CITADEL

Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Richard Madden

CITADEL (2023 - 2026 TV series/Amazon Prime). 

A spy organization called Citadel has essentially been wiped out by a criminal cartel called Manticore. Citadel agents, including Mason Kane (Richard Madden of Eternals) and Nadia Sinh (Priyanka Chopra Jonas), have had their minds wiped and been given new identities. Mason was married to Nadia, but in his new identity is married to Abby (Ashleigh Cummings). The Citadel agents practically kill each other until their original identities are brought back via a special injection. Meanwhile Bernard Orlick (Stanley Tucci), is doing his best to gather all of the surviving Citadel agents together to take on Manticore, which still wants to exterminate them all. At the end of the first season, Mason discovers that the head of Manticore is his own mother, Dahlia (Lesley Manville). 

Stanley Tucci

In the second season, which didn't come out until nearly three years after the first, the main storyline deals with attempts to (supposedly) stop the assassination of the Russian president, so that the "right" people can employ his state-of-the-art spy satellites. The villain in this is Paulo Braga (Gabriel Leone), who plans to send an assassin outfitted with a chip in the brain that can control a person's mind. Mason winds up in an uncomfortable alliance with his evil mother. Mason and Nadia are also enveloped in a real love-hate relationship while he tries to deal with his feelings for both Nadia and Abby (both women have young daughters with Mason).

Citadel could be written off as a confusing mess if it weren't for the fact that it has many exciting and suspenseful moments and is very well acted, especially by Tucci and Leone. Reportedly the budget for this show, one of the most expensive ever made, was over 300 million, and much of it shows in the lavish look of the globe-hopping series. At times the ultra-fast editing is a little too frenetic, however, so you can't always follow who's beating up whom, although the fight scenes are generally well-choreographed (if not as well as in those old cliffhanger serials). Entertaining enough while you're watching it, you will probably forget Citadel the moment you turn if off -- it's all stuff and nonsense. Although it tries in some ways to ape the Tom Cruise Mission: Impossible films, it is not on the same level. By the time of the final season two episode, two of the leads have been written out of the program. 

Verdict: Somehow I doubt that there will be a third season of Citadel, a modern-day take on The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (read Citadel for UNCLE and Manticore for THRUSH). **3/4. 

THE PRIMEVALS

The Yeti on the rampage!

THE PRIMEVALS (1994/2023). Director: David Allen. 

A team which includes Matt Connor (Richard Joseph Paul), guide Siku (Tai Thai), and Dr. Claire Collier (Juliet Mills) goes to the Himalayas to see if they can catch a living yeti (or abominable snowman) after a dead one is exhibited on a college campus. They eventually find themselves in a lush hidden valley where there is not only an alien spaceship, but a race of lizard men who try to pit intruders against the yeti in an arena. The yeti, who is the size of King Kong, seems to be controlled by the nasty lizards ... 

Juliet Mills and Richard Joseph Paul

Most of The Primevals was actually shot in 1994 but not completed for decades. The director, a stop-motion specialist named David Allen, died in 1999 and the rest of the animated footage was done years later. The problem with the movie is that despite all of the fantastic elements, it has no real atmosphere and comes off like a cheap made-for-cable production. The FX work is good, however, the performances are more than adequate, and Richard Band's musical score is a plus. 

Verdict: For fans of stop-motion animation who have always wanted to see this film. **1/2.

THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER

Dracula!

THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER (2023). Director: Andre Ovredal.

Taking its cue from references in Bram Stoker's classic novel "Dracula," Demeter examines what happens on that ship when Dracula, inside a box filled with Transylvanian dirt, is transported to London, feeding on the crew all the while. This is certainly a neat idea for a movie, but the execution is something else again. What could have worked as a 30 or 60 minute TV show is stretched out to two hours, and the movie is s l o w www. 

