The Vagabond's Verse • 29th August 2026

Why Everyone’s Obsessed with Obsession - Sadie Smart - Reviews — The Vagabond's Verse

“Have you heard what’s happened? Barbie’s changed!” When Obsession debuted in theaters, it was hailed as a micro budget horror film, written and directed by 26 year old Curry Barker on $750,000 and a dream. Since then, the film has defied all expectations. While it did well opening weekend, it’s been on an upward trajectory, with ticket sales 39% up from its debut weekend – a trend that’s particularly uncommon for horror films that usually see ticket sales drop sharply after opening weekend....

The Vagabond's Verse • 29th August 2026

Love Island’s Newest Bombshell - Sadie Smart - Culture — The Vagabond's Verse

A new bombshell has entered the villa, and they’re turning all of the guys’ heads. They’re bright, engaging, and will have anyone addicted after just one meeting. Their name? Kalshi.  It was virtually impossible to avoid Kalshi ads this summer. Kalshi is a prediction market platform launched in 2021 that people use to bet on everything from the weather to military outcomes, though for the past few years, its primary use has been to facilitate sports betting. As Love Island USA returned with...

The Vagabond's Verse • 29th August 2026

Tell me about a complicated woman; please, I am begging you - Sadie Smart - Review — The Vagabond's Verse

It’s divorced from the epic version of Odysseus that has made generations upon generations of English students argue over whether or not he’s a hero, an idiot in his capacity for falling asleep at the worst times, or one of the worst husbands to exist. There’s no debate with Nolan’s Odysseus. Everyone knows where the story is going, and every character gets relegated into a well trodden archetype.Part of that is due to Nolan’s struggles with screenwriting. For such a serious movie, there were mu...

The Vagabond's Verse • 29th April 2026

An Age-Old Attraction — Sadie Smart — The Vagabond's Verse

Pop the wine, dim the lights, grab the blankets, and get ready for the latest and greatest reality TV show, Age of Attraction. A bastard love child of the infamous MILF Manor and Love is Blind, the show asks a bold question: can you tell how old these people are under all of their plastic surgery? Age of Attraction relies on a simple premise – the producers send a crowd of people to live at Whistler for a couple of weeks, hoping they will pair off into dramatic, made-for-TV couples. The only...

The Vagabond's Verse • 10th April 2026

Marty Supremely Annoying - Sadie Smith — The Vagabond's Verse

‍ ‍Marty Supreme is a sweat soaked, adrenaline filled odyssey about a table tennis player in the 1950s as he bounces from one set back to the next, obsessed over his own glory at the expense of everyone around him. When the film finally closed out, I was left with one thought: they would never allow a woman to be this goddamn annoying.  That’s the driving force of this film – Marty is utterly unlikeable. He takes, and takes, and takes. He sleeps with a married woman, he books himsel...

Do You Know What I Mean? • 12th January 2026

Not Just For Boys: How Women's Sports Need to Build Their Own Legacies

This year, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) moved to align the point allocation for professional women’s cycling races with professional men’s cycling races. This isn’t the victory for women’s sports that the UCI thinks it is.Previously, all women’s races allocated 400 points to the winner, no matter the challenge of the race. This was in opposition to the men’s races that awarded points based on the difficulty of the race, so the winner of the Tour de France won more points than the winn...

Do You Know What I Mean? • 28th October 2025

What's Wrong, Baby?

In his dying moments in They Live, John Nada uses the last of his strength to destroy the satellite broadcasting subliminal, alien propaganda and flip off the aliens trying to stop him. Once the satellite flickers out, the full impact of the alien class is revealed: they are everywhere. They control every piece of human life, walking amongst the people, living with them, and enslaving them.As Nada posthumously lifts the veil, with the help of Armitage, who also gave his life for the mission, hum...

Locked & Unloaded • 16th October 2025

When the Apocalypse Comes, Only Americans Reach for a Gun

Sadie Smart is Brady’s communications associate. This essay launches a new series amplifying Brady staff voices — sharing the insights and ideas of those on the frontlines of gun violence prevention.When the zombie apocalypse starts, what are you planning to take with you? Water, food, and a map. But if you’re an American, or basing your answer on American zombie movies, you’ve probably added another essential: a gun.Scenes of gunning down zombies left and right are quintessential to the America...

Do You Know What I Mean? • 6th October 2025

The Devil Made Me Pregnant

Two hours into Rosemary’s Baby and I’m ready to see the birth scene. I have the volume turned down so my roommates – and the neighbors through the wall of our townhouse – don’t think I’m being murdered when inevitably the screams of pain echo through the house as Rosemary gives birth to the devil.But I don’t get to see her give birth.Instead, the satanic cult knocks her out with a simple syringe to the arm. When Rosemary awakens, she’s no longer pregnant, the cult insisting that she lost the bab...

Do You Know What I Mean? • 21st September 2025

The Summer I Ended Up in a Horror Movie

At the end of Black Christmas, there’s a moment when you think everything is going to be alright. You believe that Jess killed the monster lurking in her sorority house, and now she gets to go to sleep, safe in her bed. But as the camera pans through the house, you find that Jess is not alone – the killer is still there, up in the attic, surrounded by the bodies of the women he has murdered. And as the camera pulls away to see the house all lit up by Christmas lights and the police leaving, you...