Reviews

Although we mainly focus on reviews of movies and TV or streaming series, we have a wide array of reviews here at Cosmic Circus. This includes concerts, tech and other products, travel, games, books, and comics.

Refer to the Stellar Picks archive to find some of our top-rated movies, shows, books, games, and more!


ReviewsTV & Streaming Series Reviews

‘Neagley’ Review: A Worthy Spinoff from the ‘Reacher’ universe

Prime Video’s Neagley series is the first spinoff of Reacher. This show has the opportunity to explore a character who has always existed close to Reacher while remaining quite different from him.  Frances Neagley (Maria Sten) was initially introduced as a supporting character in the Alan Ritchson-led Reacher series, but she never really felt like one. Instead, the show made her

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Movie ReviewsReviews

‘The Last House’ Review: Netflix’s Locked In Film Should Be A Last Resort

French producer and director Louis Leterrier and screenwriter Matthew Robinson’s The Last House is flawed in its storytelling. The problems don’t just lie in setting a narrative in Seattle, Washington, but in believing that its populace feels alone. I remember visiting the area in late July and seeing how a beautiful community can coexist. That is, until the shooting in Seattle

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EventsFilm FestivalsMovie ReviewsReviewsStellar Picks

TIFF 2026 Movie Review: ‘Fjord’ is a Necessary Exercise of Introspection

The metaphor is heard loud and clear in Cristian Mungiu’s Fjord, this year’s Palme d’Or-winning picture, as the evangelical, conservative Gheorghiu family moves into a highly progressive (and liberal) neighborhood in Norway. If you didn’t click it because you didn’t meet Mungiu’s latest at its terms, it’s an apt parallel for the return of conservatism, which has become more prominent around

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EventsFilm FestivalsMovie ReviewsReviews

TIFF 2026 Movie Review: ‘Hope’ is Cinema at Its Purest

There isn’t a better way to open the 51st edition of the Toronto International Film Festival than with a special screening of Na Hong-jin’s Hope. This is the South Korean genre artist’s first feature in ten years, following the masterful The Wailing in 2016. It’s been a while, which made the prospect of a Cannes premiere all the more special for

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Movie ReviewsReviews

‘Mayday’ Review: Daley & Goldstein’s Fresh Take on the Action-Comedy

In Apple TV’s Mayday, writer-directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein take us back to 1980’s Russia in the midst of the Cold War, a markedly harsher and more grounded backdrop than the two have explored before. Daley and Goldstein are no strangers to the action comedy genre: both 2018’s Game Night and 2023’s Dungeons and Dragons – Honor Among Thieves

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Movie ReviewsReviews

‘By Any Means’ Review: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Shines in Uneven Drama

After an incredible feature directorial debut with The Inspection, Elegance Bratton returns with a more politically charged drama by recounting the unlikely alliance between the FBI and the mob in By Any Means. While this partnership has never been officially confirmed by the bureau, historical records indicate that the agency hired notorious mob enforcer Gregory Scarpa Sr. (Mark Wahlberg) to perform

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Book ReviewsBooksReviews

‘Star Wars: Edge of the Abyss’ By Rebecca Roanhorse Book Review (‘Reign of the Empire’ #2)

Edge of the Abyss is the second book in the Star Wars: Reign of the Empire trilogy. The novel is written by Rebecca Roanhorse, who has authored Star Wars previously with Resistance Reborn.  The first book in the series, The Mask of Fear, received critical acclaim for its in-depth look at how the Empire rose from the ashes of the Republic and

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Game ReviewsGamingReviewsStellar Picks

‘Star Wars: Zero Company’ Game Review: Clone Wars Era Play Focused on Strategy and Tactics

Since the day it was announced, Star Wars Zero Company was a gaming experiment that many had doubts about. For decades, Star Wars games have explored the galaxy through the eyes of various characters and stories and through the windows of many vehicles. Players have flown X-wings, fought through massive multiplayer battles, hunted Sith Lords or Jedi with a lightsaber, and

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Game ReviewsGamingReviews

‘1666: Amsterdam’ Game Review (Early Access): Potential May Not Be Enough

1666: Amsterdam is one of those few gaming projects in the modern era that has a fascinating story hidden deep within it. This game has been in development for a long time. It was finally released because Patrice Désilets, the creative person responsible for the early Assassin’s Creed games, regained the creative rights after a legal battle. As for the players

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