Mini Movie Reviews: Crime and Punishment

Today's theme is law breaking, featuring films by Jean-Pierre Melville, Orson Welles, John Woo, Otto Preminger, Akira Kurosawa, Walter Hill, and Michael Mann.

The Penguin: After Hours

"The world wasn't built for guys like us. That's why we got to take whatever we decide is ours.

I really enjoyed 2022's The Batman, but I was still cautious about the idea of movie stories set in that same world. Especially a television series that focused on the Penguin. He's a cool character, but I didn't see why this needed to exist or what story they could tell.

I didn't realize that this would be an origin story.

The Blues Brothers Movie

"We’re on a mission from God.”

Another detour from classic horror, and this time I journey instead into musical comedy. This time we’re checking out The Blues Brothers.

From Dusk till Dawn: Pilot

“The Gecko Brothers are back!”

A lot of my memories with my grandfather involve the two of us sitting on the couch at his house, watching something that I absolutely should not be watching. I remember watching this very weird crime movie with him, one that had George Clooney in it, and he was telling me that Clooney was actually a television star first, which completely blew my nine year old mind, when my mom came into the room, took one look at a very bloody motel room, and promptly made him turn it off.

It was only later that I found out that the movie we had been watching was actually a vampire movie. This is a lot less coy about that fact.

Mini Movie Reviews: Encounters of the Spooky Kind

Today's theme is supernatural or unexplained encounters featuring films by Robert Eggers, William Dieterle, Ingmar Bergman, Stanley Kwan, Lewis Allen, Peter Weir, Basil Dearden, Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, and Robert Hamer.

This Week: The Writers Room for Legends of Tomorrow

An Honest Fangirl: Football season is officially upon us, so I spent far too many hours watching that and various pre and post game shows. But I've also been watching more Shudder documentaries. Horror's Greatest is currently airing and it's very good!

Mini Movie Reviews: Hail to the King

Today's theme is the work of legendary wuxia filmmaker King Hu.

Rebel Ridge

I don't know why Netflix dumped this movie on its platform yesterday with absolutely zero marketing and zero festival screenings. And sure, the title is very generic and not very encouraging, but ignore that. This is one of the best action films I've seen in a very long time.

The Umbrella Academy: Season 4 Review

Allison: Excuse me! Claire! Claire!
Klaus: Would it make you feel better to remind you that we were exactly like that at her age?

Multiverse stories are always messy. The Umbrella Academy is no exception, and this last season – and this time it is the last season – is made more problematic by budget issues, where the number of episodes was cut from ten to six. At least we get the last apocalypse, which is good, because too many apocalypses become boring.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed it. Warning! Spoilers abound.

Mini Movie Reviews: Secrets and Lies

Today's theme is deception featuring films by Orson Welles, Luis Buñuel, Carol Reed, Jules Dassin, Robert Redford, and George Roy Hill.

Sharksploitation

Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer, and so I thought that I would end the “Fangirl’s Hot Summer Shark Festival Extravaganza of 2024” (name still pending) with a documentary looking at the history of shark attack movies, a genre that it calls “sharksploitation.”

From Dusk till Dawn: The Series

Season 1 | Season 2 |
Season 3 |
Related Links | Cast |

From Dusk till Dawn (2014-2016) follows the Gecko brothers, Seth and Richie, as they try to flee to Mexico following a crime spree. Along the way, they hijack the Fuller family's RV, take them hostage, and wind up trapped in a strip club run by vampires. Created by Robert Rodriguez, the series greatly expands on the backstories and Mesoamerican mythology only hinted at in the original 1996 film. Part crime drama, part horror show, it's a lot of fun and is an under appreciated gem in the vampire genre.

All episodes are being reviewed by An Honest Fangirl.

Season One

1.1 Pilot
1.2 Blood Runs Thick
1.3 Mistress
1.4 Let's Get Ramblin'
1.5 Self-Contained
1.6 Place of Dead Roads
1.7 Pandemonium
1.8 La Conquista
1.9 Boxman
1.10 The Take

Season Two

2.1 Opening Night
2.2 In a Dark Time
2.3 Attack of the 50-ft. Sex Machine
2.4 The Best Little Horror House in Texas
2.5 Bondage
2.6 Bizarre Tales
2.7 Bring Me the Head of Santanico Pandemonium
2.8 The Last Temptation of Richard Gecko
2.9 There Will Be Blood
2.10 Santa Sangre

Season Three

3.1 Head Games
3.2 La Reina
3.3 Protect and Serve
3.4 Fanglorious
3.5 Shady Glen
3.6 Straitjacket
3.7 La Llorona
3.8 Rio Sangre
3.9 Matanzas
3.10 Dark Side of the Sun

Related Links

From Dusk till Dawn movie review by Josie Kafka

Cast

D.J. Cotrona (Seth Gecko)
Zane Holtz (Richie Gecko)
Jesse Garcia (Freddie Gonzalez)
Eiza González (Santánico Pandemonium / Kisa)
Madison Davenport (Kate Fuller / Amaru)
Brandon Soo Hoo (Scott Fuller)
Jake Busey (Aiden Tanner / Sex Machine)
Wilmer Valderrama (Carlos Madrigal)
Jamie Tisdale (Margaret Gonzalez)
Robert Patrick (Jacob Fuller)
Esai Morales (Lord Amancio Malvado)
Briana Evigan (Sonja)