Seriously where does Paul Verhoeven go to get his apology

He voted for a resolution for a Charlie Kirk Day, but he can’t endorse Mamdani. What else can you say about this guy’s heart and mind

Rodeo Bar and Grill in Murray Hill. Those margs. Those cowboy kisses. And Bleecker Street Bar. (The original. The one they opened around the corner is a pale imitation.)

For my first Halloween in Philadelphia, I'm trying something fun: buying a refurbished newspaper box and doing a Free Little Lending Library for horror Blu-rays and DVDs. I'm snapping up every single cheap disc I can find on eBay, and I'm hoping to do a little local thrift store shopping as well.

Meanwhile, I suspect that it's going to be quite difficult to top BLACK PHONE 2 as my #FantasticFest fave. There's no way I won't be going long on this one, both in my review and elsewhere. I lambasted other fest films for their nihilism. I am equal parts delighted by BLACK PHONE 2's earnestness.

Philly has cool nerds. ❤️

There's one film at Fantastic Fest that I thought was going to get raked over the coals for maybe/probably using generative AI, and reading through other reviews, it doesn't seem to have stood out as much. Dost mine eyes deceive me? I'll be curious to see if anyone asks the direct point-blank.

The Vile is my favoite film of this Fantastic Fest. Find out more about this radical new Arabic horror in my interview with writer/director Majid Al Ansari. www.austinchronicle.com/daily/screen...

SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT (2025): As a fan of the original and Steven C. Miller's Silent Night (2012), this one had decent-sized boots to fill. I still prefer Silent Night, but Mike P. Nelson's remake (again) takes some pretty big swings that I have to respect. BIG ol' swings. #FantasticFest

A gazetteer on a Monday? And a truly self indulgent one to boot as we trawl through the ruins of our memory palace in search of things that inspired us, plus we tip @goblinsandgardens.bsky.social’s new card game and try to convince you to buy a magazine for the millionth time…

Signed up for a trial at the F45 Training studio down the street from my house. I need to get back into weight training, but I need a little group peer pressure to get the ball rolling. Hoping that this might be a nice middle ground between personal training, OrangeTheory, and YouTube videos.

Was waiting for this take. Matt knows his stuff. Officially can’t wait.

Southland Tales ass Presidency.

“Al Ansari’s sophomore feature is another example of how a few good actors and a well-dressed set is more than enough to create genre cinema that colors outside the lines.” I adore Al Ansari’s RATTLE THE CAGE, and while this ain’t that, it’s still a strong piece of horror-melodrama. #FantasticFest

“This is a movie more obsessed with the dead than the dying. That’s a strange distinction for a slasher to make, but one that is integral to how the story develops.” 13 DAYS TILL SUMMER is a hard movie to shake. That’s probably why I really liked it. #FantasticFest

“Margins are everything in independent cinema, and whatever money the producers might’ve saved on their special effects they might just lose in word of mouth.” COYOTES would be a perfectly serviceable B-movie if not for some very suspicious CGI. #FantasticFest

If Democrats cannot be counted on to stand for reproductive freedom — something that has proven to be electorally popular even in more conservative districts — then there’s no policy you can ever trust them to stand firm on. It’s just that simple.

Day 2 of watching our nephews while their parents are on vacation.

Many media outlets hid the full truth of Trump -- his background in organized crime, his Epstein ties -- out of fear, only to be obliterated by him in the end. Had they not self-censored then, they might not be state-censored now. When you hide the truth, you face the consequences.

Current DS9 watch-through status: ugly crying until my head hurts

The Trump Administration’s attack on late-night TV is part of a much broader agenda, @inkookang.bsky.social writes.

Not at Fantastic Fest this year, but I did watch HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3 with the nephews approximately 1.35x today, so I figure that’s basically the same thing.

Aaaaaaaand it's back up. Guessing he just forgot to pay a hosting bill. Regardless, happy to see it back and a reminder to other past FSR writers to back up their shit now! (I use Authory and recommend it, but there are other resources, I'm sure.)

important to remember that apocalypse is a fantasy that absolves you of your responsibilities

It really fatigues my soul to be one of those people who wedges my website into any conversation just to be increase the reach, but that's promotion babyyyyy

Adding @certifiedforgot.bsky.social. Technically, we're not a cooperative, but that's for a reason. Donato and I are the only LLC members because we continue to fund the publication out of pocket and we won't ask anyone else to take on those expenses until we're budget neutral.

it would be a pretty good week for Rolling Stone to have a TV critic

I thought HIM was great. Hamfisted, but in a way that felt intentional to me. I was really tickled by the set design. www.techadvisor.com/article/2912...