Corey Hawkins

This is unfortunate, as Last Voyage of the Demeter boasts impressive scenic design and some excellent performances, especially from lead Corey Hawkins as the black ship's doctor (no, this character does not appear in Stoker's novel), Liam Cunningham as the captain planning on retirement, and little Woody Norman as the ill-fated cabin boy, Toby, although the entire cast is effective. Dracula himself is depicted in his half-human, half-bat stage with wings and grinning maw. He shows up way too late in the game. The film is on occasion illogical and often underlit. The closing theme music by Bear McCreary has the energy that is completely lacking from the movie itself. 

Verdict: Good idea pretty much frittered away. **1/2. 

AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM

Jason Momoa as Aquaman

AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM (2023). Director: James Wan. 

In this sequel to Aquaman, Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) has to team up with his brother, Orm (Patrick Wilson), getting him out of a horrible prison, when the threat of Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) again rears its head. Manta -- who blames Aquaman for his father's death and basically wants to hold everyone responsible -- finds an ancient trident and enters into an unholy alliance with a demonic figure, Cartex, from a lost kingdom called Necrus. Manta has also discovered an ancient fuel which long-ago Atlanteans realized was too dangerous, and now it is threatening the entire world, creating mutations such as giant bugs and man-eating plants, due to radiation. With the help of a nerdy scientist, Dr. Shin (Randall Park), the two brothers attempt to stop Manta before he can destroy Earth, both the surface world and the world beneath the waves.  

Black Manta

Atlantis has not yet revealed itself to the surface world at the beginning of the film, and most of the Atlantean council want to eradicate it, just as Orm does. Aquaman, of course, mightily objects to this. He does have other allies, however, including his mother, Atlanna (Nicole Kidman), wife Mera (Amber Heard), and his father Tom (Temuera Morrison), as well as some strange undersea creatures, many of which hang out in a sunken citadel full of odd talking fish-people. Then there's Topo, the cephalopod, a genetically-engineered octopus or squid who showed up now and then in the old Aquaman comics stories. There's also an adorable little baby boy, child of Arthur and Mera, who is kidnapped by Black Manta (who actually killed him in the comics, but not in the film). 

Brothers bond: Wilson and Momoa

One problem with the film -- for me at least -- is that in this Aquaman follows in the footsteps of Marvel's Thor and has been turned into a dopey comic figure. While the FX and photography are all first-rate, and the film is undeniably colorful, others have noted that it seems like a hodge podge of old ideas and different movies, turning into a mere empty spectacle that is good to look at, modestly entertaining, and ultimately forgettable. Hopefully I'm not giving too much away when I reveal that the two brothers are reunited and Atlantis reveals itself to the world at large in the finale. One hopes this doesn't mean there will be a third Aquaman movie.

Verdict: Okay if you're in a silly mood. **1/4. 

ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA

Jonathan Majors as Kang

ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA (2023). Director: Peyton Reed. 

Ant-Man/Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), his mentor Henry Pym (Michael Douglas), Pym's wife Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer), their daughter Hope/the Wasp (Evangeline Lilly) and Lang's daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton) are pulled into the weird microscopic quantum zone that Janet escaped from (in Ant-Man and the Wasp) when Cassie uses a device to explore that world without actually entering it. Unfortunately, a dictator named Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors) is alerted to this signal because he ultimately wants to escape from the zone, which he has taken over. Lang's adversary from the first Ant-Man, Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) has been turned into the killing machine MODOK, which is basically an enormous head in a flying chair with weaponry. Will the combined efforts of the ant team be enough to stop someone as deadly and powerful as Kang?

Corey Stoll as big-headed MODOK

Quantumania is certainly colorful and there are, as usual, some wonderful effects, but the whole thing is a strange combination of the grim and the campy, a combination that generally doesn't work that well. Ant-Man himself seems almost lost in the miasma with not only the other characters to contend with but all of the weird figures of the Quantum Zone as well, one of which is very well-played by Bill Murray. Although Kang at first does not come off like the character in Marvel comics -- and not just because of the racial switch -- eventually Jonathan Majors is quite impressive as an alternate Kang -- he is a wonderful actor who gives the most notable performance in the film. He wisely underplays through most of the movie, saving his fiery outbursts for the climax. 

