42 years is an outstanding run for any franchise. While there have been many ups and downs along the way, the story of Skywalker that began in 1977 has been an epic one to say the least. And even though this story seemingly ended twice before (once in 1983 and again in 2005), it has never been done with such unambiguous finality until now.

Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) has returned, and he has amassed a grand army with which to take over the galaxy. Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) agrees to hunt down and kill Rey until the time is right for Kylo to kill Palpatine and take his throne. When the Resistance finds out about this, General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) sends a small team consisting of Rey (Daisy Ridley), Poe (Oscar Isaac), Finn (John Boyega), Chewie (Joonas Suotamo), and C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) to locate The Emperor and end this war once and for all.

The action begins immediately, going from one set-piece to the next, as The Rise of Skywalker wastes little time setting up what the viewer should already know. Every unanswered question is answered here and probably not in the way the viewer expected. The young characters, Rey, Finn, and Poe, lead the charge with Poe getting some added backstory that deepens his character. C-3PO has quite a lot to do by interpreting an ancient language (at a price) on their journey, and he even finally declares R2-D2 his best friend. But the main story is kept on Rey and her incredible force abilities, while also further exploring her complex pseudo-relationship with Kylo Ren/Ben Solo. Both of them teeter on the edge between the light and the dark. They’re equally drawn to/threatened by one another. Considering this Sequel Trilogy’s total lack of planning from the get-go (not to mention all the plot holes that had to be patched up because of it), Rey and Kylo’s “relationship” feels like the only plotline that never lost its balance along the way.

Bringing back Emperor Palpatine was both an appropriate and questionable decision. Appropriate because it successfully ties all nine episodic Star Wars movies into one story, but questionable because it further reduces the ending of Return of the Jedi to being a non-ending while retreading ground already covered decades earlier. His unspoken absence in the previous two entries makes his re-appearance all the more jarring, and it doesn’t help that he spends all of his scenes in one room, fixed in place, saying all the things we’ve heard him say before. On the plus side, Ian McDiarmid falls back into the role like he never left it. He steals the movie whenever he’s onscreen, even when his faces (yes, plural) are kept in the shadows. His connection to Rey is nothing if not surprising and does an admirable job of giving Rey a compelling arc that makes this notoriously-capricious Sequel Trilogy worth the viewer’s time.

Is The Rise of Skywalker a fitting conclusion for the 42-year franchise? Somewhat. It ties up every loose end it can, and the closing moments make it very clear to the viewer that the story of Skywalker is very, very over. There’s lots of fun to be had, plenty of new worlds to be seen, and quite a few chuckles along the way. That being said, fan-service guides this story like training wheels. Palpatine’s resurgence, old ships, old worlds, countless cameos, and the shoe-horned return of Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams). Carrie Fisher’s involvement is minimal considering she passed away in 2016, so most of her actions and dialogue are salvaged from deleted scenes and are therefore unremarkable, forgettable, and could have been said or done by any character. This is nobody’s fault, of course. It’s fantastic that they were able to include Leia at all in this final chapter, but her story ends not with a bang but with an off-camera whimper. As for the rest of it, the story wraps up very neatly and the third act plays things big and loud but very safe. It’s still thoroughly entertaining with plenty of closure in the final moments, but one can’t ignore that this is a story that first concluded in 1983, so it ultimately comes off as more of a re-ending than a grand finale.

3 out of 5

Linda Hamilton. James Cameron. With special appearance by Arnold Scwharzenegger. I hadn’t been this excited for a Terminator 3 since Terminator 3. T2: Judgment Day remains my favorite movie of all-time, so of course I’m all for going back in time to kill 16 years’ worth of mediocre sequels. And bringing back James Cameron AND Linda Hamilton? That is proof enough that Terminator: Dark Fate is the most serious and dedicated Terminator sequel in decades, and the best continuation of T1 & 2 that we’re likely ever going to get.

Over 20 years have passed since Cyberdyne Systems was destroyed, effectively “terminating” Skynet for all-time. But an A.I. called “Legion”, designed for cyberwarfare, has risen from the ashes of the year 2042, and sent its brand new Rev-9 Terminator (Gabriel Luna) back in time to kill a young factory worker named Dani Ramos (Natalia Reyes). Sent back to protect Dani is Grace (Mackenzie Davis), an “augmented” human soldier with superhuman abilities. But Grace’s fighting skills only stretch so far, and soon she and Dani accept help from a woman they’ve never heard of but who claims to be an expert on terminators. And her name is Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton).

Dark Fate breaks you in with a clip from T2, an indisputable reminder that Rise of the Machines, Salvation, and Genisys do not exist in this timeline, which is the best decision this movie (and franchise) could have made. From there, the story advances to present day where the usual Terminator movie stuff happens: two people come back through time, find clothes, go after the person they’re looking for, get into a fight, followed by an explosive car chase — you get the picture. The first 30 minutes is all sound and fury, which may be worrying to some. But when Sarah Connor shows up, much-needed substance is injected into the picture and we get perhaps the most interesting cast of Terminator characters in 28 years: Grace, whose abilities aren’t without their inconveniences; the aging T-800, who has found a purpose beyond its original programming; and then of course there’s the legendary Sarah Connor. While she’s not as crazy as she was in T2, the grumpy old woman persona fits her like a glove. She’s the heart of this franchise, always has been, and keeps everyone else in check even when she’s pushed to the edge. Having her back reminds us what’s been missing from Terminator all these years.