I'd seen favorable reviews from a few film critics who are big sports fans, so I was wondering if maybe there was a divide here between the sports fans and the "sportsball" naysayers. But @812filmreviews.com LITERALLY works for a sports team, so that kind of throws that theory out the window.

And so we begin the slow crawl to Alex Garland's befuddling map in CIVIL WAR.

Horror fans, especially those without a good rep theater nearby! If the Regal Cinema chain is near you... www.regmovies.com/horror-movies

When I play board games with friends, one of the mistakes I always make is becoming so obsessed with my meta - the perfect tech tree, the perfect worker economy, etc. - that I fail to notice how badly I'm losing the actual game. Not sure what made me think of that today.

I won't pretend that @certifiedforgot.bsky.social is anything more than a niche horror publication, but goddamnit, we're a GREAT niche horror publication, and we have a demonstrable track record of giving every penny we earn to our writers. I'd like to think that means something, especially now.

We don't do a ton of festival coverage at @certifiedforgot.bsky.social, but our one big exception is Fantastic Fest. Here's @donatobomb.bsky.social on what he's excited to watch this week in Austin.

This is v. good.

Fallon being the last man standing is such an indictment of Fallon

So the timeline appears to be that the FCC chair went on a conservative podcast and threatened action, and Nexstar Media Group, "which is seeking FCC approval for a $6.2 billion merger with Tegna," suddenly released a statement saying they would preempt Jimmy Kimmel, backing ABC into a corner.

I thought we had an agreement - America could have an oligarchical ruling class as long as we maintained plausible deniability that we didn't.

“It’s why I think filmmakers like Alfred Hitchcock, John Carpenter, and Jordan Peele are so groundbreaking. They’re not just giving you a means of escape. Films like theirs can hold up a mirror to the audience and make us look at our own mental health." GREAT interview by @rvaplaylist.bsky.social.

This is pretty cool: Paul Thomas Annotated is a web project that captures screenshots from all of Paul Thomas Anderson's films to make them more accessible to "scholars, students, filmmakers, fans, and casual viewers." Remember when the internet used to do cool shit like this, instead of just hate?

I think this might be my very first "starred review"!!!

Won't read this until I've had a chance to see ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER, but I want to give @briantallerico.bsky.social credit for always being the canary in the coal mine for me. I'm pretty skeptical of this one, despite being a long-time PTA devotee, and Brian's reaction eases some of that.

trump’s numbers are tanking and there is a palpable desire in the electorate for a real alternative and yet the only money in democratic politics is for doing starmerism

Made the mistake of starting my day with an EXTREMELY bleak slasher and now the nihilism is hard to shake (movie innocent).

I keep yelling at everyone to read @wyrdscience.bsky.social because they take such a fun and wide-ranging approach to sci-fi and fantasy - both in tabletop, and sometimes, beyond. If you like reading about games but don't want things TOO too crunchy, this is the publication for you.

It seems like every other week there's a new study that shows conservatives favor progressive plans when you strip away the branding and focus on the policies. Instead, Democrats funnel money into an apparatchik designed to make even the most milquetoast politics seem too radical by half. Christ.

ALIEN: EARTH ("Emergence"): By far my favorite episode of the season. This show is best when it sits precariously atop the intersection of COVENANT and RESURRECTION. "Emergence" was violent and downright silly at times. It's the kind of energy a generation raised on Dark Horse Comics deserves.

it's so funny to see America's health insurance companies be like "look. If there's one thing we love it's denying you care. but we ran the numbers - and we cannot BELIEVE we're saying this - and it's cheaper for us to just pay for the vaccines than deal with you going to the ER."

I should know that SEINFELD always has more to teach me.

THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR (1975): Watched this for the first time in honor of Robert Redford, but it was Faye Dunaway’s performance that shined brightest. Nearly fell out of my seat when she said “spyfucker.” Plus, another SEINFELD reference locked into place for @andreamontoro.bsky.social.