Over the years Lucasfilm Animation has found numerous ways to innovate while remaining faithful to its very distinct artistic style. The studio defined itself early on with the painterly computer-generated look of the long-running fan-favorite “Star Wars: The Clone Wars”. “Star Wars Rebels” was uniquely minimalistic while “The Bad Batch” added richer textures and sharper detail to the Clone Wars aesthetic.

The animators at Lucasfilm have once again upped their game with the studio’s latest Disney+ production, “Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord”. The 10-episode streaming series offers another visual evolution of sorts, embracing the foundational style of “The Clone Wars” while (for starters) adding its own striking color palette, dynamic lighting, and moody shadows to reflect the show’s darker and grittier tone. It’s an absolute stunner to look at. But there’s more to love about “Maul” than just its looks.

“Maul – Shadow Lord” adds another chapter to the revenge-driven story of the Sith Lord, Darth Maul. Despite barely appearing in only two Star Wars films, the Maul character has grown through canonical arcs from other shows, comics, etc.. His compelling journey has been one of pain, rage, and torment, beginning with his time as the former apprentice of Darth Sidious, to being reunited with his brother after he was left for dead on a junkyard planet, to becoming the most powerful crime syndicate leader in the galaxy.

“Shadow Lord” fills in some significant gaps in Maul’s story while making several exciting connections that fans of the character and the franchise are sure to enjoy. The series takes place one year after “Revenge of the Sith” and the conclusion of “The Clone Wars” as the Galaxy falls under the shadow of the new Empire. Most of the Jedi have been killed with the rest being hunted by Darth Vader and his inquisitors. Meanwhile major syndicates fight for power in the intensifying galactic underworld.

On the planet Janix, Maul (voiced by a returning Sam Witwer) has arrived with a small crew consisting of two fellow Zabraks, a handful of Mandalorian mercenaries, and a stealthy spy droid. He sets up a hideout deep in the abandoned underbelly of the city where he begins orchestrating his strategy to pay back two local crime bosses who double-crossed him. But in truth, Maul’s interests in Janix run much, much deeper.

Maul’s force senses have led him to Janix to find a young Twi’lek Jedi named Devon (Gideon Adlon) who is in hiding there with her Master, Eeko-Dio-Daki (Dennis Haysbert). Maul sees Devon as the ideal apprentice and the ultimate weapon he can use against his true nemesis, Darth Sidious. Once again Witwer’s voice work is phenomenal and he fully embraces the opportunity to step back into a role he helped make great.

But “Shadow Lord” does more than follow Maul around as he carries out his carefully crafted plans. Showrunner Dave Filoni and his extraordinary team of writers incorporate other perspectives, including that of a new character, Detective Brander Lawson (voiced by recent Oscar nominee Wagner Moura). As Maul doles out his violent retribution on the local syndicates, Lawson leads the police department’s investigation. And what he discovers has significant consequences for Janix.

Lawson has a fascinating arc that grounds the story in some surprising ways. It often plays like a police procedural, mixing elements from television shows like “CSI” with crime films like “Heat”. And Moura’s Lawson is a terrific fit. He’s smart and driven, yet worn down by what his job has cost him. After the violence erupts, Lawson knows protocol is to inform the Empire. But he insists on keeping it a local matter, fearing the Empire will lock down Janix and never leave once they get a foothold.

Then there is Devon and Eeko-Dio-Daki, who live incognito on the streets of Janix while keeping a low profile following the horrors of Order 66. Their master-apprentice relationship is well-developed, and over time it takes on a moving father-daughter dynamic. But as Daki seeks to protect his beloved pupil, Devon grows frustrated with suppressing their powers and hiding in the shadows. And those are feelings her master fears could make her susceptible to the influence of someone like Maul.

To no surprise, the stories of the three key parties soon intersect which fuels the drama and paves the way for some thrilling action sequences. But also there are a number of surprise twists that energize both the story and Star Wars lore as we know it. The creatives hit us with several familiar sights that will get the pulse of Star Wars die-hards racing. But “Shadow Lord” also has its own distinct identity that allows it to stand out on its own. You would be wrong to dismiss this as just “more Maul”.

