Lone Star Shark (Writ & Dir Brett Bentman), Film Review by Case Wright

Posted on July 28, 2026 by casewright

There is cocaine. There are shark movies. There are shark movies that appear to be written whilst on cocaine. Maybe the writer is a straight up teetotaler; in which case, he has no excuse for what he brought forth. Alex Magana is horrible, but you get what you signed up for: smiling woman- there’s a smiling woman. His movies are terrible, but they deliver- terrible terrible stories. Lone Star Shark was like watching a big box store of jumbled ideas with Great Value props.

This movie clocked at 65 minutes and had the following plot threads: relationship on the skids, mental illness, sibling suicide, computer hackers, random parable quoting evil people in suits, a ghost, repeated discussions of couples weekend day trip planning, and a paper mâché shark. There was nothing to indicate that there were even in Texas; so, that was not one of the many many plot threads. It also took near a third of their 65 minute runtime to get on the water. The water was a pond- a small pond. For some reason, they were docked on shore and you could see that from the camera angle, but they kept shouting how they had to swim across the “lake”. Why? Just get out and walk home. It’s not like the paper mâché shark that was basically a poorly made pinata (credit to Lisa for seeing that) could’ve followed them home.

I guess that I will stick to the shark plotline because the others were just a mess. There’s a paper mâché pinata shark in a pond that has a really hard time eating people. I think that the time on the water was – at most – 40 minutes. The movie had no idea what it was and the shark was really an add-on the many story lines that were like a bowl of mixed up spaghetti. There’s not a lot to say about this strange movie.

Shark Week Review: Shark Warning! (dir by Jimmy Gadd)

Posted on July 28, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

2024’s Shark Warning opens with two boys playing on the beach. They’re brothers, and their uncle Ron (David Chokachi) is supposed to be watching them. However, Ron is more interested in having another beer than in watching his nephews. He walks away while they’re playing in the water. As soon as Ron leaves, a shark pops up and eats one of the kids. Well, these things happen up north….

Twenty years later, Alan Rogers (Andrew J. Katers), the brother who was not eaten, returns to his hometown. It’s been a rough few years for Alan. He’s haunted by the death of his younger brother and the sight of that shark. Alan says he’ll never forget that the shark had a scar above its eye. Still, Alan feels like it’s time for him to come back home and start doing something with his life. Of course, the first thing he does is punch out his Uncle Ron.

Ron says that he deserved to be punched, and he tries to reconnect with his nephew. Alan doesn’t want to have anything to do with Ron, but when a shark with a scar above its eye starts to eat the locals, Alan and Ron have no choice but to team up to get revenge!

Now, you may be asking why, after being absent for 20 years, the same shark would return to one particular fishing village. Well, blame the Mayor (Rebecca Ritz). The annual fishing festival is approaching. If the festival isn’t a hit, the town will go bankrupt. Unfortunately, the fish are being kept away from the village by a dam that was apparently built to keep the shark out. The Mayor pays someone to blow up a small portion of the dam so the fish can get through, but, unfortunately, the shark gets through as well. You just can’t trust small-town mayors!

You really have to feel bad for sharks. It’s true that sharks look fearsome and they’ve got those teeth that can pretty much bite through anything, but for the most part, sharks just swim around and eat whatever they run into. They don’t stalk people for years, despite what the movies tell us. Sharks are predators, but they’re not particularly mean-spirited about it. If you leave a shark alone, it will probably leave you alone as well. Even the Soul Surfer girl forgave that shark that bit off her arm because she knew it was nothing personal.

Unfortunately, due to the movies, people have a totally warped view of sharks and their personalities. That’s certainly the case with Shark Warning, which gives us a rather mean-spirited shark. That said, it’s an entertaining-enough film as long as you’re willing to accept the fact that it’s essentially just a low-budget remake of Jaws. It’s an Asylum film, and that pretty much tells you all there is to say about it. If you know, you know.

I did appreciate that one of the characters was named Lisa. Played by Angela Cole, Lisa owned the village’s most popular bar and sighed with frustration when her sister (Lauren Pike) decided to ditch work so she could go hang out at the beach. Both Cole and Pike were convincing in their roles. Even more importantly, from my perspective, is that I got to hear my name while watching the movie. That’s always nice. As for the rest of the cast, David Chokachi — who my sister and I nicknamed “The Bulge” when we last binged Baywatch (if you know, you know) — wasn’t particularly convincing as someone who had ever felt the slightest bit of angst, but he was still likable as Uncle Ron. I will give a shout-out to the actors who played the townspeople, especially the guy who failed to consider that the shark might bump his boat and break his bottle of strychnine. A real shark would never do that, but this is an Asylum shark!

