Hokum - 8/10 Through Wild Kurdistan - 6/10 Bakterion - 6/10 Mutant (1984) - 6.5/10 Strange Wilderness - 1/10
I am seeing Hokum tomorrow night. I've enjoyed Damien McCarthy's work so far and am looking forward to it!
Flame of the Islands - 6.5/10 In the Kingdom of the Silver Lion - 6/10 Mortal Kombat (2021) - 7/10 Something Big - 5.5/10 Konga - 4/10
The Treasure of the Aztecs - 6.5/10 Badge 373 - 7/10 The Revengers - 8/10 Mortal Kombat II - 8/10 Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition - 8/10
The Pyramid of the Sun God - 5.5/10 Mona Lisa - 9/10 Invaders from Mars (1953) - 6/10 Posse (1975) - 8.5/10 Day of the Cobra - 7.5/10
The Rascal's Gang - 7/10 The Iron Commissioner - 7/10 Red Beard - 9.5/10 Romería - 7/10 You Don’t Mess with the Zohan - 0.5/10
Gamera, the Giant Monster - 7/10 The Sheep Detectives - 8/10 Top Gun - 7/10 Rio Grande - 6/10 The Black Scorpion - 7/10
The Fantastic Four movie was as bad as I expected, but the one interesting aspect that Vic Mackey's wife was the same actor who Mackey worked with in the last season of The Shield. Lilya 4-ever felt like an 80's afterschool special. I knew there had to be a reason I had not seen it despite it appearing so high on the Letterboxd popularity list.
I have more backlogged I need to write about or at least log in Leterboxd, but in the meantime, I finally have more to share. Hokum - 8.5/10 Probably biased because I had a lovely time seeing this in the theater with friends after an abysmal day, but ooooweeeee did it have me hootin' and hollerin'. It's unfortunate that the female characters are only plot devices... if you can look past that, McCarthy manages to hook you emotionally and twist the tropes you know into turns that will have you on the edge of your seat. It's heady, it's visceral, it's vibrant, and it marries old-school haunted house scares with the director's distinct visual style. There are worse movies to ape than The Shining and 1408. McCarthy officially has the juice. Obsession - 9/10 I've never seen a movie gradually increase the intensity of its tone the way this one does; I felt like a frog in boiling water. On paper, a movie this bleak and absurdly funny shouldn't work, but Barker somehow pulls it off and creates something that feels almost completely unique while relying on familiar tropes and reference points (Smile, It Follows, Goosebumps, and a handful of 2000s horror films come to mind). Brutally funny and shockingly dark, with a great score to boot. Halloween III: Season of the Witch - 8/10 Christened the new projector with this bad boy :') The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) - 10/10 Second movie to round out my first double-feature on the new projector :') Dolly - 3.5/10 So frustrating. Obviously looks great being shot on 16mm -- it's visually stylish with some great practical effects and gore -- but there's been a string of horror releases recently that lean into being a pastiche of films that already exist and this is probably the worst case yet. Just absolutely no individual identity whatsoever. Barbarian but not as smart or fun, the look of Texas Chainsaw Massacre without earning it, an 80-minute film split into like seven "chapters" for no discernable reason...just can't decide if it wants to be mean in a Rob Zombie way or funny in a campy way, and ultimately suffers for it. Plus, they had Sean William Scott saying full-ass words with his jaw ripped off. Marshmallow - 5.5/10 Completely functional throwback camp slasher that starts to spin its wheels before hurling you into one of the wilder third act reveals I've seen in a while. If you're a fan of the genrez it's worth at least one watch for that. Sleepaway Camp - 10/10 Watched once again with a friend who hadn't seen it :') Ghostkeeper - 8/10 Ambient, cozy, weird, and slightly dry in the best ways possible. I can't wait to revisit this one in the winter, presumably while dozing off on the couch. Parents (1989) - 7.5/10 You can see where it's going from a mile away, but but does it have plenty of stylish and weird fun along the way. Surprised this one doesn't have more of a following.
just know that it's been largely reclaimed by the community when you get to the ending. that's all I'll say about it. maybe not technically a five-star film if you're not into 80s slashers (it's camp as opposed to the genuine scares of something like TCM), but for the sheer audacity and the community it's built and as a first-time viewing experience...five-stars.
