Free Fire
The plot of Free Fire, in many ways, could not be more straightforward. A mix of thugs, gun runners, and revolutionaries meet up to exchange weapons in a Boston warehouse in the 1970s. Things go wrong in a hurry. Continue Reading →
The plot of Free Fire, in many ways, could not be more straightforward. A mix of thugs, gun runners, and revolutionaries meet up to exchange weapons in a Boston warehouse in the 1970s. Things go wrong in a hurry. Continue Reading →
Don’t Worry Darling, director Olivia Wilde’s latest film, is neither a masterpiece nor a disaster. Based on the amount of behind the scenes drama that has surrounded the entire production filming to promotion, this review will surely come as a disappointment to some. But if not for the gossip about the filming of the movie and the celebrities involved, this deeply forgettable film would probably fade from the public eye in no time at all. Continue Reading →
“You’ve seen one you seen them all," says the dastardly movie director from beyond the grave. It’s the recently murdered Leo Köpernick (Adrien Brody), telling us early in the film about how stale the murder mystery genre was even by the 1950s, when See How They Run takes place. It’s also a warning to the audience that this movie will not be adding anything new, revelatory, or exciting to whodunnit cinema. Everything here has been done before, and better. Continue Reading →
It’s been over a year since we saw Cassie Bowden (Kaley Cuoco) at the beginning of her sobriety, coming to terms with how the trauma and legacies of her childhood shaped her. As season two begins, we get the rundown on how that’s been going via her AA sharing. Now based in Los Angeles, Cassie is healthy, in a relationship with smoking hot photographer Marco (Santiago Cabrera). She's also still working as an international first-class flight attendant with an unspecified side hustle that definitely isn’t working with the CIA, wink. Continue Reading →
The opening shot of Matt Reeves' The Batman evokes, if nothing else, the opening shot of Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation: we peer, ominously, through the binoculars of an unseen voyeur, looking at a young boy in a red ninja outfit playing with his father in a Gotham penthouse. While this isn't a flashback to young Bruce Wayne -- rather, we see Gotham's tough-on-crime Mayor Mitchell and his soon-to-be-orphaned boy -- the evocation is undeniable. By the time The Batman's three hours whiz past you, we'll have a similarly probing look into Bruce Wayne himself: what he prioritizes, what drives him, what he thinks he's doing for the city as Batman and what he realizes he should be doing. And it's that texture, that sense of interiority, that makes The Batman one of the best films of the year thus far, and one of the most fascinating cinematic adventures the character has to offer. Continue Reading →
Some of the best thrillers have to do with the home. Night House, The Invisible Man, and series like Haunting of Bly Manor and American Horror Story tap into that vein of particular terror that comes with having your safety, your shelter violated. It quite literally hits you where you live. Continue Reading →
When Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel hit shelves in 2014, it was a standout in science-fiction. HBO’s adaptation can’t help but hit differently in 2021. It’s a post-apocalyptic tale about what’s left of the world after a deadly flu ravages the populace. The parallels to current events are glaringly obvious. Continue Reading →
While we spent a lot of time debating whether or not “elevated horror” is a real thing or just something film snobs made up so they didn’t have to be embarrassed about liking a scary movie, gore fell to the wayside. There was a period when we weren’t getting an acceptable amount of blood and guts, in favor of understated chills and psychological trauma. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, of course, but it’s left something lacking in the genre. With Nia DaCosta’s take on Candyman and the upcoming Halloween Kills, however, it looks like old-fashioned look-between-the-fingers horror is back in all its splattery glory. Add to that list James Wan’s Malignant, often very silly, but always with a self-aware wink at the audience, with a body count that will satisfy even the most jaded horror fans. Continue Reading →
Hugh Jackman chases down the ghost of Rebecca Ferguson through futuristic memory tech in Lisa Joy's ponderous, limp tech-noir pastiche. It would only be frustrating to recount exactly how many opportunities writer-director Lisa Joy (Westworld) throws away in her desperate effort to please in Warner Bros.’ latest, Reminiscence. It’s not just that Joy fails to follow through on the noir tropes she so clearly wants to pay homage to while attempting to subvert, or a cast that features Thandiwe Newton and Hugh Jackman as jaded private gumshoes in a dystopian Miami, not to mention the near-perfect timing of this movie’s release. Noirs didn’t just come into their own in the years around WWII: some of the best examples of the genre came in the wreckage after, as people still flailing in the trauma of the Great Depression and genocide wondered what the hell was next in a new era of peace and prosperity that some found just as terrifying as what preceded it. Continue Reading →