Lilly, Rudd, Newton

There is some inventive stuff in the Quantum Zone, such as living buildings that walk around on giant legs, and an aircraft whose controls are also alive, exuding funnels which engulf Pym's arms so he can fly the plane. The performances are all good, although the character of Cassie is irritating and unnecessary. The score is full of those majestic, triumphant tones that ring hollow in a film that is rather silly all told. Still, older children may find it entertaining. 

Verdict: A far cry from those charming old Ant-Man stories in Tales to Astonish. **1/4. 

FINAL SUMMER

The killer on the loose!

FINAL SUMMER (2023). Written, directed and produced by John Isberg. 

A young boy is somehow accidentally killed on the last day of summer camp, and counselor Lexi (Jenna Kohn), whose younger brother was run over years ago, feels responsible (as well she should). Not much later a man wearing a skull mask and carrying an ax, begins murdering the other counselors at Camp Silver Lake. Could it be the strange Warren Copper (Robert Gerard Anderson), the camp handyman, whose grandson was killed? A variety of young men and women try to survive while the maniac stalks them and the suspense mounts ... 

Jenna Kohn as Lexi

As Friday the 13th clones go, Final Summer is by no means terrible. The acting is generally good, there are some genuinely tense sequences, and the flick boasts some excellent, moody cinematography (also by director John Isberg). Isberg's screenplay, however, lets the movie -- and movie-goer -- down, as he tries to be too clever, perhaps in hopes of coming out with a sequel. There are too many illogical and confusing moments and anti-climaxes, and I don't know what the hell the killer's motivation was when the ultimate architect behind the murders is revealed (a homage to the original Friday). It is also never explained why the likable Peter (well-played by Wyatt Taber) is captured instead of killed, aside from the fact that the audience may be rooting for him. The ending is way too dragged out. One assumes nobody uses a cell phone because the film takes place in 1991, before their widespread use. While there is plenty of violence, gore geeks will be disappointed that the movie is never bloody disgusting. Thom Mathews, who briefly plays Sheriff Parmer, was Tommy Jarvis in Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives. 

Verdict: Slasher flick just misses. **1/2. 

INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY

Indiana Jones in flashback

INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY (2023). Director: James Mangold. 

Professor "Indiana" Jones (Harrison Ford) is retiring when who should show up but his god-daughter, Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), who hopes that he didn't keep his promise to her father to dispose of an ancient relic that is supposed to be able to mess with the time-space continuum-- because she wants it -- badly. Someone else who wants it is an old adversary of Jones' named Dr. Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), a Nazi who wants to kill Hitler back in the past because in his opinion the German leader screwed up so badly. Helena seems quite amoral, although she may have other reasons for wanting the "Dial of Destiny" aside from avarice. As the good guys and bad guys go through car chases and gun fights in various locations, Indiana and the others do indeed wind up back in time -- although not exactly in the decade that Voller might have wished for. 

Indy at 81

The cast is enthusiastic, James Mangold's direction seems a bit better than Spielberg's on the last Indiana Jones film, and the plot is a little more interesting than the last time, although this can't be called any kind of classic. In flashback scenes during which Jones first meets Voller, Ford's face is digitally made young again through artificial intelligence -- it's quite effective if a little weird. Ford was actually eighty-one when he made this film and although he doesn't look too much younger, he hasn't lost any of his charisma and screen presence. The action sequences are generally well-done -- a business with eels near a wreck in the ocean falls flat, however -- and the underground cavern scenes are especially convincing. 

Verdict: Fun enough if you're not too demanding. **3/4. 

MR. MONK'S LAST CASE: A MONK MOVIE

Tony Shalhoub and James Purefoy

MR. MONK'S LAST CASE: A MONK MOVIE (2023 telefilm). Director: Randy Zisk. 

Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub) comes out of retirement to investigate when his stepdaughter Molly's (Caitlin McGee) fiance, Griffin (Auston Scott), dies in a bungee jumping accident. Molly is convinced that Rick Eden (James Purefoy of Injustice), an Elon Musk-type who runs a vast Amazon-style corporation, is somehow behind the man's death and possibly others. In fact Griffin was sure that Eden had murdered his late business partner and was attempting to get some solid information when he died. 

