Tag: Movies

Clayface Review

Published on by KyraLeave a comment

Happy Halloween, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here. We have a special review in honor of Spooky Season and Halloween. All of our Geekly Writers watched Clayface together this past week, and we’ll share our thoughts on the latest entry in the DCU. We’ve only seen the movie once, so this will be more of a reaction than a full review. I’ll kick off this post by sharing my thoughts.

Kyra’s Thoughts

Clayface works well as an introduction to the character. Seriously, we watched the movie with someone who has never seen anything with Batman, and he left wanting to consume more. Clayface dives into the character’s psyche. As if we needed more evidence (beyond Joker and Penguin), Clayface proves that you don’t need Batman to tell a solid story steeped in Gotham City lore. These characters have pathos to spare. Clayface does an excellent job of showing how layered Matt Hagen is with a healthy side of body horror. For those who know the character, the movie goes how you would expect the movie to go. Clayface borrows plenty from Batman: The Animated Series, the Arkham video game series, and the comics. It’s a great watch. And I agree with Season’s sentiment (after leaving the theater), Clayface may have to go on our Halloween movie rotation.

I appreciate Clayface exploring Matt Hagen’s personality. Even before his “accident,” the movie presents Hagen as someone struggling with his identity. The moment he shares celebrating with his deceased mother. The scene with a late night show host asking him to do impressions and when he asks who the real Matt Hagen is, Hagen doesn’t have a good answer. He loses himself in his roles. He searches for himself. And I like how Clayface foreshadows with Hagen sharing with late show host Vic Chissler (great name) that he’s scared of finding his real self. Great foreshadowing.

This also ties into Clayface’s second half: the revenge plotline. I’m skipping over the body horror elements (which dominated Clayface’s first half) for now, so I can focus on Clayface/Matt Hagen as a character. I’ll return to the body horror. Don’t worry. Once Matt Hagen discovers his true self (Clayface), he goes on a killing spree. I want to share a great quote from the movie.

You wanna know how I feel? The people I trusted betrayed me. The justice system failed me. They stole my career, my money, my life! I’m a monster.

Clayface has great quotes to spare. I can see people reciting these for years. As you can tell from the above quote, the movie does a great job of building up Matt Hagen before he becomes Clayface. It puts in the work, so you care about who Hagen is as a person. While he does these horrible things, you can’t help but sympathize with him–to a point. And Clayface’s rampage borrows scenes straight from Batman: The Animated Series. Two of his kills are ripped right from the cartoon series. Ah! Now, I want watch BTAS again. Or at least “Feat of Clay” and “Mudslide.”

But Clayface explores the title character’s power set a little bit, providing a touch of new uses to his existing abilities. Clayface’s body always had the ability to reattach itself after getting flung elsewhere. Hagen uses this to his advantage, specifically his blood in a particularly gruesome death scene near the end. It makes sense for Hagen to cut himself, bleed into someone’s orifices, and wait for his blood to return to his body, ripping the other person apart from the inside. Ugh! So good though. The character who dies this way had it coming, and that’s a good segue to talk about Clayface’s body horror.

Our Geekly writers squirmed in their seats at the beginning of Clayface. It’s uncomfortable. By now, most of us have seen Clayface trailers that featured Matt Hagen’s eyes swelling shut. He runs to an airplane lavatory and uses a pair of scissors to cut open his eyelids. Despite having this scene spoiled (sort of) in the trailers, watching it in real time is something else. This was a tense scene, and there are a number of uncomfortable (in the best ways) scenes, but Clayface does drop the body horror midway through its runtime to focus on Hagen’s revenge story.

I appreciated Clayface’s practical effects, but the movie did use a handful of CGI sequences that looked painfully CGI. The story also tried to science up Clayface’s abilities. Let’s throw in nanobots, goofy futuristic medical jargon, and AI. What would happen if the AI goes rogue? That’s not as quotable as some of the other lines in Clayface. AI felt tacked on. The film doesn’t really explore the AI within Clayface’s body going rogue. This was a lame attempt to make the film feel “modern.” I could’ve done without the addition of AI. If you’re going to include AI, make it count.

