Ranking The Films of Sam Raimi

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16.) Oz: The Great And Powerful

Remember when Sam Raimi kinda sorta tackled the spiritual prequel to The Wizard of Oz? You don’t! Well, that might just be for the better! The decision to try to tackle the lore of Oz using the story template of Army of Darkness is a neat idea on paper but very iffy in execution. From the obvious green screen effects to the bizarre casting choices (James Franco as Oz?! Really?!) to the baffling treatment of the witches themselves, Oz: The Great and Powerful offers Sam Raimi as his safest and weakest! This feels like the only film on this list where it felt like literally ANYONE other than Sam Raimi could have directed it. There’s some entertaining bits scattered throughout and is certainly watchable but you are better off just watching the original Wizard of Oz or the Wicked films if you want your cinematic fix in the Land of Oz!

15.) Crimewave

Following his first notable success with The Evil Dead, Raimi decided to take matters into his own hands with his follow-up Crimewave, a slapstick comedy about an innocent man accused of numerous murders. Unfortunately, the studio had other plans. Bruce Campbell wasn’t aloud to be casted as the lead role, Raimi’s personal composer and editor was replaced entirely, and you can really tell the inexperience that young Raimi had when it came to production and being able to make a film with a studio breathing down his neck. The good news is that several elements from this film would make way to later productions from Raimi down the road, leading directly to Evil Dead II. There’s a handful of moments that capture Raimi’s visionary lightning in a bottle but not enough to hide the compromised mess that Crimewave is.

14.) For Love of the Game

Here’s the one time that Raimi tried to make his own sports movie! He even went as far as to cast baseball movie star veteran Kevin Costner and even got the late great broadcaster Vin Sully (RIP!) to come in the booth! The end results however are just okay! The baseball scenes themselves work well enough and there’s enough of a beating heart to keep him from being in any way detestable. However, the sluggish pacing, by-the-numbers storytelling, and a shockingly bloated runtime (This is two hours and 18 minutes long!), keep For Love of the Game from being an all-time sports classic. Still, for those that are fond of baseball movies and your typical baseball movie cliches, this should do you just fine.

13.) The Gift

With what was his last indie project before promoting himself to blockbuster territory with Spider-Man (2002), Raimi made a supernatural thriller about a fortune teller getting roped in a small-town murder investigation (Doesn’t that ring a small bell from earlier?). This contains a stacked cast with Cate Blanchett, Katie Holmes, Hilary Swank, Michael Jeter, future Spider-Man stars J.K. Simmons and Rosemary Harris, and Keanu Reeves, in EASILY his most unlikeable role to date (And I mean that in the best way!) The main issue has to do with the main protagonist being overly stupid, making for the worst psychic and detective you can possibly imagine. Even if that’s part of the joke here (which it isn’t), it doesn’t make the experience that much better. The Gift has an intriguing premise that never feels like it lives up to it’s 100% potential!

12.) The Quick and the Dead

Raimi decided to dip his toe into the western genre and the results are mostly pretty good. Aided by the proper cast with Sharon Stone, Gene Hackma, Russell Crowe Leo DiCaprio, and many others, pretty sharp direction that manages to feel properly Raimi, and the characters manages to all be quite intriguing and entertaining in their own right. It does suffer from an overlong middle stretch and the film’s entire build up is strictly on a quick draw tournament, which results in a crap ton of build up to not a ton of payoff. The Quick and the Dead still makes for a fun time and is worth checking out if you are a sucker for a solid western.

11.) Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Arguably the most divisive MCU installment since Iron Man 3, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a film that uses it’s set pieces and effective imagery to flirt with and mock the kind of fandom that cares more about filmmakers making their bizarre fan theories coming true instead of making a genuine work of art. It doesn’t quite reach it’s ambitions with the characterization being paper thin, a script that doesn’t seem to care about what happened during WandaVision, and not taking as much advantage of the actual multiverse as much as say the Spider-Verse films do but Sam Raimi’s unique horror-like style is on full display here. The set pieces that work here are some of the best in the entire MCU, Benedict Cumberbatch feels completely at home as Stephen Strange (even if he has absolutely zero chemistry with Rachael McAdams), and Elizabeth Olsen is an absolute force to be reckoned with as the Scarlet Witch, making even the most out-of-character moments for Wanda feel completely in character. As much as one can complain about the issues with the script and the leaps of logic presented here, one can’t deny that the moments where Sam Raimi is allowed to go full Sam Raimi is what saves Multiverse of Madness from being in the absolute bottom of the barrel of the MCU!

10.) Spider-Man 3

Spider-Man 3 has more flaws than it does characters and subplots but it has more heart to it than most people are willing to admit. As everyone and their mother has pointed out about this movie, there’s just too much going on it. It feels the need to cram in every single idea it can think off that it has to defy logic, have previous events being retcon, and letting it’s characters do uncharacteristic things to make it all happen. However, most of the thing that worked well with the first two movies such as the wonderful action, breakneck pacing, great music and heard hitting emotional beats work very well. Not to mention, the themes surrounding forgiveness and finding the humanity in others is a wonderful message for a Spider-Man movie and helps make the whole trilogy come full circle. When watching Spider-Man 3 back-to-back with the first two movies, it does make for a rather satisfying experience. I’m not gonna act like this isn’t the weakest of the trilogy but it’s no where near the abomination that people claimed it was back in 2007.

Also, Bully Maguire FTW!

9.) The Evil Dead

The film that put Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell on the map as the forces of nature in Hollywood, The Evil Dead is the beginning of something truly special for the horror genre! Inventing his own camera tricks and cost-cutting filmmaking techniques, Raimi is able to create something truly unique on his first go-around despite all odds in financial shortcomings against. The gore effects are impressive, the flashy camerawork works like wonders, and Bruce Campell’s Ash Williams is an instant horror icon. However, there are still plenty of imperfections throughout when it comes to controlling the tone, balancing the gore and humor, and Campbell going through some growing pains as a leading man. The Evil Dead offers plenty of promise for a future beloved filmmaker and star but the best had yet to come for Raimi, Campbell, and the horror genre in general.

8.) Send Help

Can we point out how much of a miracle that a film like Send Help exists? In an age of sequels, reboots, remakes, and legacy-quels conquering the film landscape and sucking up the remaining creative energy that Hollywood might still have, films like these are becoming more diamonds in the rough in the film industry. Thankfully, someone at 20th Century Fox or Disney was wise enough to give a blank check to the godfather of horror and superhero movies in Sam Raimi, his first original horror film since 2009’s Drag Me To Hell! Send Help is yet another worthy addition to Raimi’s Hall of Fame of Horror! It’s able to capitalize on it’s simple yet effective premise thanks to it’s two charismatic leads, it’s incredibly visionary direction, unapologetically excessive gore, and a script that will keep audiences on their toes the whole way through. Even if it can be rough around the edges that it knocks it down to the middle-of-the-pack of Raimi’s filmography rather than up there with the likes of Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness, it’s still an absolute blast of a motion picture that is definitely worth seeing on the big screen.

