City of Geek

Osgood Perkin's THE MONKEY, based on a Stephen King short story, is a devilish delight of gore and gags.

The Monkey; 2025; Written and directed by Osgood Perkins, from a short story by Stephen King; Starring Theo James, Christian Convery, Tatiana Maslany, Sarah Levy, Osgood Perkins; Rated R; 1h38 min; Neon. Released February 21. It’s nearly always a good sign the audience is in for a good time when a movie starts with a character drenched in blood. Here, the character, pilot father to our lead, is…

Josh Rubin's HEART EYES is a bloody and funny, but flawed, slasher-rom-com.

Heart Eyes; Directed by Josh Ruben; Written by Phillip Murphy and Christopher Landon & Michael Kennedy; Starring Chad Gooding, Olivia Holt, Jordana Brewster, Devon Sawa; Screen Gems; Rated R; Theatrically released February 8, 2025; 1h37m Interesting how things align sometimes in the film world. In the past week, three theatrical films have used the tropes of rom-coms to set up and inform their…

Companion (2025) is a darkly hilarious, fun, crowd-pleaser. Go in blind - avoid the spoiler-field marketing.

Companion; 2025; Written & directed by Drew Hancock; Starring Sophie Thatcher, Jack Quaid, Rubert Friend, Harvey Guillen; New Line; 1h37m; R; Theatrically released January 31. It’s a scene familiar to any rom-com: a perfectly coifed young woman shops at a stylized grocery store, where she meets a young man who spills a display of oranges in the shock of meeting her. They meet. It’s cute. Or is…

Welcome back to 2024, one more time! Now listen to us talk the tippy top and the kinda-bottom (more of disappointments) of the year.

Welcome back, citizens for the send half of Kim, Tony, Bob, and Cody talking out the year 2024. Last time we each listed our #10-4 of the top. In our back half, we look at our top 3! But wait, there’s more! First we talk our 3 most disappointing/worst and dishonorable mentions. Then, our disdishonorable mentions, I guess we could just say Honorable Mentions. Last, but far from least, we complete…

We're back! Join us as we chat about the movies of 2024!

Hello, geeks!It’s a new year, which means one thing: time to make a post-mortem of the last! Join Kim, Tony, Cody, and Bob as we discuss our individual top 10 and 3 most disappointing films of the year (with some honorable mentions along the way). Part 1 finds us giving our 10-4. Stay tuned for 1-3, the ones we must complain about, and others! Transistor embedding still is weird, so follow the…

SMILE 2 builds on its predecessor with a cool, constrained terror; presenting a star turn from Naomi Scott. A solid dramatic story of recovery and expectations serves as scaffolding for a series of terrific scare sequences (with some earned jump scares th

Smile 2; 2024; Written and directed by Parker Finn; Starring Naomi Scott, Rosemary DeWitt, Kyle Gallner; Rated 4; 2h7m; Paramount; Theatrically released October 18. Pop star Skye Riley is already not in the best mindset. It’s been a year since a drug-fueled car accident killed her boyfriend, maimed her, and derailed her upward trajectory. The pause was probably for the best, she was on uneven…

The new version of Stephen King's "Salem's Lot" is entertaining, but uneven. Interesting look and atmosphere, but skips through the story.

Salem’s Lot; 2024; Written & Directed by Gary Dauberman, from the novel by Stephen King; Starring Louis Pullman, Bill Camp, Alfie Woodard, Mackenzie Leigh; 1h53m; Rated R; New Line; Streaming on Max October 3rd. ‘Salem’s Lot was Stephen King’s second novel, originally published in 1975. It’s one of my favorites (probably second, right behind his third release- The Shining), and has remained an…

Coraline Fargeat's "The Substance" is an unholy mixture of Cronenberg, Yuzna, Henenlotter, Dorian Gray, and Jekyll & Hyde.

“I know writers who use subtext. They’re cowards.” – Dr. Rick Dagless (or Garth Merenghi, or really Matthew Holness on Garth Maregnhi’s Dark Place… ahem, anyway) The Substance is not a subtle film, but no subtext is needed. Writer-Directed Coraline Fargeat (her previous film 2017’s Revenge turned the rape-revenge flick on its head) tells you directly, easily, and a multitude of times what…

The "Speak No Evil" remake may seem unnecessary, with the original available, recent, and in English; the Blumhouse-produced remake is a solid, tense film on its own; with increased character and thrilling sequences of both uncomfortable and terror-filled

