My Review of The Invite (2026)

 

Written by Will McCormack And Rashida Jones

Directed by Olivia Wilde

Piña (to Joe/Angela): "I think we only get a few chances at meaningful relationships, usually we move to different people, sometimes we can have a new relationship with the same people. But I think this relationship is over."

One of the few hits during the summer this year that didn't fall into either the horror of blockbuster category. If there were doubt about Olivia Wilde's directing prowess following her previous movie, this one proved that she's absolutely got it.

Focusing on two couples living in the same apartment building, the thing that would bring them together would be an awkward invite to a not so well planned dinner party. It also didn't help that one guest couldn't eat the majority of the food on offer.

The couple who decided to host this disastrous dinner were former musician Joe (Seth Rogan) and his wife Angela (Olivia Wilde). Actually it was Angela's idea to host this dinner and Joe hated every moment that came from it.

The couple they were hosting were sex therapist/divorcee Piña (Penelope Cruz) and her widower boyfriend Hawk (Edward Norton). Piña and Hawk both fascinated and rubbed the wrong way both Joe and Angela throughout the entire movie. In fact, Piña and Hawk's sex life was a source of contention for Joe. Let's just they're very loud and Joe might not be entirely unreasonable in finding that tiresome to listen to.

What happened throughout this disaster area of a dinner was a lovely deconstruction of two very different couple. Joe and Angela are an outwardly car crash to see unfold and it very much seemed like this movie was going to end with them seperating. Arguably, it probably should've but it didn't.

On the outside, both Piña and Hawk seemed like one of those annoyingly in sync with each other couples that are grating to watch. However, while they're more stable as a unit compared to Joe/Angela, there was still some cracks between them. Unlikely enough to split them up but enough to prove that no couple's perfect either.

There's a brilliant flow of tension, movement and dialogue from all four characters and the exposure of certain rituals made for an amusing examination into desirability for all of them. I actually couldn't get enough of watching all four characters. 

- Joe and Angela have a twelve year old daughter. That daughter's definitely aware of their fighting. Angela and Hawk bonded over rugs.

- Piña and Hawk admitted to having sex with other couples and initially wanted to with Joe and Angela before things got awkward.

- Based on Cesc Gay's book The People Upstairs.

- Hawk's real name was Howard and everyone went nuts for Piña's flan. It was the only thing everyone seemed to enjoy.

- Standout music: Sade's By Your Side.

- Chronology: Took place during the course of one evening and mostly in Joe and Angela's apartment in San Francisco.

One of the best movies this year. I really loved The Invite (2026). Fantastic performances from all four leads, razor sharp dialogue, beautiful deconstruction of two very different couples and excellent direction from Olivia Wilde. Highly recommend this one.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

MCU At D23 2026: X-Men Cast News And More

Last month, Marvel made something of a splash at SDCC and now it was time for them to do the same at D23. 

First of all, the biggest news of the night was revealing some of the cast for X-Men. Three were already revealed over the last fortnight but four other cast members were revealed last night at the event itself.

• Sadie Sink as Jean Grey 
• Kit Connor as Cyclops 
• Samara Weaving as Emma Frost
• Christopher Abbott as Professor X
• Adam Driver as Mister Sinister
• Inde Navarrette as Rogue
• Maya Boyd as Storm

Obviously there are more cast members that will be announced over the next weeks and months. The movie will hit theatres from May 5th 2028.

Also being promoted at D23 was of course the upcoming VisionQuest, starring Paul Bettany as Vision. This miniseries completes a trilogy that includes both WandaVision and Agatha All Along and will feature the debut of Ruaridh Mollica as Thomas Shepherd (aka Tommy Maximoff/Speed). The eight episode miniseries will also feature James Spader, James D'Arcy, T'Nia Miller, Emily Hampshire and Todd Stashwick to name a few. The miniseries will premiere on Disney+ from October 14th and was created by Terry Matalas.

Last but not least, there was another new trailer for Avengers: Doomsday (December 18th) but it didn't really reveal anything too groundbreaking from the last one we had. Obviously the focus was on Robert Downey Jr's Doctor Doom and various characters going up against him but that was about it. 

What was your favourite MCU related moment at D23?

My Review of Carrie (2013)

 

Written by Lawrence D. Cohen And Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa

Directed by Kimberly Peirce

Sue: "No! Carrie please don't hurt me."

Carrie: "Why not? I've been hurt my whole life."

Last week, I reviewed both The Rage: Carrie 2 and Carrie (2002) and neither of them held a candle to the original. Suffice to say, this one doesn't either. It's also no better or worse I guess. Just rather lacklustre by comparison.

On the plus side, you've got both Chloë Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore as Carrie and Margaret White respectively. Both are well cast and both do their best with the material that's on offer here. Neither are able to elevate it though.

Again, Carrie's a social outcast under the guardianship of her religious mother. She's a figure of ridicule and scorn by the needlessly mean spirited Chris Hargensen (Portia Doubleday) while finding an ally in Sue Snell (Gabrielle Wilde) and Miss Desjardin (Judy Greer). 

As this is the the third film version of this book, events played out as they were expected to play out. Carrie went to the prom with Sue's well meaning boyfriend, Tommy Ross (Ansel Elgort) and then Chris and Billy Nolan (Alex Russell) had to ruin her special night.

The prom scenes and it's aftermath are handled well enough. There's the usual comeuppance for Chris and Billy and a rather dramatic ending for Margaret. Then there's Sue being pregnant, which certainly complicated things between her and Carrie.

The Carrie and Sue plot was a nice twist for this version of the movie. As for Carrie, this one seemed to imply that while everyone else believed her dead, she was actually alive. I didn't mind that for the character.

- An alternative scene included Sue going into labour with Carrie's arm grabbing her. It turned out to be a nightmare.

- This is the only film to actually feature Sue being pregnant. Both 1976;and 2002 versions didn't.

- Standout music: Lord Huron's End Of The Earth.

- Chronology: Set in 2013, Maine.