7.) Drag Me To Hell

After spending nearly a full decade with Spider-Man, Raimi returned to the horror genre with 2009’s Drag Me To Hell! This is an old school scare fest about a bank clerk who has grand ambitions but gets cursed and terrorized by it in the form of demons. When it comes to horror and straight up NASTINESS, this is Raimi at his most brutal. There is nothing more delightful here than see characters constantly being torture for the benefit of the audience’s pleasure. We also see what is easily the most HAUNTING imagery in Raimi’s filmography, the kind of imagery that lived rent free in my head when I saw the commercials for this film when I was a kid and is still on my mind now. Not everyone will be fond with what Drag Me To Hell offers but if you have an appetite for unhinged horror, this will deliver you a complete meal.

6.) A Simple Plan

This is Raimi favorite for many people and for good reason. A Simple Plan makes for Raimi’s most dramatic work to date, feeling like a spiritual prequel to The Gift. Much like the latter film, this is a tale of betrayal, murder, and folks that are prone to awful mistakes in judging others. This makes for a very effect tale about the cruel nature of greed, aided by a terrific cats of Billy Bob Thornton, Bill Paxton, and Brent Briscoe, very well made production values, the ending is an all-timer, and has conflicts that feel among the most human in a Raimi film that does not involve a certain web swinger. However, this feels Raimi at his most restraint, stepping back from his usual style and camp to make room for a more somber and serious tone. It certainly works well enough but this almost feels like a Sam Raimi film specifically made for those that don’t like Sam Raimi. Even so, A Simple Plan is hard to criticize too much because everything that works ends up working spectacularly well that I can’t recommend it enough.

5.) Darkman

Before doing Spider-Man, Raimi’s very first comic book property he translated into film was no other than Darkman. Even all these year later, it still holds up as a gloriously camp dark superhero film, proving that Sam knew how to tackle superhero material 12 years before tackling the web swinger. This makes for a pretty tragic origin story of a man who had everything in his life but then lost it completely, leaving him nothing but complete vengeance! Liam Neeson is great as the title character, Larry Drake makes for a very memorable antagonist, and the score once again proves that Raimi + Elfman is a match made in heaven! It does have some clunky aspects surrounding the romance and some pretty poor blue screen work but this is still very impressive stuff! If you are a big fan of Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy and haven’t check out Darkman yet, I highly recommend it!

4.) Evil Dead 2

Part sequel, part remake, all-time banger! Evil Dead II does want every great horror sequel does, it takes everything you loved about the original and makes them even better. This manages to be better, bloodier, and funnier than the original while also delivering plenty of new scares, gore, and physical comedy of it’s own. Raimi and Bruce Campbell feel completely at home in their roles, the direction is perfectly on point, the set design and make-ups affects could not be anymore perfect, and the frustratingly imperfected parts of the original are nearly gone here with a full budget to help Raimi execute the exact vision he has in his crazy little mind. There are still some dated parts here and there but Evil Dead II‘s influence on the horror genre can not be overlooked. However, there is still at least one more pure horror flick that I feel is absolute 100% unhinged Sam Raimi!

3.) Spider-Man (2002)

The one movie that kick started the modern era of comic book movies and was also the one movie that got me along with plenty of kids of my generation into Spider-Man. This was the first ever superhero movie I’ve ever watch and one of the first movies that I remember having incredibly fond memories of as a child. Even if I’m unable to take off the bluntly obvious nostalgia goggles (I never can!), Spider-Man (2002) is still an amazing film in it’s own right. The origin of Peter Parker turning into Spider-Man is perfectly told, Tobey Maguire is as every bit as likable and iconic as the title character as you can imagine, and Sam Raimi’s unique version of this world is felt perfectly through every single frame. And that’s not even talking about the insanely memorable supporting cast (J.K. Simmons is everything!), extremely quotable lines, phenomenal score, fist bumping action, and the light hearted tone that makes this movie super enjoyable to watch all of these years later. While I’m sure there are those that like to poke fun at the outdated elements of the movie such as the special effects, cheeseball dialogue, and the Power Ranger-looking Green Goblin, they all still feel right at home with what Raimi brings into his style of Spider-Man. Regardless if you feel like this movie has stood the test of time or not, you can’t deny that if it weren’t the success of this movie, there’s a good chance that this subgenre of movies as we know it today would be no where near big as it has been for the past two decades.

2.) Army of Darkness

That’s right! I have Army of Darkness this high on the list and above the first two Evil Dead films! This is the one where Raimi just swing for the fences and shatters them to pieces! From the unapologetically over-the-top tone to the many standout moments of blood and gore, to the perfection of visual storytelling to the masterfully controlled tone from epic scares to goofy comedy to Bruce Campbell never being better as a crazy chainsaw wielding badass, this is horror Sam Raimi at his absolute best! There’s no low budget that limited the first one or the sluggish recap of the second one, Army of Darkness goes all in from minute one and NEVER holds up, taking you on a wild ride the whole way through! While I’m sure some folks out there won’t agree, this is Sam Raimi horror at it’s absolute finest and makes for one of my favorite horror films of all time!

1.) Spider-Man 2

If you want an example of how to do the perfect superhero sequel, look no further than Spider-Man 2! This is the sequel that was able to take everything we love about the original, expand upon it, and trim any sort of fat that could possibly ruin the experience. This is a movie that perfectly dives into the inner turmoil of being a superhero and the life superheroes have outside of that. Just like with the best Spider-Man movies, it’s all about struggles to balance two different life styles at the exact same time. And how even though being Spider-Man can suck sometimes, it’s something that Peter has to do because it’s just who he is and what his responsibility consists of. Throw in some truly fantastic action, with the main stand out being the spectacular train sequence, arguably the best fight in any superhero movie, a tremendous villain in Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock, character arcs that come full circle, and one of the most satisfying endings in any movie, you get an absolute cinematic masterpiece that is Spider-Man 2! If you are someone that loves Spider-Man, superhero movies and especially Sam Raimi, I have no idea how you couldn’t at least like this movie. When it comes to every film that Sam Raimi has made, there has yet to be a movie that comes even remotely close to topping Spider-Man 2!

Send Help (2026) Movie Review- Raimi Unleashed

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Can we point out how much of a miracle that a film like Send Help exists? In an age of sequels, reboots, remakes, and legacy-quels conquering the film landscape and sucking up the remaining creative energy that Hollywood might still have, films like these are becoming more diamonds in the rough in the film industry. The one lone genre that can be seen as a slight exception to that is with horror, at least if the likes of The Black Phone, Barbarian, Talk To Me, The Substance, Sinners, and Weapons are anything to go by. They’ve offered some of the most fresh and inventive feature films that we have seen in recent memory, providing a glimmer of hope for smaller scaled indie filmmaking! To add to that stunning rose gallery, someone at 20th Century Fox or Disney was wise enough to give a blank check to the godfather of horror and superhero movies in Sam Raimi, his first original horror film since 2009’s Drag Me To Hell!

