son John mocked him for being out of touch. The second part focused on John's friend, Christina wanting to learn about her birth mother. Needless to say, it wasn't her best course of action. 6/10

Episode 22: Safe Sex

The first season finale and it's more of an after-school special about sex. The first half of the episode focused on a nerdy guy in love with an aloof goth girl. The goth girl in question was something of a Freddy Krueger fangirl. She was desperate to understand him but as the episode progressed, she realised that her ideas of Freddy were way off. It's a fairly weak finale choice to be honest. Would've maybe worked better as a mid season episode. 5/10

Episode 23: Dreams Come True

If the first season often kept Freddy sidelined at times, this opening episode had him more front and centre and it's all the better for it. The first half of the episode focused on another teenage boy being tormented by Freddy before the latter moved in on his therapist. The second part was similarly good with a cameraman trying to expose Freddy with fatal consequences for him. 7/10

Episode 24: Heartbreak Hotel 

Another strong offering, the first half proved that you needed to be specific about pronouns or it'll get you killed. A journalist investigated a strange hotel, helped a staff member to go to the hospital to give birth to a stillborn baby but could make events happen. Except he wasn't good at his pronouns and ended up dooming himself. The second part with a vengeful woman and her daughter reclaiming their husband/father's killer and killing him the same way also made for a good story. 7/10

Episode 25: Welcome To Springwood 

Another dull episode for me. The first part focused on a couple named Dog and Roxanne who moved to Springwood. Actually the focus was more on Roxanne getting on the wrong side of the neighborhood serial killer. The second part was a bit better with some time travel as a woman named Emily discovered love letters between two writers in the nineteenth century. Of course, it resulted in a rather deadly love triangle as well. 6/10

Next blog I'll focus on Photo Finish, Memory Overload, Lucky Stiff, Silence Is Golden and Bloodlines.

My Review of Boots: "The Buddy System"

 

Written by Jonathan Caren

Directed by Phil Abraham

Cody (to John): "I wish I didn't have a brother."

Well, you almost your wish there, Cody. Twins being so diametrically apart from one another. It did make for a good plot as I think the episode managed to draw sympathy and frustration in equal measures for both siblings.

We got flashbacks in the episode with the brothers being pitted against one another. John's failures became Cody's failures under their abusive father. Cody grew to resent John and wanted to join the Marine Corps to get away from. John signing up too really threw a spanner in the works for Cody.

In this episode, John and Cody literally became tethered to each other because Sergeant Cary Wayne Howitt (Nicholas Logan) was a massive dick. Logan even forced the two to share a bed together, adding to the tension between the twins. Then he made sure to further set them apart during the training.

I was hoping the episode would have John beat the odds and his brother and complete the training. It even looked like he was about to and then he got seriously injured. At least Cody showed some genuine concern for John. Then there's Sergeant Sullivan using John's injury for his own nefarious reasons.

The episode was sowing a conflict between Cameron and Ray. The latter was desperate to be a Squad Leader and Sullivan did everything to sever Cameron and Ray's bond. I think he succeeded by having Cameron become the new Squad Leader just to piss off Ray. Sullivan's also a bit of a dick.

Keeping with antagonistic characters, Slovacek was the embodiment of all of Cameron's high school bullies folded into one. He upped the homophobia with Cameron, refused to take Flight duty and of course, nearly killed Cameron. Then again, Cameron did douse Slovacek with a bucket of John's piss, so there was that. Slovacek's default does seem to be homophobic bully thus far. I hope he develops beyond that as the show progresses.

- Cameron tried to gauge if Nash was gay with no results. Eduardo talked about his wife and kid and Hick didn't waste time in calling in a favour.

- While Howett seemed to dislike Fajardo, both Sullivan and McKinnon were respectful of her. Sullivan was in Guam but most of his files have been redacted. He also made Cameron into the scribe.

- Standout music: New Order's Blue Monday. The show might be set in the 1990s but the soundtrack so far certainly isn't.

- Chronology: Not long after the events of the first episode.

The Buddy System critiqued that system for signing up recruits. The flashbacks with John and Cody were brief but effective, along with Sullivan dismantling Cameron and Ray's friendship. It's a strong second outing.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Boots: "The Pink Marine"

 

Written by Andy Parker

Directed by Peter Hoar

Sergeant Sullivan (to Platoon 2032): "Time to kill the enemy."

I know it's been nearly a month since this comedy military gay themed show debuted on Netflix but I'd been busy, so I'm only catching up with it now. I was going to do a series overview but opted to review by episode instead.

Our protagonist of the piece would be barely closeted gay kid, Cameron Cope (Miles Heizer). He's tired of getting shit on by everyone in his life, including his own mother, Barbara (Vera Farmiga). Cameron's solution for this was to sign up to the Marines with his straight best friend, Ray McAffey (Liam Oh). Needless to say, Cameron didn't think it through.

Cameron was so desperate for a change that a recruiter, Sergeant Pitowski (Brett Dalton) saw something in him but Cameron was pretty horrified by what actually being a marine was about. It included being repeatedly screamed at, berated by drill sergeants and fellow recruits and also some internal battling with his sexuality.

While this show might be heavily focused on Cameron, there's a lot of other recruits to also take an interest in. There's the somewhat abrasive Nicholas Slovacek (Kieron Moore), the kleptomaniac Thaddeus Beau Sterling Hicks (Angus O'Brien), Cameron's bunk mate Eduardo Ochoa (Johnathon Nieves) and a potential love interest in Isaiah Nash (Dominic Goodman). Oh and there's twins John (Blake Burt) and Cody Bowman (Brandon Tyler Moore).