Speak No Evil; 2024; Adapted and Directed by James Watkins, based on the film written & directed by Christian Tafdrup; Starring James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis, Scoot McNairy, Aisling Franciosi; Rated R; Blumhouse; 1h50m; theatrically released September 13. Audience to Blumhouse: Why remake the 2022 Danish film Speak No Evil, when the original is easy to find, and mostly in English…

"Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" is a hilarious legacy sequel that mostly lives up to the original with great characters and production value, albeit with some story issues.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice; 2024; Written by Alfred Gough & Miles Millar (Story by them and Seth Grahame-Smith) based on characters created by Michael McDowell and Larry Wilson; Directed by Tim Burton; Starring Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Catherine O’Hara, Jenna Ortega, Justin Theroux, Willem Dafoe; PG-13; 1h45m; Warner Brothers. Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! One more? Or save that for the next…

"The Front Room" is a rare miss for A24 with a frustratingly unfocused story, albeit led by a great dark comedy performance by Katheryn Hunter. 

The Front Room; 2024; written and directed by Sam & Max Eggers from a short story by Susan Hill; Starring Brandy Norwood, Katheryn Hunter, and Andrew Burnap; Rated R; A24; 1h38m; Theatrically released September 6th It’s long been a trope of movies, sitcoms, and bad comedians to hark upon the terrible mother-in-law. I’m lucky in my real life to have a wonderful mother-in-law. Jennie Irvine, if…

Blink Twice is a solid directorial debut from Zoe Kravitz, exuding a sense of confident storytelling with a fantastic cast and an uncompromising and often vicious story. Minor tonal and pacing issues don’t throw off what works. 

Blink Twice; 2024; written by Zoe Kravitz & E.T. Feigenbaum; directed by Zoe Kravitz; Starring Naomi Ackie, Channing Tatum; Alia Shawkat, Geena Davis, and Christian Slater; Rated R; 1h42m; Amazon; Theatrically released Aug 22nd. Blink Twice opens with a card informing the audience the film that will follow has themes of gaslighting, abuses of power, and other heavy issues. My wife and I looked…

JT Mollner’s Strange Darling is an electric buzz of a film, effortlessly creating a tense and shifting story, led by two strong performances and buffeted up by a great look and soundtrack.

Strange Darling; 2024; Written & Directed by JT Mollner; Starring Willa Fitzgerald, Kyle Gallner, Ed Begley Jr, Barbara Hershey; Rated R; 1h38m; Theatrically released August 23. A young woman, obviously in distress, with disheveled clothes, running make-up, and blood welling from where her ear used to be speeds down a wooded country road in bright red 1978 Pinto. Tearing up behind her is a…

AFRAID is dull mishmash of half-thought ideas, executed awkwardly.

The terrible possibilities of Artificial Intelligence misuse are all over the public consciousness as of late. Mostly, this is in AI “art” and students attempting to use ChatGPT or other programs as their own work (poorly, I might add). My wife is an English teacher, and I have certifications for the same, even if I’m a substitute currently, so we can attest. But the looming threat of bigger…

Alien: Romulus is a two-hour terror ride of incredible tension through a series of fantastic sequences, a fresh monster bursting from the chest of a slightly stale franchise.

Alien: Romulus; directed by Fede Alvarez; written by Fede Alvarez & Rodo Sayagues, from characters created by Dan O’Bannon & Ronald Shusett; starring Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced; 2h; Rated R; 20th Century Fox. Theatrically released on August 16, 2024. Alien: Romulus is easily the third-best Alien film. After the one-two punch of all-time classics: Alien directed…

The new adaptation of James O'Barr's graphic novel should have remained buried.

In 1994, Alex Proyas directed an adaptation of James O’Barr’s 1989 comic The Crow. Following the story of Eric Draven, a young man resurrected after his and his fiancee Shelly’s murders to claim vengeance, it was embraced by 90s Goth, goth-adjacent, and even general audiences to a degree. Brandon Lee’s resurrected Eric Draven outfit and make-up became instantly iconic and a true Pop Culture…

BORDERLANDS, based upon the Gearbox video game series, is a atrocious mess of a film, bound to disappoint both fans and first timers.

BORDERLANDS; 2024; Written by Joe Crombie and Eli Roth, based on the video game series by Gearbox; Directed by Eli Roth; Starring Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis; Rated PG-13; Lionsgate; 1h42m; theatrical release Aug 9, 2024. Picture this. It’s 2014. An executive at Lionsgate plays Fallout 3, watches Guardians of the Galaxy, and snorts enough cocaine while doing both that the…