“Maul: Shadow Lord” once again shows why animation remains a favorite storytelling outlet for Star Wars fans of all ages. Dave Filoni and his teams of writers, animators, and voice actors haven gifted fans with an enthralling lost chapter from the life of a franchise favorite. It’s riveting entertainment, filled with eye-popping visuals, cinematic set pieces, great character work, gripping tension, and epic lightsaber showdowns. It connects several key dots on the Star Wars timeline while exciting us for what may lie ahead. And with Filoni already announcing a second season, we may not have to wait long.

VERDICT – 4.5 STARS

The very concept of “Slanted” put the film in a precarious position from the very start. It’s a deeply personal message movie that doubles as a bonkers social satire and triples as body horror chiller. It’s certainly an ambitious undertaking for writer-director Amy Wang who draws inspiration from her own life experiences and finds catharsis in exploring genres. Unfortunately she struggles to find the right balance, leaving “Slanted” to only go skin deep.

With “Slanted”, Wang has several interesting themes on her mind including identity, culture, and assimilation. More intimately, her film examines insecurity, self-worth, and validation. While nothing feels as thought out as it could be, there are times when Wang hits her marks. But it’s her broader critiques that fall apart, specifically in her observations on whiteness and Americanism. They’re too absurd to be seriously considered and too broad to be insightful.

A key strength of the film is Shirley Chen. She plays Joan Huang, a Chinese-American teen who has grown up on the outside of the popular (and glaringly white) social circles that she desperately wants to be a part of. Joan moved to the United States from China ten years earlier with her father Roger (Fang Du) and her mother Sofia (Vivian Wu). Wang drops them into a caricature of America where city streets are lined with stores like AR-15 Foods, ‘Merica Liquor, Yee-Haw Boots, and Freedom Beans. And where simply being white means you live in some kind of utopian bliss.

Now in her teen years, Joan attends the whitest high school imaginable where she emulates everything she sees from the popular crowd – their language, their style choices, their obscene self-absorption. She’s especially smitten with the reigning prom queen and social media maven, the insufferable Olivia (Amelie Zilber). At home, her bedroom wall is plastered with pictures of pretty white models plucked from magazines. She pinches her nose with a clothes pin to make it smaller. And she constantly uses cosmetic filters on her selfies to make her look ‘whiter’.

Joan’s obsession with fitting in at school puts a strain on her relationship with her parents. It’s especially difficult with her mother who tries to share their rich cultural traditions but is met with her daughter’s angst-driven indifference. And despite have a very close relationship with her father, Joan does a poor job hiding her embarrassment over his work as a janitor. The inner and outer conflicts provide moments when “Slanted” is at its best. The growing chasm between a daughter and her parents is heartbreaking to watch.

But Joan’s life takes a sudden turn after she gets wind of a mysterious company called Ethnos. They pitch themselves as “a place where we help you reach your true potential”. Joan decides to check out their office where she meets Dr. Willie Singer (R. Keith Harris). He tells her of a groundbreaking new ethnic modification surgery – a two hour procedure that permanently changes the patient’s pigmentation, facial and body features, and even their voice. It other words, it turns them white. “If you can’t beat them, be them,” the smarmy doctor says with a smile.

Of course Joan has the surgery and comes out pretty, blonde, and most importantly white. Now played by Mckenna Grace, Joan sets out to live the white life she’s always wanted. But there are speed bumps along the way, namely her parents and her best friend Brindha (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) who may be the only other person of color left at school. Yet Joan gains the popularity she wanted and is even accepted into Olivia’s clique. But eventually it’s all threatened by some unexpected and disturbing consequences.

As Grace takes the baton from Chen, she adds several new layers to their character. Both give great performances that allow us to fully grasp Joan’s emotional journey. Du and Wu are equally good and in many ways are just as crucial to capturing the human element. Yet none of them can make the overall story crackle the way it needs to. They simply have too much working against them. The script’s shallow treatment of key themes waters things down. The storytelling is all over the map. And even the body horror (once it finally comes) is too tame to register.

“Slanted” does have some respectable creative flourishes, such as the clever shift from a 4:3 aspect ration to widescreen showing Joan’s feelings of confinement to freedom. But neither them, the strong performances, or Wang’s admirable personal investment can overcome the film’s inability to balance its message with either satire or horror. Somewhere in “Slanted” is a really good movie about cultural identity – one willing to go deeper than a cartoonish parody of whiteness and a shallow view of American values.