James Cameron’s presence is definitely felt here, but if you were expecting to relive Terminator‘s glory days of 1984/1991, I’m afraid Dark Fate falls a bit short. Dani, this movie’s target, is more interesting on paper than on screen, especially since her character arc is almost completely expository, making her the second-least interesting character in the movie, followed only by her antagonist, the Rev-9 Terminator, which is just barely different from every terminator we’ve seen until now. Sure, it’s able to separate its liquid metal exterior from its endoskeleton interior to be in two places at once, but other than that, it’s yet another less threatening version of the T-1000. There are also a few too many parallels to T1 & 2 that reek of unimaginativeness, i.e. Legion’s like the new Skynet, the Ramos’ are the new Connors’, etc. 21^st Century technology should at least present us with state-of-the-art special effects that blow T2 away, and it does, but I’m afraid it’s that same old too-fast CGI we’ve come to expect from modern blockbusters, featuring many superhero leaps and landings, crashed vehicles rolling over way too many times, etc., and all moving faster than the laws of physics would allow. And while this is a revisionist entry in the franchise, you can’t ignore the fact that there are elements of T3, 4, and 5 sprinkled throughout: liquid metal terminator with endoskeleton underneath (3); grey and bleak future involving some human/machine hybrids (4); de-aged Arnold (4 & 5). There’s more, but they’re in spoiler territory.

Is Terminator: Dark Fate the best sequel since T2? Easily. Although it’s still not the “true” Terminator 3 I had been waiting 28 years for, but that’s okay. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel of a 35-year-old franchise, even if this entry feels a little too passing-of-the-torchy. Arnold is used sparingly this time around, showing up only halfway through. And even though he’s in his early 70’s, he proves he can still throw a mean Terminator punch. The focus is kept on the three female leads, particularly the older and wiser (and quite broken) Sarah Connor and how she fits into this new future. The Terminator mythology is, for lack of a better word, upgraded here. They’re not leeching onto T1 & 2 so much anymore. The story progresses well enough, the pacing is near perfect, most of the characters are interesting, and Arnold is still very much Arnold, providing some of his best cinematic moments since T2. (Also, he pets a dog.) Dark Fate tries much harder than previous sequels to move the franchise forward and present Terminator in a serious light, but a few too many parallels to previous entries, retreads of the abandoned sequels, and fan-fiction moments keep it from being truly great.

3 out of 5

“In a way, it was funny, a seventy-two-year-old man setting the pace, running them all into the ground.” This quote from David Morrell’s original novel First Blood, though referring to a different character, has become strangely prophetic and frighteningly accurate when watching a 72-year-old Sylvester Stallone outlast, outshoot, and outslice the bad guys in Rambo: Last Blood. Though I’ve never been more curious to know if First Blood‘s original ending may have been a greater mercy for the franchise.

Aging Vietnam vet John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) has taken over his father’s horse ranch in Arizona. Helping out on the ranch are two women, Maria (Adriana Barraza) and her teenage granddaughter Gabrielle (Yvette Monreal), who Rambo has come to think of as family. Gabrielle is determined to go to Mexico to confront the father who abandoned her after her mother died, but Rambo and Maria warn against this. Gabrielle defies them and goes anyway, but never makes it back home. So Rambo heads to Mexico in search of his proxy daughter.

There have been very few female characters in the Rambo franchise, so Last Blood almost feels like it’s making up for that. Unfortunately, they’re relegated to expository, two-faced, and damsel-in-distress roles. Pill-popping Rambo takes center stage of course, and I don’t care how tough he is at 72, he looks like a grandpa here. The story is as predictable as can be. Telling someone not to go to a place guarantees they will go to that place. It was forgivable in previous entries because it gave Rambo an excuse to blow up hundreds of bad guys while we cheered him on. But this is not a one-man army movie by any means. It plays more like a dark and nasty detective thriller as Rambo searches for clues, interrogates suspects, and watches the bad guys from the shadows. Had this been a totally original non-Rambo movie, it may have worked (albeit as a Taken rip-off). But as the 5th entry in a 37-year-old action franchise about a lethally PTSD Vietnam War veteran struggling to find his place in the world, it just doesn’t fit.

