In Queue Review – “The Twister: Caught in the Storm”

Posted on March 31, 2025 by Denise

“We called ourselves the Class of the Apocalypse. Most people thought that was ridiculous.”

Story: A documentarian looks at the devastating mile-wide EF-5 tornado that touched down in Joplin, Missouri on May 22nd, 2011, focusing on several stories, including the graduating class of Joplin High School, a group of storm-chasers, and a young man who came to Joplin to learn about storms. Everyone got much more than they bargained for.


Genre I’d put it in: Disaster Documentaries
Release Date: 2025
Where I Watched: Netflix

Gist: I love disaster movies. All the make-believe feels over-the-top and crazy, the devastation something that could only happen via CGI and excellent cinematography. Ah, the privileged life of a gal born and raised on the East Coast, whose experience with tornadoes begins and ends with an EF-2 back when I was a kid. We hopped into the car to see the (very) few houses that had had parts of their roofs torn off. But here in Storm, the devastation that happened to Joplin was on a level that I could have never imagined, or comprehend.

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Baltimore Screening Pass-palooza – “Drop”!

Posted on March 27, 2025 by Denise

I’ve been looking forward to this one for a while now… Synopsis!

First dates are nerve-wracking enough. Going on a first date while an unnamed, unseen troll pings you personal memes that escalate from annoying to homicidal? Blood-chilling.


Director Christopher Landon returns to the thriller genre with the playful, keep-you-guessing intensity he perfected in the Happy Death Day films with this of-the-moment whodunnit where everyone in the vicinity is a suspect . . . or victim.

Ready? Let’s go!

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“How Deep is Your Love” – a beautiful documentary about little known animals, and their biggest thread (Hint: it’s us.)

Posted on February 28, 2025 by Denise

“Isn’t it strange, to name a planet Earth. When 70% of it is covered in water.”

Story: A look at our oceans, especially the deep sea, and all the creatures we don’t even know. As countries push forward with deep sea mining, how many of these creatures will we lose? An intrepid group of marine scientists try their best to discover, research, and name as many of these animals as possible. Because tomorrow may be too late.

Genre I’d put it in: Fascinating Natural World Documentaries
Release Date: 2025
Remake, Sequel, Based-On, or Original: Original!

Gotta say: When most girls were dreaming of horses or tiaras, my weird self was dreaming of becoming an ichthyologist. Forcing my parents to go to fish hatcheries, aquariums, and seashores, reading up on weird marine biology books from book sales. Good times. I say all this to drive home the point that I am an incredible nerd. (Surprise.) I eat up science goodness. Which, obviously, led me to becoming a movie reviewer. Obviously. All this to say, I absolutely ate up every single moment of Love, and anyone who has even the slightest interest in what goes on in the deep dark parts of our oceans will do exactly the same.

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Baltimore Screening Pass-palooza – “Novocaine”!

Posted on February 28, 2025 by Denise

Ready to leave the 2024 movies behind, and truly dig into 2025? Synopsis!

When the girl of his dreams (Amber Midthunder) is kidnapped, everyman Nate (Jack Quaid) turns his inability to feel pain into an unexpected strength in his fight to get her back.

Ready? Let’s go!

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In Queue Review – “Dark Match”!

Posted on February 5, 2025 by Denise

“Five deaths in the ring. That is the thing.”

Genre: Wrestling Horror
Release Date: 2025
Where I Watched: Shudder

Gist: It’s 1988. In the world of small-time wrestling league SAW, heel Miss Behave (aka Nick) wants to make it big, and that means becoming a face. When SAW gets a chance to put on a show at a “dark”  (untelevised) match out in the middle of nowhere, she thinks she’s got her chance. SAW’s manager Spencer thinks this is gonna be a huge payday. Nick’s off/on boyfriend “Mean” Joe Lean thinks it’s too good to be true. Only one of these characters is correct. Spoiler: it’s Joe.

Gotta say: I love a good grindhouse cinema homage. And when a film starts things off with blasting Trooper’s “Raise a Little Hell”? I get amped. But Match takes a promising idea and doesn’t know what to do with it. Ideas are squandered, subplots sputter out, and characters are more brief suggestions trotted out so they can fall into the meat-grinder. That meat grinder is pretty cool though. So there’s that?

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Baltimore Screening Pass-palooza – “You’re Cordially Invited”!

Posted on January 23, 2025 by Denise

Ooh! It’s a title that’s also my main reason for posting! Synopsis!

When two weddings are accidentally booked on the same day at the same venue, each bridal party is challenged with preserving their family’s special moment while making the most of the unanticipated tight quarters. In a hilarious battle of determination and grit, the father of the bride (Will Ferrell) and sister of the other bride (Reese Witherspoon) chaotically go head-to-head as they stop at nothing to uphold an unforgettable celebration for their loved ones.

