Erik M.

Peter Pan and Wendy (2023) is a big letdown of a classic, remade by Disney to gaslight your dreams away. Very bland, grey/sepia-toned visuals, dull and misinformed casting, uneven script and worse make this a major dud. Tinkerbell and Wendy are girl-boss and silent weak sister, while poor Peter Pan is sad in his own movie. Only Captain Hook is kind of redeemable, played by Jude Law.

Erik M.

Victor Frankenstein is James McAvoy and Daniel Radcliffe's 2015 dramatic horror/sci-fi version of the tale of trying to play God and create life out of dead tissues. The movie spends the majority of time on Victor and Igor's weird relationship, culminating into a mad dash as the Monster razes the lab, kills workers, then is finally in turn killed by his creators. Nothing that you haven't seen before from an old story. Pass.

Erik M.

Firestarter is a 1984 Sci-Fi horror film about evil experiments by an uncaring faction of government officials, whose latest victims include a man and his little daughter, Charlie. She, born with abilities starting with pyrokinesis, is to be used by this faction as a weapon. OF COURSE, they lie about keeping her father alive, despite him becoming a Pusher aka telepath. All heck breaks loose as Charlie goes quickly from scared and lonely child to Dark Phoenix mode and kills the lot of them in this revenge story. Like Carrie and other Stephen King heroines, she burns down the evildoers and then exposes the few that's left. Burn, Baby, burn.

Erik M.

The Autopsy of Jane Doe is about the recovery and detailed findings surrounding an unknown corpse who is believed to be a victim of a crime but, over the course of the film, is actually a terrible harbinger of evil. Subverting expectations and filled with intense scenes, TAoJD is a sick and sickening horror movie with a pretty but evil body.

Erik M.

Daria is the smart, cynical, stoic and logical girl who headlines her own series AND pops up here and there in Beavis and Butt-head. Jane Lane is an artist who shares many of Daria's tastes and they, along with their friends and family, roast their community in endless ways while navigating teen life. It's a sassy cartoon that strongly deserves a reboot, IMHO.

Erik M.

Wonka is a magical, musical adventure where we see the humble beginnings of the beloved title character, meet some of his whimsical friends, face off against dastardly enemies, and have some great memories of chocolate! A little too much CGI everywhere, but some good, happy parts make up for it. It's a nice show for everyone except evil people and anti-chocolate rowdies.

Erik M.

The first Deadpool is a treat to watch-Ryan Reynolds stars as the talkative merc who is slicing and shooting his way while looking for Ajax/Francis to cure him of side effects resulting in his horrible appearance, reunite him with his love, Vanessa, and trying to get out of Angel Dust's way. Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead join in on the fun. Also, there's plenty of Wolverine jokes to go around, 4th wall breaks and general craziness! The film also has heart thrown in, violence galore and some things that are indescribable. See Deadpool.

Erik M.

Moon is a exploration of loneliness, boredom, angst, despair and more as Sam Rockwell and the emoji-using robot GERTY discover that the Sam is a clone, one of many, who've been on the moon for a long time and are replaced as needed. At this time Sam and a clone meet, and decide to plot for an escape. Poignant and moving.

Erik M.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023) is about family, global warming, revenge, forgiveness and more in what may be the end of this story (for now). Nearly all of the crew is back for this watery adventure, which sees Aquaman face Black Manta and his hordes, discover and fend off a demon, save his son and wife, reunite with Orm, and basically save the world, all while looking good and occasionally cussing. Strangely, everything is OK in the end, bad guys are beaten, and life resumes. It's pretty much how one would like things to end.

Erik M.

It's a fight for survival when eight deadly people square off against three advanced aliens in the middle of a jungle world in 2010s violent film, Predators. The creatures have come to hunt, and soon the numbers dwindle. Grab the popcorn and soda, folks. Neither the best nor the worst thing that you'll see; it's good.

Erik M.

Thanksgiving is a gory horror/thriller from 2023 with some funny elements about a store holiday sale going very wrong and then, a year later, a series of vicious murders occur and go viral in Plymouth, Massachusetts! In time to bum you out, Thanksgiving uses everything to just about ruin your warm feelings and make you dread the occasion. Full of movie tropes including the final girl survivor. Who could be doing this? Directed by Eli Roth.

Erik M.

Star Trek: Nemesis is a 2002 Action/Adventure Sci-Fi film about the Next Generation's Enterprise encountering a huge starship of unknown type along with an killer clone of Captain Picard and B-4, an android very similar to Data. Tom Hardy plays the defective duplicate of the captain, Dina Meyer a sympathetic Romulan, Ron Perlman as a menacing Reman, and the gang all come along for this fairly exciting sequel! Engage.

Erik M.

Godzilla 2000 is an Action/Science Fiction thriller about the gigantic reptile crunching Tokyo and then destroying yet another alien menace. Made in Japan, this version has everything one would enjoy, mainly big clumsy monsters, tiny scared people, bombs, tanks and even some questions. It's a romp! Eat this one up.

Erik M.

The Pyramid is a 2014 found footage Horror movie about an unusual 3-sided structure that houses booby traps, mummified catlike creatures, punji spikes and far worse things. After their robot rover is lost, a small group is forced to roam the dark and fall victim to the dangers below. OK thrills and chills.

Erik M.

The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas is a prequel to the 1994 movie that has none of the main stars and shows the prehistoric family getting together, The Great Gazoo, baby Dino, and more. Funny in moments but not a hit, still worth a watch.

Erik M.

Two young kids are to spend time with older relatives...or are they really psychopaths "pretending" to be eccentric Grandparents?! M. Night Shyamalan raises the question and already I think that you know the answer to that in this semi-scary, dark and twisted Thriller. Boo.

Erik M.

The Ghost and the Darkness (a mostly true story) is about a pair of male mane-less lions who go on a man-hunting spree while a railroad is being built in Africa. Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas star as hired hunters in this action/adventure thriller where the lions are given almost superhuman attributes as the terror mounts along with the body count. Decent film.

Erik M.

Okja is about a gentle pig/hippo/puppy hybrid/GMO who is grown in South Korea by a lovable and caring farmer named Mija, supposedly for a beauty contest by Lucy Mirando. Lucy, however, wants to slaughter Okja for her meat, but Mija and Okja have an incredible bond. So Mija plans on saving Okja with the timely help of A.L.F. (Animal Liberation Front) and returning her home in this very wholesome but deeply disturbing movie that tackles greed and other awful vices. Tilda Swinton plays the villains gleefully, while earnest Ahn Seo-hyun is the tireless and kind Mija. Also stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a unhinged TV personality. Watch this.

Erik M.

When A Stranger Calls is a reboot of a movie based upon an actual murder concerning a frightened babysitter named Jill who is being harassed over the phone by a methodical but crazed killer during a terrible storm. This quickly escalates to home invasion. In this remake, cell phone tropes of signal problems are to blame, missing persons mount, and "Check the children" becomes very threatening as there are no answers. Eerie, slow-burning and sad thriller.

Erik M.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is the final film of the 3-part story about a magical ring and the great lengths that a team of men, Elves, a Dwarf and some Hobbits are willing to go to save their world from the evil of Sauron and his massive army. Good story, SFX, Music and more make it all come together in one of the best ways! See all three, original or extended-you won't be disappointed.

Erik M.