VODepths: What to See (and Avoid) on Demand This Week — Crooked Marquee In this week’s fringe VOD releases, athletes and ballet dancers play fictional variations on themselves, horror comes to NYC and the Old West, and Lena Headey

A bit of a rough week for VODepths, highlighted by a strong Lena Headey performance in a movie about a grieving mother.

'Smiley Face' is brilliant, and I also love Augustine Frizzell's 'Never Goin' Back.'

5 best mummy movies to stream right now Want your mummy? Check out these five great horror movies featuring the undead creatures

My @tomsguide.com picks for the best mummy movies include 'The Mummy,' 'The Mummy' and 'The Mummy' (but not 'The Mummy').

Elle Fanning stars as a struggling adult content creator in the uneven but affecting Margo’s Got Money Troubles The title character’s financial challenges are only a small part of what’s making her life difficult in the alternately frustrating and endearing Apple TV dramedy Margo’s Got Money Troubles, but

There are some familiar David E. Kelley flaws in 'Margo's Got Money Troubles' (now streaming on Apple TV), but overall it's a sweet and heartfelt story about an unconventional family (and also pro wrestling and adult entertainment). My @inlander.com review:

The Goonies (1985 Jason's Pick) - Awesome Movie Year Jason's pick for 1985 is the beloved family adventure The Goonies!

'The Goonies' is the second movie we've covered in our 1985 Awesome Movie Year season that is a beloved childhood favorite for my generation that I just don't get. This week's episode:

Is 'Over Your Dead Body' the first-ever remake of a Netflix original movie?

Well, they haven't actually gotten to the lawyer one yet, but it seems inevitable.

It only took 10 days for this to come true!

I wish I had pushed myself to take more classes at Hampshire when I was at Amherst College, but the one class I did take was quite rewarding (and actually fun!). This is sad news for the whole Five Colleges region, and will lessen the experience at the other schools, too.

Insanity, Insults and All A quartet of recent documentaries examines the lives — and deaths — of only-in-Vegas characters

And for @knpr.org, I wrote about four recent documentaries that showcase the lives and struggles of only-in-Vegas personalities.

Faces of Death

I also briefly reviewed the disappointing horror movie 'Faces of Death' in my latest Highway Radio segment: highwayradio.com/josh-bell-ha...

Sci-fi show The Miniature Wife underwhelms – despite the big names Elizabeth Banks stars as an author shrunk by her scientist husband Matthew Macfadyen in this major new series – but it fails to live up to its promise, finds Josh Bell

I'm back from my vacation of watching movies in a different location than normal, and catching up on pieces that posted while I was away. First, I'm excited to be back reviewing TV at @newscientist.com, although I wish it was for a better show than Peacock's tiresome 'The Miniature Wife':

The Adventures Of Mark Twain (1985 Animated Film) - Awesome Movie Year The Adventures of Mark Twain from animator Will Vinton is our 1985 animated film pick.

Will Vinton's literary odyssey 'The Adventures of Mark Twain' is one of the stranger movies we've covered for Awesome Movie Year. This week's 1985 episode:

Realizing that I need to finish my pre-vacation to-do list before I can replace it with my post-vacation to-do list.

We’re in the Money and the Forgotten Comedy Team of Joan Blondell and Glenda Farrell — Crooked Marquee Although they were each stars in their own right, Joan Blondell and Glenda Farrell briefly shone as a comedy team in neglected films like “We’re in the Money,” released 90 years ago this week.

In a rare confluence, six of the seven Joan Blondell/Glenda Farrell comedies (which are otherwise unavailable to stream) are currently on TCM's app. All are under 70 minutes, in case you need some lighthearted entertainment tonight for some reason.

VODepths: What to See (and Avoid) on Demand This Week — Crooked Marquee Our mini-reviews of “I Know Exactly How You Die,” “Heads or Tails,” “Thinestra,” and more of this week’s on-demand treasures and trash.

John C. Reilly as Buffalo Bill and a low-budget variation on 'The Substance' highlight this week's VODepths.

Strange but true!

Thanks for reading!

Sniper franchise ranked "Among Hollywood releases of 1993, there's nothing particularly notable about Sniper. The military action movie starring Tom Berenger and Billy Zane made a respectable but not spectacular $19 million ...

I also posted my definitive 'Sniper' ranking on Letterboxd.

Three Decades of Sniper, the Unkillable Action Franchise — Crooked Marquee With its 12th installment out this week, the surprisingly solid “Sniper” action-movie series is the unlikely champion of direct-to-video franchise extensions.

For @crooked-marquee.bsky.social, I wrote about the astonishingly long-running 'Sniper' franchise, which releases its 12th(!) installment, 'Sniper: No Nation,' on VOD and DVD tomorrow.

Another one: A lady hired me to give feedback on a screenplay. I took it seriously, offered constructive criticism and analysis. Turned out her ex-husband wrote it, and she just wanted to assess its viability for sale since she had been awarded the rights in their divorce.

The place was never built and it took 5 years for me to get paid out of its bankruptcy.

I wrote for a fake Prohibition-era magazine that was used as promotional material for a proposed themed luxury high-rise. Articles included a "gossip column" about old Hollywood celebrities frequenting the clubs that would exist at this development

I'm celebrating resurrection this Easter by watching a bunch of mummy movies.

And yes, I am at the "buy a used copy of a CD I once sold" stage of life.

CDs: Corrosion of Conformity, Good God / Baad Man The Black Crowes, A Pound of Feathers The Beaches, No Hard Feelings Orianthi, Some Kind of Feeling Carter Faith, Cherry Valley Hayley Williams, Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party Def Leppard, Adrenalize Dorothy, The Way Madonna, Hard Candy Robyn, Sexistential

The kind of physical media haul I still go for. (Thank you Zia Records store credit.)

Just turned in an article on another studio's DTV franchise, so I thought I'd look up what Universal 1440 is doing, and ... they haven't released a movie in two years? Did we lose this vital cultural institution? I can't find any info about Universal shutting it down.

'XO, Kitty' season 3 review: The Netflix teen dramedy returns with a charming new season — and a welcome guest star The latest season of the spinoff from the 'To All the Boys I've Loved Before' movies features more endearing high school romance and antics

Maybe it's empty calories, but I still get plenty of enjoyment out of teen dramedy 'XO, Kitty,' which premieres its third season on Netflix today. My @tomsguide.com review:

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie continues the trend of mind-numbingly faithful video game movies One reason that recent video game movies like the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise and A Minecraft Movie have been so popular — in contrast to previous failed efforts — is

'The Super Mario Galaxy Movie' (out now in theaters) is a real landmark of pointing-at-familiar-things cinema. My @inlander.com review:

Ran (1985 Foreign Film) - Awesome Movie Year We finally get to Akira Kurasawa with our 1985 foreign film pick Ran!

I've seen quite a few Akira Kurosawa movies at this point, and I always appreciate rather than enjoy them. That was the case again for his Shakespeare adaptation 'Ran,' which we talk about in this week's 1985 Awesome Movie Year episode.