In the end, the shark was definitely the hero of the film, and that’s the way things should be.

Review: Under Paris (dir. by Xavier Gens)

Posted on July 27, 2026 by Arleigh

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, it is the one that is most adaptable to change.” — Sophia

Under Paris is one of those movies that grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go—literally, in this case. Directed by Xavier Gens, the mind behind gritty, high-octane thrillers like Frontier(s) and The Divide, this creature feature dives headfirst into the claustrophobic nightmares lurking beneath the City of Light. And let me tell you, if you’ve ever romanticized the Parisian catacombs, this film will cure you of that real quick.

The story kicks off with a team of scientists exploring the unexplored tunnels under Paris, only to stumble upon something that definitely shouldn’t exist. What starts as a routine expedition turns into a fight for survival when they realize they’re not alone down there. The creatures in question are blind, feral, and terrifyingly fast, with a taste for human flesh. It’s The Descent meets Tremors, but with a distinctly French flair. The film wastes no time setting up its premise, throwing the audience into the dark, cramped corridors where every shadow could be a predator. The tension is palpable from the jump, and Gens doesn’t bother with slow-burn scares—this is a full-throttle horror ride.

What makes Under Paris stand out is its commitment to practicality. The creatures are brought to life with a mix of practical effects and CGI, and for the most part, it works. The designs are grotesque yet believable, with elongated limbs, jagged teeth, and a primal way of moving that makes them feel like something out of a nightmare. The practical effects, in particular, give the creatures a tangible weight that CGI alone often struggles to achieve. When they’re on screen, you believe they’re real, and that’s half the battle in a monster movie. The sound design deserves a shoutout too—the way the creatures communicate through clicks and hisses is unsettling in the best way, adding to the immersive dread.

The characters are, admittedly, a mixed bag. The cast is led by a group of scientists and urban explorers, each with their own quirks and backstories, but the film doesn’t spend much time fleshing them out. This is a survival horror flick, not a character study, so don’t expect deep emotional arcs. That said, the actors do a solid job with what they’re given. The standout is probably the team’s leader, whose growing desperation as the situation spirals out of control feels authentic. There’s also a refreshing lack of the usual horror-movie stupidity—most of the characters make decisions that, while not always smart, at least feel human. They panic, they argue, they try to rationalize the irrational, and it makes their plight all the more relatable.

The setting is a character in its own right. The labyrinthine tunnels under Paris are a horror fan’s dream—narrow, dimly lit, and filled with the kind of eerie silence that makes every distant noise sound like a death sentence. Gens and his cinematographer make the most of the claustrophobic environment, using tight camera angles and rapid cuts to keep the audience on edge. There’s a sequence early on where the team’s headlamps flicker, plunging them (and us) into total darkness, and it’s a masterclass in building tension without relying on jump scares. The film also does a great job of playing with sound, or the lack thereof. In the quiet moments, all you hear is the characters’ ragged breathing and the distant, unsettling skittering of something inhuman.

If Under Paris has a weakness, it’s that it doesn’t always know when to slow down. The pacing is breakneck, which works for the most part, but there are moments where a little breathing room would’ve helped. Some of the CGI, particularly in the wider shots, can look a bit rough, though it’s never bad enough to pull you out of the movie. And while the creatures are terrifying, their backstory is a bit thin. The film hints at a larger mythology—something about evolution and isolation—but it’s never fully explored. That’s not necessarily a dealbreaker, but it does leave you with a few unanswered questions.

All that said, Under Paris delivers exactly what it promises: a tense, visceral, and often downright terrifying descent into madness. It’s a film that understands the assignment—give the audience scares, gore, and a sense of dread that lingers long after the credits roll. Gens has a knack for blending horror with social commentary, and while Under Paris doesn’t dive as deep into the latter as some of his other work, it’s still there in the margins. The idea of something monstrous lurking beneath the surface of one of the world’s most romanticized cities is a potent one, and the film doesn’t shy away from the metaphorical implications.

In the end, Under Paris is a must-watch for horror fans, especially those who appreciate their scares with a side of action. It’s not a perfect movie, but it’s a damn effective one. It’s the kind of film you’ll want to watch with the lights off, the volume up, and maybe a friend or two to clutch onto when things get really intense. And trust me, they do. Xavier Gens has crafted a creature feature that’s as brutal as it is brilliant, and it’s a testament to his skill as a director that, even in the darkest, most chaotic moments, you’re never quite sure what’s going to happen next. Just don’t blame me if you start side-eying manhole covers after this one.