Carrie (2013) isn't the worst modern day remake of a classic movie. It's on a par with the 2002 effort and both Chloë Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore do a solid job here.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Soulm8te (2026)

 

Written by James Wan And Ingrid Bisu And Rafael Jordan And Kate Dolan

Directed by Kate Dolan

Aubrey: "I'm not your enemy. We don't need to be pitted against each other."

Sara: "Don't try that girl power shit with me."

Following the failure of M3GAN 2.0, the general consensus seemed to be to just to relegate this movie straight to streaming and forget it ever happened.

Don't get me wrong. I do think that if this went to theatres, it likely would've bombed but it's actually not a bad movie. It's just very predictable from start to finish. You will literally see everything coming a mile off.

Anyways, you've got your grieving widower protagonist David (David Rysdahl). He works for a tech company that are testing the Soulm8te companions. David's boss, Ben (Arty Froushan) got David to sign up to test one named Sara (Lily Sullivan). Everything you would expect to happen did happen of course.

David played around Sara's software in order to make her feel more authentic. David also had sex with Sara while developing feelings for co-worker, Aubrey (Claudia Dormit). Sara didn't exactly take that particularly well.

The more the movie went along, the more independent thought Sara had for herself. This meant Sara getting insanely jealous over David and Aubrey, including the latter being ruined and nearly killed by Sara. Sara also took a neighbours baby in one of the few genuinely unsettling scenes in the film.

The last few minutes did have an interesting final confrontation between David and Sara. The actual final scene did prove that once again, technology can't be shut down permanently as David realise when he saw a familiar face under a new guise.

- Lily Sullivan played the other android, Lydia. Lydia had black hair but David recognised her immediately.

- This movie is set in the same universe as M3GAN though there's no explicit references.

- Standout music: Sara might have gone homicidal but her version of The Cardigans Lovefool was excellent.

- Chronology: Present day American setting. A year had passed during the last scene.

Soulm8te might be one of the most predictable films I've seen this year but it's oddly charming in it's way. Lily Sullivan did elevate the material and she's great as Sara. It's not an innovative look into AI or an erotic thriller but it's watchable at least.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

American Horror Story: 13 - Everything You Need To Know

I've been holding this one off for a while. After months of speculation, American Horror Story: 13 finally has started its big promo blitz and there's a lot to get through. Spoilers aplenty here.

Let's break down the basics first, shall we?

• Charlie Carver and Ned Martel are the executive producers and main writers for the season. Ryan Murphy has co-written the first and ninth episodes and directed the first.
• There are 13 episodes for the new season, but shorter episodes than usual. Between 25 to 30 minutes long.
• The season will open with a triple bill from September 24th, then another triple bill, three double bills and a single episode until October 29th. It's airing Thursdays at 9pm on FX/Hulu.
• Frances Conroy, Gabourey Sidibe, Leslie Grossman, Billie Lourd, Kathy Bates, Seth Gabel, Zach Villa and Mat Fraser will reprise their roles of Myrtle Snow, Queenie, Coco St Pierre Vanderbilt, Winter Anderson/Mallory, Delphine Lalaurie, Jeffrey Dahmer, Richard Ramirez and Paul the Illustrated Seal respectively. Ariana Grande had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts.
• Season 13 will not be the final season. Season 14 is in development. However this might be the last crossover event style season.
• The season is mostly set in New York but will take in other timelines, locations and feature some controversial female figures from history. The Apollyon building will serve as the main setting.

Now, let's have a look at the main and recurring cast for this upcoming season, shall we?

• Joey Pollari as Ben DeSoto. The main protagonist of the season, driving the narrative for all the big returns. He sees the number 13 in various places. He's a nurse going by the trailer.
• Paul Anthony Kelly/Fedor Steer as Mr Nas. The main antagonist of the season. Likely the Devil, going by Ryan Murphy's interview with Vogue magazine.
• Evan Peters as Kai Anderson. Seemingly his main role this season. He'll also be reprising Tate Langdon/Rubber Man and James Patrick March and other past characters. Tate and Kai will share a scene together.
• John Carroll Lynch as Twisty the Clown. Yup, he's back. Why? No idea, but must be prominent enough role to get a character poster.

• Jessica Lange as Constance Langdon. She's back and living in the Apollyon. Also expect to see Lange reprise Sister Jude, Fiona Goode and Elsa Mars. Oh and she's gonna sing this season.
• Sarah Paulson as Cordelia Goode. Our supreme is back and also Paulson will be reprising about six other past roles this season.
• Angela Bassett as Marie Laveau. The Voodoo Queen is back and in a much bigger role than last time.
• Emma Roberts as Madison Montgomery. Yes, back and undoubtedly a certain line will be uttered again. The eleventh episode will be a big one for her.
• Jamie Brewer as Adelaide Langdon. Another surprise return and she could be reprising Nan too.
• Mena Suvari as Elizabeth Short/Black Dahlia. This one is more mystifying to me but I'm sure there's a good reason why she's around this season.

• Madelaine Petsch, Elle Chapman and Tig Notaro in undisclosed roles.
• Berto Colon as Joe. He's the Doorman at the Apollyon and his scenes are largely with Constance Langdon.
• John Waters as Mr Phibes. He's a phlebotomist. That's it really.
• Avantika as Ophelia. New Coven member.
• Alex Consani as Morwenna. New Coven member.
• Orlando Jones as Papa Legba. A recast, following Lance Reddick, who passed away in 2023.

And that's our principal regular, recurring and guest cast members. There's a few glaring omissions but it could be a case of actor unavailability or perhaps Murphy and company want some surprises to remain hidden until transmission. This feels like a very ambitious season and it could've been a way to end the show altogether. Saying that, I'm glad it's not the end.

AHS13 Trailer: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_DGQ0EpPdds

American Horror Story: 13 will air Thursdays at 9pm from September 24th on FX, Hulu and Disney+ respectively.

My Review of Final Destination Bloodlines (2025)

 

Written by Jon Watts And Guy Busick And Lori Evans Taylor

Directed by Zach Lipovsky And Adam Stein

William Bludworth: "I intend to enjoy the time I have left, and I suggest you do the same. Life is precious. Enjoy every single second. You never know when... Good luck."

