Sommerleigh Pollonais

The year: 1988. The location: Shadyside High School as it prepares for prom. Nice girl Lori Granger has hopes of becoming the next prom queen but she’ll have to beat out a group of girls nicknamed *sigh* the Wolfpack with the head wolf (I guess) being Tiffany Falconer your typical rich and popular mean-girl. There are others involved like Lori’s best friend and horror makeup enthusiast Megan with a few familiar faces like Vice Principal Breckenridge played by an embarrassingly wasted Lily Taylor (The Conjuring, The Haunting) and Chris Klien (American Pie) as Tiffany’s dad Dan who admittedly is perfect casting as he does look like a dad named Dan. The rest are unimportant, underdeveloped side notes who are there and gone. I’m talking people SO forgettable, when they get maimed or killed your biggest reaction will probably be a slightly raised eyebrow. No hate to the actors though as the blame for this borefest lies solely with the director and writer(s). The performers have little to nothing to work with, the shots lack energy (with the exception of chase scene) and the killer’s reason for doing what they’re doing has to be the laziest most uninspired motive ever conceived. The biggest travesty of all though lies in the way NONE OF THIS feels tied to the world of Fear Street. I’ve never read the books so I’m going off the film trilogy here which established a curse made good people do bad things. Yet that’s never addressed! This movie is simply a tired remake of 1980’s Prom Night… which already HAS a tired remake so why even bother! Matter of fact I would rewatch that a thousand times over before ever sitting to watch this drivel again.

Uzo Aduba is wonderful as Cordelia Cupp. Her ability to stare someone down until they start spilling all their secrets never failed to make me smile. She’s joined by a host of talented actors bringing their comedic A-game. Edwina Finely (The Wire), Jason Lee (My Name is Earl), Randall Park (Fresh Off the Boat), Bronson Pinchot (Perfect Strangers) and so many more. It speaks to the talent of the writing team, the directing and the actors that a show shot in flashbacks, flash forwards and present time with a cast of characters that numbers in the dozens, manages to nail that humor and high energy every time. If you’re anything like me and you love watching these types of series (and movies) The Residence is a must watch of a show. While it’s admittedly fatty in some places and could’ve probably benefited more with less episodes, I enjoyed it immensely and highly recommend investigating this one yourself.

It’s the kind of action movie tailor-made for streaming but I think this one might’ve been successful on the big screen too. Like The Beekeeper earlier this year, I went into this expecting a by-the-numbers action flick and ended up enjoying myself from beginning to end. What both films also have in common is a script that’s acutely aware of how ridiculous it is and in doing so never takes things too seriously. Weekend in Taipeialso has the benefit of a surprisingly solid amount of chemistry between Luke Evans and Lun-Mei Gwei as well as a deft hand by director George Huang and some jaw dropping fight and action choreography (seriously, it’s REALLY good). While it does lose some of its mojo crossing the finish line, Weekend in Taipeiis a solid choice for action aficionados, especially those who are fans of Evans and Asian action movies in general.

While I’ll admit things start off a bit bumpy, Agatha All Along never loses sight of its mission. It delivers on the magic and mystery of Agatha Harkness, expands on the world of Marvel with the promise of more to come (Young Avengers) while delivering a heartfelt message of the importance of forgiving oneself and facing past traumas, allowing yourself to heal and thus ultimately becoming the best and baddest witch of them all.

You ever play the game Memory? The one where you turn over cards and try to remember which card matches with which? Director and Writer Greg Jardin puts a delciously twisted spin on this and by midway you’l be completely enthralled as you try to keep the players straight. A wonderfully scripted tale of revenge, this darkly comedic thriller is engaging from beginning to end. Check that, there’s a bit of a lag in the middle but it doesn’t last too long and as the craziness of the game culminates in a twisted end reveal, you’ll be glad you gave this one a look.

