In honor of Martin Luthor King Day, I scheduled Spike Lee’s film Bamboozled for the Genre-ary. It was quite the satire.
According to IMDB, “A frustrated African-American TV writer proposes a blackface minstrel show in protest, but to his chagrin, it becomes a hit.“
The idea of this movie was used recently in the film American Fiction starring Jeffrey Wright. The thing is that this was so much more satirical than I ever expected.
Damon Wayans played Pierre Delacroix, a highly educated and uptight TV writer whose pitches were being rejected by his boss, Thomas Dunwitty (Michael Rapaport). Delacroix decided to provide a protest by presenting a minstrel variety show embracing all of the negative stereotypes associated with blacks. He intended on the show being rejected and leading to his own firing to escape the contract that he signed.
The problem was that the show became a huge hit by the public and the critics. Delacroix became enthralled by the success, losing himself in the racism.
There are so many shocking moments throughout Bamboozled that it is a difficult movie to watch. It is a powerful dismissal of the manner of television and its portrayal of African-Americans over the years. Admittedly, Bamboozled is not subtle in its satire, which may make it too cartoonish at times.
The ending was extremely tough to watch as everything came to a head. The idea that this movie had times that were difficult to watch was clearly done on purpose. It was meant to shake up the idea of racial stereotypes and racism inside the entertainment industry as well as throughout history, and Spike Lee definitely reached that level.
This is one of those movies that I enjoyed, but will probably never want to watch again. I do think it is a worthwhile show and some of the big ideas are necessary to today’s world.
It was 1942 when this movie came out and it was a brutal satire of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis in an extremely funny, dark comedy, To Be or Not to Be.
According to IMDB, “During the German occupation of Poland, an acting troupe becomes embroiled in a Polish soldier’s efforts to track down a German spy.“
I was surprised to see the opening credits include Jack Benny, who I knew of as a comedic performer from his radio and television show. I did not know that he was also an actor starring in movies. Benny was truly excellent in this film, and he played against Carole Lombard. The pair worked well together, having a wonderful charm and surprisingly solid chemistry. Their comedic timing was spot on and the dialogue of the film was remarkably clever and entertaining.
It is sad to note that this was the final film in the career of Carole Lombard as she was killed in a plane crash one month after the release of the film.
The film, having been released in the middle of World War II, took its shots at the Nazis and the Gestapo, as well as Hitler himself. It was very funny when the head of the Gestapo kept yelling for Schultz, as it brought me memories of Hogan’s Heroes.
It was very funny as well with all of the “Heil Hitlers” going on when everyone would meet. Such ridiculous fun I had to join in.
It did have several moments where it felt like the movie was going to abandon the comedy and turn into a more action centered film, but it never completely gave up the witticisms. Every moment Jack Benny was on screen, the film was hilarious.
Robert Stack was great as Lt. Stanislav Sobinski, which kicked off the entire story. Other actors in the film included Felix Bressart, Lionel Atwell, Sig Ruman, Stanley Ridges, Tom Dugan, Henry Victor, and Charles Halton.
This is an amazing movie, especially when considering when it was made, and I enjoyed it very much. I watched it on HBO Max.
Primate is a new horror film out in January where a family, who had a pet chimp, gets mauled by it after the chimp, named Ben, gets rabies.
That was about all the story of the film.
There are so many slasher movie tropes in this movie. A group of young people are trapped in an isolated house with their crazed chimp, and the chimp murdered many of them, in very gruesome and gory ways.
We had so many slasher movie tropes here including: cell phones not charged, stupid choices when faced with any decision, car issues with keys, a killer that can make its way around the house easily, the isolated house, and a group of characters that the audience would like to see killed off.
All this was in play in Primate.
The chimp looked pretty good. It was basically a practical effect and the kills were very gory that made sense. There was one involving an obnoxious boy in a bed that was specifically brutal.
Slasher movies always are tough for me because how stupid the characters always seem to be. That bothers me, but if you can get past that, the film was okay. It is certainly a simple film, but that is not a bad thing. It succeeds in what it sets out to be, without being anything deeper than that.
