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Opening Shots: The Big Lebowski — The Dude as a Human Tumbleweed

I H8 Critics Movie Review Podcast @ih8critics.bsky.social · 16h

My new Opening Shots column is up and I'm back on The Coen Brothers. This time, one of my favorite movies of all time, The Big Lebowski.
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In the Coen Brothers’ The Big Lebowski, the opening image of a tumbleweed rolling through Los Angeles defines everything about The Dude…

From Conspiracy Thriller to Comedy Misfire: How Dirty Tricks Butchered The Glendower Legacy

I H8 Critics Movie Review Podcast @ih8critics.bsky.social · 1d

If you enjoy niche movie content, Movies of the 80s is covering some truly fascinating niche content like the 1981 movie Dirty Tricks starring Elliott Gould.
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Here’s how a sharp political mystery became a slapstick farce—and what went wrong behind the scenes in 1981's Dirty Tricks

31 Days of Horror: The Black Phone 2 Review — Scott Derrickson’s Chilling Sequel Expands the…

I H8 Critics Movie Review Podcast @ih8critics.bsky.social · 1d

My review of Black Phone 2
medium.com/@seanpatrick...
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A horror sequel done right: Black Phone 2 reunites Finney and Gwen in a nightmare at Camp Alpine, delivering chilling visuals, emotional…

When the Postman Rang Twice: How Two Hollywood Eras Told the Same Story Differently

I H8 Critics Movie Review Podcast @ih8critics.bsky.social · 2d

How American movies changed from one adaptation to the next, The Postman Always Rings Twice...
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The 1946 and 1981 versions of The Postman Always Rings Twice reveal how much Hollywood—and America—changed in 35 years.

Criterion Collection Announces Stunning Lineup of January 2026 Releases

I H8 Critics Movie Review Podcast @ih8critics.bsky.social · 2d

New releases coming in January from the Criterion Collection.
medium.com/@seanpatrick... #FilmSky #MovieSky

The Criterion Collection kicks off 2026 with an unforgettable lineup — including The Dead, Captain Blood, Birth, Kiss of the Spider Woman…

2025-Catch-Up Oh Hi (2025): A Smart, Sharp, and Slightly Twisted Romantic Comedy

I H8 Critics Movie Review Podcast @ih8critics.bsky.social · 2d

Catching up on movies I missed in 2025, I watched and wrote about Oh Hi!
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Directed by: Sophie Brooks

Sam Raimi’s ‘Send Help’ Trailer Promises a Wildly Twisted Survival Thriller

I H8 Critics Movie Review Podcast @ih8critics.bsky.social · 3d

Have you watched the trailer for Send Help yet? It's Sam Raimi's next movie, arriving in January 2026.
medium.com/reelscope/sa...
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Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien star in a darkly comic battle of wills from the creator of Evil Dead.

10 Things to Know About The Black Phone 2: From Rotary Buckets to Supernatural Shocks

I H8 Critics Movie Review Podcast @ih8critics.bsky.social · 3d

10 Things to Know About The Black Phone 2
medium.com/reelscope/10...

Dive into the behind-the-scenes surprises, merch nods, and narrative shifts you might’ve missed.

The Funhouse (1981): How Dean Koontz and Tobe Hooper Told Two Very Different Carnival Nightmares

I H8 Critics Movie Review Podcast @ih8critics.bsky.social · 3d

The Funhouse had a pair of interpretations by a pair of horror masters. Dean Koontz and Tobe Hooper.
vocal.media/horror/the-f...

Dean Koontz, writing as Owen West, novelized The Funhouse in 1980—but his version is almost a different story than Tobe Hooper’s 1981 horror film. Here’s how the book and movie diverge in tone, struct...

Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981) — When the Antichrist Went Corporate

I H8 Critics Movie Review Podcast @ih8critics.bsky.social · 4d

Movies of the 80s takes a closer look at Omen 3: The Final Conflct. What if the antichrist became a world leader? (Inset Trump Joke Here).
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In Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981), Sam Neill suits up as the grown-up Antichrist in a strangely polite apocalypse. A darkly funny look back at the classy, confusing finale of The Omen trilogy.

31 Days of Horror: Freddy vs. Jason(2003) — The Ultimate Slasher Showdown

I H8 Critics Movie Review Podcast @ih8critics.bsky.social · 4d

31 Days of Horror Freddy vs. Jason
medium.com/@seanpatrick... #FilmSky #MovieSky

Reelscope’s 31 Days of Horror

Catch-Up 2025: Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest Reimagines Kurosawa with Power and Purpose

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I H8 Critics Movie Review Podcast @ih8critics.bsky.social · 4d

Playing catch up on some 2025 releases I missed, finally saw Highest 2 Lowest.
medium.com/reelscope/ca...
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Highest 2 Lowest

Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977): A Hateful, Sensory Nightmare Masquerading as a Movie

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I H8 Critics Movie Review Podcast @ih8critics.bsky.social · 4d

I wanted to do a nice tribute to Diane Keaton and I had never seen Looking for Mr. Goodbar. Seemed like a great opportunity. Oh how wrong I was. (Sorry Diane Keaton fans, I do love Annie Hall and The Godfather). vocal.media/geeks/lookin...
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Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977) is one of the most hateful, chaotic, and misogynistic movies of the 1970s. Despite Diane Keaton’s best efforts, Richard Brooks delivers a cinematic disaster that blames ...

