Filmed During Lockdown, ‘Red Stone’ Is a Return to Normal, Mediocre Thrillers
Fort Worth writer-director Derek Presley overcame unprecedented odds to make his otherwise unremarkable thriller about a tormented hit man.
Sean O’Neal has been a contributor to Texas Monthly since 2019, covering film, music, and Texas culture, with the occasional foray into politics. Sean grew up in Arlington before moving to Austin to attend UT. After graduating, he became comfortably ensconced within the city’s fabled “velvet rut” while vaguely pursuing a music career. Those dreams never quite panned out, although Sean soon forged another path in the equally lucrative and stable field of journalism. Prior to joining Texas Monthly, Sean spent twelve years at the A.V. Club, where he also served as its editor in chief. His writing has appeared in various publications, such as GQ, Vulture, and Men’s Health, although Texas Monthly is far and away the only one that his in-laws have ever mentioned.
Fort Worth writer-director Derek Presley overcame unprecedented odds to make his otherwise unremarkable thriller about a tormented hit man.
By Sean O'Neal
The latest from the director of ‘The Florida Project’ sees a scheming former porn star wash up along Texas’s Gulf Coast.
By Sean O'Neal
A new book tells the sweeping tale of the Alamo’s Weird Wednesday series, the American Genre Film Archive, and Austin’s custodians of cult.
By Sean O'Neal
The rising Grapevine star brings fresh spirit to a movie that’s fatally preoccupied with reviving the dead.
By Sean O'Neal
How an Amarillo oilman stole the mask right off the Lone Ranger’s face, and made one of film’s most infamous failures in the process.
By Sean O'Neal
The 1981 slasher spoof prominently features Houston and a future Texas politician, but that’s not all that’s notable about it.
By Sean O'Neal
The Houston filmmaker’s latest is a valentine to defiantly idiosyncratic storytellers like Wes Anderson.
By Sean O'Neal
The sequel to David Gordon Green’s franchise reboot is all filler, same old killer.
By Sean O'Neal
Austin-raised writer-director Justin Corsbie’s debut about a down-on-his-luck troubadour feels as warmly familiar as the Americana songs that inspired it.
By Sean O'Neal
The Houston-raised actor shines as a pompous space tyrant in the otherwise dreary Isaac Asimov adaptation.
By Sean O'Neal
The Monahans-bred actor elevates this loopy, Lost-like sci-fi drama about a mom fighting her way out of a mysterious primeval world.
By Sean O'Neal
The rancher and self-proclaimed rodeo legend has an ego the size of Texas, and he uses it for the good of the “cowboy cause.”
By Sean O'Neal
The multifaceted musician, former city-council candidate, and documentary star returns with an album of pristine guitar and gentle self-reflection.
By Sean O'Neal
Dallas’s mercurial pop phenom writes and stars in this loosely autobiographical satire that raises questions it doesn’t deign to answer.
By Sean O'Neal
Kick off the football season with this underappreciated, Denton-filmed comedy, which captured some truths about Texas football that later, more-serious movies would expand on.
By Sean O'Neal
Does simply putting the Grand Prairie star’s name on some ice cream inherently raise its value? An investigation.
By Sean O'Neal
Twenty-five years ago, fans accused the band of selling out. The group’s reply still stands: “Yeah, but who cares?”
By Sean O'Neal
Roddenberry may have eschewed identifying with the state, but the stories he told carry a Texan DNA.
By Sean O'Neal
Cowboys, ghostbusters, and aliens, oh my! The autumn months are abloom with Texas actors, filmmakers, and locales on the big (and small) screen.
By Sean O'Neal
Forget Kevin Costner. The Houston native best captures the complex glory of American sports.
By Sean O'Neal
The Texas native helped make the music video into an art form, and was instrumental in creating the network that defined a generation.
By Sean O'Neal
The debut feature from Scott Brignac, starring Alan Tudyk and Michael McKean, argues for Houston's place among film’s default “big cities."
By Sean O'Neal
The Richardson-raised filmmaker has traded arthouse dramas for horror remakes, but that’s always been part of the plan.
