The Reel Pineapple

The Reel Spooky Series continues with Mother's Instinct, the 1960s-set psychological thriller starring Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain as Celine and Alice, two best friends and next-door neighbors whose idyllic suburban lives are shattered by a tragic accident. What should bring the two women closer in grief instead drives a wedge between them, as quiet suspicion creeps into their decades-long...

The Reel Spooky Series continues with Woman of the Hour, Anna Kendrick's acclaimed directorial debut, based on the stranger-than-fiction true story of Cheryl Bradshaw, an aspiring actress in 1970s Los Angeles who steps in front of the cameras for an episode of The Dating Game — and unknowingly picks serial killer Rodney Alcala (Daniel Zovatto) as her match, while he's in the middle of a years-long...

Joshua Hunter continues the Reel Spooky Series with The Royal Hotel, Kitty Green's slow-burn thriller reuniting her with The Assistant star Julia Garner. Garner and Jessica Henwick play Hanna and Liv, two American backpackers who run out of money in Australia and take a live-in bar job at a remote Outback mining town pub — only to find themselves trapped in an increasingly menacing situation surro...

You grew up playing Hungry Hungry Hippos like it was the most chaotic thing imaginable. You had no idea. Hungry drops a group of thrill-seeking tourists into the Louisiana bayou for what promises to be an unforgettable riverboat adventure — and delivers exactly that, just not in the way anyone signed up for. Lost in the swamplands and completely off the grid, they find themselves hunted by somethi...

Nobody asked for a Matchbox movie. Nobody put it on their radar. Nobody circled October 9th on their calendar and said “that’s the one.” And yet — here we are. Mattel and Apple TV+ have delivered a globetrotting action adventure starring John Cena as an undercover CIA agent who rolls back into his hometown and accidentally drags his childhood friends into an international mission to save the world...

Tyler Perry is back on Netflix with his latest drama, and he’s swinging for something deeper this time. Doing Life follows Anika — a single mother working as a correctional officer — whose world shifts unexpectedly after an incarcerated man named Carousel saves her life during a prison riot. What unfolds is an unlikely bond built through letters, second chances, and the question at the heart of th...

Joshua Hunter continues the Reel Spooky Series with Longlegs, Osgood Perkins' occult horror-thriller starring Maika Monroe as Lee Harker, a new FBI agent assigned to an unsolved serial killer case that spirals into something far darker — and far more personal — than she expects. Nicolas Cage stars as the titular killer in a performance critics have called one of the most disturbing of his career(a...

Joshua Hunter continues the Reel Spooky Series with Lisa Frankenstein, the feature debut for Zelda Williams, written by Diablo Cody. Set in 1989, the film follows Lisa Swallows (Kathryn Newton), a misunderstood goth teen who accidentally brings her ideal Victorian-era crush (Cole Sprouse) back to life as a reanimated corpse — kicking off a murderous, darkly romantic journey to piece together both...

Joshua Hunter continues the Reel Spooky Series with Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, the Radio Silence-directed sequel that picks up moments after Grace (Samara Weaving) survives the Le Domas family's deadly game — only to discover the stakes just got a whole lot higher. Teamed up with her estranged sister Faith (Kathryn Newton), Grace must now survive four rival families hunting her with world changi...

Joshua Hunter continues the Reel Spooky Series with Ready or Not, the 2019 horror-comedy from Radio Silence (the duo behind Abigail and the recent Scream films), starring Samara Weaving as Grace, a new bride who learns on her wedding night that marrying into the wealthy Le Domas family means playing a deadly game — hide and seek, where losing means dying, and "til death do us part" takes on a whol...

Joshua Hunter continues the Reel Spooky Series with Monsters, Inc., Pixar's 2001 classic about Sulley (John Goodman) and Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal), two monsters working the night shift at a scare factory powered by children's screams — until a human toddler named Boo accidentally slips into their world and makes them question everything. Joshua breaks down why this one still holds up as one of...

Joshua Hunter reviews Heretic, the A24 horror-thriller from Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, starring Hugh Grant against type as Mr. Reed — a charming, seemingly harmless man who invites two young Mormon missionaries played by Sophie Thatcher & Chloe East into his home, only to trap them in a deadly game of faith & doubt. Joshua breaks down how Grant flips his beloved rom-com charm into somethi...

Joshua Hunter reviews Azrael, the dialogue-free action-horror film from director E.L. Katz & writer Simon Barrett, starring Samara Weaving as the title character in a world overrun by demonic, flesh-hungry creatures known as the Burned Ones. Hunted by a mute, devout community intent on sacrificing her to an ancient evil, Azrael refuses to go quietly into the silent night. Joshua breaks down wh...