Thankfully, Send Help is yet another worthy addition to Raimi’s Hall of Fame of Horror! It’s able to capitalize on it’s simple yet effective premise thanks to it’s two charismatic leads, it’s incredibly visionary direction, unapologetically excessive gore, and a script that will keep audiences on their toes the whole way through. Even if it can be rough around the edges that it knocks it down to the middle-of-the-pack of Raimi’s filmography rather than up there with the likes of Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness, it’s still an absolute blast of a motion picture that is definitely worth seeing on the big screen.

Premise: A woman (Rachael McAdams) and her overbearing boss (Dylan O’Brien) become stranded on a deserted island after a plane crash. They must overcome past grievances and work together to survive, but ultimately, it’s a battle of wills and wits to make it out alive.

With Send Help, you really get a sense desperately wanting to return to his roots in the horror genre, that made for classics such as the original Evil Dead trilogy, Darkman, and the previously mentioned Drag Me To Hell. From his good old-fashioned camera tricks to entertaining hammy performances to stylized blood filled set pieces to complete descent into horror imagery, Raimi feels truly at home yet again. Sure, there were some unique moments like that in 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness but you still got a sense of the Marvel machinery that Sam was forcedly kneecapped too in order to keep the higher ups at Disney satisfied. Thankfully, that is not the case whatsoever with Send Help. Here, we get Sam Raimi fully unleashed!

The main driving force here are the two leads played by Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien. McAdams’s Linda is easily the bigger standout of the two, being able to successful convey the consistent transaction from scene-to-scene, going from the stoic and socially awkward “ugly” girl to a woman that becomes more unhinged once she is able to take power into her own hands. She’s someone that anyone who has dealt with asshole bosses like Bradley in the film can get behind but that commitment gets tested the more you discover about her. It’s the great subversion of expectations of having a female dominant force that crosses the fine line between the hero you are behind and root for to the protagonist you are forced to follow. While her performance definitely takes inspiration from other iconic psychotic female performances such as Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman in Batman Returns, McAdams still delivers a Raimi-worthy performance that would certainly make Ash Williams proud.

Dylan O’Brien’s Bradley is able to make for a perfect counterpart to McAdam’s Linda. On the surface, he does come off as the stereotypical misogynist boss that sees his employers as pushovers rather than genuine hard workers, going as far as to promote a guy who just got employed over a woman whose been with the company for some time now. However, once the power dynamic shifts and we see Bradley getting a taste of his own medicine (Those are not spoilers! These plot points are all in the trailers!), we see a different side of Bradley that showcases that not only is he not the over-the-top alpha male we are lead to believe but he might not even be the more absurd person that’s trapped on that island. Similar to Linda, Raimi is able to test the audience’s patience as to who is more sympathetic and who is more worthy of being the most scrutinized! Anyone that thinks the back-and-forth between our two leads follow the traditional routes for male-and-female troops both old and now are NOT prepared here!

And speaking of not prepared, writers Damian Shannon and Mark Swift are able to craft out a script that’s full of witt, suspense, and absolute surprise. Each scene on the island is able to properly transition to the very next scene that not only will keep you guessing about what’s going to happen next but also feels very fluent with the film’s perfectly controlled tone and thematic undertones, giving the indication that a lot of thought and proper preparation went into the writing here. Even if the entire destination does feel quite obvious at the end (All you have to do is remember what Linda’s favorite show is), the journey getting there will keep you on the edge of your seats, making you wonder how exactly each scene will resolve itself until we get to those final moments.

As it’s stated in the title, Raimi leaves no stone unturned here. With no MCU guidelines like his last go-around or low budget restraints to bring him down like some of his earlier films, he is able to fully commit his unique horror movie stamp into this well-down picture. He is able to let his actors go loose with their performances, allows for his camera and editing tricks to shine, brings up all the gore and carnage that will make even the most die-hard horror fanatic cringe a little bit, and is able to re-team with Danny Elfman to deliver a score that’s different but feels right. It might’ve been a hot minute since we last saw a Sam Raimi film feel 100% like a Sam Raimi film but Send Help is able to deliver those blessings with pure camp and carnage.

I wouldn’t quite say that Send Help is on the level of the very best of Sam Raimi. The plane crash sequence does reek heavily of poorly done CGI that even with a $40 million budget, did take me out of the movie in ways that I don’t believe was intentional. There are moments in the third act that feel more exposition heavy than it needs to be where a character has to explain their motives and fill in certain blanks involving sequences in the middle chunk, almost feeling like a cliff note from the studios. And while with the way things are wrapped up does make sense from a narrative and thematic standpoint, there’s a bit too much lapses in logic and handwaving as to how the resolution presents itself that feels like Raimi needing to cheat his way out to get the ending that he wanted.

Send Help is basically the spiritual successor to Drag Me To Hell that horror fans have waited 17 years for. Sam Raimi is able to go back to basics in a way that feel refreshing and not as a desperate attempt to recapture the magic of the good old days. It’s fun, witty, twisty, and filled with blood, gore, violence, and messed up characters doing messed up things. Those are the recipes that made Raimi’s prior horror work a success and he is once again is able to make something old feel new again.

Even as we see studio merger after studio merger and more reliance than stuff we loved in the past than ever before, Send Help is a reminder of what happens when we still allow our favorite creative and talented filmmakers to make fresh and original pictures that can stand on their own. We’ve seen that visionary in the horror genre grow throughout the 2020s and thankfully with Send Help, Raimi is able to fit right in with today’s kids instead of yesterday’s adults.

I just hope today’s kids who saw Iron Lung will take time to see this as well!

Ranking All The Marvel Disney Plus Series (Updated W/Wonder Man)

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With Wonder Man now out, we now have 20 different Marvel series/specials that is available to watch exclusively on Disney Plus. These are content made strictly for this exact streaming service with the hopes of telling more stories with established characters that isn’t strictly in film format. When it comes to the overall quality of the shows, it’s results have been…..mixed to say the least. Even with a handful of good things to come out of it, they have their own limits and restrictions that have prevented them to be as engaging with some of the very best that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has offered throughout their history.

In hindsight, they have basically the exact opposite problems as Marvel Netflix. Where as the Netflix series often felt too long and bloated with filter, the Disney Plus series often felt too short and rushed. Despite there being plenty of good things to come from both Netflix and Disney Plus, most of them have struggled to hit that proper balance to have all these shows live up to their fullest potential.

Which one of these is able to be better than the others? Let’s find out by ranking all the Marvel Disney Plus series and specials up to this point!

