The Black Phone 2 is what might happen if A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th had a three-way with Ice Castles -- and one of them popped out a baby.
That's not to say Scott Derrickson's crisply directed sequel to the 2022 box office hit The Black Phone -- once again co-written with C. Robert Cargill, and starring Mason Thames as Finney Blake, Madeleine McGraw as his psychic sister Gwen, and Ethan Hawke as the child-murdering (and probably more) serial killer The Grabber -- isn't a good scary movie. It's just not as good a scary movie as the first.
California State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), a gay lawmaker long targeted by the right for his progressive record on LGBTQ rights and criminal justice reform, is reportedly planning to run for U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) congressional seat in 2026, according to The San Francisco Standard.
At 85, Pelosi -- a two-time Speaker of the U.S. House -- has largely receded from the political spotlight, creating an opening for challengers in her heavily Democratic district. She has not yet said whether she plans to seek another term.
“You never know how people are going to perceive you,” says Aaron Lee Tasjan. “You never know how the work will be received by the public.
A musician who skillfully straddles the line between Americana and pop, Tasjan is marking the tenth anniversary of his breakthrough album In the Blazes. He’s celebrating with a tour built around the record’s shimmering rhythms and melodic hooks.
The album -- released on Oct. 6, 2015 -- captured Tasjan at a point when he leaned heavily into country-folk roots. Later albums saw him expand his horizons, weaving in synths -- most notably on the impossibly catchy “Up All Night” from 2021’s Tasjan! Tasjan! Tasjan! -- and drawing more deeply from his personal life for inspiration.
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