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Review: Natalie Portman and Moses Ingram Shine in Apple TV+’s Surreal Noir Thriller ‘Lady in the Lake’

Apple TV+’s latest limited series, Lady in the Lake, isn’t a straightforward whodunit. Created by first-time showrunner Alma Har’el (Honey Boy), who also directed all seven episodes, Lady in the Lake is a reimagining of the 2019 novel of the same name written by Laura Lippman, an executive producer on the show, who was inspired by two real-life cases. 


The series opens on Thanksgiving in 1966 Baltimore, Maryland, where we’re introduced to two very different women who both lead hectic lives, e...
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Review: ‘Kite Man: Hell Yeah!’ Hits the Skies This July and It's a Helluva Good Time

Time to wing it!


Two years after it was announced, Kite Man: Hell Yeah! is finally here. The ten-episode spin-off series comes from Harley Quinn creators Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker (Abbott Elementary), and Dean Lorey (Creature Commandos), who set out to make Cheers with villains.” Lorey told SFX magazine, “That was the concept because it was something a little different from Harley while still being in the same universe.” Since being introduced in season one of Harley Quinn, Kite M...
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Revisiting ‘The Lion King’ 30 Years Later

Released during the Disney Renaissance of the late 1980s and 90s, it’s hard to believe that The Lion King wasn’t thought to be destined for greatness. But the story behind the film paints a surprising picture of doubt, complications, and controversy.

To celebrate its 30th anniversary, let’s look back at one of Disney’s best animated films of all time.

The Lion King’s iconic opening sequence sees animals from across Africa travel to Pride Rock where the wise and magical mandrill Rafiki (Robert
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Review: ‘The Boys’ Is Back with a Blood-Soaked, Souped-Up Season 4

After waiting two long years for its return, Eric Kripke’s (Supernatural) superhero satire The Boys is finally back with its fourth season. And while Gen V isn’t considered essential viewing in order to follow what’s going on in Season 4, I still highly recommend you watch its 8-episode inaugural season.

Spoilers ahead for Seasons 1–3 of The Boys and the Gen V finale.

Season 3 of The Boys saw an already psychopathic Homelander (Antony Starr) become even more unhinged. From Vought CEO Stan Edga
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Review: Jake Gyllenhaal Stars in His TV Series Debut Apple TV+’s Captivating Thriller ‘Presumed Innocent’

If you’ve been looking for your next crime drama obsession, Emmy-winning writer-creator David E. Kelley (Love & Death, Big Little Lies) and executive producer J.J. Abrams (Westworld) have you covered with their latest limited series.

Presumed Innocent, an eight-episode Apple Original, is based on Scott Turow’s 1987 novel of the same name, which was previously adapted into the 1990 film starring Harrison Ford. However, don’t expect the series to unfold in the same way. In a 2022 interview with A
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Why You Should Be Watching 'Chucky’

When it comes to horror franchises, the longevity of Don Mancini’s Child’s Play is truly impressive. The seven-film franchise’s consistency is due to the brilliant Mancini writing every script (and directing the last four). Always subverting expectations, he decided the next chapter(s) should be on the small screen with Chucky, which premiered in 2021 on SYFY and USA.

The series is for everyone who loved the comedic aspects of later installments as much as its darker horror beginnings. So, whet
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Review: ‘Evil’ Returns with a Devilishly Delightful Final Season

It’s been two years since Evil’s third season came to an end, leaving us with two big cliffhangers and unanswered questions. This summer, Robert and Michelle King’s (The Good Fight) horror drama is back with its fourth, and sadly, final season. However, the 10-episode season will have four additional episodes, which the creators see as a mini-season 5. Hey, we’ll take what we can get!

Season 4 picks up right where we left off in the finale with Kristen Bouchard (Katja Herbers) unknowingly walki
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Review: ‘Pretty Little Liars: Summer School’ Returns with a Final Girl Slasher to Die For

Two years ago, Max’s Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin surprised longtime PLL fans and newbies alike with its horror-focused take on the teen drama. Co-showrunners Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Riverdale, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) and Lindsay Calhoon Bring (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) are finally back with another season, trading in the spooky Halloween vibes for a hot girl Summer School slasher.
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Review: Netflix’s ‘Dead Boy Detectives’ Gets Psychedelic with the Supernatural — and It’s Aces

Over thirty years since they first haunted the pages of The Sandman and three years after their live-action introduction on Doom Patrol, the Dead Boy Detectives, created by Neil Gaiman and Matt Wagner, finally have their own show. While the series was previously set to be a Max Original, showrunners Steve Yockey (The Flight Attendant, Supernatural) and Beth Schwartz (Sweet Tooth, Arrow) now bring Dead Boy Detectives to Netflix where it exists within The Sandman universe.
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Review: Andrew Scott Delivers a Darker Take on the Enduring Grifter in Netflix’s ‘Ripley’

From stories inspired by real-life con artists like Catch Me If You Can and Inventing Anna to fictional tales such as Ingrid Goes West and Saltburn, the social-climbing grifter is an enduring cinematic character that we love to watch scheme their way into the one percent, taking advantage of snobby rich people who spend their millions carelessly.

