THE UNDOING MINISERIES REVIEW

Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant are one of those rich, successful, beautiful, adored and adorable Manhattan couples that you all apparently just LOVE to watch miniseries about. But we don’t love them, do we? We like to watch horrible things happen to couples like this. And sure enough, there’s a brutal murder of a young, beautiful, impoverished mom of one of Grant’s child patients, and sure enough, he was having an affair with her, and sure enough he runs so it looks like he did it, AND SURE ENOUGH…you’re all like, “I wonder if he did it? I should watch 6 episodes of this HBO show by the director of “The Night Manager” and the writer of “Big Little Lies” to find out because pffffffffffttttttttpppphhhhhhhh”. Ok, fine, we were those people too. Listen to Chris, Davey, Brad, and Jordan actually have a great time whaling on this one.

**This review is available in a longer, uncut, video version for TIME LORD subscribers and above right here**

WATCH HERE

DIRECTED BY: Susanne Bier

STARRING: Nicole Kidman, Hugh Grant, Édgar Ramírez, Noah Jupe, Lily Rabe, Matilda De Angelis, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Edan Alexander, Annaleigh Ashford, Fala Chen, Tarik Davis, Michael Devine, Maria Dizzia, Rosemary Harris, Vedette Lim, Janel Moloney, Matt McGrath, Jeremy Shamos, Tracee Chimo Pallero, Jason Kravits, Donald Sutherland, Noma Dumezweni, Sofie Gråbøl, Douglas Hodge, Adriane Lenox

 

YOUR REVIEWERS

 

Christopher Lawrence Cox (Founder, Da Boss)

Born in the wilds of northern Virginia, in 1992 Chris managed to put all of his survival skills to use and barely escaped with his life to Austin Texas, where ever since he’s dabbled in everything from plumber’s assistant to sandwich maker, from band to bar management. An opportunity to see theatrical release films for free by becoming a critic on a local public access show called “The Reel Deal” turned into a full-time job when Chris and his friends decided to take it to the internet. They built the site Spill.com, adding multiple podcasts and animated features, to no small amount of success. During this time, a fortuitous friendship sprung up between Chris and young Brian Salisbury, who was also a local film critic, and they merged their forces of will, and their laundry list of ideas for shows, to eventually build this paradise you see before you. Follow Chris on Twitter and Facebook and check out his Amazon Wish List.

 

Jordan Cobb (Screener Squad)

Born with a comic book in one hand, a camera in the other, and in front of the television as WrestleMania played out, Jordan Worth Cobb was thus birthed into this crazy world. A Digital Filmmaking major from the University of Central Arkansas, Jordan has done it all in film from directing, writing, editing, and producing in addition to skills involved in film and TV criticism, journalism, and years of podcasting experience. On any given day, her ADHD riddled brain bounces focus from film to pro wrestling to TV to superheroes to noir to video games to espionage and yes, even to sports. She played little league you know. For more of this eccentric nerd, you can follow her on Twitter here and read her original writings on Deepest Corners of My Notebook.

 

Bradly Martin (Screener Squad, Eye on the Prize, Breakfast Pub)

SUPERINTELLIGENCE MOVIE REVIEW

As the world crumbles under the weight of disaster, disease, and poverty, one final threat looms over the horizon: James Corden. Which is a weird coincidence because he’s also playing the threat in this new movie! Reviewers Alex, Davey, Eliot, and Neil are up against this HBO Max exclusive film which stars Corden as a rogue AI that is following Melissa McCarthy around, as it has decided she is the most average person alive on the planet, to decide if the world is worth saving. Did we press the kill switch, or did we teach this mess of code how to love? Find out now!

