The Spool

12/09/2025

Lisa Laman recommends the "unexpectedly exceptional THE LONG WALK, in theatres today.

“Boots—boots—boots—boots—movin’ up an’ down again! There’s no discharge in the war!” Raymond Garraty (Cooper Hoffman) thinks he’s ready to go. A citizen in a (more) dystopian United States, Garraty, much to his mother, Mrs. Garraty’s (Judy Greer) immense pain, has signed up for...

09/09/2025

Sarah Gorr hopes audiences find Paul Mescal and Josh O'Connor enough of a draw to check out the celebration of American folk music that is THE HISTORY OF SOUND because it is frequently rich and heartwrenching.

The History of Music’s package more than its premise sells itself without much difficulty. Gay historical romance with Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor? The two celebs whose heads fans most want to smash together like a tot making two Barbie dolls kiss? What more do you even need to know? That pack...

02/09/2025

Tim Stevens is happy to enjoy HIGHEST 2 LOWEST as a victory lap for Spike Lee and Denzel Washington, even if the film never seems clear on its viewpoints on art, wealth, and more.

For most of his career, Denzel Washington has been an actor of tremendous intensity and control. Lately, he’s been a bit looser. Take, for instance, his turn earlier this year as Macrinus in Gladiator 2. Easily the most interesting person on screen, Washington gave the Roman schemer an oversized l...

22/08/2025

HONEY DON'T! left Lisa Laman cold.

Le****ns and cinema. It’s a combination as potent as Joni Mitchell and singing or Mr. Burns and loafers made from former gophers. Considering the very first kiss in cinema history was between two ladies, it’s no wonder filmmaking and q***r gals make such enthralling chums. Titles like Working Gi...

20/08/2025

Lisa Laman declares NE ZHA 2 such an improvement over the original, it puts the film in the company of such superior sequels as EVIL DEAD 2.

Comparing Ne Zha 2 (returning to North American theaters in a new English-language dub) to its predecessor is akin to comparing Pong to The Last of Us or an episode of Mr. Ed to Andor’s series finale. It recalls Hellboy II: The Golden Army or Evil Dead II as a sequel that drastically improves on t...

15/08/2025

NOBODY 2 has its charms, but it is no NOBODY. It too often buries its action charms under poor emotional beats and overly complicated webs of antagonists, writes Lisa Laman.

In 2007, country singer/Cars franchise veteran Brad Paisley unleashed manmade horrors beyond anyone’s comprehension with the album 5th Gear’s first single, “Ticks”. A hideous creation about some dude hitting on a random woman, it includes the protagonist’s infamous declaration that he’ll...

01/08/2025

Lisa Laman praised SHE RIDES SHOTGUN for its early 70s Pacino movie vibes and powerful lead performances.

11-year-old Polly (Ana Sophia Heger) begins She Rides Shotgun alone, the last kid not yet picked up outside her elementary school. Eventually, her distant father, Nate (Taron Egerton), emerges. Fresh out of jail and plenty seedy, he implores his offspring to get into the automobile. After a moment o...

01/08/2025

TOGETHER derails itself some in a third-act attempt to explain itself, but Lisa Laman still found it a gross and nuanced take on a struggling relationship.

Tim (Dave Franco) and Millie (Alison Brie) are having relationship problems as writer/director Michael Shanks' Together begins. What couple doesn't have woes, though, right? Still, these two seem especially frayed as they uproot their life to the countryside for Millie's new job. Tim, not ready to l...

31/07/2025

Lisa Laman praises for its commitment to craftmanship as it delivers a delightfully wacky legacy sequel.

One of the many impressive qualities about those two Spider-Verse movies is their opening studio logos. They flicker on-screen like Spider-Verse characters stuck in the wrong dimension for too long, revealing blink-and-you’ll-miss-it logos of other times. These images inspire chuckles and exciteme...

23/07/2025

OH, HI! may verge on the ridiculous in some moments, the didactic in others. However, as Sarah Gorr argues, it gets things about modern dating so right — and so funny — that it is easy to overlook the film's shortcomings.

It’s a tale as old as time. Boy meets girl. Girl and boy fall for each other. Boy takes girl on a romantic weekend away. Girl swoons over how breezy their first trip as a couple is. Boy hears the word “couple” and essentially leaves a boy-shaped hole in the wall, heading for the hills. While t...

18/07/2025

Lisa Laman has no love for EDDINGTON, declaring it a limp slog that plays like cold leftovers. Check out her review now. https://buff.ly/p4loO4m

18/07/2025

SORRY, BABY is a film of profound, quiet wisdom that still knows how to tell a joke, says Lisa Laman.

CW: discussions of sexual assault and trauma below Everything seemed normal that faintly Autumn evening. If you gazed out a window, you’d see leaves falling off trees, townsfolk strolling home, maybe some birds lurking on telephone wires. If you looked outside your window at just the right moment,...