Tony Shalhoub and Caitlin McGee

It's a delight to see Monk again, although some of the fun is vitiated by the fact that Adrian spends much of the movie contemplating suicide, and the recurring appearances by his late wife, Trudy, become tiresome (in fact the sentimental after-life sequences, meant to be poignant, come dangerously close to being sappy). At least Shalhoub is in good trim, and it's a pleasure to see Natalie (Traylor Howard), Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine) and Randy (Jason Gray-Stanford) again. James Purefoy makes a sexy and compelling adversary as well, liming the role of a narcissistic sociopath with chilling understatement. The solution to this is quite clever as well. As usual, some of the grimmer aspects of the story don't quite jell with the light-hearted approach. 

Verdict: Despite some annoying aspects, this is a very good bet for Monk fans. ***. 

THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER

Two possessed girls

THE EXORICST: BELIEVER (2023).  Director: David Gordon Green. 

Two young girls -- white Katherine (Olivia O'Neill) and black Angela (Lidya Jewett) -- go missing for three days and are found with no memories of what happened. Afterwards they begin displaying strange, violent tendencies and acting oddly, things that point to demonic possession according to Katherine's church-going parents. However, Angela's father, Victor (Leslie Odom Jr.), does not believe in such nonsense but is finally driven to contact Chris McNeil (Ellen Burstyn), who wrote about her own experiences when her daughter, Regan (Linda Blair), was possessed and successfully exorcised. Regan hated the world-wide attention and cut off contact with her mother because of the book. Now Chris is determined to help these two new families who are facing an unfathomable evil. 

Frail but feisty: Ellen Burstyn

There have been so many Exorcist sequels and imitations that Believer comes off like a parody at times, and has little suspense. The protracted sequence that features dual exorcisms eventually becomes tedious -- the movie is almost two hours long --  and aside from an eye stabbing of one pivotal character, and an unfortunate incident involving a priest, there is so little action that you begin longing for even the slimiest of slasher flicks. Believer severely limits the thrills and chills and substitutes some minor character development and little else. The FX are okay and over-familiar. The performances of the young girls are fine, and Ann Dowd scores as Ann Brooks, a nurse with some experience with the occult. David Gordon Green also directed Halloween (2018). Linda Blair doesn't show up until the very end of the movie and has about one line. 

Verdict: Definitely won't make a believer out of you. **.

MEG 2: THE TRENCH

Statham vs the shark

MEG 2: THE TRENCH (2023). Director: Ben Wheatley.

Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) and several other researchers descend into a deep trench, run into a problem, and discover that an escape submersible has been sabotaged -- they're (temporarily) trapped on the bottom. Jonas and the others have two enemies to worry about: several more hungry megalodons from the depths, and their greedy business partners, who are willing to engage in murder to get what they want. The megs and a huge tentacled horror then emerge from the deep and head towards a vacation paradise called Fun Island. 

Jason Statham

I wasn't that impressed with The Meg, but I really hated Meg 2. Despite some good FX work and a couple of exciting scenes, the script is just awful, spending way too much time on hit men chasing after Jonas and his buddies and that sort of thing instead of concentrating on the monsters. Even the good guys in this don't seem to really care about anybody, including innocent victims being gobbled (although to be fair Taylor risks his life more than once to kill the monsters). It's also irritating that the character of Jiuming Zhang (Jing Wu), who starts out as a somewhat foolhardy but dignified individual, suddenly turns into comedy relief -- as do others -- later in the movie. The movie seems to have been cobbled together from different screenplays thrown into a blender, and is never especially cohesive. Meg 2 also can't make up its mind if it's a creature feature or a Jason Statham Action Movie. As for Statham's acting, I'll have to reserve my opinion until I see him in something halfway decent. 

Verdict: Pretty much a mess. *1/2. 

THE BOOGEYMAN (2023)

Chris Messina

THE BOOGEYMAN (2023). Director: Rob Savage.