VERDICT – 2 STARS

Frequent readers of this site have probably heard me talk about growing up on the genre-blending adventure movies of the 1980s. Whether it was science-fiction fantasy or classic sword-and-sorcery, if it was on the television I was watching it. And while some haven’t aged as well as others, I still hold those movies in high regard. Perhaps that’s why I get a little giddy whenever I see modern filmmakers tipping their hats to those nearly forgotten genre gems.

That’s exactly what co-producers, co-writers, and co-directors Domagoj Mazuran and Zoran Lisinac do with their new dystopian sci-fi film, “Storm Rider: Legend of Hammerhead”. Together they build an entirely new world that pulls inspiration from several places yet tells a story very much its own. Even better, Mazuran and Lisinac create a uniquely original mythology that is deep and detailed while maintaining a tight focus. It’s the storytelling itself that’s a little shaky. More on that in a second.

An opening monologue sets things up nicely. The tale is set some 300 years after a catastrophic flood left the earth with nothing but a few scattered islands in an unending ocean. The “old world” with all of its cities, cultures, and knowledge now lays lost at the bottom of the waters. Surrounding what remains is a vast, perpetual, and impenetrable electrical storm that forms an ominous and deadly horizon.

From the ruins, the massive city of Argos was built and ruled by a mysterious group of immortals called the Founders. As sprigs of human civilization sprang from the various islands, Argos became the hub of power and prominence. But with their power came the urge to control. It led the Founders to introduce a perilous annual speedboat race where chosen pilots from each island called storm riders would compete. The victor wins his island’s entry into Argos. But finish last and your island is stripped of its resources and its people cast out.

On Fig Island, two young storm riders have dreamed of competing in the race since their childhood. Neb (Marco Ilsø) and Ana (Ivana Dudić) grew up hearing the legend of Hammerhead – an outlaw storm rider who dared to defy the Founders by piloting his boat into the storm to see what secrets may lie beyond. Driven by the same spirit (and some personal motivation), Neb and Ana plan to use their opportunity as riders to pierce the storm in hopes of finding freedom for their people. But the villainous head Founder, Lord Tarus (Gilles Geary) is willing to stop them, no matter the cost.

Several other key characters help fill out the world including Neb’s wise yet nebulous grandfather, Dida (James Cosmo) and Tarus’ top lieutenant, known only as the Baroness (Caroline Goodall). Both clearly know more than they let on, and the secrets they hide play significant roles in the unfolding story. Yet they, like most of the movie’s central players, too often feel like archetypes rather than fully formed human characters.

But the film’s biggest issue is found in its overuse of lengthy exposition, monologues, and narration. Without question, there is some interesting world-building to mine from the MANY explanations we get. But it’s not long before they start zapping the movie of its energy. It doesn’t kill the sheer imagination and craftsmanship at the heart of “Storm Rider”. But there are times when it slows the movie’s momentum to a crawl.

Despite that, Mazuran and Lisinac deserve a lot of credit for this ambitious undertaking. “Storm Rider: Legend of Hammerhead” is a notably fresh and imaginative slice of dystopian sci-fi manages to transport us to a fascinating new world without breaking the proverbial bank. The visuals frequently impress through their combination of real-life locations, imaginative production design, and fusion of practical and digital effects. And while its a bit like “Death Race 2000” meets “Waterworld”, the film dares to take itself seriously, telling a story without winking at the camera every step of the way. That alone is something I can appreciate. In theaters March 13th.

VERDICT – 3 STARS

Back in 2026 the slasher sub-genre got a jolt of fresh energy in the form of Wes Craven’s “Scream”. Horror fans immediately responded to the movie’s overt meta treatment that embraced the long-standing slasher clichés both within the film and in the filmmaking. In many ways it revitalized the genre and inspired a new wave of imitators. “Scream” immediately spawned a well-done sequel followed by two considerably lesser films.

Then in 2022 the franchise was revived with the lazily titled “Scream” (again) and then “Scream VI” one year later. This latest era has attempted to blend the nostalgic pull of the older films with its own fresh new spin. But they mostly just give lip service to the superior original film. And neither the new storylines nor the new characters could escape the scripts’ numerous lapses in logic and overall absurdity.

Still, the last two movies made good money at the box office which all but insured a seventh Scream. But pre-production was halted after star Melissa Barrera made incendiary comments which the studio deemed to be antisemitic. The controversy that followed led to the departure of director Christopher Landon and co-star Jenna Ortega. It drove a small segment of online fans to call for a boycott. Meanwhile a considerably smaller and shamelessly inconsiderate group started a campaign to spoil the film’s ending online.