20.) Secret Invasion

There was not a single Marvel D+ series (and perhaps any other MCU entry) that fell as hard as Secret Invasion. While the idea of having a series focused strictly on Nick Fury and the famous Secret Invasion comics are intriguing ideas on paper, the execution could not have been anymore disastrous. It’s poorly structured, well known characters are killed off in the most anti-climatic way possible, the Skrull storyline feels incredibly wasted, the behind-the-scenes reshoots are very obvious, and Nick Fury doesn’t seem to change one bit over the course of the whole series. Not to mention, the pointless retcon of Rhodey being a Skrull since Captain America: Civil War is just lame. This has about every single problem these Marvel Disney Plus series has had and made infinitely worse. The only saving graces are the scenes between Nick Fury and his wife along with G’iah being a neat MCU addition (until she’s able to unlock every single superpower known to demand because……….reasons?!?!?!). Everything else about Secret Invasion is a segment of everything that can go wrong with the MCU when it’s fallen into the wrong hands!

19.) IronHeart

The Disney Plus series that was already finished two to three years ago and got put in the back burner because of complaints of too much MCU content being piled on is finally here and…..it’s clearly obvious why it has been hidden for so long. While the cast is a lot of fun together and have solid chemistry, it is bogged down by clear behind-the-scenes drama, a directionless plot, ties to the MCU that feel incredibly forced, and characters that are given nothing to do. It’s like it’s trying to give Riri the same arc that Tony Stark had in Iron Man 3 but with none of the work or effort put into it. While it does end on a promising note for the future and is certainly more cohesive than say Secret Invasion, IronHeart is another forgettable Marvel series that is best left forgotten! And with the little to no marketing attached to this project and it collecting dust for the past two to three years, it seems as tho Disney and Marvel would agree!

18.) Echo

There are parts of Echo that make it come so close to capturing the same magic that the best of the Marvel Netflix series has. The backstory with Maya and how she became to be a vigilante is intriguing, every scene with Kingpin is glorious, the action is as brutal as it has been with the MCU, and the tone/style feels like it was ripped straight out of the Marvel Netflix run. It’s just a shame it’s central story is not told in an organic way with obvious reshoots and bizarre pacing that get in the way entirely. Plus, it’s overall representation of Cherokee Nation is barely touched upon, almost as if Marvel didn’t want to go too deep into it so they don’t offend anybody. The seeds are there for future “Spotlight” stories to expand upon greatly but Echo still can’t escape the trappings of most of these Disney Plus series, making it fairly underwhelming and disappointing. PLEASE stop making these just five or six episodes and make an actual proper tv show!

17.) Moon Knight

This has the ingredients to be a stellar series from it’s terrific cast to it’s psychological thriller elements to it’s exploration of someone with a dissociative identity disorder (DID). Unfortunately, Moon Knight is never able to make for the best of those ideas, despite Oscar Isaac trying his hard out as Marc Spector and May Calamaway being a welcome presence as Layla. It’s intriguing ideas are barely explored upon and mostly just results in a typical chase story with the character hunting down boring McGuffins while introducing lore and mythology that will leave you scratching your head. Not to mention, for a show called Moon Knight, there’s barely any actual Moon Knight in it. It is at least weird and bizarre enough that it might delight some folks who just want exactly that for their Marvel streaming series but it’s not enough to save the show from it’s undeniable shortcomings.

16.) The Falcon & The Winter Soldier

It’s cool to see many of the side characters from the Captain America movies that got sidelined get more to do in their own series along with giving an intriguing arc for Sam Wilson as the newer, progressive Captain America. Just too bad the series is held back by weak villains with odd, nonsensical motivations and an overall structure that feels more suited for a movie rather than a streaming series (something which many of the Disney Plus shows have greatly suffered from). You are lying to yourself if you didn’t find most of the endings to the episodes rather erupt because it just feels like the start of one scene and not the end of the other. I respect The Falcon and the Winter Soldier for what it stands for but certainly not in the way it goes about it. If there is ANY Disney Plus show that would have benefited MUCH better as a movie and NOT a mini-series, it’s this one.

15.) What If?

What If?! was probably the Marvel series with the most unlimited potential for captivating tales and expanding the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Creating scrappy stories of Marvel superheroes told throughout the multiverse and through multiple different variations point of view? That sounds like a series that could last for MANY seasons! Unfortunately, it’s unable to even scratch the surface of that limitless potential throughout the course of it’s three seasons by playing it as easy and safe as humanly possible! There’s a handful of intriguing episodes and fun character swaps along with some returning cast members from the live-action movies/series reprising their roles. Unfortunately, it’s held back by stiff animation, beat-by-beat storytelling, and a feeling of aimlessness rather than ambition with how it’s uses the multiverse (Something which the multiverse saga itself has greatly suffered from!). Instead of going crazy, it goes lazy and tame as hell. There’s some entertaining episodes here and there and plenty of fun to be had but man, it could have been SOOOO much more!

14.) Eyes of Wakanda

Here’s a little side project that has been in the works for awhile which puts the spotlight on the charismatic side characters that assist King T’Challa. It’s always neat to spend more time in the world of Wakanda and the side characters from the Black Panther movies are just as fun here as they are in the movies. But just like with a good number of Disney Plus shows, it still feels like it barely scratches the surface on what it’s trying to do. There’s not many episodes, it’s tackling on it’s subject matter feels very shallow and surface level, and the show moves at such a fast pace that it can be hard to jump into this fascinating world if you are not engaged with it already. I do put it above other animated D+ series like What If…? because it at least is more creative visually and animation wise but Eyes of Wakanda left me wanting more in the ways that I do not believe was intentional.

13.) Marvel Zombies

The newest addition to the Disney Plus Marvel canon doesn’t so much feel like it’s own series but more of a specific story arc made for Marvel’s What If? that for whatever reason got cut from the original show and had been sitting on the back burner for the past four years until it suddenly didn’t. The good news is that it deliver the goods in putting some of MCU’s heroes old and new together into this zombie world filled with blood, gore, and carnage, making for perhaps the best use of Marvel Studios animation to date. The bad news is that it still can’t reach it’s full potential because of how slim the whole experience feels and really feels like it only exists just to have more Disney Plus content on the streaming service. If a Season 2 happens, I’ll watch it but for now, I’m very on the fence on this one.

12.) Ms. Marvel

Ms. Marvel gets off to perhaps the best start out of any of the Marvel Disney Plus series. With showcasing a classic coming-of-age story, neat visuals, intriguing family dynamics, and a hugely charismatic and charming lead character in Kamala Khan, played wonderfully by Iman Villani. It’s mostly the second half when the dull as hell villains get thrown into the picture that don’t really mess with the style and tone of the show where it falters quite a bit, almost as if Team A was put in charge of the episodes given early to critics while Team B handled the rest because Team A decided to go home. Thankfully, there’s just a bit more of the former in the latter to make this show overall worthwhile, with the entire experience being held together by Villani’s incredible turn as Ms. Marvel herself. If this gets a Season 2, please put more focus on Kamala and her family and friends and not so much on everything else.

