On DVD & Blu-Ray: October 30, 2018

The Ed Snowden subplot here is better than all of Snowden.

That said, this looks and feels like another in the vein of "Mila Kunis makes middle-of-the-road-comedy for gullible middle class". And it totally is. That it purports this perspective at all is obviously a tad annoying, but what is truly irritating is the product itself cements this stance by not trying. At all. Well, except for McKinnon...she can't seem to help but to give a damn. It is mostly thanks to McKinnon's energy that The Spy Who Dumped Me offers a few solid laughs and remains light on its feet even when we see every beat coming and even when writer/director Susanna Fogel and co-writer David Iserson get a little too carried away with the genre they're playing in.

Kudos to McKinnon for her Chris Kirkpatrick joke as well. That shit was gold. C-

In a scene meant to show how self-aware it is, The Darkest Minds instead reiterates just how derivative it is of every other YA-spawned franchise that has come before it and in turn, how mundane it is by comparison.

I mean, it’s fine. And it proves that sometimes the destination can be better than the journey as the final moments pack more genuine emotion and heart than the entire movie up until that point. So, it’s kinda completely whack, but at the same time makes the best of this combination of elements that you’ve seen countless times before.

I won’t remember it in two weeks, but hey-I was never bored. Take what you can get. C-

Reasons to see Teen Titans Go! To the Movies:

1) The "Circle of Life" lampoon

2) Singing Michael Bolton Rainbow Tiger

3) Utilizes a Huey Lewis classic

Also, the way in which it breaks down the thoughts and ideas of more super hero-aware viewers, and likely this movie's biggest audience, in a way that makes them feel both special and elevated while at the same time taking a crack at what they hold so dear is an impeccable balancing act the movie pulls off for the entirety of its brief running time. B+

If you know anything about me and my relationship to title screens then you'll know Mandy immediately got serious style points for delaying its title card until after a full hour into the movie. Speaking of that first hour, much of its moody eeriness screams little more than weird for the sake of being weird, but for one reason or another I kind of dug it and was into the construction of this time and place writer/director Panos Cosmatos was piecing together.

The second hour, for better or worse, is what you fully expect Mandy to be from the marketing material and the fact it stars a fifty-four year-old Nicolas Cage. I didn't mind it and there are certainly some fantastic looking set pieces throughout as Cage's Red Miller wields an elaborate axe/sword he's forged himself and slices down a black, leather-clad biker gang piece by piece. There isn't much left to be desired with Mandy and yet it still feels as if there is something missing. Audio throughout is a trip though.

Anyway, the main takeaway is the fact you best not ruin Cage's favorite shirt. He take's that shit seriously. B-

Okay. Who cut the scene where our "heroes" seek out Vincent D'Onofrio and listen to him give an exposition dump?

I ask because that's literally the only "Horror Movie 101" trope Slender Man doesn't ape. F