By Sean O'Neal
Megan Fox and Bruce Willis star in the thriller, which is very loosely based on an infamous Texas serial killer.
By Sean O'Neal
Pioneering Houston rappers Willie D and Scarface reunite for a show that’s all about their community, not about them.
By Sean O'Neal
Richard Linklater’s film belongs in the canon of great Texas cinema.
By Sean O'Neal
At Cannes, the Houston native’s latest inspired a nine-minute standing ovation and equally fawning reviews.
By Sean O'Neal
Starring North Texas's Jonathan Majors and featuring folk hero Bass Reeves, the film promises to let Black cowboys have fun for once.
By Sean O'Neal
The Dallas singer never quite became a huge star in his own right, but that didn't seem to bother him.
By Sean O'Neal
As the Grand Prairie native readies Hulu’s ‘Only Murders in the Building,’ her acting career seems primed for rebirth.
By Sean O'Neal
Early in his career, Woody Harrelson couldn’t shake his reputation as the country rube from ‘Cheers.’ Here’s how that changed, starting 25 years ago.
By Sean O'Neal
The SUV will get a star in Arlington commemorating its thousands of movie and TV appearances.
By Sean O'Neal
The Waco-born producer, instrumental to the careers of Bob Dylan, The Velvet Underground, and Frank Zappa, is the subject of an upcoming biopic.
By Sean O'Neal
The Austin-based artist is adapting his West Texas–set tale for the screen.
By Sean O'Neal
The Richardson-bred actor and former ‘Supernatural’ star has two major roles this year, after a lifetime of near-misses.
By Sean O'Neal
Prepare for paparazzi photos of Ben wistfully vaping near Lady Bird Lake.
By Sean O'Neal
The actor from Mart, Texas, is becoming a full-fledged leading man in Hollywood.
By Sean O'Neal
The Burleson native will inherit Ellen DeGeneres’s time slot, and the future of daytime talk.
By Sean O'Neal
The hero of every small-town Texan class clown has blazed a new path to 30 Rockefeller.
By Sean O'Neal
Plano probably had more to do with the invention of the snack than Richard Montañez's inspirational tale did.
By Sean O'Neal
Plus, Megan Thee Stallion talks to pets, Shea Serrano turns his childhood into a sitcom, and Eva Longoria brings Flamin’ Hot Cheetos to the big screen.
By Sean O'Neal
Plus: Texas transplants Elon Musk and Joe Rogan attract yet more controversy, Ted Cruz gets into it with ‘The Daily Show,’ and Selena Gomez explores her dark side.
By Sean O'Neal
Plus: Matthew McConaughey leads Greg Abbott in the polls, Hilary Duff will lead a ‘How I Met Your Mother’ spinoff, and Post Malone makes music history.
By Sean O'Neal
Plus: Demi Lovato has an unusually good week, Spoon and ‘Shameless’ come full circle, and viewers demand the FCC do something about Megan Thee Stallion.
By Sean O'Neal
Plus: Lizzo and Megan Thee Stallion headline Bonnaroo, the Austin Film Festival puts the pandemic behind it, and Jason Statham shoots Post Malone in the head.
By Sean O'Neal
Plus: Matthew McConaughey and friends raise millions for storm relief, Lizzo’s TV show launches a model search, and Jamie Foxx rings in as Mike Tyson.
By Sean O'Neal
The then-24-year-old musician’s campaign started as satire and grew into a rare opportunity to change the conversation around local politics.
By Sean O'Neal
Plus: Megan Thee Stallion spices up the Grammys, Selena Gomez considers giving up music, and Post Malone gets in on the NFT craze.
By Sean O'Neal
Plus: Emmanuel Acho will lead an uncomfortable conversation on ‘The Bachelor,’ Megan Thee Stallion takes over Peloton, and Post Malone sings Hootie to some Pokémon.
By Sean O'Neal
Plus: Taylor Kitsch gets back in the TV game, Travis Scott manages to get people excited about magazines, and Megan Thee Stallion does her best ‘Mean Girls.’
By Sean O'Neal