I’ve mentioned the writing. A few hiccups aside, it’s solid. The direction and cinematography (outside of a couple of laughable CGI SNAFUs) are great. And the acting is spot on. Tom Rhys Harries nails it as Matt Hagen/Clayface. Naomi Ackie kills it as Dr. Corr. The supporting cast was phenomenal. They made Gotham City feel lived in. Clayface is a fun watch.

Clayface kind of has two endings. I prefer the second. It’s heartbreaking and shows Hagen/Clayface’s mental state. And we see Clayface in all his glory in the closing moments. Clayface made the right choice delaying its main character’s reveal. Clayface can be cartoony. I liked being grounded with the character and watching his descent.

Those are my thoughts on Clayface. Let’s check in with Skye.

Skye’s Thoughts

I’d like to start by saying that I was genuinely excited to see this movie. While Clayface isn’t my all-time favorite Batman villain, he’s one that I’ve been fascinated by for a long time, hasn’t had an official cinematic debut until now, and is a villain that has a lot of big-screen potential. After seeing Clayface in theaters with the rest of the Geekly Crew a few days ago, I’m very satisfied with the results. Clayface did a great job of delivering on the body horror elements built up in the trailers, and I liked the film the most when it made me squirm in my seat. Not only that, but Clayface managed to deliver a story that was both faithful to the character yet still felt fresh.

If I had to nitpick anything about Clayface, I’d say the romance didn’t quite fit with the tone of the rest of the film. While it’s necessary to humanize your characters from a storytelling standpoint, I don’t believe giving the lead a love-interest was the best way to do that in this case. Even if she was the best character in Clayface aside from Matt Hagen himself (Sidenote: the acting is stellar in this movie).

Overall, I had a very good time with Clayface and would enjoy doing a deeper dive on it after its inevitable release on streaming. Clayface is also a great spooky movie for Halloween, so if you’re looking for something creepy that’s hard to watch at times, Clayface might be the perfect fit for you. Happy Halloween!

Those are our writers’ thoughts on Clayface. What did you think of the movie? Let us know in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Top 5 Movie Monsters

Top 5 Movie Monsters

Published on by KyraLeave a comment

Happy Halloween, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with what should be a fun Top Five List for the holiday. That’s right. We’re celebrating Halloween with a list of the Top 5 Movie Monsters. There are so many to choose from, but we’ll try to keep this list to just five. I’m sure you’ll let us know if we got this list right in the comments. Let’s get to the Top 5 Movie Monsters.

5: King Kong

The Eighth Wonder of the World claims our fifth spot on this list. King Kong had to make this list, and he did, but just barely. In short, King Kong is iconic. He predates popular gigantic monsters (some of which may also make this list) by at least two decades. There’s a reason Kong also has the nickname, the King of Monsters. He dominated all other large monsters on his home, Skull Island. He tapped into viewers’ primal fear and took the movie-going public by storm. And while Kong terrified movie-goers in his 1933 debut, King Kong’s story is just as much about humanity exploiting the planet. And that gives his story weight.

Honestly, I didn’t think a 1930s United States director (Merian C. Cooper) would address an issue like humanity exploiting the planet in a story. To be fair, the original King Kong focused more on human greed and wanting to turn Kong into a “star,” but that still counts as exploitation. Humans kidnapped Kong and put him on a stage. Future directors, like Peter Jackson, leaned more into exploiting natural resources in more recent films. Regardless, King Kong gains more relevance because his story contains a message.

4: Godzilla

Eediga-Ooom! We didn’t need to wait long for another gigantic monster to make this list. Godzilla challenges King Kong for the title of King of the Monsters. Without question, he is the first kaiju. Like Kong before him, Godzilla explores another primal fear: nuclear weapons. That’s right. Godzilla’s origin centers around the aftermath of nuclear weapons. Following World War II, Japan was kind of obsessed with this topic. But the Godzilla films tackled more than the existential crisis of a nuclear war. At various times, Godzilla films challenged social and political views.