Just because you can, doesn't mean that you should. It's a phrase I wish someone would've said out loud to Todd Phillips at some point during the making of this movie. After two plus hours of nothing but singing as we explored the psyche of Arthur aka The Joker, I had to mentally restrain myself from walking out on this "musical". Part of me wonders if this experimental film would've worked had the character not been a version of the iconic DC villain. Then again the jarring way the singing would just grind everything around it to a halt doesn't bode well either way. By the end of this movie I was totally on board with the finale, if just because it meant I no longer had to spend anytime with the depressing, dreary simp of a man and his world where nothing exciting ever happens unless it's in his head.

Shot on 35mm film, Strange Darling is a delight to behold with the cinematographer being none other than actor Giovanni Ribisi (Avatar, The Gift, Sneaky Pete). You’ll be pulled right back to the 60’s and 70’s of horror movies like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. There’s one particular scene that made me think of Michael Myers hunting Laurie in the original Halloween movie, except this movie doesn’t shy away from some very realistic looking blood and gore. But while this movie looks great and is supported by a top-notch performance by Willa Fitzgerald, the story itself might just be the weakest link. Keep in mind I’m saying this as someone who has seen so many horror twists and turns, it’s become almost impossible for anything to catch me unawares. I figured out the “twist” pretty early on, which meant the rest of the movie wasn’t as suspenseful for me as it might be for others. The other actors sadly didn’t get much to do beyond show up and deliver a few lines, which I understand as the focus lies with The Lady and The Demon but which also meant I cared little for them. It’s a shame too as both Ed Begley Jr and freaking Barbara Hershey, star of one of my all-time favorite horror movies, The Entity (most of you youngsters probably know her from the Insidious franchise) have parts in this film. They’re on screen for all of five minutes which begs the question; why cast them in the first place? There’s also a scene with a female cop and a male cop at the end that is played for laughs but comes across a bit mean-spirited, or at the very least confuses the overall message of the story. I’m still not one hundred percent sure what that is though as the screenplay seemingly is meant to show women in an empowering light, but at the same time portrays them as manipulative and as is the case with the female cop too “woke” for their own good. Whatever the case, I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy Strange Darling. Ignoring the tonal inconsistencies, the movie looks great and Willa Fitzgerald’s performance is breathtaking to watch. If they ever thought of recasting Mia Goth in X trilogy, I know who my vote would be for. Score 7 out of 10

While it’s hard to call this a straight horror movie, this thriller definitely contains some gory set pieces designed to shock viewers. The conclusion here also leans more towards drama with an ending that’s more saddening than anything else. Still, it’s one of the more impressive movies I’ve seen set in this timeline. Don’t go into this expecting something akin to Prey and this Scottish tale of paranoia and survival set in a primitive world might just leave you as impressed as I was. Score 6.5 out of 10

Seriously?! Ignoring the fun short that came out in 2011, Megamind vs The Doom Syndicate is supposed to be the official sequel to the 2010 movie, but to call this ugly, lazy and plain insulting ode to animated films a sequel to Megamind is like saying a pigeon is a sequel to a swan. Sure they’re both birds but I know one of them is a lot more fun to look at than the other.

Origin stories are always difficult to make interesting, doubly so when fans have seen numerous iterations of the same story (think Batman). But that excuse doesn’t work here because as I mentioned earlier, most people have NO IDEA who this character is! This meant director S.J. Clarkson and the three writers involved (three!) could’ve done anything they wanted with these characters and presented audiences with something fresh and fun. Instead, what we got was a ten-year old’s idea of a superhero story. Then again, a ten-year-old would’ve had more imagination. Worse than Morbius, worse than Venom 2 (I enjoyed the first one) hell, it’s even worse than Halle Berry’s Catwomanbecause at the very least that movie made me laugh for how awful it is. This just made me sad and more than a little angry because I spent money to see this first draft disguised as a finished movie. All I can say is I’m sorry I don’t have Madam Web’s ability to see into the future. I could’ve saved myself some money. Score 3 out of 10.