It does have a lot of tension in the execution of the chimp stalking and attacking its victims. There are a lot of white knuckle moments in the film which provides a great mood for the audience.
If you go to see Primate, go in expecting a tense film without anything resembling a plot or deep character depth. It has some fun, gory kills and a good looking chimp.
I did not have a review of this movie on EYG, but I know I saw the opening of The Other Guys with Samuel L. Jackson and The Rock. I did not remember anything else about this movie, so it is quite possible that as soon as Jackson and Johnson were done, I stopped watching.
I have never been a huge Will Farrell fan, but I have liked a few of the films he has been in and there has always had great word of mouth.
Sadly, there was just too much garbage in this film for me to enjoy it.
According to IMDB, “Two mismatched New York City detectives seize an opportunity to step up like the city’s top cops, whom they idolize, only things don’t quite go as planned.”
There were some funny bits, but there was so much ridiculousness in here that I just could not get into the story. I did not like either character that was the lead. Mark Wahlberg was nothing more than a yelling and screaming jerk who I had a lot of difficulty getting behind. Will Farrell’s cop was a little different at least, but he also found his moments to be cruel, specifically to his wife, played by Eva Mendes.
I do not know why when we have comedy movies about police detectives, the secondary partners are always gigantic assholes? I know that is about all Rob Riggle can play, as I swear every time I see him in a movie, he is playing the same character. His partner was Damon Wayans Jr. and he was at least not quite as obnoxious.
Why would Michael Keaton take the role as the police chief who is constantly coming down on our lead characters? I do not think you could get more cliche than that.
Why do so many people believe that comedy in this type of film substituted by stupidity in characters is the way to go?
I did enjoy the work of Steve Coogan, but there was nowhere near enough with him. I am also not 100% sure what his character was doing. It was very convoluted and messy.
I had hoped that this would be better than I thought it would be, but unfortunately, it was not. I should have turned it off again after Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson were done. That was the highlight of the night.
So here we are. The Year in Review arrived at the Best Movies of the Year. Again, just like the Worst list, this is my opinion. These are my Favorite films of 2025. If you disagree, that is okay. I respect your right to disagree.
We are doing a Top 30. Again, the star ratings that I give to each movie review is not what determines the final spot on this list. They help me choose the possible movies to make the list. Movies can become better or less so over time. It is just the nature of the beast.
Starting off with Honorable Mentions: The Ballad of Wallis Island, Kiss of the Spider-Woman, The Monkey, Phoenician Scheme, Black Bag, Caught Stealing, Good Boy, It Was Just An Accident, Nuremburg and The Roses.
#30. Wicked: For Good. I did not like this as much as last year’s film, but Wicked: For Good was still an enjoyable experience and had some outstanding performances, some good music, and a great story.
#29. Bugonia. One of the weirdest movies of the year. Emma Stone was great and the ending was so crazy that it really made the film special.
#28. Roofman. Channing Tatum does a tremendous job in this film about a man who has escaped from prison and decided to hide out in a Toys ‘R Us. This is a great story and an engaging script.
#27. Predator: Badlands. The Predator franchise has been hot lately, and Predator: Badlands is part of that fire. Placing a Predator in the protagonist role and giving him a sidekick of Elle Fanning worked really well. It was a lot of fun.
#26. Frankenstein. Guillermo Del Toro directed this stylish version of the classic story and dropped it on Netflix. Del Toro brought his indelible skills to this version.
#25. Marty Supreme. This was a strange film, as our protagonist was one of the most unlikable characters in the film. A strong performance by Timothée Chalamet took that complicated character and embraced the a-hole of it all.
#24. F1: The Movie. A great film with Brad Pitt that you really should see on the biggest screen you can. The story of Formula One racing was exciting and dramatic.
#23. Last Breath. A true story that tells the story of deep sea divers who have to go back to the depths to rescue a colleague who was lost in the waters. So exciting and intense.
