tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46645638112081160782024-03-19T04:48:09.963-04:00I Think, Therefore I Review. *** Celebrating 15 YEARS of Commentaries from Horror Author Kristin Battestella -- Movies, Music, Television, Silents, Classics, Vinyl! *** Kristin Battestellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09333506817914765656noreply@blogger.comBlogger1037125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4664563811208116078.post-73053665442513612562024-03-19T01:09:00.000-04:002024-03-19T01:09:02.389-04:00The Hard Word Despite
Unevenness, The Hard Word Remains Fun
by
Kristin Battestella
Crooked
lawyers and corrupt cops facilitate heists carried out by
conveniently released jailbird brothers in crime Dale (Guy Pearce),
Mal (Damien Richardson), and Shane (Joel Edgerton). When their double
crossing handlers send them back to prison, however, the brothers
must agree to one more million dollar caper knocking Kristin Battestellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457556324121678680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4664563811208116078.post-79923595060627179822024-02-25T21:00:00.000-05:002024-02-25T21:00:00.268-05:00Assessing FAST Service Advertising
Assessing
FAST Service Advertising
by
Kristin Battestella
Naturally
viewers must expect and accept a certain amount of commercials with
Free Ad Supported Streaming Television. However each streamer's
marketing varies from shrewd to double dipping and downright
annoying. Here's a look at the three most common FAST services in our
house โ and why we are or aren't watching their Kristin Battestellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457556324121678680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4664563811208116078.post-21969755485795565892024-01-22T13:47:00.006-05:002024-01-22T13:47:00.131-05:002023 Year-in-HAUL! VideoKristin Battestella looks back on 2023 with a pile of library sale finds, thrift haul goodies, gifts, games, TV Sets, DVDs, VHS, Books, and more!
Visit I Think, Therefore I
Review on Twitter or browse our Therefore I Review Video Playlist and remember you can hear us regularly on the Women InSession Podcast at InSession Film!
Watch Our Father's Day Haul and More Kristin Battestellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457556324121678680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4664563811208116078.post-69992658925803287502024-01-17T11:13:00.016-05:002024-01-17T11:13:00.133-05:00Our 2023 at InSessionFilm! Despite a tough 2023, it was important to me to keep up my moonlighting commitments at InSessionFilm, both with Long Form Movie Reviews and Top Ten Lists - not to mention the Women InSession Podcast! Here's a rundown of everything from Rachel Weisz to Vincent Price: The Underseen Rachel WeiszThe Banishing uses Shame as CommentaryKick Ass Women's ComediesCool Eighties ComediesShe Kristin Battestellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457556324121678680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4664563811208116078.post-84252144089893729702024-01-10T11:03:00.002-05:002024-01-10T11:03:00.134-05:00Bad SF Action ๐
Bad SF Action!
by Kristin Battestella
I caught these bad 1990s science
fiction action romps late at night way down in the dearth of FAST live streaming because why not? I had the subtitles on and the volume
low, which I suspect helps hide troublesome deliveries and bad
crescendos, too. Despite terribly poor special effects that are dated
and hokey even for such decades of yore, these Kristin Battestellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457556324121678680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4664563811208116078.post-33201532194351276462024-01-05T06:32:00.000-05:002024-01-05T06:32:32.140-05:00It's A Living Season 5 It's
A Living Seasons 5 is a Mixed Bag
by
Kristin Battestella
By
1987, It's A Living and
its Above the Top high rise waitresses are in full
syndication swing for Year Five โ the series' longest season at
twenty-six episodes. Ironically,
the second episode โHer Back to the Futureโ should have been the
Season Five premiere, showing how outlandish It's
A Living can
get with hostess
Nancy Kristin Battestellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457556324121678680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4664563811208116078.post-15804109525621647532024-01-03T10:42:00.004-05:002024-01-04T08:57:39.550-05:00Fearful Examinations ๐ฑ
Fearful Examinations!
by Kristin Battestella
This trio of retro psychological
frights need not rely on today's special effects whooshes and in your
face designs thanks to focused fears and chilling performances.
Dark Places
โ Deathbed
vows and asylum doctors begat a creepy inherited estate and injuries
at the manor in this 1973 haunt. Boarded windows, antique clutter,
shabby Kristin Battestellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457556324121678680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4664563811208116078.post-16819653440323232092023-11-28T16:50:00.000-05:002023-11-28T16:50:30.927-05:00Legacy (1998)
What Went Wrong with Legacy
by Kristin Battestella
I
never expected to see the blink and you missed it 1998 UPN series
Legacy
again!
