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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“Daddio”

Posted on June 26, 2024 by Denise

“2 to 2. … We are tied.”

Story: A woman (“Girlie”) takes a taxi home after a flight from Oklahoma. Clark is the the typical taxi driver guy. Girlie is a typical Midtown dweller. But when traffic deadlocks, they really start talking, and learning, about each other. Nobody’s typical, y’all.

Genre I’d put it in: Thoughtful Character Driven Pieces
Release Date: 2024 (2023 festival circuit)
Remake, Sequel, Based-On, or Original: Original (Black List 2017)

Gotta say: A film about two people talking? I figured this would be a blend of Waiting For Godot and My Dinner With Andre; a film of a play, and a film that feels like a play. Both absurdist, both focusing almost solely on two characters. So? I prepared myself for almost two hours of Very Deep Thoughts, and dug in. And I was surprised by how this simple, slice-of-life premise pulled me in so completely.

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“The Bikeriders”

Posted on June 20, 2024 by Denise

“Ain’t you supposed to be takin’ pictures?”

Story: 1960s Chicago was a time of big change. Not the least of which was the rising motorcycle gang scene. Let’s take a ride with the Vandals, a Chicago club that slowly turned into a gang as the years went by…and the OG members made room for new, younger, more criminally bent, members.

Genre I’d put it in: Subculture Docu-dramas
Release Date: 2024
Remake, Sequel, Based-On, or Original: Based on a book of photos by Danny Lyon

Gotta say: I remember learning about motorcycle gangs back in undergrad. I was a double major in Criminology and Health Education (which obviously led me to film stuff), and learning about how biker gangs really started with WWII vets looking for ways to get back to themselves after combat.

Adapting a book to a film is often a difficult task. The genres have different approaches to getting their stories across, and the book (that often deals with creating images in a reader’s mind) versus film (where “show, don’t tell” is typically the rule of the day) can be a jarring one. However, with Bikeriders, director Jeff Nichols crafts a film not from a story per se, but from a book of photographs. Does the visual book lend to an easily translatable adaptation? Well, yes and no.

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“In a Violent Nature” – (N)ot (R)ated for a reason

Posted on June 11, 2024 by Denise


“Maybe it’s supposed to be here.”

Story: Spending time in the woods is fun. Nature, exercise, campfires, s’mores…good times. But maybe if you see an old gold locket literally hanging out in the woods? Maybe leave it alone. Because maybe (that’s a maybe #HatTrick y’all) it might just be keeping a sadistic, supernatural killer in his little sleepy-time place. And moving it might have him wandering around looking for it…killing anyone he comes in contact with. Y’know, possibly. Just saying.

Genre I’d put it in: Mixed Subgenre Horror
Release Date: 2024
Remake, Sequel, Based-On, or Original: Original, but you’ll hark back to horror films from several different genres

Gotta say: Nature is one of the films that almost got me up off my ass and over to Sundance this year. Folks were calling it a horror movie “from the POV of the killer”. Color me intrigued. But this film isn’t a story where you’re constantly in Michael Myers’ Mask-O-Vision. It’s a film where there isn’t really a main character, but instead viewers are passively lead through the story from a couple of viewpoints. And it’s a brutal look at the nature of survival, and death. The nature of these things? Hey – the title of this film is deep, y’all! Okay, so all y’all were quicker than I was on that one. Fine. Moving on.

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DC Screening Pass-palooza – “Thelma”!

Posted on June 8, 2024 by Denise

Up for some payback? Synopsis!

In THELMA, June Squibb plays a 93-tear old grandmother who falls for a phone scam, to the tune of $10,000. But Thelma isn’t about to be anyone’s victim: she recruits an elderly friend and sets out to get her money back.

Ready? Let’s go!

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