It's a lot of recruits to look into for this first episode but there's good hints as to who these lads are and how they'll interact with both Cameron and Ray as the show will progress. As for the sergeants, they're a bit more stereotypical. There's mostly a focus on Staff Sergeant Marcus McKinnon (Cedrick Cooper), who certainly enjoyed exerting his authority over the recruits.

Of course while homophobia (mostly internalised) was touched upon with this opening episode, there was also a look into racism. In particular with Sergeant Knox (Zach Roerig) and the way he treated Ray. Knox's exit led to the introduction of Sergeant Liam Robert Sullivan (Max Parker) and his 96 game. While he doesn't seem as bad as Knox, it's clear he's going to be a challenge for Cameron, Ray and the rest of the recruits in this season.

- Originally this was titled The Corps. It's also based off The Pink Marine by Greg Cope White.

- Aside from Barbara, the only other female regular on the show is Captain Denise Fajardo (Ana Ayora). Cameron also talks to another version of himself.

- Standout music: Queen's I Want To Break Free and Bananarama's Venus.

- Chronology: 1990s, Parrish Island, South Carolina. The source material was set in the 1980s.

The Pink Marine was a frantic but great way of opening this series. It's fast paced, extremely funny in parts. It's also not unexpectedly shy of the male physique or it's commentary on masculinity either.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of It - Welcome To Derry: "The Thing In The Dark"

 

Written by Austin Guzman

Directed by Andy Muschietti 

Leroy: "What exactly are we looking for?"

General Shaw: "Something that was buried in Derry a long time ago."

Following that brutal opening episode, it was to be expected that things wouldn't let up for the actual survivors of that mutant baby encounter. Things just went from bad to worse for both Lilly and Ronnie and they didn't even have each other to depend on.

For Lilly, her sanity was questioned again and again. Her so called friend Marge (Matilda Lawlor) was more desperate to retain her new found popularity than trying to help a clearly traumatised Lilly. Even Lilly's own mother seemed more desperate to send her back to Juniper Hill than to actually help.

It also didn't help that Lilly and Ronnie couldn't even help each other. Due to the era in question, Ronnie's father ended up being a suspect for the murdered kids and Lilly was tricked into confirming their biases towards poor Hank.

I knew with this time setting that racism would naturally factor into things. Hank was targeted for his race and there's one teacher in the episode who seemed to extra unkind towards both Ronnie and Leroy's son, Will (Blake Cameron James). At least both Will and Ronnie managed to strike up a friendship while Lilly had the worst of spooky encounters in a supermarket.

Pivoting back to the Hanlons, not only did Leroy figure out that it was General Shaw who organised the attack on him in order to test him but it turned out that spoiler was true. It looks like the government are actually daft enough to try and use Pennywise as a weapon in the Cold War. I can only imagine how much of a disaster that's going to be. Oh and the car with Matt and that family from the first episode was dredged up.

Leroy and his family had a lot of focus this episode. We got to meet Leroy's wife, Charlotte (Taylour Paige). Already she's a brilliant character, who's more than willing to stick her neck out to fight against anything wrong. That did seem to put Charlotte and Leroy at odds but they're still the only stable couple on the show this far.

-  I like the opening titles but I'm hating this tradition of them being introduced in the second episode. Too many shows are doing this these days.

- We got another freaky birth sequence this episode as well as Lilly's nightmare visions of her father. Native Americans were watching Dick Halloran helping the army in the woods.

- Standout music: Patience and Prudence's A Smile And A Ribbon.

- Chronology: Not long from where the first episode left off.

The Thing In The Dark certainly proved the first episode wasn't a fluke. It was a strong follow up with plenty of gross moments. Lily, Ronnie and the Hanlons are definitely the glue and I'm curious to see how the main plot will unfold.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

American Horror Story - Season 13 Cast + Release Date Revealed

It's been over eighteen months since the last time we had a season of American Horror Story. Yesterday, we finally got some news about the upcoming thirteenth season.

If American Horror Story was anything like Rupaul's Drag Race, then Season 13 is about to be one of the All Stars editions of that franchise. Ryan Murphy finally decided to go big and go home for what could be the final season of the long running horror series.

Returning for Season 13 are Jessica Lange, Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Kathy Bates, Angela Bassett, Emma Roberts, Gabourey Sidibe, Leslie Grossman and Billie Lourd respectively. Joining the cast is Ariana Grande, who'll be enchanting cinema goers this month with Wicked: For Good (November 21st).

The whole cast was announced by Ryan Murphy through his Instagram account. Also, going by a choice quote from a particular character, it's safe to infer that the yet to be titled upcoming season will be a follow up to both Coven and Apocalypse.

I think it's also very that given the returns of such heavy weights as Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates and Angela Bassett that this could also be the final season of American Horror Story. FX have not renewed the show beyond it's upcoming season and Ryan Murphy's priorities have definitely been elsewhere. 

Thirteen seasons feels like a good number to end the show on and I expect that announcement will come when the season officially begins shooting. As for American Horror Stories, we're still in the dark about that show's fate but I'm not anticipating it returning any time soon or at all tbh.

American Horror Story - Season 13 will start filming next year for a Halloween 2026 launch on FX/Hulu. I'll post more information when it's revealed.

My Review of House Of Dracula (1945)

 

Written by Edward T. Lowe

Directed by Erle C. Kenton

Milizia: "Your world is coming closer to me. But I'm afraid."