Mexico: the most dangerous place on Earth, or so this movie would have you believe. To say Last Blood is racially and culturally insensitive would be an understatement. You can almost hear the off-camera MAGA crowd chanting “BUILD! THE! WALL!” Every location in Mexico is filthy and populated by rough-looking thugs. Every friend or estranged family member is selfish and disloyal to the highest degree. Enter the old white guy who somehow snuck his big killing knife across the border. The Rambo movies have always had thin plots but there was always an underlying message, whether it was how Vietnam veterans are mistreated back home, or some horrible atrocity going on half a world away. Last Blood has no such message. It tries to bombard you with Gabrielle’s innocence and Rambo’s need for a family, but it all comes off as forced sympathy. The tone is vulgar and dispiriting throughout, and takes an unexpectedly darker turn halfway through that motivates Rambo to do what he does best. There are still some enjoyable moments, but you will have to suffer greatly for them.

In a way, it’s funny: a seventy-two-year-old man setting the pace and running them all into the ground (literally). Almost all of the action is saved for the explosive and brutal climax, making all that came before feel like an hour-long plot device. Rambo setting up traps for his enemies is a nice callback to the nighttime woods scenes in First Blood, but it’s all exploitation with no substance, something the shallow script was desperately trying to achieve to no avail. With few characters and locations, and at a speedy 89 minutes, this feels like the smallest entry in the franchise, and more of a bad weekend for Rambo compared to his more war-like adventures. Rambo: Last Blood is as generic and unoriginal as a movie can be, saved only by its glorified ultra-violence in later scenes. Rambo has killed a lot of people, but I must say, I’ve never seen him shoot so many corpses before. When dead bodies aren’t even safe, Rambo has officially run out of things to kill. If this formulaic revenge thriller is Stallone’s idea of a proper sendoff for the character, then maybe Trautman should have pulled the trigger after all.

2 out of 5

I usually don’t combine reviews unless it’s a TV show, but since the two chapters of IT are clearly two halves of a whole, I decided to make an exception. Whereas the Stephen King book zig-zags between the child characters and they’re grown-up counterparts up to and including its climactic chapters, these modern film versions follow the same half-and-half structure as the 1990 made-for-TV original, with the kids’ story in the first half and the grown-ups’ story in the second.

1989, in the town of Derry, Maine, children are disappearing left, right, and center and turning up dead. No one knows who’s doing it. Or at least, no one can SEE who’s doing it. As seven pre-teen social outcasts band together to form what they call “The Losers Club”, they discover that it’s a powerful evil entity known as Pennywise the Dancing Clown (Bill Skarsgård), who they come to call “It”. It can make them see things that aren’t there, while remaining invisible to anyone that can help. But the Losers have strength of their own when they’re together, and they use that strength to track It to an old house and show It that they will not be scared into submission. Pennywise is defeated, Derry is safe, and the Losers make a promise to return if It ever comes back. 27 years after those horrific events, the Losers are all grown up and living far away from Derry. But the killings have started up again, and Mike Hanlon (Isaiah Mustafah), the one Loser who stayed in Derry all this time, calls up his childhood friends to deliver the fateful news: It’s back.

Chapter 1: For horror fans, this was the breath of fresh air the genre needed. Well-written, well-acted, genuinely scary, and with high production values. Performances from the young actors are strong, evoking real sympathy for the Losers when they’re on their own and giving us coming-of-age fun and adventure when they’re in a group. The town of Derry feels both inviting and haunting at the same time; a perfect backdrop for what’s to come. Unpredictable danger lurks in every corner, whether it’s the supernatural Pennywise or the school bully, Henry Bowers (Nicholas Hamilton). While most of the horror relies on jump scares, the scares are still inventive enough that they’re still entertaining even if they’re not very frightening. If I had any real complaints, it’s that the star of the show, Pennywise, doesn’t induce the fear and terror that he probably should as a horror movie villain. His overly-sinister look makes him totally unapproachable, so it pulls you out of the movie whenever kids fall for his “friendly clown” act. While he’s certainly entertaining and often unpredictable, he becomes less threatening the more we see him. Nevertheless, Chapter 1 is a well-made and intense horror film with strong characters and a show-stealing villain, the kind of movie that really takes this horror fan back to the good old days.

Chapter 2: Unfortunately, the second half of the story takes a bit of a downturn. 2hrs. and 50mins. is a lot to ask from a horror audience. Character development for the adult versions of the Losers is strong, if a bit lacking compared to Chapter 1 (I’m looking at you, Ben Hanscom [Jay Ryan]). Bill Skarsgård’s Pennywise is used sparingly again, which in a movie this long is both a pro and a con. But the real scene-stealer this time around is Bill Hader as Richie Tozier, who delivers a compelling and nuanced performance that audiences will remember for years to come. The main point of Chapter 2 is for the Losers to reunite and band together to destroy It once and for all, so it’s a shame that so much of the movie is spent with the Losers apart and exploring the town alone, which adds more to the runtime than it does to the story. Humor is used in overabundance, some of which hits home but a lot of which breaks the horror momentum that could be better used to build to a frightening climax. Speaking of which, without giving anything away, the final scenes play less like a horror showdown and more like a set piece from Lord of the Rings. It’s action heavy, special effects heavy, and loaded with the aforementioned humor. Still, it all leads to a satisfying conclusion with a few surprises that left me genuinely impressed.

