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!


Book ReviewsBooksFeaturesReviews

Book Review: ‘The Shining City’ (Our Broken Earth Book 2) by Demitria Lunetta

Mal has been walking for a long time. He’s looking for somewhere better, somewhere that isn’t poisoned by the toxic things humanity has done to the Earth. He started his journey with a large group of friends and family but one by one they all died. Now it’s just him. Mal is looking for the mythical “shining city”. If he can

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Review: ‘The Last of Us’ Season Finale – “Look For the Light”

The time has come to say bid farewell to the first season of one of the best video game adaptations in recent years. The Last of Us broke many records in terms of audience score and fan acquisition. Episode 8 gained more than 8 million viewers, a big jump from the record 4.7 million during episode 1. The HBO series is

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Review: ‘Scream VI’ Slays Hard for a Killer Time at the Movies

As a die-hard fan of the Scream franchise (and an ardent defender of 2011’s Scream 4), I hated 2022’s Scream “requel.” It was a lazy attempt at weaponizing the nostalgia of the original with a newer cast who couldn’t match the incredible chemistry Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette had in the previous installments. Worse yet, none of the performances

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Review: ‘Unwelcome’ – A Fresh Take on Horror

Unwelcome uses storybook creatures and a spooky forest to tell a haunting story that stays with you long after it’s over. This combination of magical creatures and horror isn’t something that is seen too often, with only a few movies jumping to mind as I’m writing this. So if done right, it’s a major win, although, it’s a risky gamble that

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Comics & CollectiblesComics ReviewsFeaturesReviews

DC Showcase: ‘Penguin: Pain and Prejudice’ Comic Review

Penguin: Pain and Prejudice is a beloved five-issue miniseries by Gregg Hurwitz, Szymon Kudranski, and John Kalisz detailing the origin of Oswald Cobblepart and his psychological motivations. The story was one of the first comics released after Flashpoint in 2011, when the rebooted “New 52” universe was reshaping DC Comics. Seven decades of comics history had been thrown out the window,

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Review: ‘The Winchesters’ Season 1 Finale 

After 13 episodes, we’ve finally made it to The Winchesters season 1 finale. As the first realized spin-off of Supernatural, which ran for 15 seasons, The Winchesters had some big shoes to fill, with the shadow of its predecessor looming over it. Jensen Ackles and his wife Dannell are the driving force behind this new look of the Winchester dynasty. Together

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Book Review: ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: The High Country’ by John Jackson Miller

In the year 2259, the U.S.S. Enterprise heads off to a planet so remote that it is only known by its surveyor’s catalog entry, FGC-7781 b. They’re investigating the disappearance of Braidwood, a civilian anthropological expedition that had been missing for almost a year. What they discover on FGC-7781 b is something that no one was expecting. Find out just what

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Book Review: ‘Liberty & Justice for All: An Xavier’s Institute Novel’ by Carrie Harris

In this latest book review from my reading nook here at The Cosmic Circus, I’m reviewing the novel that started the Marvel: Xavier’s Institute series, Liberty and Justice for All by Carrie Harris. In this introductory novel, two young students of the New Charles Xavier School go on a training mission. It’s their first time flying solo and it’s supposed to

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PodcastReviewsSeries & Specials ReviewsSpeculative Space

Cosmic Circle Ep. 22: The Mandalorian Season 3 Discussion

It’s been over two years since the last season of The Mandalorian, but finally, Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu are back. Join host Brian Kitson, along with fellow Cosmic Circus writers Anthony Flagg and Wiktor Reinfuss, as they break down the Mandalorian season 3 premiere and share their predictions for the rest of the season. What are your thoughts on

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Review: ‘The Last of Us’ Episode 8 – “When We Are in Need”

We learned more of Ellie’s (Bella Ramsey) story in The Last of Us episode 8. This was the second episode focusing mainly on the past, the other being “Long, Long Time”. It’s certainly a great way to enrich the story by including more of what is known from the game. Adding these greater explorations into side stories infuses a deeper and

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Book Review: ‘Ruin and Rising: A Grishaverse Novel’ By Leigh Bardugo

Alina is in a precarious position. She has basically become the prisoner of the Apparat. Trapped deep underground, far from the sunlight she needs, Alina is unable to use her powers. She needs to find the third amplifier to defeat the Darkling, but first, she has to find a way out from under the mountain and from under the Apparat’s control.

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Comics & CollectiblesComics ReviewsFeaturesReviewsStellar Picks

DC Showcase: ‘Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons’ Comic Review

Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons is a brand new retelling of the origin of Wonder Woman. This might seem like a well-known story to most Wonder Woman fans, but this is an all-new version of history, brought to life in a visually-arresting way that no medium has ever done before. Historia was one of the first comics announced for DC Black

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