After the death of his wife, psychiatrist Will Harper (Chris Messina) is left to raise two daughters. Sadie (Sophie Thatcher) is a teenager and her little sister, Sawyer (Vivien Lyra Blair), is scared of the dark and of monsters under her bed. A strange man, Lester Billings (David Dastmalchian), comes to Will's house to seek help, and tells him that all of his children were killed by some strange creature, then commits suicide. Sawyer is convinced that now this same monster is hiding in their house, waiting until dark, and neither Sophie nor her father believe her ... at first. Sadie goes to talk to Billings' widow, Rita (Marin Ireland), and finds she is living in squalor, hoping she can destroy the thing that wiped out her family. But even when Sophie and Will realize Rita is telling the truth, they many have a very hard time getting rid of this ancient demon.

Sophie Thatcher with Messina

Based on a short story by Stephen King, The Boogeyman is slick and well-acted, has some decent FX work and a couple of scary sequences, but suffers from its sheer overfamiliarity. You just get the feeling you've seen the whole thing before -- there is absolutely nothing distinctive, original, nor unique about the movie. It's well-done for what it is, but it just doesn't amount to much. Chris Messina is very appealing as the father, however, and Thatcher and Blair are quite effective.  

DEATH'S ROULETTE

DEATH'S ROULETTE (aka Uno para morir/2023). Director: Manolo Cardona. Amazon Prime. 

7 strangers wake up in a fabulous estate on an isolated island and compare stories as to how they were all abducted. A disembodied voice tells them that they must choose which of them is to die and must also follow certain rules. For one thing, no one can volunteer to make the ultimate sacrifice. If they don't make a choice, all of them will die. As the deadly "game" proceeds, the participants are allowed entry into different sections of the house and many personal facts about these individuals are revealed. The captives include a police detective named Simon (Manolo Cardona, who also directed), a drug-addicted stewardess named Teresa (Adriana Paz), a surgeon named Armando (Dagoberto Gama), and others. Simon theorizes that they may be the captives of a sociopath named Pablo, and as the film progresses their various connections to this man come to light. Will any of them survive? 

Presented on Amazon Prime, Death's Roulette is a Mexican thriller that holds the viewer in suspense, boasts some excellent performances (especially from Cardona), and works quite well until it becomes a little too tricky at the end. The picture has a classy look thanks to some striking sets and Luis Enrique Carrion's often stunning cinematography. There's not much originality to the script, however, but there are many good scenes and an exciting climax. This is another film that suggests that the victims are actually worse than the perpetrator, and the movie seems morally confused.  Cardona's direction is good and the dubbing is excellent.

Verdict: Entertaining and twisty if a bit too familiar and with loads of loose ends. **3/4. 

TOTALLY KILLER

TOTALLY KILLER (2023). Director: Nahnatchka Khan. On Amazon Prime.

35 years ago three 16-year-old girls were butchered by an unknown maniac eventually christened the "sweet 16" killer. Although one young lady, Pam (Julie Bowen), received a threatening note, she was spared -- until the killer shows up again in 2023 and kills her. Pam's grieving daughter, Jamie (Kiernan Shipka), seeks shelter in a time machine built by a friend when the killer pursues her, and inadvertently winds up back in the past on the very day the first murder is to occur. She decides to do everything she can to not only save her mother from her ultimate fate, but save the other girls as well. But it won't be easy, as her teenage mother (Olivia Holt) and her friends are basically all "mean girls." She also finds out that events are not unfolding exactly as they did in the past, meaning no one is safe ...

While I could have done without the film's flippant approach -- obviously trying to come off like a Scream movie -- I must say that the screenplay has some inventive and clever aspects to it. There's a very good sequence dealing with a "Quantum Drop" spaceship ride in the carnival, and more than one good twist. The identity of the killer is a complete surprise but there are still a couple of surprises even after the maniac, who actually has a solid motive, is unmasked. However, haven't we all had enough of mean girls and dumb jocks in horror movies? Shipka and the rest of the cast go through their paces competently. There are frequent references to Back to the Future. 

Verdict: Despite the sillier aspects, this is a decent time-travel slasher movie. ***. 

B MOVIE NIGHTMARE: THE BOOK

B MOVIE NIGHTMARE: B Movies and Genre Films from Monsters to Spies. William Schoell.

