Welcome back to Film Haven Reviews!!! This week we are starting a brand new theme of "John Woo Gun Fu: Origins" with the mega famous and culturally impactful A Better Tomorrow (1986). This film is massively important to Hong Kong cinema and I had no idea before watching it but I can totally see why now! Its got high drama, effective characters, and amazing action. What's not to like??? I gave this an 8.5/10 for everything I just described plus the incredible score and cinematography. Wo...

Welcome back to this VERY special episode of Film Haven Reviews!! This week we are discussing Guillerlmo Del Toro's newest adaptation of Frankenstein (2025)!! We are also being joined by an incredibly special guest; my buddy Geoff Bretches who knows all things Gothic AND Occult which comes in handy when talking about this story that is so rooted in both! This is one of those novels that really changed my entire experience with Gothic Literature and so every adapation lends itself to inc...

Welcome back to Film Haven Reviews!!! This week we are finishing up our "30s Mad Scientist" theme with the iconic Claude Rains vehicle The Invisible Man (1933)! I was very impressed by this film's mostly faithful adaptation of the book and I of course enjoyed all of the pre-CGI visual effects they used to make all the invisibility scenes look effective and real. I gave this film an 8.5/10 for its great sets, incredbile acting, and for adapting the story in a way that captured HG Wells' esse...

Welcome back to Film Haven Reveiws!!! This week we are continuing our "30's Mad Scientist" theme with the incredibly fun Doctor X (1932)! I thought Doctor X was going to be a copy of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde but I was pleasantly surprised to find it to be a fairly unique Serial Killer Sci-Fi Whodunnit where Doctor X is husing experiments to find out who the killer is. I gave this film a 7.5/10 for being pretty uneven in terms of quality but having highers highs than its lowest lows. At the end...

Welcome back to Film Haven Reveiws!!! This week we are starting a brand new exciting "30's Mad Scientist" theme with the timeless classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932). This film was firing on ALL cylinders, beautifully adapting the source material, creating impressive practical sets, acting so good that Frederic March won an oscar, and cinematography so creative that most DPs today WISH they could immitate. I gave this film a 9/10 for all of the above and I cannot recommend it enoug...

Welcome back to Film Haven Reviews!! This week we are closing out our "Invasion Horror" theme with the Tobe Hooper big budget flop Lifeforce (1985) This film was both better than I was expecting and also still middling in various ways. However, taking a look at each individual peice of the movie I found myself enjoying each part while maybe feeling like the ultimate product turned out to be derivative. I gave this film a 7/10 for a unique concept, great practical effects and set design, but...

Welcome back to Film Haven Reviews!!! This week we are continuing out "Invasion Horror" theme with the most famous alien invasion film of them all! Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978). While this movie had lots to say about the politics and societal thinking of its time, I was slightly disappointed by the dragging nature of the narrative compared to the original. It has some great performances and some awesome moments, but I gave this film a 7.5/10 for not quite living up to the ori...

Welcome back to Film Haven Reviews!! This week we are starting a brand new "Invasion Horror" theme with the 1988 CLASSIC remake of The Blob! I knew this movie was going to be fun but it still exceeded my expectations. Its a perfect small town america b-movie and has all the fun tropes you'd expect while also adding some twists and turns to them. I gave this movie an 8/10 for being well paced, funny, and filled with incredible practical effects!! For my full written revie...

Welcome back to Film Haven Reviews!! This week we are covering the September movie news for 2025!!! This episode we cover sooo much. From the big Oct horror releases like Good Boy, Bone Lake, Black Phone 2, and Frankenstein to a litany prequels, sequels and reboots like Robocop, Kill Bill Vol. 3, and Constantine 2!!! We also have some industry updates and of course I share my opinion about it all!! For my full written review feel free to follow my instagram: https://www.inst...

Welcome back to Film Haven Reviews!!! This week we are finishing up our "Ritual Horror" theme with the very independent feeling film The Surrender (2025). This film was frankly a bit of a disappointment. It fit the theme perfectly but came off as a worse version of the other two films in our recent weeks. I gave this film a 6.5/10 for some rough acting, amateur feeling script, but an all around competent showing especially for a first time writer/director. If you are looking for horror, I w...

