FOLLOWING FILMS

The ending of The Shining isn’t just about madness, ghosts, or cabin fever; it’s about consumption. The Overlook Hotel doesn’t merely haunt its guests; it devours them. By the time Jack Torrance swings his axe through the snow-covered halls, he’s no longer a man losing control. He’s a man who’s been completely absorbed by the building itself, body and soul. That’s the real horror of The Shining: evil doesn’t simply kill you, it keeps you. When Jack’s face appears in that old photograph at the end, frozen in time among a party crowd from decades earlier, it’s not just a creepy final image. It’s the hotel declaring ownership. Jack isn’t dead; he’s part of the Overlook now. The hotel has a way of recycling souls, binding them to its endless cycle of violence and memory. It’s a closed loop; people arrive, the hotel consumes them, and their spirits become part of the decor. The line “You’ve always been the caretaker” isn’t just psychological manipulation; it’s cosmic truth. Jack has always ...

John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness (1994) stands as one of the most fascinating and unsettling horror films of its decade. It’s a movie that explores the breakdown of reason and the dangerous power of imagination, blending Lovecraftian cosmic terror with sharp commentary on mass culture and belief. By the mid-1990s, Carpenter was already known for crafting tightly controlled horror films that questioned the limits of reality, and this film pushed those ideas to their most disturbing extreme. What he created is both a love letter to horror fiction and a warning about how stories can consume the people who believe in them. The story follows John Trent, played with growing unease by Sam Neill, a skeptical insurance investigator who prides himself on his logic. At the start of the film, Trent is locked in a psychiatric hospital, raving about the end of the world. From his padded cell, he recounts how he got there, beginning with what seemed to be an ordinary job: tracking down the mi...

The 2025 Smurfs reboot, directed by Chris Miller, arrives with a clear mission: to breathe new life into a beloved franchise while introducing the little blue icons to a generation raised on Encanto and The Super Mario Bros. Movie. It’s a colorful, good-natured attempt that wears its heart on its sleeve. Backed by an A-list voice cast, Rihanna as Smurfette, John Goodman as Papa Smurf, and Natasha Lyonne, Sandra Oh, and Nick Offerman rounding out the ensemble, the film aims to balance nostalgia and modern energy. The result isn’t perfect, but it’s far from the disaster skeptics might have feared. Miller and his team deliver a lively, affectionate family film that may not redefine animation, yet succeeds in reminding us why the Smurfs have endured for over six decades. The story centers on Smurfette, who takes charge when Papa Smurf is kidnapped by the bumbling yet oddly sympathetic wizard Gargamel and his new accomplice Razamel. Her quest sends the Smurfs beyond their familiar mushroom ...

Ti West’s X trilogy, comprising X (2022), Pearl (2022), and MaXXXine (2024), is one of the most ambitious horror undertakings of the decade. Across three wildly different films, West and his creative partner and star Mia Goth dissect the intersecting ideas of ambition, aging, fame, and exploitation. On the surface, these are stylish genre pieces, slashers, psychodramas, and neo-noirs, but beneath that surface lies an incisive exploration of what it means to want to be seen and what one must sacrifice to achieve it. The films are connected through characters, but even more so through theme. In X, a group of young filmmakers in 1979 travels to rural Texas to shoot an adult film on an old couple’s property. What begins as a playful throwback to 1970s grindhouse quickly becomes a meditation on the fear of aging, the loss of youth, and the envy of vitality. The elderly hosts, Pearl and Howard, are both repulsed and fascinated by the youthful sexuality invading their farm. The killings that ...

  Today I’m joined by Sean King O’Grady to discuss his latest project, SUSPICIOUS MINDS SUSPICIOUS MINDS is a docuseries that investigates the disturbing rise of artificial intelligence as a trigger for delusional thinking. Through powerful firsthand accounts and in-depth interviews with leading experts in psychiatry, neuroscience, and AI ethics, the series unpacks a growing psychological phenomenon: individuals developing complex, often life-altering delusions rooted in AI technologies. From chatbots to surveillance fears, the show examines how emerging technologies are reshaping the landscape of paranoia and how these modern delusions echo, amplify, and challenge our historical understanding of the human mind. Suspicious Minds is a weekly video documentary series and podcast that is currently airing.. Platforms include YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Substack, and more. Series One will be released weekly for a total of 8 video and podcast episodes.