**This review is available in a longer, uncut, video version for TIME LORD subscribers and above right here**

WATCH HERE

DIRECTED BY: Ben Falcone

STARRING: Melissa McCarthy, James Corden, Bobby Cannavale, Brian Tyree Henry, Jean Smart, Sam Richardson, Ben Falcone, Michael Beach, Rachel Ticotin, Karan Soni, Jessica St. Clair, Sarah Baker, Jay Lay, Usman Ally, Jenna Perusich, Steve Mallory, Courtney Patterson, Damon Jones, Jessie Ennis, Eduardo Franco, Ken Griffey Jr, Octavia Spencer, William Daniels

 

YOUR REVIEWERS

 

Davey Peppers (Staff Writer, Audio and Video Editor, Screener Squad, Eye on the Prize)

Many words have been used to describe Davey Peppers. Words like “Eh” and “Please go outside, just once”. He studied film and advertising at Southern Illinois University – Carbondale, because two degrees in fields with terrible job placement is better than one, and currently runs the YouTube channel Game Mechanics. He is easily distracted by shiny things and even the most basic passing mention of a movie being sad. He can be found on Twitter as well as staring at a blank wall wondering what the point is, and if his spending so much time staring at walls is the reason he’s not funny.

 

Alex Sullivan (Screener Squad)

This Alex. He Shy.

Fascinated by the countless worlds that can be visited by simply pressing “Play”, Alex finds himself awash in an endless stream of titles. Whenever a particularly strange title strikes his fancy, he becomes an enamored prophet of this new idea, spreading its good word to whomever will listen. Alex constantly works to improve his fluency in the universal language of cinema. Underneath his mellow facade, he’s a chihuahua, shaking with excitement to be a part of such a wonderfully diverse and welcoming community of voices that share his enthusiasm.

 

Eliot Nelson (Screener Squad, Staff Writer)

Soaked in the soggy rains of Seattle, Eliot developed a love of sci-fi, movies, cartoons, heavy metal, and all of geekdom. Pursuing his passion for the written word, he got his BA from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. He has since worked exclusively in the foodservice industry, like any liberal arts major worth their salt. Eliot wiles away the hours listening to movie reviews, writing his epic sci-fi novel, and consuming as much media as possible. His favorite movies include The Lord of the Rings, City of God, Dawn of the Dead, and Groundhog Day. When not rambling to himself about the ineptness of entertainment executives, Eliot posts infrequently on Twitter and squawks regularly on his podcast The Debasement Tapes.

 

Neil Anderson (Screener Squad)

I first got hooked on movies when I saw Star Wars at a drive-in theater as a kid. Growing up in a small, rural town meant not having access to a lot of movies. In college, that all changed.

ANIMANIACS TV SERIES REVIEW

22 years of silence and now… it’s time for Animaniacs! The Warner Brothers and the Warner sister are back from the dead. No one is safe in this reboot of the classic show, including the entire concept of reboots. To cover a show this insane we needed to find some reviewers who are ZANY to the MAX, so we have recruited Nathan, Rose, Mike Riojas and Marcos (who has bologna in his slacks) to discuss whether or not this show lives up to what it once was. Listen to find out!

**This review is available as a longer, uncut, video version for TIME LORD subscribers and above right here**

WATCH HERE

CREATED BY: Wellesley Wild and Steven Spielberg

STARRING: Rob Paulsen, Jess Harnell, Tress MacNeille, Maurice LaMarche, Frank Welker, Stephanie Escajeda

 

YOUR REVIEWERS

 

Nathan Flynn (Screener Squad)

A recent transplant to Austin originally hailing from the wretched hive of scum and villainy that is the Midwest, Nathan Flynn has been a movie super freak since he saw “An American Werewolf in London” way too young and grew up worshipping the James Bond franchise and all things related to Cold War-era spycraft. When he’s not watching movies and being a constant defender of the Tron franchise, he can be found practicing his second biggest love: cooking (having been a chef for 10+ years) and hitting his head up against a desk to write screenplays that nobody reads. He also spearheads his own podcast on the Mission Impossible franchise titled “Mission: Impodible”. He can be found rarely posting on his personal twitter.

 

Rose Mattox (Screener Squad, Eye On The Prize)

Originally hailing from Austin then Houston, Rose has been an avid movie and TV fanatic pretty much since birth. She spends spending her days watching Star Trek reruns, 60’s spy fiction, and Audrey Hepburn movies with her beloved minion (see: dog Riley). She also occasionally dabbles in comedy, screenwriting, as well as graphic and interior design. Rose has been contributing to One of Us since 2019 as a member of the Screener Squad, as well as making regular appearances on Eye on the Prize during awards season. She can be found on Twitter at @nightattheopera.

