My Review of Other Mommy (2026)

 

Written by Nathan Elston

Directed by Rob Savage

Other Mommy: "You were in my heart. Can I go into your heart?"

Bela: "You said you wouldn't leave my room."

I have been wanting to see this one for a few weeks. The trailer looked really creepy and it was a hit but the reviews weren't exactly glowing. Now that I've seen it, I'll admit that it's something of a mixed bag.

The focus was on a girl named Isabela Martin (Arabella Olivia Clark). She's got a rather creepy supernatural friend of sorts that she's called "Other Mommy". Mostly because the creature looked like Isabela's mother, Ursula (Jessica Chastain) and while the creature wanted to befriend Isabela, the latter was rightfully terrified of the creature.

I did like that early into the film, both Ursula and Russell (Jay Duplass) become aware of the creature, though we still had a scene or two with Ursula being sceptical and dismissive of Isabela's behaviour. Chastain did put in a good performance when the creature assumed Ursula's form.

The creature's relationship with Isabela was fascinating enough. It got rid of "Uncle" Frank (Arian Moayed) in order to try and bond with the girl. In fact, the creature really wanted Isabela to let it into her heart and there's a very pointed talk from Isabela's grandmother, Ruth (Karen Allen) about who to let in your heart.

There's a devastating moment for Isabela when she learned more about when she was conceived and what Ursula really thought about motherhood. It's affecting enough as it proved to be the thing to break the creature's hold on Isabela. 

The ending itself seemed like it could set up another exploration into the creature while giving the Martin family some needed closure. Or did it? It did seem a little too clean a defeat for the creature itself.

- There's some strong support roles from Dichen Lachman, Alec Secăreanu and Sean Kaufman. 

- Based on the book, Incidents Around The House by Josh Malerman.

- Standout music: Haircut 100's Favourite Shirt (Boy Meets Girl).

- Chronology: Present day in Michigan. Ended with a scene set during Christmas.

Other Mommy was a mixed bag of a horror film. Some of it worked very well and a lot of it was a bit too schlocky and silly for it's own good. I didn't love it like I wanted to but I didn't quite hate it either.

Rating: 6 out of 10

My Review of Paolo (2026, HBO Max Miniseries)

 

Written by Sébastien Marnier And Juliette Soubrier

Directed by Sébastien Marnier

Tagline: "La vie dont il rêvait était celle d'un autre."

I'm trying to watch more and more non English movies and shows whenever I can and a few weeks ago, I saw a trailer for this seven part, French political thriller miniseries. Its about two men and they're rather worlds apart.

The men in question are former classmates. The main focus was on the titular Paolo Da Costa (Jérôme Niel). He's an ordinary guy who moves pianos and had a girlfriend named Winnie (Guslagie Malanda). For the most part, Paolo seemed to love her, even going as far as to marrying her but he wasn't above cheating on her or even abandoning her as the miniseries went on.

Paolo's main fixation was on his former classmate Téophane Tolbiac (Yoann Gasiorowski), who has gone into politics, was running for mayor and had built a rather nice support system for him. Téophane even had a wife named Géraldine (Magalie Lépine-Blondeau) and a baby on the way. Paolo intersecting himself into Téophane's life was rather tactical and it didn't take long for the bodies to start dropping.

Anyone vaguely connected to Téophane or anyone who posed an obstacle to Paolo's obsessive endeavour was taken out and rather gruesomely too, I might add. The show didn't exactly skimpy on the violence and the gore. There's a few times where it veered a little into the horror side of things.

Another thing it didn't skimp on was the sex and nudity. With American shows (including cable and streaming) suddenly getting a bit too prudish for their own good, this show didn't shy in nudity from both men and women. In fact, there's an abundance of nudity on display with this show having no problem in showing it's leading man in all of his glory. It's rather refreshing.

Of course the finale really brought things to a head with Paolo and Téophane. The miniseries blurred the lines between obsession and sexual desire between the two and I expected a rather horrific conclusion between the two men. I wasn't exactly disappointed with the outcome either.

- Episode titles were Episode 1, Culture Clash, The Heart Of Roisson, The King Is Dead, Eating Your Dead, Seperate Lives and First Love.

- One of the most striking posters for the show came from a scene in the fifth episode.

- Standout music: The score for the show was composed by Pyrit (Thomas Kuratli).

- Chronology: Present day and set in the fictional town of Roisson, Champagne in France.

Paolo would easily be one of the best miniseries I've watched this year. A fascinating look into politics, masculinity and sexuality. Great performances from both Jérôme Niel and Yoann Gasiorowski throughout. I'd easily recommend this to watch.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Four Itchy Boys (2026)

 

Written And Directed by Andrew Hebert

Caption: "Tonight, the boys will break their silence."

This was something that I had heard about a few months ago and it's finally become publicly available to watch. A simple horror short movie centring on four unfortunate boys and a not so pleasant outcome for any of them.

Keeping with the title, they're itchy. All of them and it's bad enough that they have to wear mittens to stop themselves from tearing their skin off. They're not exactly successful in that regard, given the bloody marks on their backs and the outcome of this story.

The boys in question are August (Nico Greetham), Diego (Gilberto Ortiz), Yote (Booboo Stewart) and Ollie (Ben Weinswig). They're the topic of a press conference hosted by the awfully confrontational E.V.A. (Jess Gabor). She's merciless in her determination to make the boys look like an actual threat to society with their condition.

There's not a lot revealed in how the four boys got their condition but you had Ollie trying to calm the conference down, only for Diego to lose it upon being baited about his dead mother. Then there was the gruesome bit involving August ripping his own scalp off before dying on camera.

The end was bleak but expected. Diego, Ollie and Yote were bound in straitjackets and it was implied that Katy (Kim Bonifay) was likely infected with the itch as well. That death glare Diego gave her certainly spelled doom, did it not?

- I think there was a hint of some kind of relationship between August and Diego. Katy spied on them in the alley.