Today's  Reel Spooky Series entry is Portal to Hell, Woody Bess's indie horror-comedy about Dunn (Trey Holland), a mundane debt collector whose life gets flipped upside down when he discovers a portal to hell hiding behind the washing machines at his local laundromat. When a demon named Chip (Richard Kind) shows up to drag Dunn's neighbor Mr. Bobshank (Keith David) to hell over an unpaid debt, Dun...

Joshua Hunter reviews MaXXXine, writer-director Ti West's blood-soaked conclusion to his X trilogy, starring Mia Goth as Maxine Minx, the sole survivor of X's massacre, now chasing stardom in a sleazy 1985 Hollywood. As Maxine finally gets her big break in the adult film industry, a mysterious killer known as the Night Stalker starts picking off aspiring starlets across the city — and Maxine's dar...

Joshua Hunter reviews The Substance, Coralie Fargeat's Cannes sensation starring Demi Moore as Elisabeth Sparkle, a fading Hollywood star fired from her fitness show on her 50th birthday, who turns to a black-market drug promising a younger, more beautiful version of herself — Sue, played by Margaret Qualley. The catch: they share one consciousness and must alternate control every seven days, no e...

Joshua Hunter reviews Mimics, director Kristoffer Polaha's horror-comedy about Sam Reinhold, a down-on-his-luck impressionist who makes a pact with Fergus — a wicked, strings-attached puppet promising him a shot at the big time. Joshua breaks down whether this creepy-but-charming genre mashup of comedy, romance, & light horror earns its Friday the 13th release date, digs into Polaha's dual rol...

This is it — the first episode in the annual Reel Spooky Series! Joshua Hunter kicks things off with Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein, the Oscar-winning director's long-awaited adaptation of Mary Shelley's Gothic classic, starring Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein and Jacob Elordi as his tragic creature. Joshua breaks down whether del Toro's signature dark, ornate style brings something genuinel...

Joshua Hunter reviews Batman: Caped Crusader Season 1, the film noir-inspired reimagining of the Dark Knight from Bruce Timm, J.J. Abrams, and Matt Reeves. Set in a 1940s-style Gotham, the series follows a young Bruce Wayne (voiced by Hamish Linklater) in the early days of his crusade against a corrupt city, facing reimagined versions of classic villains including The Penguin, Catwoman, Harley Qui...

Joshua Hunter reviews Dìdi, Sean Wang's semi-autobiographical directorial debut about Chris "Didi" Wang, a 13-year-old Taiwanese-American boy growing up in Fremont, California during the summer of 2008 — caught between his family's traditions at home and the skate parks, friend group drama, and first crushes of the world outside. Starring Izaac Wang and Joan Chen, the film premiered at Sundance to...

Joshua Hunter reviews Problemista, Julio Torres' surrealist comedy and feature directorial debut, in which he stars as Alejandro, an aspiring toy designer from El Salvador struggling to bring his strange, imaginative ideas to life in the Big Apple. With his work visa running out, a job assisting an erratic art-world outcast (Tilda Swinton) becomes his only shot at staying in the country. Joshua br...

Joshua Hunter takes on Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Again?, the Netflix threequel that reunites the original couples 16 years later for a wedding — with Taraji P. Henson joining the cast and bringing a secret of her own. Joshua breaks down whether this franchise still has anything new to say almost two decades in, or if the drama's gotten a little too familiar, or if this is just another pi...

Joshua Hunter reviews Maddie's Secret, John Early's acclaimed directorial debut, starring himself as a dishwasher-turned-viral food influencer whose picture-perfect public life hides a private struggle. Joshua breaks down whether Early's bold, satirical swings behind and in front of the camera earn the festival buzz this one's been generating, and gives his honest verdict on whether this indie dar...

Joshua Hunter reviews Busboys, the self-financed comedy from David Spade and Theo Von, who co-wrote, produced, and star as two down-on-their-luck friends convinced that becoming waiters will solve all their problems. Joined by a chaotic supporting cast including Tim Dillon, Bobby Lee, and Chris Elliott, the film leans hard into raunchy, low-brow comedy — & Joshua breaks down whether that gambl...

Joshua Hunter reviews The Runner, Kevin Macdonald's Amazon Prime psychological thriller starring Gal Gadot as a high-powered London attorney forced into a citywide sprint after a mysterious caller (Damian Lewis) kidnaps her son and demands she follow a series of increasingly ruthless commands. Critics have been brutal, calling it everything from "boneheaded" to an "unintentional comedy" — so Joshu...