 

Michael Riojas (Screener Squad, Highly Suspect Reviews)

The man with the ever-changing nicknames. Born in Austin, Riojas was rocketed to Del Rio, Texas, a literal small ville. In his youth, he was bitten by a radioactive… okay, look. Mike is not very good at this whole “talking about himself” thing. But he has been so obsessed with comics, video games, and anime since childhood- that if one has to choose between listening to Joe Quesada or Mike over any obscure Spider-Man trivia, they go to him (or, at least Martin Thomas once said so). He is also a big fan of “Ghostbusters” (he even owns his own jumpsuit and two, that’s right, TWO proton packs!), collects toys and video games, and will defend “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace” if provoked. He lives in Austin with his beloved Dachshund-Maltese and trusted sidekick, Dean. He can also be heard on RageSelect. He can be found on Twitter and Instagram.

 

Marco Noyola (Digital Noise, Highly Suspect Reviews, Screener Squad, Audio Editor)

By day, Marco is a mild-mannered office worker, but by night he is a mild-mannered movie watcher. He does other mild-mannered stuff too.

“You don’t need to follow me. You don’t need to follow anybody!”

UNCLE FRANK MOVIE REVIEW

“I wish Paul Bettany was MY gay uncle” was the refrain from some of our critics on this review of the new Amazon Prime film, “Uncle Frank”. Sophia Lillis (“It”) heads off to college in NYC in the 70s and accidentally is witness to her Uncle’s hetero-deception being revealed. To her, anyway. Even as she is still coming to terms to what is entirely foreign to a young South Carolina girl in that decade, a death in the family and a trip back home threatens to reveal all. Check out what Chris, Frank, Jennifer, and Jordan had to say about this movie. Spoiler: It’s one of the best films of the year.

**This review is available as a longer, uncut, video version for TIME LORD subscribers and above right here**

WATCH HERE

DIRECTED BY: Alan Ball

STARRING: Paul Bettany, Cole Doman, Sophia Lillis, Peter Macdissi, Steve Zahn, Judy Greer, Margo Martindale, Stephen Root, Lois Smith, Jane McNeil, Caity Brewer, Michael Perez, Zach Strum

 

YOUR REVIEWERS

 

Christopher Lawrence Cox (Founder, Da Boss)

Born in the wilds of northern Virginia, in 1992 Chris managed to put all of his survival skills to use and barely escaped with his life to Austin Texas, where ever since he’s dabbled in everything from plumber’s assistant to sandwich maker, from band to bar management. An opportunity to see theatrical release films for free by becoming a critic on a local public access show called “The Reel Deal” turned into a full-time job when Chris and his friends decided to take it to the internet. They built the site Spill.com, adding multiple podcasts and animated features, to no small amount of success. During this time, a fortuitous friendship sprung up between Chris and young Brian Salisbury, who was also a local film critic, and they merged their forces of will, and their laundry list of ideas for shows, to eventually build this paradise you see before you. Follow Chris on Twitter and Facebook and check out his Amazon Wish List.

 

Frank Calvillo (Highly Suspect Reviews, Screener Squad)

Born and raised in South Texas, Frank currently lives in Austin and has been in love with movies ever since his father showed him some Three Stooges shorts when he was five years old. Today he loves all kinds of film, regardless of era, country, budget or genre. He believes every film has an audience and is at least one person’s favorite movie. After writing for Sight & Sound and Slackerwood, he now writes for Cinapse where his increasingly random taste in all flavors of cinema (from Rashomon to Mars Attacks!) continues to thrive. His ultimate goal is to write a script for his boyhood crush, Michelle Pfeiffer.

