Ghost Tour: "Paranormal Activity," reviewed.

Travis A. Knight and Cher Álvarez sleep with, on average, one eye open. (Teresa Castracane)

The canon of horror plays is, um, frightfully small. I haven’t seen the Stranger Things Broadway show, but I had a good time at Keegan Theater’s slimmed-down version of the West End staple The Woman in Black a decade or so back. (Fact Check: It was in a fact a dozen years ago, plus a couple months. Jesus.) But that had nothing on Paranormal Activity, a touring production related in name only to the eponymous found-footage scary-move franchise, My Washington Post review is here.

The French 2075: "Arco," reviewed.

My Washington Post review of Arco, the Oscar-nominated feature debut sci-fi from French director and cowriter Ugo Bienvenu, is here.

Artificial Stupidity: "Mercy," reviewed.

Kali Reis and Chris Pratt are pitiless LAPD cops in Mercy. (Amazon MGM Studios)

We used to crash cars in movies in this country, dammit. My Washington City Paper review of what I’m hoping will be one of the worst pictures of 2026 is right here.

Not All Trouble is Good Trouble, But "Young John Lewis" Is

Michael Bahsil as John Lewis at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial (Chris Banks)

My feature on Young John Lewis: Prodigy of Protest, a new musical opening in March at Mosaic Theater, is in your Washington City Paper.

Snake Oil: "Anaconda, reviewed."

Jack Black and Paul Rudd can’t save this ssssssssssstinker. (Sony Pictures)

You’ll want to sit down and do some exercises to limber up your brain before you try to process their supernova of perverse inspiration: Their new “Anaconda” is no mere reboot but in fact a midlife-crisis comedy about four pals who travel from Buffalo to the Amazon (as played by Queensland, Australia) to knock out a no-budget, guerilla-style remake of the 1997 Sony Pictures trash classic “Anaconda,” a fondly recalled object from their youths.

Still on the fence? Your stars are Paul Rudd and Jack Black, those winningly youthful 56-year-olds whose shtick is, like Rudd’s face, evergreen.

My Washington Post review of Anaconda, a toothless nomedy, is here.

All Hail "One Jingle After Another — Yuletunes Eclectic and Inexplicable XX: A Christmas Adventurers Adventure"

ctklimek · ONE JINGLE AFTER ANOTHER—Yuletunes Eclectic & Inexplicable XX: A Christmas Adventurers Adventure

My twentieth holiday mixtape, One Jingle After Another, hath arrived to facilitate your hall-decking and gay appparel-donning. Kick out the jams, Christmas-lovers.

Blue Man Regroup: "Avatar: Fire and Ash," reviewed.

He sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake…(20th Century Studios)

I wish I could give a more full-throated endorsement to the third, not-as-long-awaited Avatar, but I’m starting to have some real reservations about my first favorite filmmaker’s life’s work. My Washington City Paper review is here. You can also hear me discuss the movie with Stephen Thompson and Reanna Cruz on Pop Culture Happy Hour below.

It's Cryin' Time Again: "Hamnet," reviewed.

Jesse Buckley (center) would like to thank the Academy in advance. (Agata Grzybowska / Focus Features)

I hope I’m not being obstinate in my Washington City Paper review of Hamnet, Chloé Zhao’s lyrical adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel. I first read about the brief life of Hamnet Shakespeare in an issue of The Sandman by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess, published in 1990, decades before Gaiman was unmasked as a predator.