My marathon of this franchise has finally led me to this movie and can I just say, this was really good? It's like the writers looked at what worked with Halloween (2018) and Scream (2022) and implemented it here.

This felt like a legacy sequel with a backstory on one particular character realised quite well. Let's take a trip to 1969 to begin with. That's where this film and now it's making me want a future movie to be a period setting. Anyways, it's there where we met Iris Campbell (Brec Bassinger). She's rather significant to things.

She was the one having visions of a sky restaurant she attended with her boyfriend, Paul (Max Lloyd-Jones). It was on the brink of collapse and it was in that very restaurant she saved a boy named J.B. (Jayden Oniah). That boy would grow up to be William Bludworth (Tony Todd). Iris on the other hand would go the Laurie Strode 2018 era route.

Yes, Iris would have children such as Howard (Alex Zahara) and Darlene (Rya Kihlstedt) and she'd do a fantastic job in alienating them. Howard and Darlene would find their own partners and go on to have children of their own. In particular, Darlene's estranged daughter, Stefani Reyes (Kaitlyn Santa Juana) would inherit her grandmother's (Gabrielle Rose) visions and then see her grandmother die in a grisly manner.

Stefani was the protagonist of the piece and it was to her to keep her family alive. This included her brother, Charlie (Teo Briones) as well as cousins Julia (Anna Lore), Bobby (Owen Patrick Joyner) and Erik (Richard Harmon). Out of all of them, Erik somewhat stood out the most, given how combative he was with Stefani.

Throwing a nice link to the second movie, the subplot of one of the survivors temporarily dying in order to close up the loop came into play once again. Of course, by the end of the film there was no survivors but at least the Campbell family felt a little more fleshed out compared to past films.

- This was Tony Todd's final appearance in the franchise with the movie dedicated to him.

- Looking at the writers, I just realised one of the writers as also a writer on the recent Scream movies.

- Standout music: Natasha Burnett and Garfield Wilson's version of Shout.

- Chronology: 1969 for the Iris introduction and 2024 for the main events.

Final Destination Bloodlines proved me wrong and also proved that there might be some life left in this franchise. It learned the best lessons from recent requels and delivered an incredibly strong entry. I'm now looking forward to the next one.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Final Destination 5 (2011)

Written by Eric Heisserer

Directed by Steven Quale

Sam: "Are you saying we can't stop this?"

Bludworth: "You were supposed to die on that bridge. You're not supposed to be here. You shorted death. So you let death have somebody else in your place, and you take their spot in the realm of the living. All the days and years that they have yet to live. And they take *your* place in death. Then the books are balanced."

I didn't realise that back in 2011 this franchise had a moment that tried to tie events from the first movie into the ending of this one. I mean it kind of worked but how much better would it have been if certain cast members had properly reprised their roles for this one.

Anyways, once again we've got a male protagonist who can see impending death coming a mile off. The guy in question being Sam Lawton (Nicholas D'Agosto). Sam's quick thinking saved the lives of his fellow co-workers, Peter Friedkin (Miles Fisher), Candice Hooper (Ellen Wroe), Dennis Lapman (David Koechner), Nathan Sears (Arlen Escarpeta), Olivia Castle (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) and Isaac Palmer (P.J. Byrne). He also saved his ex girlfriend Molly Harper (Emma Bell).

The disaster being a collapsed bridge. The survivors but specifically Sam attracted the attention of both sceptical Agent Jim Block (Courtney B. Vance) and coroner, William Bludworth (Tony Todd). I was happy to see the latter back to being his rather cryptic self. 

Of course death went out of its way to correct the timeline but the one death that stuck out was Olivia's. Now, I have a thing about eyes and watching Olivia being brutally killed after getting LASIK freaked me out big time. One of the most horrible deaths in this franchise and one of the few to make me visibly squirm.

Then there's the final three. Yes, everyone else died with only Sam, Molly and Peter initially surviving the events. Of course, Peter went mad and wanted to kill Molly in order to prolong his own life. Needless to say, it didn't work out that well for him.

Now going back to the first ever movie. I was surprised that Sam and Molly were on that ill fated Flight 180. I just wished they had actually gotten Devon Sawa back for that one scene but I'll admit, it was a great way to end this one.

- Did they intend this to be the last movie in the franchise? The way it linked back to the first movie and the montage to the previous movie kills.

- This was the first movie not to feature female nudity. 

- Standout music: Kansas's Dust In The Wind.

- Chronology: It took place two weeks before the opening scene of the first movie.

Final Destination 5 was the best movie since the first one with some very strong kills and various nods to past movies. If anything, it would've made a good ending to this franchise but horror franchises never truly die.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of The Final Destination (2009)

 

Written by Eric Bress

Directed by David R. Ellis

Nick: "There's gonna be a huge crash."

Hunt: "Of course there's a crash. There's always a fucking crash."

I'm on the fourth instalment of this franchise and it's the most standalone of the bunch. Also, after two female leads in the previous two films, we've got a new male lead for this one. 

Though not quite as charismatic as Alex Browning, I guess Nick O'Bannon (Bobby Campo) was likable enough. His visionary came into play during a double date at the auto race with girlfriend Lori Milligan (Shantel VanSanten) and their friends Hunt Wynorski (Nick Zano) and Janet Cunningham (Haley Webb). As usual it played out with Nick seeing impending doom, preventing it and the consequences of cheating death.

Not only did Nick save his girlfriend and friends but he also saved racist driver Carter Daniels (Justin Welborn), mother Samantha Lane (Krista Allen), mechanic Andy Kewzer (Andrew Fiscella) and his girlfriend Nadia Monroy (Stephanie Honoré)  and security guard George Lanter (Mykelti Williamson).

Some of these people were a lot less likable than past survivors. In particular, Carter was one of the least sympathetic survivors in the franchise. His death in particular was somewhat satisfying to watch.

