Tom Santilli
Chesterfield
Film Critic. Movie Show Plus || Critics Choice Assoc. Hollywood Creative Alliance. Host of MJR's "The Magic of Movies" series. He/Him
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Articles by Tom Santilli
Review: 'The Flash' achieves ludicrous speed Original
Tom Santilli is a professional film critic, TV personality, host and the Executive Producer of Movie Show Plus. Twitter: @tomsantilli [twitter.com] | Movie Show Plus [movieshowplus.com] It's fast, furious and funny. But traveling faster than the speed of light comes with the increased risk of tripping up. The long-awaited, somewhat controversial "The Flash" has finally reached theaters.
Movie Review: 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse' one of the year's best
Tom Santilli is a professional film critic, TV personality, host and the Executive Producer of Movie Show Plus. Twitter: @tomsantilli [twitter.com] | Movie Show Plus [movieshowplus.com] It is impossible to believe that the 2018 animated "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" could be improved upon.
Movie Review: 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse' one of the year's best
Tom Santilli is a professional film critic, TV personality, host and the Executive Producer of Movie Show Plus. Twitter: @tomsantilli [twitter.com] | Movie Show Plus [movieshowplus.com] It is impossible to believe that the 2018 animated "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" could be improved upon.
Survivor 44 Episode 9 Recap: Chaos Rains
In the aftermath of the major blindside of Brandon Cottom, Episode 9 of Survivor saw a lot of players jockeying for their final positions. It’s quite rare that there would be a tribe split of 3-3-3, but that’s exactly the scenario we found ourselves in at we reached this crucial stage in the game. And the evenness of it all led to mass chaos, even among the pouring Fijian rain that fell throughout this week’s episode.
Survivor 44 Episode 9 Recap: Chaos Rains
In the aftermath of the major blindside of Brandon Cottom, Episode 9 of Survivor saw a lot of players jockeying for their final positions. It’s quite rare that there would be a tribe split of 3-3-3, but that’s exactly the scenario we found ourselves in at we reached this crucial stage in the game. And the evenness of it all led to mass chaos, even among the pouring Fijian rain that fell throughout this week’s episode.
Survivor 44 Episode 8 Recap: The Three Stooges Strike Back
After the forced break-up of everybody’s favorite nerd-couple, Matt Blankinship and Frannie Marin last week, there was barely enough time to wipe away the tears. Survivor churned forward, and a major power-play evened the playing field. Despite the odds, it was the self-proclaimed “Three Stooges” – YamYam Arocho, Carolyn Wiger and Carson Garrett – who ended up in the power position this week.
Survivor 44 Episode 7 Recap: Love Hurts
Episode 7 of Survivor was by all measures the best episode of the season. But for those rooting for the “nerd-mance” to prevail, it was quite frustrating. Love comes in all shapes and sizes, but it rarely comes at all on Survivor. When it does, it provides players with the rarest commodity ever to be found within the game: Someone you can unequivocally trust. For Matt Blankinship and Frannie Marin, they had found that in each other.
Survivor 44 Episode 6 Recap: Earning The Merge
In this new era of Survivor, there are no hand-outs. Everything must be earned. That rang true for the 12 remaining players who needed to fight their way into the next phase of the game. For one contestant, karma would come back around to snuff their torch, just shy of this particular finish line. Josh Wilder had been skirting disaster for several weeks now, but his time was finally up. A twist would save him from being blindsided by his original tribe.
Movie Review: 'A Thousand and One' the year's first great film
Tom Santilli is a professional film critic, TV personality, host and the Executive Producer of Movie Show Plus. Twitter: @tomsantilli [twitter.com] | Movie Show Plus [movieshowplus.com] A stellar achievement both in storytelling and in acting, "A Thousand and One" lands as one of the year's best films, and one that will linger with you well beyond the ending credits. Grade: A- Writer/Director A.V. Rockwell becomes an instant front-runner for "breakthrough" talent of the year.
Movie Review: New 'Dungeons & Dragons' falls victim to Marvel-itis
Tom Santilli is a professional film critic, TV personality, host and the Executive Producer of Movie Show Plus. Twitter: @tomsantilli [twitter.com] | Movie Show Plus [movieshowplus.com] Must every intellectual-property (IP) succumb to the Marvel formula? If you like your characters bland, your dialogue snarky and your battles meaningless, then you'll love "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves," a movie that wants you to like it so bad, that it actually hurts.
