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Articles by R.j. MacReady
All Hallows Eve
Written by R.J. MacReady Published by Titan Books Edited by Ellen Datlow 2026, 330 pages, Fiction Released on September 8th, 2026 Review: I love Halloween, as so many of us do. There have been so many great anthologies over the years like Halloween, October Dreams, This is Halloween, Dark Hallows, Doorbells at Dusk, October Screams, Halloween Horrors, Literally Dead, and dozens of others.
Master of Horror: The Official Biography of Mick Garris
Written by R.J. MacReady Published by ATB Publishing Written by Abbie Bernstein 2021, 436 pages, Non-Fiction Released on August 13th, 2021 Review: I’d say 99.9% of casual horror fans could name a John Carpenter movie. Probably 80% a Wes Craven movie. 60% a Tobe Hooper movie. Half of them a John Landis or Joe Dante movie. But there’s another guy most horror fans probably couldn’t name a flick from, but he deserves to be in the lexicon of excellent horror movie directors, and his name is Mick Garris.
Jaws - The Original Blockbuster
Press enter or click to view image in full size Sitting in the warm glow of a huge Imax screen in a packed theater it occurred to me, this truly is the magic of Cinema. We are all gathered here to watch a movie that is 50 years old, but somehow still holds up to entertain the masses and be truly magnificent. Young and old were all glued to the screen as we watched this story unfold. No phones, no whispering, just attention being paid to one of the greatest American movies ever made.
Weapons - Maybe a bit too much love
Press enter or click to view image in full size At 2:17 every student from a third grade class except for one goes missing and no one knows why. That’s a hell of a hook and this movie should have been a homerun. I really wanted to like this movie. I’m a big fan of Barbarian and Zack Cregger as a filmmaker, but this was missing something and honestly I’m surprised it’s getting such glowing reviews.
The Naked Gun (2025)
Press enter or click to view image in full size This is not a movie I would normally go see or write about, but I enjoyed it too much not to. Aside from Scary Movie 1 and 2, spoofs are not really something I find funny most of the time. Normally they come off as lazy and uninspired. The Wayans Bros are the reason those first two Scary Movies work so well. I never even watched any of the original Naked Gun movies nor was I a fan of Leslie Nielson.
F1: The Movie
And I could not care less. This movie fucking rocked. Pure blockbuster entertainment and that’s absolutely fine. This type of popcorn summer movie has been on the verge of going extinct for quite some time. Comic book movies, sequels, and reboots seem to dominate as of late, but occasionally we get a big swing on a huge budget idea and it works. Between this and Sinners from earlier this year, things are looking up slightly for original ideas in bigger movies.
The Life of Chuck - I Contain Multitudes
Mike Flanagan has this amazing gift of being able to find beauty within bleakness. On the surface that might not sound very impressive, but he manages to do it with no contrived silver lining bull shit. Starting back at his earliest films, moving into his Netflix shows, he continues to shine as a writer and director. When one master storyteller adapts another master storyteller, we all win. Flanagan has shown he knows how to adapt Stephen King in a way very few have been able to do.
Opinion Fatigue got you down?
I need to write more. I have been saying that for days. Days which turned into weeks which turned into months. Grant it, I did write more in 2024 than I had in years, I still fell short of what I wanted to accomplish. So this piece is to rip the proverbial Band-Aid off and get back in the saddle. There were a couple of real reasons outside of excuses I didn’t write as much.
Heretic - Is it really just about control?
R.J. MacReady · Follow 5 min read · -- Two perfectly nice Mormons knock on your door. They ask if you requested information about the church. You answer yes, and they reply with unbridled enthusiasm at the opportunity to discuss God the Father with you. Of course you should invite them in and attempt to destroy the very foundation of their entire belief system. It just makes sense. I had cautious optimism after seeing the trailer for this movie. Hugh Grant seemed to be unhinged in all the best ways.
Here (2024)- Time Flies
R.J. MacReady · Follow 4 min read · -- Everything moves around you but you seem to stay in the same place. This movie takes that concept literally and does something special with it. It wasn’t perfect, the dialogue had issues at times, pacing was a problem, but I loved this movie. I saw it a few days ago and haven’t stopped thinking about it. I’m not sappy and normally don’t get caught up in a lot of what this movie is selling. I can’t really explain why I enjoyed it so much.
Deadpool and Wolverine — Not sure this fixes the MCU, but I’ll take it.
Can Deadpool be obnoxious? Sure. Is Marvel grasping at whatever straws they can get to stay relevant? I guess so. A lot of critics are saying that anyway. Marvel also seems to be leaning on the Multiverse thing way too much. Not to mention cameos galore with tons of fanservice. But I’ll tell you right now, I’m down for it. This movie fucking rocks. I am kind of a Deadpool nerd. Loved the first two Deadpool movies and read the comic a lot growing up. So perhaps I’m a bit biased.