Welcome back to Film Haven Reviews!!! This week we are continuing our "Ritual Horror" theme with the VERY ritual based film A Dark Song (2017). This movie is probably the most step by step ritualistic film I have ever seen. It's not flashy, its not big-budgeted, its just good script writing and good acting. I gave this film a 7.5/10 because it gave me everything I wanted from this theme, but was maybe not as accessible or rewatchable as our last week's film Anything For Jackson (2020)...

Welcome back to Film Haven Reveiws!!! This week we are starting a new "Ritual Horror" theme with the under represented film Anything for Jackson (2020). This movie had it all when it comes to supernatual occult horror. It had ancient tomes, demonic rituals, true crime gruesomeness, and ghosts galore!! I gave this film an 8/10 for doing so much with its obviously low budget. For those who like Occult Horror this movie comes HIGHLY recommened. For my full written review feel fre...

Welcome back to Film Haven Reviews!!!! This week we cover the biggest movie news from August 2025!!! Lots of James Bond rumors, Batman II confirmations, and tons of movies getting theatrical releases like Frankenstein and K-Pop Demon Hunters!! We also cover the newest horror movies coming out next month like HIM, The Conjuring: Last Rites, and the now very famous Good Boy!! Hope you guys enjoy!!

Welcome back to Film Haven Reviews!!! This week we are finishing up our "irreverant action" theme with the Bill Skarsgard film Boy Kills World (2024). This movie was absolutely everywhere in terms of tone, trying to set up a dystopian authoritarian plotline while also being tongue and cheek, while ALSO being a Kill Bill-esque revenge film. While alot of it didn't work, I'm still giving this film a 7.5/10 for absolutely killing it in the fight choreography, creating a joy ride of actio...

Welcome back to Film Haven Reviews!!! This week we are continuing our "irreverent action" theme with the Jack Quaid vehicle Novocaine (2025). This movie commited the cardinal movie sin of being too middling. It wasn't good enough for me to recommned it and it wasn't bad enough for me to fully trash it. I gave this fim a 6.5/10 because it had alot going for it in terms of acting talent and practical effects, but the aggressviely overdone subplots and the nearly 2 hour runtime made this film to...

Welcome back to Film Haven Reviews!!! This week we are starting a brand new "Irreverent Action" theme with the recent Josh Hartnett vehicle, Fight or Flight (2024) This film delivered exactly the kind of style and action I was looking for. No big surprises or big missteps but a straight forward fun and pucnhy action film with good choreographer. I gave this movie a 7.5/10 for being entertaining throughout with some pitfalls when it came to script writing and pacing. I could have been about 10...

Welcome back to Film Haven Reviews!!! This week we are skipping our theme'd reviews for another movie news episode!! This month is also special because its July so that means the biggest movies of the year all dropped in July so we need to compare them!! After covering the top news I break down each summer blockbuster and we put them head to head to see which one has won the summer!! For my full written review feel free to follow my instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fil...

Welcome back to Film Haven Reviews!!! This week we are finishing up our "Deep Sea" theme with the critically maligned but surprisingly fun Sphere (1998). This movie had everything you could want from a sci-fi mind bender. It has a mysterious entity at the bottom of the ocean, a crack team of scientists doing the investigating, and lots of reality breaking moment in the last act. It's not perfect by any means but I'm giving this film a 7.5/10 for having being a very fun and intellectua...

Welcome back to Film Haven Reviews!!! This week we are continuing our "Deep Sea Movie" theme with the infamous Virus (1999). This film has a reputation for being both good and bad at the same time. The practical effects are great, there is tons of action, and its got a very unique concept; however, I have to give this a 6/10 because the story arc is all over the place, the acting is pretty terrible, and there is lots of wasted potential that is disappointing to see. Still, its very entertaini...

Welcome back to Film Haven Reviews!!! This week (and this summer) we are starting a new "Deep Sea Movie" theme where we cover movies about people way out in the ocean, and today we are talkiong about the ghost thriller Below (2002). This film has such a unique premise, being a WWII submarine thriller mixed with a ghost mystery! Having Bruce Greenwood and Holt McCallany in the film definitely helps dig this film out of B-Horror hell, but I'm still giving this film a 6.5/10 because there ...