Survivor 44 Episode 5 Recap: Adding Insult To Injury
One crazy thing about Survivor is that it is so unpredictable by nature. You never quite know what’s going to happen, by design. And yet the game is so tough, that the occasional medical evacuation is inevitable. But whenever these med-evacs do happen, it always leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It seems unnatural. The game is changed, and not because of strategy, alliances, or blindsides.
Review: 'John Wick 4' a poetic, imperfect final chapter that goes down swinging for the fences Original
Tom Santilli is a professional film critic, TV personality, host and the Executive Producer of Movie Show Plus. He also is the featured film critic appearing on WXYZ Channel 7 Action News in Detroit, and appeared weekly on FOX-2 in Detroit from 2016-2020. TOM'S GRADING SCALE: B- and above: Thumbs Up C+ or below: Thumbs Down "John Wick" was the unlikeliest of box office successes when it hit theaters nearly a decade ago (2014).
Survivor 44 Episode 4 Recap: Felicia Strikes Back
If you’re about to declare, “Bye, Felicia!” to someone, you best make sure that Felicia is well and ready to leave Survivor. In this week’s episode of Survivor 44, “Felicia” was the eccentric Carolyn Wiger, one of the more interesting contestants introduced to us this season. Hers was the first face we saw this season, in a confessional where it seemed hard for her to even state her name and occupation. Thus far, she’s been portrayed as an unpredictable, loony, wild card.
Survivor 44 Episode 3 Recap: Fake It Till You Make It
There was a lot of deception on this week’s edition of Survivor 44…perhaps even more than normal. Not one, but two fake Idols were introduced into play, with all of the materials and the idea itself being provided by production, with hopes that it would play out this exact way. They couldn’t be more ecstatic thus far, even though we haven’t exactly seen how either of these fake Idols will play out.
The Academy Awards | WXYZ.com
The latest stories ahead of the 2025 Oscars, which are taking place on Sunday, March 2, 2025.
Review: 'Scream VI' proves that this slasher franchise is losing its sharp edge Original
Tom Santilli is a professional film critic, TV personality, host and the Executive Producer of Movie Show Plus. He also is the film critic for WXYZ Channel 7 Action News in Detroit, and appeared weekly on FOX-2 in Detroit from 2016-2020. Feel free to use the "search" below to find your favorite titles.
Survivor 44 Episode 2 Recap: The Devil Made Me Do It
After an injury-filled premiere episode, it was finally back to business this week on Survivor. We’ve all heard the description of our conscience as having “an angel and a devil on both shoulders.” Each whispering into your head as to what action you should take, from their unique and biased perspectives.
Watch the Academy Awards in style this Sunday at the annual Oscar Gala Original
Tom Santilli is a professional film critic, TV personality, host and the Executive Producer of Movie Show Plus. He also is the film critic for WXYZ Channel 7 Action News in Detroit, and appeared weekly on FOX-2 in Detroit from 2016-2020. The biggest night in Hollywood is almost here: The 95th Academy Awards air live on Sunday, March 12th on ABC (WXYZ) at 8pm EST.
Predicting the 2023 Oscars!
Tom Santilli is a professional film critic, TV personality, host and the Executive Producer of Movie Show Plus. He also is the film critic for WXYZ Channel 7 Action News in Detroit, and appeared weekly on FOX-2 in Detroit from 2016-2020. The 95th annual Academy Awards are right around the corner, airing this Sunday, March 12th at 8pm (EST) on Channel 7! For many, they can't come soon enough...for no other reason than to try to move us past the debacle of last year's awards show.
Survivor 44 Premiere Recap: Blood, Sweat, Tears, And Injuries
And just like that…we’re back! Survivor – the longest-running and inarguably greatest Reality Television Competition Show of all time – has officially entered into its 44th (!!!) season and 22nd year on-air.
Review: 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania' an ambitious forward plunge for the MCU Original
Tom Santilli is a professional film critic, TV personality, host and the Executive Producer of Movie Show Plus. He also is the film critic for WXYZ Channel 7 Action News in Detroit, and appeared weekly on FOX-2 in Detroit from 2016-2020. Feel free to use the "search" below to find your favorite titles. TOM'S GRADING SCALE: B- and above: Thumbs Up C+ or below: Thumbs Down Despite my first-ever job being in a comic book store, I am by no means a Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) slappy.
