Articles by Matthew Simpson

'Stick' Has Even More Heart Than Laughs

Created by Jason Keller

PUBLISHED May 30, 2025

If Apple TV+ sitcoms have a through line, it's that they aren't actually at their best when they're funny. That's not to say that they...

'Murderbot' Is a Replicant of Other Robot Stories

PUBLISHED May 12, 2025

From 'Wall-E' and 'RoboCop' to 'Short Circuit and 'I, Robot,' we are well-served with stories of robots built to serve that develop distinct...

'O'Dessa' Hits a Flat Note

Directed by Geremy Jasper

PUBLISHED Mar 18, 2025

There's nothing more exciting in film than a big, ambitious swing for the fences. This might mean assembling every hero in the stable to...

'My Dead Friend Zoe' Hits Like a Ton of Bricks

Directed by Kyle Hausmann-Stokes

PUBLISHED Feb 20, 2025

While writer and director Kyle Hausmann-Stokes was fortunate to return home after serving in the United States Army in Iraq, not everyone...

'The Gorge' Is Promising but Empty

Directed by Scott Derrickson

PUBLISHED Feb 13, 2025

Unique ideas are hard to come by, and while 'The Gorge' begins strong with a great concept, it falls apart in the back half. In the earliest...

'DISCO'S REVENGE' Gets the Last Laugh

Directed by Omar Majeed and Peter Mishara

PUBLISHED Feb 11, 2025

Disco was a dirty word, at least when I was a teenager in the 1990s. It was an exiled musical style from a bygone era, only spoken about to...

'Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man' Stands Alongside Animated Superhero Classics

Created by Jeff Trammell

PUBLISHED Jan 29, 2025

Spider-Man endures as one of the most iconic and relatable superheroes. He starts his journey when he's just a kid, learning hard lessons...

Brotherly Love Is a Balm in 'A Real Pain'

Directed by Jesse Eisenberg

PUBLISHED Nov 15, 2024

Everyone has someone in their life they oscillate wildly back and forth on whether they love or hate them. That person's their complete...