‘The Ruins’ (2006, 2008) a creepy exercise in fatalism
Frightening Friday (Book and movie reviews): It’s a shame Smith hasn’t written a novel since, but “The Ruins” holds up as elite horror.
Science Fiction
‘The Ruins’ (2006, 2008) a creepy exercise in fatalism
‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ (2022) spectacular, insubstantial
Superhero Saturday (Movie review): However, it’s unlikely this fourth “Thor” installment will stick with audiences the way more serious superhero films do.
Novelty wears off fast in jerky sequel ‘V/H/S/2’ (2013)
Frightening Friday (Movie review): This series of packaged-together short horror films takes a step backward in quality with its second entry.
Gibson meticulously imagines a future in ‘The Peripheral’ (2014)
Throwback Thursday (Book review): I like the TV show more, but it owes its foundation to William Gibson’s novel, a sort of rulebook for the series.
‘Doctor Strange’ enters ‘Multiverse of Madness’ (2022), and it looks familiar
Superhero Saturday (Movie review): The MCU’s Multiverse Saga is starting to play like lazy afternoon couch viewing more so than must-see superhero storytelling.
John’s top 10 movies of 2022
2022 movies: The horror genre enjoyed a particularly strong year, but I rallied toward the comedies as I ranked my favorites.
‘Black Adam’ a goofily fun but hypocritical superhero romp
Movie review: The Rock is nicely understated as a rare Middle Eastern superhero, but the setting feels more like a computer than reality.
‘Await Further Instructions’ (2018) a solid ‘What’s going on?’ flick
Frightening Friday (Movie review): A young man and his girlfriend find themselves trapped with his dysfunctional family – but that’s not the scariest part.
‘V/H/S’ (2012) an intense trip of found-footage horror
Frightening Friday (Movie review): This anthology of handheld horror showcases Ti West, David Bruckner, and some less successful entries.
Pugh elevates oddly regressive ‘Don’t Worry Darling’
Movie review: Olivia Wilde’s latest film thinks it’s better than it is. On the other hand, Florence Pugh does make every movie she’s in better.