Here it is! My first collection of reviews taken not from this blog, but from GREAT OLD MOVIES -- these reviews were originally posted many years ago. There are sections on horror films; sci fi films; movies of intrigue and suspense, including film noir; cliffhanger serials; monster movies; B movie series (Crime Doctor, Nancy Drew etc.); TV shows; exploitation films (admittedly the shortest section in the book); spies; and Alfred Hitchcock. Admittedly, Hitch rarely made a "B" movie but the book, like this blog, also covers genre movies from A to Z. The films are listed in chronological order in each section, and there are movie stills as well. Available in the following formats: Kindle, trade paperback, and hardcover. You can buy this book on Amazon.

65

Adam Driver pursued by dinosaur

65 (2023). Written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods.

65 million years ago a spaceship from the Planet Somaris -- which seems exactly like Earth -- is hit by the first piece of a huge asteroid and crash lands in two pieces on our planet in the prehistoric era. The only survivors are the pilot, Mills (Adam Driver), and a little girl named Koa (Ariana Greenblatt), whose parents are among the lost. Mills had a young daughter, Nevine (Chloe Coleman), who died while he was out in space. Half of the spaceship has landed on top of a mountain, and Mills and Koa have to make their way through a hostile landscape (somewhat) filled with dinosaurs in order to find their way home.

Adam Driver

65 engendered serious hatred in  a lot of viewers, probably because it is less of a dinosaur movie than it is a survival movie with a few dinosaurs thrown in. Admittedly these dinosaurs -- precious few of them considering this is the prehistoric era -- look great and the FX work in the film is excellent. But there isn't much of a story here, and the two characters can't even converse because only one of them speaks English (or an alien version of it?) It's actually rather odd that in spite of the close calls that our twosome have to endure throughout the movie -- cave-ins, quicksand, hungry raptors, the meteor that killed off the dinosaurs, and so on -- the film is so blah and even a bit dull. It doesn't help that there isn't enough back story and the whole premise is like something out of an old comic book. The acting is fine, however, although if star Adam Driver were hoping for a tremendous hit he must have been disappointed. The various attempts at pathos don't really work, either. 

Verdict: If you want dinosaurs there are better places to visit. **1/2.

SHAZAM! FURY OF THE GODS

Zachary Levi as Shazam

SHAZAM: FURY OF THE GODS (2023). Director: David F. Sandberg.

Two goddesses, Hespera (Helen Mirren) and Kalypso (Lucy Liu), are furious that Billy Batson (Asher Angel) was given the power that they feel rightfully belonged to their father, Atlas, and hence to them. They cause havoc in a museum in Greece, turning several tourists to stone, and shattering the likable museum guide to pieces. (Leaning of this, our heroes don't seem as appalled as they should be, and there is no talk of finding out if the victims' rock-like state can be reversed.) A third sister, Anthea (Rachel Zegler), is kinder and gentler and bonds with Billy's brother, Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer) and his super-hero alter ego (Adam Brody). Turning into his own super-hero counterpart, now christened Shazam (Zachary Levi) instead of Captain Marvel (for copyright reasons), Billy Batson gathers together the other children in his family, and they transform into their super-powered counterparts in order to take on not only Hespera and Kalypso, but a host of demonic creatures and a huge, malevolent dragon named Ladon.

Mortgage payment? Helen Mirren and Lucy Lui

This sequel to Shazam, which itself was no world-beater, is a cut below the original. Although Billy Batson is now nearly 18, when he switches to Shazam he acts much more childish and nerdy than he does as himself. Zachary Levi gives an adept-enough comic performance, but while the Captain Marvel stories of the 40s were pretty silly, there's no reason to make this modern movie quite so ridiculous. (The far superior Black Adam was cut from the same universe more or less but it rarely descends into camp. Here's hoping that Shazam does not join the Justice Society!) Helen Mirren and Lucy Lui, especially the former, give excellent performances (as does Rachel Zegler as their sister), but one has to wonder why an actress of Mirren's stature chose to appear in this shit. A mortgage coming due?

