‘House of Darkness’ an engaging ‘meet (not so) cute’
Movie review: Strong performances by Justin Long and Kate Bosworth drive Neil LaBute’s quick horror riff that feels like a stage play.
Romance
‘House of Darkness’ an engaging ‘meet (not so) cute’
Flanagan goes YA for ‘Midnight Club,’ but never fear – it’s still good
TV review: The switch to young-adult source material doesn’t mean Mike Flanagan’s high bar has been lowered. This is another artistic mix of heart and horror.
Christie’s ‘Towards Zero’ (1944) counts down to murder
Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): This briskly paced and well-drawn character piece is only undone by the unlikely turns of the denouement.
Poirot warmly tackles cold case of ‘Five Little Pigs’ (1942)
Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): Character drama and mystery flawlessly come together in Christie’s beautifully written novel.
‘Death on the Nile’ (1937) a romantic puzzler on river
Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): This classic ends up a brain-teaser, but for much of its page count it’s a great portrayal of romance gone bad.
‘Open Water 3: Cage Dive’ (2017) charts found-footage course
Toothy Tuesday (Movie review): The trilogy capper dumps the trio in the water in an amusing way, and never becomes scary. But it’s cheesy fun.
‘Red Water’ (2003) serves up sweaty shark fun on the bayou
Toothy Tuesday (Movie review): At least the premise is somewhat fresh for this genre: Oil drillers and drug runners take on a river shark.
‘Third Girl’ (1966) an old-fashioned take on modern times
Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): Christie (along with Poirot) reluctantly acknowledges that it’s the Sixties, man, in this suspect-loaded mystery.
‘Blue Crush’ (2002) battles breakers to become memorable
Throwback Thursday (Movie review): Revisiting “Blue Crush” 20 years later, this blend of career dreams and romantic hopes stays on its board.
‘American Underdog’ (2021) gets at heart of Kurt Warner
Throwback Thursday (Movie review): Its portrayal of Iowa is a misfire, but this biopic is an uplifting tale of the undrafted QB achieving his dream.