The best scene in the movie was Nick believing that he had cheated the death loop, only for that movie scene with Lori and Janet. Who would've thought that going to the movies would've resulted in death? Aside from Scream 2 of course.

Of course that wasn't the true end. That cinema death obviously got undone. The actual ending itself was more lacklustre by comparison. Probably the most lacklustre ending so far for a protagonist in this franchise.

- Although it's a largely standalone film, there's a very blatant reference to Clear Rivers.

- This is the only film that doesn't feature Tony Todd. His presence was very much missed.

- Standout music: Shinedown's Devour.

- Chronology: It's an unspecified timeline but two weeks later for that last moment.

My least favourite of the franchise so far. The Final Destination isn't terrible but it's a rather bland outing compared to it's predecessor. The movie scene's good though.

Rating: 5 out of 10 

My Review of House Of The Dragon: "The Treasons At Tumbleton"

 

Written by Ryan Condal And Ti Mikkel

Directed by Andrij Parekh

Rhaenyra: "I am the Prince That Was Promised."

And just like that, Rhaenyra's on her way to becoming the Mad Queen, losing the good will of the small folk and her crown. This season decided there was some aspects of book Rhaenyra that they wanted to explore after all.

Rhaenyra has been making a lot of questionable choices this season and she really did herself no favours in this finale. Being paranoid about her legacy brought out the worst in her treatment of Helaena. I was pretty shocked with Rhaenyra having Helaena force fed like that. That was brutal.

Speaking of Helaena, that book scene happened but not quite the way it was from the book. I expected her death and it was certainly a way to end the season. Rhaenyra being left with a certain gift from her half sister will increase her madness next season. 

On the plus side, the whole attack on Tumbleton at least gave Rhaenyra one positive. Ormund finally got taken out of the mix with Roderick giving him quite the painful death. A minus would be the loose cannon now known as Ulf. Not only did the latter defect to Team Green but he took a lot of joy in setting Ormund alight with Silverwing. Daemon better take him out quickly.

Keeping with Daemon, he managed to get Rhaenyra back on side, didn't indulge Gwayne's attempts of peace and even wasn't thrilled with Corlys either. Daemon also got a pretty brutal fight scene with Jon before the latter got taken out of the equation.

As for Aegon II and Aemond, I loved their little reunion in this episode. Aemond genuinely couldn't believe that his brother was alive and was eager for forgiveness. Aegon was more determined to reclaim the Iron Throne than kill Aemond, so there was that. I'm still not Team Green but that scene was undeniably funny to watch.

- Baela had every right to call out Rhaenyra the way she did. In fact, she should've went a lot harder like Helaena did. Jeffrey seemed freaked out by his own mother.

- Alicent really is like Teflon because once again, she appeared unscathed after all of the chaos played out.

- Mysaria got the severance package and a relocation to Pentos. She looked pissed off when Rhaenyra declared herself to the small folk.

- Daeron earned the nickname "the daring" but also disappeared with Tessarion. Alys also filled Aemond in on her own backstory.

- Other deaths that occured in the episode included Hugh's wife, Kat and the High Septon that Alyn killed on Rhaenyra's orders.

- Chronology: From where the previous episode left off.

The Treasons At Tumbleton isn't the best finale we've had but my God, a lot went down here. So many deaths, Rhaenyra going full blown Mad Queen and she's got so many people coming after her in the final season. Let the chaos unfold.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of My Adventures With Superman: "Vae Victis"

 

Written by Jake Wyatt

Directed by Grace Liu

Jonathan (to everyone): "Like I said. I am Superman."

On to the penultimate episode of the season, we've got two separate plots both fighting for the right amount of screen time. There's the one involving Superman and the one involving everyone else's.

Focusing on the latter one first, Jonathan spent a lot of this episode just getting it wrong. He's openly hostile and unhelpful when Lois tried to mobilise a plan and stop Amanda Waller from having total control of everything. 

I was hoping when a recovered Supergirl got him to come back that Jonathan might have learned to be a better team player. That went out the window when the Eradicator appeared and Jonathan overestimated his abilities. It did lead to a good cliff hanger though.

Then there's Clark and Bizarro. Brainiac had them both and there was something of a Krypton origin story thrown into the mix. Clark was put through a series of tests to prove his worth. This meant attacking the Coluans, which Clark didn't want to do.

It's a good plot that gave more history into Krypton while providing more context into Beainiac's descent into villainy. Saying that, we've got a finale to get to and we need Clark back as Superman pretty sharpish.

- There was nice scenes with Lois and Lara, who the former was able to bond with better than Jonathan.

- Kara and Jimmy had their own nice scenes in this one. 

- Amanda seemed to have a respect for Lois during their scenes and Jimmy even got through to Lex.

- Chronology: From where the last episode left off.

Vae Victis split it's time between two stories that were handled well enough. I do think that I preferred the Clark side of things in this one though.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Final Destination 3 (2006)

 

Written by Glen Morgan And James Wong

Directed by James Wong

Kevin: "Is there something wrong?"

Wendy: "The train..."

Kevin: "Oh Shit! Not again!"

I'm halfway through this franchise and it's all very familiar as to what to expect. If Alex and Kimberly worked as protagonists who were visionaries, then I guess Wendy Christensen (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) did too.

She's a high school and a night at the amusement park with her boyfriend, Jason Wise (Jesse Moss) and their friends, Kevin Fischer (Ryan Merriman), Carrie Dreyer (Gina Holden) got chaotic with the inclusion of Ashley Freund (Chelan Simmons) and Ashlyn Halperin (Crystal Lowe), Frankie Cheeks (Sam Easton), Lewis Romero (Texas Battle), and goth couple Ian McKinley (Kris Lemche) and Erin Ulmer (Alexz Johnson).

Yup, they all went on a certain ride in the amusement park that should've killed all of them on the spot but only Jason and Carrie perished while the rest of them survived. Throw in a sisterly rivalry of sorts between Wendy and Julie (Amanda Crew) and things got a bit heavier here.

While Alex and Kimberly spent their respective movies dealing with cynicism on all sides and trying to save lives, they weren't quite as full on about it as Wendy was. She's the ultimate control freak. I guess that made her failure to keep the survivors still alive even worse.

