Wake Up Dead Man (2025)

 

When it comes to whodunits, some people find immense satisfaction in trying to figure out the mystery as the story unfolds before them as if they themselves were the detectives. I am not one of these people. I’m simply not creative or observant enough, but I still experience that rush when everything is laid bare, the guilty parties are brought to light, and the methods at last become clear. Not a lot of movies offer such moments these days, but Rian Johnson and Daniel Craig continue to scratch that neglected itch with their modern-day detective series featuring Craig as Benoit Blanc, a Foghorn Leghorn impersonator with a penchant for mysteries that involve people that make you say “Hey, it’s that person!” Wake Up Dead Man is better than Glass Onion and is almost as good as the original Knives Out… the only thing holding it back is a lack of fun and interesting side characters, something the original had in abundance.

Not that anyone is bad in Dead Man… the acting is, in fact, one of the strongest factors of the film. Josh O’Connor in particular steals the show as Father Jud, and the day that actors like Glen Close and Josh Brolin produce lackluster performances will be a cold one in hell indeed. The thing is, while the suspects in Knives Out were awful people, they were at least entertaining. In Dead Man, they are either Benoit Blanc, Father Jud, the local sheriff (Mila Kunis), or someone who is downright unpleasant and not terribly interesting to watch. Again, this is not an acting problem, nor is it a writing problem. The fun factor of the characters is not even a problem at all, really, or at least not an objective one; it just makes for a less enjoyable watch than the other two films in the series.

This darker turn is further propelled by Dead Man's exploration of real-life problems, like the ease at which some people can use faith to justify abhorrent behavior and the dangers of cults of personality. True, Knives Out did not shy away from reality either (did Glass Onion? I don’t know, that one didn’t stick with me nearly as much) but this one still feels darker somehow.

Wake Up Dead Man also does something that I think is very undervalued in the mystery genre: it has plenty of twists and turns but never overcomplicates things for the sake of surface-level cleverness. It is my belief that some writers are, consciously or subconsciously, terrified of simplicity, thinking that just because the dumbest of their audience (me) may understand everything, the story itself is unintelligent. I followed Dead Man just fine, yet it is far from being a point A to point B story. It is complicated, but not excessively so.

Time will tell if the relative lack of fun will place it below the original Knives Out, but there is no denying the craft and skill that went into Johnson’s latest headscratcher. Cleverly written, superbly acted, and deftly directed, Wake Up Dead Man is everything that a mystery fan could want.

Wake Up Dead Man is now available on Netflix. 

 

Frankenstein (2025)

 

Guillermo del Toro is a man who loves his creepy creatures, so it should come as no surprise that back in 2010 he described Mary Shelley's Frankenstein as his favorite novel in the world. Over the years he has mentioned the book numerous times, citing it as his dream project, but dreams can be scary in a way. In his own words,  

 

“Frankenstein to me is the pinnacle of everything, and part of me wants to do a version of it; part of me has for more than 25 years chickened out of making it. I dream I can make the greatest Frankenstein ever, but then if you make it, you've made it. Whether it's great or not, it's done. You cannot dream about it anymore. That's the tragedy of a filmmaker. You landed a 10 or you landed a 6.5 but you were at the Olympics already, and you were judged.” 

 

I honestly don't know if del Toro’s Frankenstein is a 10 out of 10. Having not seen the 1931 Boris Karloff classic yet (it’s on my list) I can’t even say for sure whether or not it is the quintessential adaptation of everyone’s favorite corpse quilt and his overwhelmed single father. It is certain, however, that everyone involved in these metaphorical Olympics can go home being proud of what they’ve created, even if Victor isn’t.  

It has been a while since I have read the original novel, so I can’t speak to the accuracy of del Toro’s creation (I don’t think the Creature originally had Wolverine-like healing powers?), but all the important bits seem to be there—the God metaphors, the daddy issues, the existential questions of life, death, and the nature of the soul; furthermore, there isn’t an Igor to be seen anywhere. Frankenstein is a symphony of themes that plays beautifully, each note pitch perfect thanks to career-best performances from Oscar Isaac (Victor Frankenstein), Jacob Elordi (the Creature), and their supporting cast, as well as a script penned by del Toro himself that flows like poetry. The film looks gorgeous as well, with practical sets, sweeping shots, and vibrant colors that stand in stark juxtaposition to the unflinching gore and viscera that the story requires. The CGI in Frankenstein, on the rare instances where it is utilized, doesn’t look that great, so I am particularly glad that del Toro chose practical sets and effects whenever possible.  

I cannot say enough good things about the production design in this film. Shelley’s original work is one of the first stories that comes to mind when one hears the phrase “Gothic literature,” and the sets, creature design, and costumes in Frankenstein all evoke this heritage to a T. It is also all singularly del Toro, proving that this really was a project that he was born to do. Whether it is truly a 10/10 I can’t say yet, but it is definitely up there.  

Frankenstein is now streaming on Netflix.  