It: Chapters 1 & 2 are the kind of big-budget horror movies they don’t often make anymore. A lot of time and care is spent on developing the characters into three-dimensional people while telling a complete and epic monster story that spans 27 years, even if it gets a little too epic in its final moments. It would have been nice if they had ramped up the horror instead of the humor in the second half, but the casting in both chapters is so spot-on that you’ll probably find yourself riveted even when things are plodding along. All flaws aside, these are horror movies that people, and especially horror fans, will not soon forget.

3 out of 5

Here we go again. In this tiresome age of superhero do-overs, we now have the retelling of the Phoenix storyline first told in X-Men: The Last Stand. If memory serves, these “prequel” movies are supposed to co-exist with the original X-Men movies up to the 1974 timeline disruption from Days of Future Past. Meaning, from a purely continuity perspective, most of the same rules should apply here and the filmmakers should be telling more or less the same Phoenix story again. But like X-Men: Apocalypse, they throw continuity to the wind and add yet another decade-long time jump to 1992 (that’s right, 2011’s First Class characters are supposed to be 30 years older here!), so they can tell a bland and tonally-uneven conclusion to X-Men that neither honors the 19-year film franchise nor justifies Dark Phoenix’s now-infamous reshoots.

The U.S. President calls upon the help of the world-renowned X-Men, led by Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), to save a group of astronauts who are stranded dangerously close to an approaching solar flare. A small team is dispatched to outer space, and just as the final astronaut is saved, the solar flare leeches onto the mind-reading, telekinetic Jean Grey (Sophie Turner). But instead of killing her, it makes her even more powerful. After returning to Earth, a group of aliens (led by Jessica Chastain) lands in search of the mutant who absorbed the energy of the solar flare. But Jean is no longer in control of her emotions much less her powers and soon goes on an involuntary rampage destroying anything and everything in her path.

First-time director Simon Kinberg is proof that screenplays and movies are two very different things as he does not possess the vision to convert readable script to watchable screen. Even worse is the fact that most of the cast sleepwalks their way through their performances. James McAvoy and Nicholas Hoult actually make an effort, but everyone else is just collecting a paycheck. Jessica Chastain’s emotionless and nameless alien is one of those could-be-played-by-anybody characters. But no one is more wasted than the star of the show, Jean Grey. Jean jumps from one extreme emotion to another but with no personality to tie them together. Her love for Scott (Tye Sheridan) is barely touched upon, and the guilt she feels for what happened to her parents when she was younger is more plot device than character development. The prime focus is on what she is rather than who she is, meaning everything she does or doesn’t do, on one end of the spectrum or the other or anywhere in between, is neither in character nor out of character. This is Jean Grey’s movie and she is by far the least interesting and least likable character in it.

Since Days of Future Past, the younger X-Men crew have been struggling to leave a lasting impression, and Dark Phoenix is no help. James McAvoy’s Xavier storyline is mostly a retread of what Patrick Stewart went through in The Last Stand. Michael Fassbender’s Magneto is out for revenge…again. And the rest of the X-Men—Scott, Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), Storm (Alexandra Shipp), Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee), and even Quicksilver (Evan Peters)—are just Oompa Loompas to keep the factory running. The action sequences can be a welcome distraction at times, but as soon as the action’s over, it’s back to the dismal narrative. At no point do you connect with any of the characters or feel any sense of danger. Charles and Erik having differing worldviews is so old-news it feels pre-historic. Mystique and Beast suppressing their blue appearances for a more human look (while amongst fellow mutants, mind you) serves no purpose other than to show off antiquated CGI effects. Nightcrawler losing his temper and going on a mini-rampage is probably more humorous than the filmmakers intended. Don’t expect any dangling plot threads to get tied up either (i.e. Quicksilver’s father). As for the alien threat, they’re neither properly defined nor do they ever extend beyond one-dimensional villain status. X-Men was created as a response to the Civil Rights Movement, so to have an alien race portrayed as “They’re different so they’re evil” is very much the opposite of everything X-Men is supposed to stand for and utterly disrespectful to the memory of the late, great, Stan “The Man” Lee.

As the final movie from a franchise that began in 2000, Dark Phoenix is just an insult. One last cash-grab before the rights are shuffled over to Disney. Apocalypse was a bad movie made by accomplished filmmakers, but Dark Phoenix feels both unprofessionally made and unwanted by everyone involved. It’s a forgettable story told through a perpetually somber tone that unintentionally elevates The Last Stand by comparison. To end a 19-year franchise on an inferior remake of a mediocre sequel should be enough to blacklist the people who decided this. If you want a real ending to X-Men, stick with either Logan or Days of Future Past, and avoid Dark Phoenix like a slap in the face.

1 out of 5

When we last saw the Discovery, it was face-to-face with the Enterprise, igniting hopes that the glory days of Star Trek were about to warp back into our living rooms. Discovery’s first season was such a forlorn departure in tone, style, casting, and canon, that imagining it alongside the utopian Original Series was an exorbitantly tall order. But when it neatly wrapped up its dreary Klingon War storyline, it also presented fans with a look to the optimistic future they longed to revisit. So does this season truly go where no Discovery episode has gone before?