 

Jordan Cobb (Screener Squad)

Born with a comic book in one hand, a camera in the other, and in front of the television as WrestleMania played out, Jordan Worth Cobb was thus birthed into this crazy world. A Digital Filmmaking major from the University of Central Arkansas, Jordan has done it all in film from directing, writing, editing, and producing in addition to skills involved in film and TV criticism, journalism, and years of podcasting experience. On any given day, her ADHD riddled brain bounces focus from film to pro wrestling to TV to superheroes to noir to video games to espionage and yes, even to sports. She played little league you know.

SUPERNATURAL – THE FINAL SEASON REVIEW

In which your dedicated critics, die-hard, still watching and enjoying this fifteen season long CW monster-hunter show, take on not only the final season and goodbye, but take a look at what worked and didn’t over the length of the entire series. Which makes this a longer than usual review for us. And honestly, we coulda recorded 5 more of these and still not covered everything we would have liked to. Regardless, listen to Chris, Rae, and Allen take on the devils and angels of Supernatural. And if you want to hear more in-depth season by season reviews, you can check out our archive of some of ’em here.

**This review is available in a longer, uncut, video version for TIME LORD subscribers and above right here**

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

CREATED BY: Eric Kripke

STARRING: Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Alexander Calvert, Misha Collins, Jim Beaver, DJ Qualls, Mark Pellegrino, Ruth Connell, David-Haydn-Jones, Osric Chau, Rob Benedict, Emily Swallow, Emily Perkins, Ty Olsson, Anna Grace Barlow, Shoshannah Stern, Christian Kane, Dimitri Vantis, Jake Abel, Keith Szarabajka, Kim Rhodes, Lisa Berry, Sarah Smyth, Yadira Guevara-Prip, Genevieve Padalecki, Danneel Ackles, Rachel Miner, Meagen Fay, Paxton Singleton, Christian Michael Cooper, Alessandro Juliani, Felicia Day, Briana Buckmaster, Christine Chatelain, Spencer Borgeson

 

YOUR REVIEWERS

 

Christopher Lawrence Cox (Founder, Da Boss)

Born in the wilds of northern Virginia, in 1992 Chris managed to put all of his survival skills to use and barely escaped with his life to Austin Texas, where ever since he’s dabbled in everything from plumber’s assistant to sandwich maker, from band to bar management. An opportunity to see theatrical release films for free by becoming a critic on a local public access show called “The Reel Deal” turned into a full-time job when Chris and his friends decided to take it to the internet. They built the site Spill.com, adding multiple podcasts and animated features, to no small amount of success. During this time, a fortuitous friendship sprung up between Chris and young Brian Salisbury, who was also a local film critic, and they merged their forces of will, and their laundry list of ideas for shows, to eventually build this paradise you see before you. Follow Chris on Twitter and Facebook and check out his Amazon Wish List.

 

Lyrae Anderson (Screener Squad)

You can call me Rae. You can also call me a film lover. I’ll watch it all — small screen; big screen, and everything in between. I have attended and worked for Fantastic Fest and South by Southwest for many years. I married a film geek as well. While we don’t agree on everything, we agree on our love of movies.

 

 

 

Ali (Allen) Cheikhezzein (Screener Squad, The Final Days of Gotham, Breakfast Pub, Their Final Watch Begins)

No one is quite sure where Allen originated from. Some say the deserts of Arabia. Some say the suburbs of Canada. Wherever he came from, he has quickly and incoherently babbled his way into many reviews and podcasts. With his loud opinions about movies, television shows, and all sorts of media, he is not afraid to voice an opposite opinion. And he will often argue and fight to the bloody end to defend those opinions. So if you ever plan to face him on the battlefield,...

