Pete Volk

Hi! I'm Pete. I'm an editor, writer, and consultant with over a decade of digital media experience in entertainment and sports. I have consulted for major film and games studios, including writing production notes and mock reviews. Here is a collection of just some of my work!

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Back in Action: October 1991

A look at the major new action movie releases and trends of Octobers 1991 and 2026

This year, I’m taking a month-by-month look at the action movies released globally in 1991, talking about the trends and individual titles that made the year in the genre and comparing them to the releases in 2026. You can read the previous monthly entries here.

Let’s take a look at the state of action in October 1991 and October 2026, with expanded thoughts on specific movies at the bottom for paid subscribers....
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Jess McKenna and Zach Reino break down Dropout’s new semi-scripted show MP3

“When you cut to the sketches in 30 Rock, imagine you got to see the whole sketch and it was actually good.”

Dropout’s newest show is MP3, a partly scripted, partly improvised series about a music video countdown show going through some growing pains and creative changes. It’s the latest project from duo Jess McKenna and Zach Reino, improvisers who have been working together for over ten years. The pair first delighted Dropout fans with Game Changer’s improvised musical episode “The Official Ca...
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Back in Action: September 1991

A look at the major new action movie releases and trends of Septembers 1991 and 2026

This year, I’m taking a month-by-month look at the action movies released globally in 1991, talking about the trends and individual titles that made the year in the genre and comparing them to the releases in 2026. You can read the previous monthly entries here.

Let’s take a look at the state of action in September 1991 and September 2026, with expanded thoughts on specific movies at the bottom for paid subscr...
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Supergirl lives in the shadow of better versions of Kara’s story

This is my monthly review for paid subscribers, with the movie voted on by you!

Superman is the favored Kryptonian to explore on the big screen, but Supergirl is the more interesting character. Even more so than her cousin, Supergirl is a child of two worlds, Krypton and Earth. That tension typically gives her more conflict to work through, as well as a better understanding of the extraordinary gifts Kryptonians have on Earth.

This dynamic is explored extremely well in the Adult Swim series My...
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Monster Mash Double Feature: Resident Evil + Hope

Don’t forget to vote for which new release movie I’ll be reviewing next week!

I caught a double feature this weekend of horror movies starring somewhat clumsy and cowardly guys trying to do the right thing against impossible odds and terrifying monsters. I had a good time with both Resident Evil and Hope, even if I wish I liked each of them a bit more than I ultimately did.

Both movies have strong creature designs and balance the action, horror, and comedic elements with the high stakes fairly...
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Back in Action: August 1991

A look at the major new action movie releases (and trends) of August 1991 and August 2026

This year, I’m taking a month-by-month look at the action movies released globally in 1991, talking about the trends and individual titles that made the year in the genre and comparing them to the releases in 2026. You can read the previous monthly entries here.

Let’s take a look at the state of action in August 1991 and August 2026, with expanded thoughts on specific movies at the bottom for paid subscri...
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Roguelike-like Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die can’t quite complete The Perfect Run

This is my monthly review for paid subscribers, with the movie voted on by you! This one was supposed to come out in August, but I’ve been very busy with work, so it’s here today instead.

I love playing roguelikes. There’s nothing quite like the variety and replayability in the genre, and the balance of strategic choices and random luck creates a satisfying tug-of-war between  control and the lack of it. The feeling when everything falls just into place for The Perfect Run? Pure magic. While Go...
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Mutiny review: A Statham movie lost at sea

“From the guy that brought you Gerard Butler on a plane, it’s Jason Statham on a boat!” is an easy pitch to get me on board. Mutiny is even the second vaguely aquatic Statham movie to come out this year, following the genuinely quite good Shelter. But while Shelter made strong use of Statham’s working class-action hero persona, Mutiny runs aground into tired modern action tropes, underdeveloped characters, and a failure to properly ground audiences in the massive boat where the action takes plac...
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A Brand New Day for Spider-Man

Like many kids of my generation, I grew up with a general fondness for superheroes. But none compared to my love for Spider-Man and the X-Men: the outsiders, underdogs, and nerds. It didn’t hurt that I shared a first name with Peter Parker, or that the original Spider-Man and X-Men movies came out at formative parts of my childhood.

I no longer have that same level of childhood investment in superhero stories. But there will always be a special place in my heart for Spider-Man. That’s part of t...
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Back in Action: July 1991

A look at the major new action movie releases (and trends) of July 1991 and July 2026

This year, I’m taking a month-by-month look at the action movies released globally in 1991, talking about the trends and individual titles that made the year in the genre and comparing them to the releases in 2026. You can read the previous entries here.

Let’s take a look at the state of action in July 1991 and July 2026, with expanded thoughts on specific movies at the bottom for paid subscribers.

In July 1...
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Redux Redux review review: A sharp indie sci-fi twist on the Taken formula

What's the most influential action movie of the last 20 years? John Wick and The Raid are tempting answers because of the aesthetic influence they've had on the genre. But I think it's clearly Taken, which has spawned so many imitators that to list them all would put me in danger of approaching the maximum length for a newsletter on this platform.

As I've looked at the action movies that came out in 1991 and 2026, I've noticed that nearly every month this year, multiple movies have come out som...
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Ken Liu talks process and research, AI anxieties, and what’s next for the Julia Z series

A former programmer and lawyer, Ken Liu first became well known in literary circles as a short story writer, winning awards and acclaim for his 2011 collection The Paper Menagerie, the first work of fiction to win the Nebula, Hugo, and World Fantasy Awards. In 2015, his translation of Cixin Liu’s sci-fi epic The Three-Body Problem earned another Hugo.

