Author: Matt Paprocki
Matt Paprocki has critiqued home media and video games for 20 years across outlets like Washington Post, Variety, Rolling Stone, Forbes, IGN, Playboy, Polygon, Ars, and others. His current passion project is the technically minded
DoBlu.com. You can follow Matt's body of work via his personal
WordPress blog, and follow him on Twitter
@Matt_Paprocki.
The Craft is a work of pure '90s teen rebellion, concentrated in Goth culture, saved by the stellar cast.
An early take on a "geeks inherit the earth" story, True Romance turns its movie-adoring hero into a character in a pure Hollywood thriller.
Umma makes a strong metaphor for the anxiety of motherhood, but it's a tepid dud as a horror movie.
A sequel as slick as the original, Beverly Hills Cop II is an action comedy delight that's pure '80s.
A perfect story of values and mindsets, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance carefully weaves ideas of open land toughness and city-born intellectualism.
Anthony Perkins is an evil delight in the Hammer-esque throwback Edge of Sanity, devilishly sexual and saturated by drugs.
As much a nature attacks thriller as it is historical condemnation of British colonialism, Ghost and the Darkness is successful studio filmmaking.
A smartly conceived take on slasher cinema and inner city lore, Candyman's power lies in its lasting social consciousness.
Intelligently approaching awkward coming-of-age issues, Turning Red is delightful with a goofy sense of humor suited to the story.
Infinite whiffs at using sci-fi for a deeper purpose, instead falling to heavy exposition and bland digital chases.
Finding a comfortable place amid the current genre trends, Scream's legacy is preserved in a pedestrian thriller.
An attempt to portray anxiety and mental health through the lens or airline horror, Row 19 fails in connecting through its story.