Ready? Let’s go!

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Baltimore Screening Pass-palooza – “Wolf Man”!

Posted on January 7, 2025 by Denise

Ready to howl? Synopsis!

Golden Globe nominee Christopher Abbott (Poor Things, It Comes at Night) stars as Blake, a San Francisco husband and father, who inherits his remote childhood home in rural Oregon after his own father vanishes and is presumed dead. With his marriage to his high-powered wife, Charlotte (Emmy winner Julia Garner; Ozark, Inventing Anna), fraying, Blake persuades Charlotte to take a break from the city and visit the property with their young daughter, Ginger (Matlida Firth; Hullraisers, Coma).

But as the family approaches the farmhouse in the dead of night, they’re attacked by an unseen animal and, in a desperate escape, barricade themselves inside the home as the creature prowls the perimeter. As the night stretches on, however, Blake begins to behave strangely, transforming into something unrecognizable, and Charlotte will be forced to decide whether the terror within their house is more lethal than the danger without.

Ready? Let’s go!

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Baltimore Screening Pass-palooza: “September 5”!

Posted on January 4, 2025 by Denise

“You’re Sports. You’re in way over your head.”

Ready to get this new year started? Yeah, me neither…but c’mon, let’s hit the multiplex! Synopsis!

September 5 unveils the decisive moment that forever changed media coverage and continues to impact live news today. Set during the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics, the film follows the ABC Sports broadcasting team who quickly shifted from sports reporting to live coverage of the Israeli athletes taken hostage. Through this lens, September 5 provides an important perspective on the live broadcast seen globally by millions of people at the time. At the heart of the story is Geoff (John Magaro), a young and ambitious producer striving to prove himself to his boss, the legendary TV executive Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard). Together with German interpreter Marianne (Leonie Benesch) and his mentor Marvin Bader (Ben Chaplin), the story focuses on the intricate details of the high-tech broadcast capabilities of the time, juxtaposed against the many lives at stake and themoral decisions that needed to be made against an impossible ticking clock.

Ready? Let’s go!

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“Nosferatu” (2024) – Wouldst thou like to live vampirically?

Posted on December 17, 2024 by Denise


“Dream of me. Only of me.”

Story: Ellen, a young girl, despondent and longing for connection, begs the universe for a companion. The universe answers. “Years later”, newlyweds Thomas and Ellen are starting their lives together. But first Thomas must act as executor to a property sale, traveling from Germany to the Carpathian mountains to visit Count Dracula Orlok, the purchaser of a castle near the lovebirds. But the arrival of the Count – along with the disappearance of Thomas – is a harbinger of bad news for not only Ellen, but the citizens of her town. Coincidence? I think not.

Genre I’d put it in: Beautifully Eerie Horror Remakes
Release Date: 2024
Remake, Sequel, Based-On, or Original: Remake of the 1922 silent film of the same name. Both are “based” on the book Dracula by Bram Stoker.

Gotta say: Robert Eggers does it again; he takes a story, injects a gothic aesthetic that is at once classical and modern, and delivers a chilling film. Fans of the director will find much to love here, and fans of the original silent film will be pleasantly surprised at how well this remake builds upon the classic tale.

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Festive Flicks – “Our Little Secret”

Posted on December 15, 2024 by Denise

“Are you eating random pocket candy?” [WHO ARE YOU TO JUDGE ME? Oh wait. This is movie dialogue, not an attack. Sorry.]

Genre: Not-So-Secret Exes Holidayness
Release Date: 2024
New Holiday Spirit or Ghost of Christmas Past?: Hey girl – new Lindsay movie!
Where I Watched: Netflix

Synopsis: Avery and Logan grew up together. Childhood friends, teen sweethearts, and then Avery takes a job in London, and moves away after an awkward goodbye between the two. Cut to ten years later, and Avery is back in country, spending the holidays with new boyfriend Cameron. Logan is heading to his girlfriend Cassie’s house…and guess what? You’ll never guess who Logan’s girlfriend’s brother’s girlfriend is. Never. Ever. Wait. You guessed? Dammit.

Worth the Eggnog?: Honey, check out this cast list. Miss Lindsay. Kristin Chenoweth. Tim Meadows. Ian Harding. Judy Reyes. And a pop-in by Chris Parnell. Of course this movie is self-aware, and works this silly boilerplate comedy of manners for all it’s worth. And while yeah, this movie’s plot beats shout at you at least twenty minutes in advance every time? This cast is worth giving this a stream.

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