Despite frequent hiatuses, the Godzilla film franchise holds the Guinness World Record for the longest continuous movie franchise. After each hiatus, the tone of the movies could drastically change. Sometimes dark and brooding. Other times, over-the-top and silly. No matter the tone, I don’t mind watching the occasional Godzilla film.

3: Bruce the Shark (Jaws)

Da-dum…Da-dum. Da-dum. Da-dum. Da-dum. Da-dum. Da-da-Dum! Be honest, you were singing the Jaws theme just now. We talked about primal fear in past entries. No other movie monster feeds into that more than the great white shark in Jaws. His nickname was Bruce, so we listed him as Bruce on this list. Also, “Bruce the Shark” in Finding Nemo is a nod to Jaws. Fish are friends, not food. Getting back to Jaws, Bruce is a great example of less is more. As you can see from the picture above, Jaws” animatronic shark looks a little fake, so Steven Spielberg opted to show Bruce as little as possible. The rest is movie history.

The movie Jaws is history’s first blockbuster film. It set the rules–or are they guidelines?–for what a summer blockbuster should look like. Jaws was also the highest-grossing film of all time after its release. Who cares if that only lasted two years, until Star Wars was released? Together with Star Wars, Jaws set the Hollywood standard and ushered in a new generation of auteurs. The movie itself holds up remarkably well decades after its original release. That may have a lot to do with Spielberg’s choice of showing the shark as little as possible. At first, I questioned Bruce the Shark’s entry on this list. Does a shark constitute a movie monster? It does if it’s this shark.

2: Xenomorph (Alien)

Stealth. Strength. Weapons. The xenomorph has it all. That deadly combination keeps most protagonists on their toes. Throw in the face-huggers, and the xenomorph may be the most iconic monsters in movie history. Like many other monsters on this list, the xenomorph is the icon of a trailblazing film series. Science fiction horror didn’t exist before Alien. The original Alien charted new territory. At the heart of that new territory lives the xenomorph.

You can’t separate Alien from Xenomorph or Xenomorph from Alien. They’re synonymous. The xenomorph’s design is genius. What would you expect from H. R. Giger? That sleek, sinister, almost sadistic design will strike fear in anyone. I don’t know what I fear the most from the xenomorph: its acid, its ability to strangle me with any one of its appendages, the face-huggers attaching to my face and then the xenomorph bursting from my gut. Whose sick mind thought of this thing? Right. Giger and Ridley Scott. The xenomorph is that movie monster you love to hate.

1: The Thing

The Thing takes the concept of Jaws‘ Bruce the Shark (show as little of the monster as possible) and adds the idea of a shapeshifting entity. In many ways, The Thing is a combination of Jaws and Alien. Why wouldn’t it claim our top spot? Don’t trust your eyes. They’ll deceive you. And when you catch a glimpse of The Thing, do so with the visceral imagery of a xenomorph. Set in Antarctica, The Thing takes the form of the last person it killed.

I can’t imagine watching The Thing take the form of one of my loved ones. This is what makes The Thing so terrifying. It lulls you into a false sense of security. It plays on your emotions. While The Thing may not have shown up in as many films as the other monsters on this list, there’s no doubt it leaves an impression. That’s why The Thing takes the top spot on our list.

But those are my thoughts. Which monsters would you add to this list? Let us know in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Whatcha Watching, Geekly: October 2026

Published on by KyraLeave a comment

Hey, hey, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here! Today, our writers share what they’ve been watching over the past month. Feel free to share what you’ve been watching over the past month, because we’re all part of the Geekly Gang. I’ll get this post started with what I’ve been watching over the past month.

Kyra’s Shows

I started watching Atypical on Netflix. I was reluctant to watch the show because of its lack of actors with autism. From what I’ve heard, Atypical correct that shortcoming by hiring actors with autism in future seasons. Yes! Looks like we may have another addition to the Autism Representation series of posts. I won’t go into too much detail here; I’ll have to save something for that future post (which will probably post some time early next year, 2027). Like many shows that feature neurodivergent characters, Atypical doesn’t get every detail right. I just started watching, but hiring actors on the spectrum in future seasons is a step in the right direction.