Predator: Badlands

 

The only thing weirder than getting a good Predator movie in 2025? Getting two good Predator movies in 2025. Earlier this summer the brutally stylish Hulu exclusive Predator: Killer of Killers was much better than it had any right to be, and now Predator: Badlands has the audacity to surpass my expectations as well. Who'da thunk? 

Director Dan Trachtenberg returns to the franchise after both the aforementioned Killer of Killers and 2022's Prey, and he successfully bats three for three. I expected there to be good action in Badlands, but what I didn’t expect was for it to have an engrossing emotional core as well. A first for the series, the film features one of the titular creatures (who are also known as Yautja) front and center as a protagonist rather than the mysterious antagonists that they usually are, and this shift works surprisingly well considering the fact that these dudes are some ugly motherf***ers (Arnold’s words, not mine). Elle Fanning plays Thia, a synthetic human right from the Alien side of the technically-shared universe, offering some familiarity when things get too, well, alien, and the relationship between her and our main Yautja Dek (played by Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) is the main thrust of Badlands’ narrative.  

The most interesting aspect of the film is how Trachtenberg displays a clear love of the series yet also isn’t afraid to deconstruct its problems. A warrior race who views everything and everyone else as prey to be hunted may sound cool on paper and make for some great action in this and past films, but how screwed up would one be after being raised in such a society? How miserable must such an existence be? Badlands is somehow a great dumb blockbuster but also an interesting (if surface-deep) look at how destructive toxic masculinity is for both the people who interact with it and those who perpetuate it.  

The emotional turn-around for Dek is a bit abrupt, and these themes are not explored as deeply as they could have been. But a Predator movie with something to say? That’s novel. 

The action in Badlands is a bit more predictable, and I mean that in a good way, as it delivers all of the alien violence that fans of the series crave. My only complaint where that is concerned is an odd one considering my general squeamishness—honestly, I wish it would have been bloodier and nastier. There is not a single actual human in Badlands, and the only blood that is spilt is the milky blood of synthetic humans, the green glow stick blood of the Yautja, and the colorful blood of various other alien creatures. I want to see a Predator draw some red, for heaven’s sake, preferably in a very gruesome way. 

Despite the violence and some interesting creature designs, Badlands is fairly bland from a visual standpoint. Perhaps I was just spoiled by the trailer of the new Avatar film that played immediately before, but Badlands didn’t look nearly as interesting as it could have. But I shouldn’t expect the world… Predator is a silly popcorn franchise, after all, and on that Badlands certainly delivers.  

Predator: Badlands is now playing in theaters.  

Godzilla Watch-Through: Days 1-19

 

First off, let me acknowledge the fact that very few, if any people will be interested in this post, but I thought I would go ahead and share it anyway. After watching Godzilla Minus One back in 2024 I was fully Godzilla-pilled and somehow found the strength deep within to attempt and watch every single one of the 38 films that the giant lizard has starred in. From March 2025 to now I have watched 19 of them, plus the 5 that I had already seen prior to my decision to watch them all. The below mini-reviews were originally written solely for a comic book message board that I frequent, but I have since added them to Letterboxd and figured I would compile them here as well. I still have a bunch more to watch before I can rest my weary brain, but as the remaining films are not streaming anywhere at the moment I am forced to take a well-deserved break. I will pick it up again someday, though. In the meantime, here are some thoughts I have on the longest-running film series in history.

 

Shōwa Era

-          Godzilla (1954)- 8/10 (watched previously)

-          Godzilla Raids Again- 4/10 (Day 1)

-          King Kong vs. Godzilla- 6/10 (Day 6)

-          Mothra vs. Godzilla- 6/10 (Day 2)

-          Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster- 6/10 (watched previously)

-          Invasion of Astro-Monster- 5/10 (Day 3)  

-          Ebirah, Horror of the Deep- 5/10 (Day 4)

-          Son of Godzilla- 3/10 (Day 5)

-          Destroy All Monsters- 6/10 (Day 7)

-          All Monsters Attack- 2/10 (Day 15)

-          Godzilla vs. Hedorah- 6/10 (Day 8)

-          Godzilla vs. Gigan- 6/10 (Day 9)

-          Godzilla vs. Megalon- 6.5/10 (Day 10)

-          Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla- 5.5/10 (Day 11)

-          Terror of Mechagodzilla- 6.5/10 (Day 12)

Heisei Era

-          The Return of Godzilla- 6/10 (Day 13)

-          Godzilla vs. Biollante- 6.5/10 (Day 14)

-          Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah- 6/10 (Day 16)

-          Godzilla vs. Mothra- TBD

-          Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II- 6/10 (Day 17)

-          Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla- 4/10 (Day 18)

-          Godzilla vs. Destoroyah- 7/10 (Day 19)