The 1880s Kentucky horse family scandalous was preposterous then, and
it remains tough to re-watch with guest of the week plots once barely
passable for sporadic weekly television now glaring binge viewing
problematic. Legacy
shoots
itself in the foot Kristin Battestellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457556324121678680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4664563811208116078.post-72034441838111989062023-10-17T08:20:00.001-04:002023-10-17T08:20:10.655-04:00Divisive 2020s Horror
Divisive 2020s Horror
by Kristin Battestella
This trio of recent scary movies
caters to a specific contemporary viewer, and I'm late to the party
in watching these horror movies that were not meant for me. This
doesn't make them all terrible, just misrepresented and thus a split
viewing experience.
Not
Meant for My Age Group
Bodies Bodies Bodies
โ
Interracial chicks necking, Kristin Battestellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457556324121678680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4664563811208116078.post-31650620002048024812023-10-14T07:04:00.001-04:002023-10-14T07:04:44.704-04:00Goodbye Netflix and More Streamers
Getting Rid of Netflix and More
Streamers
by Kristin Battestella
At the beginning of 2023, I took some
Hot Takes on our Streaming Channels. Now, in another round of cost
cutting and family viewing choice, we have finally said goodbye to
Netflix and more thanks to rising prices and lack of content
interest. Many households can't afford big streaming bucks anymore,
and the saturated Kristin Battestellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457556324121678680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4664563811208116078.post-44839938495671836432023-10-10T16:47:00.001-04:002023-10-10T16:47:34.506-04:00Contemporary Mothers in Horror
Contemporary Mothers in Horror
by Kristin Battestella
There's a difference between depicting
scared mothers and daughters facing horror versus just showing the
horrors to the audience. Two international tales here placing
characterization above scary visuals make for effective familial
scares. Unfortunately, the over-stylized American production is more
interested in making viewers jumpKristin Battestellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457556324121678680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4664563811208116078.post-47799690437307435252023-09-30T05:34:00.000-04:002023-09-30T05:44:21.185-04:00Evil Cats! ๐ผEvil Cats. MeowMeowMeow!
By Kristin Battestella
Our cats are avid television watchers,
and the sounds and visuals of this feline horror trio amused them as
much as me.
The Cat Creature
โ Amulets, mummies, an empty sarcophagus, and black cats combine
for a Val Lewton-esque mood in this 1973 ABC TV movie written by
Robert Bloch (The House That Dripped Blood)
starring Meredith Baxter (The InvasionKristin Battestellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457556324121678680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4664563811208116078.post-34103955678024476572023-09-25T08:42:00.002-04:002023-09-25T08:42:00.145-04:0022 Reasons Why I'm not Excited for New Television Shows
22 Reasons Why I'm not Excited for New
Television Shows
by Kristin Battestella
Allow me this poetic list, a haiku if
you will, of why I am increasingly un-enthusastic about new TV show
announcements โ even pre-strikes when such buzz was more likely to
come to fruition.
Why are we treating storytelling like
dead stock, disposable consumption?
Why should I trust the prestige ofKristin Battestellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457556324121678680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4664563811208116078.post-53481007166368643962023-09-20T00:27:00.001-04:002023-09-20T00:27:22.121-04:00Middling 60s Capers Middling
60s Capers
by Kristin Battestella
Despite name stars and decent
production values, this trio of black and white mysteries from the
sixties is surprisingly middle of the road. Rather than cinematic
flair, each feels more like an overlong anthology entry. Ouch, but
pity. ๐คท๐ปโโ๏ธ
Cash on Demand
โ Carols, snow, and holiday atmosphere at the bank two days before
Christmas set theKristin Battestellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457556324121678680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4664563811208116078.post-71067003531316422352023-08-28T20:33:00.000-04:002023-08-28T20:33:17.794-04:00Recent Jonathan Rhys Meyers Horrors
Recent Jonathan Rhys Meyers Horrors
by Kristin Battestella
Jonathan Rhys Meyers has been a fine
actor with some excellent films and series in his filmography.
Although he continues to work consistently, his well documented
personal troubles have sent him to making mostly direct to streaming,
low budget fare. Some of these are decent, others...not so much. Here
is a quartet of recent Kristin Battestellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457556324121678680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4664563811208116078.post-90355184749289078262023-08-17T23:03:00.000-04:002023-08-17T23:03:23.591-04:001940s Melodramas!
A Trio of 1940s Melodramas!
by Kristin Battestella
Be it well known stars or obscure
gems, these black and white melodramas toe the scandals and suspense
with mid century silver screen saucy, captivating performances, and
attention to gothic detail.
Corridor of Mirrors
โ Melodramatic โstrong serious musicโ captions and crescendos
open this 1948 Terence Young (From Kristin Battestellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457556324121678680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4664563811208116078.post-87139096745294098902023-05-30T12:31:00.013-04:002023-05-30T12:31:00.149-04:00More from InSession Film!
More InSession Film Action!
It's been awhile since we've done an
update on our moonlighting at InSessionFilm.com,
and there's much to share โ including film reviews, podcasting, and
merchandise!