EMBATTLED MOVIE REVIEW

David McKenna, writer of “American History X”, delivers yet another gut punch with his newest drama, “Embattled”. Jett Boykins faces increasing pressure to become a “man” from his MMA world champion father, Cash “The Slayer” Boykins (Stephen Dorff). With his mother, Susan (Elizabeth Reaser) and developmentally challenged brother Quinn at his side, Jett must persist through the traumas of his father’s unorthodox tutelage and violent temper in order to rise above the vicious cycle of abuse. Adrian, Matt, and Alex went a few rounds, dissembling this tale of family ties and toxic masculinity.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE/TRAILER

DIRECTED BY: Nick Sarkisov

STARRING: Elizabeth Reaser, Stephen Dorff, Donald Faison, Karrueche Tran, Darren Mann, Said Taghmaoui, Drew Starkey, Drew Scheid, Ava Capri, Charles Green, Mimi Davila, Donald Cerrone, Michael Wayne Foster, John Flanagan, Lindsay Garrett

 

YOUR REVIEWERS

 

Adrian El Critico (Screener Squad)

Though born and raised in Chicago, this film critic is Mexican to the bone. Adrian has been watching movies since he was a child, many of which might not have been age appropriate. Still, he couldn’t get enough. All throughout his life, friends and family would look to him for his recommendations and reviews on whatever films had come their way. Inspired earlier in life by the likes of Ebert and Roper at The Movies and then later Spill.com, Adrian decided film criticism and analysis provided a great outlet to further his love of film. He began to craft his reviews and thoughts on film in ways he thought would be accessible to devout film hounds as well as the casual viewer. Mixing in jokes, entertaining observations and robust critical analysis, Adrian El Critico may be new to OneOfUs, but he is already making a name for himself on our site. If Horror movies are your thing, get ready to hear his voice.

 

Matt Foster (Screener Squad)

Matt Foster is a stand up comic, podcaster, and movie critic currently living in the greater Salt Lake City area. His lifelong love of genre film began early, when he realized they freaked out his mom. He performs (epidemics permitting) regularly on Dungeons and Comedy, a DND live play with standup comedians, and is the slightly less mustache-y half of the Nighthawks Podcast, a cinema-centric discussion cohosted by Trevor T. Trujillo.

 

 

Alex Sullivan (Screener Squad)

This Alex. He Shy.

Fascinated by the countless worlds that can be visited by simply pressing “Play”, Alex finds himself awash in an endless stream of titles. Whenever a particularly strange title strikes his fancy, he becomes an enamored prophet of this new idea, spreading its good word to whomever will listen. Alex constantly works to improve his fluency in the universal language of cinema. Underneath his mellow facade, he’s a chihuahua, shaking with excitement to be a part of such a wonderfully diverse and welcoming community of voices that share his enthusiasm.

 

You can subscribe to the Highly Suspect Reviews and Screener Squad series of podcasts on iTunes, Spotify, and more, or use our RSS feed on whatever podcast service you use: https://oneofus.net/feed/theatrical-movie-review-podcast/ and please leave us a review!

Please think about becoming a paid subscriber to Oneofus.net, support our huge network of shows, and get access to tons of bonus shows and videos in our forums! We cannot keep this site going without support from our listeners. For added information about being a subscriber, the benefits, and the forums, please go here.

SOUND OF METAL MOVIE REVIEW

Are you ready to rock? Well…then you’re looking at the wrong movie. But you absolutely should stick around to hear about Sound of Metal. The story follows Ruben Stone (Riz Ahmed), who plays drums for a small metal band along with his band mate and girlfriend Lou (Olivia Cooke). While touring to promote the band’s new album, Ruben’s hearing suddenly deteriorates to the point he will be completely deaf in a matter of days. Though understandably distraught and not willing to accept the situation, Ruben begrudgingly accepts his sponsor’s advice to spend time at a deaf community. With the stress of losing the life he once had and having spent the last four years recovering from drug addiction, how will all of this affect Ruben’s future? Justin, Lewayne, Jena, and Santiago gush and rave throughout this recording about this festival darling currently headed for Amazon Prime. What makes it so good though? Listen and find out.

