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.
Over on Prime Video this week, a couple of interesting things are afoot. Season 4 of Alan Ritchson and his chiseled jaw are at the top of the TV chart with Reacher, and Masters of the Universe—which didn't come anywhere near recouping its $170 million budget in theaters—is enjoying the top spot on Prime's movie charts. Indeed, streaming is a great equalizer.
Controversial novelist and screenwriter Bret Easton Ellis, whose stories of drug-fueled, hyper-materialistic American youth include Less Than Zero and The Rules of Attraction, is back in the spotlight thanks to The Shards, a new FX/Hulu series based on his 2023 novel of the same name. But the book/film that arguably secured his place in pop culture is American Psycho, and now is the perfect time to revisit it.
Drawing from Ellis's notorious 1991 book, American Psycho follows Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale), a demented, narcissistic Manhattan investment bro in the late '80s, obsessed with his skincare regimen, restaurant reservations, and having a flawless business card—Silian Rail font on bone paper. Bale completely squashes any remnants of his child-actor, Empire of the Sun years with Bateman, in another career-defining performance. His fiancée, Evelyn (Reese Witherspoon), barely notices him; he literally axes his colleague Paul Allen (Jared Leto) to death while extolling the virtues of Huey Lewis and the News; and he inner-monologues it all. He's a psychopath. He's a killer.
As Bateman continues his spree, Detective Donald Kimball (Willem Dafoe) is hot on the trail. The dark, dark comedy from 2000 might have just a 69% critics' rating, but the audience score sits at a more appropriate 85%. Prime Video currently has the unrated version available, which includes an additional four minutes. Watch this, then hop over to The Shards and compare.
To be clear, all four movies in the popular Barbershop franchise (including the panned spinoff, Beauty Shop) are available to stream on Prime Video right now. But for my money (or, er, free with my Prime sub), and as far as Rotten Tomatoes is concerned, it's the fourth film, Barbershop: The Next Cut, that's a cut above (sorry).
From fake rockumentaries to time loops — can you identify these classic
comedies from a single clue?
A bumbling TV news anchor in San Diego loses his job after a disastrous on-air
incident, then must win back his career — and the woman he loves. What movie is this?
Which film features the iconic line: 'I'm not even supposed to be here today!'?
A hapless office worker discovers his life is literally a television show watched by
millions, and begins to question everything around him. Which comedy-drama is this?
This mockumentary follows a fictional heavy metal band on a disastrous US tour,
featuring an amp that 'goes to eleven.' Which film is it?
In which comedy does a man relive the same day over and over again while stuck in a
small town covering a weather event he despises?
An airline flight descends into chaos when food poisoning strikes the crew, leaving
a nervous wreck of a former pilot as the only person who can land the plane. Name that movie.
Which film includes the line: 'We're on a mission from God,' spoken by two brothers
reuniting a blues band to save an orphanage?
A group of medieval English knights embark on a ridiculous quest, battling killer
rabbits and taunting Frenchmen along the way. What is this film?