Uncritically Critical

#SonequaMartinGreen #StarTrek: #Discovery

Years: 2017 – present

Synopsis: In the 2250s, a mutinous science officer joins a crew of misfits, only to uncover mysteries and end wars.

Pros: • Sonequa Martin-Green’s Michael Burnham provides one of the most dynamic hearts of any Trek series. • The core cast — the ones not written out within a season — created a unique crew with a big chip on its shoulder. • The anthological approach of a…

#StarTrek: #ShortTreks

Years: 2018 – Present

Synopsis: An anthology series that explores the Star Trek universe.

Pros: • At its best, adds to Trek past and present, often teasing or expanding on themes from contemporaneous series. • Embraces its anthological nature in a way that makes every episode have an unexpected story. • Though it lacks consistent characters, the self contained episodes can make it feel more…

#PaulFahrenkopf #WNUFHalloweenSpecial

Year: 2013

Synopsis: On Halloween 1987, local WNUF airs a special with a TV personality touring a purportedly haunted house.

Pros: • An overall effective parody of the found footage genre, old VHS recordings, and 1980s local channels. • Paul Fahrenkopf did an excellent job as the TV personality and reporter, providing the driest of straight-faced humor. • Surprisingly well constructed with how…

#BillGoldberg #SantasSlay

Year: 2005

Synopsis: After a thousand years of gift giving, Santa Claus’ true nature reappears.

Pros: • Bill Goldberg’s rendition of a satanic Santa Claus drove the film. • The suggestion that Santa did change from his thousand year experience of “goodness,” in how he sarcastically applied the Christmas mythos to his killing spree. • Genuinely inventive at times in its subversion of the…

#KirkDouglas #StanleyKubrick #PathsOfGlory

Year: 1957

Synopsis: French soldiers face a court-martial after refusing to continue a suicide mission.

Pros: • Kirk Douglas provided the tarnished yet strong heart of the film. • Visually grim, dirty, horrific, and vast almost at the same time. The long panning shots were something few directors accomplish so well today, making it look like a “modern” film. • Highlighted the ridiculousness of…

#CarrieFisher #DaisyRidley #MarkHamill #AdamDriver #IanMcDiarmid #StarWars: #TheRiseOfSkywalker

Year: 2019

Synopsis: The sum total of the forces of light and darkness meet through the nostalgic aether to fight for the future of the galaxy.

Pros: • All the actors involved provided strong performances that helped to make up for the films weaknesses. • Many of the visuals were as beautiful as they were horrifying. • An ultimately satisfying crescendo of an at times violent and cerebral…

#Watchmen #ReginaKing #JeremyIrons #HongChau #LouisGossetJr #TimBlakeNelson #JeanSmart #YahyaAbdulMateenII

Year: 2019

Synopsis: 34 years after Adrian Veidt dropped a squid monster onto Manhattan to save the world from annihilation, heroes new and old slowly come together to find the world on the brink again.

Pros: • A perfectly paced plot that might have impressed F.W. Murnau. • Recreated the miracle of making the viewer feel deeply for the deeply tortured and flawed heroes, many of which we never…

#IanMcKellan #TheKeep

Year: 1983

Synopsis: Nazi forces decide to create a base within an ancient keep, which holds dark forces beyond their comprehension.

Pros: • A surreal journey into unexplainable horrors on the backdrop ones known all too well. • Ian McKellan ultimately steals the show, expertly providing a powerfully human speech to the demoniac Molasar. • Molasar was an almost perfect in its evil, sometimes…

#MathildaMay #Lifeforce

Year: 1985

Synopsis: Astronauts on a mission to study Halley’s Comet find an apparently derelict alien spacecraft, and bring back the inexplicable humanoids within that ship.

Pros: • The insane mix of Gothic Horror, Weird Fiction, and Sci-Fi created an at times over the top journey into an unexplainable fever dream. • Surpassed the original novel, The Space Vampires, at times through wild…

#MST3K #CinematicTitanic #TheFilmCrew #RiffTrax #Review

Years: 1988 – Present

Synopsis: A human test subject is kidnapped and forced to watch terrible movies by an evil mad scientist, but luckily has some robot friends to help him keep his sanity.

Pros: • Subversive yet well-meaning at heart. • The writing continues to be strong and inventive overall. • Fused sketch comedy, puppetry, anthology, and movie heckling with surprising ease, especially…

#TheQuietEarth

Year: 1985

Synopsis: A scientist awakens to a world devoid of people, and theorizes he might have helped to cause the silent cataclysm.

Pros: • A vivid story of helplessness and what people will do to overcome it. • At times was a fascinating meditation of how impossibly lonely people later react and work with others. • The tremors from the Effect were wonderfully surreal at times, giving…

#RufusSewel #KieferSutherlad #JenniferConnelly #WilliamHurt #RichardOBrien Dark City

Year: 1998

Synopsis: An amnesiac wakes up and learns he might be a murderer. He quickly learns the world is but shadows in an ever changing loop.

Pros: • A powerful contemplation of what it means to be human. • Rufus Sewel drove the film as the powerful yet almost blank hero, as he was well supported by Connelly and Hurt. • Kiefer Sutherland was fascinating as the chained mad scientist that…

The Boys From Brazil

Year: 1978

Synopsis: An aging nazi hunter is alerted to a murderous global scheme of third reich war criminals, and soon learns the insane reason for it all.

Pros: • An ultimately disturbing film about the undying power of the worst ideals. • Gregory Peck was amazing as a subtly over the top mad scientist, whose murderous temper matched his evil genius. • Laurence Olivier was amazing as the…

#SpiderMan: #FarFromHome #SamuelLJackson #TomHolland #Zendaya #JakeGyllenhaal #JonFavreau #JJonasJameson

Year: 2019

Synopsis: Nick Fury and Mysterio recruit the young Peter Parker/Spider-Man to fight alien monsters known as the Elementals, but nothing is as it seems.

Pros: • Tom Holland is amazing as the rather awkward, still very young, gravity defying Spider-Man. • Jake Gyllenhaal was amazing as the reality defying Mysterio. You do want to believe him, no matter how much you wonder from the…

#Halloween (2018) #JamieLeeCurtis #TheShape

Year: 2018

Synopsis: The silent killer Michael Myers was recaptured 40 years ago. The traumatized Laurie Strode failed to live a normal life in that time. The two meet again after Michael finally escapes again.

Pros: • The whole cast breathed life into a once rotting franchise. • Was the sequel we deserved decades ago, featuring the primal, enigmatic evil lost in the sequels. • Successfully…

#HalloweenIII: #TheSeasonoftheWitch #TomAtkins #StacieNelkin #DanOHerlihy

Year: 1982

Synopsis: A doctor and a young woman work to uncover a conspiracy that threatens the lives of children across the world.

Pros: • Had an interesting story involving a surreal mix of horror, sci-fi, and fantasy. • Dr. Dan Challis (Tom Atkins) and Ellie (Stacie Nelkin) were genuinely likable characters in their own ways. • Conal Cochran (Dan O’Herlihy) succeeded as an engaging cross…

#HalloweenII #JamieLeeCurtis #DonaldPleasence #TheShape

Year: 1981

Synopsis: Michael Myers continues to pursue Lorie Strode, killing any in his way.

Pros: • A largely satisfying continuation for those looking for more after the first’s cliffhanger. • Jamie Lee Curtis provided a compelling performance in desperate survival. • Donald Pleasence’s Dr. Loomis was perhaps even more compelling and human in the sequel, especially in the climax. • There were…