Shark Week Review: Bikini Shark (dir by EJ Marshall)

Posted on July 27, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

If you were walking along the beach and you noticed that several bikinis had washed up on shore, what would you do?

Me, I would probably think to myself, “That’s weird. Maybe I should get off this beach because it seems like there’s something strange happening here.” What I would not do, under any circumstances, would be to pick up a bikini and decide to wear one of them.

I mean, that just seems like common sense. You don’t wear bikinis that randomly show up on the beach for much the same reason you don’t dumpster-dive for new underwear. It’s gross. And seriously, if you’re going to the beach, you should have bought and packed a bikini before you left. It may be cheaper to just wear whatever you find buried in the sand, but sometimes it’s worth spending a little money to look good.

Like I said …. IT’S COMMON SENSE!

Unfortunately, none of the characters in 2025’s Bikini Shark have a shred of common sense. When two women come across some bikinis on the beach, they promptly put them on. Later, when another group of women happens to find some bikinis in an isolated house, they also put them on. Soon they’re breaking out into terrible rashes and, even worse, they’re being pursued by sharks that somehow have the power to live and move on land. For all the time everyone spends talking about how sick they’re feeling, it never seems to occur to anyone to just take the cursed bikinis off. Then again, no one seems to think it’s odd that there are sharks somehow making their way into the kitchen.

The villain here is Truman Sullivan (Tyler Winchcombe), a wealthy man who owns a company that makes bikinis. For reasons that are never really that clear, Truman has lost his mind and is convinced that the only way to save the world from destruction is to sacrifice women to sharks. So Truman designed some bikinis specifically to attract sharks. But why did he also design the bikinis to cause the wearer to break into a terrible rash and start throwing up? How does that fit into saving the world? Truman is one of those villains who insists that the sacrifices have to happen quickly but who, at the same time, kidnaps one potential victim and then spends what seems like an eternity monologuing. Hey, Truman, are you trying to save the world or not?

Bikini Shark is a British shark film. It takes place in Essex and features one of the most depressing beaches that I’ve ever seen. The acting is subpar. In the role of Truman’s mother, Kathi deCuoto often appears as if she’s struggling to deliver her dialogue without laughing. If there is some charm to be found in this film, it’s due to the CGI sharks. They’re cute in their way, and it’s hard not to smile at the sight of them “swimming” over dry land. Otherwise, the best that can be said about this film is that it lives up to its name. There are bikinis and there are sharks.

Seriously, though, don’t wear clothes that you just happen to find on the ground. If there’s any lesson that I hope you take from this review, it’s that.

Guilty Pleasure No. 124: No Escape (dir. by Martin Campbell)

Posted on July 26, 2026 by Arleigh

So, No Escape is a movie that, if you’re a fan of mid-90s action flicks, you’ve probably stumbled across on late-night cable at some point. Directed by Martin Campbell, a guy who would go on to resurrect James Bond with GoldenEye, this 1994 sci-fi romp is a strange, almost forgotten artifact from a time when every action movie seemed to be set in a grim, corporate-run future. It’s a movie that borrows so heavily from its predecessors that you could make a drinking game out of spotting the references, yet it does it all with such earnest, sweaty commitment that it’s hard to completely hate. It’s a film that, in a perfect world, should have been a genre classic, but its own bloat and inconsistent rhythm drag it down to the level of a solid, slightly-defective guilty pleasure.

The setup is pure B-movie gold. It’s the year 2022, which felt super futuristic back then, and the world has privatized its prison system. Ray Liotta stars as Captain Robbins, a man sentenced to life on the brutal island prison of Absolom after he kills his commanding officer. The premise of a super-max prison on a remote island, a “civilized” versus “savage” faction of inmates, and a hero who just wants to escape is a greatest-hits medley of Escape from New York, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, and Papillon. The film’s villain, Marek, played by a gloriously over-the-top Stuart Wilson, leads a tribe of leather-clad maniacs called the Outsiders, while Lance Henriksen’s Father leads the peaceful, agrarian community of Insiders. Our hero is thrust between them, forced to navigate tribal politics while plotting his getaway. It’s as familiar as an old pair of boots, but there’s a comfort in that familiarity, a sense that you know the beats and can just enjoy the ride.

