By Bob Garver             In 1992’s “Aladdin,” one of The Genie’s few rules with wishes was that he couldn’t make people fall in love. “Obsession” is a movie about what happens when a wish for love is granted. It’s a horror movie, and a nasty one. The Genie was right to have that rule.             Awkward dork Bear (Michael Johnston) wishes for the romantic love of his longtime friend Nikki (Inde Navarrette) on a novelty willow stick. The wish comes true, Nikki is immediately smitten with him, and Bear reaps the rewards of her vehement affection. The woman Bear loves may not have any agency in the matter, and that’s problematic if he thinks about it, so he decides not to think about it. But of course, things go south for Bear once Nikki starts inserting herself into every corner of his life and finding creepier and creepier ways to express her devotion. Her love becomes… wait for it… obsession.             This movie gamely features some of the sickest scenes from a stalker thriller ever put to film, even if they borrow heavily from other stalker thrillers like “Fatal Attraction.” And Navarrette puts in a horror performance for the ages, …

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By Bob Garver             The 2021 “Mortal Kombat” movie was a disaster that left fans disappointed for many reasons, not least of which was that it didn’t feature any fights from the much-hyped tournament for universal supremacy. At least in “Mortal Kombat II,” we finally get the tournament. Only the first round is done somewhat properly before the thing breaks down into cheating, sneak-attack shenanigans, but it can’t be said that we are denied the tournament entirely.             A new character, outstanding-fighter-turned-action-movie-star-turned-washout-at-both Johnny Cage (Karl Urban), is the audience surrogate into the five-on-five fighting series on a distant planet that will determine the fate of our world. Cage fights alongside Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee), Jax (Mehcad Brooks), Cole Young, (Leweis Tan), and Liu Kang (Ludi Lin) under the mentorship of Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano) against the forces of the evil Shao Khan (Martyn Ford), such as his queen Sindel (Ana Thu Nguyen), stepdaughter Kitana (Adeline Rudolph), her bodyguard Jade (Tati Gabrielle), and resurrected minions Kung Lao (Max Huang) and Kano (Josh Lawson). The first movie made another mistake killing off humoristic highlight Kano, fortunately this movie brings him back so he can steal the movie all over again.             “Mortal …

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June 5, 2026 Boone, NC – June 5, 2026- The Miranda character was written to spend more time making demands and throwing shade than acting like she belonged in a position to be so demanding. There was basically only one scene (and granted, it’s arguably her most famous scene) where she came off as someone who had truly mastered the ins and outs of the fashion and editorial industries, and the rest of the time I saw little more than a spoiled child. The main character, Miranda’s second assistant Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway), and her supervisor, first assistant Emily (Emily Blunt) had their off-putting qualities as well, but at least their misery at working for Miranda was understandable and relatable.

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May 31, 2026 Boone, NC – May 31, 2026 – The movie follows Din “The Mandalorian” Djarin (voiced and played in “face scenes” by Pedro Pascal), a helmeted human bounty hunter who resembles, but is not related to, beloved franchise character Boba Fett. His young apprentice is Grogu, a non-speaking alien who resembles, but is not related to, beloved franchise character Yoda. I’m sure the origin of the team-up is explained in the series, but for now all I need to know is that that they are a team.

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