The Yeti, Co-Starring William Sadler & Cobin Bernsen

Honestly, it is far better when a film calls that mythical snow-beast a yeti rather than an “abominable snowman.” The former is much quicker to type and easier to pronounce, so this film already has points in its favor. In the late 1940s, Alaska wasn’t even a state yet. Largely seen as a wild and snowy frontier, there could have been anything up there, as far as most Americans were concerned—and in this film, they weren’t wrong. Oil man Merriell Sunday Sr. went there looking for oil, but he found something else instead. Cartographer Ellie Bannister agrees to guide the search party looking for him and her explorer father, Hollis Bannister, in director-screenwriters Gene Gallerano & William Pisciotta’s The Yeti, which releases this coming Tuesday on DVD and BluRay.

Supposedly old man Sunday was scouting for oil, but Bannister knows her eccentric old man wouldn’t waste his time on that, no matter how much money the tycoon offered. Nevertheless, they have been out of contact for far too long, so she agrees to join the rescue operation organized by Merriell Sunday Jr. (who definitely displays deep-seated father issues).

Somehow, they land in the middle of a massive storm that even interferes with Bannister’s compass. Consequntly, they get lost, quickly and badly. Viewers definitely wouldn’t enjoy getting lost with the entitled Junior Sunday or the abrasive good old boy demolition specialist Daniel “Dynamite” Hewitt—and neither does Bannister. However, comms specialist Booker (who was the Enola Gay’s radio man) is a good guy and scarred war hero Leander Coates has her back too, despite his mildly psychotic tendencies. Of course, when the yeti (or yetis) attack, all bets are off.

Gallerano & Pisciotta serve up several hat-tips to the Indiana Jones movies that are rather endearing. However, some of the deliberately retro practical effects are a little too successful, looking more like genuine cheesiness rather than loving homages. Frankly, the film shows symptoms of an identity crisis, because the blood-spurting gore clashes with the nostalgia.

However, the two old pros, William Sadler and Corbin Bernsen, elevate all their scenes as Hollis Bannister and Sunday Senior, respectively. They are both entertainingly flinty and grizzled. Playing against his usual over-the-top type, Jim Cummings is a surprisingly steadying presence as salt-of-the-earth Booker. Plus, Linc Hand delivers truly withering death stares as brooding Coates.

The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins, on NBC

Poor New York football fans. Recent years have been tough and there is plenty of blame to go around. At least in this show, Jets fans can focus their anger on one man. That would be All-Pro running back Reggie Dinkins, who was banned for gambling right before the Super Bowl, which the Jets went on to lose—badly. Dickins still wants the color commentary gigs and his rightful place in the Hall of Fame, so he hired semi-disgraced documentarian Arthur Tobin to rehabilitate his image. It might just work, but not in the way he hopes, because the embarrassing moments Tobin captures, of both Dinkins and himself, could go along way towards humanizing them in creators Robert Carlock & Sam Means’ The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins, which starts its regular run tomorrow on NBC.

This is not an American remake of The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, despite the weirdly similar titles. This Reggie is essentially the Pete Rose of football. He says he only bet on himself, but his media apology tour was a disaster. Initially, his ex-wife manager Monica Reese-Dinkins was against hiring Tobin, but she starts to warm to the filmmaker and his methods in the second episode, “Nittany Means Big.” The title refers to a disastrous prank Reese-Dinkins covered up for her then fiancé during their college years. It is an example of the show’s football references, which should be sufficiently specific for fans, but not too deep in the weeds for more casual viewers.

The pilot, which previously premiered after an NFL playoff game is very much a getting-to-know-you episode, introducing Dinkins, his ex, their son Carmelo, and his influencer fiancée, Brina, as well as his wacky “neighbor,” Rusty Boyd, Dinkins’ best friend (the former back-up kicker), who lives in his basement. We also learn about Tobin’s disgrace, when a video of his meltdown trying to helm a Marvel movie starts going viral again.

Frankly, the next three episodes are somewhat sharper and funnier than the premise-setting pilot. The title of episode three, “Put it on Your Cabbage,” refers to an amusing subplot, wherein Dinkins loses his final endorsement. It also allows co-leads Tracy Morgan and Daniel Radcliffe to build some chemistry as their characters both endure public humiliation, at a New Jersey restaurant and a documentary film festival. (Those scenes were filmed on location outside the Elinor Bunin Monroe Film Center.)

“Save the Cat,” written by Grace Edwards, features a funny guest appearance by Corbin Bernsen as Dinkins’ bitter former coach Duck Donovan, who will hopefully become a recurring character. Bobby Moynihan also mines plenty of humor from his schlubby Boyd tutoring the reluctant Reese-Dinkins on dating app strategy.

Marshmallow, on Shudder

Anyone who knows anything about horror movies understands only bad things happen at summer camp. That is just as true for Camp Almar in this film as it was for Camp Crystal Lake in the Friday the 13^th franchise. However, the situation is a lot more complicated for young, insecure Morgan. His camp harbors some seriously sinister secrets in Daniel DelPurgatorio’s Marshmallow, which starts streaming tomorrow on Shudder.

Awkward Morgan could use a boost of confidence, so his kindly grandfather Roy cautiously suggests two months of summer camp might not be such a bad thing. Then he has a heart attack and dies. Morgan’s parents send him to camp anyway.

Maybe old Roy was right. Morgan quickly befriends fellow nerds Dirk and Raj. He also meets Pilar, a girl who is willing to talk to him. Unfortunately, he must room with CJ, the camp’s violent bully. Morgan is also freaked out by the stories of “The Doctor,” the camp’s supposed bogeyman (told round the old campfire, with hot chocolate—hence the title). Consequently, his friends initially assume his imagination has simply gotten the better of him when Morgan warns them the Doctor is tazing kids with a cattle prod. Yet, sure enough, it turns out to be true.

DelPurgatorio and screenwriter Andy Greskoviak deliver plenty of fan-pleasing retro 80’s horror vibes, while still telling a relatively original story. This is more than a slasher film, but it still has some of those elements. Nevertheless, there is little outright gore in Marshmallow. Instead, DelPurgatorio prioritizes suggestive mood and eerie atmosphere. Although it culminates with some genuinely surprising lunacy, the second act is arguably even more fun, in a nostalgic, throwback kind of way.