- Luke Barnett also popped up with his character not bring sympathetic to the lads plight.

- You can watch this for free on the ALTER YouTube channel.

- Chronology: The boys have been infected for six weeks.

Four Itchy Boys made for a decent and rather gruesome special. Good acting from the four unfortunate leads and a nice bit of gore. I'd definitely watch another film from this director.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Bad Apples (2026)

 

Written by Jonatan Etzler And Jess O'Kane

Directed by Jonatan Etzler

Pauline: "Did you always to be a teacher?"

Maria: "For as long as I can remember."

I watched this film about a week ago and I kept putting off this review. I'm not sure why as I generally liked it and Saoirse Ronan is an actor who can do no wrong in my opinion. Even in a film where her character just kept making the wrong decisions over and over again.

In this film, she played a Year 5 teacher named Maria Spencer. Maria's mostly good at her job and the kids that she taught seemed to generally like her but there was also that one child who didn't and that child was the type of kid that no teacher wanted to be saddled with. The child being a lad named Danny (Eddie Waller).

Danny's the typical nightmare kid with a well meaning but hopeless father, Josh (Roberts Emms) and seemed to delight in antagonising Maria to her wits end. However an incident outside the classroom pushed Maria to her limits and she ended up keeping Danny prisoner in her basement.

Yup, that's exactly what she did. She kept him in her basement, tried to teach him and keep him quiet with a gaming device and let the locals and police assume the worst in Josh to boot. That wasn't the best way that Naria could've handled things  up as it seemed like she was getting through to Danny, there was the further complication with fellow pupil, Pauline (Nia Brown).

While Danny was disruptive and violent, Pauline was more manipulative and entitled. She knew that Danny was being kept prisoner but used that to taunt Danny and blackmail Maria. On top of that, she ended up telling everyone what Maria had done and the reaction was more shocking.

Having the parents, staff and police encourage Maria to keep Danny was the most baffling thing to happen in this film. It almost took me out of the whole thing. I'm not sure I believed it. Also, it did end on a rather odd note to boot.

- Jacob Anderson had a decent support role as Maria's ex-boyfriend, Sam. Rakie Ayola, Sean Gilder and Kerry Howard also have some good moments.

- Based on the book, De Oönskade by Rasmus Lindgren.

- Standout music: The Five Stairsteps Ooh Child.

- Chronology: Present day Somerset.

Bad Apples tells a complicated morality tale between a teacher out of her depth and an unruly child. There's good performances from both Saoirse Ronan and Eddie Waller but the third act slightly muddled proceedings.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of It Gets Worse - Series 1 (2026, Channel 4 Series)

 

Written by Leo Reich

Directed by Mounia Akl

Ethan (to Brian): "All I want is to live in a shit flat with my two best friends and get drunk every night and make memories that would last a lifetime and just have, I don't know, ten years of my life where I wouldn't have to worry about anything. Is that too much to ask?"

I'm going to be blunt here - Gen Z programming isn't something that I particularly want to watch but I do want to support more out gay talent who are making shows and movies that are written with gay men in mind. You can tell that's the case here with this particular lead character.

Let's meet Ethan (Leo Reich), shall we? If you're expecting an automatically endearing gay lead character, you're shit out of luck. Ethan's rude, selfish, entitled and generally only concerned about his own needs. He's also a shit friend, displaying very little concern for the two friends he actually had in this six episode show.

I'd argue that his friends - Abi (Emily Fairn) and Sam (Olive Gray) are no better but still, they're a little bit less awful than Ethan himself. Abi's the only one out of the three with a steady job and a cute but dull boyfriend, Tom (Sean Delaney) that she didn't love. While Abi's career was mostly in order, her relationship with Tom deteriorated over the course of the show.

Sam on the other hand, alternated between writing articles on her Substack to tutoring a young lad she kept dismissing as an incel. It turned out that he wasn't by the way. Sam also had a weird throuple dynamic with ex-girlfriend, Zara (India Mullen) and Tess (Safia Oakley-Green).

If there's one positive from the show, it's that it's an incredibly sex positive show. Ethan himself had two love interests with Aaron (Dane Williams) and his on/off ex boyfriend, Jesse (Arian Nik). I'll give the show points for being pretty sex positive if messy at times with it's main and supporting characters.

There's a slew of interesting guest stars but the three that stood out were Ethan's therapist Brian, played by Andrew Scott as well as Lena Dunham as Abi's boss Greta and Amelia Dimoldenberg as an old rival of Abi's named Emily.  All three do a great job with the screen time they're given.

- Episode titles were Ethan, Abi, Sam, Everyone Else Is Taken, Stop All The Clocks and People Team. Zadie Smith narrated the show.

- The sexiest scene was seeing Andrew Scott going all dom on Leo Reich in the first episode and it's the least explicit scene too. 

- Blake Harrison had an amusing turn as the lodger of Ethan's mother, Sarah (Vicki Pepperdine). It's funnier when Ethan realised that Roger fancied his mother.

- Chronology: I'm presuming it's 2026 London.

It Gets Worse certainly exemplified a Gen Z group of characters. Parts of the show can be a tad frustrating but I think I liked it the more it went on. There's a good chemistry between the three leads, which definitely helped smooth out some of the rougher edges.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Heated Rivalry: Seasons 2 & 3 Filming + Scott/Kip Christmas Movie

Okay, one of these things I expected and the other has taken me by surprise. Things have gotten interesting with the filming for Crave/HBO Max series, Heated Rivalry.

First of all, filming for the second season of the popular Canadian ice hockey/gay romance show, starring Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams as couple Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander has been filming since August. On top of the six episode second season, its being reported that filming for the third season has also started. The third season will also have six episodes but there's more.

Oh and did anyone say a movie? Well, if you're a fan of Scott Hunter (Francois Arnaud) and Kip Grady (Robbie G.K.), you'll be able to enjoy one next December as the pair will take centre in their own movie, based on Rachel Reid's short story, Merry Christmas: Scott & Kip. The couple had their breakout moments in the first season of the show, so it makes perfect sense to award them their own movie. The movie itself will also get a theatrical release.

