Making a sequel to a beloved holiday classic that countless families have a tradition of watching every year is a tricky proprosition that rarely works out. Anyone who’s suffered through Frosty Returns can attest to that. Thankfully, HBO Max’s new A Christmas Story Christmas mostly pulls off the task. The film may not be a… Read More The Old Man Would Be Proud | A Christmas Story Christmas (2022)
Stylish, sexy, and a little bit sleazy, the Carla Gugino-led crime series Leopard Skin almost feels off-brand for Peacock, the streaming home of many mild comedies and NBC reruns. It’s also a lot of fun and I’ll take it where I can get it, though I could certainly do without all the ad breaks. The… Read More We Seem to Have a Trust Problem | Leopard Skin Season 1 (2022) on Peacock
Emily Blunt both stars in and serves as Executive Producer of Amazon Prime Video’s new Western drama series The English. While handsomely produced and gorgeously photographed, the biggest problem with the show is… well, it’s just too blunt. That little pun is not meant to say that the actress herself is the issue – though,… Read More Welcome to the Real America | The English (2022) Amazon Prime Limited Series
After more than four decades of feature film superstardom, Sylvester Stallone transitions to television for his first leading role (setting aside a few cameo appearances here or there) in an ongoing series. The crime drama Tulsa King was tailor-made – or, in this case, you might say “Taylor-made” – to suit the actor’s established screen… Read More More Than One Kind of Trouble | Tulsa King (2022) Paramount+ Series Premiere
When a musician who has spent a long and very successful career parodying other people’s famous songs finally gets an official authorized film biography, of course it has to be a parody of other musical bio-pics. Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is by far the highest-profile piece of original content yet created for the Roku… Read More Nothing Rhymes with Virgin! | Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022)
Although LucasFilm’s animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars initially seemed to come to a close back in 2014 after six very successful seasons, it showed up again in 2020 for a bonus seventh season that felt like it finally brought the narrative to a conclusive end. Even after that, however, creator Dave Filoni is apparently… Read More Star Wars Odds & Ends | Tales of the Jedi Season 1 (2022) on Disney+
In Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities, the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind The Shape of Water (2017) steps into Alfred Hitchcock’s shoes to act as both producer and on-screen host of an anthology drama series. Following his own proclivities, the show is more overtly horror-oriented than just mystery or suspense. In addition to Alfred Hitchcock Presents,… Read More Tales from del Toro’s Dark Side | Cabinet of Curiosities (2022) Netflix Series Premiere
After four seasons playing around in HBO’s Westworld, husband-and-wife producers Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy have moved over to Amazon with another high-concept sci-fi property, a series adaptation of William Gibson’s 2014 novel The Peripheral. Rather than robots, this one’s about VR and time travel and…. well, yeah, some robots too, as it turns out.… Read More Ready Inception One | The Peripheral (2022) Amazon Prime Series Premiere
Reboots of long-running horror franchises so rarely work out that it’s a wonder producers keep trying them. The 2009 Friday the 13th and 2010 A Nightmare on Elm Street were both dead on arrival, and the Halloween series has turned into such a running joke of multiple reboots overwriting one another that no one can… Read More Put a Pin in It | Hellraiser (2022)
In just one episode, the television reboot of Interview with the Vampire (officially, Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire) is already a significant improvement over the Tom Cruise/Brad Pitt movie adaptation from 1994. Admittedly, that may not be a very high bar to clear. Still, I have to admit to going in with some skepticism.… Read More Mortality Beats a Heavy Drum | Interview with the Vampire (2022) AMC Series Premiere
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