Review: The 2023 Oscar Nominated Short Films Original
DETROIT (WXYZ) — Tom Santilli is a professional film critic, TV personality, host and the Executive Producer of Movie Show Plus. TOM'S GRADING SCALE: B- and above: Thumbs Up C+ or below: Thumbs Down One of my favorite programs of each and every year is once again in theaters: I urge everyone reading this to seek out the 2023 Oscar Nominated Short Films Program, where you can watch all of this year's nominated Short Films across three categories: Animated, Live-Action and Documentary.
Review: 'Knock at the Cabin' one of the worst films of the year, yes already Original
Tom Santilli is a respected journalist and member of the Critics Choice Association, Detroit Film Critics Society and Online Film Critics Society since 2010. Tom is the Executive Producer and co-host of the syndicated TV show, "Movie Show Plus," which has been on the air for 20+ years in the Metro-Detroit market and Mid-West. He is also the film critic for WXYZ-TV. Twitter: @tomsantilli, Facebook & Instagram: @filmsurvivor. Knock knock. Who's there?
Meet The Cast Of Survivor 44, Premiering March 1st On CBS!
That’s right: Survivor is still on the air and going strong! The longest-running Reality TV competition show in America returns to CBS on Wednesday, March 1st, to begin its 44th (!!!) season with a batch of 18 all-new contestants! The show continues its high ratings as staple “appointment television” viewing for CBS on Wednesdays. Survivor enters its fourth season of the so-called “new era,” with a more diverse cast and a shorter 26-day game. Past seasons were typically 39 days.
The Traitors Coming To Peacock; Interviews With Host Alan Cumming And Contestants Kyle Cooke, Rachel Reilly, Cody Califiore, And Cirie Fields
There’s a new reality competition show coming Thursday, Jan. 12th streaming on Peacock, that mashes up all-stars from across the Reality TV spectrum. All 10 episodes of “The Traitors” will be available at launch, in a game that relies on (what else?) deception, sneakiness and treachery. The show is hosted by Tony-Award winning actor, Alan Cumming, with the show being set in his castle in the foggy hills of Scotland.
The Traitors Coming To Peacock; Interviews With Host Alan Cumming And Contestants Kyle Cooke, Rachel Reilly, Cody Califiore, And Cirie Fields
A big swirling bucket of the latest rumors, celebrity news and Hollywood gossip. The premier celebrity gossip app. The only apps that gives you a comprehensive real time celeb news stream. Gossip Bucket aggregates and streams the latest gossip news and headlines from the top sources in one place.
Top Survivor Winners Of All-Time – Updated Through Season 43 - Reality Tea Original
No season of Survivor would be complete if we didn’t compile the all-time list of winners each season! With 43 seasons now in the rear-view, we just witnessed Mike Gabler becoming the latest person to win Survivor, the second-oldest person (at age 57) to ever win…but where does Gabler’s win sit on the all-time list? Each season of Survivor is unique, featuring its own set of rules, and players. Sometimes, comparing who is “best” comes down purely to one’s own personal opinion.
Top Survivor Winners Of All-Time - Updated Through Season 43
A big swirling bucket of the latest rumors, celebrity news and Hollywood gossip. The premier celebrity gossip app. The only apps that gives you a comprehensive real time celeb news stream. Gossip Bucket aggregates and streams the latest gossip news and headlines from the top sources in one place.
Tom Santilli, Author at Reality Tea
Tom Santilli is an entertainment writer who has been covering Survivor professionally since 2010 (he has been a devout fan of the show since Day One). Tom is an approved member of the CBS press corp covering Survivor and has access to weekly interviews with contestants voted off the show each week. Tom has interviewed many of the "A-List" Survivors including Richard Hatch, Russell Hantz, Sandra Diaz-Twine, John Cochran and countless others.