Meanwhile a reminder of the new cast members to expect with the show's return in 2027.

• Justice Smith as Harris Drover: Social media manager for the Ottawa Centaurs
• Charlie Gillespie as Troy Barrett: Forward for the Ottawa Centaurs
• Shaheen Jafargholi as Fabian Salah: Aspiring musician
• Daniel Diemer as Ryan Price: Defence for the Toronto Guardians
• Edvin Ryding as Luca Haas: Ottawa Centaurs player
• Robert Naylor as Wyatt Hayes: Goalie for the Ottawa Centaurs
• Paul Gross as Roger Crowell: Commissioner of the professional hockey league
• Kevin Zegers as Coach Brandon Wiebe: Head coach of the Ottawa Centaurs
• Milla Jovovich as Dr. Galina Molchalin: Ilya's therapist
• Emily Hampshire as Vanessa: Supporting character
• Priyanka as Tarek: Assistant at an immigration services organization
• Sabrina Jalees as Farah Jalali: Tarek's roommate
• Brendan Morgan as Zane Boodram: Supporting character
• David Tomlinson as Cody Kent: This show's version of Dallas Kent
• Gerry Dee as Coach Cooper: Hockey coach
• Michelle Mylett as Lisa: Supporting character
• Lauren Chan as Gen: Supporting character
• Nick Stahl as Curtis Barrett: Supporting character

Heated Rivalry will return to Crave and HBO Max from April 2027.

My Review of The Grudge (2019)

 

Written by Nicolas Pesce And Jeff Buhler

Directed by Nicolas Pesce

Burke: "Bye Mom!"

I genuinely thought with this title that we were in the remake era once again and we were about to have a new take on the first story. Instead this film took place between and within the three movies that preceeded it.

It's an unusual approach if I'm being honest and I'm not sure it's one that entirely worked. There's a slew of characters and once again, Kayako Saeki (Junko Bailey) was at the heart of causing have among these characters.

The closest to a protagonist was weary Detective Muldoon (Andrea Riseborough). She's recently lost her husband and she's trying to be a good mother to her son, Burke (John Hansen). She's as immersed in the central story and in spite of her efforts, things didn't end particularly well for her.

There's also two couples also at the heart of the film. The younger couple - Peter (John Cho) and Nina Spencer (Betty Gilpin) were expecting a baby and their story took a rather dark turn when Peter encountered the ghosts of mother/daughter Fiona (Tara Westwood) and Melinda Landers (Zoe Fish). It's a very dark ending for that couple.

The older couple - Faith (Lin Shaye) and William Matheson (Frankie Faison) was the most interesting of the bunch. It was an assisted suicide storyline with Lorna Moody (Jacki Weaver) completely out of her depth. It's the best of the three main storylines and the one that I wished had more focus.

The common strand in the stories was 44 Reyburn Drive. It was cursed of course and the location of many of the deaths. Muldoon was investigating the place with her partner, Goodman (Demián Bichir) and it was also the final place she'd ever step foot into, giving this a rather pointed ending.

- The original plan was actually a reboot that would've abandoned the Saeki family but we got this one instead.

- The address was a reference to Ju-on short film 4444444444 (1998). 

- Standout music: Laura St. Jude's Devil's Daughter.

- Chronology: 2004, 2005 and 2006 in Pennsylvania respectively. 

Arguably the weakest of the bunch, but at the same time, I did think this version of The Grudge (2019) had some interesting ideas. They could've been executed a tad better than they were tbh but it could've been a lot worse.

Rating: 6 out of 10

My Review of The Grudge 3 (2009)

 

Written by Brad Keene

Directed by Toby Wilkins

Naoko: "If the curse is not stopped, more people will die, you must understand!"

On to the third installment into the American take of this movie franchise and it's a whole new writing and directing team for this one. I mean there's remnants of the previous movies that are still there.

For example, there's Jake (Matthew Wright) from the second movie. He's been hospitalised but he's quickly killed off by Kayako (Aiko Horiuchi) much to the horror of Dr. Sullivan (Shawnee Smith). There was no point getting attached to Sillas she also met a rather brutal demise at the hands of Kayako too.

The focus was again in Chicago at that particular apartment building. This time around, the focus pivoted on a trio of siblings - older brothers Max (Gil McKinney), New York bound middle sister Lisa (Johanna Brady) and youngest sister, Rose (Jadie Rose Hobson). Rose was ill and kept seeing Toshio (Shimba Tsuchiya) while Max was resentful of Lisa wanting to move to New York with her boyfriend, Andy (Beau Mirchoff).

There was a neighbour named Gretchen (Martina Sirtis) and Max's boss, Mr. Praski (Max McCoy) but they're mostly there to be killed off at different points in the film. There's also new neighbour, Naoko Kawamata (Emi Ikehata), who was revealed to be the sister of Kayako.

Naoko wantes to protect Lisa and her siblings and quickly revealed the horrifying childhood that both her and Kayako had to endure. It took long enough for Lisa to even entertain the idea of Naoko's help and when Naoko did help, all kind of disaster came out. Namely the presence of Kayako's abusive ghost husband, Max being possessed, Andy dead and Naoko also killed and becoming a vengeful spirit. 

The film certainly heavier into the family dynamics with Max, Lisa and Rose falling apart and Naoko doing her best to redeem her own. There's failures on both sides and the ending with Rose was effective enough.

- The next film to come out of this series would go in a completely different direction, so no resolution to that ending.

- There's archive footage and photos from the first two movies.

- Standout music: Marwood's No Trouble.

- Chronology: 2006 Chicago and Tokyo. We briefly met Naoko's husband, Daisuke (Takatsuna Mukai) near the start or the film. 

I got to admit that I found The Grudge 3 a bit better than the second one. It's by no means perfect but it was better focused and I liked the family dynamics a bit more. However, it had Shawnee Smith and could've done a lot more with her.