Millenium Era

-          Godzilla 2000: Millennium- TBD

-          Godzilla vs. Megaguirus- TBD

-          Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack- TBD

-          Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla- TBD

-          Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.- TBD

-          Godzilla: Final Wars- TBD

Reiwa Era

-          Shin Godzilla- TBD

-          Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters- TBD

-          Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle- TBD

-          Godzilla: The Planet Eater- TBD

-          Godzilla Minus One- 10/10 (watched previously)

American Films

-          Godzilla (1998)- TBD

-          Godzilla (2014)- 7/10 (watched previously)

-          Godzilla: King of the Monsters- TBD

-          Godzilla vs. Kong- 5/10 (watched previously)

-          Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire- TBD

 

Day 1- Godzilla Raids Again (4/10)

I was kind of shocked at how boring this was. Godzilla is back, we need to get rid of him again, here is some human drama that is somehow even less interesting than usual. Something about some employees of a fishing company. One of them dies and I guess that's sad. Oh yeah, while rampaging Godzilla also has to wrestle with Anguirus a bit too. The film could have used more music to make certain bits exciting, but instead felt fine letting things be awkwardly silent for the most part. And was it possible for Japan to make a film without Takashi Shimura? Between the Godzilla franchise and all the Kurosawa movies the man was in absolutely everything at this time (this one is not a complaint by any means). Overall it didn't have the good story and symbolism that the dark original had nor did it have any of the fun goofiness of later Showa Godzilla moves, so there isn't much to like. 4/10 seems a bit high, but I know there are some true stinkers in the series yet to come so I don't want to go too low too quickly...

Day 2- Mothra vs. Godzilla (6/10)

This one was a lot of fun! I liked the angle of the human bad guys simply being money grubbing assholes and I love that the twin Mothra larva had to strategize more at the end instead of the usual kaiju punch out. Plus Godzilla fell down a lot. I have decided that there are few things in this world more funny than Godzilla falling down.

Day 3- Invasion of Astro-Monster (5/10)

Max only had the English dub, but luckily the awful voice work only enhanced the stupid fun instead of making it painful, as dubs often do. The movie impressed me with its determination to get everything as scientifically inaccurate as possible, but it still wasn't as fun as it should have been. Too little Godzilla, for one thing, and once again the human drama is the weak part of the story. Also it turns out I've been pronouncing Ghidorah wrong all these years (I've been saying it closer to Gamorah). Speaking of Ghidorah, do they ever make him sound more intimidating or is it always just that weird fluttery bell sound?

Day 4- Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (5/10)

This one was a bit frustrating. While it starts out pretty strong with a fairly compelling human story involving a missing brother, a shipwreck, and a secret island installation lead by a bad guy with an eye patch, things start to get boring by the time Godzilla actually bothers to show up. He then fights a giant shrimp who is mostly incidental to the plot and then Mothra just to be an asshole. The music was weird (surf rock during the planes attacking Godzilla bit was certainly a choice) and I swear that a good 15 minutes of the film is devoted to the Infant Island residents doing a dance in an attempt to wake Mothra up. Honestly this one would have been so much better if the kaiju had stayed out of it, which is a sad thing to say considering that this is A GODZILLA MOVIE.

Day 5- Son of Godzilla (3/10)

I. Hate. That. Thing. I hate its stupid eyes and I hate its stupid face and I hate the stupid noises it makes. Not since E.T. have I been so creeped out and repulsed by something that was supposed to be cute. Godzilla's unholy crotch goblin aside the story wasn't even decent. There was no urgency and the stakes never felt high. Just some scientists on an island doing some experiments while monsters do monster stuff. They could have left at any point and choose not to until the end. The only thing nice about this movie was that it was fun to see Godzilla do the whole father thing. That and it was one of the creepier Godzilla movies, just because spiders and praying mantis are inherently creepy. And so was that dumba** stupid baby that makes the demon spawn from Eraserhead (which I also watched recently for the first time) look like Baby Yoda/Grogu. Big G should have left that little s*** in the snow to die.

Day 6- King Kong vs. Godzilla (6/10)

I almost docked a point from this just because of how gross the giant octopus was. So gooey and slimy. I liked the human story. The guy in charge of the ad agency (or pharmaceutical company? Doesn't matter) was the clear stand out amongst the humans. He was wacky and silly and I found that cheesiness endearing. The story was nice and straightforward, and I love the stupid excuse they came up with to give Kong electrical powers (apparently getting struck by lighting gives you the ability to absorb and emit electricity, who knew). One of my favorite Godzilla tropes is how everything somehow happens to our handful of main characters, no matter how unlikely it is. That was very much in force here. It was fun.

