Saying I love Super Mario is an understatement. The globally admired Italian plumber has impacted many children’s lives, especially if you were born in the ‘90s, and it remains a cultural phenomena to this day. I remember playing the “Super Mario Bros” (1985) Nintendo Entertainment System version with my aunt’s counterfeit made-in-China gaming console when we were cooped up inside during typhoon season in the Philippines. In high school, I was that kid in the corner of the classroom with a GameBoy Advance, playing “Super Mario World: Super Mario Advanced 2”. After immigrating to the states, the first gaming console I got was the Nintendo Wii U and Nintendo DS, where I played hours of different Mario games. Mario kept me company when I didn’t have friends.

Before I even start this review, I think I should acknowledge that I’m a huge Scream franchise fan. I’ve watched “Scream VI” at least four times since its release on Mar. 7. In an attempt to give a less-biased review, I think it’s best for me to rate this compared to its predecessors. From its meta commentary of modern horror movie tropes to its bloody violence, does “Scream VI” have what it takes to keep the franchise going?

Have you ever sat down with a stoner friend while they were high, and they started conceptualizing things that didn’t completely make sense because you were sober, but you just let them talk anyway because it was entertaining? I feel like Jimmy Warden was that stoner friend while writing the screenplay for “Cocaine Bear,” a totally outlandish, incredibly campy, and surprisingly fun horror-comedy film.

When I was in 6th grade, my brother and I used to bike to my great-grandma’s house. We would race back home after school and hop on our bikes as we headed to her neighborhood so we could hang out with our playmates. That is one of the last memories I have of doing something close with him. Our relationship slowly changed when we started to go to different schools. He started to make new friends, and we slowly stopped hanging out. One time, my mom asked him to take me with him, but he refused saying that I was “too effeminate for his friends.” That’s why Lukas Dhont’s recent movie, “Close”, and its depiction of young male relationships and toxic masculinity hits close to home.

Gay family on the screen? I was invested: was this going to be a wholesome queer family movie? Then came flashing the name of the director, M. Night Shyamalan. The first thing that came to mind was “Will I like this or not?” After terrorizing my childhood by making “The Last Airbender” and his not-so-good recent film, “Old” (2021), I was conditioned to automatically expect the least from this hit or miss director. Sadly, Shyamalan’s new horror flick is another addition to his failures.

From the onslaught of “eat the rich” films, like “The Menu” and “The Triangle of Sadness” to HBO Max’s hit “White Lotus,” it is evident that, if you’re a fictional character in Hollywood, now is not the perfect time to be filthy rich. “Infinity Pool” is yet another film that touches on this concept, but how does it differ from other films with similar ideas? Brandon Cronenberg’s “Infinity Pool” is an erotic, philosophical, and psychedelic sci-fi horror, reminding you of that bad acid trip you once had.

If you’ve been to the movie theater in the past couple of months, part of your experience was probably waiting for the “M3gan” trailer to play. Likely because of the scene where M3gan, the film’s star killer, appears to be abstract-dancing through a hallway, a sight that never fails to draw laughter from the crowd. With no surprise, the trailer also became an instant meme online. On its Twitter account, the original killer doll, Chucky, even responded to the new doll in town tweeting, “everybody’s tryna be me.”

After premiering at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on Sep. 4, 2022, the buzz around “The Whale” has been relentless. There was a good deal of praise for how this film was Brendan Fraser’s comeback film. I was excited to see the movie and witness a nostalgic actor get a career revival but there wasn’t much promotion behind it. In fact, since its premiere, there wasn’t a formal trailer until just three weeks ago, which added to the anticipation of the film.

It’s been 25 years since Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore) first heard the very infamous question, “What is your favorite scary movie?” And after four movies and 47 cumulative kills, the newest installment is here to add more murders to his number.

Coined by the movie itself as a “requel,” how does the new “Scream” hold up to the very different horror scene nowadays?