Rating: 6 out of 10

My Review of The Grudge 2 (2006)

 

Written by Stephen Susco 

Directed by Takashi Shimizu 

Jake: "It's all your fault! What did you do? What did you bring here?"

Allison: "It followed me here. THEY followed me here!"

Following the success of the 2004 remake, a sequel of course had to emerge and it's one that came out within two years. Was it as good as the first movie? Not really but it did try to build on the events of said movie.

The last we saw of Karen Davis (Sarah Michelle Gellar), she was hospitalised in Tokyo and being terrorised by Kayako Saeki (Takako Fuji). This of course distressed Karen's I'll mother (Joanna Cassidy) who sent Karen's younger sister, Aubrey (Amber Tamblyn) to bring Karen home.

What I found interesting very early in this movie was the dynamic with the Davis women. The mother clearly favoured Karen over Aubrey and there's a sibling rivalry between the estranged sisters. Saying that, Aubrey went to Tokyo to get Karen back but the latter ended up dying early into the movie, which made Aubrey the main protagonist for this sequel.

Just like her dead sister, Aubrey found herself out of place and trying her hardest to figure out the significance behind the Grudge and how it took her sister's life. This meant talking to journalist Eason (Edison Chen) who had saved Karen's life and been investigating the Saeki murders. There was also some revelations from Kayako's mother (Kim Miyori) but Aubrey was as doomed as her sister.

Something that might not have helped this sequel was splitting the narrative. Half of this film wanted to close the Karen side of things while having Aubrey making similar mistakes. Then there was the focus on another family and a bunch of school girls, all of whom get drawn into that house with similar consequences.

The family comprised of the Kimbles in Chicago - Bill (Christopher Cousins) and Trish (Jennifer Beals) and son Jake (Matthew Knight) and older daughter Lacey (Sarah Roemer) Their apartment was acting up and it didn't end well for the family. The school girls - Allison (Arielle Kebbel), Vanessa (Teresa Palmer) and Miyuki (Misako Uno) all fell victim to the curse and both stories intersected, though it could've been  handled far better.

- There's appearances of several characters from the first film to try and connect the new stories of this one.

- Amber Tamblyn previously guest starred in an episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, where Sarah Michelle Gellar was the lead.

- Standout music: Hansi Kürsch's When Sorrow Sang.

- Chronology: 2004 and 2006 Pasadena, Chicago and Tokyo.

The Grudge 2 tackled too many ideas and tries to make them flow seamlessly together but doesn't quite pull it off. There's basically two movies crammed into one and in reality, both should've been done separately. 

Rating: 6 out of 10

My Review of The Grudge (2004)

Written by Stephen Susco 

Directed by Takashi Shimizu

Karen: "The whole time I was in that house I felt something was wrong. What happened there?"

The 2000s were the times for horror remakes and sometimes, remakes even involved the people behind them. This American version to 2002's Ju-On: The Grudge was proof of that. I still have to see the original version but I remember liking this one back in the day. I still do tbh.

Sarah Michelle Gellar didn't quite have the big career, post Buffy The Vampire Slayer that she deserved but this was undeniably the most successful film she's been attached and as the lead of. She's also unquestionably fantastic as exchange student/hospice care worker, Karen Davis.

Karen's moved to Tokyo with her boyfriend, Doug (Jason Behr) where she ended up having to look after the dementia stricken Emma Williams (Grace Zabriskie). Emma's got a son named Matthew (William Mopather), daughter named Susan (KaDee Strickland) and daughter in law named Jennifer (Clea DuVall). It's however up to Karen to take care of Emma in a haunted house.

Let's talk about the house. The opening of this film had Kayako Saeki (Takako Fuji) and her son Toshio (Yuya Oseki) murdered by Kayako's jealous husband, Takeo (Takashi Matsuyama) as the latter found out that Kayako had developed feelings for her co-worker, Peter Kirk (Bill Pullman). Peter also died after encountering the ghosts in this film.

The main ghosts were both Toshio and Kayako, with the latter appearing as an onryō. Throughout the film, both restless spirits terrorised everyone they interacted with and there's some genuinely unsettling scenes to watch. It's up to Karen to try and figure things out but if you were hoping for a traditional final girl outcome, you're in for a shock.

It's not a happy outcome for Karen. Not only did she lose her boyfriend, Doug but she also lost her mind. It's a tragic ending for the character while the detective Nakagawa (Ryo Ishibashi) was the one who ended up setting that house on fire to try and end the cycle. Not that it really succeeded, considering Karen's outcome.

- Sam Raimi was a producer while his brother, Ted was cast as Alex, the director of the care centre that stationed Karen and Yoko (Yōko Maki).

- Two sequels and a sidequel were spawned from this movie and came out in 2006, 2009 and 2019 respectively.

- Standout music: Christopher Young's score is rather effective.

- Chronology: Set in Yokyo during 2001 and 2004 respectively.

While I do need to seek out the original, I'm still resolved in saying that I liked this version of The Grudge and I won't change my mind on that. It's genuinely chilling in parts and Sarah Michelle Gellar can do no wrong.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Primetime (2026)

 

Written by Ajon Singh

Directed by Lance Oppenheim

Chris Hansen: "What would've happened if I wasn't here? You see how this looks, right? At the end of the day, a man must be held accountable for the decisions that he makes. Do you agree? Do you watch television? Well, there's something you should know. I'm Chris Hansen with Dateline NBC. And you're about to be a part of television history."

I missed this in theatres, so I waited for the digital release. Was it worth the hype? Oh, I think so. There's at least three career defining performances throughout this film. Yes, I said three.

First up, there's Robert Pattinson himself. He's had a hell of a year with knockout performances in The Drama and The Odyssey and there's still Dune Part Three to come next month. Then again, he's been quite a good number of years and long may it continue.

