A Useful Ghost: A New Modern Classic
The classic ghosts-in-revenge story expanded into an extensive dig into the historical social system while being funny and horny.

Shot in black and white and filmed in the Samoan language, Sima Urale's debut short film was the first film by a Samoan woman director. O Tamaiti is the story of a young boy forced to play parent in devastating circumstances. According to NZ On Screen, "O Tamaiti marked a powerful debut, winning an impressive trolley of awards, including best short at the Venice Film Festival, Best NZ Short, and another at the Chicago Film Festival".
The classic ghosts-in-revenge story expanded into an extensive dig into the historical social system while being funny and horny.
I write for a diversity-focused film review blog, so I’ll be honest: I really wanted to like Pretty Lethal. Starring Maddie Ziegler, Lana Condor, Iris Apatow, Avantika, and Millicent Simmonds, Amazon Prime’s new thriller seemed like it would be a girl power movie about dancers with a horror action twist. Sort of a Suspiria for teens. But with shallow and unlikeable characters, a confusing plot, an overreliance on violence, and cringey dialogue, any fun the movie started out with was quickly lost. What was left was a faint echo of greater horror movies about dancers made before.
‘Barbie’ is an entertaining, meaningful piece of filmmaking with a heartfelt message.
In ‘The Owl House’ protagonist Luz Noceda stumbles across a portal to another dimension where magic exists, called The Boiling Isles.
It’s passionately protective of the women mentioned in the story or appearing on screen. Just like the article and the #MeToo movement, the film could help a trapped person find the courage to fight back.
Amanda Riley gets the opportunity to travel to Vietnam for the experience of a lifetime.