The Suicide Squad is comics legend John Ostrander personified through James Gunn’s brazen sensibilities. Surprising heart wrapped in ultra-violence, it’s the Task Force X I’ve always wanted to see, and it mines incredible fun from being brutally unkind to its “heroes.” Jettisoning the turgid continuity of its 2016 predecessor, The Suicide Squad dispenses with edgelord theatrics and gets straight to the dangerous fun. Minor spoilers ahead…

Nerds of fantasy and Arthurian lore rejoice, David Lowery’s latest film is a sumptuous translation of the anonymous Pearl Poet’s chivalric romance into visual splendor. A medieval epic unlike any other, The Green Knight grapples with the tensions between Christian honor and primordial pagan magic amidst a hero’s journey. Deliberate, visceral, and cerebral, the film rises above its sword and sorcery as true poetry in motion. Minor spoilers ahead…

M. Night Shyamalan revisits the stylings of The Happening with his rapid-aging horror thriller, Old. A labored reach for existential poignancy undone by an absurd, awkward, and alien script, Shyamalan’s latest is a far cry from the halcyon days of The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, and The Village. Even with some great horror beats, your mileage will depend entirely on just how much you can stomach Shyamalan’s particular brand of unironically stilted messes. Minor spoilers ahead…

Gateway horror icon R.L. Stine’s marginally graduated Goosebumps predecessor is brought to bloody life in Netflix’s Fear Street trilogy. A series of three films -1994, 1978, and 1666 - Fear Street pulls an uneven potpourri of influences together with a familiar aesthetic, but the whole ends up being a surprisingly potent tapestry of terror, perfect for gorehounds and horror neophytes alike. Minor spoilers ahead…

Star power and the best street-level action this side of The Winter Soldier do a lot of the heavy lifting for the long-awaited, long-overdue Black Widow. Scarlett Johansson and Florence Pugh shine in Natasha Romanoff’s solo outing, but in the wake of Avengers: Endgame, it all feels a little inconsequential and oddly timed; what should be a moving swan song and a passing of the baton instead feels like a fleeting adventure straight out of the MCU’s early days. Nevertheless, Black Widow will delight fans of the character while simultaneously paving a bright future for the mantle. Minor spoilers ahead…

Taking a step back from swing-for-the-fences epics, Pixar’s Luca tells a tale about courage, acceptance, and friendship through a pasta-chomping triathlon. The Italian Riviera comes to rousing life in Disney’s newest animated adventure, celebrating the underdog with joyful performances and playful animation. Where Onward and Soul perhaps bit off a little more than they could chew, Luca lives comfortably in its charming, small-scale journey. Minor spoilers ahead…

Your mileage will vary wildly on the scares in The Conjuring 3, but its shift to chilling occult procedural is a refreshing change of pace. Even when the film disappointingly under-delivers on its promise of a fascinating courtroom angle, there’s plenty of heart to even out its wobbly narrative. And if the first two films weren't proof enough, The Devil Made Me Do It solidifies Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as modern horror royalty. Minor spoilers below…

Taking a blood-soaked buzzsaw to his signature pretensions, Zack Snyder delivers his best film since 2004’s Dawn of the Dead. Yes, it’s bloated, and yes, it features the filmmaker’s penchant for stylized pop-video aesthetics, but Army of the Dead is clear and fun where it matters. Snyder’s construction of a new zombie mythos - coupled with bombastic action - is nothing short of delightful. Minor spoilers ahead…

A relentless exercise in nerve-shredding, high-wire tension, A Quiet Place Part II takes everything great about the first film and cranks it up to eleven, even if its horrifying monsters lose some of their mystique. Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, and Noah Jupe return to their roles with visceral potency, and Cillian Murphy’s signature intensity makes a fine addition to the cast. Minor spoilers ahead...

Kicking the moral complexities of his bracing “Frontier Trilogy” to the curb, Taylor Sheridan’s Those Who Wish Me Dead is a by-the-numbers action thriller buoyed by its character work and unique setting. A properly subdued performance showcases Angelina Jolie’s quiet gravitas, revealing just how much her presence has been missed on the big screen. Its narrative may be thin, but Those Who Wish Me Dead’s dual threats of ruthless assassins and unforgiving elemental forces leave a lasting impression. Minor spoilers ahead…

Leaving behind a compoundingly absurd history of twists and an increasingly Byzantine web of continuity, Spiral: From the Book of Saw reboots the bloody franchise by splitting the difference between its gruesome notoriety and a fresh detective story. Spiral never comes close to the heights of its 2004 namesake, but it’s engaging enough to get to its kills, and it doesn’t overstay its welcome.

English filmmaker Guy Ritchie goes back to basics with the ruthless and bloody Wrath of Man. Stripping the film of his typical panache save for a few hallmark favorites, including Jason Statham in premium ass-kicking mode, Ritchie delivers a no-frills tale of revenge that’s just a little less than the sum of its parts. Minor spoilers ahead…

I’ve spent the past week reeling from the events of Sunday, the 93rd Academy Awards. What started as a refreshing break from tradition turned into unmitigated disaster with one of the most egregious miscalculations in Oscars history. What went wrong? And why was it so bad? Here’s a recap of the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad evening.

Mortal Kombat seemingly wastes no time giving us what we want. Simon McQuoid’s directorial debut, which adapts the immensely violent and popular video game franchise into a rebooted universe, shaves the fluff and cuts straight to the bone, but with its flimsy storytelling, paper-thin characters, and sloppy pacing, this new iteration loses its way quickly. Too self-serious and without Paul W.S. Anderson’s cheeky irreverence and cult sensibilities, Mortal Kombat is as empty as most video game adaptations; even its primary selling point - its mindless, sanguine action - is mostly a disappointment. Minor spoilers ahead…

If you’re here for “giant lizard vs. big monkey,” then Godzilla vs. Kong will give you exactly what you’re looking for…eventually. Horror veteran Adam Wingard applies his astute eye for action and spectacle in a marked improvement over 2019’s much-maligned Godzilla: King of the Monsters, even if the film learns only half of the lessons imparted by its predecessor. You get your promised kaiju action, and it’s just spectacular enough to cover up the film’s interminably inert subplots. Minor spoilers ahead…

My coverage of SXSW continues. Ambitious, exhaustive, and utterly entrancing, Kier-La Janisse’s three-hour-plus treatise on folk horror is an education in a bottle. A deep, dark rabbit hole that examines the power of storytelling and tales inherited, Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched is more than a mere documentary, it’s an essential text.

My 2021 SXSW coverage begins here! Horror legend Barbara Crampton takes the spotlight in Travis Stevens’ sanguine vampire comedy, Jakob’s Wife. Embracing its B-movie trappings, the film tackles its themes of empowerment with the subtlety of a stake to the heart, but Crampton makes everything work with a hypnotic, career-best performance. Jakob’s Wife is camp horror brought to rousing life with blood spilled and guts strewn, and the fun everyone is having is infectious. Minor spoilers ahead…

Welcome to my coverage of 2021’s Sundance Film Festival! Far away from the hustle and bustle of its usual Park City home, this year’s festival - like many before it - has been transformed into a virtual experience due to COVID-19, but that doesn’t diminish the caliber of its offerings. This year’s festival sees a variety of special film events, such as a robust short film program, a wide selection of genre showings, and gala presentations. This year marks my first year as accredited press at Sundance, and I’m so excited to be able to review a selection from the festival. You can find my entire coverage here.