Ranking The ‘Most Memorable’ Seasons Of Survivor – Updated Through Season 43 - Reality Tea Original
We’re now three seasons deep into a new era of Survivor, with Season 43 now officially a thing of the past. So where does this most current season fit into my list of most memorable? When ranking the most memorable seasons of Survivor, “best” can mean a lot of things, so my list takes into consideration not only the “best” season but the most “memorable” seasons of all time, as they may eventually be remembered from our current vantage point.
Survivor 43 Finale Episode Recap: The Greatest Move In Survivor History Original
“Expect the unexpected” is usually the go-to phrase of Big Brother, but it sure can be applied to what was a wild, emotional finish to Survivor 43. Heading into Wednesday’s three-hour Finale, it was Jesse‘s game to lose. He had been the season’s puppet-master, its “silent assassin,” and had just pulled one of the biggest moves of the season in blindsiding his ride-or-die, Cody (while also flushing two Idols from the game).
REVIEW: I'm not going to lie: 'Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio' is one of the year's best films Original
Tom Santilli is a respected journalist and member of the Critics Choice Association, Detroit Film Critics Society and Online Film Critics Society since 2010. Tom is the Executive Producer and co-host of the syndicated TV show, "Movie Show Plus," which has been on the air for 20+ years in the Metro-Detroit market and Mid-West. He is also the film critic for WXYZ-TV. Twitter: @tomsantilli, Facebook & Instagram: @filmsurvivor.
Survivor 43 Episode 12 Recap: Major Blindside Sets Stage For Finale Original
Wow. That word is not only my reaction to tonight’s episode of Survivor, but it’s also all that the blindsided victim could manage to say after finding himself on the wrong side of the season’s biggest move. Jesse and Cody were tight. So tight, that Cody never, ever saw it coming.
Survivor 43 Episode 11 Recap: The Tide Is High Original
How do you follow up last week’s epic, come-from-behind challenge win by Noelle? Let’s submerge ourselves in this week’s episode of Survivor, shall we? Don’t worry, we’ll come up for air eventually, but you may want to hold on tight! Say what you will about this season of Survivor, but this cast is among the more competitive that I can remember. These challenges that they’re competing in aren’t anything new. And yet the max effort that is being put forth is quite a sight to behold.
Survivor 43 Episode 11 Recap: The Tide Is High
A big swirling bucket of the latest rumors, celebrity news and Hollywood gossip. The premier celebrity gossip app. The only apps that gives you a comprehensive real time celeb news stream. Gossip Bucket aggregates and streams the latest gossip news and headlines from the top sources in one place.
Survivor 43 Episode 10 Recap: Anatomy Of A Blindside
For it being the day before Thanksgiving, this episode of Survivor was no turkey. We are watching some incredible players enter the home-stretch of a long and grueling game, and there’s almost zero dead weight. As discussed at Tribal Council, this is a game chock-full of deadly assassins. There is a precision to who is being targeted, and Jesse even gave us a three-step breakdown as to how to pull off a perfect blindside.
Survivor 43 Episode 10 Recap: Anatomy Of A Blindside
For it being the day before Thanksgiving, this episode of Survivor was no turkey. We are watching some incredible players enter the home-stretch of a long and grueling game, and there’s almost zero dead weight. As discussed at Tribal Council, this is a game chock-full of deadly assassins. There is a precision to who is being targeted, and Jesse even gave us a three-step breakdown as to how to pull off a perfect blindside.
Survivor 43 Episode 10 Recap: Anatomy Of A Blindside
A big swirling bucket of the latest rumors, celebrity news and Hollywood gossip. The premier celebrity gossip app. The only apps that gives you a comprehensive real time celeb news stream. Gossip Bucket aggregates and streams the latest gossip news and headlines from the top sources in one place.
Survivor 43 Episode 9 Recap: The Belly of the Beast Original
So, does anyone want a papaya? It was a giant week for Survivor, a double-stuffed episode that gave us not one, but two Immunity winners and two Tribal Councils. It was also a showcase for strategic players to shine and for a few to start setting up the paths to their end-games. Moves were made not only to create a major blindside, but also we got to see some serious jury management machinations at play.
Survivor 43 Episode 8 Recap: Bigger Fish To Fry Original
First of all, great job Survivor! You managed to hoodwink all of us last week into thinking that Dwight left the game with Jeanine‘s hidden Immunity Idol in his pocket! Well not only was it not in his pocket (it was in his crotch…”Don’t worry,” he told Jeanine. “I’ll wash it.”), the Idol wasn’t even on his person! Unbeknownst to the viewers but as revealed on Wednesday’s new episode, Dwight had actually handed it off to Jesse before heading to Tribal Council.