Taking place sometime after “The Cage”, the unaired pilot episode of The Original Series, Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) assumes temporary command of the Discovery to investigate seven mysterious red signals that have materialized around the galaxy. Commander Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) is sent to rescue survivors of a wrecked ship near one of the signals, and after being knocked nearly unconscious, has a vision of a time-travelling entity called “The Red Angel”. Burnham’s foster brother Spock (Ethan Peck), who is also Captain Pike’s Science Officer on the Enterprise, had a similar vision as a child and is assumed to have the answers they seek. Unfortunately, he’s currently a fugitive wanted for the murder of his doctors, which makes the search for Spock a literal test of time.

Right from the first episode of this season, there’s a strong sense of fun and adventure that was lacking throughout all of Season 1. Captain Pike is instantly likeable and instills a welcoming family dynamic to the crew of the Discovery. Almost the entire crew sees positive changes this season. Saru (Doug Jones) finds some much-needed courage, Tilly (Mary Wiseman) gains more confidence in her new role as Ensign, and the Mirror Universe’s Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) now works for the morally ambiguous Starfleet intelligence agency, Section 31. The Klingons have hair again, indicating some behind-the-scenes regret over their dramatic re-design in Season 1. Even some of the minor characters, like Keyla Detmer (Emily Coutts) and the cybernetic Airiam (Hannah Cheesman) get moments to shine. Interpersonal drama is kept at a minimum, as the mission to stop a time-travelling threat to all organic life means that everyone’s futures are at stake, and not just the futures of a select few people. Star Trek is, and always has been, an ensemble, concentrating on the needs of the many, rather than the few or the one. And that’s what this season does. It takes all the elements from Season 1 and injects them with classic Star Trek ideals. And for the most part, it succeeds.

Certain problems still remain, such as Michael Burnham being the least interesting character in her own TV show. The writers wrote themselves into a corner by making her Spock’s foster sister that we just, somehow, never heard about until this show. She’s more interesting on paper than in person, because without that out-of-left-field connection to Spock, there’s nothing about her that feels “lead character”-ish. Ethan Peck does an admirable enough job as a bearded Spock but fails to leave a lasting impression. The casual introduction of Section 31 is far too early in the timeline since it was still a well-kept secret, not to mention a controversial revelation, when it was revealed midway through Deep Space Nine, set nearly a hundred years after this show. And Hugh Culber’s (Wilson Cruz) spore network resurrection is more science fantasy than fiction, glossing over the mind-boggling part and spending too much time on his now-complicated romance with Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp). These are mostly minor gripes, but sometimes when a show is “course-correcting” like this one clearly is, some of the newer ideas don’t get the attention they deserve during the clean-up process.

Are the glory days of Star Trek back? No. Or at least not yet. Season 2 is a vast improvement over Season 1 but there’s no denying that Discovery is still finding itself. Messing around with time travel in a franchise that already has multiple timelines is risky business, but this season keeps its focus on the ends justifying the means. It’s certainly nostalgic to see the mutli-colored Starfleet uniforms not look like pyjamas for once, and filling in the gaps between “The Cage” and “The Menagerie” do the character of Captain Pike real justice. The entire season plays out like a 14-episode Hollywood movie, but the hackneyed “Let’s promise to never speak of these events to anyone” ending is a case of inexcusable prequelitis. So there’s definitely still room for improvement. But the best thing about this season is that it feels like Star Trek. It’s about a ship full of eager explorers, with diverse and pleasant characters, who go on space adventures that we, the viewer, can only dream about. And that’s what Star Trek is supposed to be.

3 out of 5

It seems almost fitting that the franchise that began with a train wreck also ends with one. It’s been 19 years since Unbreakable impressed audiences with its mysterious take on superheroes in the real world. And it wasn’t until Bruce Willis’ cameo in 2017’s Split that fans realized they were finally getting a sequel. Unfortunately, Glass not only fails to deliver on any of its or its predecessors’ promises, it somehow manages to ruin the two great films that came before it.

David Dunn (Bruce Willis) has spent the last 19 years protecting the citizens of Philadelphia under the guise of “The Overseer”. In his search for some missing young girls, he encounters their kidnapper, Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy), who has transformed himself into his most dangerous personality, “The Beast”, and proves to be the first true adversary against David’s seemingly invincible abilities. But the two are ambushed by police and subsequently locked up in a mental institution with Elijah Price, a.k.a. “Mr. Glass” (Samuel L. Jackson), who sees Crumb as the culmination of his lifelong obsession with comic books.

