Review: ‘A Man Called Otto’ is a brilliant film about loss and life

A Man Called Otto is a “dramedy” directed by Marc Forster and written by David Magee, based on a novel of the same name by Fredrik Bachman. Tom Hanks stars as Otto Anderson, a grumpy and precise widower who (against his will) befriends a young family across the street from him. Otto is a complex character, and Tom Hanks gives …

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Review: Nintendo power-ups your nostalgia with the new Super Mario Bros Movie

On April 5th, The Super Mario Bros movie came to theaters everywhere. Directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, it’s the story of, well, the Super Mario Brothers. Michael Fogel, known for Minions: The Rise of Gru, wrote the screenplay. The voice cast includes Chris Pratt (Mario), Charlie Day (Luigi), Jack Black (Bowser), and Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach.   Adapting a video game, especially a series …

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Apple TV Dickinson

Dickinson’s pilot episode

I last updated my pilot-a-day project long ago, and today I wanted to revisit that New Year’s Resolution.  I recently watched the first two seasons (and the pilot) of Dickinson and wanted to take a moment to explore the show. Why Dickinson?  Marvel’s TV show Hawkeye is coming out, and I thought …

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Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Unaired Pilot is perfect for spooky season

It’s October 1st, and in my mind, that’s the official start of the spooky season. If you’ve read this website before, you know Buffy: The Vampire Slayer occupies a significant amount of my headspace. So what better pairing than to talk about a rough and, some would say, downright “spooky” unaired Buffy pilot? Most …

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The Lost Symbol Pilot

Review: The Lost Symbol’s premiere episode

September has unofficially turned into Dan Brown month here at AylaRuby.com. I’ve written before about how excited I was to watch Peacock’s The Lost Symbol. Now that I’ve seen it, the show has great potential and was worth the wait. It’s not perfect, but it has promise.  The redemption of Robert Langdon Inferno, the …

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Burn Notice

What I’m watching today: the Burn Notice pilot

The pilot episode of Burn Notice is a fast-paced, action-packed thriller that introduces us to Michael Westen, a spy who is “burned” by his own government. It’s 90 minutes that fly by. Matt Nix wrote the pilot while Jace Alexander directed it, and it has so much rewatchability.  The premise of Burn Notice After a deal …

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