Count Dracula: "It is a world without fear. It is like the music. Beautiful. Beautiful."

Following the events of the previous movie, it was time to shift the focus back on to the Count himself - Dracula (John Carradine). He's alive and in need of assistance and Dr Franz Edelmann (Onslow Stevens), whether the latter liked it or not.

This movie seemed to have a theme about seeking out cures. Franz was doing research of curing people of their afflictions and most of the characters here wanted to be cured. Oddly enough, Dracula was one of them. I say oddly because if anyone, he'd seemed the type to love who he was.

With Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr) showing up to Edelmann's place looking to cure his lycanthropy, it felt business as usual. It's been a consistent thing with Larry in every appearance he's made but this time around, he actually got his wish this time around. He even got a hero moment as well.

As for Dracula, things didn't go as well for him. He was fixated on Edelmann's assistant, Milizia (Martha O'Driscoll) and paid the consequences of messing with blood transfusion. Then again, so did Edelmann as he took on a more monstrous look and killed poor Nina (Jane Adams).

Yes, despite Dracula being the title villain of the movie, he's disappointingly removed from the main action once again. It doesn't help that Edelmann's role more or less was the same as Niemann's in the previous movie or that Edelmann's role also felt like a substitute for another monster they could've used as well.

I'll admit that Larry Talbot did have a much better role compared to the previous movie. He's still mopey and self pitying but at least he got what he wanted and managed to defeat Frankenstein's monster by the end of this movie. Frankenstein's monster was also underused again.

- Some of these monster would appear in later movies with Abbott & Costello.

- Elements of this movie stemmed from an unmade Wolf Man vs. Dracula film.

- Standout music: Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 2 Moonlight by Beethoven.

- Chronology: An unspecified time since the events of House Of Frankenstein.

House Of Dracula probably should've been the end point for this universe but then we wouldn't have gotten things had it ended here. Two of the three monsters are somewhat wasted, two characters are clear substitutes for two other monsters and one got cured.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of House Of Frankenstein (1944)

 

Written by Edward T. Lowe

Directed by Erle C. Kenton 

Larry (re Frankenstein's Monster): "He wanted life and strength. I wanted only death. Yet, here we are."

For Halloween, I'm giving a double bill of crossover events from the Universal Monsters and I'll admit, while they're not among the best movies in the bunch, they're also not lacking their moments. 

The funny thing was that both movies seemingly put a certain monster centre but the monster in question didn't have as much screentime as you'd hope for them to have. In fact, Frankenstein's monster (Glenn Strange) only popped up towards the second of this film.

The first half focused on mad scientist Dr. Gustav Niemann (Boris Karloff) and his hunchback henchman, Daniel (J. Carrol Naish). They managed to escape from a prison and then found themselves assisting a travelling freak show. The real show being led by Professor Lampini (George Zucco). It didn't take long for Niemann to betray Lampini either.

On top of that, Niemann also managed to revive Dracula (John Carradine) in order to get revenge on Burgomaster Hussman (Sig Runan). Dracula however found himself fixated on Hussman's granddaughter-in-law Rita (Anne Gwynne), much to her husband, Carl's (Peter Coe) displeasure. Throw in some death and the Dracula bit was hastily paused to get to the rest of the story.

Niemann and Daniel encountered gypsies with the latter being smitten by Ilonka (Elena Verdugo) but she didn't reciprocate his feelings. Instead she was in love with the new unfrozen Wolf Man (Lon Chaney Jr) as the latter found himself drawn into Niemann's schemes.

As for Frankenstein's monster, he got revived very late in the movie, killed Daniel after the latter attempted to murder Niemann and then walked into quicksand. There's a tragic romance/mutual killing between Ilonka and the Wolf Man but it's rather unsatisfactory in it's execution.

- A sequel, titled House Of Dracula was released several months after this movie. Most of the cast in this returned for it.

- I got to admire that Lon Chaney Jr consistently played the Wolf Man while Dracula and Frankenstein's monster actors kept changing.

- Edward T. Lowe previously wrote the scripts for The Hunchback Of Notre Dame (1923) and The Vampire Batman (1933).

- Chronology: Mostly taking place in Visaria, following the events of Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man. 

House Of Frankenstein isn't a bad start to the two part crossover events but it may disappoint you if you were hoping for more of Frankenstein's monster or even Dracula, who was killed off midway through. It also didn't really do anything new with the Wolf Man and neither will the next one.

Rating: 6 out of 10

DCU Blog - October 2025 Edition: MOT & TBPtII Updates, Supergirl Reshoots And More

It's nearly Halloween and October is almost at an end. Here's an update on what's been going on in the world of the DCU this month.

As of now, James Gunn's still working on the script for Man Of Tomorrow (July 9th 2027). A recent description for a character seems to suggest either Brainiac or Mongul as the main villain.

Colin Farrell has recently discussed both The Batman - Part II (October 1st 2027) and the now scrapped Sgt. Rock movie he was going to star in.

Warner Brothers is up for sale again and will be purchase by someone in 2026. As of now, they've currently rejected an offer from Paramount.

The Batman - Part II will take place a few weeks after the events of The Penguin.

Reshoots for Supergirl (June 26th 2026) are underway. It's also been confirmed the movie will be faithful to the source material.

Andy and Barbara Muschietti have confirmed they will have to wait a few months before they can talk about The Brave And The Bold. 

DC Studios have recruited Jock for the upcoming Dynamic Duo (June 30th 2028) animated movie.