First, here are some of our horror
essays and retro lists at the new look InSession
website:
SHE WILL addresses women's fears.Review by @vampfamwriter https://t.co/Kristin Battestellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457556324121678680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4664563811208116078.post-53407750304890855682023-05-25T00:54:00.000-04:002023-06-02T16:04:16.672-04:00The PHWA Should Not Award the Masterson Trophy
Why
the PHWA should not award the Masterson Trophy
A Sports Review by Kristin Battestella
Big things have been happening here at
home, and outside of my Women's
Hockey feature in Search Magazine, I haven't done sports
reporting since I first started writing decades ago. However, this
year's Bill Masterson Trophy has been weighing on my mind.
Simply put: I do not think the PHWAKristin Battestellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457556324121678680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4664563811208116078.post-28970756325465709052023-05-16T22:41:00.003-04:002023-05-16T22:41:56.786-04:00License to Drive
License to Drive is a Rite of Passage
Time Capsule
by Kristin Battestella
Colorful
neon road signs and fast moving opening credits set the 1988 mood of
License
to Drive before
cool cars in dangerous chases and a cackling bus driver a la A
Nightmare on Elm Street
as Corey Haim's (The
Lost Boys) Les
Anderson
sleeps
thru the Driver's Ed video.
After
writing โI will drive safelyโ on the Kristin Battestellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457556324121678680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4664563811208116078.post-83543614311610377672023-04-12T01:32:00.000-04:002023-04-12T01:32:55.930-04:00Falcon Crest
What Went Wrong with Falcon Crest
by Kristin Battestella
As
a kid growing up watching the CBS night time soap Falcon
Crest, I
never realized David Selby as the superbly scheming Richard Channing
was also werewolf Quentin Collins on my beloved Dark Shadows. Obviously
I loved corvette driving playboy grandson Lorenzo Lamas (Renegade),
but I also didn't noticed that conniving Kristin Battestellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457556324121678680noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4664563811208116078.post-18762230426027249342023-04-02T15:26:00.001-04:002023-04-02T15:26:00.188-04:00The Streaming Bubble Has Already Burst
The Streaming Bubble has Already
Burst
by Kristin Battestella
There's
much discourse on when the streaming bubble will burst, but it
already has and we didn't even realize it.
Let's
be honest. Exclusive content meant to lure viewers to individual
platforms is out of control. Each streamer rushes to release new
films that no one sees. Shows that don't trend are immediately
Kristin Battestellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457556324121678680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4664563811208116078.post-17507836640435371232023-03-31T02:04:00.000-04:002023-03-31T02:13:45.473-04:001 Good, 1 Bad House Horrors
1 Good, 1 Bad House Horrors
by Kristin Battestella
For every good house horror movie,
there are certainly bad house horrors! Here is an exercise in what
one haunt does wrong for its women in peril โ and what another gets
right about feminine horrors.
Skip
It!
Treehouse
โ
An infamous chef retreats to his estranged family's vacation home in
this 2019 Hulu/Blumhouse Into
The Dark Kristin Battestellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457556324121678680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4664563811208116078.post-5313770096708998472023-03-18T00:53:00.000-04:002023-03-18T00:53:30.303-04:00Unapologetic Foreign Horror Unapologetic
Foreign Horror Delights!
by
Kristin Battestella
This
retro international trio is unashamed of the shocks and gore and
unabashedly horror with the saucy and screams.
The Beyond โ
An
inherited Louisiana hotel is one of seven gateways to hell in
director Lucio Fulci's (The House by the Cemetery)
1981
surreal mix of Lovecratian books and bayou raids. The golden patina
and Kristin Battestellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457556324121678680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4664563811208116078.post-52001107980336895752023-03-09T19:40:00.000-05:002023-03-09T19:40:10.688-05:00Sudden Oscar Takes! ๐ Sudden
Oscar Takes
By
Kristin Battestella
My
fellow film friends will know that I haven't actively followed the
Oscars in ten years and I've written why I'm Disinterested
in Awards Season previously. I've only seen one 2023 Oscar
nominee โ go Turning
Red for
Best Animated Feature! However, in a recent off camera chat after the
Women
InSession Podcast at InSessionFilm.com
with Amy Kristin Battestellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457556324121678680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4664563811208116078.post-79421791710830549742023-03-08T00:40:00.000-05:002023-03-08T00:40:58.114-05:00It's A Living Season 4 Cast
Gels for It's A Living Season 4
by
Kristin Battestella
The
cast is in place for the twenty-five episode 1986-87 syndicated
fourth season of It's
A Living
with โThe Roof Showโ premiere introducing Sheryl Lee Ralph
(Abbott
Elementary)
as the series' final waitress Ginger St. James. Arguments and secrets
over who's trying to get out of work early lead to the ladies being
locked out one Kristin Battestellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457556324121678680noreply@blogger.com0