I mean there's some truly horrible deaths in this one but both Ashley and Ashlyn getting barbecued to death in those sunbeds was one of the worst I've seen. The rest are pretty gnarly but they don't really top that one if I'm being honest.

As for Wendy, did this film really kill her off at the end? It seemed to be the end of her and the remaining survivors and it certainly felt fitting, given the events of the film. 

- Tony Todd had a voice cameo as the voice of the Devil/subway train conductor. Cory Monteith and Dustin Milligan had small roles in the movie.

- John Waters listed this as his favourite from this particular franchise. High praise indeed.

- Standout music: Tommy Lee's version of Love Train.

- Chronology: Six years after the events of the first movie and set in Pennsylvania.

Final Destination 3 isn't as good as the first two movies but it had some gruesome kills, an interesting enough use of the Devil and I guess Wendy Christensen made for a decent protagonist.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

Heated Rivalry - Season 2 Begins/Harris and Troy Cast

Yup, the second season of that one show that people haven't stopped talking about since November 2025 has now begun production and there's casting news ahoy.

First up, in terms of new casting fot Heated Rivalry, we have our Harris Drover. Assuming the role of the sports agent will be Justice Smith (I Saw The TV Glow) and it took less than an hour for the hot takes to come in. In the books, the character was depicted as white and on the stocky side of things with the latter being a major plot point. I'm assuming there's going to be major changes to Harris's story that accomdates Smith's casting and while I can understand why some are disappointed, I actually like the casting choice here.

Taking on the role of Troy Barrett would be Charlie Gillespie (Juliet And The Phantoms). The commentary hasn't been as severe on his casting as he's likely closer to the book depiction of the character. Troy's a character who gets caught up in a scandal while getting romantically involved with Harris. Suffice to say the Troy/Harris romance will generate a fair chunk of the screen time for the second season. I'm betting one episode in particular will have the pair very much front and centre.

Now what of our main couple? Don't worry, the second season very much will have Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov at the heart of everything. In the last eight months, we've seen both Hudson Williams and Connor Stories skyrocket in terms of popularity with both men appearing in a slew of upcoming tv and movie projects. The second season will keep Shane/Ilya as the main focus with Troy/Harris as the secondary couple.

As for Scott Hunter (Francois Arnaud) and Kip Grady (Robbie GK), they will also factor into the second season as well. Their romance was so beautifully handled in the first season, I'm glad we're going to see more of them. Especially if it pisses off certain toxic fans who made it their mission to be as horrible to Francois Arnaud for no good reason. I do think their screen time will less but I'll savour every minute of it.

Heated Rivalry Season 2 starts filming from next week. It'll be released on Crave, HBO Max and Sky/Now TV from Spring 2027.

My Review of Carrie (2002)

 

Written by Bryan Fuller

Directed by David Carson

Carrie: "Jesus will help me. He will help me if I really need him."

Margaret: "Not if he doesn't love you anymore."

Carrie: "Jesus loves everybody, Momma - even me!"

As I prepare for the upcoming Amazon Prime miniseries, I went and watched the first of two remakes of the 1976 classic. This one was quite a lot and not entirely in a good way.

It opened with the police interviewing survivors of that particular incident at the prom. It's here where we're introduced to characters such as student Sue Snell (Kandyse McClure) and gym teacher Rita Desjarden (Rena Softer). Yup, two of a certain someone's biggest supporters.

The certain someone being Carrie White (Angela Bettis/Jodelle Ferland). Carrie's story for the most part wasn't too different from what we've seen before. Social outcast, latent powers and of course, having to live with an abusive mother with Margaret White (Patricia Clarkson).

Carrie and Margaret's relationship was explored and this version of the latter was even more unsympathetic than the 1976 version. Her comeuppance at the end was absolutely warranted. I hated this version of the character a lot more than I thought I would.

I also hated the likes of Chris Hargensen (Emilie de Ravin) and her bitchy friends. They certainly upped the nastiness of the character this time around but it also made her a lot less interesting as they did with the rest of her horrible friends.

The movie did succeed with Carrie and Sue's friendship, even if the latter's boyfriend, Tommy Ross (Tobias Mehler) still ended up a casualty. There's a change here to the ending that I'm not sure I particularly like. It's not what I would've done.

- Bryan Fuller, who wrote the script for this would go on to make cult favourites with such shows like Pushing Daisies and Hannibal.

- This is the only version that featured the interviews and the scene with rain rocks in the neighborhood.

- Standout music: Hypnogaja's Outside, Looking In.

- Chronology: Clearly meant to be set in the 2000s. Sue took Carrie to Florida.

I didn't love this version of Carrie (2002) but it had it's moments. Angela Bettis did a good job with the character but this choice of ending was a mixed bag for me.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Final Destination 2 (2003)

 

Written by J. Mackye Gruber And Eric Bress And Jeffrey Reddick

Directed by David R. Ellis 

Kimberly: "I know what I have to do to save us. I have to die."

Following the success of the first movie, a sequel was inevitable and for a second outing, it's here that one of the most talked about moments in this franchise came from this movie. Yup, that scene appeared here.

While there's a sole survivor from the first movie that had a prominent role, this movie was more interested in developing it's new protagonist. It's a college student named Kimberly Corman (A.J. Cook) and like her predecessor, she had the gift of premonition.

Kimberly didn't waste time in using her gift to prevent multiple deaths from happening. This included characters such as her friends Shaina (Sarah Carter), Dano (Alex Rae) and Frankie (Shaun Sipos). It also included mother and son Nora (Lynda Boyd) and Tim Carpenter (James Kirk) as well as state trooper Thomas Burke (Michael Landes), high school teacher Eugene Dix (T.C. Carson), stoner Rory Peters (Jonathan Cherry), businesswoman Kat Jennings (Keegan Connor Tracy), lottery winner Evan Lewis (David Paetkau) and pregnant delivery driver Isabella Hudson (Justina Machado). 

