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Josh Bell

Josh Bell is a freelance writer and movie/TV critic based in Las Vegas. He's the former film editor of 'Las Vegas Weekly' and has written about movies and pop culture for Syfy Wire, Polygon, CBR, Film Racket, Uproxx and more. With comedian Jason Harris, he co-hosts the podcast Awesome Movie Year.

News archive

Review: Primal

Nov 8th, 2019

The one advantage of Nicolas Cage starring in approximately 87 straight-to-video movies a year for the past decade is that he sometimes adds a bit...

<i>Cluny Brown</i>, <i>Downton Abbey</i>, and the British Class System — Josh Bell

Cluny Brown, Downton Abbey, and the British Class System

Sep 30th, 2019

“It’s 1927. We’re modern folk!” Lady Edith’s husband Bertie (Harry Hadden-Paton) declares in Downton Abbey when he and his wife (Laura...

<i>Rock 'n' Roll High School</i> and Female Friends, 40 Years Later — Josh Bell

Rock 'n' Roll High School and Female Friends, 40 Years Later

Aug 1st, 2019

Being a teenager is tough, but it’s also thrilling, and the best teen movies capture the angst and the exuberance of adolescence in equal measure....

Palm Springs Film Fest Report: Risky Business

Jan 16th, 2019

Although it caters to a large community of retirees, the Palm Springs International Film Festival still features its share of daring selections, on a...

Josh Bell Says Don't Forget: <i>Thoroughbreds</i> — Josh Bell

Josh Bell Says Don't Forget: Thoroughbreds

Dec 26th, 2018

Two teenage girls, one a self-admitted sociopath, the other a spoiled schemer, conspire to commit murder in Cory Finley’s brilliantly incisive...

Josh Bell Says Don't Forget: <i>Never Goin' Back</i> — Josh Bell

Josh Bell Says Don't Forget: Never Goin' Back

Dec 26th, 2018

In an alternate (and, frankly, better) universe, Augustine Frizzell’s Never Goin’ Back would have been one of the biggest comedy hits of 2018,...

<i>Christmas Evil</i> (1980): Not Your Typical Holiday Slasher — Josh Bell

Christmas Evil (1980): Not Your Typical Holiday Slasher

Dec 5th, 2018

The title Christmas Evil (also released as You Better Watch You) does not promise a complex psychological drama, and anyone going into Lewis...

Raising the Zombie <i>Halloween</i>s from the Dead — Josh Bell

Raising the Zombie Halloweens from the Dead

Oct 17th, 2018

In between Jamie Lee Curtis’ stints in the Halloween movies — after her character’s death in 2002’s Halloween: Resurrection and before her...

Jeremy Saulnier's History of Violence

Sep 25th, 2018

Jeremy Saulnier knows violence. The director of Hold the Dark (arriving on Netflix this week) makes movies filled with brutal, intense fights and...

Peyton Reeding Material: How <i>Bring It On</i> and <i>Down with Love</i> Led to <i>Ant-Man and the Wasp</i> — Josh Bell

Peyton Reeding Material: How Bring It On and Down with Love Led to Ant-Man and the Wasp

Jul 9th, 2018

In March, director Peyton Reed told Empire Magazine that his Ant-Man and the Wasp, despite early reports, is “not a romantic comedy,” and that...

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