What begins as an epic battle between two unkillable entities quickly descends into a talky, overly-analytical snooze-fest that’s even heavier on comic book exposition than Unbreakable was. What’s worse is that, of the three lead characters, Mr. Glass has by far the smallest part, and poses far less of a threat than Kevin Wendell Crumb, turning Glass into a supporting character in his own movie. David Dunn, i.e. the “unbreakable” hero this “trilogy” began with, has almost no story arc other than “good guy must stop bad guy”. James McAvoy’s career-defining multi-personality performance from Split makes a welcome return here, but it’s used as little more than a humorous distraction and doesn’t enhance either his character or the film in general. Comic book movies are typically action movies, and while neither Unbreakable nor Split were that heavy on action, all the building blocks were in place for Glass. But M. Night Shyamalan prefers to distract you from your expectations to tell a non-story set in a dull place with characters that do next to nothing.

This is the concluding chapter in a trilogy, and the last thing we should have to suffer through is a series of monologues telling us what to think. That’s the problem with setting Glass in an enclosed environment and having a brand new character, Dr. Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson), talk, and talk, and talk. Even worse are the tonal inconsistencies that ripple throughout the film. Humor is often misplaced and there’s no real sense of urgency even when things go wrong. The film begins intensely enough, but doesn’t establish any sort of forward momentum. It would have been nice if at least some of people’s expectations had been met. This may not be your typical trilogy, but once the cards were laid out at the end of Split, M. Night Shyamalan should have played his hand. Not that it isn’t normally good to keep audiences guessing and avoid predictable story paths, but he relies heavily on Unbreakable and Split to setup Glass’ story, and curiously casts them aside at times when they should matter most.

M. Night Shyamalan is known for his endings, so I won’t spoil anything here. But I will say that the three leads – David Dunn, Kevin Wendell Crumb, and Mr. Glass – are each treated with such injustice that it ruins everything Unbreakable and Split began. For Glass, expectations were high and the wait was long. The promise of an epic finale is teased for much of the third act, only to be thrown away in favor of something far less interesting and so absurd that you’ll wonder what the actual point of this pseudo-trilogy was. M. Night Shyamalan took a perfectly good setup, 19 years in the making, and rather than run with it as he should have, completely derailed the entire “trilogy”.

1 out of 5

Ready to party like it’s 1985? You better be. After Ivan Drago went curiously unmentioned in the first Creed movie during discussions of Apollo’s death, devoting an entire sequel to the Dragos is welcome compensation. It seemed an inevitable match-up, with the Creed family having never previously gotten any sort of restitution. But rather than a typical revenge movie, or worse, a monster movie where the monster comes back to kill his previous victim’s kid, Creed II doesn’t waste its chance to take a tragic event and make something good out of it.

Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) is rising up, making a name for himself, and soon becomes the World Heavyweight Boxing Champion. The problem is he doesn’t FEEL like a champion. He may have the belt, but he can’t shake the cynicism that something’s missing. Until one day when he’s challenged by Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu), son of Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), the monstrous Russian boxer who famously killed Apollo Creed three decades prior. “Donnie” jumps at the opportunity, albeit without the support of Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), who’s still traumatized by his own fight against Ivan Drago and believes Viktor will be just as dangerous for Donnie as Ivan was for Apollo.

The feeling of unfinished business is palpable throughout. Right in the opening moments, we see the Dragos training together, and they are an impressively deadly pairing. It’s one monster creating another monster. Unlike Donnie, Viktor has nothing to lose and is willing to do whatever it takes to win. He’s built like a tank and will bulldoze anyone in his way. While it’s easy to imagine the Dragos as one-dimensional villains, there’s very much a human component at play here. Ivan’s posh lifestyle in Russia was forfeit when he lost to Balboa in ’85, and now he’s trying to use his son Viktor to get the glory days back. Viktor does his best to be the unbreakable fighter his father wants him to be, but manifestly hangs his head in shame on every single misstep. And all that helps the Dragos feel like a real family. If you were expecting the monster from Rocky IV to make his triumphant return here, sorry, he just doesn’t. This is not a Cold War-era movie. It’s not all one-liners and birthday robots. What you get instead are a disgraced father and son who have been training for 30 years to reverse the events that caused their family’s ruination.

Over in the USA, Donnie and Bianca (Tessa Thompson) are married with a baby on the way. Donnie has finally escaped his father’s shadow but remains undecided on what path to forge for himself. Nothing comes without a price in Donnie’s life, and Michael B. Jordan plays it to perfection. He’s a fighter who’s always fighting something, whether it’s an opponent in the ring, his insecurities about who he’s supposed to be, or a potential medical condition for his unborn child. Ego holds him back more than anything else, which makes it feel like more of a traditional Rocky sequel; i.e. something we’ve seen time and time again. Bianca continues to battle her progressive hearing loss, and Donnie fights with her by learning sign language. And while Donnie worries about what kind of father he’ll turn out to be, there’s almost no worry from Bianca about what kind of mother she’ll be, especially since she’s the one who’s going deaf. It just seems like such a missed opportunity for the strong female lead. Once again, Rocky is relegated to a supporting role, and while he doesn’t deliver the Oscar-nominated performance he gave in the previous movie, he still proves he’s one of the most essential parts of Donnie’s life. These are two people who are definitely stronger together than apart. Rocky provides the tools and Donnie wields them masterfully. The boxing scenes, while big and loud, are not nearly as intense as in Creed I or even previous Rocky entries. Viktor Drago is gigantic and Donnie fights his heart out, but fight scenes, like any scenes, should have a narrative too. Big punches and loud noises just aren’t enough.

