FRIDAY FAMILY FILM NIGHT

In which the Mister joins me in reviewing IN THE EARTH (2020), which is currently streaming on Hulu.  Written and directed by Ben Wheatley; the film follows the story of Martin (Joel Frey), a scientist who during a mysterious pandemic, goes to a station to go seek out an old colleague and former flame who has not been heard from in many months.  He goes on this journey with Alma (Ellora...

In which the Mister and Monsters join me in reviewing MY LITTLE PONY: A NEW GENERATION (2021), which we watched on Netflix. Directed by Robert Cullen, José Luis Ucha and Mark Fattibene; with screenplay credit to Tim Sullivan and Gillian Berrow, the film follows Sunny (Vanessa Hudgen) who is trying to mend fences between earth ponies, unicorns and pegasi.  With voice work by Kimiko Glenn, Jame...

In which the Mister and Monsters join me in reviewing Marvel Studio's latest offering into the superhero pantheon, ETERNALS (2021), which we watched on Disney+. With screenplay credits to Chloé Zhao, Patrick Burleigh and Ryan Firpo, and directed by Chloé Zhao; the film follows the story of a group of incredible beings who've been tasked with coming to Earth to protect the planet from Deviants. &nb...

In which the Mister joins me in reviewing SHADOW IN THE CLOUD (2020), which is currently streaming on Hulu.  With screenplay credits to Roseanne Liang and Max Landis, and directed by Roseanne Liang; the film follows the story of a young woman named Maude (Chloë Grace Moretz) who has been tasked with getting a confidential package to safety by some top brass during WW2.  She boards an out...

In which the Mister joins me in reviewing BATMAN & BILL (2017), a HULU documentary currently streaming on the service.  Directed by Don Argott and Sheena M. Joyce; the film follows Marc Tyler Nobleman, a writer and speaker, who one day comes upon a story that propels him into a journey of discovery about the true origin of the acclaimed Batman character, a character who had always been so...

In which the Mister and Monsters join me in reviewing GALAXY QUEST (1999), which we watched on STARZ, but available for rent on other platforms. With screenplay credits to David Howard and Robert Gordon, and directed by Dean Parisot; the film follows the story of actors from an old sci fi TV show, Galaxy Quest, who are at another Con, meeting fans and engaging in the same repetitive theater that c...

In which the Mister joins me in reviewing A CLASSIC HORROR STORY (2021), currently available on Netflix. Directed by Roberto De Feo and Paolo Strippoli, from a screenplay by Lucio Besana, Roberto De Feo and Paolo Strippoli; the film follows 5 strangers who embark on a road trip and are waylaid and then dark and sinister things start happening to them one by one. The film has a run time o...

In which the Mister and Monsters join me in reviewing ENCANTO (2021), currently available on Disney+. With screenplay credits to Charise Castro Smith and Jared Bush, story credits to Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Charise Castro Smith, Jason Hand, Nancy Kruse and Lin-Manuel Miranda and directed by Jared Bush, Byron Howard and Charise Castro Smith (co-directing credit); The film follows the Madrigal fam...

In which the Mister joins me in reviewing ENCOUNTER (2021), currently available on Amazon Prime. Directed by Michael Pearce, from a screenplay by Michael Pearce and Joe Barton; the film follows Malik (Riz Ahmed), who is in a race to save his sons from an impending alien invasion. A special shout out to the 2 young actors Lucian-River Chauhan and Aditya Geddada who play his sons Jay and B...

In which the Mister and Monsters join me in reviewing A BOY CALLED CHRISTMAS (2021), currently available on Netflix. Based on the book by Matt Haig, with screenplay credits to Gil Kenan (also the director) and Ol Parker; the film follows the origin story of Father Christmas played by Henry Lawfull (Nikolas) who is on a quest to get his Father back and bring back hope by finding the hidden kin...

In which the Mister joins me in reviewing VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE (2021), currently available to buy/rent on Prime Video. Directed by Andy Serkis, from a screenplay by Kelly Marcel and Tom Hardy; the film follows Eddie Brock and Venom (Tom Hardy in both roles), who share Eddie's body and are trying to find common ground and forge a harmonious life shared by man and symbiote. The film...

In which the Mister joins me in reviewing HOME SWEET HOME ALONE (2021), currently available on Disney +. Directed by Dan Mazer, from a screenplay/story by John  Hughes (with the current script attributed to Mikey Day and Streeter Seidell); the film follows the misadventures of Pam and Jeff (Ellie Kemper and Rob Delaney) who are forced to sell their home following some hard times. &n...