And for a while, the ride is genuinely fun. Campbell, who clearly has an eye for widescreen spectacle, makes the lush Australian location look both beautiful and hostile. The production design is actually one of the film’s strongest assets; the Outsiders’ camp is a junkyard nightmare, while the Insiders’ village is a quaint, shanty-town paradise built from salvaged scrap. It gives the film a distinct, tactile feel that a lot of sterile sci-fi movies lack. Liotta is perfectly cast as the tough, morally ambiguous soldier. He brings a rough, cerebral quality to the role, making Robbins feel like a guy who’s seen too much and is just plain tired. Stuart Wilson, meanwhile, hams it up as the villain Marek, delivering a performance so broad and gleefully evil that he borders on self-parody, but in a way that’s weirdly compelling and provides some much-needed comic relief. The film feels like it’s building to something great, a tense and explosive showdown between these two drastically different tribes.

The problem is that No Escape simply does not know when to stop. This is a movie with a lean, mean premise that somehow stretches itself out to nearly two hours, and you feel every single minute of the back half. The pacing is wildly inconsistent, lurching between tense survivalist stuff, full-blown action set pieces, and stretches of world-building exposition that just sit there and deflate the momentum the film worked hard to build. There are entire sequences that feel like they exist purely to pad the runtime, and by the time the third act rolls around and Robbins is organizing his prison-break uprising, you’re less excited by the payoff and more just relieved that the movie is finally getting somewhere. A tighter edit, trimming maybe twenty to thirty minutes of the connective tissue, would’ve turned this into a genuinely great B-movie instead of a good one hamstrung by its own indulgence.

That’s really the frustrating thing about No Escape. Everything that makes prison-island and dystopian-exile movies fun is present and accounted for here: a charismatic antihero, a nasty villain, a societal allegory bubbling under the surface, brutal action, and a satisfying underdog uprising. Campbell clearly understood the assignment and delivered those elements competently, sometimes even excitingly. But competent execution of familiar beats can only carry a movie so far when the film refuses to trim the fat, and the sluggish, uneven pacing keeps dragging you out of scenes that should be gripping. It’s the kind of movie that probably could’ve stood shoulder to shoulder with its genre influences if someone in the editing room had been a little more ruthless.

As it stands, No Escape lands squarely in guilty-pleasure territory. It’s not a film you’d necessarily recommend to someone as an essential genre entry, but if you’re already the type who loves this stuff, the dystopian island prisons, the tribal factions, the gruff antihero clawing his way toward freedom, there’s a lot here to enjoy despite the flab. It wears its influences on its sleeve, executes them with more skill than it probably gets credit for, and then undercuts itself by overstaying its welcome. Somewhere in this movie is a tight, mean ninety-minute action flick that could’ve been a minor classic. Instead we got a longer, baggier version that’s still worth a watch on a lazy afternoon, just with the fast-forward button within easy reach for the slower stretches.

Previous Guilty Pleasures

Scenes That I Love: Danny Meets The Girls In Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining

Posted on July 26, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today’s scene that I love comes from Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining.

Stephen King can whine about this film all that he wants. It’s one of the few adaptations of his novels that can still scare the view even after numerous rewatches.

These two still freak me out.

Brad reviews SHAOLIN SOCCER (2001), starring Stephen Chow!

Posted on July 25, 2026 by Bradley Crain

My favorite living actor is the Hong Kong legend Chow Yun-Fat. His heroic bloodshed gangster films with John Woo turned me into a Hong Kong superfan. I’m also a big fan of Jackie Chan. His kung fu action-comedies eventually led to him being one of the biggest movie stars in the world. But did you know that when they were at the peaks of their careers in Hong Kong in the early 90’s, neither was the biggest star in their homeland? Nope! The true box office champion in Hong Kong was the comedian Stephen Chow. From 1990-1995, Stephen Chow led the box office every year except 1994, when Chow Yun-Fat barely edged him out. In the 2000’s, Stephen didn’t make a lot of movies, but when he did, they were record breaking box office smashes. The first of those was SHAOLIN SOCCER.

The film has a pretty simple concept… a former soccer great, known as Golden Leg Fung (Ng Man-Tat), has been down on his luck for 20 years after his leg was broken in a soccer match. Drunk and at his lowest, he runs into the Mighty Steel Leg Sing (Stephen Chow), a poor Shaolin disciple who spends his time trying to figure out a way to make the teachings of Shaolin popular again. When Fung sees the power with which Sing can kick a soccer ball, he comes up with the idea of recruiting and coaching a soccer team of Shaolin kung fu masters. He wants to challenge Team Evil, the reigning Chinese soccer champions, and their arrogant Coach Hung (Patrick Tse), the man responsible for his crippled leg. Can they win the Chinese Cup, restore the legend of Golden Leg Fung, and bring Shaolin Kung Fu into the modern world?