If you’ve seen Anthony Minghella’s 1999 film The Talented Mr. Ripley starring Matt Damon, Jude Law, and Gwyneth Paltrow, or read Patricia Highsmith’s
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Review: In Netflix’s ‘Damsel’, Millie Bobby Brown’s Princess Doesn’t Wait for a Prince

From poisoning princesses to eating children, fables and fairy tales have always been rooted in horror. Given the title, Netflix’s film Damsel sets out to subvert expectations of traditional fantasy storytelling.

That subversion begins behind the camera with director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (28 Weeks Later) and writer Dan Mazeau (Fast X, Wrath of the Titans), who aren’t exactly the first people you’d think would tell a story about royal families and family traditions. But it’s their experience
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Review: Donald Glover and Maya Erskine Are Exceptional in ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’

When it was first announced in 2021 that multi-hyphenate artist Donald Glover (Atlanta) was coming out with a new version of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, the eye-roll reception was to be expected. People love to hate remakes, believing that revisiting previous stories and concepts and approaching them from a different perspective lacks originality. Well, this is Donald Glover, and no one should expect him to simply remake the 2005 Brangelina action rom-com. He told EW, “I hope some people are like, ‘This i
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Sundance 2024 Review: Bruno Mourral Makes His Feature Directorial Debut with Darkly Funny Crime Thriller ‘Kidnapping Inc.’

In 2017, Haitian writer-director Bruno Mourral impressed audiences with his mid-length film Kafou, co-written by Jasmuel Andri, who stars in the film, and Gilbert Mirambeau Jr. After a few challenging years in production on their follow-up project, Mourral makes his feature debut at this year’s Sundance Film Festival with Kidnapping, Inc., a wild, action-packed political thriller/dark comedy. The multigenre Creole and French-language film explores the country’s rampant crime, corrupt politicians
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Sundance 2024 Review: Johan Grimonprez’s Essayistic Documentary 'Soundtrack to a Coup D’etat' Explores Link Between Jazz and Politics

Writer and director Johan Grimonprez, known for impressionistic documentaries like Shadow World: Inside the Global Arms Trade and Double Take, returns to the Sundance Film Festival with his latest documentary Soundtrack to a Coup D’etat.

First announced in 2021, the Belgian-born filmmaker sheds light on the overthrow and assassination of Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba, the dark history of the United Nations weaponizing jazz artists and their music, and so much more. It opens with drums to est
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Sundance 2024 Review: Nico Parker Shines in ‘Suncoast’, a Coming-of-Age Dramedy about Grief

Best known for her work in television, writer-director Laura Chinn (Pop TV’s Florida Girls) debuts her first feature Suncoast at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

Set in 2005, the semi-autobiographical dramedy follows Doris (Nico Parker), a socially awkward teenager living a far from normal life in Florida. Instead of participating in any extracurriculars or socializing with classmates, she spends her time outside of school helping her overwhelmed mom Kristine (Laura Linney) care for her sick
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Sundance 2024 Review: Haley Elizabeth Anderson Returns to Sundance with ‘Tendaberry’, an Intimate Portrait of Young Love and Loneliness

Writer-director Haley Elizabeth Anderson is no stranger to the Sundance Film Festival. In 2020, she participated in the screenwriting intensive and premiered her short film Pillars. This year, she returns to Sundance with her first feature film Tendaberry, an indie drama following 23-year-old Dakota (Kota Johan) as she transitions from the romance of being one-half of a couple to the uncertainty of being alone in New York City.

The film opens with Dakota’s poetic narration playing over old imag
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Review: Alaqua Cox Delivers Another Beautifully Nuanced and Intense Performance as Maya Lopez in ‘Echo’

Marvel Studios kicks off 2024 with Echo, a five-episode series centered on Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox), who made her debut in 2021’s Hawkeye. It’s the first Disney+ that’s TV-MA, a promising rating for fans of Netflix’s Marvel era. Echo is also the first to launch under the Marvel Spotlight banner, which Head of Streaming Brad Winderbaum said focuses on “street-level stakes over larger MCU continuity.”
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Christmas Classics: 'Home Alone' Will Always Be Essential Holiday Viewing

It’s that time of year when the internet sprouts more bizarre theories and newly discovered details about Home Alone. The John Hughes (Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club) and Chris Columbus (The Christmas Chronicles 2) venture premiered more than 30 years ago in November 1990. Despite critics at the time not loving the massive blockbuster, it remains a staple on nearly everyone’s Christmas watchlist. And on December 13, 2023, it was added to the 2023 Library of Congress National Film Registry.
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BGN's Picks for the Best Films of 2023

This has been quite the year for cinema starting with critically acclaimed hits in January during Sundance all the way until awards season which is currently in full swing. We here at Black Girl Nerds are excited to share with you some of our picks of what we consider the best films of 2023 by a select group of esteemed film critics.

From big budget studio films to independent flicks, our team provides a short list of our favorites and why these selections have resonated with us so much this past year.
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Cult Classics: Revisiting the Strange and Obscure ‘We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story’ 30 Years Later

This month we look back on We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story, one of the three animated films produced by Steven Spielberg’s Amblimation and an unofficial animated companion to Jurassic Park. It was released on November 24, 1993, and unlike the aforementioned live-action dino-centric movie that year, it wasn’t a hit with critics or audiences.

The story begins with Buster the Bird (Blaze Berdahl) planning to run away from his family nest. But before he hits the skies, he chats with a friendly Tyran
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