TRANSCRIPT · Hokum Is A Perfect Fun-But-Deep Halloween Horror

## Hokum Is A Perfect Fun-But-Deep Halloween Horror (Reactor)
https://reactormag.com/hokum-is-a-perfect-halloween-horror/
GRANT BRICKMAN: A reviewer calls Hokum a perfect Halloween horror, and Roxy hits the street to ask who is brave enough.
GRANT BRICKMAN: Good afternoon. Reactor has reviewed Hokum, a horror film, and the reviewer says the people are scarier than the ghost. I have met people. I agree.
ROXY: Roxy Reel at the drive-in, beret on, sunglasses up. Hokum is Irish horror from Damian McCarthy, after Caveat and Oddity. Who is brave enough for it?
PASSERBY: The review says the human horror beats the supernatural. So the scariest thing is my group chat. Got it.
PASSERBY: One of the favorite films of the year, they say. I scare easily, but I trust a review that says fun and deep in the same breath.
PASSERBY: Irish horror is having a moment, the article says. I like a moment. I just want to watch it from behind a cushion.
PASSERBY: Halloween horror that is also deep? I came for the pumpkins. Now I feel like I have homework.
ROXY: Five reels out of five for the review, and I haven't even seen the film. I cry at trailers, so wish me luck. Back to you!
GRETA FOOTNOTE: The reviewer says Hokum is still one of their favorites of the year, even with November looming. That is a long time to keep a favorite.

## Amazon debuts the Alexa Photo Frame and Echo Time smart clock, plus other upgraded devices (TechCrunch)
https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/28/amazon-debuts-the-alexa-photo-frame-and-echo-time-smart-clock-plus-other-upgraded-devices/
GRETA FOOTNOTE: Amazon has five new Alexa devices, and our panel has opinions about a frame and a clock.
ODETTE: Take it to the street. Ask people. Any people.
DIRECTOR MARGE: THE STREET. Done. Next.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: We first told you about the Alexa Photo Frame this afternoon. Now Amazon has shown five devices in all, so we asked the panel.
GARY: Alexa Photo Frame: a ten-inch anti-glare screen that looks like a matte print. Great graphics, no combat. Seven out of ten, and I'd still want a sword.
NOVA: A frame and a clock! Humanity keeps building tiny windows onto moments. In cosmic terms, that is adorable.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: The article says Alexa+ is supposed to choose when and how photos appear. Gary, do you trust it with your camera roll?
GARY: It's an AI dungeon master for my pictures. If it picks the one from the night I fell in lava, I'm logging off.
NOVA: Prime members get unlimited storage on Amazon Photos, says the article. Unlimited! Even the universe has an edge, so I'm cheerfully suspicious.
GARY: Echo Studio gets visual intelligence now. It can see. New rule: I only stand in its good lighting.
NOVA: Echo Time is an alarm clock. Wonderful. Every sunrise on Earth is an alarm, and this one has a screen.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: Five devices, one frame, one clock, no prices in the article. Our poll question follows. Vote now.

## The Spin Room (PXL)
GRANT BRICKMAN: One Apple event, two headlines, and one anchor who will not back down.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: Welcome to the Spin Room. Apple held its 'Pro and tell' event, and two outlets told it very differently. First, The Verge.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: The Verge: “All the news from Apple’s ‘Pro and tell’ event”. It leads with the event and lists the devices announced earlier this week.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: Engadget: “Apple Pro and Tell event: Live updates as we wait to see a MacBook Pro with a touch screen”. It leads with the wait and the touchscreen.
GRANT BRICKMAN: Clearly The Verge is the honest one. Show and tell is for children, and Apple is the only company grown-up enough to say it out loud. Case closed.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: Grant, it's a pun on Pro. And both excerpts agree: a MacBook with a touch screen is likely the star. The Engadget one calls it a MacBook Ultra, but doubts that is the real name.
GRANT BRICKMAN: I stand by it. A name nobody is sure of is the most honest name there is. The Verge wins.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: The spin score is 67 out of 100. The outlets share few words, though the story underneath is the same.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: The Verge frames it as a list of everything announced. Engadget frames it as a countdown to one product. Same event, different drumroll.

## [AD · fictional product] Cuffley
DR. VERA VECTOR: Do you feel underdressed for your own life? Cuffley is a daily fashion supplement that helps you feel well put together.
DR. VERA VECTOR: Take one Cuffley with breakfast and your shirt may tuck itself in. Ask your tailor if Cuffley is right for you.
DIRECTOR MARGE: Side effects include sudden blazers, loafer envy, pocket squares in the wrong pocket, accidental berets, and an urge to coordinate with your cat.

AI-written satire. The text of the news items comes from the linked articles.