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!


Movie ReviewsReviews

‘Arthur The King’ is Worth Every Tear for Dog Lovers

There’s something about dogs in major motion pictures that sucker-punches me in the gut the older I get. The first film I saw that predominantly featured a canine that wasn’t a children’s comedy was Marley and Me. Those who have seen that film know how emotionally charged that film is, which left me in a puddle of tears. Since that infamously

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Book ReviewsBooksReviewsStellar Picks

Book Review: A Feather So Black (Fair Folk 1) by Lyra Selene

Twelve years ago, twelve girls disappeared from Fodla. They were stolen by the Folk in an effort to end a war between Humans and the Fair Folk. In their place were left sticks, bees, and other things. But when the princess of Fodla was taken, something different was left. A young girl who looked almost exactly like her, but wasn’t quite

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Film FestivalsMovie ReviewsReviews

‘We’re All Gonna Die’ Review: A Boy-Meets-Girl Sci-Fi Story Stretched Too Far

There’s a good short film hiding somewhere inside Matthew Arnold and Freddie Wong’s grief-tinged sci-fi feature film debut, We’re All Gonna Die. A story that could have been told beautifully in about 45 minutes, maybe even leaving you wanting a little more, is instead stretched to beyond its limits in the feature version, dragging on for almost two full hours.  [Warning:

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Game ReviewsGamingReviewsStellar Picks

‘Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth’ Game Review: Among the Franchises’ Best

“The unknown journey will continue.” This was the promise made at the end of the first installment of the Final Fantasy VII: Remake trilogy. When the game came out in April 2020, Square Enix and Director Tetsuya Nomura embarked on the daunting task of reimagining one of gaming’s most iconic RPGs. Remake (and the later enhanced Remake Intergrade) received high praise from Final Fantasy fans, becoming one of the

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Film FestivalsGamingMovie ReviewsReviews

Review: ‘Grand Theft Hamlet’ Shown at SXSW 2024

If anyone ever complains to you that there’s nothing new under the sun in the world of cinema, please kindly point them to the documentary Grand Theft Hamlet. This experiment from British co-directors (and romantic partners) Pinny Grylls and Sam Crane covers the gamut of human emotion, from triumph to tragedy, in its 89 minutes of infectious fun. The story behind

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Movie ReviewsPodcastReviews

Dune: Part Two Podcast (Cosmic Circle Ep. 51)

Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two is here, and we here at The Cosmic Circus are ready to accept Timothée Chalamet (and Zendaya’s!) ascendancy. It’s been a long road to the second half of this newest adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic novel from 1965, and there have been a few bumps along the way. From teases to whether or not “Part Two” of Dune would actually happen to dual strikes in

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Book ReviewsBooksReviews

Book Review: ‘The Eaters of Light’ by Rona Munro a Doctor Who story

Bill and the Doctor have a debate to settle in The Eaters of Light by Rona Munro. What happened to the “lost” Ninth Legion of the Roman Army? Stationed in Britain in the second century A.D., the Ninth Legion suddenly disappeared without a trace. To this day, no one knows what happened to them. But of course, the Doctor knows, or

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Film FestivalsReviewsTV/Streaming Series & Specials Reviews

Review: HBO’s ‘Ren Faire’ A Docu-Fantasia Full of Power Struggles

“Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” That quote, coined in the late 19th century by English historian and politician Lord Acton, would serve as a perfect tagline for the upcoming three-part HBO docuseries Ren Faire by director Lance Oppenheim. The first hour of the limited series, what Oppenheim describes as a “docu-fantasia,” premiered at SXSW 2024 and will turn up on

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Film FestivalsReviewsTV/Streaming Series & Specials Reviews

Review: Netflix’s ‘3 Body Problem’ Premiere Episode An Intriguing Start

When David Benioff and DB Weiss, the creators of Game of Thrones, inked a deal with Disney to helm a new Star Wars cycle before backing out in favor of a deal with Netflix, many people called out the pair for essentially losing interest in the series that made them storytelling superstars. Nevertheless, anyone who appreciated the deeply addictive Thrones had to

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