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.

Some Country For No Men: "Predator: Badlands," reviewed.

Love the One You’re With: Elle Fanning and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi. (20th Century Studios)

I fear I’ve let you all down by not publishing a thinkpiece exploring What It All Means that both of the Arnold Schwarzenegger / Jesse Ventura movies from 1987, Predator and The Running Man, have a sequel and a remake (respectively) hitting cinemas a week apart from one another, 38 years later.

Anyway, my Washington City Paper review of the new Predator: Badlands is here.

You can also listen to the Pop Culture Happy Hour episode where I discussed the film with pals Glen Weldon and Ronald Young, Jr. below.

"The Naked Gun," denuded.

Liam Neeson has a very particular set of briefs in The Naked Gun. (Paramount)

Funny is back, baby. My Washington City Paper review of The Naked Gun ‘25 is here.

Why, ay? "A Wrinkle in Time," reviewed.

TIme wrinkles in Arena Stage’s new musical. (T Charles Erickson)

It’s tough not to root for a new musical adaptation of Madeleine L’Engel’s seminal YA novel A Wrinkle in Time. I hope its creators will try, try again.

Undead Reckoning: "28 Years Later," reviewed.

You can trust him; he’s a doctor. Ralph Fiennes in 28 Years Later.

I don’t know if I need two more of these in the next couple of years, but 28 Years Later, the reunion of director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland 23 year after their influential zombie flick 28 Days Later, is pretty great. My Washington City Paper review is here.

Actually, "Frankenstein" is the name of the asshole

Rebecca S’manga Frank and Nick Westrate create a monster. (DJ Corey Photography)

At Shakespeare Theatre Company, Emily Burns updates Mary Shelley’s 200-year-old monster mash for the tech oligarch age. My Washington City Paper review is here.

Dance Macabre: "Ballerina," reviewed

The right to bear de Armas: A girl gets a flamethrower in a flick From the World of John Wick. (Murray Close)

My Washington City Paper review of Ballerina, from the non-wizarding World of John Wick, is here.