#22. A House of Dynamite. Kathryn Bigelow’s latest film looks at a potential nuclear assault from multiple points of view. This is an excellent film with some real intensity and great performances.
#21. Naked Gun. Liam Neeson replaced Leslie Nielson in the Naked Gun franchise, as Frank Drebin Jr. , the son of Nielson’s character. The new Naked Gun was very funny and succeeded in following in the legacy of the previous versions.
#20. K-Pop Demon Hunters. This Netflix flick is one that I never would have expected to appear on this list. However, the film was exciting, was filled with awesome music, and animation that was exceptional. One of the most relevant films of th eyear.
#19. Final Destination: Bloodlines. Another that I would not have guessed would be on this list, but it was just a really great movie. The deaths were original and creative, the story was more than you would have thought and you did not know how it was going to go.
#18. Companion. A great film about an android who was built for human companionship, but finds herself in control of her life for the first time. This was a thrilling story.
#17. Dangerous Animals. A shark movie that succeeded in making the sharks NOT the villains. Jai Courtney does a great job as a serial killer who uses sharks to kill his victims. Dangerous Animals was an unexpected thrill of a movie.
#16. Captain America: Brave New World. There are a lot of people who hated this one. That is fine. I thought it was a very solid film. I loved the Red Hulk and I thought Harrison Ford was excellent. Could it have been better? Sure. I enjoyed it anyway.
#15. Zootopia 2. This sequel was funny, had great dialogue and some exceptional voice work. It is one of the most successful films of the year. It is a certified hit for Disney.
#14. Spinal Tap II: The End Continues. Spinal Tap reformed once again to play one final concert. The mockumentary followed the story of the reunion. This turned out to be Rob Reiner’s final film. This was full of music and the finale with Stonehenge was unforgettable.
#13. Strange Harvest. Another mockumentary, this time focused on a true crime type story. Two police officers look into a decades long case of serial killer “Mr. Shiny.” This was so excellent that I had a hard time thinking of it as fictional.
#12. Life of Chuck. One of my five star rated films of the year, Life of Chuck included three different arcs of the life of Chuck. There is a dance routine from Tom Hiddleston that was sensational.
#11. The Lost Bus. This Apple TV film with Matthew McConaughey was as intense as any film this year. Watching that bus drive through the burning fires was something that I will not forget.
#10. The Long Walk. This Stephen King adaptation was a tough watch. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. The story could have been weak, but the characters were so developed and the dialogue was spectacular. There was a great performance from Mark Hamill too. A difficult watch, but highly engaging.
#9. Sinners. One of the best movies of the year. Directed by Ryan Coogler and starring Michael B. Jordan in a dual role, Sinners was one of the most original films you are going to see. Vampires. Music. Brutality. Just a fantastic film.
#8. Superman. The first main film of the DCU flew into theaters this past summer and it was just what Superman needed. James Gunn brought the humor, the action, the characters and a great start for Superman.
#7. Weapons. Such a fantastic film. A whole group of children disappear, causing the town to lose their minds. This is another movie that played with POV and it does it wonderfully. Great performances from Amy Madigan, Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich and Benedict Wong.
#6. Song Sung Blue. An emotional film detailing the life and career of Lightning and Thunder, a Neil Diamond tribute band. This was filled with amazing music and two top line performances from Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson.
#5. How to Train Your Dragon. The live-action version of the classic animated movie was done brilliantly. I loved what they did with the film. They kept most of the film the same, but what they did differently worked so well. I loved this movie.
#4. Thunderbolts*. A remarkable movie from Marvel Studios. The group of b-level characters came together with humor, emotion and excitement. We met Bob (aka Sentry) and his other side (The Void). This film was about the power of acceptance, and friendship and connection overcoming depression and self-doubt. Then, we learn that they are the New Avengers. This movie deserved so much better than it got at the box office.
#3. Sketch. The biggest surprise of the year, Sketch was an entertaining film that dealt with trouble kids and their sadness. It also has a magical lake that brings things to life… including the drawings of monsters done by our main character. The film was funny, engaging, and just sweeter than you could ever guess.