No matter what you think of my summary above, I can assure you that it doesn’t even come close to doing the film justice. What may sound like just a kung fu comedy is actually a kung fu comedy, a sports movie, and an effects driven, fantastical live-action cartoon all rolled up into one. As funny as I thought he was in the James Bond parody FROM BEIJING WITH LOVE (1995), writer-director Stephen Chow proves himself to be a comedic genius with SHAOLIN SOCCER. Apparently the citizens of Hong Kong agreed as the film broke all of their previous box office records when it was released in the summer of 2001. Chow would break his own records a few years later when he wrote, directed and starred in the international hit KUNG FU HUSTLE (2004).

As the film kicks into gear, we’re treated to a succession of “Magnificent Seven” like scenes where Fung and Sing try to build their soccer team from Sing’s former Shaolin “brothers.” These aren’t obvious badasses like Charles Bronson and James Coburn, though. These guys may be Shaolin masters, but in the world they live in now, they’re a bunch of beaten down losers. They all initially turn the guys down due to their complete lack of confidence in themselves, but something has undeniably stirred in them again. With Fung and Sing sitting alone and thinking all hope is lost, Chow brilliantly parodies John Woo, and the brothers join them in stylish, wind blown slow-mo!

Once the Shaolin masters get together on the team, director Stephen Chow cranks up the CGI and special effects to 10 to illustrate their true powers. This is all done for entertainment purposes, so don’t expect anything that resembles real soccer. Their first practice begins with Mighty Steel Leg Sing kicking a ball straight up in the air, so the team just has to hang out and take naps while they wait for the ball to finally come back down. As the guys discover their true CGI-enhanced Shaolin soccer superpowers, they seem unbeatable… that is, until they run back into the superdrug-enhanced Team Evil and their unethical coach Hung. Part of the fun of these types of movies is in seeing how they deal with adversity and overcome the bigger, badder team. I want to shout out Patrick Tse, who played Coach Hung. He’s deliriously over-the-top here, and we definitely want to see him get his comeuppance. One of the reasons I decided to rewatch SHAOLIN SOCCER is to celebrate Tse, who passed away on July 16th, 2026, at the age of 89, after a 7-decade film career in Hong Kong. Rest in peace, sir.

I think that the best thing I can say for this film is that underneath the entertaining craziness of the comedy and special effects is a sweet underdog story of unappreciated greatness being unleashed. The various characters may seem like jokes in their day to day lives, but they’re not, and it’s a joy to behold as the world sees how special they really are. This theme runs through several of Stephen Chow’s films. In his best movies, he doesn’t just prove that he’s a brilliant comedian, but he also shows us that he’s got a good heart.

Brad reviews the South Korean action film, THE MAN FROM NOWHERE (2010)!

Posted on July 23, 2026 by Bradley Crain

Do y’all remember when Best Buy had a good selection of DVD’s and blu-rays? This was sometime around the turn of the century and every time we’d go to Little Rock, I’d stop by Best Buy and check for the newest titles. I remember running across the South Korean movie SHIRI (1999), and the description on the cover made it sound like it would be an amazing action film. I didn’t know anything about South Korean cinema, but it looked good, so I bought it. And I absolutely loved it. I spent the next decade immersed in the country’s film industry, watching every movie that looked good to me. Titles like JOINT SECURITY AREA (2000), OLDBOY (2003), A BITTERSWEET LIFE (2005) and so many others became staples of my movie watching life. I remember when I first read about THE MAN FROM NOWHERE. It looked like it would be right down my alley…

Won Bin stars as Cha Tae-sik, a quiet pawnbroker who seems completely content spending all of his time by himself. He makes one exception, and that’s for So-Mi (Kim Sae-ron), the neglected young girl who lives next door and has no friends. She likes Tae-sik though and we see them slowly building a sweet relationship. When So-mi is kidnapped because her addicted mother steals from a drug dealing, organ harvesting criminal organization, we find out that Tae-sik possesses incredible fighting skills, and he will use them in every way possible to get her back. What starts as the quiet story of an unlikely friendship will soon turn into a brutal quest to find the girl before it’s too late.