Casting him as To Catch A Predator host Chris Hansen as part of Dateline NBC was a stroke of genius. The voice alone was nailed perfectly and the mid to late 2000s, it was one of the most talked about shows in America. Hansen made himself a figure of dread with his pursuit of child predators and this film explored both his desire to hold these sort of men to account while also being engrossed by his growing recognition too.

I like that this film explored both aspects to Hansen as a person in an attempt to give him plenty of dimensions as a person. He wasn't above extramarital affairs with his own marriage to his wife, Mary Joan (Anna Faris) barely hanging on by a thread while he struggled to connect with his own children.

The more successful that the show became, the more we saw the darker aspects of Hansen's pursuit of both justice and tv ratings. In particular, his treatment of the decoys Del Harvey (Phoebe Bridgers) and Dan Plumb (Skyler Gisondo) didn't exactly bring out his good side.

There's a huge focus on Dan in particular or Decoy Dan as he became known as. This might sound hyperbolic but Skyler Gisondo gave such a commanding performance, he nearly overpowered Pattinson at certain points in the film. I knew he was a good actor but his performance absolutely blew me away. One of the most captivating performances this year. 

However, it's not just Pattinson and Gisondo who stand out here. There's also another commanding from Merritt Wever as Hansen's producer, Andie Bender. She's absolutely brilliant, especially in that one scene where she went to extremes in order to get Hansen to get his shot together. These three absolutely elevate the film and deserve any award love coming their way.

- The show became so popular that NBC put it up against ABC mystery series, Lost. That worked in their favour.

- There's some strong supporting and minor performances from Matthew Maher, Alex Winter, Jonathan Lipnicki and Tony Revolori to name a few.

- Standout music: Skyler Gisondo's version of Seasons Of Love and Phoebe Bridgers On Video.

- Chronology: Mostly set in 2006.

Primetime (2026) certainly provided three of the best performances this award season. Robert Pattinson, Skyler Gisondo and Merritt Wever are absolutely exceptional throughout this film. The script's a little flawed,  so points deducted but overall, I really enjoyed this film.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Verity (2026)

 

Written by Nick Antosca

Directed by Michael Showalter

Verity: "No one is likable from the inside out."

After watching It Ends With Us, I was kind of over adaptations of Colleen Hoover books but with this cast and it's admittedly interesting premise, I had to cave in and watch this. Also, not to brag but I can now say that I've watched every 2026 release with a certain actor, so there's that too.

This semi erotic/psychological thriller focus on the writer Verity Crawford (Anne Hathaway). She's the author of a successful book series that focused on the perspective of it's villains. It's a perspective that Verity was so good at writing from that it would have the worst consequences for her.

Putting it mildly, Verity ended up in a car crash, was in a somewhat catatonic state and her darling husband, Jeremy (Josh Hartnett) decided to hire the incredibly unpopular author in the same genre, Lowen Ashleigh (Dakota Johnson) to ghost write for Verity. Needless to say, it's a job that Lowen probably should've turned down but nothing about Lowen was straightforward.

She had a dark side of her own and there was something macabre in the way her and Jeremy. It involved a death of course and death followed the pair as Lowen moved in with Jeremy and Verity and befriended the couple's son, Crew (Brady Wagner). Crew had a twin sister that drown and Verity might have been responsible for her death.

The biggest strength of this movie was getting into Verity's mind set. Having taken the advice of Amanda (K.K. Moggie), Verity kept an account og some of her darkest thoughts, making it look like she wanted to kill her own children but she actually didn't. Oh and she was faking being catatonic in fear of her husband. Unfortunately for Verity, her fears were more than justified.

Ultimately, Verity was the flawed but sympathetic figure of the three leads. This film made both Lowen and Jeremy into villains. They predictably got together and not only did Lowen tell Verity that she was going to steal her life but she did steal it with the way she got Jeremy to kill Verity. There's no getting past the fact that Lowen was the real villain of the piece.

- There's a decent supporting role for Ismael Cruz Cordova as Lowen's agent, Corey. It did seem like him and Lowen had a thing.

- Interesting use of real life podcasters Alex Cooper and Sean Evans. I am more of a fan of the latter tbh.

- Standout music: FKA Twigs Girls Feel Good and The Marias Back To Me.

- Chronology: Mostly set in New York and Vermont. A seven month time jump also revealed Lowen being pregnant with a girl.

I really liked this film. Verity was a dark thriller, delving into the dangerous prose of one woman and how her words when taken serious had the worst consequences for everyone involved. Great performances from Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett respectively.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Digger (2026)

Written by Alejandro G. Iñárritu And Alexander Dinelaris Jr. And Nicolas Giacobone And Sabine Berman And Jez Butterworth

Directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu

Digger: "If we can't control the course of nature, at least we can control the narrative."

We're heading into Academy Awards season and there's going to be some movies that will be hyped for the awards that aren't going to float my boat. This was a movie I had a feeling from the trailers wasn't going to be for me and upon watching it, I was correct. I didn't dig this one.

Tom Cruise has spent the last while trying to show up the younger generation as the definitive action man with mostly that being a success in all fairness. Of course, there was going to be a point where he would want to pivot back to a role that would prove he still had the range for the award circuit. I can see what he was attempting to do here.

He's an aging oil magnate named Digger Rock Rockwell that was colluding with the US President (John Goodman) so his company could extract oil in Alaska and Greenland. This resulted in an explosion and dislodged ice shelf toward Europe. Dr. Nirav Ganesh (Riz Ahmed) tried to warn of a devastating tidal waves across the North Sea but he was mostly dismissed.

There's some focus on the Presideng having rectal cancer as well as a play called Fossil Fools that tried to satirise the disaster of the film. There's a fun performance by Cruise, who also played Curtis Markson, the actor that played Digger in the play. This subplot also gave us another good scene stealing moments from Jesse Plemons as Digger's nephew, Kenny.