**This review is available in a longer, uncut, video version for TIME LORD and above subscribers right here**

WATCH HERE

OFFICIAL WEBSITE/TRAILER

DIRECTED BY: Darius Marder

STARRING: Riz Ahmed, Olivia Cooke, Paul Raci, Mathieu Amalric, Lauren Ridoff, Jamie Ghazarian, Chris Perfetti, William Xifaras, Hillary Baack, Michael Tow, Tom Kemp, Rena Malisczewski, Shaheem Sanchez, David Arthur Sousa, Bill Thorpe

 

YOUR REVIEWERS

 

Justin Zarian (Screener Squad, Eye on the Prize, Breakfast Pub, Assistant Site Manager)

Justin’s fate as a movie fanatic was written in the stars when his birth forced his parents to cancel their planned Oscar viewing party. While growing up in California, he was often seen in front of the television watching and re-watching Star Wars, Jurassic Park, classic Disney movies and a steady stream of animated shows. This eventually led to a B.A. in Film at Brigham Young University and an Outstanding Student Teacher Award for displaying a level of film knowledge so insane that even his fellow film students couldn’t compete. He received his M.A. from Syracuse University and is currently pursuing a teaching certificate, but still volunteers at One of Us every so often for the fun of it. His hobbies include non-stop film conversations, wondering how Mass Effect 3’s ending went so wrong, espousing the joys of shooting guns (but not hunting, as he’s quick to note), writing the next great American television show in his head, and anything else entertainment related. You can find him on Facebook once in a blue moon.

 

Lewayne White (Screener Squad)

Lewayne’s earliest memories are of watching movies and reading comics, which instilled in him a sense of wonder, a vivid imagination, and unrealistic expectations. It also means he spends a lot of time watching movies, writing scripts for them, and trying to get them made. He lives in the middle of middle America after landing there as a child, and has remained there mainly because he hates packing.

 

 

Jena Perry (Screener Squad)

Jena Perry. Aka Luna. Aka Dion. Aka Memori. Aka Dog whisperer. Aka whiskey connoisseur. As you can see, depending on when you met this Oakland, California native, you have experienced a completely different person, each time. After finally deciding on a 13+year career choice as a Videographer and Radio Personality, Jena balances her time between pursuing her Doctorate in Philosophy, providing insightful and funny critiques on films and Television, raising her daughter and dog in Ohio, and constantly fighting off the existential dread that is being a dope black woman in America in the 20...

THE LEGO STAR WARS HOLIDAY SPECIAL REVIEW

In a galaxy far far away, Disney still doesn’t know what to do with Finn. Welcome to “The Star Wars Lego Christmas Special”. It’s Light Day across the galaxy and Rey just isn’t getting the hang of teaching not-John Boyega the ways of the force. Enter the Plot! Through the magic of Light Day, Rey takes an adventure through time and literal space to learn what Jaime Escalante always asked himself: “How do I reach these kids”. Come listen to Rae, Elliot, Dogget, and Bradly as they discuss this Lego Adventure. And then listen to it again on Christmas.

WATCH HERE

DIRECTED BY: Ken Cunningham

STARRING: A.J. LoCascio, Anthony Daniels, Ben Prendergast, Billy Dee Williams, Dee Bradley Baker, Eric Bauza, Grey Griffin, Helen Sadler, Jake Green, James Arnold Taylor, Kelly Marie Tran, Matt Lanter, Matt Sloan, Matthew Wood, Omar Benson Miller, Tom Kane, Trevor Devall

 

YOUR REVIEWERS

 

Lyrae Anderson (Screener Squad)

You can call me Rae. You can also call me a film lover. I’ll watch it all — small screen; big screen, and everything in between. I have attended and worked for Fantastic Fest and South by Southwest for many years. I married a film geek as well. While we don’t agree on everything, we agree on our love of movies.

 

 

 

Eliot Nelson (Screener Squad, Staff Writer)

Soaked in the soggy rains of Seattle, Eliot developed a love of sci-fi, movies, cartoons, heavy metal, and all of geekdom. Pursuing his passion for the written word, he got his BA from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. He has since worked exclusively in the foodservice industry, like any liberal arts major worth their salt. Eliot wiles away the hours listening to movie reviews, writing his epic sci-fi novel, and consuming as much media as possible. His favorite movies include The Lord of the Rings, City of God, Dawn of the Dead, and Groundhog Day. When not rambling to himself about the ineptness of entertainment executives, Eliot posts infrequently on Twitter and squawks regularly on his podcast The Debasement Tapes.