It's a lot of characters to have actually survived and it's not long before Death was correcting Kimberly by killing off as many people as possible to address the balance. It's also because of this that Kimberly interacted with two people from the first movie. Just not the person I was hoping she would see.

For some annoying reason, this movie had Alex Browning killed off screen but Clear Rivers (Ali Larter) was alive and trying to help Kimberly. Clear also suffered the same fate that most Final Girls do upon entering a sequel. Fortunately, there was also the return of mortician William Bludworth (Tony Todd) who had a handy hint for solving this particular conundrum.

This time around the arrival of Isabella's baby was the key to stopping death. There was also the use of a loop involving Kimberly temporarily dying and then another loop involving the unfortunate Brian (Noel Fisher) somewhat resolved this blood bath.

- Did Alex really get killed by a brick? What an anticlimactic way to write his character.

- Clear was in the same institution that Laurie Strode was in Halloween Resurrection. We could've had a crossover here.

- Standout music: The Sounds Dance With Me.

- Chronology: This movie took place a year after the events of the first movie. Kimberly was heading to Daytona. 

Final Destination 2 made for a surprisingly good sequel with some nice kills and a decent protagonist in Kimberly. On reflection, I enjoyed this more than I remembered.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Final Destination (2000)

Written by Glen Morgan And James Wong And Jeffrey Reddick

Directed by James Wong

Bludworth: "In death there are no accidents, no coincidences, no mishaps, and no escapes."

Over the next few weeks and leading into Halloween, I'll be tackling a few horror franchises. This one isn't a favourite of mine but I thought it was time to have a look back at these films.

Focusing on High school student Alex Browning (Devon Sawa), who's got the gift of seeing deaths happening. It's a power that saved the likes of Carter Horton (Kerr Smith), Tod Waggner (Chad E. Donella), Terry Chaney (Amanda Detmer), Valerie Lewton (Kristen Cloke), Billy Hitchcock (Seann William Scott) and Clear Rivers (Ali Larter).

At the airport, Alex managed to prevent all of their deaths, even though it had him fighting with Carter and put him in the firing line of Agent Weine (Daniel Roebuck) and Agent Schreck (Roger Guenveur Smith). They weren't exactly quick to believe that Alex could see future deaths but the likes of William Bludworth (Tony Todd) was more open minded.

Of course it turned out that Bludworth knew about the rules of death and the consequences of what happened when death is cheated on. Let's just say that it's not good and in the end, death ultimately will win out. As expected.

The rest of this film was Alex and Clear and eventually Carter working together to not only survive but to keep their peers and teacher alive. Of course, they'd fail on the latter front but as a team, the three did manage to mostly keep each other alive. It even looked like they broke the cycle until they didn't.

The movie needed a final twist and one of the three had to die. Character wise, it did make sense for it to be Carter. He was the weakest of the bunch and the movie seemed more invested in developing both Alex and Clear as a couple. Carter was ultimately expendable in service of them.

- All of the characters are named after famous horror directors, producers and actors.

- The idea behind this movie almost ended up being an episode of The X-Files. 

- Standout music: John Denver's Rocky Mountain High.

- Chronology: There's a six months time jump where the trio ended up in Paris. It was where Carter would die.

Final Destination (2000) isn't a favourite horror film series of mine but I did like this first film. There's some good scares and kills, rules set up for the manner of death and Devon Sawa was a sympathetic lead as Alex Browning.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999)

 

Written by Rafael Moreu

Directed by Katt Shea

Sue: "You've heard of Carrie White, haven't you?"

Rachel: "Supposedly, she set the fire as some sort of revenge-suicide thing, Elvis was her date and they escaped in a UFO."

I've gone many years not watching this. Not out of avoidance, I just couldn't be bothered but with an upcoming Amazon Prime show in two months time, I thought it was time to finally give it go.

Despite having Carrie in the title, it's not her story and save for some clips of the first movie, she doesn't feature at all. In fact, the focus was on her half sister, Rachel Lang (Emily Bergl/Kayla Campbell). Yup, turns out that Daddy White really playing around behind Margaret's back.

The film opened with the younger Rachel being tormented by her mentally ill mother, Barbara (J. Smith Cameron). The latter's sectioned and Rachel along with her dog, Walter went to live with Boyd (John Doe) and Emilyn (Kate Skinner). They're not better as foster parents and Boyd in particular had no problem striking Rachel.

Of course school wasn't any better but Rachel had a friend in Lisa (Mena Suvari). Sadly Lisa died early in the movie. Actually, Lisa killed her and it was a result of a bunch of jocks seducing girls and scoring them. In particular, it was Mark (Dylan Bruno) was ran and this and it was Eric (Zachary Ty Bryan) who drove Lisa to taking her life.

This storyline largely triggered Rachel's latent powers and the presence of Sue Snell (Amy Irving) did it's best to tie this one into the first movie. She was the one to reveal to Rachel about Carrie being her half sister and she broke Barbara out. Neither of those things ended up being helpful in stopping the inevitable with Rachel.

Of course Rachel's relationship with the much nicer Jesse (Jason London) and budding friendship with Monica (Rachel Blanchard) went horribly wrong. The jocks publicly humiliated Rachel, Rachel went on a fair impressive killing spree, Jesse managed to talk yet around and she ended up being a casualty of her own powers. 

- Jesse ended keeping Walter and had a nightmare about Rachel visiting him.

- Sue becoming a guidance counsellor was a nice turn of events of the character. I like that Amy Irving reprised the role.

- Standout music: 5 X Down's Looking Down The Barrel.

- Chronology: Started in 1989 but the majority of the film was set in 1999.

The Rage: Carrie 2 isn't bad as a sequel and there's decent connective tissue to the first movie. Emily Bergl did her best with trying to differentiate Rachel from her more infamous sister. Some moderately good kills also help.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Victim (1961)

 

Written by Janet Green And John McCormick

Directed by Basil Dearden

Detective Inspector Harris: "Someone once called this law against homosexuality the blackmailer's charter."

Melville: "Is that how you feel about it?"

