Derek Malcolm has been covering the worlds of tech and entertainment for more than two decades.
Before coming to How-To Geek in 2025, Derek was a contributing editor and writer for the A/V and Home Theater section at Digital Trends, where he wrangled and wrote everything from what to watch on Netflix to reviews, explainers, and guides on the latest Bluetooth speakers, turntables, projectors, and other A/V gear.
Based in Toronto, Derek graduated from Humber College's Journalism program in 1999, after which he started covering the worlds of music, movies, TV, and celebrity for publications such as TV Guide, Hello! magazine, and Inside Entertainment. He then got the bug for covering tech and gadgets in 2006, when he served as editor-in-chief of Canadian tech magazine Connected for more than a decade.
An avid skier, when all the snow's gone Derek can be found at home spinning vinyl with his daughter or cheering on his favorite F1 team, McLaren.
August brought with it a haul of new movies to Paramount+ that we're currently enjoying, which is good because the streamer's big draws this month so far seem to be aimed at a heavy-hitting new season of Taylor Sheridan's Lioness and another monster UFC battle happening this weekend, with UFC 330: Makhachev vs. Machado Garry.
Getting back to movie night, though, the month is still young, and we've got some great suggestions this week. The first is a psychological bunker thriller covered in deception, followed by a continent-hopping Brad Pitt drama, an alligator horror phenom, and, my top pick, the classic movie that turned Tom Cruise into a household name.
John Goodman—sweet, loving Dan from Roseanne and Sulley, the big, blue teddy bear from Monsters, Inc.—seems like the kinda guy you'd be happy to share an underground bunker with during an alien apocalypse, right? In 2016's horror thriller, 10 Cloverfield Lane, however, Mary Elizabeth Winstead's (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Ahsoka) character Michelle learns otherwise, the hard way.
A "spiritual successor" to 2008's Cloverfield (also streaming on P+), it follows Michelle, who wakes up after a terrible car crash inside the survival bunker of Howard (Goodman), who says he's rescued her, that there's been some kind of apocalypse, and that the air outside is unbreathable. Fellow occupant Emmett (John Gallagher Jr.) backs Howard's story, and life underground moves along. But soon, Howard's volatile behavior makes Michelle wonder if it's all lies. Goodman and Winstead are excellent in this 91% fresh film, a slow, creeping ride that is more than worth your movie night.
The final chapter in Alejandro González Iñárritu's Death Trilogy that included Amores Perros and 21 Grams, Babel landed an impressive seven Oscar nominations and won the Golden Globe for Best Drama after its 2006 release. Babel is a remarkable stitching together of three intercontinental storylines, all triggered by one tragic event. It begins in Morocco, when two young boys playing with a rifle accidentally shoot Susan (Cate Blanchett), an American tourist riding a bus with her husband, Richard (Brad Pitt).
As Richard scrambles to save Susan's life in a remote village, across the world in San Diego, the incident forces the couple's nanny Amelia to bring Richard and Susan's children across the border to Mexico with her for a wedding—that does not go well, either. Lastly, the story connects in a surprising way to Chieko (Rinko Kikuchi), a deaf teenager in Tokyo struggling with her mother's recent suicide and a lack of connection with her father.
Sometimes all you need for a hit horror film is a natural disaster and the threat of something deadly you can't see potentially nipping (or chomping, in this case) at your toes from beneath the surface of some murky water. And in the case of director Alexandre Aja's (The Hills Have Eyes) 2019 surprise hit, Crawl, you get all that and more in a tight 87-minute thrill ride.
When Haley (Kaya Scodelario) risks her life to check on her estranged father (Barry Pepper) during a powerful Florida hurricane, she arrives to find him injured and holed up in the crawlspace of his house. While trying to get him out as the floodwaters fill the house, their worst nightmares come true as a couple of massive alligators enter and start stalking them. Crawl is an intense survival creature feature with an impressive 83% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The first time my parents ever left me home alone while they went out of town, you'd better believe I paid tribute to Tom Cruise's career-defining Risky Business character, Joel Goodsen, by putting on the slipperiest pair of white socks in my drawer while sliding across the hardwood singing Bob Seger's Old Time Rock and Roll. You know what I didn't do, though? Turn my parents' house into a brothel.
Think you know your Brat Pack from your time-traveling DeLoreans? Prove it
with these classic '80s teen comedy questions.
Which character famously says, 'Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look
around once in a while, you could miss it'?
In a classic 1985 film, a teenager accidentally sends his mother back in time and
must ensure his parents fall in love before he disappears from existence. What is the name of the
mall where the time-traveling adventure begins?
The Breakfast Club features five high school students stuck in Saturday detention.
Which of the following character archetypes is NOT one of the five students?
In Fast Times at Ridgemont High, which real-world rock band's music does Jeff
Spicoli imagine playing as he daydreams about surfing?