As far as I’m concerned, THE MAN FROM NOWHERE is a must watch for several reasons. The best South Korean films for my money can accurately be described as “slow burners.” Writer-Director Lee Jeong-beom really takes his time setting up the story. We get scenes that help set up the action, but his focus for the first thirty minutes is the developing relationship between two broken human beings in Tae-sik and So-Mi. By the time she is put in danger, we care about her and understand why he will do whatever it takes to save her. Even as the action and violence kicks in hard, the story continues to pause long enough to let us learn more about Tae-sik’s past. Based on what we’ve learned about the characters, every fist punch, knife slash, and fired bullet acts as both a means to finding So-Mi and a cathartic emotional release.

If you enjoy brutal, badass action like I do, this delivers in spades. The action itself is extraordinary, some of the best in the cinema of South Korea, and the world, for that matter. There is gunfire at times, but this film mostly relies on close-quarter combat and the use of sharp blades. The fighters kick ass, but they also end up exhausted and in a lot of pain, often accompanied by a lot of blood. Because these scenes are somewhat grounded in reality, they’re both powerful and hard to watch at times. The film builds to a final knife fight between Tae-sik and Ramrowan (Thai actor Thanayong Wongtrakul), and when it finally comes, we can see and feel the two experts in violence engaged in a battle to the death. The action is tense and bloody, saving its very best for last.

THE MAN FROM NOWHERE has an excellent cast, led by Won Bin, possibly the most selective superstar in the history of cinema. I knew him from his prior South Korean hits GUNS & TALKS (2001), TAE GUK GI: THE BROTHERHOOD OF WAR (2004), and MOTHER (2009). As of today in 2026, he has only six film credits to his name, and he has not acted in another film since this one. He’s excellent here as Cha Tae-sik, even if I don’t like his haircut for most of the film. It’s a very satisfying moment when he grabs some clippers and gets all that hair out of his eyes! He says very little, but beneath his cold exterior is a man carrying deep pain. It’s a restrained performance that exudes more emotional turmoil than pages and pages of dialogue ever could. And he’s a badass action performer when the time comes as well. I hope he comes back at some point, but if he never does, he goes out on top!

Kim Sae-ron, who was ten years old at the time, is very effective as So-mi. Her performance is very natural and vulnerable, stealing our hearts with ease, and I think we can all understand why Tae-sik would want to protect her. On a very sad note, while doing research for this review, I discovered that she took her own life on February 16, 2025, at just twenty-four years of age. Watching her in the film and discussing her work feels different now, serving as a poignant reminder of both her incredible talent at such a young age and the complexity of the human condition.

THE MAN FROM NOWHERE was a massive hit in South Korean cinemas in 2010, with only the worldwide smash AVATAR having more ticket admissions. Between Won Bin’s transformative performance, the irresistible “protect the innocent child” dynamic, and the brutal, in your face action, the film still had me on the edge of my seat when I watched it again this week. If you like your action filled with blood, sweat, and tears, I can’t recommend this more highly.

As of the date of this review, it’s streaming on Amazon Prime.

Brad reviews the South Korean horror film, THE CALL (2020)!

Posted on July 18, 2026 by Bradley Crain

There’s a movie podcast I love to listen to called the “Podcast on Fire.” Kenny B and his various co-hosts focus on Asia, especially the films of Hong Kong and South Korea. They have a large back catalogue, and I’ve been catching up on their episodes related to South Korean horror. In the middle of a show on the WHISPERING CORRIDORS series, co-host Paul Quinn mentioned THE CALL, a film that was released on Netflix during the pandemic. I’m usually not a consumer of freaky horror, but his enthusiasm for the film proved infectious, so I decided I’d check it out when I got home from work.

THE CALL centers on two 28 year old women. There’s Seo-yeon (Park Shin-hye), who’s visiting her childhood home in the country when she receives a series of phone calls from 28 year old Young-sook (Jeon Jong-seo). They soon realize that Young-sook is calling Seo-yeon from the same house… just from 20 years in the past. Both with severe mommy issues, the two ladies initially seem to form a friendship. They even use their knowledge of events in the past to help each other in ways that change the future. But as you might guess, these changes come with severe consequences, and the story eventually turns into one of bloody survival!

I wasn’t expecting it, but I kept thinking of one of my favorite movies, FREQUENCY (2000), while watching THE CALL. In FREQUENCY, an adult son is able to talk to his deceased dad from 30 years in the past on their family’s old ham radio. We may not really understand the science behind it all, but we just accept it. Their discussions start out as heartwarming, and their actions that change the future seem good at first, but then eventually bad things happen. That’s pretty much what takes place in THE CALL, with the exception that these ladies are not family and the radio has been replaced by one of those late 20th century cordless phones. The heartwarming early moments eventually devolve into a lot of crying, screaming, and gaping neck wounds.