Detective Inspector Harris: "I'm a policeman, sir. I don't have feelings."

Now this was a movie that I've only heard of recently and apparently it's quite the staple for British gay cinema. I had to see it for myself and I did late last night.

Set during an era where homosexuality was illegal in Britain, this movie focused on the blackmail of several gay men. In particular, there's a focus on the rather tragic Jack "Boy" Barrett (Peter McEnery). He's resorted to stealing from his employers to save himself from being outed but no success.

Boy also tried to enlist closeted barrister Melville Farr (Dirk Bogarde) to help him out, only for the latter to reject him. When Boy ended up committing suicide, it forced Mel into confronting a lot of things about himself.

Notably there was his marriage to Laura (Sylvia Sims). There was some love between the two but Laura wasn't that shocked that her husband was into men and she didn't seem too surprised that he had some previous relationship with Jack to boot. Despite Mel giving her a free pass to leave before the inevitable scandal hit, she chose to stay.

It's the scandal that I guess made this film brave. Mel was determined to flush out the blackmailer and he knew that doing so, he'd end up being outed and lose his career. The guilt of also failing Jack also seemed provided a strong motivation too.

As for the blackmailers themselves - Miss Benham (Margaret Diamond) certainly outed herself as a nasty piece of work after spending most of the film under the radar as secretary of book owner Harold Doe (Norman Bird). The clearly gay Sandy Youth (Derren Nesbitt) was the other blackmailer and did seem to serve as a foil to Mel.

- Dirk Bogarde was gay in real life and gave the production notes on using the word "homosexual" instead of "inverts" for the film.

- There's some strong supporting performances from Donald Churchill, Dennis Price, Anthony Nichols, John Barrie, John Cairney and Alan MacNaughtan to name a few.

- Standout music: Ludwig van Beethoven's String Quartet, Op. 18.

- Chronology: 1960s London.

Victim (1961) really does live up to its reputation. It's a superb look into a tough era with a brilliant central performance from Dirk Bogarde. An absolute must see with a rather haunting final scene.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

My Review of The Birdcage (1996)

 

Written by Elaine May

Directed by Mike Nichols

Armand: "Yes, I wear foundation. Yes, I live with a man. Yes, I'm a middle- aged fag. But I know who I am, Val. It took me twenty years to get here, and I'm not gonna let some idiot senator destroy that. Fuck the senator, I don't give a damn what he thinks."

This was another film that was on my mind recently. It's been years since I've watched this one and it's held up pretty well as two very different families were about to be paired together by their kids getting married.

There's drag club owner, Armand Goldman (Robin Williams). He's the owner of The Birdcage where his long time partner/lover, Albert (Nathan Lane) was the main attraction. Oh and they've got the rather lively Agador (Hank Azaria) living with them. It's a very modern relationship between the three.

Unfortunately, Armand's son, Val (Dan Futterman) got engaged to Barbara Keeley (Calista Flockhart). She's genuinely nice but her parents, which included Senator Kevin (Gene Hackman) and his wife, Louise (Dianne Wiest) lean a bit more conservative. Kevin's also on the verge of being outed for a scandal too.

Anyways, Val wanted to straighten up his father, keep Albert hidden, relegate Agador to the role of a servant and bring his mother, Katharine Archer (Christine Baranski) into the fold. All of this made me want to hate Val a lot and it was naturally a recipe for disaster.

The meeting of both families, which included Albert in drag went as badly as it could have gone and when Katharine was added in the mix, it did force Val to step up.for his family. The fun part was seeing Kevin having to embrace And and Albert's world when he needed an exit from the paparazzi.

There's a lot of time spent on both families that if the movie had a flaw, it would be Val and Barbara themselves. There's good chemistry between both of them but they do somewhat fade into the background at times with their chaotic families standing out a lot more by comparison.

- The film was based on Jean Poiret's La Cage aux Folles. 

- Robin Williams was originally cast as Albert but wanted to be Armand after Steve Martin dropped out for the latter part.

- Standout music: We Are Family, She Works Hard For The Money and I Could Have Danced All Night.

- Chronology: Set predominantly in South Beach, Miami.

The Birdcage (1996) for me continues to be a laugh riot. It's a genuinely entertaining mash up of two families, a young couple in love and some nice digs at the conservative agenda. Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Hank Azaria and Gene Hackman are the highlights.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of A Single Man (2009)

 

Written by Tom Ford And David Scearce

Directed by Tom Ford 

George: "You know that only thing that has made the whole thing worthwhile has been those few times that I was able to truly connect with another person."

Okay, now this was a film that I watched once a long time ago but yesterday I felt compelled to revisit it. I'm a fan of Colin Firth and this was something of a tour de force for him.

This movie focused on Firth playing an English college professor named George Falconer. He's a man who suffered the loss of his long term partner, Jim (Matthew Goode). The latter died in a car accident and George hasn't been able to move past it.

Throughout the film, there's several flashbacks that helped flesh out George and Jim's relationship. They met at a party and immediately clicked. They had a time on the beach discussing George's sassy friend, Charlotte Roberts (Julianne Moore), whom George referred to as Charley among other times together. George and Jim genuinely seemed like they were in love.

George's relationship with Charley felt like the archetype of the classic gay man/straight woman friendship. They smoke fancy cigarettes, get drunk on posh booze and talk very freely with one another. It's a fun relationship but a misstep from Charley about Jim nearly ruined things between her and George. Fortunately for Charley, she was able to walk it back.

Then there was George's relationship with his student, Kenny Potter (Nicholas Hoult). The latter made it his mission to spend time with George outside of class and George did nothing to discourage that. Saying that, there was a purpose to Kenny's insertion into George's life.

George had spent of a lot of the film planning to commit suicide but it was spending time with Kenny that got him to feel again. George's eventual death was far more poignant and a better way of ending the film.

- The movie was based on a story by Christopher Isherwood of the same name.

- Jim didn't approve of George smoking and was going to visit his mother on the day he died. One of the dogs also died with him.

- Standout music: Serge Gainsbourg's Le Serpent qui Danse.

