Author: John Dotson

Film FestivalsNews & Rumors

Fantasia Fest 2025: 8 Potential Gems at This Year’s Festival

The time has come for another Fantasia International Film Festival. The Canadian-based festival, which focuses on fantastical genre works, has been the home of numerous great titles over the years. For example, last year saw the premieres of high-profile offerings such as the Neon film Cuckoo and Chris Stuckmann’s debut feature film Shelby Oaks. Fantasia Fest has also welcomed up-and-comers such

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‘Superman’ Movie Review: The Heart and Soul Returns to DC

James Gunn’s Superman had a lot riding against it. The reboot follows a decade of messy attempts to build a popular DC Universe. An unforgiving fanbase of Zack Snyder loyalists accompanied the sinking ship. Superman’s last two reboots had lukewarm commercial success. The greatest achievement of those movies was arguably the casting of Henry Cavill.  After seeing the new entry, it

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‘M3GAN 2.0’: She’s Back with a Windows Vista Upgrade

M3GAN 2.0 revives the sassy Gen Z version of Chucky in a T2-inspired narrative. The first film had the Blumhouse robot terrorize a family; this time, she is a protector. The only core difference is that M3GAN 2.0 takes itself far less seriously than a James Cameron movie. The sequel, for the most part, is a reprogramming of the formula aimed

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’28 Years Later’ is a Challenging and Bold Sequel

28 Years Later is the strangest sequel in years. The original was gritty, dark, and had a low-quality aesthetic that added to the horror. The long-awaited sequel is far from conventional and takes numerous artistic swings. The world is lighter, the vision is more humorous, and there is a strange, heartwarming nature to the world. 28 Years Later has more in

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Review: ‘The Matrix’ in Shared Reality at Cosm (Dallas, TX)

The year was 1999, and my father came into my bedroom to tell me about a trailer for a movie, “We have to see,” he exclaimed. It had an intriguing title: The Matrix. Regardless of the film’s quality, a studio or director could not ask for a slicker movie title than The Matrix. As the film conveys, it burdens the viewer

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‘Ballerina’: An Imperfect but Satisfying ‘John Wick’ Spin-off

From the World of John Wick: Ballerina has faced considerable confusion in recent weeks, primarily due to a puzzling embargo that instructed influencers to share only positive reactions. The embargo leak went viral, sparking concern regarding the film’s quality. The resulting controversy and fears were difficult to ignore, especially since the spin-off television show The Continental also received a lukewarm reception.

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‘The Life of Chuck’ is a Cinematic Antidepressant

The Life of Chuck sees Mike Flanagan take a step outside the box of horror films. The writer and director already has a massive winning streak, having created fantastic works such as The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass, Gerald’s Game, and Doctor Sleep. Now, the filmmaker takes on a much more sentimental story from Stephen King—and it’s an astonishing piece

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‘Friendship’ Review: Paul Rudd Thinks Tim Robinson Should Leave

Friendship is about a man who takes the concept of friendship too far. In the artistic style of Tim Robinson, this is the perfect role for a performer of his talents. Robinson has made a career of crafting unbelievable skits around characters who increasingly defy the odds of inappropriate behavior, such as a man who denies driving his hot dog-shaped car

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‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ Plays Like a Tired Rock Star

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning reminds this reviewer of Metallica. It’s not because the iconic metal band contributed to the Mission: Impossible II soundtrack. This writer has seen Metallica perform live, possibly eight or nine times. Over the years, one thing remains true: the band gives it their all at every show. The last concert this writer attended was in

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