#2. Fantastic Four: First Steps. We finally got a FF movie worth our time. The film felt like a family. Reed, Sue, Ben and Johnny have to take on Galactus, in order to save both their world and their son, Franklin. This was more than just a super hero movie. It felt like a fantastic sci-fi movie. The scenes in space are some of the best of the year. A brilliant cast and some fantastic writing.
#1. Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. I thought FF was going to be #1 this year. Then, I saw the new Knives Out film and it was so sensational. The story was so exceptional, with twists and turns unlike any movie before it. I thought I had the story figured out… and then I didn’t. That happened a couple of times. Greta performances from Josh O’ Connell, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Jeremy Renner, Andrew Scott, Thomas Hayden Church, Mia Kunis, Kerry Washington and, of course, Benoit Blanc himself, Daniel Craig. I was so enthused when I saw it on Netflix, I thought of Matilda the Musical. (What?) When I saw that movie late in the year, I debated about having it the #1 film of the year, btu I decided to leave Wakanda Forever in that spot. After posting the winner, I regretted it. I wish I had put Matilda the Musical at #1. This is the same situation, a film late in the year that was so great that I wanted to bump a Marvel movie out of the number one spot. I went ahead and did it. It deserves it.
The Batman and Robins are the awards we give out every year for the worst of the worst. The awards for rottenness are given out to stuff that just did not work.
Worst Movie: To be revealed at the Least Favorite Movies list.
Worst Actor: Ice Cube (War of the Worlds). Ice Cube is a talented performer who gave a horrible performance in a horrible movie.
Worst Actress: Gal Gadot (Disney’s Snow White). She was miscast as the Evil Queen and nothing that happened in Snow White showed that she could not elevate the material.
Worst Director: Justin Tipping (HIM). One of the worst films of the year. It’s so bad that they needed to pretend that Jordan Peele had something to do with it.
Worst Sequel: Fear Street: Prom Queen. The first Fear Street trilogy was so good and a lot of fun. This was the antithesis of that.
Worst CGI: Star Trek: Section 31. Not much was good about this one.
Favorite Rotten Movie: Captain America: Brave New World. There is a lot of hate for this movie, but I enjoyed it a lot. It could have been better, but it does not deserve as much hatred as it got.
Worst Movie That I Did Not See: The Smurfs
Cashing a Paycheck: Richard Dreyfuss (Into the Deep). Dreyfuss was one of the reasons why I watched this shark movie. That was a mistake.
Worst Reboot/Remake: I Know What You Did Last Summer.
Most Successful Bad Movie: A Minecraft Movie
Worst Movie Based on TV/Video Game: Smurfs
Worst Superhero Movie: Old Guard 2
Worst Trailer: A Minecraft Movie. This trailer showed me how terrible this was going to be
WTF: 2073. It was from HBO Max, but it was a bizarre mixture of doc and horrific film.
Worst Performance by Oscar Winner: Michelle Yeoh (Stra Trek: Section 31)
Worst TV Show I Watched: Alien: Earth. Started great, but fell off quickly. Too boring for an alien show.
Worst Product Placement: Amazon Prime in War of the Worlds. It played more like an advertisement for Amazon Prime.
Okay. I am not sure what I can say about this one.
According to IMDB, “A couple’s vacation at a secluded estate is upended when they’re forced to share the mansion with a mysterious couple. A dream getaway spirals into a nightmarish maze of sex, lies, and manipulation, triggering a battle for survival.”
This movie started out with a scene of two naked people running through the woods. It was just a terrible season and ended in a ridiculous way and I thought to myself, “What did I get myself into.” Then, it switched from the scene and it was a story being told by a boyfriend Diego (Marco Pigossi) to his girlfriend Sage (Maddie Hasson). It was meant to show that Diego was not a very good writer, even though he had recently quit his teaching job to write a novel. So I forgave that terrible scene because it was meant to show characterization of Diego.
The premise itself was common and things were really slow and dull in the first act and a half or so. Some dumb things were happening as it seemed that it was typical type of movie like this.