 

Danny Dogget (Screener Squad)

Hey persons, it’s your favorite canine Dogget! As many of you know, I don’t identify as a critic as much as a classy shock jock. That being said, I do my best to give all of you a well-balanced review filled with my true opinions and hopefully a few laughs. You can occasionally find me on other persons podcast like Mission Impodible (that’ll be 10 dollars Nathan). For the most part, you can find me doing reviews on Oneofus.net.

 

 

Bradly Martin (Screener Squad, Eye on the Prize, Breakfast Pub)

Bradly Martin was born in the united states and grew up on a healthy diet of sports, films, and books. A rather shy lad who kept to himself, Bradly soon discovered the best way to know a person was to know what people liked. Through out the years Bradly became a fan of many things and a fanatic of none. From Doctor Dre, to Doctor Strange and the who’s who of Whos. From Playstation to the Dreamcast and Marvel to DC. From LeBron James to James Bond and Lord of the Rings to Lord Palmerston (or Pitt the Elder if you agree with Wade Boggs) and is a huge fan of dad jokes and randomly obscure Simpsons references.

COME AWAY MOVIE REVIEW

Using whimsy found within the pages of J. M. Barrie’s “Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up” and Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” the Liddleton children spend their days engrossed in the play and fantasy of the lands they create. However, when tragedy strikes their older brother, David, Alice and Peter must decide whether to stay in their Wonder and Neverlands, or if they should finally grow up and leave the fantasy behind. Maybe. The theme wasn’t exactly clear. Our reviewers, Mindy, Jennifer, Harmoni, and Dogget spiral down many a rabbit hole trying to come to a consensus about this latest Angelina Jolie children’s fantasy and, like trying to explain how to serve a cake before cutting it first, the answers can be frustratingly unclear. What is this film even about? How is a raven like a writing desk anyway? Wait, did Mindy and Dogget actually agree on something? Wow, we really are all mad here. Follow the white rabbit towards their divisive review. It’s the second star to the right.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE/TRAILER

DIRECTED BY: Brenda Chapman

STARRING: Angelina Jolie, David Oyelowo, Keira Chansa, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Jordan Nash, Anna Chancellor, Clarke Peters, Michael Caine, David Gyasi, Derek Jacobi, Jenny Galloway, Reece Yates, Ned Dennehy, Daniel Swain, Ava Fillery, Jonathan Garcia, Carter Thomas, Harry Newman, Oliver Newman, Rishi Kuppa, Jack Veal, Alfie Hoang

 

YOUR REVIEWERS

 

Mindy Rast-Keenan (Screener Squad, Highly Suspect Reviews)

Having grown up in Nairobi, Kenya, and being very disappointed at the lack of riding elephants her cartoons had promised her, Mindy spends the majority of her time as a film, theater, and voice over actress in the Austin, Texas area. They still give her money for being on HBO that one time, with her name in the credits spelled wrong. A nerdy geek, this award-winning actress joined One of Us figuring she’d put her summa cum laude BFA acting degree to good use…by judging other people’s acting. In the few seconds she gets to herself, Mindy bakes for charity, knits eccentric plushies, plays original RPG’s with her gamemaster husband, and spends time with her soulmate, Batman.

 

Jennifer Lynn Larsen (Giganticast, Highly Suspect Reviews, Screener Squad)

Born near Seattle, WA, Jennifer has transplanted to Austin TX and is equal parts Roller Derby Girl, Cosplayer, Dungeon Master, Mothra Priestess, and game nerd. She writes the weekly Cosplay beat for Bell of Lost Souls under the name Mayhem’s Muse and travels the world competing in traditional Ground and Horseback archery tournaments with The Eastern Contingent. She comes to OneOfUs by way of Rage Select, where she is part of the dynamic duo “Team JRPG” with magical girl and fellow contributor Matt Frank. (So, SO much fangirling). Jennifer is known for her love of Dragonlance, classic JRPGS, and all things 1980s. She is a regular contributor to Giganticast and is currently diving through every Mothra project ever created. She just returned from her first appearance at G-Fest where she cosplayed as Miana of the Houtua.