Day 7- Destroy All Monsters (6/10)

Okay, so this one was actually more of a 5/10 for the most part. It's got probably the fastest opening-credits-to-Godzilla-appearance turn around of all of the films so far, and it was really cool to see all the big guys on Monster Island (a neat idea in and of itself). But then we just get a less interesting rehash of the "aliens use the monsters to try and destroy earth" plot that was used in Invasion of Astro-Monster. It was boring and the monsters only occasionally showed up (and some of them had barely anything to do when they did). And then Ghidorah shows up in the last 20 minutes of the movie and the ensuing monster curbstomp elevates things by an entire point. Seeing all the earth monsters team up to take him down was tight, and as much as I hate Minilla it was a super nice touch to have him land the finishing blow and then do a little dance on Ghidorah's corpse to boot. Just wish the rest of the movie were that fun. Oh, and can we please bring the real Mothra back? The little worm thing was fun for a movie or two but I miss the actual Mothra.

Day 8- Godzilla vs. Hedorah (6/10)

HOLY CRAP Godzilla just used his atomic breath to fly. This one would have been pretty mid if it weren't for the visuals. The story was a pretty straightforward go from point A to point B affair with characters making insane logical leaps in between. Godzilla also kills Hedorah only to find out that he's still alive only to kill him the same exact way again. This takes another good fifteen minutes. Why? Did they need to pad the run time or something? And I guess Godzilla is psychic now? What bumps the movie up to a 6 is the design(s) of Hedorah, who is one of the cooler looking kaiju in the series, as well as some bizarre and trippy visuals that are pretty and creative and serve to remind you just when exactly this movie was made.

Day 9- Godzilla vs. Gigan (6/10)

This one was more fun than what I was expecting! The personalities of the monsters came through really strongly, which is not always the case (I love Godzilla bossing Anguirus around like a pushy a**hole). The human plot was mildly entertaining and mostly got out of the way when the monster fights started. And I don't know why, but the carnage/miniatures looked a bit more convincing than usual in this... maybe it was the lighting or the editing. I feel lame for rating another one 6/10 but that's where it's going to have to go. Stupid but fun.

Day 10- Godzilla vs. Megalon (6.5/10)

Sweet Christmas, even by Godzilla standards this was cheesy. Objectively it was terrible, but subjectively I had so much fun watching this nonsense. The dubs were awful, particularly those for the little kid, they couldn't have picked worse music, the budget for the underwater sea kingdom must have been in the hundreds of yen range, and there was so, so much footage reused from previous Godzilla movies. But I had a blast and I can't rate this any lower than a 6 because of that.

Day 11- Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (5.5/10)

A lot of stuff in this one. A prophecy, yet another alien race trying to destroy humanity, several shady characters doing spy stuff, etc. It was a bit much, honestly, and Godzilla was barely a part of things. Mechagodzilla was cool, though, with all of his little tricks (it was particularly neat when he shot at both Godzilla and King Caesar when they were both in front of and behind him), and he actually made Godzilla bleed quite a bit, which I wasn't expecting. I liked seeing Akihiko Hirata again, one of the OGs from the original Godzilla movie. There was some weird camera stuff, with occasional shaky cam and a couple of odd lens choices. And for all of the build up King Caesar was pretty much useless in the final battle. Overall it was decent fun, but it doesn't seem like it would be required viewing if not for the introduction of Mechagodzilla.

Day 12- Terror of Mechagodzilla (6.5/10)

Even if you're a cyborg I still love you." Series is kinda silly innit?

The last film of the Shōwa Era is also one of the best, in no small part thanks to the return of original Godzilla director/writer Ishirō Honda. It's still got goofy aliens with stupid helmets and even stupider evil laughs, but things are elevated by a fairly compelling human narrative about an evil cyborg lady who doesn't want to be an evil cyborg lady who at one point has her titties out. The new monster, Titanosaurus, has a simple design that works for me, and I liked that they made him sympathetic by stressing that he was peaceful when not mind-controlled by an evil scientist, who was also fairly layered for a movie of this caliber. Good stuff. Can't wait to start the next era!

Day 13- The Return of Godzilla (6/10)

It's amazing what a 9 year break and a bigger budget can do for a series. While the Shōwa movies very much felt like a remnant of a long-past era, RoG feels 100% more modern. While it still uses the man-in-suit/ miniature smooshing technique of the earlier films it looks infinitely better thanks to better establishing shots that include things like actual jets and tanks as well as actual people reacting to the destruction as it happens. The earlier films kind of just had all the people disappear when Godzilla showed up, but RoG blends the model work with the normal sized sets much better. The plot contains many kaiju film staples that we've seen before but they are all done with a seriousness and quality that hasn't really been seen since the original. The most interesting part of the story was when Japan got dragged into the drama between the US and the USSR, both of which were desperate to use their nukes on Godzilla. Cold War dramas usually focus on one or both of the two superpowers and it was cool to see how a country that wasn't as central to the conflict react to and be swept along by their warmongering nonsense.

The Return of Godzilla would be a 6.5 or maybe even a 7 if it weren't for the fact that I have watched all of these movies back to back to back. The movie may have been much better made than some of the other 6s on here, but because the whole “Godzilla is coming, we need to come up with a sciency way to take care of him, we're not fast enough and he's breaking stuff, but now the sciency thing is finished and look, he's defeated, isn't that cool but also kind of sad?” thing has been done so frequently I was pretty bored for some parts of it. In a vacuum I'm sure I would have appreciated it much more, but as it stands I can only give it a 6. Which still ain't bad!