With all of that aside, here’s the good news. Once you move past the ongoing drama, “Scream 7” is an entertaining return to form…of sorts. It takes a very back-to-the-basics approach which works both for the movie and in some regards against it (more on that in a second). A big reason it clicks is not only the return of the original star Neve Campbell, but also the return of Kevin Williamson, the screenwriter of the franchise’s first and best films. He not only co-writes the “Screen 7” script, but this time he also directs.

After declining to return to “Scream VI” due to a pay dispute, Campbell is back as Sidney Prescott. She has made a new life for herself in Pine Grove, Indiana. She’s married to the local police chief, Mark (Joel McHale) and together they have a 17-year-old daughter named Tatum (Isabel May). She has even opened her own coffee shop. She has done everything she can to distance herself from her traumatic past. But Sidney’s efforts have driven a wedge between her and Tatum who has grown frustrated with her evasive mother.

But of course Sidney’s life is turned upside down with the return of Ghostface, a mysterious killer sporting a popular Halloween costume and a voice changer who has a new identity in each film. This time the killing starts at the Macher house, the place of the first film’s murders which has been turned into some kind of museum/Airbnb. Shortly after, Sidney gets a call from Ghostface claiming to be a familiar face from her past. At first she dismisses it as a shameless joke. But when the killer begins targeting Tatum and her friends, Sidney’s mother bear instincts kick into gear.

The story that follows sticks close to the classic slasher formula, and its simplicity turns out to be one of its strengths. Die-hard fans of the popular horror sub-genre will get exactly what they’re looking for from screaming teens to buckets of blood. The same goes for devoted fans of the Scream franchise. Williamson soaks his sequel in fun nostalgia and cool callbacks with the best being the return of Sidney Prescott herself. Those wanting something dramatically different or coming at it with an ax to grind will most likely leave disappointed.

The mother-daughter dynamic is a nice addition and it gives the story heart. Campbell gives her best performance of the series while May is a nice new addition. Meanwhile the supporting cast features a slew of fresh faces and old favorites, some of whom fare much better than others. Unfortunately, much like the previous two films, “Scream 7” ends with a thud. The big reveal doesn’t leave any real impact and it feels plucked out of nowhere. It’s a disappointing payoff.

Still “Scream 7” is a nice return to form for a long-running film series that needed to be reminded of what made it popular. It’s hardly groundbreaking and it’s yet another entry that fumbles its finish. But it nails the basics, from its gloriously gory kills to its classic killer and all-star final girl. For most fans that will be more than enough to remind them of why these movies still have a following some thirty years since its Genesis.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS

Jason Statham’s latest first quarter action thriller is “Shelter”, and it’s a nice escape from heavier awards season stock. You would be hard-pressed to say “Shelter” breaks new ground. But it does fit snugly within Statham’s wheelhouse. And for fans of the 58-year-old’s specific brand of action, it has all the ingredients while hitting the familiar marks they’ve come to expect.

Stunt performer turned director Ric Roman Waugh follows up several solid collaborations with Gerard Butler (minus 2019’s “Angel Has Fallen”) with a Statham vehicle that’s built upon an easy to recognize foundation. A man with a secret past lives a quiet, discreet life until he’s pushed back into the life he had tried to put behind him. That’s literally the basic premise of Statham’s last two movies. And we get it again in “Shelter”, but with a small yet meaningful twist.

Statham plays Michael Mason, a former government assassin within MI6’s top-secret Black Kite program. Years earlier, Mason went rogue during a critical mission which made him a target of his own agency. As a result, Mason went off the grid, quietly living in an old lighthouse on a tiny island in the Scottish Isles. Once a week he’s left a crate of supplies by a young girl named Jessie (Bodhi Rae Breathnach) who comes to the island on her uncle’s boat. Otherwise he keeps to himself, living in seclusion and out of MI6’s eye.

After dropping off supplies, Jessie and her uncle get caught in a storm. Mason manages to save the injured girl, but her uncle drowns when their boat sinks. Realizing he needs medicine to treat Jessie’s injury, Mason risks exposing himself by going into the closest town. There his image is captured and funneled through MI6’s fancy new surveillance system where his old handler and MI6 dark agent Manafort (Bill Nighy) dispatches a kill squad to track down and eliminate his old asset and any witnesses.

