A movie called The Mosquito Bowl makes a promise with its title alone. It’s named after a real football game, played in the Pacific by Marines who had been college stars just a couple of years earlier, so you’d assume that game sits at the center of the story. Hold …
Before this Netflix series, my knowledge on East of Eden was non-existent. The John Steinbeck novel was never in my reader-loving orbit, making this Netflix series feel like a gamble of enjoyment. That said, with this cast, the results prove to be more satisfactory than I expected. East of Eden …
Tom Kennedy and his son Jake aren’t doing well. After the death of Tom’s wife, Jake’s mother, a few months ago, Tom feels like there’s a gulf between them that he just can’t cross. Hoping that a new home in a new town will help bring them closer, Tom lets …
You won’t have to wait long for directors Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson to answer the question at the top of most audience members’ minds when diving into Wicker. An adaptation of Ursula Mills’ “The Wicker Husband,” the directorial duo, who are also a real-life couple, know that most moviegoers wonder how on earth Olivia Colman’s …
Arguably, the most terrifying horror stories involve children. Whether it’s as the spook or the victim, it’s just scarier when there’s a child involved. I think it has to do with the innocence and vulnerability of children. We don’t want anything bad to happen to such little guys. But as …
Life for Carrie has been rough. She’s a severely abused teenage girl who’s been the butt of every joke at school for her whole life. Usually, she just takes it, and at this point, even expects it. But something has changed. After a very traumatic first period, it’s like blood …
Back in 2023, Brian Duffield (No One Will Save You) turned a nearly wordless Kaitlyn Dever (Booksmart), a lonely house, and some of the best sound design of that year into one of my favorite surprises, and his name has been on my radar ever since. Before that, he co-wrote …
Millie Calloway has a driving need to help women in trouble. In the past, this has gotten her into some bad situations. But that’s all behind her now; she’s going to college to get her degree in social work so she can help women the legal way. But in the …
In the UK Sense and Sensibility has a U rating – suitable for all – which is the equivalent of an American G rating. For a movie about the romantic choices of two adult sisters this is an incredible achievement, even if it’s an adaption of a Jane Austen novel. …
As the strongest season of Reacher wraps up the formula feels in place for the future series. A lady cop, a dweeb and our favourite human kaiju team up against some preposterously evil villains, which can only be defeated through incredible hand-to-hand violence and the knowledge that right is on …
Thanks to Elspeth (Kathleen Richardson) and her henchman Springfield (Aaron Poole), Reacher (Alan Ritchson) and Tamara (Sydelle Noel) live another afternoon. This is good, because Reacher’s concern for manners and proper behaviour is such that he is willing to break every finger belonging to pharmaceutical billionaire Ahlquist (Shawn Doyle) to …
For a show so keen to avoid spoilers, they might have come up with a different title for this episode! That said, “Plum Out of Luck” begins with a bang thanks to the fight in the abandoned restaurant. The smoke of the flash grenades is a very clever way to …
Well, this day had to come eventually: Reacher (Alan Ritchson) made a mistake, and as a result a lot of people are dead. This is hard to take, not just because it means the plot can no longer be discussed without spoilers, but also because there’s an unpleasant subtext kicking …
A karambit is a little knife curved like a claw. It was invented in Indonesia, which is where Lila (Agnez Mo) and her mother Amisha (Anggun) are from. Its unpleasant appearance in this episode means the enemy has a much yuckier appetite for destruction than Reacher (Alan Ritchson) and the …
There’s another content warning for suicide at the start of “One Small Step,” which is the kind of consideration for viewers that some tough guys think isn’t necessary. Considering how much violence takes place in the average episode of Reacher, it’s kind of sweet that here is the one thing …
Alan Ritchson’s gift for stillness and subtle facial expressions is put to exceptional use in “Cage Fight.” There is also some audience pandering – screengrabs of which are all over social media already, but it would be churlish to spoil that fun – that makes it clear this season really …
The Owens women have a very long history of magic in their blood. Magic is a curse their ancestor, Maria Owens, placed on them. Almost three hundred years ago, she was sentenced to hang for witchcraft by the man she loved, the father of her child. As she faced her …
The 1980s in Southern California were a completely different world. Left to themselves by neglectful parents, drugs, sex, and rock and roll ruled Bret Ellis and his friends’ world. And in the summer of 1981, a new playmate appears who threatens to destroy their social world. What’s more, a serial …
The Owens family is an interesting study. A family of bloodline witches who are born with incredible power and a powerful curse. We first met them in Alice Hoffman’s book Practical Magic. Sister Sally and Gillian face evil and learn to love more, not less. In Hoffman’s book, we go …
Hollis Shaw has it all: a famous doctor husband, a daughter at NYU studying film, and a super popular food blog with a following that thinks she’s a domestic goddess. But then, in a shocking moment, she sees it all come undone. Her husband passes away in an accident right …