Batman: Knightfall will be a four part animated movie, with the first part to be released in 2026.

Clayface (September 11th 2026), starring Tom Rhys Harries in the title role will finish filming this week.

James Gunn has confirmed that there are no plans for a third season of Peacemaker.

James Gunn also has had discussions with Keanu Reeves about a Constantine sequel but no script has been greenlit as of now.

Despite his current deal with Paramount, James Mangold is still interested in making a Swamp Thing movie for DC Studios.

The Bat-Fam animated series will premiere on Amazon Prime from November 10th.

No release date for Lanterns has been confirmed yet but a recent image did confirm Nathan Fillion's involvement as Guy Gardner in the show.

A Strange Adventures TV series is in development, though this has yet to be officially confirmed. 

In terms of comics, both Wonder Woman and Batman will crossover in their Absolute universes. Zatanna will also have a major in the Wonder Woman side of things.

That's it for the month of October. Have a Happy Halloween and let's see what next month brings for DC fans.

Freddy's Nightmares - Episodes 16-20 Reviews

I know it's been a few months since I've done this but hopefully I can finish this series before the year is out. Let's look into these batch of episodes.

Episode 16: Cabin Fever 

Brett Cullen's one of those actors I occasionally seeing things and I think "I know that guy". In one of his earliest acting roles, he popped up here as an airline heir enduring the worst flight of his life. It's also a flight that landed him straight into Hell with the build up to that realisation being handled particularly well. The second half then focused on a lovlorn hostess trying to find love in all the wrong places. Needless to say, her quest for romance ended up seriously dooming her. Robert Englund directed this episode. 7/10

Episode 17: Love Stinks

Well, the first story had it's male protagonist, Adam cheat on his girlfriend with another girl and then spent most of the first half of the episode realising what a big mistake that was. The second story involved Max getting to work at a pizza place (formerly Beefy Boy) with his obnoxious uncle trying to undermine him. There's a familiar element to this story but it's handled recently enough. 6/10

Episode 18: The Art Of Death

What if you had the power to draw things into life? That was the first half of this episode. Awkward guy was able to bring things to life through his comics. This also meant putting the girl he had a crush on in danger. The second half dealt with the trauma the girl went through. The episode could've allowed her to heal but instead, it amplified her trauma and then ended things for her on a horrible note. 5/10

Episode 19: Missing Persons 

One of my favourite episodes so far. You've got a babysitter named Gina (Eva LaRue). She have to look after two bratty kids but her issues with food and her looks reared their head and she turned into a monster, who then exploded. Then it turned out that Gina was a young girl with weight issues and then her babysitter looked very familiar. The second half focused on Gina's father making a life trade that he ended up regretting. Oh and his mistress looked incredibly familiar. 8/10

Episode 20: The Light At The End Of The Tunnel

This one just bored me. There was a guy trying to conquer his fear of the dark by working in a sewer. Then there was a plot with a pornographer being trapped in his nightmares. Honestly, I just didn't care about either story. 4/10

Next blog I'll cover Identity Crisis, Safe Sex, Dreams Come True, Heartbreak Hotel and Welcome To Springwood.

Doctor Who Future: Disney+ Part Ways, Christmas 2026 Confirmed And Spin-off Airing This Year

After months of radio silence, today of all days the BBC decided to drop a few bombs in regards to the future of Doctor Who. Most of these reveals won't shock but here goes nothing.

Let's get the obvious one out of the way first. After twenty one episodes, comprising of the eras for both the Fourteenth (David Tennant) and Fifteenth Doctors (Ncuti Gatwa) respectively, Disney have parted ways with Doctor Who. Of course, there's still the upcoming spin-off but yup, the show has been booted out of the House of Mouse. Going by the online reactions, most fans aren't particularly saddened by this turn of events. 

As for the future of the series, not only have the BBC doubled down on an animated spin-off that was announced a few months ago, they've also confirmed a Christmas special for 2026. Russell T. Davies will write the episode but as of yet, no cast members have been confirmed for the special. Of course I'm using a picture of David Tennant and Billie Piper (last seen in The Giggle and The Reality War) because I'm convinced both are likely going to be lined up for this episode. I'm also convinced this special will likely serve as a finale for Russell T. Davies divisive second era before the BBC confirm a future series in a few months with a different showrunner and Doctor no doubt.

Last but not least, there's upcoming spin-off,  The War Between The Land And The Sea. A few months ago, it was being pushed to 2026 but its now revealed that the show, starring Russell Tovey (Barclay) and Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Salt) will air on the BBC in December and on Disney+ in 2026. The five part series was written by Russell T. Davies and Pete McTighe and directed by Dylan Holmes Williams, focusing on a conflict between mankind and the Sea Devils. The series will also feature Jemma Redgrave, Alexander Devrient, Ruth Madeley and Colin MacFarlane.

Press Release: https://www.doctorwho.tv/news-and-features/bbc-confirms-future-of-doctor-who-and-a-new-christmas-special-in-2026

Filming for the 2026 Christmas special of Doctor Who will commence early next year. I'll post more details as they become available.

My Review of The Mummy (1932)

Written by John L. Balderston And Nina Wilcox Putnam And Richard Schayer

Directed by Karl Freund

Sir Joseph: ""Death... eternal punishment... for... anyone... who... opens... this... casket. In the name... of Amon-Ra... the king of the gods." Good heavens, what a terrible curse!"

Ralph: "Well, let's see what's inside!"

Earlier this month, I reviewed the 1959 version of this movie and I really enjoyed. Now it's the turn of the Universal Monsters era and it's a very interesting take.