Survivor 43 Episode 7 Recap: 'This Is The Big Leagues' Original
These “new era” Survivor players just get it. As Jesse explained during this week’s newest episode, this is the point of the game, “Where legends are made or you flame out. This is the big leagues.” You simply aren’t going to coast through Survivor, and win. Sure, you may make it to the end of the game, but you’ll never have done enough to convince a jury of your peers that your game was worth awarding a million dollars to.
Survivor 43 Episode 7 Recap: ‘This Is The Big Leagues’
A big swirling bucket of the latest rumors, celebrity news and Hollywood gossip. The premier celebrity gossip app. The only apps that gives you a comprehensive real time celeb news stream. Gossip Bucket aggregates and streams the latest gossip news and headlines from the top sources in one place.
Survivor 43 Episode 6 Recap: Earning The Merge Original
It’s the new era of Survivor, but some things always stay the same. For example, the merge episode is always one of the more exciting chapters of the season, but unlike in the “old school” days, one doesn’t simply “make the merge.” In this new tougher (yet shorter) edition, the merge must be earned. Another thing that remains the same no matter what new twists are thrown our way, is that some players just can’t outrun their early game missteps.
Survivor 43 Episode 5 Recap: A Few Bad Actors
On the heels of last week’s episode of Survivor, where Lindsay was sent home due to her own paranoia, it appeared for a minute that history was going to repeat itself this week. Cassidy was feeling worried that she was going to be voted out next, despite the fact that she was being constantly reassured by her cool, calm and collected tribe mates, Karla and James, that she was totally safe. But things did go differently this week, thanks to the poor acting skills of island BFFs, Ryan and Geo.
Survivor 43 Episode 5 Recap: A Few Bad Actors
A big swirling bucket of the latest rumors, celebrity news and Hollywood gossip. The premier celebrity gossip app. The only apps that gives you a comprehensive real time celeb news stream. Gossip Bucket aggregates and streams the latest gossip news and headlines from the top sources in one place.
Survivor 43 Episode 4 Recap: I'm Not Paranoid, You're Paranoid!
It’s a scarcely talked about attribute, but being able to handle your own paranoia is a key component to being a winning Survivor contestant. Sure, in a game such as this one, paranoia is impossible to avoid completely…in fact, if you have ZERO paranoid thoughts while playing Survivor, there is a strong likelihood that you have either already been sent home, or are about to be.
Review: 13 Halloween movies the whole family can enjoy Original
DETROIT (WXYZ) — Halloween is right around the corner, but there are several movies available to watch this October that won't scare the bejeezus out of your and/or your kids. It's tough enough to find family-friendly films in general, let alone Halloween-themed ones. Well we've got you covered, with 13 movies that would be a perfect treat — no tricks — for the whole family this Halloween.
Survivor 43 Episode 3 Recap: Keeping The Tribe Strong
We’ve bee spoiled so far this season, with 210 minutes of Survivor 43 over the first two weeks. This week’s episode was the first of the season to clock in at the standard 60 minutes (less with commercials, but you know what I mean), so perhaps rightly so, it felt a bit anemic and standard. That’s not to say there weren’t some important developments, but overall, this was definitely a weaker chapter in what still seems like a very promising season.
Survivor 43 Episode 2 Recap: To Bead Or Not To Bead...That Is The Question
Survivor 43 continues its strong start this week, following up last week’s two-hour Premiere Episode with a fun and unpredictable 90-minute Episode 2. The additional time is important this early in the season, as it gives us a chance to become more invested in this group of contestants, and it allows the producers even more room for character-building and story-telling.
Big Brother 24 Season Finale Recap: When A Win Is Much More Than A Win
Resiliency. That is the word that my fellow Michigander and former pageant queen, Taylor Hale, used to describe her season of Big Brother. I’ll use a few others to describe it: Epic. Moving. Powerful. Transcendent. Important. Historic. Taylor Hale is the winner of Big Brother 24. Read that over and over again. Taylor did it. She won Big Brother! She actually did it.
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