Cécile Is Dead - 8/10 Aesthetics of a Bullet - 8/10 Normal - 7.5/10 Late Shift - 8/10 The Voice of Hind Rajab - 9.5/10
The Cyclops - 5/10 We Bury the Dead - 6/10 Le Professional (1981) - 8.5/10 Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu - 8.5/10 The Super Mario Galaxy Movie - 5/10
Obsession - 8.5/10 Passenger - 6/10 Nightbreed - 8/10 The House Bunny - 4/10 The Cars That Ate Paris - 7/10
Freaky Tales - 7.5/10 Almost like an ultra-stylized and less horror-specific update to Tales From the Hood. Absolutely stacked cast - even when it occasionally comes up short, it's impossible to deny just how fun it is. Looking forward to recommending and revisiting this one in the future. Re-Animator - 7.5/10 Is it blasphemy to say this is a good movie that I happen to love less than Dagon and From Beyond? The Brain That Wouldn't Die (!962) - 8/10 Hosted as part of Reel Rituals' first screening at Grounded Print and Paper Shop in Erie, PA :') Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow - 7.5/10 One-third 1950s racing movie, one-third sudden Halloween party movie, one-third meta-horror-comedy about American International Pictures employee Paul Blaisdell? I don't know who they thought this was for, but I'm obviously one of them. A Dark Song - 8.5/10 I don't have the knowledge to call this film "realistic" w/r/t its subject matter, but at the end of the day, it works because of an unapologetic realism that slowly but surely gives way to the otherworldly. There's a level of care here that I don't see often in modern horror, and if you're looking for something methodical that is likely to stick with you, you're in the right place. Aenigma - 8/10 coked up and pitching this to the studio: what if we put Carrie in the Suspiria school? But this time... she's got snails. Lots and lots of snails. everyone is wrong about this movie. it rips. Vick and Tarstar's Scarecrow Factory - 6.5/10 My first Bloodsick Production. Incomparable to pretty much anything I've seen before, and that's a compliment. Made me feel like I was 23 and touring again but also making a movie with my friends while our lives occasionally and subtley got warped by a Lynchian black hole. Steven Reifsteck was a hoot, so I guess Janice Dot Click is my next deep dive. This one might grow on me. Above Majestic - 6/10 Listen - is there QAnon shit in this "documentary?" Yes. Are there multiple people who claim to have been recruited for a secret space program at the age of five and then age-regressed and returned to their families after serving for 15-20 years? Also yes. Do I believe Jeffrey Epstein was a reptilian shape-shifter? If only it were so simple. Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie - 10/10 Very good with a great third act and a perfect ending. It's already been said a thousand times, but this film had me asking "How did they do that?" more than any other that comes to memory. Just incredible writing and editing on display here - you'll be more impressed than you will be laughing out loud, but something is broken if you don't have a huge grin on your face for the duration. Special. The Napa Boys - 8.5/10 Rewatched with friends and now every time they come over to watch something, I have to specify that it "won't be as weird." Some people just can't hang. The Muppet Movie - 9/10 When people say "You could never make Blazing Saddles today" because of the current socio-political-climate, what they should be saying is, "You could never make The Muppet Movie today because it's to funny and sincere and pure of heart." Bob Iger or Ted Sarandos or someone would fucking kill you The Great Muppet Caper - 7/10 Dryer The Muppet Movie for some stretches of time, but still cozy, impressive to look at, and genuinely funny (the "identical twins" bit and Cleese's extreme socialite performance in particular)
The Muppet Movie is genuinely a terrific film. Nostalgia or "family film" qualifiers aside, it's great art. Also Charles Grodin in Caper is genuinely Oscar-worthy in his portrayal of all-consuming lust for Miss Piggy. Not once do you stop to think for a second that he's romancing a puppet.
Heroes Two - 7/10 The Plumber - 6.5/10 Starship Troopers - 9/10 Mothra - 8.5/10 Bedtime Stories - 4/10
everything I watched in May. reviews here - jonathankoven’s profile Bim the Little Donkey (1951) 7.5/10 All the President’s Men (1976) 6/10 Magellan (2025) 9.5/10 Cairo Station (1958) 6.5/10 In the Mood for Love (2000) *rewatch 8/10 Yam Daabo (1987) 8/10 Eephus (2024) 7/10 The Greatest Showman (2017) 4/10 Carol (2015) 8.5/10 The Hand (2004) 8/10 Backrooms (2026) 9/10 Black Bag (2025) 7/10