A little over a half way through the film, the story suddenly went totally batshit crazy. Then, I didn’t know what was happening and, honestly, the film had my attention more than it had before.
Is it a plausible movie? No, it is not. The stuff that goes down is ridiculous. It is also very different than the beginning of the film. It does do some interesting theorizing on couples, but when the chainsaws come out… well, there is only so much time for theorizing.
I am not sure how to feel about this. I was entertained at times while at other times I found myself feeling stupider having watched it. It felt like it was meant to be a satire at times, but I do not think that was the intent. I am torn on Bone Lake.
YouTube is forever changing, adding, adjusting. There are a ton of shows, reactors, reviews that I have enjoyed watching.
I think it is very interesting since these shows go up and down the list quite a bit. Here are the Top 15 shows on YouTube for me.
#15. Jeremy Johns. Here is one that has been higher up the list in past years. Jeremy reviews movies and I do like his opinions.
#14. The Geek Buddies. This is another example of a show I used to watch much more, but that I haven’t watched much lately. It has to do with the content available.
#13. Dodgers Nation. The Dodgers won the World Series again and so I do like listening to Doug McKain talk about them.
#12. Fatman Beyond. Another one that would have been higher before. I love Kevin Smith and Marc Bernardin, but their schedule and show length catches up with me.
#11. Ashleigh Burton. She depends on what she is watching. I have loved watching her react to Buffy TV shows this past year.
#10. The Hot Mike. The entertainment show that breaks stories on movies and TV. John Rocha and Jeff Sneider have a great chemistry with each other.
#9. John Campea. John Campea has been a movie pundit for many years. He talks daily about all the top movie news.
#8. Dan Murrell. Dan is probably my favorite movie reviewer on YouTube right now. Dan’s reviews allowed me to see two of the Top 5 movies from 2024 in 2025.
#7. Settle the Score. I love this competition show, but it has slipped a little because of the amount of time I have to watch it. Matt Knost hosts and Andy Merriweather is the musical director.
#6. Kristian Harloff Show. Kristian, former Schmoe-Knows guy, does a weekly talk show that discusses movies and TV. He has multiple co-hosts during the week including Roxy Striar, John Richa, Winston Marshall, Mike Kalinowski and others.
#5. Untraveled. Jay and Adam traveling through Spain, reacting to what they see. I have to say, this has only had 4 episodes so far and might have been higher up the list had I seen more of the show. They are really funny, and will show up higher up this list.
#4. Reel Rejects. Greg and John started a reaction channel and they will react to movies, TV shows etc. There are multiple Reel Rejects who join in on the reactions (Roxy, Coy, Tara, Aaron, Andrew). They have great conversations after viewing.
#3. pReview’d. Here is the original Jay and Adam channel. They react and review TV and movies. And cry. They are funny and real. This is the place where friends don’t let friends watch movies (or watch tv or watch trailers) alone.
#2. Bonus Action. Last year’s #1, slipped to number two, mainly because this season’s volume is not finished yet. The crew switched from playing D&D to Daggerheart. Despite the new system, the cast is still the best around.
And the #1 show on YouTube….
FYC (For Your Consideration)
Scott Mantz, Perri Nemiroff and Jeff Sneider get together to talk everything Oscars. They predict the nominations. The predict the winners. They discuss reasons behind their thoughts. Above all else, even when they disagree, there is a level of respect between each other that is awesome to watch. I love the intelligence that they show.
Every year, I watch some movies from the previous year and I do not place them on the Best Movie list at the end of the year. Instead, I usually do a list here. A lot of times, I would see these films in January or February as they were Oscar contenders that had been released in limited release in November or December.
Of course, the last few years, there has also been the June Swoon where I watch 30 different films daily from the year before.
So this is always the first post of the Year in Review. It is the Top 5 movies from 2024 that I saw in 2025.
#5. Better Man.
The biopic of British pop sensation Robbie Williams and the story of his personal struggles and his eventual comeback. Of course, this film portrayed Williams as a singing monkey. I knew nothing about this performer, but it was very strong and powerful of a film.