Catch-Up 2025: Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest Reimagines Kurosawa with Power and Purpose

I H8 Critics Movie Review Podcast @ih8critics.bsky.social · 5d

This Week's Theme at Reelscope on Medium is Catch-Up 2025. I'm catching some titles I missed earlier this year. Today, Spike Lee's Highest 2 Lowest.
medium.com/@seanpatrick... #FilmSky #MovieSky

Highest 2 Lowest

31 Days of Horror: The Crazies (2010) — When the Familiar Gets Smart

I H8 Critics Movie Review Podcast @ih8critics.bsky.social · 5d

Reelscope's 31 Days of Horror: The Crazies
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The Crazies (2010)

Amy (1981): Disney’s Surprising Grown-Up Drama About Teaching the Deaf

I H8 Critics Movie Review Podcast @ih8critics.bsky.social · 6d

Disney made the unusual decision to take a TV Movie and release it in theaters. The result is mostly forgotten, Amy.
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Jenny Agutter stars in Amy (1981), a Disney theatrical release that began as a TV movie — a rare grown-up drama from the House of Mouse.

Opening Shots: How Dirty DancingTurned the Summer of ’63 Into America’s Last Innocent Dance

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I H8 Critics Movie Review Podcast @ih8critics.bsky.social · 8d

My new Opening Shots column is up now, shining a light on the opening scene of Dirty Dancing.
medium.com/@seanpatrick...

Dirty Dancing

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I H8 Critics Movie Review Podcast @ih8critics.bsky.social · 8d

Albert Brooks Made the Breakup Comedy Stanley Kubrick Wished He’d Directed

Stanley Kubrick once called Albert Brooks to ask how he made Modern Romance. The answer reveals why this 1981 breakup comedy remains one of the most brutally honest films ever made about jealousy, obs...

Star Power Ranked: Jared Leto’s Box Office Legacy from Fight Club to Tron Ares

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I H8 Critics Movie Review Podcast @ih8critics.bsky.social · 8d

Star Power Jared Leto Ranked at the Box Office
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As Tron Ares hits theaters, we look back at Jared Leto’s unpredictable career — from cult classics to box office blockbusters — ranking…

Tron: Ares (2025) Review — Jared Leto Leads a Cold Return to the Grid

I H8 Critics Movie Review Podcast @ih8critics.bsky.social · 8d

Here's my review of Tron Ares
medium.com/reelscope/tr... #MovieSky #FilmSky

Tron Ares (2025)

31 Days of Horror: Freak Out (2004) — A Bloody, British Love Letter to Troma

I H8 Critics Movie Review Podcast @ih8critics.bsky.social · 8d

Reelscope's 31 Days of Horror continued today with the cult British horror comedy, Freak Out.
medium.com/@seanpatrick... #FilmSky #MovieSky

Freak Out (2004) is a gleefully gory British horror-comedy inspired by Troma and ’80s splatter films. Directed by Christian James, it’s a…

31 Days of Horror: Cujo (1983) — The Day the Monster Was Man’s Best Friend

I H8 Critics Movie Review Podcast @ih8critics.bsky.social · 9d

Reelscope's 31 Days of Horror continued today with my review of Cujo.
medium.com/reelscope/31...
#MovieSky #FilmSky

Reelscope’s 31 Days of Horror

Sci-Fi Week: Revisiting Duncan Jones’ Source Code (2011)

I H8 Critics Movie Review Podcast @ih8critics.bsky.social · 9d

As for my own writing, I am wrapping up Sci-Fi Week with a review of Source Code.
medium.com/reelscope/sc...
#FilmSky #MovieSky

Source Code (2011)

The Funhouse (1981): How Dean Koontz and Tobe Hooper Told Two Very Different Carnival Nightmares

I H8 Critics Movie Review Podcast @ih8critics.bsky.social · 9d

Did you know that one of Dean Koontz first gigs was writing a novelization of the Tobe Hooper movie The Funhouse? He finished his version before Hooper had finished the script leading to distinct visions of the same story. Check out Movies of the 80s. vocal.media/horror/the-f... #FilmSky #MovieSky

Dean Koontz, writing as Owen West, novelized The Funhouse in 1980—but his version is almost a different story than Tobe Hooper’s 1981 horror film. Here’s how the book and movie diverge in tone, struct...