While the concept has been done before, the filmmakers do a good job of building genuine suspense. It’s one of those movies where the stakes keep getting raised, and when you think they’re as high as they can go, they’re ramped up another notch. There are a few effective jump scares here, but the primary tension is in the growing sense of dread concerning how the actions in the past will affect the present. Let’s just say that some of the characters in the present aren’t allowed to enjoy their newfound health and well-being for very long.

I wasn’t familiar with either of the lead actresses going in, but they’re both excellent. In the present time, Park Shin-hye invests enough vulnerability in her character of Seo-yeon that you can’t help but pull for her, especially as her world is continuously turned upside down. And I can’t say enough about Jeon Jong-seo, who gets the showier role in the past timeline. Her character starts out as sympathetic, but she doesn’t stay that way. It’s an unnerving character and performance.

At the end of the day, I had a good time with THE CALL. It’s been awhile since I watched a film from South Korea, so it was fun for me to jump back in. If you enjoy a good horror-suspense-thriller, this one’s an easy recommendation!

The Odyssey (dir. by Christopher Nolan)

Posted on July 17, 2026 by Leonard Wilson

(Editor’s Note – With Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey being an Event Level film, this probably won’t be the only post/opinion on it. Expect multiple viewpoints to come over time and enjoy!)

It’s been a long time since I read anything on Homer’s The Odyssey. Perhaps sometime in Junior High or High School. I only remember bits and pieces, but earlier this year, I watched the 1997 2-Part Miniseries with Armand Assante(who can do no wrong, despite how some may feel about 1993’s Fatal Instinct) to refresh my memory. That is also a great miniseries, which I recommend. Theoretically, there’s nothing to spoil here, but I’ll try to say little.

2026 has been somewhat amazing when it comes to film. We’ve seen fresh young filmmakers like Mark Fischbach and Kane Parsons take what little resources they had and make some magic in Iron Lung and Backrooms, respectively. Of course, Corey Barker’s little indie/Inde film, Obsession, continues to amaze and break records thanks to Navarette’s and the rest of the cast’s unforgettable performances. It’s a great sight to behold. On the other end of the filmmaking spectrum, we have big pitch films like Project Hail Mary and Christopher Nolan’s version of The Odyssey, showcasing what we can pull off with the advancments in film technology or just great writing.

Most IMAX movies have that label stating “Filmed with IMAX cameras”, which usually means that key scenes were recorded in the format. My first IMAX experience was back in 2003 with The Matrix Revolutions in the AMC Lincoln Center IMAX (which is still by far the best NYC hotspot for a classic big screen experience), but that was remastered to fit the screen. Most of Nolan’s works were filmed with IMAX cameras for key scenes as of 2008’s The Dark Knight. It’s commonplace now to see a film shift from the old square 4:3 (1.33:1) ratio to a 2:35:1 letterboxed widescreen. The intro to Richard Donner’s Superman is one of my favorite examples of it. 2001’s Moulin Rouge! did something similar, though the boarders weren’t exactly visible. If you watch a movie on Disney Plus or HBO Max filmed with IMAX cameras, you can often see the change in aspect ratio, either abrupt or with a smooth transition. Large Format Screenings aren’t anything extremely new. My Dad once drove the family out to Long Island to see a 70 MM showing of The Empire Strikes Back.

What makes The Odyssey so amazing is that Nolan filmed it entirely with IMAX cameras. There are tons of documentaries shot this way, but it’s rare for a feature film to do so. According to an interview with ABC News, Nolan and the crew went through 2 million feet of IMAX film, shot in 3 minute intervals because the cameras would use up the roll in that amount of time. Imagine setting up a shot, getting everyone on their marks and then letting them know you’ve 3 minutes for the actors to get to where they need to be in the scene and nail it. Academy Award Winning Cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema, who worked with Nolan since Dunkirk, captures some beautiful vistas and landscape shots that are just majestic regardless of the format you choose to watch the film in. If you can catch the film in the IMAX 70MM, you’re getting the best possible picture, though the Regal RPX I watched wasn’t a slouch by any means. I’m hoping I can catch it in IMAX before the run ends.