Throw in some ample support from the likes of Sandra Huller as Digger's half sister, Emma, Michael Stuhlbarg as Vice President Eddie and the film itself isn't lacking in terms of great acting. It's just the story that I found myself struggling to get into. Even Digger and his family's downfall just went on a bit before reaching it's inevitable conclusion.

- There was a lot of emphasis on that dying white cat for a a fair chunk of the first act in the movie. I liked the cat.

- Tom Cruise got an entire monologue for ten minutes that was filmed in a single take.

- Standout music: Melanie's Look What They've Done To My Song, Ma.

- Chronology: Set in America as well as the offshore platform Digger and his family were sent to.

Digger just didn't do it for me. I'll give Tom Cruise credit for his physical transformation and there's a few funny moments but it's not a film I'd be in a rush to ever see again. I found it to be a bit of a slog to be honest.

Rating: 6 out of 10

My Review of Oliver! (1968)

 

Written by Vernon Harris

Directed by Carol Reed

Fagin: "If you go on the way you started, you will be the greatest man of all time. Sweet dreams, Oliver."

During the next two months, don't be shocked to see more musicals being reviewed on here. One of my favourites being this one of course. It's one that I've watched as a kid and appreciate as much as an adult too.

Victorian England was a miserable time and more so in the average Charles Dickens. This movie adaptation of the 1960 musical certainly had a time with honing in on the Misery factor with our orphaned protagonist Oliver (Mark Lester). No parents and in a workhouse, Oliver wasn't getting the best start in life.

He also had the misfortune to draw a tangled straw and ask Mr. Bumble (Harry Secombe) and Widow Corney for more gruel. That only got him sold to undertaker Mr. Sowerberry (Leonard Rossiter) where the latter's wife (Hylda Baker) and apprentice Noah Claypole (Kenneth Cranham) were especially horrible to him. 

Oliver made the right decision in getting away that lot and headed off to London. By doing that, Oliver met the Artful Dodger (Jack Wild) and ended up being taken in by master pickpocket expert, Fagin (Ron Moody) himself. In some ways, Oliver probably had the least messed up family by being a member of Fagin's gang of pickpockets. Except for two obvious factors.

First of all, Oliver's pretty bad at being a pickpocket and ended up getting caught. He also ended up getting taken in by kind rich guy, Mr. Brownlow (Joseph O'Conor), who'd later in the film would turn out to be an actual relative of Oliver's, ensuring an eventual happy ending for the orphaned lad.

However the biggest obstacle to Oliver and several other characters was violent brute, Bill Sykes (Oliver Reed). It's a masterful performance in sheer villainy from Reed as Sykes was a legitimately terrifying and rather pathetic villain in his desperate need to control the world around him. His relationship with the sympathetic Nancy (Shani Wallis) gave layers to both characters as the latter was the closest to a maternal figure for Oliver before her tragic death. 

- Some versions of the movie have removed the Overture, Intermission and Entr'acte. 

- I had no idea that Oliver Reed was both Carol Reed's nephew and that he had a song that was cut from the film.

- Standout music: Food, Glorious Food, Oliver!, Where Is Love?, Consider Yourself, I'd Do Anything, As Long As He Needs Me and Oom-Pah Pah.

- Chronology: Set in Victorian times in Dunstable and London.

One of my favourite musicals of all time, Oliver! is a true classic. A brilliant adaptation of Charles Dickens classic novel. There's so many brilliant performances from the leads and so many fantastic musical numbers.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of It - Welcome To Derry: "A Story Of Derry"

 

Written by Cherie Dimaline And Jasmyne Flournoy

Directed by Tazbeh Chavez

Titles: "Generations ago, when the Kollu first preyed on our people, we left warnings for those who would come after. But we hid the truth inside a gentler tale, one our children could carry. This is the story we do not teach. This is the patent we left out." 

Just in time for Halloween (yes, I'm very much aware this is a day later), HBO thought it would be a nice thing to give us a thirty minute extra episode that was very lore driven. I'm not complaining but wasn't some of this already covered in the first season?

Set hundreds of years before the first season, the focus was on a Native American tribe. Specifically the younger characters of Necani, Kino and Manesse. They're curious about Tha Galloo in the western forest and despite being warned by Elders, the trio went into the forest to have a look for themselves.

That didn't exactly go to plan as Tha Galloo disguised itself as Englush Settlers and tried to harm the trio. Then there was the presence of the mysterious Mativ, who saved the trio but also killed his own tribe. This episode also delved into the lore of cosmic turtle Maturin and there's a gorgeous sequence that revealed the location of a certain crash too.

Yes, while we didn't see Pennywise in his normal form, he certainly delighted in taunting the tribe upon the death of a fallen member. Then there was Kino's communication with Maturin, but again, I already mentioned the beauty of that sequence.

It's an enjoyable episode for what it is but also rather slight in itself. I do think the main points here had been made in the first season. Saying that, if you wanted a deeper dive into this lore, you should be satisfied with this one.

- HBO renewed the show for a second season a while ago but literally dropped this episode as a surprise to audiences on Halloween.

- It took thirteen stone fragments to form a prison to trap Tha Galloo. 

- The writers and director are new to this show. 

- Chronology: Native America and when that ship crashed into what would be later in the town of Derry.

A Story Of Derry filled in a few gaps and provided a nice bit of origin story for the Entity as well as the introduction of Maturin. I really liked this episode overall and was intrigued by these guest characters.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of The Omen (1976)

 

Written by David Seltzer

Directed by Richard Donner

Robert: "In birth and death the generations embrace."

Okay, this was another horror film that I've seen more times than necessary but I've never got around to reviewing until now. I guess Halloween would be an appropriate day to review a movie about the Antichrist.

There's the Thorns - Robert (Gregory Peck) and Katherine (Lee Remick). They just had a baby but the baby didn't survive past a single breath and now, they've adopted another boy that they've called Damien (Harvey Spencer Stephens). Their family should be good, right? You'd think so, wouldn't you?

