Scary Movie (2026)

Reboots are all the rage these days. Just as Scream called out the idea of the requel (both a reboot and legacy sequel), this "rebootiquel" aims its sights at cancel culture and poking fun at Gen Z. The Wayans are back, restoring their own particular brand of R-rated humor to the franchise. It casts a wide net, but their target is far too broad. Despite the plethora of modern and niche horror references and meta, self-referential humor, it doesn't feel as though it will age as well as the first two. It's funny, but never quite as funny as it should be. It's filthy, but not quite as filthy as it could be. And yet, when the humor hits, it hits HARD. I never wanted it to end. It's comforting to see the old gang and that early naughts humor back again, even if it's just a shadow of its former glory.

3 rolled blunts out of 5

Scary Movie (2000)

The Wayans take on the slasher horror genre with this pitch-perfect parody that skewers its target every time. The quality of the humor in this film is so high, dirty, vulgar and sex-charged, and pushes the limits of bad taste, but it matches my sense of humor to a T. To be honest, these movies are a bit of comfort food for me because they remind me a time when I was still young and had my life ahead of me. A quarter-century later, it still holds up for me.

3½ vacuum cleaner attachments out of 5

Liar Liar (1997)

A lawyer who can't lie. Hilarity ensues. This might have been a forgettable comedy if not for the brilliant physical comedic performance of Jim Carrey, and it is gleefully profane for a "family" film. I'm always surprised they never tried milking this idea for all it's worth, because it's such a great concept to suppress one's natural instincts. Jim is at the top of his game here and it shows.

4 reeeee blue pens out of 5

SURVEILLANCE [2008]

Director Jennifer Lynch follows in the perverse footsteps of her daddy with the violently weird mystery/thriller Surveillance.  

It's got hostile clueless local law enforcement, oddball humor, rumbling drones & sound atmospherics, bizarre camera angles and reverb-heavy swarmy music.  Unfortunately it just isn't as hypnotizing or intriguing as it could have been.  Mostly because it grounds itself too far into reality with such outlandish characters which don't really mesh with the overall tone of the film.  Still, it kept my attention from beginning to end and that's all I really asked for.

3 floaty dead people out of 5