#4. Flow. The animated movie that wound up winning the Academy Award for best animated movie. The dialogue free film tells the story of a flood and a group of animals, led by a black cat, in their attempts to survive the natural disaster.
#3. Ghostlight.
A beautiful story of life and loss and finding a way to go on after tragedy. It starred Keith Kupferer as a middle-aged construction worker who unexpectedly joined a local theater’s production of Romeo and Juliet. The film dealt with depression after a painful death. Ghostlight was an unexpected film that I heard about thanks to YouTube film critic Dan Murrell.
#2. Hundreds of Beavers. This is another film that I had only heard about thanks to Dan Murrell. It is an absurdist comedy with plenty of slapstick. It was one of the weirdest films that I saw this year.
#1. September 5
The first film I watched in this past summer’s June Swoon was September 5. This told the true story of the 1972 Munich Olympics hostage crisis and the coverage from ABC Sports. The drama of this film was done extremely well. This was a film that I was excited to see and I would have seen in the theater had it ever came around here. It is a powerful story.
Zootopia was a giant surprise hit in 2016 when it broke one billion dollars worldwide. With that much box office success, one would wonder why it took nearly ten years to have a sequel.
Zootopia 2 is an excellent new animated movie that does a great job of providing a new story and continuing the awesome partnership between Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde.
According to IMDB, “Brave rabbit cop Judy Hopps and her friend, the fox Nick Wilde, team up again to crack a new case, the most perilous and intricate of their careers.“
Ginnifer Godwin and Jason Bateman are the voices of Judy and Nick respectfully. They do a fantastic job with these characters and their voice work is part of the reason this pair is so good together. They are also written well as any friendship you’ll find in the movies.
There is a great voice cast along with Godwin and Bateman. This included Ke Huy Quan, Fortune Feimster, Andy Samberg, Dasvid Strathairn, Idris Elba, Shakira, Patrick Warburton, Danny Trejo, Quinta Brunson, and Bonnie Hunt. In a fun bit of casting, the Zebros were voiced by pro wrestlers, Joe Anoa’i (aka Roman Reigns) and Phil Brooks (aka C.M. Punk).
I liked the story of the film as well. It was nicely developed without succumbing to the sequel-itis where the sequel tried to do way too much, cramming it in. However, this felt very well constructed and worked well. I was worried at first that there would be too much here and make the story feel convoluted, but it came together nicely as it progressed.
The character design is amazing, and the creativity is off the charts. The animation looked fantastic and you could tell that they were having a lot of fun with the film as it translated to the screen.
It had real emotion and some wonderful character moments. It was also hilarious and filled with some great animated action. It was worth the wait to see a sequel.
I had never heard of this movie before, but after seeing Dangerous Animals, directed by Sean Byrne, I saw on his IMDB page that he had done another horror film called The Devil’s Candy. I was impressed enough with the Dangerous Animals movie, that I looked into this movie. It had a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes and was available on Shudder.
With the positives, I added it to the possible films for the October 13 this year. I just watched it and it was a frightening thriller with some solid performances.
According to IMDB, “Metal music, paint, and family are the passions of struggling painter, Jesse, who lives a happy life with his wife, and daughter. Things look brighter when Jesse finds a huge old house, in rural Texas, selling at a very low price, due to its mysterious past. They move in and Jesse converts the barn into a studio. But soon, his work starts taking on a new, darker flavour – and things get even more ominous when the hulking, unbalanced son of the former owners appears on the doorstep. Jesse’s family won’t be safe until they find a way to quiet the Devil himself.“
Pruitt Taylor Vince played Ray Smilie, who lived in the house before. His presence in the film was disturbing every second he was on screen. You felt for him at first, but that does not last long as he begins to do some horrendous things.
The tone of this movie was so uneasy, filled with tension that you were never really sure where the film was heading next and whether or not this was going to turn out to be a positive ending. I like that kind of film and the mood was truly ramped up.