11.) The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special

Perhaps the most inconsequential of all these series but still has heart and charm when it counts. The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special makes for a cute holiday tale in the MCU which sees the lovable galactic misfits celebrating Christmas in a time where things are most dire for Peter Quill! This is the special that gave Drax and Mantis more time in the spotlight than ever before, along with the delightful presence of Kevin Bacon himself. It’s mostly slim and something you can tell was made rather quickly without too much thought being put into it but no doubt James Gunn’s passion and love for the characters from his successful films is on full display here. Also, you are a robot if you didn’t at least get a bit misty eye at the ending with Peter and Mantis. Just saying!

10.) Daredevil: Born Again

After a seven-year long wait to see our favorite Netflix hero/vigilante back in streaming form, the unofficial fourth season of Netflix’s Daredevil, i.e. Daredevil: Born Again, is able to deliver in the sum of it’s parts, if not as a cohesive whole. The reshoots and reworking from the show’s original premise does feel distracting at times, with it desperately missing the trio spark that Matt, Karen, and Foggy had together in the original series. Thankfully, the character work between Daredevil and the newly elected Mayor Fisk is ace stuff, the cast of old and new are great in their roles, and it ends on a haunting cliffhanger that sets the table for an exciting second season and the Punisher spin-off. I just hope Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead have more free realm next time around and don’t feel restrained with having to rework all of the moving pieces that should have been figured out in the first place. Born Again may be more of the same but in this case, more of the same might just be what we all need.

9.) Hawkeye

While far from the most ambitious Marvel Disney Plus series, Hawkeye is one that does to take full advantage of it’s lower stakes and able to meet exactly the kind of endpoint it is aiming for, making a charming Christmas superhero tale that doesn’t try to be anything more than what it is. This of course helps introduces the immensely lovable Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop and gives Jeremy Renner his full time to shine as Hawkeye, which Florence Pugh’s Yelena eventually joining in on the ride. It does suck though that Kingpin doesn’t get much to do there and his only real purpose is to set up the Echo series. However, considering the MCU is clearly not done with Wilson Fisk yet and he’ll play bigger roles later on down the road, I can let it slide. Nevertheless, this was a good time and worth revisiting again during this wonderful holiday time.

8.) Agatha All Along

The latest series in Agatha: All Along is easily one of the most unique and creative Marvel has been in it’s Disney Plus era. It’s able to act as a proper follow-up to WandaVision while perfectly embracing it’s queer vibes and camp value that makes for the right watch at the right time of the season. The entire cast is awesome (Kathryn Han and Aubrey Plaza were literally MADE for each other), Jac Schaeffer is able to direct and show run the HELL out of every episode, and there’s so many unique surprises and reveals that will delight the most diehard of MCU fans. There are certain aspects and directing choices that won’t appeal to everyone (particularly some of the musical choices and being more “queer” than most MCU prosperities) but for those who believe the MCU is at it’s best when they are at their more weird and experimental, Agatha: All Along makes for a very special treat!

7.) Werewolf By Night

Marvel’s first ever attempt at doing a special sees an interesting take on the horror genre and universal monsters. With the old-school black-and-white style, gorgeous cinematography, haunting score, and plenty of blood and violence to be found, Werewolf By Night is everything you could want out of a special Halloween special and perhaps even more than that. Even judging it strictly based off of werewolves, this is probably the best werewolf content in the last decade or so. I never thought someone as Michael Giacchino, someone who is most well known as being a musical composer, could make such an unique stamp for his first every directional debut but he really manages to blow my socks away. This is something I can see myself watching every Halloween and never getting tried with it. Just stick to the original black-and-white format please!

6.) She-Hulk: Attorney By Law

While not quite the best Marvel Disney Plus series, this is the one that plays the most like an actual television show as oppose to a six-part mini series or a feature film cut in pieces. It’s able to tell a funny, fourth-wall breaking story about a woman struggling with her daily life, dating life, and superhero life all at the same time while introducing plenty of welcome cameos such as Wong, Bruce Banner, Megan Thee Stallion, and especially Daredevil. Tatiana Maslany is absolute perfection as Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk, able to be super convincing as both a cute, vulnerable lawyer and a beautifully buff green hulk. It might be too “meta” for some and will certainly causes the heads of every incel out there that it’s poking fun at to explode, but nevertheless, She-Hulk: Attorney At Law is definitely one of the most fun and enjoyable series in the Marvel Disney Plus library.

5.) Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man

It might’ve took three times (four if you count the PBS-friendly Spidey And His Amazing Friends) but Disney has finally been able to crack the code on how to make a solid Spider-Man cartoon. Blending the traditional comic book panel traits of the character’s well-known origin while incorporating new distinct traits of it’s own, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is able to find the right balance of exploring the thrills of being Spider-Man and the chills of being Peter Parker, something which The Ultimate Spider-Man and Spider-Man (2017) failed to do. The newer cast of characters the show chooses to explore are (mostly) intriguing, it’s callbacks and references all feel earned, the theme song is dope as hell, and it’s able to use it’s alternate timeline and multiverse concept to not just reuse plot assets of the MCU or recurring fan favorite characters but also show how Peter’s life would’ve been different in the MCU if things play out a different way and he made all new friends and allies in the process. There are some strange creative decisions I’m not a fan of and the animation style won’t be to everyone’s taste but for the most part, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is a winner and is perhaps (by default) the best Spidey show since The Spectacular Spider-Man. I’m definitely intrigued to see Season 2!

4.) WandaVision

The very first of the Disney Plus series gives one of the best and most interesting characters in the whole universe, Wanda Maximoff, her own time to shine. What starts off becoming a fun homage to 90’s sitcoms becomes more of a character study of Wanda where she has to deal with the sins and consequences over the actions she has committed up to this point, while learning to move on from the pain and grief she feels with the loss of her Vision. The entire cast is great here with Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda, Kathryn Hann’s Agatha, and Teyonah Parris’s Monica being the standouts with Paul Bettany as Vison being pretty good as well. The finale does suffer with the whole big CGI fight feeling quite forced and certain payoffs to certain things will be underwhelming to hardcore Marvel fans but as a whole, WandaVision still makes for a creative, fun, and engaging series that is one of the most interesting of the Disney Plus shows thus far.

Ralph Bohner was hilarious btw!

3.) Wonder Man

The one MCU show that no one expected ANYTHING from turned out to be one of it’s very best! Wonder Man makes for a surprisingly very fresh and enjoyable entry into the Marvel Disney Plus canon, stripping away form the typical action and quippy nature that the universe is no for in order for a more human story about an actor just trying to land a dream role and also happens to have superpowers while trying to do it. Simon and Trevor have awesome chemistry, it’s deep drive into the film and entertainment industry is intriguing, there is plenty of twists, reveals, and references that will keep you intrigued the whole way through, and this feels like a complete tv show from beginning to end, with very little of the flaws from the previous series to be found here and containing a perfectly functional episode structure. Between this, Shang-Chi, and the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Destin Daniel Cretton has proven himself to be one of the most reliable directors that is currently working for Marvel Studios.

