The Spool

Vietnam War flashbacks set to “Fortune Son.” “Surprise” Matt Damon cameos. Pop song dance parties at the end of American animated features. Throw in “gritty ultra-violent adaptations of Robin Hood” into this pile of “things people see all the time in movies”. That particular cinema fixture rears its head once more with .

For those intrigued by AppleTV’s adaptation of Hugh Howey’s novel series but find its deliberate pacing and hushed tones too off-putting, I have potentially good news. In Season 3, the slow-cinema of post-apocalyptic science fiction streaming series puts some pep in its step. No one is breaking into a sprint, but it has learned it can jog when the situation calls for it. As in season 2, the show splits its attention between two focal points.

Celebrity “free passes” are one of those relationship games that no one ever really expects to play out. For one, the chance of ever randomly encountering Harry Styles or Margaret Qualley at their local Kroger’s is vanishingly small. And even if one did, would they really have the juice to secure that flirt at 3:27 on Thursday afternoon while in their “today’s a running errands day” clothes? No, for most, the idea of free passes is a silly fantasy game.

Screenwriters Brian Lynch and Pierre Coffin (also the director) begin with a frightening phrase: “tribes of Minions exist across the globe”. As spoken by Olivia (Allison Janney), the film’s narrator, it is a quick handwave explanation for how and why focuses on a different gaggle of the little yellow guys than all their previous cinematic endeavors. Effective though the device is, it also raises the horrifying prospect of countless Minions wreaking havoc around the globe.

In the near future, Texas will open up America’s first “detransition clinic.” This disturbing domicile pushing a bogus “cure” for trans identity—a state of being that requires no cure, to be clear—is a microcosm of America’s long-standing antipathy towards LGBTQIA+ souls. Equally troubling is that this attitude doesn’t stop at America’s shores.

Hollywood will infamously adapt anything into a movie. Yet, outside of the Christian movie scene (where and reign supreme), motion pictures based on chart-topping tunes are scarce. Perhaps 1980s misfires like The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia and are to blame. That’s understandable; a couple of those are enough to put an industry off the idea permanently. Whatever the reason, musician Hayley Kiyoko is refusing the conventional wisdom.

While “women’s pictures” had an initial heyday in the 50s, they experienced an overheated renaissance in the 90s on channels like Lifetime. In this new era, the over-the-top nature of classics like or wasn’t a failing. It was a feature. Where else could you get female-centered melodrama and hear John Stamos utter a line like “Do a little crack for daddy!” in absolute seriousness?

Phew, feels good to get that off my chest. Over two years ago, when debuted, it kept the secret of John’s extraterrestrial nature close to the vest for most of the season. As a result, reviewing the show back in 2024 became an exercise in trying to affirm it was great—though my 90/100 score kind of surprises in retrospect—while dancing around “but there’s this twist I’m not sure it needed.” With Season 2, the question of whether benefits from John being an alien can finally be answered.

relates to its predecessor, , without quite the level of sweaty “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” backpedaling that had with . Still, this new installment does seem intent on “placating” certain audience complaints about , a film I found on repeat viewing to be surprisingly strong. Though not without some mighty fun charms, this “course correction” signals larger storytelling problems keeping it from reaching its predecessor’s lofty heights.

The action-comedy-musical classic turns 40 this year and remains both a staple of ’80s nostalgia & a love letter to Chicago. Over the years, I’ve had several opportunities to write at length about , John Landis’s mammoth musical-comedy centering on the misadventures of Joliet Jake (John Belushi) and Elwood Blues (Dan Aykroyd).