John Dotson

James Gunn’s Superman had a lot riding against it. The reboot follows a decade of messy attempts to build a popular DC Universe. An unforgiving fanbase of Zack Snyder loyalists accompanied the sinking ship. Superman’s last two reboots had lukewarm commercial success. The greatest achievement of those movies was arguably the casting of Henry Cavill.
After seeing the new entry, it became clear why Gunn was the correct choice to revitalize the DC Universe. With Guardians of the Galaxy, Gunn demo...

M3GAN 2.0 revives the sassy Gen Z version of Chucky in a T2-inspired narrative. The first film had the Blumhouse robot terrorize a family; this time, she is a protector. The only core difference is that M3GAN 2.0 takes itself far less seriously than a James Cameron movie. The sequel, for the most part, is a reprogramming of the formula aimed at the action comedy crowd. And for a while, the change of style works.
The sequel sees M3GAN kick up the snarky humor to the point of reaching Aubrey Pl...

At the outset, F1 was already a hard film to review. Similar to Ezra Miller, the longtime actor Brad Pitt’s personal life has become a conflicting topic, especially since his family life hit the news. At the same time, F1 director Joseph Kosinski’s Top Gun: Maverick is one of the best action films of the last decade. Despite all the Ezra Miller controversy, The Flash is a movie that this writer did not mind defending. A movie is a bigger machine of creative voices, and it’s unfair to dismiss ...

John Dotson and Vin reflect on the 28 Days Later franchise and review the latest sequel, 28 Years Later. The new sequel sees the return of director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland, and centers on a child named Spike (Alfie Williams) who journeys to the infected mainland to find a cure for his mother, Isla (Jodie Comer). The film also stars Aaron Taylor-Joh

28 Years Later is the strangest sequel in years. The original was gritty, dark, and had a low-quality aesthetic that added to the horror. The long-awaited sequel is far from conventional and takes numerous artistic swings. The world is lighter, the vision is more humorous, and there is a strange, heartwarming nature to the world. 28 Years Later has more in common with Sunshine than it does with its predecessor.
The film is an unapologetic Danny Boyle movie, full of genre-bending ideas and uni...

John and Vin breakdown Materialists and Past Lives, the first two films by breakout director Celine Song. How does Materialists compare to the much beloved Past Lives? Is Materialists a deconstruction, or is it actually more traditional? Tune in to find out!

Materialists (2025)
- Written and Directed by Celine Song
- Starring Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, Pedro Pascal
- Cinematography by Shabier Kirchner
- Edited by Keith Fraase
- Music by Daniel Pemberton

Past lives (2023)
- Written and Directed by Celine Song
- Starring Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, John Magaro
- Cinematography Shabier Kirchner
- Edi

The year was 1999, and my father came into my bedroom to tell me about a trailer for a movie, “We have to see,” he exclaimed. It had an intriguing title: The Matrix. Regardless of the film’s quality, a studio or director could not ask for a slicker movie title than The Matrix. As the film conveys, it burdens the viewer to question, “What is The Matrix?” When the trailer finally aired on my bulky color TV, the visuals were spectacular, with the song “Rock is Dead” by ...

From the World of John Wick: Ballerina has faced considerable confusion in recent weeks, primarily due to a puzzling embargo that instructed influencers to share only positive reactions. The embargo leak went viral, sparking concern regarding the film’s quality. The resulting controversy and fears were difficult to ignore, especially since the spin-off television show The Continental also received a lukewarm reception. Why implement an embargo that limits negativity? And why set the review em...

John Dotson and Vin discuss the latest Mike Flanagan movie titled The Life of Chuck, starring Tom Hiddleston, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Mark Hamill, Karen Gillan, Jacob Tremblay, Benjamin Pajak, and many more.

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Based on a Stephen King short story, The Life of Chuck tells a world-ending tale about the extraordinary life of a banker named Charles "Chuck" Kantz.

Narrated by Nick Offerman.

Music by The Newton Brothers.

The film from Neon opens limite

The Life of Chuck sees Mike Flanagan take a step outside the box of horror films. The writer and director already has a massive winning streak, having created fantastic works such as The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass, Gerald’s Game, and Doctor Sleep. Now, the filmmaker takes on a much more sentimental story from Stephen King—and it’s an astonishing piece of work.
Flanagan‘s adaptation is akin to Frank Darabont‘s transition from writing A Nightmare on Elm Street and remaking The Blob t...

John Dotson and Vin review A24's new horror film, Bring Her Back, starring Sally Hawkins, Billy Barratt, Sora Wong, and Jonah Wren Phillips.
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John Dotson and Vin review Resolution: A Cinephonic Rhapsody for the Soul, a musical immersive experience currently playing at the Fort Worth Omni Theater. The movie is directed by Scott Berman, Brian Levi Bowman, and Ryan Hartsell and incorporates music from the album "Salvage Enterprise" by Tim DeLaughter and The Polyphonic Spree to transport audiences into vibrant, colorful segments of dreamlike animation, as well as live-action artistry.

Friendship is about a man who takes the concept of friendship too far. In the artistic style of Tim Robinson, this is the perfect role for a performer of his talents. Robinson has made a career of crafting unbelievable skits around characters who increasingly defy the odds of inappropriate behavior, such as a man who denies driving his hot dog-shaped car into a store while wearing a hot dog outfit. His latest role from the studio A24, Robinson, utilizes the extremities with a role about a lon...

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning reminds this reviewer of Metallica. It’s not because the iconic metal band contributed to the Mission: Impossible II soundtrack. This writer has seen Metallica perform live, possibly eight or nine times. Over the years, one thing remains true: the band gives it their all at every show. The last concert this writer attended was in a smaller venue in 2019, and the band performed with every ounce of energy they possessed. However, one detail was differen...

John Dotson & Vin discuss Final Destination Bloodlines, one critic called "The best movie of 2025". Join the boys as they debate this wild opinion and discuss the history of the long-running horror franchise.

Timestamps
00:00 - Intro and general Final Destination franchise and Bloodlines discussion
19:00 - Spoiler discussion for Final Destination: Bloodlines
21:55 - Discord/Patreon questions about Karate Kid: Legends and the John Wick Ballerina films
29:55 - Final Destination (2000) extra commentary

Final Destination Bloodlines (2025)
Directed by Zach Lipovsky & Adam Stein,
Screenplay by Guy