Ladon the dragon has no personality

Another problem with the movie is that the action sequences are not put together that well, the cinematography is disappointing (there isn't one single strikingly composed shot), and even the over-familiar special effects fail to impress -- you've seen it all before, and better. The movie is full of phony sentimentality -- so much hugging and crying while the original victims are completely forgotten. Shazam! Fury of the Gods wears out its welcome about halfway through -- you just wait for the damn thing to end.

Verdict: How much silliness can you stand. *1/2. 

SCREAM VI

SCREAM VI (2023). Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. 

A lovely young woman is butchered in an alleyway outside a trendy restaurant in Manhattan, but the killer takes off his ghostface mask for the audience to see. Is this a radical change in the Scream franchise formula, will we know who the killer is from the beginning of the film? No, because this psycho is dispatched with by someone else, and then it's anybody's guess as to who's slicing and dicing up anyone who gets in the way of killing heroine Samantha Carpenter (Melissa Barrera) and her little sister, Tara (Jenna Ortega), who were also major characters in the last Scream installment. They and their friends who survived the massacre of the last film have moved to New York City, where of course no one ever gets murdered. But someone is still out to get them. 

Who is Ghostface this time?

Scream VI is slick, effective slasher film material which keeps you in suspense, keeps you guessing, and has you wondering not only who the killer is but which of the characters -- including the "legacy" ones such as reporter Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) -- will survive the latest rampage of the masked Ghostface killer. If you're looking for anything else aside from some spurts of blood and excitement, you won't find it, but the flick is quite entertaining.

Some cast members of Scream VI

There are a couple of stand-out sequences, such as one involving a few cast members trying to escape the slasher by climbing on a precarious ladder that spans across and high above an alleyway. Then there's a creepy scene on the subway, and a climax that takes place in an abandoned movie theater that's been turned into a shrine to the Stab movies-within-a-movie. The acting from a large cast is all professional, although no one will be taking home any Oscars. The trouble with leading lady Barrera is that she just isn't that distinctive. This is better than the last Scream, which had the same two directors.  

Verdict: There's life in the Scream franchise after all, although this may be the last hurrah. *** 

Listen to THE DRAGON

For those who prefer listening to reading, my vintage horror novel THE DRAGON is now available from AUDIBLE on Amazon; from Encyclopocalypse Publishers. The book is read beautifully by Jeffrey S. Robinson. Photographer Eddie Drake and various other characters confront their own personal demons -- Eddie's wife was murdered by thugs and he fears he may develop an unbalanced perspective on minorities -- even as they face a monstrous force inside a mesa they are exploring, a force that causes gruesome death and inexplicable havoc.

THE DRAGON is also available in mass market paperback and trade paperback formats from Encyclopocalypse, and as an e-book from Cemetery Dance publishers. All available on Amazon. 

M3GAN

M3gan the robotic doll

M3GAN (2023). Director: Gerard Johnstone.

After young Cady (Violet McGraw) loses her parents in a car accident, she comes to live with her Aunt Gemma (Allison Williams). Gemma is a near-genius who comes up with ideas for expensive new toys, and her latest idea is M3gan (Amie Donald), which stands for Model 3 Generative Android. Gemma brings the life-size "doll" home to bond with Cady and see if there are any flaws before putting it to market, even as her boss David (Ronny Chieng) excitedly prepares for a massive launch. M3gan is far more than a mere doll, as she can think and reason and carry on real conversations, as well as move about whenever and wherever she wants to. A boy's death at a camp attended by both Cady and M3gan creates some suspicions in Gemma, and then her annoying neighbor is also found dead. Is M3gan taking her job to protect Cady a little too seriously?

McGraw, Donald, Williams

M3gan, possibly an attempt to create another horror franchise along the lines of Chucky, is basically an entertaining moron movie and nothing more. (It is also a bit reminiscent of Deadly Friend.) The acting is good, the pace fairly swift, and the violence -- including a nasty boy having his ear torn off and some sword slayings -- comes in just when you expect it to. Despite some interesting notions as regards the android, and even a discussion of the moral ramifications of same, the film has a familiar feel to it. You may think you've seen it all before and you basically have. 

Verdict: Fun enough for the undiscriminating, but it doesn't really resonate. **1/2.