Within the opening scene of The White Lotus, it’s revealed that someone will die at some point during the show. But the question of who that someone is and how will they die isn’t really the central plot, as the six-part miniseries is much more interested in the characters and their fascinating dynamics than the mysteries and all the events leading up to the impending death. Continue Reading →
Several movies into the Conjuring universe, we’ve mostly separated the real life grifters Ed and Lorraine Warren from the America’s Mom and Dad version of them on screen. If the movies work, it’s because stars Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga bring warmth and gravitas to them. They sell the hell out of the bullshit their characters are peddling, whereas the real-life Warrens often came off as prickly and defensive in interviews, offended that anyone would dare to question their dubious authority. Wilson and Farmiga can only do so much, however, and it’s not enough to save The Conjuring: the Devil Made Me Do It, a by-the-numbers snooze that trades in haunted house horror for a supernatural police procedural. Continue Reading →
Mare of Easttown may at times feel like it’s kicking a dead horse. It’s a grammatically perfect post-Cardinal Bernard Law, cold-case-comes-alive thriller with rich performances by its entire cast. Yet for a story about a maverick detective purporting to be about more than crime, it follows surprisingly predictable beats, leaving little room for illuminating nuance. Continue Reading →
For the horror genre, April 15, 2011, marked a handful of notable dates. On one hand, it was the 15th anniversary of when Scream started filming, starting with the 11-minute sequence in which an onscreen Drew Barrymore, thought by the masses to be the star, was eviscerated in the name of her killers' pop culture fetish. The movie not only reintroduced the slasher film back into the mainstream, but it also brought back one of its maestros. Of course, that'd be Wes Craven. Continue Reading →
One of the major concerns people have before cutting the cord is potentially losing access to live sports. But the great thing about live TV streaming services is that you never lose that access. Minus the contracts and complications of cable, these streaming services connect you to a host of live channels, including ESPN. So ... How to Watch ESPN With A Free Trial
To date, Paramount Network has only two original shows on air right now: Yellowstone and Bar Rescue. The network seems to have its hands full with on-demand streaming service Paramount+, which is constantly stacked with a fresh supply of new shows. But Yellowstone and Bar Rescue are so sturdy and expansive that the network doesn’t ... How to Watch Paramount Network With a Free Trial
Previously “Women’s Entertainment,” We TV has since rebranded to accurately reflect its name and be a more inclusive lifestyle channel. It’s home to addictive reality gems like Bold and Bougie, Bridezillas, Marriage Boot Camp, and The Untold Stories of Hip Hop. And when it’s not airing original titles, it has on syndicated shows like 9-1-1, ... How to Watch WE TV With a Free Trial
For many sports fans, TNT is a non-negotiable. It broadcasts NBA, MLB, NHL, college basketball, and All Elite Wrestling matches. And, as a bonus, it also has reruns of shows like Supernatural, Charmed, and NCIS, as well as films like The Avengers, Dune, and Justice League. But while TNT used to be a cable staple, ... How to Watch TNT Sports With A Free Trial
It’s no coincidence that many of today’s biggest comedians found their footing on Comedy Central: the channel is a bastion of emerging comic talents. It served as a playground for people like Nathan Fielder (Fielder For You), Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson (Broad City), Tim Robinson (Detroiters), and Dave Chappelle (Chappelle’s Show) before they shot ... How to Watch Comedy Central With a Free Trial
You’d be hard-pressed to find a bad show airing on FX. The channel has made a name for itself as a bastion of high-brow TV, along with HBO and AMC. It’s produced shows like Atlanta, Fargo, The Americans, Archer, and more recently, Shogun. But because it’s owned by Disney, it still airs several blockbusters in ... How to Watch FX With a Free Trial
If you’re a fan of true crime and insider docu-shows like The First 48 and Court Cam, then you’re probably already familiar with A&E. The cable channel is home to other reality TV gems like Hoarders, Duck Dynasty, and Storage Wars (they’ve moved on to spin-offs like Road Wars, Customer Wars, and Prison Wars now). ... How to Watch A&E With A Free Trial
From classics like Unplugged, Cribs, Jersey Shore, and Catfish to newer favorites like RuPaul’s Drag Race (and Untucked!) and Love & Hip Hop, MTV is still the place to be, if not for the latest in music and pop culture, then at least for solidly entertaining reality TV. Unlike before, you don’t actually need cable ... How to Watch MTV With a Free Trial
Comedy fans know Adult Swim is where it’s at. Home to shows like Rick and Morty, Robot Chicken, and The Eric Andre Show, the Cartoon Network programming block has become so big and successful that it’s practically overrun its home channel. It helps that it also shares rights to popular adult animation like Bob’s Burgers, ... How to Watch Adult Swim With a Free Trial