Day 14- Godzilla vs. Biollante (6.5/10)

I had a hard time keeping track of which groups of people trying to get at ahold of Godzilla bits were which, especially because half of these groups spoke in hilariously broken English that was subtitled for Japanese audience but was not included in the English subtitles on HBO Max. But I did appreciate the human subterfuge even if I didn't always understand it. Biollante might have the coolest design of any kaiju I've ever seen, and the music was great. The lead military guy was cool and competent, but he's really the only character worth remembering. Oh wait there was a black guy... glad to see Japan finally discovered people of color. Only took them until 1989. Probably one of the better films in the series.

Day 15- All Monsters Attack (2/10)

I figured I might as well do this watch-through right and go back and watch the only one I initially skipped. The best thing I can say about it is that it is short. It's perfect for people who want to watch stock footage of some of the more boring Godzilla fights with obnoxious commentary by a narcoleptic child and the literal spawn of Satan (Minilla) added, though. It also ends in the most hilariously nonsensical way too-- after standing up to his bullies at last, the child who's name I never bothered to learn then immediately bullies someone else... a person that the bullies who were encouraging him to bully earlier! THIS MAKES THE BULLIES WANT TO BE FRIENDS WITH HIM. WHAT!?!?

Day 16- Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (6/10)

Maaaan this one was so close to being a 3.5 out of 5. The time travel plot was dope and refreshingly different, the budget Terminator effects were hilarious, and Mecha Ghidorah was awesome (glad they finally changed his silly jingly roar, sad that he no longer comes from space). The thing that bumps this down to a 3.5 is its awful pacing. The heroes bring Godzilla back to fight Ghidorah (well no, actually, that's not true... he just randomly comes back for no reason at all despite time travel shenanigans, which is stupid), he wins, and just when I thought the movie was over we still have 20 minutes of Godzilla rampaging left to go. So then the heroes have to bring Ghidorah back to fight Godzilla. What? This is the part with Mecha Ghidorah, so I can't complain too much, but its a shame that what should have been the coolest part of the movie was ruined by it feeling like an over-extended and unnecessary epilogue.

Day 17- Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (6/10)

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I really wish they were more clear about the giant monsters' motivations. Why does Rodan care about Baby? Why does Godzilla? Why does Rodan magically give his own energy to bring Godzilla back to life? Who knows. The suits look great in this and the action was a lot of fun (Rodan finally gets his own energy beam!) The best part was the relationship between Baby (soooo much better than Minilla) and whatserface, even though it leans into the whole "I was a scientist and then my motherly instincts kicked in and now that's my entire character" thing. But hey, Super Mechagodzilla makes up for that, right?

Day 18- Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (4/10)

SpaceGodzilla looks cool when he's not flying with that dumb crystal backpack, Little Godzilla still sucks way less than Minilla, and there is a butt. And that's about it for the good stuff! This movie was easily the weakest in the Heisei series so far, with confusing motivations (the government simultaneously wants to kill Godzilla with yet another mech, kill him with a magic bullet, and control him via telekinesis), characters that are even more boring than usual, and elements that are completely unnecessary (Mothra is kind of in this but not really? She's just there to psychically warn a character that SpaceGodzilla is coming, even though everyone else finds out about two minutes later, and the yakuza show up and attempt to control Godzilla for all of two seconds before they're never seen or mentioned again). Godzilla has never exactly been high art, but even by the series' dumb campiness this was bad.

Day 19- Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (7/10)

Loved the call-backs to the original and Destoroyah being the embodiment of the OG oxygen destroyer (the "science" in these is so fantastically stupid). Loved that Megumi Odaka's character was in this and pretty much all of the other Heisei era films. Loved seeing Godzilla Jr. all grown-up. Destoroyah was dope as he*ck. Easily my favorite Godzilla after Minus One and the original.

 

 

 

Alien: Earth Season 1

 

I’ve always liked the Alien franchise, but after the queen shows up in James Cameron’s Aliens I have not been a fan of a lot of the lore that the series has introduced since. Every time they try to make the series about something more than a horrifying creature that symbolizes the unknown stalking and killing people in space things get less engaging and, more often than not, less scary. Alien: Earth, the first TV series in the franchise, expands the horizons of the Alien universe in unexpected ways, and every one of them is more interesting than, let’s say, evil magical goo (people who have seen Prometheus and Alien: Covenant know).