In which the Mister joins me in reviewing PIG (2021), currently available on Hulu.  Written and directed by Michael Sarnoski, from a story by Vanessa Block and Michael Sarnoski; the film follows Robin (in a breathtakingly poignant performance from Nicolas Cage), a man who traded his fame, fortune and comforts for complete isolation in the Oregon woods.  Amir (played by Alex Wolff) i...

In which the Mister and Monsters join me in reviewing 8-BIT CHRISTMAS (2021), currently available on HBO Max.  From the book and screenplay by Kevin Jakubowski and directed by Michael Dowse; the film follows Jake Doyle (masterfully embodied by the lovely and talented Neil Patrick Harris) in the present as he bonds with his daughter, Annie (Sophia Reid-Gantzert) over the story of the Nint...

In which the Mister joins me in reviewing NO TIME TO DIE (2021), the final installment in the Daniel Craig/James Bond/007 storyline.  Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, with a script by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Cary Joji Fukunaga and Phoebe Waller-Bridge; the story follows James Bond (Daniel Craig) who is quietly living in Jamaica when he is visited by an old acquaintance Felix L...

In which the Mister and Monsters join me in reviewing FREE GUY (2021), currently available to buy or rent on Prime Video.  With a screenplay by Matt Lieberman and Zak Penn and directing credits to Shawn Levy; we follow Guy (Ryan Reynolds) as an NPC (Non-Player Character) in a game that was originally created by Millie (Jodie Comer) and Keys (Joe Keery) but was then hijacked by...

In which the Mister joins me in reviewing MEN AND CHICKEN (2015), currently available on HULU and Tubi.  Written and directed by Anders Thomas Jensen, the story follows two brothers, Gabriel (David Dencik) and Elias (Mads Mikkelsen) who find out that their father isn't really their father and that they have a father who lives on a remote island.  They go on an adventure to find family th...

In which the Mister joins me in reviewing PASSING (2021), currently available on Netflix.  Written and directed by Rebecca Hall, from a novel by Nella Larsen, the story follows two Black women who reconnect as adults and must deal with the consequences of passing for white in 1920's America.  Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga shine in the lead roles.  The film has a run time of 1 h...

In which the Mister and Monsters join me in reviewing SHANG CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS (2021), currently available on Disney+.  With a screenplay by Dave Callaham , Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Lanham and is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton .  Shang Chi, Marvel's Master of Kung Fu, played by Simu Liu, makes his entrance into the Marvel Cinematic Universe as he must reunite...

In which the Mister joins me in reviewing ABOUT TIME (2013), currently available on Netflix.  Written and directed by Richard Curtis, the story follows Tim (Domhnall Gleeson) who finds out that the men in his family have been gifted with the ability to time travel.  At first incredulous but soon on board, Tim decides he'd like to use his powers to a find a girlfriend.  By chanc...

In which the Mister and Monsters join me in going all the way back to the 80s and reviewing SPLASH (1984), currently available on Disney+ but also other platforms.  Written Lowell Ganz, Babaloo Mandel and Bruce Jay Friedman and directed by Ron Howard, the film follows the chance meeting of Allen (Tom Hanks) and Madison (Daryl Hannah) who met as kids in Cape Cod but then reconnect as adults. &...

In which the Mister and Monsters join me in going all the way back to the 80s and reviewing SAY ANYTHING (1989), currently available on HBO MAX but also other platforms.  Written and directed by Cameron Crowe, the film follows the budding romance between Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack) and Diane Court (Ione Skye) in the Summer after high school graduation and before Diane departs to college in Eng...

In which the Mister and our special guest, Zach, join me in reviewing BRIMSTONE (2016), currently available on tubitv.com but also other platforms.  Written and directed by Martin Koolhoven, the film follows Joanna/Liz (sublimely played by Emilia Jones and Dakota Fanning) a young girl tormented by her father (an incredible performance by Guy Pearce), a twisted man who hides behind his façade...

In which the Mister and Monsters join me in reviewing DUNE (2021), currently available on HBO Max and in theaters.  With writing credits to Denis Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts and Eric Roth, from a novel by Frank Herbert; director Denis Villeneuve's take on Frank Herbert's sprawling space epic about a would-be messiah discovering his destiny amidst the chaos of war between the family houses of...

In which the Mister joins me in reviewing HIS HOUSE (2020), currently available on Netflix.  Written and directed by Remi Weekes, from a story by Felicity Evans and Tony Venables, the story follows a refugee couple who've made the agonizing journey to England, seeking asylum from their war torn country.  From a stint in detention, they are transported to a house where Bol (Sope Diri...