The problem with the Thorns was that aside from moving countries for Robert's Ambassador job, there was Damien himself. Some kids can be terrors but Damien's the actual Antichrist and as the movie went along, this became a fact that both Robert and Katherine could no longer ignore.

Father Brennan (Patrick Troughton) was one of the first people to alert Robert to Damien being the Antichristj and he was ignored. Brennan also suffered at the hands of the demonic kid. Of course there would be others that wouldn't make it out of the film alive.

As you know, Damien had a big destiny ahead of him and it was up to photographer Keith Jennings (David Warner) and Antichrist exorcism expert Carl Bugenhagen (Leo McKern) to help Robert do the difficult deed and kill the Antichrist. Could this film really kill an evil child?

Of course not. If Mrs. Balloch (Billie Whitelaw) wasn't there to protect Damien against his father, the police certainly were. By the end of this film, both Robert and Katherine were dead and Damien was on his way to becoming a major threat in the future. Its almost like it was foreseen.

- This movie spawned three sequels, a remake, TV show and a prequel movie. I'll get to them in due course.

- As a Doctor Who fan, I keep forgetting that Patrick Troughton was in this movie but being impressed with his performance nonetheless.

- Standout music: Jerry Goldsmith's Ave Satani.

- Chronology: Rome, London, Jerusalem and Washington over several years in the film. Damien was born June 6th at 6am.

The Omen (1976) definitely is the most iconic take of the Antichrist story in any media ever. Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, Harvey Spencer Stephens etc are all fantastic as the unfortunate couple with the demonic son. An absolute masterpiece in horror.

Rating: 9 out of 10

DCU Blog - October 2026 Edition: Clayface Sticks, TBII Resumes Production And More

Yup, it's certainly been quite the month for DC fans. Let's take a look into the big moments from this month.

Clayface, starring Tom Rhys Harries is currently enjoying success in theatres, having made its budget back and then some.

James Gunn has stated once again that the DCU Batman has not been yet cast and not to expect a trailer for Man Of Tomorrow (July 9th 2027) in December.

In regards to The Suicide Squad, characters like Bloodsport and Ratcatcher II are canon to the DCU and that Margot Robbie has the option to return as Harley Quinn.

Luca Guadagnino's Sgt. Rock movie was supposedly cancelled over budgetary reasons. I would have loved to have seen that film.

Following Matt Reeves having to step aside, Steven Soderbergh will finish up The Batman - Part II (February 18th 2028), which has resumed production. Reeves will handle post-production.

Matthew Lillard will be playing an original character for Man Of Tomorrow.

Peter Safran has stated that there have been discussions over various roles for Alan Ritchson to play in the DCU. 

Nathan Fillion will reprise his role as Guy Gardner for The People v. Gorilla Grodd. The eight part show will stream on HBO Max in 2027.

Josh Hutcherson and Mackenzie Davis will voice Scott Free and Big Barda for the upcoming HBO Max series, Mister Miracle. The eight episode show will premiere in 2028.

Ilya Naishuller is one of the directors being considered to direct the Bane/Deathstroke film, which will be called Savage Hunters.

Lanterns is being considered for a second season at HBO, depending on the story. The first season concluded earlier in the month.

James Mangold's Swamp Thing is still going ahead but we're no closer to specific details as to when exactly.

A live action show that will focus on Poison Ivy is in early development at HBO. Lauren LeFranc, who worked on The Penguin will head up this show.

The second part of Batman: Knightfall titled Batman: Knightfall, Part 2 - Knightquest will be released on December 8th.

DC Studio films in early development include Batman: Brave And The Bold, Wonder Woman, Teen Titans, Swamp Thing and Savage Hunters.

David Ellison has backed James Gunn and Peter Safran's vision for DC, which he views as a pillar for their film division.

That's it for this month. Happy Halloween, DC fans.

American Horror Story: 13 Seasons, 13 Standout Characters

First of all, this is a one per season round up and secondly, there's one actor per character in order to make this list a little more interesting.

These are thirteen standout characters in American Horror Story. Feel free to agree/disagree.

1: Lana Winters (Sarah Paulson) - Asylum, Roanoke

LGBT representation can be hit and miss on this show but Lana Winters might be the best lesbian character ever to come out of this show. It's because of this role that the show pivoted with Sarah Paulson becoming more prominent in later seasons. She's incredible as the cutthroat journalist and survivor of both versions of Bloody Face.

2: Michael Langdon (Cody Fern) - Murder House, Apocalypse

The first Antichrist to appear on the show but actually he's the 12th in a long line of them. The best Antichrist. Cody Fern was one hell of a find for the show and he dominated the eighth season with aplomb. Dark, brooding, sexy and genuinely dangerous to watch. It was hard not to be enthralled by this Son of Satan.

3: Madison Montgomery (Emma Roberts) - Coven, Apocalypse, 13

While I do genuinely detest what this season just aired did with the character (talk about character regression), that doesn't change the fact that Madison had a brilliant run of episodes in her first two seasons of storylines. Madison worked well as a foil and then a more reflective character. Not so much as a romcom character but it is what it is.

4: The Countess (Lady Gaga) - Hotel

I'd argue that Lady Gaga didn't need to do much in the way of acting here but when the show lost Jessica Lange, they needed a big name and Gaga's contribution as The Countess aka Elizabeth Johnson was a brilliant way to reinvigorate the show. She ate and ate and ate. Then again, the Lady was a Vamp(ire).

5: Patrick Read (Russell Tovey) - NYC

You'll never convince me that the eleventh season was a bad season. I'd argue it's the best season we've had in the last few years with some genuinely soulful performances and adult writing. It also brought Russell Tovey into this world and his performance as the conflicted detective as well as his chemistry with Joe Mantello elevated that season. 

6: Constance Langdon (Jessica Lange) - Murder House, Apocalypse, 13

Ah, Constance. She's the Devil's favourite sinner among other things. An embittered Southern Belle who killed her husband, the maid, failed her children, her Antichrist grandson and became home help to the Devil. She's a woman with many hats and the occasional red dress.

