Justin Harrison, Author at The Spool | The Spool

Justin Harrison, Author at The Spool

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off what’s come before in favor of dawning something new and wonderful

The ScienceSaru-produced animated series rebuilds rather than retells Bryan Lee O'Malley's beloved comic.

Scattered charm can’t make Inspector Sun shine

A kid-friendly detective movie in the spirit of the classics would be great. Inspector Sun tries but sadly never manages to spin the right web...

When William Friedkin cuts to the heart of The Hunted, it shines

Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio del Toro's climactic duel is a stupendous piece of filmmaking in a good film that could have been great with some judicious paring.

Unraveling pop-culture one thread at a time

The Spool is an irreverent, informative source for film and television coverage, focused on diverse, thoughtful opinions that seek out a greater understanding of the media we love.

Fantastic Fest 2023

Fantastic Fest 2023: Baby Assassins 2 Babies offers sublime action and glorious goofiness

Stuntwoman Saori Izawa anchors an often hysterical, occasionally pointed action comedy about surviving the soul-killing grind of modern work—whether mascotting or assassination. Yugo Sakamoto’s Baby..

Sorcerer thrills thanks to Friedkin’s wizardly control of tone

Friedkin's classic thriller frays viewers' nerves without relying on bombast.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter raises solid B horror from the grave

Javier Botet skillfully embodies a cunning Orlokian Dracula in André Øvredal's enjoyably vicious horrorshow.

Kill List disturbs thanks to Wheatley’s merciless anti-romanticism

A disaffected hitman and his best pal descend into an entirely different sort of hell in the director/writer’s genre-hopping nightmare.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem’s characters and mood triumph over a wobbly script

The latest incarnation of Eastman and Laird’s adolescent terrapin martial artists are wonderful characters. Watching them in action is a ball. Unfortunately, the rest of the flick does not quite match them.

Small Soldiers at 25: Design for Living

Joe Dante's 1998 teens n' toy creatures v killer toy commandos flick boasts marvelous character and design work for its titular playthings, which in turn lead to thoughtful observations on toymaking.

The Flash wastes Michael Keaton, Sasha Calle, and the audience’s time

It's a shallow, sour, bizarrely mean cape flick that prioritizes tacky, hollow nostalgia-baiting over fine work from its co-stars.

Shin Kamen Rider skillfully splices love, thrills, and wisdom into a tremendous whole

The fourth installment of Hideaki Anno's "Shin" project is brainy, moving, and marvelously idiosyncratic. It's my favorite film of 2023 so far.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse spins a stunning web

Miles Morales' second venture into the multiverse is thrilling, thematically dense, and above all else, a GORGEOUS work of animation.

Filmmaker of the Month: Baz Luhrmann

Australia's wild blockbuster king claims May as The Spool's Filmmaker of the Month. Join us all you, Children of the Revolution!

Suzume delivers fantastic keyed-in dramedy

Master animator Makoto Shinkai deftly wields farce and the open road alike in a striking coming-of-age adventure anchored by sumptuous animation and a compelling heroine.

Air boasts bounce and a bit of bite

Ben Affleck's Air Jordan dramedy is a lot of fun—and welcomely sharp.

65 needed more meat on its dinosaur bones

Adam Driver's a terrific action survivor, and there are some fun thrills, but poor construction and scriptwork drag this creature feature into the tarpits.

Creed III rivals Ryan Coogler’s Creed in quality

Michael B. Jordan makes a strong directorial debut with an intimate, thrilling tale of brotherhood gone bitter—and a stupendous action climax.

Cocaine Bear is a crack-up, thanks to its killer ensemble

Elizabeth Banks does fun work with the semi-historical drugged-out Ursus americanus but truly shines with the low-key crime dramedy side of the story.

Marlowe aims big but ends up sleepy

Neil Jordan and Liam Neeson's take on Raymond Chandler's PI occasionally offers a lovely spark, but never enough that bidding it farewell is a sad affair.

JUNG_E sends its late star off in melancholy science fiction style

Train to Busan's Yeon Sang-ho crafts a moving nearish-future dystopian actioner anchored by an excellent final performance from late actor Kang Soo-yeon.

Vesper thoughtfully traverses a moody post-apocalypse

Young star Raffiella Chapman acquits herself well as a teenage scientist and survivor in a world whose beauty moves hand in hand with viciousness.

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