As expected, the movie started in Egypt with a group of archaeologists led by Sir Joseph Whemple (Arthur Byron), Ralph Norton (Bramwel Fletcher) and Dr. Sid Muller (Edward Van Sloan). They disturb the tomb of Imhotep (Boris Karloff). Quickly, enough Imhotep came to life and poor Ralph ended up laughing hysterically.

Then the movie jumped a decade later and Imhotep managed to integrate himself into Egyptian society and ended up coming into contact with Whemple's son, Frank (David Manners) and Professor Pearson (Leonard Mudie). Of course, Imhotep didn't meet them by chance.

Imhotep was looking for scrolls needed for a spell to help resurrect his lover, Princess Ankh-es-en-Amon. The latter also happened to look like Frank's lover, Helen Grosvenor (Zita Johann). Of course that wasn't unnoticed by Imhotep himself.

In fact, it was the whole point of the movie. He knew the resemblance that Helen had to Ankh-es-en-Amon and he went out of his way to show Helen memories of their past life together when he wasn't killing Frank's father or trying to kill Frank himself. 

The last few minutes of the movie have the attempted resurrection in question with Imhotep trying to bring his lover back while also vocalising Imhotep's resentment for being sacrificed in the first. The love story between Helen and Frank seemed to be the thing that saved Helen in the end and doomed Imhotep.

- Both Boris Karloff and David Manners were previously the Monster and Jonathan Harker the year before in Dracula (1931) and Frankenstein (1931) respectively. Talk about typecasting for both. 

- The movie spawned a reimagining such as The Mummy's Hand (1940) and various sequels it. 

- Dog lovers will not love what happened offscreen to Helen's dog. Oh and there's a white cat.

- Chronology: Both 1921 and 1931 in Egypt as well as flashbacks to 3700 years before for Imhotep's backstory.

While it's not as instant a classic as some of the others, there's no denying that this version of The Mummy (1931) set a high standard. Boris Karloff played Imhotep with such ease. He gave an excellent performance and so did Zita Johann and David Manners.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of It - Welcome To Derry: "The Pilot"

 

Written by Jason Fuchs

Directed by Andy Muschietti 

Lilly: "We're going to get you out."

Matty: "No, you won't. You're the reason I'm in here."

HBO perfectly timed the released for this show. With less than a week to go until Halloween, it was time to see what brand of chaos was unleashed on Derry before the events of the IT movies.

The opening episode started off with Matt Clements (Miles Ekhardt). He snuck into see a movie called The Music Man and briefly encountered Ronnie Grogan (Amanda Christine) before getting into a car with a strange couple and their childen. It was a car journey that Matt ultimately wouldn't survive.

Cut to four months later and you've got the focus on several young kids who are drawn to each other because of Matt's death. There's the alien believing Phil Malkin (Jack Molloy Legault), his sister Susie (Matilda Legault) and his best friend, Jewish kid, Teddy Uris (Mikkal Karim-Fidler). Oh and there's Lilly Bainbridge (Clara Stack).

They've all felt the loss of Matty but while Phil was initially in denial about what happened to Matt, both Teddy and Lilly force him to face up to it. Along with Susie, they soon encountered Ronnie and a trip to the cinema at night led to an almighty bloodbath.

Every once in a while I can be surprised with how far a television show can push the gore factor and I was pretty shocked with how far this one pushed things. With the exception of Lilly and Ronnie, every other kid in that scene got absolutely slaughtered by the mutant baby. Talk about pushing the rating there.

As for the rest of the episode, there's an air force subplot involving returning Leroy Hanlon (Jovan Adepo) and Captain Pauly Russo (Rudy Mancuso). While Leroy experienced racism, he did have support from General Shaw (James Remar) but it didn't stop an incident where masked men nearly killed him over classified information. I'm sure that information will be relevant later on.

- Other actors who appeared in this first episode included Chris Chalk as Dick Halloran. Bill Skarsgard will appear as Pennywise later in the season.

- Teddy was reading comics about The Flash and Clayface, Phil was obsessed with breastfeeding, Ronnie's father was a suspect, Susie had great handwriting, Lily spent time in Juniper Hill and Matt used a pacifier when he was stressed.

- Standout music: Ya Got Trouble from the movie Matt ended up trapped in.

- Chronology: January 1962, before it moved into May. Derry, Maine of course.

The Pilot showed a hell of a lot of trouble with the lead cast on great form and top notch directing from Andy Muschietti. He's set a high bar that hopefully can be maintained for the rest of the season.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Scary Movie 5 (2013)

 

Written by Pat Proft And David Zucker

Directed by Malcolm D. Lee

Jody: "I feel like there's something in this house."

And we've hit the low point of the franchise. In the 2010s, this subgenre was well and truly dying on it's arse. This final entry was a case of "why even bother?" as it tried to set up a new group of protagonists.

First things first though - sexcapades with Charlie Sheen and Lindsay Lohan? Even in 2013, that felt pretty dated as one of them died and the other got arrested. The kids of Sheen's also ended up being feral and discovered by two idiots named Ja'Marcus (Snoop Dogg) and D'Andre (Mac Miller).

The kids would be taken in by Sheen's fictionalised brother, Dan Sanders (Simon Rex) and his wife, Jody (Ashley Tisdale). Needless to say, they're a handful and even with help such as Maria (Lidia Porto), they only really answer to Mama herself.