7: Kai Anderson (Evan Peters) - Cult, 13

The most draining role for Evan Peters turning out to be his best. Perhaps not a shock when you think about it. He made for a seminal baddie in the timely seventh season and his return this season was a highlight. I do wish we had seen a lot more of him this season.

8: Agnes Mary Winstead as Thomasin White/The Butcher (Kathy Bates) - Roanoke 

I was almost tempted to include Kathy Bates most infamous role but I wanted to make sure each season was represented on this list. Kathy Bates gave a brilliant turn as an actress who got a little too into her serial killer role on a popular television show and its a magnificent performance to watch.

9: Dandy Mott (Finn Wittrock) - Freak Show

Who would've thought that a spoiled manchild would also make for one of the most violent and sadistic of killers in this universe? Probably everyone, truth be told. Finn Wittrock made a brilliant first impression as the brattish murderer. I think it's time for him to come back to the show.

10: Belle Noir (Frances Conroy) - Double Feature

This vampish erotic writer had a brilliant double act with bawdy playwright Austin Sommers (Evan Peters) but she also meant business and wasn't afraid to snack on a baby if the moment presented itself. A fearsome and very underrated performance from Frances Conroy.

11: Margaret Booth (Leslie Grossman) - 1984

One of the most unusual killers. Margaret was a God fearing woman who also embraced Satanism and wanted to run the very camp that she killed a lot of people in. On top of that, her later transformation into Ivana Trump made her look all the more dastardly. Easily Leslie Grossman's best role to date.

12: Sonia and Adeline Shawcross (Annabelle Dexter Jones) - Delicate

Okay, I'm cheating but this season was so lacklustre that the best performance came from Annabelle Dexter Jones playing two very different twins. She's equally brilliant as both Sonia and Adeline. Genuinely the best characters in a very bad season.

13: Ben DeSoto (Joey Pollari) - 13

The true protagonist of the current season that just finished up. A man terrified by the number 13 but also the 13th Antichrist and related to several characters for reasons that didn't make sense. While his romantic relationships were a dud to watch, I liked Ben's arc for the most part, thought Joey Pollari gave a solid performance throughout and liked his sacrifice also for the most part. Bring him back next season.

Now that the season has aired, here's a ranking of my favourite seasons of American Horror Story from best to worst.

1. Coven
2. NYC 
3. Murder House 
4. 1984
5. Asylum
6. Apocalypse 
7. Hotel
8. Roanoke
9. Freak Show 
10. Cult
11. 13
12. Double Feature 
13. Delicate

Meanwhile the show has been officially renewed for a fourteenth season, which will hopefully be a damn sight better. The theme, cast, filming and release date will all be revealed in due course.

All thirteen seasons of American Horror Story are available on Hulu and Disney+.

My Review of American Horror Story: 13 - Devil Of A Good Time

 

Written by Ned Martel And Charlie Carver And Brad Falchuk 

Directed by Crystle Roberson Dorsey 

Ben (to Mr. Nas): "All my life I've been afraid of the number thirteen. But I am afraid no longer. It is more than a fear. It is more than my number. It is my destiny. The purpose of my life."

I feel like I'm in a minority of fans who both liked Ben DeSoto as a character and was genuinely invested in his story. Unlike his feckless father, who abandoned Ben and his many siblings, Ben wanted to make the world a better place for his daughter. 

In one of the most annoying and pointless aspects of the finale, both Ben and Madison became parents to an unnamed baby girl. The condom broke, the pregnancy accelerated, Madison gave birth and Nas was the one to breathe life into his new granddaughter. Then his other granddaughter, the killer of the previous Antichrist and Ben plotted his doom.

Of course this show couldn't let the Devil properly win. What kind of message would that have sent out to audiences? And this was in spite of Nas himself calling off the bet and letting everyone live. Mallory found a way to trap Nas's soul in The Last Supper painting and Ben had to give up his new family to do it.

Much as I detest the Ben/Madison pairing (lack of chemistry, build up, feeling unearned, etc) and the inclusion of a baby and the generally bad AO3 style fanfic nature of this plot, it did suck that the poor guy had to lose everything. Even during the actual scene itself, it's less about Ben saving the world and more about Cordelia and Mallory getting the last word in. 

As much as I do love the Coven, they're starting to suck the life out of this show and to it's detriment. The focus should've been more on completing Ben's arc in a way that allowed the character to go out with style. While I like that he got his heroic sacrifice and subverted the role of the Antichrist, the overemphasis on the coven just annoyed me a lot more here.

As for Mr. Nas, his whole plan was fucking idiotic to begin with and the fact that he barely put up a fight to stop Cordelia, Mallory and Ben was also nonsensical. I genuinely think the show's budget cuts played a role in how sloppily handled the main plot for this season actually was. If the budget was there, perhaps Mr. Nas would've won and we'd have seen Hell on Earth. I guess we'll never know now.

- Ben was the thirteenth Antichrist. Others included the likes of Caligula, Xerxes, Hitler, Mussolini and of course, Michael Langdon. 

- Marie was absent from this one, Myrtle relegated to a scene with Morwenna and Fiona taught Constance some magic. Ben rescued Queenie from Hell again.

- Nan returned as Cordelia's personal Hell involved being in a kill shelter. Mallory travelled to Salem witch times to get the spell to defeat Mr. Nas.

- Mr. Phibes was the final sacrifice to Nas to ascend. Phibes was also the final scene as he was making his gay biker movie in Hell.

- Standout music: Troye Sivan's One Of Your Girls.

- Chronology: From where the episode left off. The Coven is now split between the Robichaux Academy and the Apollyon, which Cordelia inherited.

I was really hoping that Devil Of A Good Time would bring this episode home but it's a rushed and messy finale that ignored/abandoned a lot of characters, gave us a pointless supernatural pregnancy and anticlimactic exits for both Ben and Mr. Nas. After this season, we need the longest break from the Coven. 

Rating: 6 out of 10