Harmoni Anderson (Screener Squad, Highly Suspect Reviews, Unstabletop Gaming)

Harmoni is a mermaid-haired, millennial, rum drinking, Section 31, Slytherin (who’s divorced J.K. Rowling) preschool/nursery teacher and multi genre geek who also loves all things film, tv, fashion, makeup, and an embarrassingly huge BTS stan. Like really embarrassing. As in, mention them and then sit back and watch the insanity. Harmoni likes being able to game and talk movies/TV with people that aren’t 3 feet tall or all tha...

THE LIFE AHEAD MOVIE REVIEW

Nobody does it like a pro! Screen legend Sophia Loren returns in the drama “The Life Ahead”, playing a Holocaust survivor/former prostitute named Madame Rosa who spends her days in a rundown apartment by the Italian seaside looking after the children of other streetwalkers. When the orphaned Momo comes to stay with her, there’s immediate tension thanks to a previous incident in which the young boy mugged her. However, as the two begin to live under the same roof, they come to understand one another as they both face their own troubled pasts. Find out how moved Frank, Mark, Jordan and Jena were by this emotional film and the iconic leading lady at the center of it.

WATCH HERE

DIRECTED BY: Edoardo Ponti

STARRING: Sophia Loren, Ibrahima Gueye, Abril Zamora, Renato Carpentieri, Babak Karimi, Massimiliano Rossi

 

YOUR REVIEWERS

 

Frank Calvillo (Highly Suspect Reviews, Screener Squad)

Born and raised in South Texas, Frank currently lives in Austin and has been in love with movies ever since his father showed him some Three Stooges shorts when he was five years old. Today he loves all kinds of film, regardless of era, country, budget or genre. He believes every film has an audience and is at least one person’s favorite movie. After writing for Sight & Sound and Slackerwood, he now writes for Cinapse where his increasingly random taste in all flavors of cinema (from Rashomon to Mars Attacks!) continues to thrive. His ultimate goal is to write a script for his boyhood crush, Michelle Pfeiffer.

 

Mark Prince (Screener Squad)

Mark Prince is a lifelong nerd so old he remembers the first edition of Dungeons and Dragons, the original Star Wars in the theater, and comics that cost a quarter and could be found on racks in the local apothecary. By day, a mere human services worker, by night he emerges to combat boredom, master the vagaries of the B grade television serial, the C grade cinematic release, and to ever assist his fellow man, as well as to master, once and for all, the Shoryuken Dragon Punch with ever stiffening thumbs.

 

Jordan Cobb (Screener Squad)

Born with a comic book in one hand, a camera in the other, and in front of the television as WrestleMania played out, Jordan Worth Cobb was thus birthed into this crazy world. A Digital Filmmaking major from the University of Central Arkansas, Jordan has done it all in film from directing, writing, editing, and producing in addition to skills involved in film and TV criticism, journalism, and years of podcasting experience. On any given day, her ADHD riddled brain bounces focus from film to pro wrestling to TV to superheroes to noir to video games to espionage and yes, even to sports. She played little league you know. For more of this eccentric nerd, you can follow her on Twitter here and read her original writings on Deepest Corners of My Notebook.

 

Jena Perry (Screener Squad)

Jena Perry. Aka Luna. Aka Dion. Aka Memori. Aka Dog whisperer. Aka whiskey connoisseur. As you can see, depending on when you met this Oakland, California native, you have experienced a completely different person, each time. After finally deciding on a 13+year career choice as a Videographer and Radio Personality, Jena balances her time between pursuing her Doctorate in Philosophy, providing insightful and funny critiques on films and Television, raising her daughter and dog in Ohio, and constantly fighting off the existential dread that is being a dope black woman in America in the 20th century.

 

You can subscribe to the Highly Suspect Reviews and Screener Squad series of podcasts on iTunes, Spotify, and more, or use our RSS feed on whatever podcast service you use...