2.) Loki

Everyone favorite villain turned anti-hero in Loki is the best of the live-action Marvel Disney Plus shows thus far. There hasn’t been a live-action series thus far that took full advantage of the multiverse concept like this one did. It’s able to introduce the complete bonkers elements, universe building, and just plain “out there” concepts that Marvel set out to do with Phase 4 but never once loses focuses on the characters and their adventures throughout. Tom Hiddleston’s Loki is more interesting and engaging than ever before showing off his “anti-hero” side than every other movie or show that he’s been in. Sophia Di Martion’s Sylvie makes for a great counterpart and stands out well as her own version of the God of Mischief. Owen Wilson is able to make the character of Mobius more charming and likable than he has every right to be. However, the one that arguably shines the most despite only showing up in the final episode is Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror! He not only helps make the character such an entertaining presence when he comes onscreen but also makes the series stick the landing in the end (Just a shame about………well yeah!). If more Disney Plus projects and post-Endgame content were on this level of quality, we would have had very little to complain about Marvel throughout the 2020s.

1.) X-Men ’97

In an era where it seems like the hype around superheroes and revivals have died down, here comes in X-Men 97, that was able to make it’s way to Disney Plus and show everyone how these things are suppose to be done. This was about as good of a revival as it could get, perfectly translate the traditional values and roots that the X-Men are known for in modern times while still being able to capture that Saturday morning cartoon vibe. The 2D animation is stunning and feels perfectly in line with it’s 96′ series counter part, the action sequences are filled with energy and excitement, and there is plenty of time given to each cast member of the X-Men to shine. And it was SUPER nice to see my boy Scott and my girl Rogue being done justice for once. Oh, and the glimmers of seeing Spider-Man 94′ back again brought a tear to my eye! No offense to the last several shows I listed but I think most would agree that X-Men 97 was far in a way the best Marvel Disney Plus show to come out thus far. It’s so good that I would love to see more Marvel revivals of beloved shows done in a similar matter. Come on, Disney! Greenlight Spider-Man 98 already! You know you want to!

Is It Time To Pull The Plug On A.I.?

AdamLeave a comment

Remember when A.I. specially referred to just certain characters in video games that you couldn’t play as or Skynet from Terminator, a film that foreshadowed a dystopian future you knew had ZERO chance of becoming an actual reality?! Those were the “good” times, weren’t they?!

You don’t have to be living under a rock to know that A.I. is EVERYWHERE nowadays! Whether we are talking about A.I. that is designed with “assisting” our computers, A.I. that is designed to give us a robo chat bot to talk to or A.I. that is designed to make a bunch of creatively bankrupt SLOP that no one will want to see or watch, you simply can NOT escape A.I. nowadays! You can’t click on an ad or watch a commercial that does NOT have some sort of mention of A.I.!

Ever since OpenAI released ChatGPT in 2022, every company and their mother has jumped on the artificial intelligence bandwagon, hoping to ride the current trending tech wave in the hopes that they can make extra money of it before they get “left behind”! That has led to the likes of Google creating Gemini, Meta making Llama, and Twitter/X cranking out Grok, creating new “special” features for their brands and businesses in the hopes of winning the A.I. race, perhaps the biggest global race of the 2020s thus far! Because of that, hundreds of millions to even billions of dollar signs have been spent in the past four years on developing A.I. data centers and infrastructures all around the world!

And as we begin to get more advance with A.I., there has been serious concerns about how exactly artificial intelligence will affect us for the foreseeable future! Will there be any jobs left? Will all of our favorite hobbies be made by actual people? Will this actually be as impactful as it is in our favorite sci-fi films from over 25 years ago?! And most importantly, will robots actually take over humanity and wipe us all out just like in the movies? If this A.I. surge is in any way successful, this could be a transformation of humanity and civilization that will change the way we live our lives for the foreseeable future!

And yet here we are in 2026, where A.I. has had it’s time to fully settle into our daily lives after taking the world by storm just a few years ago. We are now in a time in figuring out if A.I. is really going to benefit us in the long run or will it just evaporate the human race quicker than Rob Schneider in a bed room! After this surge with artificial intelligence that has been pushed HARD by companies and billionaire tech bros from all across the world, is A.I. REALLY living up to the hype? Well, if the “hype” of the likes of VRs, 3D TVs, Crypto, NFTs, Metaverse, etc…. is anything to by? I will definitely say no!

I can’t speak for everybody but I really don’t think A.I. is this incredible achievement that we’ve been promised from the likes of Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and insert any other infamous white billionaire you can think of! Despite promises that it would unlock new and exciting ways on how we go about our daily lives and how it will make living on earth all the more easier, it has done the complete opposite of that!

Instead of doing things that people would actually want A.I. to do such as coding, doing our chores, and finding a cure for cancer, it instead has been used to suck the life, joy, and humanity out of everything! We have people using A.I. to create imaginary robot friends from themselves, we have people using A.I. to do their homework for them with no repercussions, we have people using A.I. to make awful looking fan fiction and deepfake trailers that can easily make a million views on Tiktok and YouTube, we have people using A.I. to create literal fake news, and we even have people using A.I. to developing plans and strategies for the U.S. military! (Seriously, whoever is doing that needs to be send home ASAP!) And the results have been universally DISASTROUS!

Not only as A.I. done the exact opposite in expanding the human mind and making our lives better like we were promised, it has made everything significantly WORSE! Kids are becoming even dumber and flunking in their classes, adults are losing their jobs and being forced to cut back on spending, copyright and lawsuits are being thrown out the window as soulless companies continue to give into these billionaire tech bros, and creativity and visionary in entertainment is on absolute life support! And don’t even get me started on how electricity bills have skyrocketed and prices for RAMS, PCs, and video game consoles are at an all-time high, in large part due to providing funding for these A.I. tech companies who are too lazy NOT making the kind of A.I. the public actually wants! Needlessly to say, I’m REALLY f**king sick of A.I.! And if what I’ve been reading and the reactions all over the internet I’ve been seeing is true, so does the majority of the human population!

Despite promises that A.I. would make the work of businesses much easier and cheaper, it hasn’t done any of that! Data has shown that over 90% of A.I. tech companies in the past year have falling under and 95% of generative A.I. pilots are failing with making any useful A.I.! You have movie studios like Lionsgate that has struggled massively on making A.I.-generated films with Runway and have pretty much given up on that completely! Even Dell, A.K.A. one of MicroSLOP’s (See what I did there!) biggest partners, is admitting that customers don’t give a crap about their “A.I.” features with their PCs! Putting all those facts into your own head along with reading article after article of companies admitting that A.I. is NOT benefiting them in any way, shape, or form, I don’t think artificial intelligence is what it has been made out to be.