We’ve got cyborgs, we’ve got squabbling between dystopian-ly powerful trillionaires, we’ve got a menagerie of new space creatures, each more bloodthirsty and disturbing than the last. By far the most interesting addition to the mythos is the hybrids, children whose minds have been uploaded into robot bodies in an attempt to forever cheat death, and showrunner Noah Hawley (Fargo, Legion) takes full advantage of the philosophical quandaries that arise from these transfers. Having grown actors acting like children is… different, and it’s not a vibe that everyone will appreciate, but I thought it gave things an interesting angle (and some great performances too, especially from lead Sydney Chandler), and it’s not like these moments are omnipresent. The show is still tense, dark, terrifying, and  thoroughly Alien. (We’ve got plenty of adult characters too, I should mention, and one chilling full-robot portrayed brilliantly by Timothy Olyphant.)

Noah Hawley's previous works are known for being cerebral and highly surreal, and Alien: Earth continues this with the goal of unsettling the audience as much as possible. Like Alien: Romulus did just this last year, Earth manages to make the titular creatures scary despite their familiarity to the general public. And if you thought the presence of technical children would lessen the brutality and gore of the proceedings, well, you would be wrong. The aliens had no problem with mauling, gutting, and dismembering in the presence of Newt in the aforementioned Aliens, and they certainly don’t hold back when there are plenty of other children to traumatize in (on?) Earth.

Nothing in the series resolves by the final episode, which is a bit frustrating (it is clear that it was filmed with a potential second season in mind), and the modern-day songs that the series features (not to mention one oddly prominent 2002 animated kids’ film) did not really work for me. And then there’s the fact that it can be downright depressing to watch such a crappy dystopia for eight plus hours. But these complaints pale in comparison to the fun that I had while watching Alien: Earth, a worthy entry to the saga and the genre of science fiction in general.

The entirety of season Alien: Earth season 1 is now available on Hulu.  

One Battle After Another

 

I’m still not entirely sure how one consciously achieves good pacing in a film, but I think it might be witchcraft. How else do you explain three hours feeling like two? Edits, superb directing, and engaging writing? Nah, people like Paul Thomas Anderson are clearly masters of the dark arts. Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, and the rest of the cast of One Battle After Another might be witches too, come to think of it. You know what? Better burn everyone involved just to be safe.

Despite Leo's disgustingly greasy hair trying its best to gross me out, One Battle looks amazing. Paul Thomas Anderson’s distinctive style is a balm for the eyeballs, and I’m guessing that the movie being filmed in VistaVision (a rarity in the twenty-first century) has something to do with it as well, although I would be lying if I said I 100% knew what that meant. The story can be disturbing in its real-life parallels, but these moments occasionally edge into calculated absurdity before transitioning gracefully to silliness, making One Battle an eclectic and potent combination of political thriller, action film, and screwball comedy.

Anderson brings out the best of his actors in One Battle, wisely letting the comedy and drama arise from the situations instead of having people do bits and soliloquies. Leonardo DiCaprio is great as the aging revolutionary/father who’s name escapes me at the moment, but I gotta give the MVP award to Sean Penn, who gives a truly unsettling performance as the icky Colonel Lockjaw, white supremacist and first-class douche bag (forgive the redundancy).

One Battle After Another flies by thanks to the aforementioned witchcraft, and not a moment of it is boring. That being said I think things could have been even tighter, particularly near the end, which includes some moments that seem to exist only to extend things rather than enhance things. But ultimately One Battle is an undeniable triumph in filmmaking. And witchcraft. But mostly filmmaking.

One Battle After Another is now playing in theaters. 

Safety Last! (1923) Mini Review

 

Movies have become faster paced over the years, but I don’t know if they have gotten any more intense. Why? Because Safety Last! was released in 1923, and if people weren’t used to the kind of palm-sweating, butt-clenching stress that comes from watching Harold Lloyd scale a sixteen story building in loafers and a tie then I’m sure the Wikipedia page for the film would be littered with stories of people having heart attacks and dying while watching it. Tom Cruise wishes he could pull off a stunt as insanely intense as that.

Harold Lloyd may not be quite as well known as his contemporaries Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, but his physical comedy in Safety Last! is every bit as effective and charming. His character, who is as much a clever trickster as he is a bumbling idiot who has silly things happen to him, was often unpredictable to me, and as surprise is such a vital part of comedy I found his shenanigans hilarious. Up until the last thirty minutes, anyway; when he gets onto the side of that building those same shenanigans instead serve to heighten the tension. Others may find that last bit funny and maybe it’s just my fear of heights talking, but man I did not enjoy that stunt (in a good way).

Also Harold Lloyd looked a bit like a girl I went to high school with. I don't know why that's in this review but it is.

Scarface (1983) Mini Review

 

Scarface was quite the controversial picture when it was first released, with many reviewers calling it excessively violent and claiming that it had more profanity than a Scottish soccer pitch. I did not feel this way while watching it. Have I become emotionally numb to simulated movie brutality, or has media just gotten more extreme over the years? Scarface has some brutal moments, of course, but I didn’t find them overindulgent… instead I found them quite appropriate to the story of depravity and excess that was being told. As for the swearing? Well, if you have ever walked around a middle school you have probably heard worse.