This movie threw in the likes of Mama, Paranormal Activity and Black Swan as it's main reference points. The kids could see that title baddie from one movie, found footage factored a lot into the house and Jody herself was competing with Kendra (Erica Ash) for the Swan Queen. 

Yes, the movie trudged through these spoofs and not with the coordinated zing of the first two movies. It's such a sloppy movie, almost knowing that it's coming from an era that's already ended for this subgenre.

Jody and Dan are serviceable characters but there's a blandness to both Ashley Tisdale and Simon Rex. You almost get the impression neither one of them wanted to be a part of this but couldn't get out of their contracts. None of the jokes land and the resolution's pretty crap to boot.

- There's a post credit scene with Charlie Sheen and Lindsay Lohan that played into "it was a dream" cliche. Cameos included Tyler Posey, Jasmine Guy, Mike Tyson, Usher, Kate Walsh, Molly Shannon and Angie Stone to name a few.

- Other spoofs included Planet Of The Apes, Cabin In The Woods, Evil Dead, Inception, Insidious and 50 Shades Of Grey.

- Standout music: Hyper Crush's Werk Me.

- Chronology: Years since the previous movie. No real references to the previous ones though.

Scary Movie 5 really was an embarrassment for this franchise. It's poor in every aspect and I really cannot say a good thing about it. A terrible ending for a sometimes fun but dated franchise. Will next year's sixth entry redeem this franchise? We'll see but this one's a dud.

Rating: 2 out of 10 

My Review of Scary Movie 4 (2006)

 

Written by Craig Mazin And Jim Abrahams And Pat Proft

Directed by David Zucker 

Jeremiah: "I am sorry, Elder Hale... but sometimes my tongue wiggles beyond my ability to control it."

Brenda: "This is a problem with which I have had much experience. Maybe I could help him in a room in which there are no others. Or you can all watch. I don't give a shit."

And we've reached the part of the franchise where the last vestiges of the Wayans influence were present. This was the last film in the franchise to feature both Cindy Campbell (Anna Faris) and Brenda Meeks (Regina Hall). I wouldn't say it ended on a particularly high note.

Let's see, this time around we're dealing with Saw, The Grudge and The Village as the bones of the plot. The film opened with Shaquille O'Neal being captured by a very familiar and not as menacing puppet. 

Then there's Cindy. Her marriage ended and she became a widow, her nephew was gone to military schooland she was now looking after old people like Mrs. Norris (Cloris Leachman) and dealing with creepy ghost boys (Garrett Masuda). Oh and Brenda's back because in this franchise, death won't keep get her down. As usual, the highlight in every movie.

Now here we've got Cindy getting involved with single father, Tom Ryan (Craig Bierko) and the latter's children, Robbie (Beau Mirchoff) and Rachel (Conchita Campbell). The romance plots Cindy got in these later movies weren't interesting and this one was rather flat.

There's a bit more fun to be had when Cindy and Brenda ended up in a backwards village and have the likes of Henry Hale (Bill Pullman) as a foil. Brenda in particular charmed the likes of Jeremiah (John Reardon). Let's just say that Brenda's butter churning skills left a profound effect on Jeremiah.

Throw in another alien invasion, a secondary love story between Brenda and Zoltar (David Zucker) and puppets getting beaten by Brenda and it's mostly an okay third act. I would've preferred something other than an alien invasion or Cindy getting another bland love interest. This movie reheated elements from the previous and not very well tbh.

- It turns out that Mahalik Phifer (Anthony Anderson) and CJ Iz (Kevin Hart) had sex with each between movies.

- Charlie Sheen, Simon Rex, Leslie Nielsen and Edward Moss reprised their roles from the previous movie as well. However Carmen Electra and Chris Elliott played new characters. James Earl Jones did the narration. Dr Phil McGraw also appeared.

- Standout music: Pitbull Daycare's You Make Me Feel So Dead.

- Chronology: A few years since the events of the third movie.

Definitely the weakest of the bunch. Scary Movie 4 showed signs of fatigue but it was around this point, this subgenre had been overstretched and was becoming less funny as a result. Still, there's one more to go.

Rating: 5 out of 10 

My Review of Scary Movie 3 (2003)

 

Written by Craig Mason And Pat Proft

Directed by David Zucker

Tabitha (to Cindy): "Jesus Christ, lady. I'm giving you seven friggin' days. I can come over now and kill the shit out of you if you'd rather have that."

Needless to say that without the Wayans, there's something about the Scary Movie franchise that lost its identity. I felt that a bit with this one and moreso with the two that would follow suit. It was their franchise and without them, it's lacking a bit.

Granted, we're also in the third entry of this franchise and there's an attempt to mature both Cindy Campbell (Anna Faris) and Brenda Meeks (Regina Hall), albeit not by much. Brenda's still as delightfully irreverent as ever, a small mercy in this one.

For Cindy, she's gotten a news anchor job and a nephew named Cody (Drew Misuska) to look after but he's consistently put in harm's way, so she's not very good as a would be guardian. That kid should've been dead halfway through this movie.

On top of that, this movie also both The Ring and Signs as the backdrop for it's main story. There's a bit of 8 Mile in the mix with Cindy's new boyfriend, George Logan (Simon Rex) and new recurring character, Mahalik (Anthony Anderson). The rap battle were not great to watch at all.

As for Brenda, yup she became a victim of Tabitha (Marny Eng) but not before she got a few smacks in herself as did The Oracle (Queen Latifah). No point morning Brenda because, well, she'll be back in the fourth movie and her death, while funny here wasn't quite as effective as the first movie.

