It was a movie...

This week, we review Underworld (2003), Len Wiseman’s sleek, gothic action-horror hybrid that dives into the centuries-old war between vampires and werewolves. Kate Beckinsale stars as Selene, a stoic vampire warrior caught in a web of bloodlines, betrayal, and forbidden love. With its moody visuals, leather-clad aesthetics, and Matrix-inspired gun-fu, this cult favorite explores themes of loyalty, identity, and the blurred lines b...

This week, we review School of Rock (2003), Richard Linklater’s wildly fun and music-fueled comedy about passion, rebellion, and finding your voice. Jack Black stars as Dewey Finn, a down-and-out guitarist who fakes his way into a substitute teaching gig at a prep school only to transform his class of straight-A students into a shredding rock band. With its blend of infectious energy, classic rock references, and heartwarming u...

This week, we review War of the Worlds (2025), director Rich Lee’s modern, “screenlife” twist on H. G. Wells’s iconic sci-fi thriller. Ice Cube stars as DHS agent Will Radford, juggling the chaos of a looming alien invasion and an invasive surveillance state — all through the lens of screens and apps. With Eva Longoria as the NASA ally Sandra, the film explores data privacy, government overreach, and digital surveillance. As meteor...

This week, we review The Bedroom Window (1987), Curtis Hanson’s suspenseful neo-noir thriller steeped in voyeurism, deception, and moral ambiguity. Quentin Tarantino recommended it so we thought why not. Steve Guttenberg stars as Terry, a Baltimore businessman who becomes entangled in a murder investigation after his affair with his boss’s wife, played by Isabelle Huppert, leads him to report a crime he didn’t actually witness....

Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

Movie 120 on Metacritic’s all time movie list. This week, we review Grave of the Fireflies (1988), Isao Takahata’s devastating war-time animated drama from Studio Ghibli. Tsutomu Tatsumi and Ayano Shiraishi voice Seita and Setsuko, two siblings struggling to survive in the aftermath of the firebombing of Kobe during World War II. With harrowing scenes of loss, resilience, and the collapse of innocence, ...

🎬 Being John Malkovich (1999) – Random Movie #342

This week, we review Being John Malkovich (1999), Spike Jonze’s wildly inventive....thing...that blends surrealism with sharp social satire. John Cusack stars as a struggling puppeteer who discovers a secret portal into the mind of actor John Malkovich—yes, the real one. With a stellar cast including Cameron Diaz and Catherine Keener, this genre-defying film explores identity, obses...

Inception (2010) – Random Movie #3521

This week, we review Inception (2010), Christopher Nolan’s genre-defying sci-fi thriller that folds reality in on itself. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Dom Cobb, a skilled thief who infiltrates dreams to steal secrets—but this time, he’s tasked with planting an idea instead. With its stacked ensemble cast, mind-bending action sequences, and layered narrative, the film explores memory, guilt, and th...

🎬 Annihilation (2018) – Random Movie #2019

This week, we review Annihilation (2018), Alex Garland’s cerebral sci-fi horror that blends mind-bending visuals with deep existential dread. Natalie Portman leads a team of scientists into “The Shimmer,” a mysterious and mutating zone where nature rewrites the rules of biology—and reality itself. With themes of self-destruction, identity, and transformation, the film offers a haunting...

🎬 Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988) – Random Movie #14081

This week, we review Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988), Tony Randel’s nightmarish sequel that dives deeper into Clive Barker’s twisted world of pain and pleasure. Picking up right after the original, the film follows Kirsty (Ashley Laurence) as she descends into the hellish dimension of the Cenobites to rescue her father and confront the sadistic Dr. Channard. With grotesque...

🎬 Unforgiven (1992) – Random Movie #898

This week, we review Unforgiven (1992), Clint Eastwood’s revisionist Western that deconstructs the myths of violence and heroism on the American frontier. Eastwood stars as William Munny, a retired gunslinger dragged back into one last job, alongside Morgan Freeman’s steady Ned Logan and a brash young wannabe. With Gene Hackman as the brutal sheriff Little Bill, this brooding, Oscar-winning d...