Despite seeing some of the tropes presented in Atypical on more than one show featuring an autistic character, the show manages to hold my interest. And some elements of Atypical ring true. Honestly, the first season (I’m early on in the show) does a good job portraying Sam’s family and friends. For now, Atypical does a good job showing how family struggles to accommodate someone on the spectrum, even when that person has lower support needs. I do like how Atypical makes the distinction of people with autism having different needs. Atypical is listed as a comedy drama. I’d argue it’s more of a drama than comedy (at least for the first season), but it has some moments that made me giggle.

This won’t be the last time I mention Atypical on the site. Beware! I see an Autism Representation post in the future.

Animal Control TV Series Logo

I write my section of these posts a month ahead (usually), and Animal Control season four dropped on Netflix. At this moment, I’ve been rewatching the previous season in preparation of Animal Control season five releasing at the end of September. By the time you’re reading this, I’ll be watching the new season. It took me a while to warm up to Animal Control’s characters. I’ve discussed the danger of short episode seasons for sitcoms in the past. I won’t belabor the point here. In short, short episode seasons don’t work for sitcoms. Shows struggle to retain an audience. The characters don’t have time to develop. Animal Control had the will they, won’t they romcom couple get together at the end of season three, which seems like a lifetime, but it’s the same number of episodes as Ross and Rachel on Friends getting together. Short episode season kill a sitcom’s momentum.

Short rant over. I like where Animal Control left its characters at the end of season four and can’t wait to see what shenanigans the gang gets into in season five. I started watching Animal Control because of Joel McHale. I’m staying for the adorkable characters.

Signs of a Psychopath

By this point, you know I’m a true crime fan. I’ve watched every episode of Signs of a Psychopath. The latest season released over the past month, and I’ve caught up in the series. I’ve watched enough of Signs of a Psychopath that I know what psychological jargon the subject matter experts will say before they say it. I could make a drinking game out of it. Flat affect. Drink! Okay. Maybe I shouldn’t make a drinking game out of this show.

Lanterns TV Show Banner

Lanterns‘ first season wrapped up this past month. I won’t say much about this show. If you want my thoughts on Lanterns, Geekly has reviews of each episode. In short, I’m hoping for a second season. I may have some issues with Lanterns, but the show is entertaining and worthy of a second season. If it does return, I want more alien planets. And aliens! We need more pink-skinned beings.

Kyra’s Movie

I’ve always liked Daniel Johnston’s music; expect to see a Daniel Johnston entry in next week’s Geekly Tunes post. Daniel Johnston is the most popular outsider artists. Outsider art is art made by self-taught individuals who are untrained and untutored in the traditional arts with typically little or no contact with the conventions of the art worlds. While Daniel Johnston fits this definition, he’s so much more than that. Daniel Johnston’s music strips away the production you’ll find on studio albums. His art has an earnestness you won’t find in mainstream music. Songs like “Story of an Artist,” “Somethings Last a Long Time,” and “Life in Vain” aren’t afraid to get to the song’s emotional center. Daniel Johnston’s voice adds vulnerability.

Daniel Johnston was more than a musician. He drew cover art for his albums. The picture above is one of Daniel Johnston’s original works. He had a thing for drawing a guy missing the top part of his skull. And The Devil features in a lot of Daniel Johnston’s work. He grew up in an ultra-religious household. Johnston often thought about The Devil. So, The Devil and Daniel Johnston works as the title of a documentary movie about Daniel Johnston. The movie itself interviews a lot of Johnston’s friends and family, and on occasion, Johnston himself. He fought numerous personal demons. He created a unique world. The Devil and Daniel Johnston did a good job of presenting that world.

