Alice Woodard (Emily Beecham) is a single mother – and a bioengineering botanist designing a plant that emits pollen to bring joy in humans. (Yeah, right.) Instead, in this slow-burning horror flick from Austrian director Jessica Hausner, the plant causes insidiously dangerous side effects in the people around Alice and in one poor, accidentally abandoned… [Read More]

Young Dora (Isabela Moner) is the daughter of two explorers, who seek out ancient Inca treasure in the jungle for the purpose of research and learning. She has a healthy understanding of family, of the jungle, and of the collaboration that is required for humanity to exist alongside nature. What Dora lacks is an understanding… [Read More]

In 1978, three Irish mobsters are caught up in an FBI sting. When their income is cut off, the three mobsters’ wives take matters into their own hands after being first ostracized and then attacked by their husband’s cronies. In The Kitchen, Melissa McCarthy’s Kathy Brennan, Tiffany Haddish’s Ruby O’Carroll, and Elisabeth Moss’ Claire Walsh… [Read More]

From 1999 to 2001, Bruce Timm and Alan Dini offered an animated vision for the future of Gotham where Bruce Wayne was old but crime still threatened the peaceful existence of Gothamites. With Will Friedle voicing the character of Terry McGinnis AKA the new Batman, the show tackled more mature stories with a darker inclination… [Read More]

The fourth season of Veronica Mars finds Kristen Bell back at home in Neptune as Veronica aids her father Keith’s (Enrico Colantoni) private eye business. She rejects Logan’s (Jason Dohring) marriage proposal, citing all of the pain she’s seen in broken relationships she has investigated, and looks into the reasons behind a bombing at a… [Read More]

Sam Liu has directed Marvel and DC animated films for awhile now, with big-time stories on his resume, like All-Star Superman, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, Planet Hulk, Justice League: Gods and Monsters, Justice League vs. Teen Titans, Batman: The Killing Joke, and Teen Titans: The Judas Contract. Each of these has followed a storyline from the… [Read More]

In the sequel to Angelina Jolie’s star turn as Maleficent, Disney again flips the script in this live-action fantasy. Here, Aurora’s (Elle Fanning) mother-in-law-to-be Queen Ingrith (Michelle Pfeiffer) sets up a war between the humans and the Moors, the fairy and wood creatures. Aurora and her beloved, Prince Philip (Harris Dickinson), are swept up in… [Read More]

I can still remember seeing Pan’s Labyrinth for the first time. Sitting in the darkened theater, Guillermo del Toro’s visual masterpiece was stunning, and I temporarily forgot I was watching a film in Spanish. The lyrical nature of the story splashed all around me, with the special effects, scenery, actions, soundtrack, and expressive nature of… [Read More]

Tell Me a Story Seeing the name Kevin Williamson attached to Tell Me a Story might bring to mind images of North Carolina’s Dawson’s Creek, but Williamson has also helped create the horrific and the supernatural in Scream, Dawson’s Creek, The Faculty, and The Vampire Diaries. On CBS All-Access’ real-world fairy tale drama, the bite… [Read More]

In a throwback to the 1980s, when humor and horror were colliding, Warner Bros. presents Gremlins (1984) in 4K Ultra HD as Steven Spielberg presented Joe Dante’s film about mogwai. A mashup of comedic overtures and threatening horrific undertones, the film follows Zach Galligan’s Billy, a young bank employee who receives a mogwai (little furry… [Read More]