Creed II may cater more to fans of Rocky than those loyal to Creed I, but there’s no denying that it keeps the entirety of the franchise alive and strong. Although you can’t help but wonder if they should have stuck more to the Creed brand than the Rocky brand, even if they are bred from the same stock. Donnie spent the entire first movie trying to escape his father’s shadow and then all of the sequel diving right back under it. But if you’re a fan of the entire series like me, there’s something captivating about watching such great characters over a decades-long period. You feel like you’ve been with them on the most important steps of their lives. But after eight movies, there are only so many ways to surprise the audience via boxing. There’s a cameo or two that may launch you out of your chair, but if you’ve seen a Rocky movie before, you pretty much know what to expect with Creed II, even if it feels like Rocky VIII most of the time.

3 out of 5

It seems every 10 years or so, the Halloween franchise ignores a great portion of its sequels. In 1988, Halloween 4 ignored III; in 1998, Halloween H20 ignored everything after II; and 2007 saw Rob Zombie’s abysmal attempt at a remake. But here, on the 40^th anniversary of the original, they haven’t just ignored every sequel and remake thus far, they’ve changed one of the most well-known details of the established lore: Michael Myers and Laurie Strode are no longer brother and sister! Imagine going back to before Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker were father and son and seeing what story paths a non-family structure could take that franchise. Even John Carpenter regretted making the two main characters related in Halloween II, and many agree that it made Michael Myers significantly less frightening. Instead of being “purely and simply evil”, he was a psychotic sibling less likely to kill non-relatives (i.e. most people). And even though this sequel shares the title of the original (the 2011 prequel to John Carpenter’s The Thing did this as well), 2018’s Halloween is very much a sequel to 1978’s Halloween.

40 years after that horrific Halloween Night in 1978, two British podcasters want to interview Michael Myers, who’s been locked up for decades and hasn’t spoken a word. When they fail to get anything out of him, they turn to Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), who’s living as a recluse near Haddonfield, Illinois. She’s never gotten over the trauma of that night, which has damaged her relationship with her daughter Karen (Judy Greer) and granddaughter Allyson (Andi Mitchak). She’s spent most of the past 40 years arming and training herself to kill Michael Myers, an unhealthy obsession most people in her life consider a waste of time. But when a patient transport bus crashes and Michael escapes, Laurie is forced to relive the nightmare that has haunted her for decades and face the faceless shape that has consumed her sanity.

Glossing over the fact that the last Halloween movie to come out was Halloween II (2009, Rob Zombie), there’s something alluring about doing a sequel to the original after 40 years. And it works surprisingly well for Halloween. Michael Myers was 6 years old on his first night of killing and waited 15 years for his second, so waiting 40 years for his third is not as big a stretch as it sounds. What made Michael Myers frightening in the first movie was how selective he was with his potential victims. He could wait in the shadows while dozens of oblivious people walked by, and then the very next person would become his victim. It wasn’t something they did or who they were. He. Would. Just. Pick. THEM. He never got annoyed or stressed, nor was he ever angry when he killed. He was pure evil, and that’s the Michael Myers we get here. The one Dr. Loomis described all those years ago. One thing that always bothered me about the other sequels was that they would show Michael Myers’ eyes. The original never did, and neither does this one. It keeps his “face” blank, pale, and emotionless, as it should be. You obviously know he’s a monster, yet somehow he’s unpredictable too. And once he puts on his mask and the sun goes down, he moves around like he owns Halloween Night. That’s what makes him “The Boogeyman”.

Like most well-thought-out horror movies, this one begins slowly. It takes its time to establish the characters, their relationships, and the environment they live in. Allyson’s social life is surprisingly entertaining, and her friends turn out to be far more likable than expected (but since this is a horror movie, you know what will probably happen to them). The British podcasters, Aaron (Jefferson Hall) and Dana (Rhian Rees), act as decent, if not by-the-numbers catalysts for the events that follow. Karen’s (Laurie’s daughter’s) backstory unfolds rather lazily but reaches its pinnacle when the time calls for it. Sheriff Hawkins (Will Patton) is another formulaic character who plays his part predictably. But if there’s one character I could have done without, it’s Michael Myers’ current psychiatrist Dr. Sartain (Haluk Bilginer), who feels like he would be an edgy take on Dr. Loomis had this been another remake. But this movie isn’t about them. It’s about “The Boogeyman”. And when Michael Myers isn’t stealing the movie, Laurie Strode positively is. Halloween is hardly her favorite time of year and she doesn’t even try to be what society considers “normal”. She stalks her grandchild, and even breaks into her daughter’s house to prove a point. Jamie Lee Curtis delivers arguably her toughest performance in this entry. Laurie is driven by years of despair combined with the practicality of wisdom. Michael Myers may have the “face”, but Laurie Strode is the heart.

