John’s top 10 TV shows of 2025
TV list: The way we consume TV is changing, but luckily quality isn’t dropping.
Family Drama
All 37 Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, ranked
Movie rankings: Here’s a look at the films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, ranked from mediocre to magnificent.
‘Family Stone’ (2005), with loaded cast, better than a lump of coal
Throwback Thursday (Movie review): Though it’s not a stone-cold classic, Bezucha effectively explores how different personalities play off each other.
Self-cannibalizing ‘The Monkey’ is more dark than comedic
Movie review: Osgood Perkins’ idiosyncratic brand of horror won’t connect with everyone, and I doubt he intends that it will.
‘It: Welcome to Derry’ expands from King’s work in King-y way
TV review: But there’s a reason why the author didn’t go this deep into the Pennywise mythology. It strains under its convolutions.
‘Cinnamon Skin’ (1982) blows up into a good quest novel
Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): MacDonald crafts one of his most psychologically interesting villains in the penultimate McGee yarn.
‘Freakier Friday’: Some things don’t change with age
Movie review: The game cast and good gags make this sequel worth watching, but unfortunately it has no new insights.
A century of suspense: All 52 Alfred Hitchcock films, ranked
Movie list: One hundred years after his first silent film, we rank the cinematic catalog of the Master of Suspense.
YA-style mystery ‘Sun Down Motel’ (2020) floats off like a ghost
Book club book report: Simone St. James doesn’t do enough to make two narrators and time periods distinct in this supernatural-tinged yarn.
‘Final Girls’ (2015) makes fun of old tropes, unfortunately shepherds new one
Frightening Friday (Movie review): This slasher satire ostensibly goes to 1986, but it can’t escape the 21st century’s flattened effect.