Outside of Cindy and Brenda, you've got aliens who kick people in the crotch in order to greet, George's brother, Tom (Charlie Sheen) and niece, Sue (Jianna Ballard), the President played Leslie Nielsen and two characters getting married by the end. Throw in a thwarted alien invasion and a ghost girl free of her curse and things did grind to an ending.

- Other spoofs included The Matrix and it's sequel and a somewhat dated Michael Jackson joke at the time.

- Other cameos/minor roles in this movie included Pamela Anderson, Simon Cowell, Camryn Manheim, Jenny McCarthy, Denise Richards, Jeremy Piven, Kevin Hart, Ja Rule and lots of different rappers. All of whom were popular in the 2000s.

- Standout music: Elfie's School Girls and Aman's Creep While You Sleep.

- Chronology: A couple of years since the events of the previous movie.

Scary Movie 3 doesn't quite hit as well as the first two and it's definitely the start of a slippery slope for this franchise. There's some laughs to be had but also a lot that doesn't land the way it should either.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Scary Movie 2 (2001)

 

Written by Shawn Wayans And Marlon Wayans And Alyson Fouse And Greg Grabianski And Dave Polsky And Michael Anthony Snowden And Craig Wayans

Directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans 

Cindy: "Oh, my god, Brenda we're gonna die."

Brenda: "IT WOULD HAVE JUST BEEN YOU IF YOU HAD JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

With the first movie being such a massive hit, the Wayans certainly didn't waste time in getting that sequel out. It's certainly of a similar quality. Take that as you like.

The opening scene decided to lampoon The Exorcist with the likes of Veronica Cartwright, Natasha Lyonne, James Spader and Andy Richter assuming the roles of Mrs. Voorhees, Megan, Father McFeely and Father Harris. It's amusing enough, gross as expected and not overly long.

As for the main bones of the movie, it's all bit The Haunting Of Hill House, isn't it? First of all, the survivors of the previous movie - Cindy Campbell (Anna Faris), Brenda Meeks (Regina Hall), Shorty (Marlon Wayans) and Ray Wilkins (Shawn Wayans) have returned. They're also in college and they've made some new friends to boot.

The friends being Buddy Sanderson (Chris Masterson), Theo (Kathleen Robertson) and Alex Monday (Tori Spelling). They're taking part in an investigation in Hell House. They're brought together by Professor Oldman (Tim Curry) and his assistants creepy butler Hanson (Chris Elliott) and wheelchair bound Dwight Hartman (David Cross). There's a rivalry of sorts between Hanson and Dwight that's amusing enough to watch.

Anyways the ghost of Hugh Kane (Richard Moll) has been causing trouble in Hell House and Cindy just happened to look like his wife while Shorty found himself getting involved with Hugh's mistress, Victoria Crane (Jennifer Curran). That was better than him being smoked by a giant weed plant.

As the rest of the movie, there's a smart mouthed parrot named Polly (Matt Friedman), a violent black cat, a villainous clown being a victim of Ray, a possessed Hanson and the means of getting rid of Hugh Kane. Add in a funny Charlie's Angels homage and it's reasonable silly fun.

- Other homages are IT, What Lies Beneath, Titanic, The Sixth Sense to name a few.

- There's no explanation given as to why Brenda and Ray are still alive but there's a pointed moment about the black characters being separated from the white characters when there's danger.

- Standout music: Vitamin C's Graduation (Friends Forever), The Prodigy's Smack My Bitch Up and Nelly's Ride Wit Me. Beetlejuice was in Shorty's brain.

- Chronology: The majority of the film took place a year after the opening scene.

While Scary Movie 2 was definitely rushed as a sequel, I really enjoyed it. Brenda was the highlight and the use of Shirley Jackson's classic story worked well. Yes, there are things that have not aged well too.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Scary Movie (2000)

 

Written by Shawn Wayans And Marlon Wayans And Buddy Johnson And Phil Beauman And Jason Friedberg And Aaron Seltzer

Directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans

Cindy: "You guys are psychos! You've watched too many TV shows!"

Ray: "No! Watching TV shows doesn't create psycho killers. Canceling TV shows does! I mean The Wayans Brothers was a good show, man! It was a good show, but we've never even got a final episode!"

Now for something different. With the sixth movie in this horror spoof franchise currently in production, it was time for me to go back and review the first movie. I can't believe it's been over twenty five years since this franchise debuted.

Taking both Scream (1996) and I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) as the bones of this story, you've got a group of mostly horrible people trying to cover an accidental death and being picked off one by one. The killer? It's Ghostface actually.

The people in question are three high school couples - Cindy Campbell (Anna Faris) and her boyfriend, Bobby Prinze (Jon Abrahams), Brenda Meeks (Regina Hall) and Ray Wilkins (Shawn Wayans) and Buffy Gilmore (Shannon Elizabeth) and Greg Philippe (Lochlyn Munro). They killed someone and tried to cover their tracks. Except Ghostface had other ideas on that matter.

As the movie progressed we had Buffy winning a beauty pageant while Greg was getting ridiculed on the size of his manhood. They're the two weakest characters in this first movie. There's also the permanently stoned Shorty (Marlon Wayans). I think the character's a fan favourite but he's more of a mixed bag for me.

On to the two fan favourites, it's obviously Cindy and Brenda. Anna Faris and Regina Hall are as much the glue to this franchise as the Wayans are. Cindy's the goofier version of every final girl ever but Brenda's on another level. The majority of the best lines and funniest scenes are usually from her. Whether it's her falseness towards Buffy, that sex scene with Ray or her "death" that was a homage to Scream 2, she's one of the best comic characters in this subgenre. 