To make matters even worse, even though A.I. has gain more revenue since 2022 (Last year, it’s estimated that it made up to $16 billion in revenue), it is still NO WHERE near enough to where it’s going to need to be by the end of this decade! Analysis have stated than in order for these high tech A.I. companies to make the profit they need in order for it all to be worthwhile, they will need to start earning TWO TRILLION DOLLARS annually by 2030! That is more than the combined 2024 revenue of Amazon, Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta, and Nividia COMBINED! Studies have shown that A.I. tech companies are currently on pace to be over $800 billion SHORT for where they will need to be by the end of the decade! Unless they are able to find quick and useful ways to make A.I. popular among the general population, they are BEYOND screwed for the future!

So much so that recent reports have come out that OpenAI is RAPIDLY losing money the longer it goes on, projecting to lose up to $14 billion in 2026 ALONE! And if they can’t get another round of funding from the U.S. government or some other notable rich source, they could run completely out of money as soon as NEXT YEAR! (And considering Trump’s recent comments about A.I. companies being on their own now, I’m willing to bet that Sammy boy will not be so fortunate!) If that’s not a sign that A.I. is NOT the future revolutionary we have been promised and is just another tech bubble that’s going to pop soon, I don’t know what is!

The main question is that if A.I. is a bubble, then why are there still so much money being thrown at it and other companies are still eager to join the bot merry-go-round?! Well, that might have to do with the fact that the entire U.S. economy is currently being strung together at the moment with A.I.! So much so that President Trump have exempted A.I. gear from his so-called tariffs in order for the current GDP to continue to grow and to help fund the big tech companies!

To put it simply, if it wasn’t for this heavy A.I. investment, we all would be in a recession right now! The entire economy of the United States of f**king America is nothing more than one enormous bet on A.I.! And right now, it does not look like that the bet is gonna pay off!

I’m sure most of my readers are old enough to remember of a certain stock market crash that happened around 2008! This was a market crash that was caused by the housing bubble bursting in 2007! That led to the world’s greatest recession since The Great Depression, leading to many jobs lost, spending plummeting, and more people being homeless in generations! And the only ones that did NOT suffer from this live changing disaster are the companies and rich assholes that caused the bubble in the first place! Because no mass arrests took place on Wall Street, that led to many people losing faith in institutions and whatever trust they still had in our government! That event alone might’ve just been the thing that has led to America and the whole world to the boiling point where it is today!

And if recent studies and reports are accurate, we could be in for a new world of hurt for 2026 and 2027! Yet again, we have a big financial bubble that everyone knows is gonna burst! Yet again, that exact bubble is caused by a handful of big corporations and well-known infamous names spending more money willy nilly than they should! And yet again, the bubble popping could do great damage to our economy where anyone that is not rich and famous is going to suffer big time! The only difference this time is that this will be an extremely boom or bust scenario!

If in some fantasy world where the A.I. boom and Trump tariffs actually ends up paying off, this could lead to the healthiest and wealthiest economy that America hasn’t seen since the 90s or at least be on the level that it was before Covid. However, in a more realistic world, we could end up in a world that see a mish-mash of the 2008 crash and the 2021 inflation rise on STEROIDS! Although, either one of these outcomes won’t be remotely possible unless the A.I. bubble does indeed burst!

This all leads me to the one question that I posted in the title of this piece: Is it time to pull the plug on A.I.?

Despite having this much time, money, resources, and coverage around it, it doesn’t seem to provide even a quarter of the quality that we have been promised since the hype train started! It hasn’t improved our daily lives, it hasn’t been able to unlock all these amazing things that we couldn’t do before, and it’s only making society dumber and dumber the more advance that it gets!

And even if we do get A.I. that actually is able to do any one of these revolutionary things they said it would do, it could cost the majority of the population their jobs, given us less income than before, and also provide less human interactions than ever before. Oh, and that’s not even going into the SLIGHT chance of making Terminators become an actual f**king reality!

While there isn’t going to be an easy way to deal with this matter, I do believe that it is indeed time to pull the plug on A.I.! Not in the sense that it will go away entirely but it’s time to stop shoving it down our throats and cramming it into things that we do not need it for! Over hundreds of millions to billions dollars have been BURNED trying to create an A.I. that would actually be useful and resourceful and they have completely failed to do so! Even if we do get hit hard in the same way we did in 2008 or perhaps in 2001 when the internet/dot.com bubble popped, it will be worth it because at least some sort of the human experience will still be preserved, the kind of experience that A.I. can simply NEVER replicate no matter how good it is!

What should happen once this bubble does burst is to put the focus on A.I. that will actually do the things that we actually WANT it do for us! Use it to help with coding, use it to help co-edit a piece we write or video we make, use it to do all of our dirty work that we don’t want to do, use it for advance scientific research and finding a cure for cancer, and most important thing of all, use it as a TOOL and NOT as a means to replace humanity entirely!

A.I. should exist to ASSIST us, NOT replace us! We don’t want it to make a bunch of slop that is hard to watch, take away our jobs and destroy the overall human experience! We just want it to HELP us, nothing more and nothing less! And if you can’t create an A.I. that can do that, then maybe you should just give up on it all together and stop trying to make science fiction into literally non-fiction!

Until Elon, Mark, Jeff, and Sam chun out whatever their next advance tech that is gonna change humanity forever, I will see you all next time!

Other comments:

  • I was actually gonna do a review for the new film Mercy but a.) the snowstorm took a hit on me and b.) I’m pretty sure there’s nothing I can say about A.I. there then what I would say here! That would be my review in a nutshell!

  • I do fully expected A.I. to result in the same way that 3D movies and tv were after the late 2000s/early 2010s! It will still be around but it won’t be shoved down your throat the way it is now!

  • Seriously, I still remember how a commercial for EVERY SINGLE NEW MOVIE being about how you have to see it in 3D or else you will miss the “ultimate” experience! Thank god, they stopped with that!

  • I really need to get my story going about a teenage boy navigating his way through high school in the age of A.I.! I don’t know how much longer the A.I. cycle is gonna be by the time I’m done with my first book!

  • Oh, and here’s a video of Ben Affleck with an incredibly BASED take on A.I.!

Why Warner Bros Should Move Dune: Part Three

AdamLeave a comment

The current Netflix and Warner Bros merger is the biggest talking point in the film and entertainment industry at the moment! Lots of questions and uncertainty remains in the minds of moviegoers all across the globe, especially in regards to the future of movie theaters and physical media! I would’ve made a piece on this whole deal by now but quite frankly, I’m not quite sure how exactly I can coherently put my thoughts into proper words about this! There is so much mixed messaging and miscommunication in regards to what Netflix’s ambition is with buying Warner Bros and how exactly they will affect movies and tv shows from WB for the future that it’s hard to not what to believe about it at this point!

