“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” might try to do too much, but it’s still fun fun

Posted on September 4, 2024 by Denise

“Come in…if you dare.”

Story: It’s been 36 years after Lydia Deetz managed to avoid marrying The Ghost With The Most, and while some things have changed, others haven’t. Delia, Lydia, and Lydia’s daughter Astrid, go back to the old homestead after patriarch Charles’s death, and that miniature town is still in the attic. I’m sure that no matter how crazy things seem, nobody’s actually gonna fall for the whole three-times thing again. Right? Sure.

Genre I’d put it in: Busy But Appealing Sequels
Release Date: 2024
Remake, Sequel, Based-On, or Original: Sequel to 1988’s Beetlejuice.

Gotta say: Sequels decades after the OG can be considered disappointing (see: Zoolander 2, TRON Legacy) or flat-out amazing (see: Mad Max: Fury Road, Top Gun: Maverick). BB floats somewhere in-between. There’s a whole lot to love in this lovingly devoted sequel, but there’s also a lot, period.

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Baltimore Screening Pass-palooza – “Transformers One”!

Posted on August 28, 2024 by Denise

Ready for a story about how the Transformers truly began? Synopsis!

TRANSFORMERS ONE is the untold origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron, better known as sworn enemies, but once were friends bonded like brothers who changed the fate of Cybertron forever. In the first-ever fully CG-animated Transformers movie, TRANSFORMERS ONE features a star-studded voice cast, including Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Steve Buscemi, with Laurence Fishburne, and Jon Hamm.

Ready? Let’s go!

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“Alien: Romulus” – a beautiful yet baffling bit of fan service

Posted on August 20, 2024 by Denise
With fewer and fewer films being screened for press in the Baltimore area, I’ll be doing more opening day/week reviews. Apologies for folks who’ve been asking for them earlier – and if there’s anything you’d like me to look at, old or new? Hit me up!

“Take a good look out the window. ‘Cause the way I see it we ain’t never coming back.” [Oh, Pumpkin. Truer words…]

Story: When last we met the Weyland-Yutani Corporation… Oh wait. This takes place immediately after Alien. So don’t tell this new group of characters – who want to leave a hideous mining planet for literal greener pastures – what awaits them when they try to grab space supplies from an “abandoned” WY space probe. You’ll ruin their surprise.

Genre I’d put it in: Sequel/Prequel (Presequel?) That Blows It In Act 3
Release Date: 2024
Remake, Sequel, Based-On, or Original: Part of the Alien franchise. Set immediately after the events of 1979’s Alien.

Gotta say: I tried my best to stay away from the trailers for Romulus, only to have the movie poster ruin the first death. This is a hint of what’s to come in this film. Romulus does a good job with setting up a new story, only to whiff it. But I’m getting ahead of myself. I really wanted to love Romulus, and for the first hour and change, I really did. Then the story, and the characters, started to try too hard to be something else. Something we’ve seen before. Oh, bummer.

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“Kneecap” – a heartfelt, hedonistic look at a rap subgenre worth plugging into

Posted on August 1, 2024 by Denise


“Across the globe, an indigenous language dies every 40 days.”

Story: Three lads in West Belfast decide to come together and make music. What could be the problem? Well, they plan on rapping in Irish Language (aka Gaelic, for folks here in the States), and in the 2010’s? Irish as a language wasn’t fully recognized by Ireland’s British overlords. Oh, and the lads are heavy into musical language that’d make their USA counterparts get stuck with an Explicit Lyrics sticker. But live venues hold the key to their music, and perhaps even a rebirth of their beloved language.

Genre I’d put it in: Rockin’, Rappin’, Renegade Biopics
Release Date: 2024
Remake, Sequel, Based-On, or Original: Based on the band of the same name

Gotta say: Irish rappers that focus on their language, and their lives? I saw the teaser for Kneecap awhile back, and I made a note to check this one out. So when a screener hit my inbox, I grabbed it with both hands. And it’s a damn fun time. Just like the band itself, Kneecap the movie serves up lessons you’ll want to learn.

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In Queue Review – “Moviepass, MovieCrash”

Posted on July 31, 2024 by Denise

If, like me, you’re avoiding the summer heat and humidity by catching up with films released earlier this year? I’m here to separate the worthy from the time-sucks.

“At one time, there was this really positive group of people who were just trying to make moviegoing easier. And [what happened to Moviepass after Lowe and Farnsworth took over is] really an example of, Iike, corporate greed, and what that can do to people, and to a company.”

Genre: Documentaries That Suck You IN
Release Date: 2024
Where I Watched: HBO Films/MAX

Gist: Remember MoviePass? That app in the ’10s that’d let you see “any movie, any time” for less than ten bucks a month? And how that company crashed hard, like we all expected it would? Turns out there’s a whole lot more to this story than it’s too-good-to-be-true facade…

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Hot One’s “Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman Go Claws Out While Eating Spicy Wings” is just the right appetizer before “Deadpool & Wolverine”

Posted on July 25, 2024 by Denise

“I took too big a bite. I took too big a bite. Rookie error…”

If you’re chomping at the bit for Deadpool & Wolverine (and you should be, because it’s great), here. Have a wee amuse-bouche of Reynolds and Jackman daring themselves to go for super spicy wings, while talking about everything from their Marvel characters to forklifts. It’s a fun little taste that won’t leave your mouth on fire… But if you’re craving wings after watching? You’re not alone, bub.