The film acknowledges that that the setting is in an age of magic, and as such, some things may be a little beyond the pale. I have to wonder how Ray Harryhausen and Stan Winston would feel about some of the visual effect choices in The Odyssey. There are some pretty wild elements of horror here, which is surprising coming from Nolan. They’re still practical, everyday things, but I had a few whispered “Wow” or “Oh crap!” moments.

The Odyssey is the story of Odysseus (Matt Damon, Interstellar, Oppenheimer), King of Ithaca and loyal servant to King Agememnon (Benny Safdie, Oppenheimer, The Smashing Machine). set on a quest to claim the city of Troy. The film jumps between Odysseus in various phases of his journey. Through his actions, he defies the gods and is sent (along with his men) far from Ithaca. Back home, his wife, Penelope (Anne Hathaway, The Dark Knight Rises, Interstellar) observes Zeus Law of hospitality to strangers. This, however, has brought many suitors who overstay their welcome and wish the claim both her hand and the throne in Odysseus’ absence, among them being the scheming Antinous (Robert Pattinson, Tenet, The Drama) and Polybus (Corey Hawkins, The Last Voyage of the Demeter). Her son, Telemachus (Tom Holland, the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day) believes his father is still out there, but knows little of him. Can Odysseus find redemption? Can he and his men make their way back to Ithaca?

The casting for The Odyssey is really good, but for as stacked as it is both with friends and new talent, not everyone gets to shine as much as one would think. They all have a role to play in this and surprisingly, the strongest performances are more from the supporting cast than the main ones. Damon is just fine here. He’s reliable when I’ve watched him in films like The Martian and The Bourne Films. He fits Odysseus okay, there’s really nothing wrong with him at all in this. The character is mentally tortured in some ways and he just wants to get home. I’m just not entirely sure I felt the whole weight of the character with Damon’s performance. This isn’t to say he dials it in, far from it. Again, that’s more me coming off of watching Assante do his thing in the 90s and then uncontrollably comparing. Hathaway, on the other hand, I suppose anyone who watched Troy (a film I don’t really remember, other than for Brian Cox’s screaming) may make similar comparisons to different elements of this film.

Hathaway and Holland do more in their roles to carry the story along. Penelope pines for her love and Telemachus knowledge of his father, and that both showcase the emotions that go with that well. I’m used to Holland playing younger characters. This may be one of the first few times where he seemed more like an adult, which he handles well. On the supporting cast side, both John Leguizamo (John Wick) as the family’s servant and Himesh Patel (Tenet) as one of Odysseus’ main soldiers really stood out with their roles. For the smaller parts, Elliot Page’s (Inception) Sinon, Samantha Morton’s (Minority Report) Circe make the best of their scenes. Safdie’s Agamemnon in particular doesn’t have to say a word. His mere presence was enough. Pattinson could have been a bit stronger or darker in nature, but I felt he carried his character well. Jon Bernthal (The Accountant 2) and Lupita Nyong’o(A Quiet Place: Day One) don’t have particularly large roles, but are important to the tale. Zendaya and Charlize Theron are kind of regulated to just a little expositional assistance here and there. They, along with Mia Goth (Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein) could have easily received a “guest starring” credit and no one would have known the difference.

I only have 2 issues with the movie. The first is that there are some elements in the overall story that never come into play(such as the Adverse Winds). Granted, you’re condensing a major text down to just 3 hours, so they had to pick and choose what they were going to work with. Still, I would have like to have seen some of those elements. For a film about gods and monsters, The Odyssey felt like it really veered more towards the monsters than anything else. Again, that’s just me coming off classic films like Jason and the Argonauts and Clash of the Titans. The gods here feel mostly like advisors, if nothing else. Again, not terrible, just different from my expectation. The other problem (or tic, nitpick, maybe) is that you may or may not find yourself chuckling a little and thinking of Monty Python’s The Holy Grail during some sequences that involve running. Maybe it was just me, but seeing everyone go from one adventure to the next just had me expecting a killer rabbit to be somewhere on the list of enemies. no matter how serious the film was.

Musically, Ludwig Goransson hasn’t slowed down since winning an Oscar for Sinners last year. His score for Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu was easily the best part of that film. For The Odyssey, Gorannson was asked to use Peter Gabriel’s Passion (the soundtrack for Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ and one of my favorite sources for background writing music) as inspiration for his own score. Working with classic instruments, he did very well here. I’m listening to it now as I’m working on this piece. While I’m still trying to recall what sound went where, it’s a solid score overall.

Overall, I absolutely enjoyed The Odyssey. I’m not sure how it’ll fare come Awards Season, but I do hope it finds itself in the mix, at least from a Cinematography standpoint.