🎬 The Long Good Friday (1982) – Random Movie #1518

This week, we review The Long Good Friday (1982), John Mackenzie’s gritty British crime classic set against the backdrop of a changing London. Bob Hoskins delivers a powerhouse performance as Harold Shand, a ruthless gangster trying to go legit just as his criminal empire comes under mysterious attack. Helen Mirren co-stars as his sharp and steady partner, Victoria. With sharp ...

🎬 Living (2022) – Random Movie #1718

This week, we review Living (2022), Oliver Hermanus’s quietly moving adaptation of Akira Kurosawa’s Ikiru. Bill Nighy stars as Mr. Williams, a buttoned-up civil servant in 1950s London who, after receiving a terminal diagnosis, sets out to find meaning in a life he’s long kept at arm’s length. With tender performances and a beautifully restrained script by Kazuo Ishiguro, this reflective drama e...

🎬 The Astronaut's Wife (1999) – Random Movie #14649

This week, we review The Astronaut's Wife (1999), Rand Ravich’s eerie blend of sci-fi and psychological thriller. Johnny Depp stars as Spencer Armacost, a NASA astronaut who returns from a mysterious space mission… different. Charlize Theron plays his increasingly unsettled wife, Jillian, who begins to suspect that whatever came back to Earth isn’t entirely human. With its slow-bu...

🎬 Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (2024) – Random Movie #2690

This week, we review Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (2024), directed by Soi Cheang. This Hong Kong martial arts action film delves into themes of survival and community within the infamous Kowloon Walled City. Raymond Lam stars as Chan Lok-kwun, a refugee who, after a desperate act, seeks refuge in the lawless enclave. There, he encounters Cyclone, portrayed by ...

Nobody thought we could do it but we made it through our next 9 random movies! In this episode we look back at what sticks out in our withered memories of the movies we have put ourselves through: Robocop, Paths of Glory, The Lost Weekend, Them!, Face/Off, The Parallax View, AVPR: Aliens v Predator: Requiem, My Left Foot, and The Wrong Man . How did we feel about them in retrospect and with hindsight in our rear view mirror? Listen...

🎬 The Wrong Man (1957) – Random Movie #1106

This week, we review The Wrong Man (1957), Alfred Hitchcock’s stark and haunting true-crime drama that trades suspenseful thrills for chilling realism. Henry Fonda stars as Manny Balestrero, a real-life musician wrongly accused of robbery, whose life spirals into a nightmare of mistaken identity and bureaucratic indifference. With its documentary-like approach and stark black-and-white ci...

🎬 My Left Foot (1989) – Random Movie #39

This week, we review My Left Foot (1989), Jim Sheridan’s deeply moving biographical drama about triumph against the odds. Daniel Day-Lewis delivers a powerhouse, Oscar-winning performance as Christy Brown, an Irish writer and painter born with cerebral palsy, who learns to express himself using only his left foot. With Brenda Fricker in an equally stirring role as his devoted mother, the...

🎬 AVPR: Aliens vs. Predator – Requiem (2007) – Random Movie #15802

This week, we review AVPR: Aliens vs. Predator – Requiem (2007), the dark (literally) and brutal sequel that pits two of cinema’s most iconic extraterrestrial killers against each other in a small Colorado town. Directed by the Strause brothers, this entry in the AVP franchise turns up the gore but dials down the visibility, as the Predator and Xenomorphs clash in a...

🎬 The Parallax View (1974) – Random Movie #7057

This week, we review The Parallax View (1974), Alan J. Pakula’s chilling conspiracy thriller that taps into the paranoia of the 1970s. Warren Beatty stars as a determined journalist investigating a shadowy organization linked to a string of political assassinations. As he digs deeper, reality blurs, trust erodes, and the film descends into a nightmarish exploration of power, control, ...