Getting to the Ghostface side of things. Well, didn't we all think that Billy Loomis and Stu Macher were secretly a couple? The Wayans clearly did because that's what we got with Bobby and Ray. I'll admit some of the gay jokes have not aged well but I did laugh at the time. However the twist of Officer Doofy (Dave Sheridan) and Gail Hailstorm (Cheri Oteri) being the actual killers kind of undermined them a bit.

- Other things that got spoofed included Halloween (1978), The Shining, Friday The 13th (1980), The Blaire Witch Project and The Matrix to name a few. Brenda also watched Shakespeare In Love during her "death" scene.

- There's a horribly misjudged and transphobic joke with the character, Miss Mann (Jayne Trcka). There's no way in hell the Wayans would get away with that type of character these days.

- Standout music: The Ramones I Wanna Be Sedated.

- Chronology: The film opened during Halloween with Drew Decker (Carmen Electra) being the first Ghostface victim.

Scary Movie certainly has scenes in it that have not aged well and it'll be a miracle if the upcoming sixth movie can land with a modern audience. Saying that, it's mostly a very funny first outing in this franchise.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Dracula (1931)

 

Written by Garrett Ford

Directed by Tod Browning

Count Dracula: "I am Dracula. I bid you welcome."

Seeing as I have been doing a watch of Universe Monsters take on classic monsters, of course that meant I'd have to watch Dracula as well. I've seen this one before but it was a delight to go back and watch it again.

Cast in the role of the Count himself was Bela Lugosi. No stranger to this particular franchise, playing the role of Dracula of course would be his most iconic. The film itself also would be seen as an iconic iteration of the character.

Doing a role swap, it ain't Jonathan Harker this time but it's Renfield (Dwight Frye). Normally he's Dracula's subservient right hand man but here he assumed the Harker role as the lawyer tasked with spending time with Dracula in Transylvania. Renfield was warned by the villagers to avoid the Count. Renfield chose not to listen.

The funny thing about this movie was that John Harker (David Manners) did appear in the film, once things were directed back to London. There's even a relationship of sorts between him and Mina Seward (Helen Chandler). It's charming enough I suppose, until Mina nearly killed John while under the influence of Dracula.

This adaptation certainly picks and chooses what to keep and what to play around with. The remainder of Renfield's story did play out like it normally did but he also got John's story as well. Similarly this version of Mina wa the daughter of Dr Seward (Herbert Bunston) while Lucy Weston (Frances Dade) was also quickly dispatched of. Van Helsing (Edward Van Sloan) seemed the most in character.

In terms of performances, Bela Lugosi undoubtedly was the highlight of the film. He's absolutely captivating as the Count and his best scenes were ones that involved Renfield, Mina and Van Helsing. Of course this was not a great film for John Harker, with the character largely ineffectual but oftentimes that's the curse of the guy. 

- Bela Lugosi had played Dracula on stage, prior to this movie. He'd also play different characters in this particular franchise.

- At least two different scenes, including an epilogue akin to the prologue from Frankenstein (1931) were added in later releases. There are also silent and foreign language versions of this movie.

- Standout music: Tchaikovsky's  Swan Lake.

- Chronology: The late 1800s, both in Transylvania and London.

Dracula (1931) to this day will remain one of the best versions of the Count in live action. Bela Lugosi set the bar for a performance and his chemistry with his costars is magnetic. It's a beautiful looking movie and very eerie in parts. I love it.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

My Review of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde (1941)

 

Written by John Lee Mahin And Percy Heath And Samuel Hoffenstein

Directed by Victor Fleming

Mr. Edward Hyde: "The world is yours, my darling, the moment is mine!"

I'm having a bit of a time trying to find a certain version of this movie but I did find one from 1941 but I did watch this one over the weekend. First time viewing and it's an interesting one.

In the role of both title characters, you've got Spencer Tracy. He certainly played both roles rather well, albeit maybe Hyde just that little bit better if I'm being perfectly honest.

We have Jekyll performing experiments to separate the good and bad in humans, only for himself to be the result of the experiment. Jekyll tried his damnedest to be a good man. Hyde on the other hand, revelled in the sheer chaos he brought unto others.

One person in particular who was the victim of Hyde's wore impulses was the unfortunate Ivy Pearson (Ingrid Bergman). She bore the brunt of Hyde's abuse and her attempts to get Jekyll to help her from Hyde only backfired on her. Hyde was his absolute worst with poor Ivy.

Then there's Beatrix Emery (Lana Turner). She was the love of Jekyll's life and their engagement was met with disapproval by her father, Sir Charles (Donald Crisp). It also didn't help that Hyde ended up bludgeoning her father to death as well. Needless to say that engagement didn't result in a marriage.

As for the rest of the movie, Jekyll and Hyde caused enough chaos for everyone and when Jekyll almost became himself again, the stress of the police brought back Hyde and then death. Of course this movie had to end with both title characters reaching their tragic conclusion. 

- This movie was a mainstream hit and even managed three Academy Award nominations.

- The Hays Code changed Ivy from a prostitute to a barmaid for this movie.

- Standout music: Alice Mock's See Me Dance The Polka.

-  Chronology: 1887 London.

I really liked Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde. It's unsettling where it needed to be and while Spencer Tracy made for a better Hyde than Jekyll, he's still great in both roles. 

Rating: 8 out of 10