Mason wastes no time offing Manafort’s team before taking Jessie on the run, using back channels and old connections to keep her safe. But Manafort intensifies his pursuit, revealing his own devious motives in the process. Meanwhile a driven and upright young agent named Roberta (Naomi Ackie) begins filling in the blanks to Mason’s backstory while discovering the real reason behind Manafort’s efforts to kill the best of his former assassins.

Most of “Shelter” follows Mason’s attempt to stay one step ahead of Manafort’s killers, from his island lighthouse to the rural countryside to downtown London. It’s laced with a variety of solid action scenes that includes car chases, shoot-outs, and (of course) some bone-cracking fight sequences. But the difference maker is Mason’s emerging relationship with Jessie. The father-daughter dynamic that forms adds heart. And both Statham and Breathnach breathe a surprising amount of life into it.

Yet outside of that, there’s not a lot here that we haven’t seen before. It’s a nagging issue that stayed in the back of my mind throughout. But Statham fans (a group I consider myself to be a part of) will find themselves at home with the action star’s latest. The film has its share of thrills, and the evolving relationship at its core gives “Shelter” a welcomed emotional kick that serves the movie well.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS

Defining the Strangers movie franchise is no easy task. The original 2008 film, “The Strangers” was truly chilling, and over time it became a cult classic. Its clunker 2018 sequel, “Prey at Night” didn’t fare near as well. But the real confusion came in 2024 with the release of “The Strangers – Chapter 1”, the first film in a new trilogy from director Renny Harlin. “Chapter 2” followed in 2025, and now here we are in early 2026 with “Chapter 3”.

It takes some research to figure out what the trilogy is meant to be. It’s not a prequel trilogy as many of us first thought, but it’s not necessarily a reboot or a rematch either. Instead its creators consider it a “relaunch” and have said that it exists within the same universe as the original two films. That may explain it in words, but finding a concrete connection between the older movies and the newer ones is easier said than done.

Regardless, the trilogy has been quite the rollercoaster ride. “Chapter 1” played like 30 minutes worth of content stretched into a 90-minute movie. But “Chapter 2” was a surprising step up despite a few problems of its own. As with its predecessors, “Chapter 3″ has its own set of issues. Yet it manages to do a serviceable job tying the trilogy together and bringing it to decent conclusion.

“Chapter 3” begins exactly where the previous film left off. After spending the last movie fleeing from the three masked psychopathic strangers, Maya (Madelaine Petsch) managed to kill the one called Pin-Up Girl just before the credits rolled. Now the remaining two, Scarecrow and Dollface, mourn her in their own twisted way before continuing their pursuit of Maya in and around the rural timber town of Venus, Oregon.

Elsewhere the prowling Sheriff Rotter (played by the wonderfully unsettling Richard Brake) patrols the forest-lined country roads with motivations that could be called sketchy at best. Meanwhile Maya’s sister, Debbie (Rachel Shenton) and her husband Howard (George Young) arrive in Venus with a hired bodyguard (Miles Yekinni) after learning Maya was never picked up by the ambulance sent to bring her back home to Portland. Their investigation intersects with the good sheriff while Maya tries to get a leg up on her maniacal pursuers.

Harlin breaks up the current day mayhem with several flashbacks that not only reveal the identities of the deranged serial-killing trio, but how they came together and how they’ve managed to continue murdering for years. These scenes add some disturbing context to the strangers, as well as the townsfolk of Venus. We end up learning more through them than any other part of the movie.

As for our protagonist, much of “Chapter 3” emphasizes the evolution of Maya whose trauma makes her increasingly cold and calloused. It’s a tricky task for the committed Petsch whose performances throughout the trilogy have come in three phases. Each film asks her to do something different, yet all three performances are distinctly connected. So it’s impossible to fairly judge what she’s doing in “Chapter 3” without factoring in the previous movies. When you do, it’s easy to appreciate what she accomplishes.

The Strangers trilogy has become a cheap critical punching bag for many, but it’s far from the cataclysmic disaster it’s made out to be. It’s hard to justify spreading the story out into three feature length films and their strict dependency on seeing the other movies are somewhat of a handicap. As for “Chapter 3”, it may succeed in wrapping things up, but it’s not without its lapses in logic. Still, it manages to do what it needs to do as a final chapter. And judging by its box office performance, it could very well be the FINAL chapter.

VERDICT – 3 STARS