'Family Guy's First Halloween Special "makes a Halloween special feel natural and exciting to its world"

         On October 14, 2024, 'Family Guy' released its very first Halloween special on Hulu, which is entitled 'Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Cheater', which has received predominantly positive reviews. It is worth noting that the series has had episodes dedicated to the spooky holiday before, with one of the episodes containing my personal favorite moment from the series, but this could well be the start of an annual holiday tradition. The ensemble cast includes Glen Powell, Derek Jacobi, Alex Borstein, Mila Kunis, Seth Green, and Seth MacFarlane. But what did the critics say?

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

        Daniel Kurland of CBR says, "Halloween episodes can be a rich staple in animated series — just look at The Simpsons — but Family Guy has been rather selective with this holiday, and only indulged in it a handful of times. In fact, Halloween specials only started in the hit adult cartoon's ninth season. This is certainly territory that's still fresh for Family Guy to explore making the recent announcement that it will be exploring holiday specials that are exclusive to Hulu — rather than its terrestrial home, FOX — interesting. Family Guy has such a fluid reality that it makes a Halloween special feel natural and exciting to its world. This is true whether the show's special decides to do a more conventional and grounded take on the holiday, or a more grandiose genre parody like the “Blue Harvest” Star Wars specials. “Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Cheater” doesn’t attempt to recreate any holiday classics like A Nightmare on Elm Street or Halloween, but it’s also hardly a “normal” Family Guy episode. The special clocks in at the typical Family Guy episode length and more or less operates like a standard installment, rather than a more heightened and cinematic experiment that's akin to South Park's Paramount+ specials. "Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Cheater" certainly doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it still makes for an entertaining enough addition to anyone's Halloween watchlist that also takes advantage of an entertaining and well-utilized guest star." Adding, "Peter, Peter Pumpkin Cheater” begins simply enough, where a conversation about Halloween costumes becomes a microcosm of Stewie and Brian’s growing pains as friends. Stewie really isn’t asking for much here, but his need to lock in plans and put a label on their dynamic prompts claustrophobic and limiting feelings in Brian that wear down his patience. Previously, Family Guy demonstrated astute insight into how both Stewie and Brian only have each other and don’t have any real friends beyond one another, as much as they’d like to believe otherwise. Their riff hits a boiling point on Halloween night and prompts some Frankenstein-esque theatrics. This results in Rupert the teddy bear coming to life and seeking to settle Stewie’s feud in a very Chucky-meets-Ted manner. Stewie and Brian’s complicated relationship is one of Family Guy’s richest and most rewarding character dynamics. Family Guy confidently embraced this bond for many of its most important and successful episodes and arcs. It’s not surprising to see that “Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Cheater” turns to this friendship as one of its core ideas. In fact, there’s a satisfying simplicity to how such a wild episode essentially boils down to Stewie's and Brian’s toxic and codependent friendship. There’s nothing in this episode that hasn’t been said before in Family Guy, but there’s a newfound sense of urgency and higher stakes that are accomplished through the murderous roadblock that sets out to sever their ties."

‘Twisters’ Reviews: “Twisters is a delightfully entertaining thrill ride that drops you into the heart of the storm and leaves you there until the bombastic conclusion.”

         

                                                          Image via Universal Pictures

          On July 19, 2024, Universal Pictures released ‘Twisters’, the sequel to the 1996 classic ‘Twister’. The sequel has received predominantly positive reviews, holding fresh at 78% on Rotten Tomatoes alongside a Critics Consensus that reads, “Summoning a storm of spectacle and carried along by the gale force winds of Glen Powell's charisma, Twisters' forecast is splendid with a high chance of thrills.” In the film, a former storm chaser joins returns to the field in order to test a new tracking system and experiences terrifying multiple storm systems in the state of Oklahoma. The ensemble cast includes Daisy Edgar-Jones, Maura Tierney, Sasha Lane, Harry Hadden-Paton, Anthony Ramos, and David Corenswet. Read the full review round-up below.

        Michael Ward of Should I See It writes, “Much like Twister in 1996, 2024’s Twisters is entertaining enough. Directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung (Minari), this modern-day disaster film has plenty of talent in its ensemble cast including everyone’s favorite actor right now, Glen Powell (Hit Man, Anyone but You). Powell joins Daisy Edgar-Jones (Fresh) and Anthony Ramos (In the Heights), bringing all the charm and rizz he can muster, while Edgar-Jones offers the scientific seriousness we need for dramatic heft and Ramos shares an entrepreneurial mind when it comes to the business of storm chasing.” Continuing, “Where Twister had best-selling novelist Michael Crichton as a co-writer, the 2024 sequel has a screenplay by Mark L. Smith (Midnight Sky) which never fully connects us to the stakes at play. While Edgar-Jones and Ramos are good together, Powell’s arrival as Tyler provides comic relief and marquee appeal. Tyler is a YouTube superstar, and has cultivated an online presence with his ragtag group of stormchasing daredevils to millions of followers. Tyler represents everything antithetical to Kate and Javi’s interests. But because this is Glen Powell we are talking about, Kate naturally becomes intrigued by Tyler and Javi is left to go crunch some numbers.”

        Aaron Peterson of The Hollywood Outsider notes, “Twisters is a delightfully entertaining thrill ride that drops you into the heart of the storm and leaves you there until the bombastic conclusion. If you loved the original Twister, prepare for yet another ride into the extreme.” Adding, “The storms are catastrophic and brought gloriously to life with exceptional special effects, and the taut direction by Lee Isaac Chung grasps you firmly and tosses us directly into the storms path. It has always been a bit of an oddity, the audience’s obsession with natural destruction that could factually occur in their own backyard. Perhaps it’s that plausibility that endears us. And the effects in Chung’s film, as well as his flexibility in staging scenes (skillfully measuring quick cuts with long establishing shots to maximize the tension), create an exceptionally nerve-racking anxiety that only the best disaster films can muster.”

Tina Kakadelis of Beyond the Cinerama Dome praises the film, stating, “Twisters is a good, old-fashioned blockbuster. It’s the sort of heart-racing, tear-jerking fare that earns itself a place among the greats.”

Joe Friar of Fort Worth Report says, “Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones take the summer by storm in the fast-paced thrill ride. The special effects are the stars, but in the hands of Chung, there’s plenty of heart on display, making this successor the perfect storm.” Continuing, “Hollywood’s current leading man hot ticket, Glen Powell, shows up as Tyler Owens, a famous YouTube storm chaser nicknamed the “Tornado Wrangler.” His face is on a t-shirt, he shoots fireworks into tornadoes, and his ragtag crew mirrors the cast of the 1996 film. He’s a good ole boy with a million-dollar smile. His slogan, “If you feel it, chase it!”