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‘Top Gun: Maverick’ cruises along with spectacle, nostalgia

Much has been made about how “Halloween Ends” might be a good movie but it’s not a good “Halloween” movie. No such danger with another

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Christie chips in on Detection Club’s ‘Floating Admiral’ (1931) 

“The Floating Admiral” (1931) is billed as “the most unusual mystery ever written,” and it may indeed be. It’s a “round-robin” novel. Think of it

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‘Cry of Thunder’ (2008) has Holmes, Kolchak … and messy plot 

“Sherlock Holmes and Kolchak the Night Stalker: Cry of Thunder” (three issues, 2008, collected in 2010) includes the Tombstone Thunderbird myth – remarkably underused in fresh

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‘Pearl’ a darkly moving, stylish origin story of ‘X’ villain

Cinephiles knew about writer-director Ti West and actress Mia Goth before 2022, but if “X” didn’t make this their breakout year, its prequel (made during

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‘Bullets Over Broadway’ (1994) well written, not well directed

Woody Allen’s 1920s theater-meets-the-Mob farce “Bullets Over Broadway” (1994) is a well-written screenplay from a great concept, peppered with funny performances and premises. Yet it

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‘Endless Night’ (1967) shows the ‘happily ever after’ … not so happily 

“Endless Night” (1967) is often ranked as the Agatha Christie novel that most fits the horror label. Although I give a slight edge to proto-slasher

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‘The Ring Two’ (2005) an inferior, CGI-dependent sequel 

As “The Ring Two” (2005) opens, high school senior Ryan Merriman tries to pass the “You’ll die in one week” curse to classmate Emily VanCamp

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Smith taps funny bone, tugs heartstrings in ‘Clerks III’

One would be forgiven for forgetting that Kevin Smith is a talented filmmaker. He makes “hanging out with friends,” inside-joke-filled movies with ease, such as

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‘Barbarian’ a wild ride with scares big and small

Quentin Tarantino hasn’t done a straight horror film, but if he had, it might’ve looked something like “Barbarian.” This film immediately puts writer-director Zach Cregger

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‘Damien’ (2016) gives ‘Omen’ lad more adult struggles 

The 2010s were the decade of TV continuations of legendary horror franchises, highlighted by “Bates Motel” (2012-17), “Hannibal” (2013-15) and “The Exorcist” (2016-18). The least

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