Richard Linklater’s Blue Moon is an elegy disguised as a conversation. Set over a single evening in 1943, the film imagines one long, whisky-soaked night in the life of lyricist Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke), the once-celebrated half of the songwriting duo Rodgers & Hart. While the musical Oklahoma!—Rodgers’s first collaboration with Oscar Hammerstein II—opens to thunderous applause across town, Hart sits at a bar wrestling with the loss of relevance, friendship, and self-worth. The title, borrowed from his most famous song, doubles as a metaphor: a reminder that brilliance sometimes burns out before anyone notices it’s gone. The entire film unfolds inside a mid-century Manhattan watering hole, where Broadway producers, chorus girls, and newspapermen drift in and out as Hart drinks, jokes, rants, and occasionally charms them. Robert Kaplow’s screenplay, adapted from his stage play, refuses conventional biopic structure. There are no flashbacks, montage sequences, or swelling musical cu...

David Mackenzie’s Relay is a rare kind of modern thriller: coolly intelligent, quietly unnerving, and built on ideas rather than explosions. It unfolds in a version of New York that feels both contemporary and haunted by the ghosts of older conspiracy films. At the center of it all is Riz Ahmed, giving one of his most quietly magnetic performances as Ash, a professional go-between who makes a living brokering deals between whistle-blowers and the corporations they threaten to expose. It’s an ethically ambiguous job, and the film never lets him or the audience forget it. The concept is simple but ingenious. Ash uses an old assistive communication system, a phone relay service originally designed for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, as his cover. It allows him to pass information between opposing parties while concealing his own identity. He is a middleman of secrets, a man who thrives in the murky space between truth and silence. When Sarah Grant, played by Lily James, contacts h...

As the temperatures drop and the holidays creep closer, Netflix is rolling out an impressive lineup of films, series, specials, and documentaries for November 2025. From long-awaited returns like Stranger Things 5 and Squid Game: The Challenge Season 2 to festive favorites and big-screen hits making their streaming debut, this month’s offerings are stacked. Here’s a look at what’s coming — and what’s leaving — Netflix in November. Big Premieres and Returning Favorites Netflix’s biggest event of the month is undoubtedly Stranger Things 5: Volume 1 , arriving November 26 at 5pm PT. The final chapter of the Hawkins saga picks up in the fall of 1987, as Eleven and the gang reunite for one last fight against Vecna and the darkness threatening their town — and the world. Reality fans will also be glued to Squid Game: The Challenge Season 2 (November 4), as 456 new contestants battle for a jaw-dropping $4.56 million prize. Another major return is The Vince Staples Show Season 2 (November 6),...

Jeff joins me to talk about his work on Tron: Ares, which is now in theaters. He also shot Amazon’s Being the Ricardos for director Aaron Sorkin, starring Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem. Kidman was so impressed with Jeff’s work that she later asked him to shoot her now-famous AMC Theatres commercial. We also dive into his long-running collaboration with David Fincher on films like Fight Club, The Social Network, and Gone Girl. Plus, Jeff gives us a glimpse into his latest project — the just-begun follow-up to The Social Network, titled The Social Reckoning. Aaron Sorkin is not only writing but also directing this one, with a stellar cast that includes Jeremy Allen White, Mikey Madison, Jeremy Strong, Betty Gilpin, and Bill Burr. When I first heard about The Social Reckoning, my initial reaction was, “Why on earth would they make that?” But the more I’ve thought about it, the more I’ve realized it’s an essential story — a vital piece of modern history that deserves to be explored and c...

November 2025 DVD, Blu-ray, and digital releases include a mix of anticipated sequels, reboots, and independent films, offering plenty of variety for collectors and movie enthusiasts. Below are the key titles set to debut throughout the month. The Naked Gun (November 11, 2025 – Paramount Pictures Corporation) Formats: 4K UHD, Blu-ray, DVD Genre: Comedy, Action Paramount revives one of the most beloved comedy franchises with The Naked Gun, this time starring Liam Neeson as Lt. Frank Drebin Jr. The reboot follows Drebin as he steps into his late father’s shoes to lead Police Squad and save the day in typically over-the-top fashion. The release features a strong supporting cast, including Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser, and CCH Pounder. The 4K UHD edition is expected to include remastered visuals and new behind-the-scenes content. Spinal Tap II: The End Continues (November 11, 2025 – Decal Bleecker) Formats: 4K UHD SteelBook, Blu-ray, DVD Genre: Comedy, Music The legendary mockumenta...