Liu first got onto my radar with his silkpunk epic fantasy series, The Dandelion Dynasty. I’m not usually a fantasy reader, but the combination o...
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Back in Action: June 1991

A look at the major new action movie releases (and trends) of June 1991 and June 2026

This year, I’m taking a month-by-month look at the action movies released globally in 1991, talking about the trends and individual titles that made the year in the genre and comparing them to the releases in 2026. You can read the previous monthly entries here.

Let’s take a look at the state of action in June 1991 and June 2026, with expanded thoughts on specific movies at the bottom for paid subscribers.

I...
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The Furious is a stunning showcase of martial arts excellence

Essentially the martial arts movie version of a musical supergroup, The Furious had mighty expectations to live up to. Previous efforts at an international all-star martial arts movie have fallen short, but The Furious shatters the ceiling, delivering an exhilarating, non-stop thrill ride with the best fight scenes I’ve seen in years. Other great action films this decade might be more complete, but The Furious delivers the martial arts action you would hope for from this unbelievable lineup of t...
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Rodrigo Valdes charted his own path to breakout Mexican action hit Vengeance

The director talks about intentionally making a Mexican action movie without cartels, real life getting in the way of his vision, and what he hopes is next for Mexico’s burgeoning action movie scene

For a nation with a rich cinema history and a constant presence as a setting for Hollywood action movies, Mexico has had surprisingly few notable action films over the years. But in back-to-back years, we’ve seen breakout action hits from Mexico, potentially signaling a new era for the genre in the...
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Back in Action: May 1991

A look at the major new action movie releases (and trends) of May 1991 and May 2026

This year, I’m taking a month-by-month look at the action movies released globally in 1991, talking about the trends and individual titles that made the year in the genre and comparing them to the releases in 2026. You can read the previous monthly entries here.

Let’s take a look at the state of action in May 1991 and May 2026, with expanded thoughts on specific movies at the bottom for paid subscribers.

I fou...
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Jason Trost talks charting his own path with DIY genre movies

“I think that’s success as an artist, knowing that every time I’m on set, or just in my apartment, I’m creating something no one’s done before.”

In 2011, Jason Trost and his brother Brandon burst onto the indie genre filmmaking scene with their gleefully wacky genre mash-up The FP, about gangs who settle disputes through a Dance Dance Revolution-style music game. The movie got a great reception at South by Southwest, and then became a sleeper hit on Netflix for emerging genre enthusiasts like m...
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Back in Action: April 1991

This year, I’m taking a month-by-month look at the action movies released globally in 1991, talking about the trends and individual titles that made the year in the genre and comparing them to the releases in 2026. You can read the previous monthly entries here.

Let’s take a look at the state of action in April 1991 and April 2026, with expanded thoughts on specific movies at the bottom for paid subscribers.

I found 28 action movies released in April 1991 from nine filmmaking nations. (Here’s...
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Back in Action: 1991 March

This year, I’m taking a month-by-month look at the action movies released globally in 1991, talking about the trends and individual titles that made the year in the genre and comparing them to the releases in 2026. You can read the previous monthly entries here.

Let’s take a look at the state of action in March 1991 and March 2026, with expanded thoughts at the bottom for paid subscribers.

I found 32 action movies released in March 1991 from six filmmaking nations. (Here’s a Letterboxd list.)...
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Back in Action: February 1991

A look at the major action releases (and trends) of February 1991 and February 2026

This year, I’m taking a month-by-month look at the action movies released globally in 1991, talking about the trends and individual titles that made the year in the genre. Take a look at January’s if you haven’t seen it yet.

February was a banner month for global action in 1991, with big hits in Hong Kong, India, France, and the Philippines. Let’s take a look at the state of action in February 1991 and February...
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Back in action: January 1991

This year, I’m taking a month-by-month look at the action movies released globally in 1991 and comparing them to those released in 2026, talking about the trends and individual titles that made the year in the genre. I’ve always been interested in projects that take a look at a year in film – taking a snapshot of a particular year, looking for patterns, what still remains today, what’s gone. There are many great similar projects out there, but this one is specifically inspired by the film critic...
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Vic Michaelis talks spy stories, birds, the weather, and the process behind VIP

It’s been a very busy start to 2026 for Vic Michaelis. Their deliriously funny improv interview show, Dropout’s Very Important People, is midway through its third season. They just made their debut in the Dimension 20 Dome, playing Hugi in the new season, Gladlands. And their highest-profile project yet – a role on the spy comedy Ponies, alongside Emilia Clarke and Haley Lu Richardson – premieres this Thursday on Peacock.

I talked with Michaelis about their impressive lineup of projects, their...
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Michael Jai White on his busy 2025 and the challenges of making action movies today

“Nowadays, you have to do the same movie folks would have expected 10 years ago with half the budget”

Few people had a busier 2025 than Michael Jai White. In January, his action comedy Don’t Mess With Grandma, about a drunk Army ranger protecting his unaware grandma from home invaders, premiered on Tubi. In August, his throwback action comedy Trouble Man (which he also directed), where he plays a private investigator looking for a missing R&B star, premiered in theaters. So did action comedy Ho...
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Sono Lino director Jacob Patrick on getting 'spoiled' by 'working with the Michael Jordan of glass'

After a warm reception on the festival circuit last fall, Jacob Patrick’s documentary Sono Lino, about legendary glassblower Lino Tagliapietra, is finally getting a wider release. Amalgamation Pictures will be releasing the film on Sonolino.com on December 19, with a 20 minute never-before-seen bonus chapter.

Sono Lino studies a fascinating artist who changed the art of glassblowing globally. Tagliapietra started blowing glass at the age of 11 after dropping out of school to work at a factory,...
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