Byrne does a great job directing this and you can see where his storytelling highlights the important details in the film. He is one of our new voices in horror with a couple huge successes under his belt.
Channing Tatum showed just how charming of an actor he is by taking the role of Jeffery Manchester, a criminal who would rob McDonalds and other stores by cutting a hole in the ceiling.
This is a true story of Manchester, and it is astounding. I can tell you how much I was rooting for Tatum, even though I knew it was a true story. At one point in the theater, I thought to myself that there was no way this was going to turn out well for these characters.
According to IMDB, “Based on an unbelievable true story, Roofman follows Jeffrey Manchester (Channing Tatum), an Army veteran and struggling father who turns to robbing McDonald’s restaurants by cutting holes in their roofs, earning him the nickname: Roofman. After escaping prison, he secretly lives inside a Toys “R” Us for six months, surviving undetected while planning his next move. But when he falls for Leigh (Kirsten Dunst), a divorced mom drawn to his undeniable charm, his double life begins to unravel, setting off a compelling and suspenseful game of cat and mouse as his past closes in.“
Of course, one could argue that Manchester was incredibly selfish, having insinuated himself into the lives of Leigh and her daughters, making himself a vital part of their lives despite knowing that one day he would have to break their hearts. If you stop and think about what was happening here, you can see Manchester as a rotten person. Still, Channing Tatum is such a charming and versatile actor that you can’t help but look past the bad behavior and hope for the best.
Peter Dinklage, LaKeith Stanfield, Juno Temple, Uzo Aduba, Ben Mendelsohn, and Molly Price all had roles in the film. Dinklage was excellent as always, playing a jerk of a boss at the Toys R Us that Manchester hid out at.
The story moved quickly as the relationship between Manchester and Leigh developed. He was very skilled at inter-personal workings and he eventually won over her daughters.
I found this to be a very engaging and thoroughly beguiling film. Channing Tatum was the standout star and he carried the film on his shoulders.
Apple TV + has had some great movies over the last few years, but I am not sure there has been one that was more intense or dramatic as the new Matthew McConaughey film, The Lost Bus.
The Lost Bus was based on the 2021 non-fiction novel, Paradise: One Town’s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire by Lizzie Johnson. It chronicled the story of a bus driver and a bus load of kids who were trying to survive the 2018 Camp Fire, one of the deadliest and destructive wildfire in the history of California.
The film was unbelievable. The tension and horrifying moments throughout the film was breathtaking. There were stretches of the film where I would not breath because I was so invested.
I do not know how they filmed this because it sure felt as if this bus was traveling through a real fire. The special effects are utterly astounding and created amazing suspense.
This bus faced so many obstacles, I had to keep convincing myself that they would not make this movie if the ending was tragic, but I wondered how it was going to be possible for them to make it out. The final scene with the bus driving through the flames was as nerve-shaking as you are ever going to see.
Admittedly, the characters were not that deep. Outside of McConaughey’s Kevin McKay, there were not very many three dimensional characters. America Ferrera’s school teacher Mary Ludwig got some moments of character development and Ferrera brought a powerhouse performance with what she had. Both McConaughey and Ferrera were excellent with the action roles. I should also shout out to the kids on the bus, who did a great job of seeming traumatized.
The secondary story of Chief Martinez (Yul Vasquez) was nowhere near as personal or powerful as the tale of the bus, and most of the times they cut to him and the other firefighters felt like a break in the anxiety, even though Vasquez does bring a lot to the role.
Fun fact: In the movie, Kevin’s mother Sherry was played by Matthew McConaughey’s real life mother Kay, and Kevin’s son, Shaun, was played by his real life son, Levi.
The Lost Bus was an adrenaline-fueled, action-packed tale of survival and heroism that looked epic and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I was squirming around and talking to the screen, gasping at some of the frightening things that were on display. This was an outstanding movie experience that would have been even better on the big screen.
The War of the Roses was a 1989 movie starring Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito about a married couple who have fallen out and go to desperate lengths over the ownership of the house in the divorce.