Al Pacino is considered one of the best actors of the twenty-first century, and his performance as Tony Montana might as well be exhibit A. Unlike Walter White, Tony doesn’t break bad so much as break worse, his only character development being a slight pivot from being a murderous psychopathic underlying to being a murderous psychopathic drug kingpin with a cocaine addiction. But Scarface proves that you don’t need likeable characters to follow if your actors and story are up to snuff (get it? Because of cocaine?) It may be two and a half hours long but it still kept my interest up until the credits.

Scarface doesn’t really have much to say other than “greed is bad,” and this is a horse that gets beaten long after it is dead and stuffed into the bed of a character in another Al Pacino gangster movie. But I enjoyed it for what it was, and at the very least I’m glad I finally know the context of the “little friend” line.

Fantastic Four: First Steps

 

There’s a joke amongst comic fans that the only good Fantastic Four movie is an Incredibles movie. Fox tried four different times to make enjoyable movies based on

Marvel’s First Family, and although I do have a bit of a soft spot for the campy Tim Story films of 2005 and 2007 none of the attempts really captured the essence of the Fantastic Four, something that Pixar’s The Incredibles did quite effortlessly: They may be superheroes, but they are a family first. Ten years and one multi-billion-dollar acquisition later, it might finally be time to put that tired joke to rest, as Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four: First Steps not only nails the family dynamic but also proves to be one of the best MCU films since Avengers: Endgame.

If you have seen a trailer or poster for the film you know that it utilizes a really cool retro[1]-futuristic aesthetic, much like the Tomorrowland areas in various Disney parks. This instantly gives First Steps a buttload of charm, and it also gets points for never using this visual flair as a crutch. No, it's got other things going for it as well, not the least of which is the chemistry between our four leads and the earnestness of the script. Like the latest Superman film, Fantastic Four: First Steps embraces its comic book roots by being unrepentantly outlandish and embracing simple messages of good triumphing over, well, everything.

Every one of the Four gets a nice little character moment or two, even if the villain is fairly one-[1]dimensional. This is true to the comics, where Galactus is less of a character and more of a force of nature, but what he lacks in motivation he makes up for in menace. The stakes in First Steps feel high, and it makes the lighter moments feel all the better for it. Overall it's one of the most balanced MCU films when it comes to tone, which is a relief in a universe that often veers more towards quippy comedy than drama. 

And speaking of the overall Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole, one of the best parts of Fantastic Four: First Steps is how self-contained it is. You don't need to remember a person that showed up once five movies ago, nor do you need to see some random show on Disney+ to understand the special context of a two-minute scene. Everything you need to enjoy First Steps is in First Steps, and enjoy it you probably will. 

Fantastic Four: First Steps is now playing in theaters.

Duck Soup (1933) Mini Review

 

              I did not expect a comedy from 1933 to be this effective in 2025.

              Duck Soup is considered by some to be the quintessential Marx Brothers film, and in the name of cultural literacy I tuned in to see what the nearly century-old fuss was about. While some of the jokes landed flat or just didn’t translate across the gulf of time it didn’t really matter, as there are just so many of them per minute. Groucho and Chico rarely shut up, Harpo has barely any screentime where he isn’t acting like the most caffeinated clown in history, and I suppose Zippo was somewhere in there as well, at least according to the opening credits. There is a reason Groucho is often considered to be the best of them, as his mile-a-minute wordplay (which I imagine must be an absolute nightmare for someone who speaks English as a second language) has undoubtedly aged the best, whereas the physical comedy of Harpo didn’t really appeal much to me (I guess he liked cutting stuff with scissors and bullying lemonade salesmen and everyone thought that was funny for some reason?) and Chico sometimes came off as a poor man’s Groucho. There is also a singular racist joke that wouldn’t fly in the late twentieth century let alone today, but honestly I’m just glad that it was just the one. This is the 1930s we’re talking about, after all.  

The film is truly anarchic, and I’m not just referring to the brothers themselves. It eschews logic, it eschews plot. It is as poorly paced as my eating schedule on Thanksgiving Day. But ultimately it doesn’t matter, as all of that stuff is just window dressing for the jokes, and the jokes work, even ninety-two years later.  And who can beat that just-over-an-hour runtime?

Superman (2025)

 

That Superman sure is nice guy, isn’t he? This primary characteristic of the Last Son of Krypton has been out of focus in the last decade or so as Hollywood had tried to cast him as a darker hero more in the vein of his Gotham City compatriot, but if the newest Superman film does anything it reminds us that Big Blue wants to help us, from the biggest alien invader to the smallest squirrel. It proudly wears its comic book heritage on its sleeve, and though its unironic earnestness sometimes slips into corny territory it mostly makes for a fun, if simple, viewing experience.