There are few things in the world more thrilling to women than a juicy true crime series. NBC seems to know that pretty well, hence the rebranding of The Oxygen Channel from light lifestyle fare to hardcore true crime. Here, you’ll find investigative shows like Cold Justice and Dateline, specials like Homicide for the Holidays, ... How to Watch Oxygen With a Free Trial
Sometimes, you can’t ask for anything more than funny and smart shows, which FXX has in spades. As the cable network home of The Simpsons, it airs new episodes of the show weekly, even dedicating an entire Sunday afternoon block to it. This is accompanied by shows like Futurama, King of the Hill, Family Guy, ... How to Watch FXX With a Free Trial
Much like HBO and AMC, FX always has at least one show on that has everyone talking. Right now, that’s Shogun and Fargo (please go see those now if you haven’t yet). But in the past, it’s also seen the rise of now-cult classics like American Horror Story, Atlanta, Sons of Anarchy, and It’s Always ... How to Get an FX Subscription Without Cable
As the (smaller) sister channel of ABC and The Disney Channel, Freeform is home to some pretty entertaining but still wholesome TV shows like Grown-ish (a spin-off of Black-ish), Chrissy & Dave Dine Out, and Young & Hungry. Some on-brand reruns also include shows like Boy Meets World, Switched at Birth, and The Secret Life ... How to Watch Freeform With a Free Trial
Nickelodeon has made a name for itself as a children’s channel, but late at night when the kids go to bed, it airs films and TV shows that even mom and dad can enjoy. The programming block, called Nick at Nite, begins at 8 in the evening (10 on Saturdays) and runs through 7 in ... How to Watch Nick at Nite With a Free Trial
When it comes to breaking news, few channels can match up to CNN. It has local, national, and international coverage down pat, not to mention it’s on 24/7 and hosted by some of the country’s most trusted journalists, including Anderson Cooper and Christiane Amanpour. In the past, CNN only came with expensive cable packages, but ... How to Get a CNN Subscription Without Cable
Ina Garten, Bobby Flay, Guy Fieri, Tiffany Derry…really, who’s doing it like The Food Network? The channel has been platforming some of the most recognizable chefs and their respective shows since 1993, and even in the streaming age, it shows no signs of stopping. I mean, you can watch YouTube and TikTok chefs all you ... How to Get Food Network Live Without Cable
Cartoon Network’s giant library of animated television series has been a great, diverse companion to generations of kids growing up. Originals like Powerpuff Girls, Dexter’s Laboratory, and Johnny Bravo brought tons of color to basic character tropes; while new age classics like Steven Universe and We Bare Bears explored softer moods to go with the ... How to Watch Cartoon Network with a Free Trial
Whether you just want to tune in to the most anticipated sporting event of the year (Puppy Bowl, of course) or you want a constant stream of shows like Lone Star Law, The Vet Life, and Coyote Peterson to keep your animal-loving heart company, then you probably know how vital it is to have Animal ... How to Watch Animal Planet With a Free Trial
Unlike most channels out there, The CW doesn’t cater to a specific niche; it’s a network that has a little something for everybody. It carries superhero shows like Superman & Lois, dramas like All American, magic shows like Penn & Teller, and comedies like Whose Line Is It Anyway? Because it has local affiliates scattered ... How to Get The CW Live Without Cable
If you’re looking for a good mix of serious true crime shows, hard-hitting documentaries, police procedurals, and vintage classics, then Sundance TV will be a fun addition to your channel lineup, if it’s not there already. It’s random enough to cater to different tastes, but its shows are, for the most part, addictive watches. Currently, ... How to Watch SundanceTV With a Free Trial
If you’ve put on the Travel Channel in the last decade or so, you’ll know it’s not actually the Travel Channel anymore, not really. Sure, it still occasionally airs gems like No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain and Hotel Impossible, but most of its time slots are now dedicated to supernatural and true crime shows. That ... How to Watch Travel With a Free Trial
Everyone knows that A&E is the go-to channel for all the wars. You know, Customer Wars, Storage Wars, Road Wars, Neighbor Wars, Parking Wars…But the cable channel is also home to other programs that take a closer look at our mundane but fascinating lives. Sometimes, they take a more criminal bent with shows like The ... How to Get an A&E Subscription Without Cable
Aimed at the next generation of Disney kids, Disney Junior offers countless fun and educational children’s programming. Whether it’s modern favorites like Sofia the First, Doc McStuffins, or Bluey; or staple Mickey Mouse shows such as Mickey Mouse Clubhouse; the Disney Junior line-up is perfect for young children’s active imaginations, as well as teaching them ... How to Watch Disney Junior with a Free Trial
Whether it’s a game show, a survival contest, or a race, nothing beats the the thrill of a competition. And what better way to tune into that thrill than by heading over to the Game Show Network, which is all rivalry 24/7. Unlike the olden days, you don’t need a cable connection to do this. ... How to Watch Game Show Network With a Free Trial