For working out complex mental issues, horror is the best soil — Since its 2016 debut, we know that Netflix’s Stranger Things has always been a smart and emotionally intelligent show. The first season proved the creators’ (the Duffer Brothers) passionate love and vast knowledge of horror. They used nostalgia with integrity and paid homage to classic scary movies in a way…

Jerrod Carmichael’s first film tackles mental health issues without illusions — “Almost dying changes nothing. Dying changes everything,” says Dr. House in the Season 5 opener of David Shore’s iconic TV show. Comedian Jerrod Carmichael’s feature debut, On the Count of Three, is a dark comedy exploring that statement. His first movie attempts to dissect mental health, trauma, and the powerful…

Controversy, consent, right or wrong — When one of the showrunners of Pam & Tommy, D.V. DeVincentis, reached out to Pamela Anderson, all he got was silence. If you watched the show — or are old enough to have lived through the real events in the 90s — her (lack of) response was more than understandable…

One of the most underrated TV shows from last year — In November 2021, Paul Rudd was chosen The Sexiest Man Alive by PEOPLE magazine. He couldn’t believe it — nor did his wife, who funnily said that she would’ve voted for Keanu Reeves instead. “Come on, he’s Keanu, I’d vote for him, too,” Rudd told the mag. But it’s easy…

For some men, honesty and sharing are harder than kicking a drug habit — It only feels right to dedicate a Theme of the Month to “vulnerability” if your publication is called Vulnerable Man. I’m a few months late with this essay, but it’s better now than never. December always makes me emotional, anyway — the snow, the missed holiday meals, the unavoidable nostalgia…

It’s a fun flick if you appreciate bottom-shelf jokes — Love Hard is a Netflix Christmas movie. There’s an important distinction, though: it’s also an Instagram Christmas movie. Meaning: there are way-too-attractive people everywhere in it (if we don’t count the male lead. Sorry, Jimmy). Almost everyone and everything shines as if they’ve been shot with a Clarendon filter. The…

Emo Tobey is just a different vibe — 2007 wasn’t a good year for Tobey Maguire and Sam Raimi — or Topher Grace (who?) for that matter. That year the dynamic duo — a millennial hero and a celebrated director — was having backlash, big time. Spider-Man fans went into cinemas with a big smile on their face…

Showtime’s crime drama indulges in its bleak small-town depression — The first season of Showtime’s crime drama, American Rust, indulges in its own bleak small-town depression. Violence, adversity, and drugs are the foundations of this tiny Pennsylvanian place called Buell and its people. This is white-trash country, ladies and gents, there’s no doubt about it. The plot revolves around an…

The sequel is more than just a superhero movie — As rumors have been flying around for months about a possible multiverse meeting — reuniting all three Spider-Men in Spider-Man: No Way Home — I’ve decided to revisit Sam Raimi’s classic trilogy. This is Chapter Two. You can read Chapter One here. Sometimes when the stars align in Hollywood, they…