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“Deadpool & Wolverine” –  Absolutely gonzo. I can’t wait to see it again.

Posted on July 23, 2024 by Denise


“Disney brought him back! They’re gonna make him do this ’til he’s ninety!”

Story: Since the events of 2, Deadpool has been [CENSORED] [REDACTED], and so when [REDACTED]? He [CENSORED] [CENSORED], then [REDACTED]. Who’s to say what will happen next? It’s probably gonna include a whole lot of [CENSORED]. {guest editor – Kevin Feige, probably}

Genre I’d put it in: Sequels That Just Keep Getting Better
Release Date: 2024
Remake, Sequel, Based-On, or Original: Based on the Marvel character. The third film in the Deadpool…thing.

Gotta say: I’m keeping this review #SpoilerFree. Not because I’d face the Wrath of Feige (which I probably would), but because I really, really want you to experience the crazy, awe, and straight-up fist-pumping joy that I did when I finally got my peepers onto this film. D&W was always gonna be highly anticipated, with fans crossing fingers and toes that the movie would do their hopes and dreams justice. I’m here to tell you that it’s everything you never thought you needed. You may have believed you had a good grasp on what’s in store, but honey? Buckle all the way up.

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“Longlegs” messes with your brain, and genre expectations

Posted on July 12, 2024 by Denise
With fewer and fewer films being screened for press in the Baltimore area, I’ll be doing more opening day/weekend reviews. Apologies for folks who’ve been asking for them earlier – and if there’s anything you’d like me to look, at old or new? Hit me up!

“I know you’re not afraid of a little dark…”

Story: Nope. I wanna have you walk in as clueless about this plot as possible. So you can really get into the crazy. Okay fine, a taste; young FBI agent Lee Harker is tasked with hunting down a serial killer But that’s just the tip of this web of gonzo characters, subplots, and surprises.

Genre I’d put it in: Twin Peaks-Adjacent Horror
Release Date: 2024
Remake, Sequel, Based-On, or Original: Original, though you will definitely hark back to crime thrillers and other creepy subgenre faves now and again. See: my genre definition.

Gotta say: Longlegs is a film that feels made from a blend of Twin Peaks, The Silence of the Lambs, and True Detective. Put all three in a processor so they get chopped up real good, smoosh them together. Let Stephen King write the screenplay, and let Lars von Trier direct. Yep, Legs is one helluva messy, fascinating ride. And it’s worth of all the pre-release buzz it’s been getting.

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“MaXXXine” – West & Goth lead us into more horror subgenre temptation

Posted on July 5, 2024 by Denise
With fewer and fewer films being screened for press in the Baltimore area, I’ll be doing more opening day/weekend reviews. Apologies for folks who’ve been asking for them earlier – I love y’all!


“Do you know what happened to the last person who tried to kill me?”

Story: It’s 1985! VHS tapes! Way too much hairspray! And the start of Maxine Minx’s breakthrough into mainstream movies, after ten years in Hollywood. When her big chance comes, she won’t let anything get in her way. Even when people around her start turning up dead. With the Night Stalker prowling LA, and Maxine’s past coming back to haunt her? It’s gonna be one gnarly ride.

Genre I’d put it in: Cherry-On-Top Horror Trilogy Enders
Release Date: 2024
Remake, Sequel, Based-On, or Original: Part 3 of the Maxine Minx trilogy. Maybe trilogy? Hell, I’d watch more.

Gotta say: I’ve been stoked for MaXXXine ever since Ti West told us that the X and Pearl films would be a trilogy. And when a cast filled with amazing character actors was released? I was gagged. So now that it’s in theaters, what did I think? MaXXXine is fun slasher noir; a mix of 80s cheese and Aughts gore that takes horror tropes and crafts them into fresh, new moments of fun.

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“A Quiet Place: Day One” paints a gripping picture of the start of something horrible

Posted on June 28, 2024 by Denise

“I’d forgotten how the city sings…you can hear it when you’re quiet.”

Story: Samira Sam is a young woman who’s come into the city with her hospice gang (AND HER CAT.) But when they have to leave the city due to an emergency situation, all hell breaks loose. So it’s up to Sam (AND HER CAT) to make it to safety. And pizza.

Genre I’d put it in: Gripping Horror Prequels
Release Date: 2024
Remake, Sequel, Based-On, or Original: Based on the A Quiet Place films. A prequel to the events of the first two films.

Gotta say: It is a truth universally acknowledged that that whenever this reviewer sees an animal onscreen, she focuses almost entirely on said animal. The teasers for One have shown that there is an adorable kitty – named Frodo in the film – whose sheer existence amps up the terror in a certain section of moviegoing public. Y’know, the cool people. So, if you want to know if kitty makes it to the end credits? Here you go right here. Ahem. Back to the film. Yeah. One is a well done prequel that manages to pull out lots of tension and unsettling moments from a mythology we thought we’d gotten everything out of. How’d they do that?

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