I’ll briefly talk about two highlights from this movie. The Devil and Daniel Johnston interviewed Gibby Haynes (of the Butthole Surfers) while he was at the dentist. Excellent! At the very end, Daniel Johnston’s parents talked about how they tried to find a place for him, but nothing worked besides their home. Johnston’s father worried about his son. He wanted to know that his son would be okay after he passed. This moment hits a lot different now than it would have in 2006 (when the film was first released). Daniel Johnston would pass of a massive heart attack. His parents would pass away shortly afterwards. Right as the tears fall, cue “Somethings Last a Long Time” and the credits.

The Devil and Daniel Johnston won’t be for everyone, but if you like Daniel Johnston’s music and art, it’s available for free with ads on YouTube.

That’s all I’ve watched this past month, and it looks like I’m on my own for this month. What’ve you been watching, Geekly Gang? Let us know in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Whatcha Watching, Geekly? September 2026

Published on by KyraLeave a comment

Happy Wednesday, Geekly Gang! Today, our writers share what they’ve been watching over the past month. Feel free to share what you’ve been watching this past month, because we’re all part of the Geekly Gang. I’ll get things started with what I’ve been watching this past month.

Kyra’s Shows

I’ve been rewatching Black Mirror episodes this past month. I’ve bounced from one episode I remember enjoying to the next. Even though Black Mirror’s quality has waxed and waned over the years, mostly waned, the classics are classics for a reason. “Playtest,” “White Christmas,” “The Entire History of You,” “San Junipero,” and “Be Right Back” still hit hard, and newer episodes like “Joan Is Awful” are a ton of sick fun. Geekly may need to rank each Black Mirror episode. Eek! That’s sounds like a tough task. Let us know if you’d be interested in that post.

Inside No 9 may out Black Mirror Black Mirror. While Black Mirror must fall in line with stories of technology, Inside No 9 has more leeway. Inside No 9 is a series of bottle episodes. Think episodes like Breaking Bad’s “Fly” or Friends‘ “The One Where No One Is Ready.” Inside No 9 has a brilliant premise. Bottle episodes tend to be an audience’s favorite episodes. Why not make an entire series out of those type of episodes? Inside No 9 has incredible range. “A Quiet Night In” is a hilarious crime comedy while “The 12 Days of Christine” will have you reaching for the tissues. Some of the show’s twists take a while to develop. “The 12 Days of Christine” has a heart wrenching twist that reveals itself at the end, while “Tom and Gerri” features multiple twists, deepening both characters. Geekly may have two shows to rank.

And I’ve rediscovered these two shows through YouTuber PolterGibbst. His channel reviews shows with tasty twists. He walks viewers through each episode, spotting minor details one may miss on an initial watch. PolterGibbst does cover a lot of classic The Twilight Zone episodes. I may have to rewatch some of those as well. I like PolterGibbst’s detailed analysis of each of these episodes. His enthusiasm about these shows inspired me to rewatch Black Mirror and Inside No 9.

Of course I’ve been watching Lanterns on HBO Max. I won’t discuss my views on that show too much in this post. I’ve been sharing my thoughts on each Lanterns‘ episode as they air. I’m writing this segment way early–because I like to stay far ahead on Geekly’s production schedule–but I thoroughly enjoyed the Lanterns pilot episode. It does everything a pilot needs to do: introduce the character, generate intrigue, and hint at characters’ pasts. I wish the pilot (I’m writing this after watching the pilot) featured more of Green Lantern’s powers and costume. But Lanterns is off to a great start. I can see why it’s highly rated.

Kyra’s Movies

Yep. I watched another Netflix documentary. I like putting these on in the background as I work (board game design), so I’m bound to have at least one documentary per month, and oh my, A Toxic Love Story has plenty of twists. Black Mirror and Inside No 9 would be jealous of how many turns this documentary takes. I expected at least one. The documentary did a great job of showing how the perpetrators wanted authorities to view the victim. A Toxic Love Story had one more twist up its sleeve, but my favorite part of this documentary is that Netflix spotlighted the victim and showed how she overcame this relationship. I like it when documentaries do this. Let’s place more emphasis on the people who suffered and how they reclaimed their lives.

That’s all I’ve been watching this past month. Looks like Season and Skye don’t have anything for Whatcha Watching, so what have you been watching, Geekly Gang? Let us know in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.