It's David Corenswet’s turn in the cape, and his broad shoulders wear it well. In Superman the titular hero’s brand of simple altruism is tested when geopolitical realities enter the picture and the realities of life conflict with his ideals. But the film's ultimate optimism is never in doubt, nor is the inherent goodness of the character. But as good as Corenswet is, it is Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, House of Cards) as Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor that steel the show (“steel” as in “Man of Steel?” Never mind), each embodying their characters perfectly with pure electricity. There have been a couple of good to great Superman films over the years, and Christopher Reeve will forever embody the character for most people including myself, but this is the first time it has ever felt like I was actually watching a Superman comic in movie form, and it is largely thanks to pitch perfect casting and acting.

Another big part of the appeal is the unashamed silliness of some of the concepts. Krypto the Superdog is in this movie, and his mere presence shows that Superman is not afraid of its often goofy heritage. I for one loved this unabashed embracing of what makes comic books so unique, but there is no doubting that Superman occasionally goes over the line and dips into campy territory. Again, this wasn’t a problem for me and it won’t be a problem for a lot of people, but others I can see rolling their eyes.

It's not the most complex film, and the real-life parallels are a bit clumsy and obvious, but any film that celebrates kindness in our turbulent age while still managing to be loads of fun is welcome in my book. Superman is the first entry in what Warner Bros./DC Studios promises to be a sprawling new connected movie-verse, but even if you’re tired of them at this point it’s still worth checking this one out.

Superman is now playing in theaters.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) Mini Review

    

    This movie drives a Ferrari while wearing a leather jacket and getting its back rubbed by supermodels and it isn't afraid to let you know. Hot damn it was cool. I might be a western guy now? Should I put spurs on my crocs and take up smoking? 

    Even though it is one of the highest-ranking movies on IMDb I still expected to be a bit bored while watching The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. It came out just four years after the first James Bond film, Dr. No, which was occasionally so slow I may have done a crossword or two while watching it, and it is over three hours long. But this boredom never came. Instead of stopping halfway through the movie so I could watch the rest later, as often happens with films of this length, I just kept on going. Sergio Leone, renowned spaghetti western director, truly crafted a masterpiece of the genre. 

    I'm not going to say anything new with this mini review. Much better writers than me have gone to much greater lengths to describe the sweeping scope of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly's cinematography, surprisingly deep themes, and fantastic soundtrack that everyone everywhere has heard regardless of whether or not they have seen the film. It's not exactly a revelation when I say that Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, and Lee Van Cleef are slicker and cooler than a greasy penguin with sunglasses. 

    The only real complaint I have is something that was inherent to the spaghetti western filming process in general, according to a cursory Google search. Many of the actors in The Good, The Bad and the Ugly spoke their lines in their native languages only to be dubbed in English later, making for some really awkward moments where the words don't even remotely match the lip movements. It can be super goofy looking, although I can't really dock the film for it because it was unavoidable when filming a movie about America in Spain with an Italian director. 

    It also drives me insane that the title does not have an Oxford comma. For this it only gets a 9/10. 

Predator: Killer of Killers

 

The titular predators of the Predator franchise are pretty tough cookies. They’ve taken on some of the best warriors the galaxy has to offer-- Comanche hunters, Schwarzeneggers, and even the xenomorphs from the Alien franchise once or twice. But could they totally beat up a Viking or a samurai or an Ace pilot from WWII? The answer is yes, yes they can, and this glorious action figure mashing happens in Predator: Killer of Killers, much to the delight of my inner twelve-year-old.  

Killer of Killers is animated much like the Spider-Verse films, as it has a purposefully low frame-rate that takes some getting used to at first. This sometimes makes the action look a little choppy and hard to follow, but it also gives the film a unique personality that is hard to deny. And if one of the action sequences is a bit indecipherable, don’t you worry... Killer of Killers has a whooooooooooooole lot of them that work amazingly. You could say, in fact, that it doesn’t offer much more besides these extended scenes of grizzly carnage. But what carnage it is! 

An anthology film of sorts, Predator: Killer of Killers visits three distinct vignettes based on three different earthly warriors from three different time periods. There is the revenge-obsessed Viking warrior, the samurai-turned-ninja outcast (this one was my favorite), and the plucky Floridian soldier who takes on one of the predators in the skies of World War II. These stories all get woven together in the final act, and the brutal action rarely pauses for any of it, despite a token attempt at character development or two.  

So did I like Killer of Killers despite the fact that it’s not exactly a cerebral work of art? Heck yes, I did. The action is what I came for and, my occasional gripes with the animation style aside, it did not disappoint. There’s stuff in Killers of Killers that you just couldn’t do in a live-action film, at least not without a budget that would rival the GDP of a small nation. Despite the low frames, the action is fluid and well-choreographed, and the predator species sure brought their a-game when it comes to fun new murder toys. It’s a shame that some people will undoubtedly sleep on this latest Predator film simply because it is animation, but it’s their loss. Because let me reiterate: In Predator: Killer of Killers some alien warriors fight a Viking, a ninja, and get into a dogfight with a WWII airplane. That’s cinema, baby!  

Predator: Killer of Killers is now available on Hulu.