★★★★★ The best movie screening at 2025's Fantasia International Film Festival is... a slapstick Korean superhero flick? Color me surprised, but Hi-Five truly delivers the goods in a way that many modern superhero origin stories simply do not. Of course, it all starts from the ground up. A ridiculous script from writer/director Kang Hyung-chul lampoons … Continue reading Fantasia 2025: Hi-Five
2025’s Superman: A Second Opinion
★★★★★ (Written by Guest Reviewer, Ronnie (Dorian) Clements) Superman may not be perfect, but it is wonderfully surreal. The real DC Universe has returned, the torch gets passed to a new Man of Steel (for the next generation) and all feels right again with the world. As predicted, Krypto steals the show. Decades ago, a … Continue reading 2025’s Superman: A Second Opinion
Film Review: Superman
★★★★★ Upfront confession: I am not a huge Superman fanatic. Clark Kent has never been a super (pun intended) interesting character to follow, with my few cinematic experiences being 2006’s Superman Returns and beyond, and on the small screen, WB’s excellent series, Smallville. Before now, Man of Steel was my favorite of the bunch. That … Continue reading Film Review: Superman
TV Review: The Institute – Season 1
Stephen King, children in peril, and powers/psychic connections... if any of these elements sound familiar together, they have harmoniously found a perfect frequency in titles such as Carrie, It, Dreamcatcher, Rose Red, and Firestarter. Even Stranger Things owes a hell of a debt to King's iconic prose and MKUltra. The Institute is the latest in … Continue reading TV Review: The Institute – Season 1
Film Review: Jimmy and Stiggs
★★★ Writer/director Joe Begos—whose very own Christmas Bloody Christmas blew the roof off the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival nearly three years ago—returns with his ultra-violent new feature, Jimmy and Stiggs. The first chunk takes place from a strictly first-person perspective as we meet washed up druggie director, Jimmy. Who better to play Jimmy than Begos … Continue reading Film Review: Jimmy and Stiggs
Tribeca 2025: How to Train Your Dragon
★★★★★ Despite having only seen the Dreamworks originals once each in theaters, I was still optimistic for the company’s first foray into the live action remake arena. Seeing dragons interact with humans in the real world, built off identical mythology, has a certain appeal to it. Would Hiccup and Toothless live up to the lofty … Continue reading Tribeca 2025: How to Train Your Dragon
Blu-Ray Film Review: The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie
★★★★★ In the aftermath of WB’s chaotic mishandling of Coyote vs. Acme, the first full-length Looney Tunes animated theatrical movie quietly released. Distributed by Ketchup Entertainment, this gem was sadly overlooked when it hit theaters earlier this year. Now, it comes to Blu-Ray in all its colorful, over-the-top silly glory. As someone who grew up … Continue reading Blu-Ray Film Review: The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie
Film Review: The Assessment
★★★★ (Written by Intern, Miranda Zampogna) Bubbling to the surface, The Assessment examines how the suffocating weight of parental expectation can warp even the most well-intentioned nurturers. Director Fleur Fortuné's remarkable feature debut plunges into a meticulously crafted near-future dystopia where parenthood is a privilege, not a right. Under strict supervision, a couple's seven-day assessment … Continue reading Film Review: The Assessment
SXSW 2025: Ash
★★ Billed as a new "mindbender" from rapper/DJ/filmmaker Flying Lotus, Ash appears on paper to be a perfect fit for both South by Southwest Film and TV Festival and horror streamer Shudder. If only a captivating package had translated to an equally captivating final product. Ash is practically indistinguishable from a variety of other Alien … Continue reading SXSW 2025: Ash
SXSW 2025: O’Dessa
★★ A post-apocalyptic rock opera led by Stranger Things breakout Sadie Sink? What could possibly go wrong? Certainly writer/director Jeremy Gasper brings a unique visual style to the bright extravaganza of muchness that is O'Dessa. Unfortunately, almost none of it works, save for maybe the silky-smooth vocals of Sink. In the strange other-world of this … Continue reading SXSW 2025: O’Dessa