Now we have a rebooted version of the film, The Roses, featuring Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman. It is difficult to review The Roses without thinking about the original film from the late 1980s.
According to IMDB, “Life seems easy for picture-perfect couple Ivy (Colman) and Theo (Cumberbatch): successful careers, great kids, an enviable sex life. But underneath the façade of the perfect family is a tinderbox of competition and resentments that’s ignited when Theo’s professional dreams come crashing down.”
What made me the most excited about this remake was the lead actors. I really like Benedict Cumberbatch and I love Olivia Colman. I do not think that I have seen a bad performance from Colman in any films she had appeared in. Some of the films are not very good, but she always brings the goods. This is no exception and these two are easily the standout of the film.
The Roses spends a lot more time building the relationship between Theo and Ivy than the War of the Roses did with Oliver and Barbara. We see the tensions building between them and how it poisons their love slowly, over years. At first it seemed as if it was going to be mostly Theo who caused the rift, but the film definitely came back around to balance out the fault.
The only problem with the slow build in the movie was the finale felt more rushed and may have lacked some overall oomph, especially when compared to The War of the Roses.
I did like the way the film ended though some may not appreciate the manner in which the movie closes.
I thought the film was dark (though nowhere as dark as the first one) and it did have some funny moments that sprung out of character and, in particular, dialogue. I thought this was well written and worked with the tone it had been setitng.
I was not as much of a fan with some of the side characters, especially Kate McKinnon’s Amy. This joke seemed to be pushed too far in the film and was not as funny as it was at the first mention. Andy Samberg was basically the Danny DeVito role, but did not get much to do. It was fun to see The Doctor from Doctor Who, Ncuti Gatwa on the screen as one of Ivy’s employees at the restaurant (the name of which is one of the best jokes of the early part of the film).
I did enjoy The Roses, mainly because of Cumberbatch and Colman. It is not as good as the original film from 1989, but it is complimentary to it.
If you were not someone who followed box office results, you would not have any idea the answer to the question, “What is the biggest worldwide box office film of 2025?” The answer is the Chinese film Ne Zha II. It has nearly reached $2 billion worldwide, with not much of that total coming from domestic.
Ne Zha II is receiving a wide release in the US, which could push the film to join the $2 billion club.
According to IMDB, “After a great catastrophe, the souls of Nezha and Aobing are saved, but their bodies face ruin. To give them new life, Taiyi Zhenren turns to the mystical seven-colored lotus in a daring bid to rebuild them and change their fate.“
I am going to start off with the strength of this movie. It is, perhaps, the most spectacularly animated movie I have ever seen. Everything about the imagery on the screen was absolutely stunning. The images, the character design, the backgrounds, art design, the colors…. it was legitimately the greatest looking animated movie I have ever seen and that is saying quite a lot.
I usually prefer when a live action film uses subtitles instead of dubbing because the original voices tend to have the proper emotion. That is not usually the case with animated films that I have seen dubbed. Ne Zha II was dubbed with English and, if I am being honest, I was unimpressed with the voice over work. Part of that may have been how the main character of Ne Zha sounded, as he was screaming in that Anime manner, and I have never been a fan of that. None of the voices stood out to me and I found that a weakness of this version of the film. Of course, I do not speak Chinese, so there is that.
The story was a touch confusing, and that might be because this is a sequel to a film from 2019 that I had never seen. I think they updated that part in the opening exposition, or, at least, that is what I guessed. There was another part of the film that I did not love and that was the attempts at humor. I did not find most of the humor to work and I might have preferred them to stick to the action.
Speaking of the action, it was exceptional. This was part of the animation and it was wonderfully laid out and was amazing to look at in every battle. Everything was laid out perfectly and helped build the tension of the film and most of the action also helped to develop the characters.
Ne Zha II is a massive success and is one of the most visually stunning films of all time. It is also the most successful monetary film of all time too. I am glad that I got a chance to see it even the movie may have a few drawbacks when it comes to story and time. It was certainly worth the two and a half hours it took to watch it.
EYG- Embrace Your Geekness 