Nothing can ever match the unrelenting atmosphere of the 1978 original. As much love as there is to the original here, it’s just not up to par. It’s well-crafted, but there are still pacing issues. There are decent characters, but they meander more often than not. They recreate classic shots, but they lack the impact they had in the original. There are a number of intense scenes, but also a few too many “safe” scenes. This is still a reasonably competent horror film and one that tries much harder than previous sequels, but the atmosphere just isn’t quite there. Nevertheless, the final 20 minutes of the movie are where it’s at. The tension is so strong you could hear a pin drop. It’s the type of final scene  most horror movies can only dream of. It almost makes everything that happened before it worth it. (Almost.) And while the ending could have been better, it still works for this kind of horror movie, leaving it open for another sequel, or if you prefer, not. All flaws aside, this is the best Halloween sequel they’ve ever made. Take it or leave it.

3 out of 5

How did we get here? How did a show that never stood a chance against its far-superior but still-struggling-in-the-ratings predecessor make it to four seasons? Without a single likable character, not to mention the haphazard storytelling, most shows like this one would have been cancelled long ago. But a crossover between the two shows was inevitable from the start, so let’s see where Fear’s dead walk to now.

Several years after Season 3 (and time-jumping to after Season 8 of The Walking Dead), Morgan Jones (Lennie James) leaves the town of Alexandria to go on a journey of moral self-discovery. What he finds are the surviving leads from Fear the Walking Dead, now scavenging and living as bandits. Desperate to survive, Morgan befriends a cowboy named John Dorie (Garret Dillahunt) and a SWAT truck-driving documentarian named Althea (Maggie Grace). But as survival becomes more challenging in Morgan’s new and unfamiliar environment, both sides will have to join forces in the ongoing struggle to building a new home.

It really says something about a show when the few characters introduced in the newest season are infinitely more likable than the main cast ever was. My favorite new character is easily John Dorie, who seems like a simple-minded redneck, but he has such a good heart that I felt myself wishing Morgan and John had their own spinoff series. Morgan’s, John’s, and Althea’s dynamic is surprisingly strong too, forming an engaging survivalist bond as they travel from place to place. Unfortunately, at least in the first half of the season, their journey is hampered by the confusing timeline jumps between them and the original cast. Morgan’s, John’s, and “Al’s” stories are in the “NOW” portion of the timeline, whereas back in the “THEN” timeline, Madison (Kim Dickens) and her kids Nick (Frank Dillane) and Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey) have fortified a baseball stadium (not to mention completely abandoned the storyline begun at the end of Season 3). And just when things are feeling a little too safe, an arrogant man named Mel (Kevin Zegers) and his gang knock on their door, demanding half of all of their supplies “or else”. Predictably, Madison says no; something we’ve already seen on the real Walking Dead show with Negan and Rick Grimes. As if creativity wasn’t limited enough, Mel turns out to be a two-bit Negan clone with zero personality and even less menace. What follows is a convoluted series of time jumps juxtaposing the causes of “THEN” with the effects of “NOW” but without a coherent or progressive storyline; just a chain of coincidences and betrayals sloppily stitched together leading to one of the slowest (literally in slow-motion!) and most melodramatic mid-season finales in TV history.

But don’t worry, because the meandering second half of the season has flying zombies. Seriously. A powerful (too powerful) rainstorm begins devastating the region while somehow catapulting the dead into the air. (And it looks as stupid as it sounds.) This means our “heroes” are separated from one another and forced to find new ways of surviving. Thankfully, the original cast takes a backseat, and the far superior new characters (particularly Morgan) rise up to carry the series forward. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, though. The returning characters – Madison, Nick, Alicia, Strand (Colman Domingo), and Luciana (Danay Garcia) – are just as annoying and useless as ever, maybe even more so. Jim (Aaron Stanford), one of the new characters, makes beer, likes beer, and has devoted his entire life to beer (#WeGetIt). Naomi (Jenna Elfman), another new character, is interesting when she’s secretive and running from something, but duller than a box of rocks after she opens up about it. Althea’s obsessive video interviews and motherly protection of her precious interview tapes borders on tongue-in-cheek. And Crazy Martha (Tonya Pinkins), this season’s belated main villain, whose anti-help ideology drives her to make people strong by trying to kill them every chance she gets, comes off as more of a one-note nuisance, with no sense of danger whatsoever whenever she shows up.

Fear the Walking Dead has previously taken place years earlier in the timeline than The Walking Dead. But now all of a sudden they’ve lined up both shows chronologically. It’s a guarded strategy, as if the showrunners are admitting their original idea for Fear wasn’t strong enough on its own. It’s also a giant red flag that the end may be near for this mediocre-at-best spin-off. But the final few episodes put Morgan front-and-center, the only character besides Rick Grimes to have lasted since the very first episode. This season is his story, and by association, his TV show now, demonstrated by his taking command in this season’s final episode. This show may still be pockmarked with flaws in each and every episode, and the talentless writing is more bitter than ever, but like bad food that’s now gone cold, it’s somewhat easier to forget that it was never good in the first place.

2 out of 5