Enter the Ninja is dangerously bad. Coming on the tail of Chuck Norris’ The Octagon, the two films helped usher the ninja fad into the 80s. Featuring a story dreamed up by stuntman Mike Stone, who was initially cast as the main character until his acting chops didn’t make the cut – and that’s saying…
Tag: expectations
How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive (2024) – Craig DiLouie
I greatly enjoyed Craig DiLouie’s Episode Thirteen, and liked how he converted the found footage genre into a novel. So when I heard that he had a new one coming out I had to get my hands on a copy. How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive came out this week, released through Orbit…
Are Snakes Necessary? (2018) – Brian De Palma and Susan Lehman
Somehow I missed the fact that Brian De Palma, and his partner Susan Lehman, wrote a novel in 2018. So when I heard about it I immediately picked it up for a read. It’s a fast, exhilarating read that feels like a De Palma film, it has twists, reveals, and iconic moments. A bit of…
Polite Society (2023) – Nida Manzoor
Polite Society is an enjoyable action comedy with strong female characters involved in a wonderfully melodramatic tale. The story follows a young Pakistani woman, Ria (Priya Kansara) who dreams of being a stuntwoman, and who idolizes her older sister, Lena (Ritu Arya), who is experiencing a tough time after leaving art school because she she…
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) – Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson
With Into the Spider-Verse, Sony proved they could do an animated Spider-Man movie right. They shifted the focus to Mile Morales (Shameik Moore) and let this beloved character shine, while also paying homage to the classic web-head and a multiverse of iterations. It also introduced us to another beloved spider, Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld) setting both…
Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) – Jon Watts
If Homecoming was a celebration welcoming viewers back to the world of Spider-Man, Far From Home is a journey of discovery for Peter/Spider-Man (Tom Holland giving another stellar portrayal of the beloved character) as he confronts the expectations the world has for him as well as his own. So better way to find yourself than…
Barbarian (2022) – Zach Cregger
Wow. Writer/director Zach Cregger blew me away with this one, completely subverting my expectations while playing with the traditional horror rules in this fantastic thriller of a film. From his framing to camera movement to casting to the way he doles out the story, Cregger plays with an increasingly film-savvy and educated horror audience and…
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926) – Agatha Christie
This week’s Agatha Christie isn’t quite the romp of the previous entry, but like all her tales, is wonderfully engaging and entertaining as she weaves a tale of murder, secret marriages, servants, doctors, drugs, wayward sons, and hidden secrets and truths. And in the middle of it all, Hercule Poirot. This one is a bit…
The Conjuring 2 (2016) – James Wan
The second film in the Conjuring series once again focuses on a case investigated by Ed and Lorraine Warren (portrayed in the film by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) and unlike the Annabelle stories, these films lean towards the smarter, filled with a well-crafted story, and some legitimate jump scares and actual terror. The film…
Creed II (2018) – Blu-Ray Review
Creed II hits blu-ray and DVD today from Warner Brothers, and it continues to prove it is its own beast, while embracing the Rocky-universe in which it is set. And this film does so even more than the first film, because, well this time, it’s personal. Tying in directly with Rocky IV – you know…
The Mind Reels 