- Chronology: November 30th 1962 in Los Angeles. It was the day after the Cuban Missile Crisis.

A Single Man was a lovely debut from Tom Ford. A great adaptation of one of Christopher Isherwood's works and strong performances from Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode and Nicholas Hoult to boot.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

Batman: Caped Crusader - Season 2: Episodes 6-10 Reviews (2026, Amazon Prime)

The second half of the season offered a redemption for one villain, introduced others, showed the sidekick seeds and gave us a chilling Joker.

Episode 6: Sudden Fear

The title alone made it clear that we were getting an episode focused on the Scarecrow (Josh Brener) and it's Jonathan Crane Jr. who donned the Plague Doctor look of the popular villain. It's a decent enough take on the character with him terrorising college students once again. It's also an episode that revealed that Renee Montoya was secretly hiding Harley Quinn and the latter not only helped Batman to take down Scarecrow but she even turned herself in. 7/10

Episode 7: Her Dark Reflection

I genuinely thought this was going to be a Poison Ivy episode but the villain was actually Thorn aka Rose Forrest (Fryda Wolff). Rose was a timid woman working in a family florist and then the Riddler callously murdered her father. I really have disliked this version of the Riddler, so I was fine with seeing him succumb to Thorn's charms before she took him out. A very effective episode with Thorn being a very effective villain. 7/10

Episode 8: Zero Hour

Anyone remember a time when Mr Freeze was actually called Mr Zero (Kevin Michael Richardson)? I mean, it was a very long time ago but this show decided to bring the idea back. Despite some good acting, this was a rather generic take on the more complex character we've had for decades. On the plus side, the return of Carrie Kelley was a highlight. From clashing with and bonding with Batman over The Grey Ghost (her costume choice btw) to the snarky rivalry with her and Officer Bullock (very Annie coded) and the fact that she found a loving adopted family. Carrie was better handled than the villain of the piece. 7/10

Episode 9: Dead Before Dawn

He's been skulking around in the background for most of his appearances this season but now was his time to shine. The Joker made his debut in Gotham by quickly murdering Hattie Tetch on her own talk show with his special gas. On top of that, he made it his mission to kill the Mayor and neither Batman nor Flass could do much to protect him. Matthew Needham played the role pretty sombre and there was a nice twist that had Alfred also a victim of the Joker's. 7/10

Episode 10: The Laughing Death

And now the finale. Or is this the series finale? Only time will tell. You've got the Joker poisoning all of Gotham and Batman and Alfred coming up with the cure to save the city. There's a nice enough confrontation between Batman and Joker with the latter trying to draw a brotherly comparison between the two. The Joker was given something of an ambiguous exit, which means he'll definitely resurface if this show gets a third season. 7/10

That's my overall review of the second season. It's mostly a strong second outing though some villains are handled better than others.

My Review of House Of The Dragon: "The Dragon In Winter"

 

Written by Philippa Goslett And Zenzele Price

Directed by Nina Lopez-Corrado

Rhaenyra: "Do you think I'm worthy?"

Mysaria: "In this moment, my Queen Rhaenyra, I have never been more certain."

This was such an odd episode. If anything, despite Mysaria's insistence, it's really not looking good for Rhaenyra on the Iron Throne. I'll keep book talk out of it but yeah, Rhaenyra might need to watch her back because she's been making so many bad decisions since assuming the throne.

Not wanting to listen to her small folk voice their concerns and relegating that to Mysaria was such a dumb thing to do. I'm actually glad that Sylvi somewhat called Mysaria out on it as well. I'm also glad that Rhaenyra also called out Mysaria for stirring the pot between her and Daemon.

Saying that, Rhaenyra and Mysaria actually having sex with each other seems to have made a lot of people angry online. I sort of get it to be honest. A lot of people actually like Rhaenyra and Daemon as a couple and these last two seasons have not been great on that front for them. Rhaenyra even found out about Daemon covering for Rhaena and Sheepstealer and that was another source of conflict.

I really didn't like the scene of Sheepstealer being nearly mauled to death by Syrax, Seasmoke and Caraxes. It bothered me a lot more than it probably should've done. It also seemed incredibly short-sighted of Rhaenyra to want Sheepstealer killed when she needs all the dragons she can get. I felt really bad for poor Sheepstealer. They got nearly killed and abandoned by Rhaena. 

However I think Rhaenyra's worst scenes were actually with Helaena this week. She was actually quite cruel to Helaena in the scene they shared together and I don't blame the latter at all. Rhaenyra's really doing a lot to instill a lot of doubt in her reign these last few episodes.

As for Team Green, they were mostly having a better time. Ormund had Corlys as a prisoner and was able to get Ulf on side. It really didn't take much for the latter to switch sides. Ormund really has emerged as a proper threat to Team Black this season.

Then there's Aegon II. He managed to get his groove back and realised that he wanted to be King after all. It also helped that Sunfyre managed to be alive and appeared at the right moment to back Aegon up. I still don't want Aegon as ruler but this was a good episode for him.

Last but not least, there's the Harrenhal stuff. By far, the worst element with more unnecessary incestrous undertones between Aemond and Alicent. The latter's attempts to also kill her own son was foiled by Alys. Never send Alicent to do anything. That woman's propensity to make things worse continues.

- Helaena dreamed of winter, of her children and chickens and taking control of Dreamfyre.

- Alas poor Ser Adrian Redfort (Barry Sloane). We didn't get the chance to know the guy before Aemond decided to kill him.

- Baela seems to have gotten herself into a love triangle with Alyn and Addam. She was a lot kinder to Rhaena as well after the Sheepstealer debacle.

- Both Gwayne and Daeron were plotting against Ormund in this episode while being out of the loop on the latter's plans.

- I appreciated this episode having Daemon actually admit to failing Rhaena and having him try to amend that. 

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

The Dragon In Winter isn't the strongest penultimate episode and there's certainly some strange choices being made with the source material. Rhaenyra's quickly losing allies and the Greens are definitely gaining the upper hand.

Rating: 7 out of 10