Shelby Cadwell The Ring (2002) - Although American remakes of Japanese horror films rarely live up to the creepiness of the originals, The Ring proves that they can. Although, with the benefit of hindsight, I can now see how truly nonsensical the plot of this film is, I still appreciate it for doing what few other horror movies in the early 2000's could do - actually making me afraid of going to the movies. "You will die in seven days" still gives me the creeps, and probably

I love fall more than any other season; I love October more than any other month; and I love Halloween more than any other holiday. I promised I would be back with a "Thrills & Chills" television lineup, and here it is! I've organized it by release date. Take notes people. Kindred Spirits TLC Release Date: Sept 15th This will be the second season of Kindred Spirits, which follows ghost hunters Amy Bruni and Adam Berry as they help people overcome their fears and reclaim their

Title: It (2017) Genre: Horror, Thriller Director: Andy Muschietti Stars (Primary Actors): Bill Skarsgard, Jaeden Lieberher, Finn Wolfhard, Sophia Lillis Bias: I have been a big Stephen King fan since I started sneaking books from my mom's bookshelf, but I find film adaptations of his work to be hit or miss. I wasn't sure what to expect when I heard there was a reboot of It in the works, but decided to see it after a ton of good buzz and an excellent trailer made it clear tha

In honor of the release of Kingsman: The Golden Circle, we wanted to create a weekend watchlist that focuses on film adaptations of comics. And although Marvel has been killing it in the superhero adaptations game, indie comics adaptations in recent years have been fantastic, regardless of whether they feature masked heroes or just average people. This list counts down some of our favorite indie comics adaptations, outside of the superhero genre. Shelby Cadwell Ghost World (2

In Part 1 of this article series, I argued that the filmic Millarverse (my term for all of the cinematic adaptations of Mark Millar's comics) is an interesting and useful arena in which to start a conversation about the intersection of gender and genre. Part 2 was a deeper dive into one specific film within this category, 2010's Kick-Ass. Throughout these articles, I have argued against the surface level critique of Millar's adaptations as being masculinist fantasy and nothin

1. Singles – The 1990's were my formative decade for music. Prior to that I had no discernible “taste” beyond a hand-me-down love of classic rock (mostly the standards – Zeppelin, Floyd, Bowie) and an eclectic mix of stuff I stumbled upon and claimed as my own, ranging from Night Ranger to Duran Duran, Debbie Gibson to Richard Marx. It was a dark time. And then I made two discoveries (at around the same time the rest of the world did) – Nirvana and Pearl Jam. And as much as I

Title: The Girl with All the Gifts (2016) Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller Director: Colm McCarthy Stars (Primary Actors): Gemma Arterton, Glenn Close, Paddy Considine, Sennia Nanua Bias: This film's screenplay, and the novel it is based on, were both written by Mike Carey, who also wrote two of my all-time favorite comic book series for Vertigo Comics, The Unwritten and Lucifer. I went into the film expecting to enjoy it due to the Carey influence, even though I generally feel

Matt Linton Splash (1984) – Back in the 80's, Tom Hanks was a goofball. Long before he began the second act of his career, racking up 5 Academy Award nominations for Best Actor (and winning twice), he starred in ridiculously charming comedies like this one. Here, Hanks plays a genial nice guy who’s depressed after a break-up and falls in love with a mermaid (played by Daryll Hannah, post-Blade Runner and pre-Kill Bill). There’s a lot of plot that kinds of consists of E.T.: Th

I can taste the pumpkin spice in the breeze; the beginning of fall is just steps around the corner, which means the beginning of a new television lineup. And, in the Peak-TV Era, there is no shortage of well-scripted shows to chase the chill out of the air and occupy our imagination. In fact, these days, there are so many new shows to keep track of that some inevitably end up falling through the cracks. I know you’ve all got your favorites, so do I, but here are some that you

Title: After the Storm (2016) Genre: Drama Director: Hirokazu Koreeda Stars: Hiroshi Abe, Kirin Kiki, Yôko Maki Bias: I’ve always associated Hiroshi Abe with Godzilla 2000 (1999). Grade: B In a Nutshell: Ryôta Shinoda (Hiroshi Abe) is a washed-up author who wrote an award-winning novel over fifteen years ago. Unfortunately, Ryota’s life has turned out a lot differently than what he expected. Now he works as a sleazy detective, wastes his money on lottery tickets, and spies on