John Hansen

The Reef Stalked

‘The Reef: Stalked’ (2022) watered down compared to original

Toothy Tuesday (Movie review): Andrew Traucki still takes nature seriously, but this occasionally suspenseful sequel ultimately falls flat.

Firefly What Makes Us Mighty

M.K. England makes crisp ‘Firefly’ debut with ‘What Makes Us Mighty’ (2022)

‘Firefly’ flashback (Book review): The author nails the characterizations and language as the crew stumbles into a bad planetary situation.

Black Panther Wakanda Forever

‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ (2022) has heart, not enough soul

Superhero Saturday (Movie review): This sequel is hyper-aware that it lacks Chadwick Boseman, but it doesn’t have good enough ideas to make up for the loss.

Watcher

‘Watcher’ (2022) boasts style, paranoia, little else

Frightening Friday (Movie review): This Maika Monroe-starrer follows a grand tradition, but it lacks the layers of new gems like “Last Night in Soho.”

Scream VI

‘Scream VI’ is slick fun, but rules go out the window

Movie review: This requel-sequel is technically well-made, but does the saga now care less about being a “Scream” film?

The Replacements

‘Replacements’ (2000) strikes balance of heart, dumb humor

Throwback Thursday (Movie review): This loose riff on the NFL’s replacement-player period stands out due to Hackman and Reeves.

Firefly Carnival

‘Carnival’ (2021) the weakest of the first six ‘Firefly’ novels

‘Firefly’ flashback (Book review): It could’ve made for a good TV episode, but the mischaracterization of Shepherd Book is a misfire.

Piranha 3D and 3DD

‘Piranha 3D’ (2010), ‘3DD’ (2012) have gory fun with modern effects

Frightening Friday (Movie reviews): “Piranha 3D” blends laughs and shocks at an entertaining clip, but the law of diminishing returns kicks in on “3DD.”

Marvelous Mrs Maisel Season 5

‘Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ Season 5 looks to the future

First episode impressions (TV review): The flash-forwards provide talking points, but Tony Shalhoub and the gorgeous sets are what make “Maisel” marvelous.

Road House

‘Road House’ (1989) a gleeful mix of Western, fantasy, action

Throwback Thursday (Movie review): Although the premise is nuts, this Patrick Swayze classic does too many things well to be called Good-Bad.