Cage Chronicles - Dream Scenario
By R.J. MacReady This movie was an anomaly to me. On the one hand, it had such a cool premise and interesting way to address cancel culture and the dangers of social media. Then it just squanders all that with this bizarre third act about how capitalism is bad (which at this point if you still need to be told that we have bigger issues) and completely abandons what made it interesting.
Sometimes the hit man misses, but we'll always have Glenn Powell.
By R.J. MacReady Based on a true story, although they took some liberties. Hit Man follows a teacher, Gary, that moonlights as a fake hit man to get people arrested for trying to have someone killed. I mean the story itself was almost stranger than fiction so of course Hollywood had to adapt it. Unfortunately it ended up being Netflix, and most times that just doesn't...
Bad Boys: Ride or Die
By R.J. MacReady Didn't plan on writing about this, but felt compelled to after how much fun it was. Up front I have to admit I've been a fan of this franchise since the beginning. The buddy cop formula works for me ninety-nine percent of the time and obviously you can't go wrong with Smith and Lawrence teaming up again.
Late Night with the Devil
By R.J. MacReady I was hooked from the very beginning with this movie. The trailer already had me very intrigued, but we all know how misleading trailers can be. Another thing it had going for it was David Dastmalchian. I am convinced there is nothing that dude can't do. He is great in everything. Even that not very good Dracula movie, The Last Voyage of the Demeter. Which on...
Conan O'Brien is still the undisputed King of Comedy
By R.J. MacReady Look folks, I've been working and traveling too much to write. Thankfully I have been able to watch a lot of movies, which I will be writing about shortly. Until then, I wanted to take this minute to talk about the greatness of Conan O'Brien. Unless you live under a rock, you are aware of the popular show Hot Ones. If not, the idea is pretty...
Cage Chronicles — It Could Happen to You
Wow. It’s kind of crazy revisiting one of these movies from what feels like another world. This movie came out 30 fucking years ago. That just sounds crazy to write. Once you get past that shock, well shocking to me anyway, it’s a really charming movie. In case you haven’t seen this random romcom from 94, the premise is simple but really interesting. Nic Cage plays a good cop, Charlie Yang. I mean, annoyingly good. The movie lays it on thick that the guy does the right thing all the time.
Cage Chronicles - National Treasure: Book of Secrets
Ben Gates and crew are at it again in this sequel to National Treasure. He is out to prove the innocence of his family name involving the Lincoln assassination. You know, as one does. Honestly, there isn’t much to say on this one. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed revisiting it and the story is fun, but they didn’t take a ton of chances with it. It’s pretty by the numbers when compared to the first one. Not to say it isn’t slightly more outlandish. I mean, he does technically kidnap the president.
Cage Chronicles - National Treasure (2004)
“I’m gonna steal the Declaration of Independence.” When Hollywood needed a man that could deliver that line while making it believable and cool, they only had one choice, Nicolas Cage. It’s been years since I watched this movie, and I was surprised by how much I still loved it. For me it checks all the boxes I need — Adventure, history, and of course, Nic Cage. From the beginning of this movie Cage sells you on his character and the story.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) - The importance of physical media
I have watched this movie at least ten times since it came out in 2013. I can’t really explain why I love it so much. The original from 1947 is great, but there is something about this version that keeps me coming back. I also like the story from 1939 which inspired them both. Could it be the concept of daydreaming to keep your brain from dying while corporate America destroys you from the inside? Could it be the charm of Ben Stiller and adventure? I had no intention of writing about it.
Cage Chronicles - Butcher’s Crossing (2022)
Full disclosure here, I love Westerns. I grew up watching them and never stopped. Combine that with my love for Nicolas Cage, and it’s hard not to be a bit biased. I’ll try my best though. Hard to believe that Nicolas Cage has made over one hundred movies, and this is the first time he was bald for a role. There is some symbolism in the movie that shows his march into madness, but for the most part it could have worked just as well without it.
The man. The myth. The legend. Nicolas Cage.
You might hate him, you might love him, but you certainly know who he is, and you have certainly seen one of his movies. I decided at the beginning of 2024 I’m going to take myself on a Nicolas Cage journey. I have seen 80% of his movies, and love most of what I have seen. How can you not enjoy Raising Arizona, Wild at Heart, Face/Off, Con Air, and The Rock just to name a few. He is prolific to say the very least. Where it gets interesting to me is you can’t really quantify good acting.
Why Is Stephen King So Afraid of Vehicles?
By: R.J. MacReady In: Features Published: 26 September 2020 Written by R.J. MacReady Stephen King is a juggernaut of a writer. He's earned the title "King of Horror" by delivering hundreds of stories that in turn spawned countless adaptations into movies and television, and even a video game or two.
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