I’ll just say for right now that this whole merger is guaranteed to be a long and tedious process, not even fully beginning until Warner Bros splits fully with Discovery sometime in the next several months! And considering how long the Disney-Fox merger took place (it was announced in December 2017 and didn’t come into fruition until March 2019), I wouldn’t be shocked if this merger is not completed by the end of this year and will probably won’t be finished until early 2027! And that’s even assuming they will be able to go throw all the hoops and ladders to get this deal approved from governments and systems from ALL around the globe!

It is also worth mentioning that Warner Bros have theatrical deals with their upcoming films that won’t expire until 2029! Even if the merger goes through before then, Netflix will have to honor those contracts for upcoming WB films through at least the rest of the decade. Unless they are willing to go through a bunch of different lawsuits (similar to how AT&T had to with directors from Warner Bros projects in 2021 after it was announced that year’s film releases would come out for both theaters and HBO max simultaneously), I’m willing to bet that Netflix wouldn’t want to screw that up and allow those films to get a proper theatrical release.

So when I talk about Warner Bros needing to move Dune: Part Three from it’s current theatrical release date of December 18th, that has NOTHING to do with the whole Netflix merger fiasco that’s currently happening. What it DOES have to do with is the fact that there will be a strong chance that Dune 3 will get crushed from the other big film that is set to release on that exact same day, Avengers: Doomsday! Not only potentially surrendering the proper IMAX release that will kill nearly HALF of the reasons to see the film in theaters but it will more than certainly get buried at the box office by the power of multiverse shenanigans and pure 2010s nostalgia.

Now, I know the first thing that someone will point out in regards to releasing two highly anticipated films in the exact same weekend is how that exact strategy worked out perfectly when Barbie and Oppenheimer released alongside each other during the summer of 2023, properly titled Barbenheimer! What started off as a glorified meme turned into a pop culture phenomenon, with both films playing off of each other PERFECTLY and making for one of the most celebrated theatrical events of the 2020s thus far, with Barbie earning a WHOPPING $1.4 billion worldwide and Oppenheimer earning a STELLAR $975 million worldwide at the box office! However, I do NOT believe that Dunesday (that’s what the kids seem to be calling it right now) will be able to capture that same lightning in a bottle!

First off, the main reason why Barbenheimer was able to work as incredibly as it did was because both Barbie and Oppenheimer were two COMPLETELY different films made with COMPLETELY different target demographics in mind. With Barbie, it was able to deliver the big budget flick that multiple generations of women and girls that grew up with the Barbie brand were finally given the chance to see. With Oppenheimer, it was able to deliver the R-rated biopic of “the destroyer of worlds” that men, historians, and fans of Christopher Nolan were dying to see on the big screen. That’s not to say that men didn’t go see and enjoy Barbie or women didn’t go see and enjoy Oppenheimer but both Greta Gerwig and Christopher Nolan knew EXACTLY the kind of films they were making and the exact kind of demographics that their films were made for. With Dune: Part Three and Avengers: Doomsday, that is simply not the case whatsoever.

When using info surrounding the percentage of each gender that watches films surrounding sci-fi and superhero films, most analysts would tell you that the general audience for these kinds of films are largely male. Again, that’s NOT to say that women can’t or don’t enjoy these kind of films as well but a good majority of the time, men are more likely to buy tickets for these movies than women. And considering Dune: Part Three is pure sci-fi intelligence and Avengers: Doomsday is pure superhero junk food, I imagine the target audience for these films are largely the same.

Because of that and the current state of the economy, there’s a good chance that the male demographic will have to chose in seeing ONE of these flicks during their initial opening weekend and not both of them. While we still have yet to get more info from Dune 3, Doomsday clearly has ALL the momentum right now to absolute DOMINATE it’s opening weekend, if the billion views throughout all of it’s four early teaser trailers are any indication.

The big question now is where do you move Dune 3 too? I’m sure Warner Bros would NOT want to push it back to 2027 because a.) that would screw up the award season for the coming year and the cast and crew would be forced to wait another 12 months to get it’s proper recognition during awards season and 2.) director Denis Villeneuve most likely has his eyes completely set on his next major project in 007 for Amazon MGM (currently set for a 2028 release date) and wants to move on from this film ASAP! Well, the answer is to move the release date up!

If it was up to me, I would have Dune: Part Three switch spots with Warner Bros’ own Digger, the newest film from director Alejandro González Iñárritu (Birdman & The Revenant) and Tom Cruise. If that were to be the case, Dune: Part Three would come out on October 2nd while Digger would get Dune’s original release date of December 18th! When you think about it, this would be a win-win situation for BOTH films here!

For Dune: Part Three, it would not only get the full IMAX release that Villeneuve will DESPERATELY want for this final film of his acclaimed sci-fi trilogy but it would also give October the big blockbuster they will need for that month, especially after the ABSYMAL theatrical performance in October last year (the lowest month that movie theaters have had in over 30 years)! For Digger, WB can operate the theatrical release the same way that 20th Century Fox did with Iñárritu’s own The Revenant over a decade ago. They can give Digger a limited theatrical release to have it qualify for that year’s Academy Awards to release alongside Avengers while later giving the film a full theatrical release the very next month to kick off 2027! Even better, Iñárritu and Cruise can then give themselves a proper IMAX release for their film just three to four weeks after Doomsday’s initial run to get the best possible theater experience out of it. These release dates would be a match made in HEAVEN and would certainly give the best possible outcome for both of these films!

As fun as the Dunesday memes would be if WB sticks to it’s December 18th release date (the Actors on Actors Variety interview between RDJ and Timothée Chalamet would be GOLDEN!), I do think for the sake of themselves and the theatrical experience, it would be for the best if Dune: Part Three switches release dates with Digger, letting Dr. Doom crush the Avengers during Christmas while Paul Atreides can end his journey during Halloween season!

Unless the post-production for Dune 3 takes longer than expected, I don’t see why Mr. Villeneuve would be oppose to this release date change. He clearly wants to deliver the best possible theatrical experience for his latest film, delivering the full IMAX screenings and giving it the proper legs it will need for a deep run at the box office. He also most certainly has his mind on James Bond and wants to move STRAIGHT into production with that film pronto! I also believe Tom Cruise and Alejandro González Iñárritu would be satisfied in making sure their latest film is secured for next award season while getting a full theatrical release to start off 2027 without the pressure of needing to deliver for movie theaters like they would if the film came out in October to avoid a second straight awful fall season. A film based off a well-known IP like Dune is more likely to thrive in theaters to kick off the fall than a completely original flick made from a director who hasn’t directed a main theater release since 2015. Those kind of films can thrive in January, a much quieter month for movies, than in October!

I’m sure Warner Bros is still strongly considering sticking to it’s December release date, paving the way for the Dunesday phenomenon that the internet will be talking about all throughout 2026! But for me, I’m rooting for Diggersday!

Make it happen Santa! I promise I will be a good boy this year!


28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026) Movie Review- Now That’s More Like It!

AdamLeave a comment

Last summer, Danny Boyle and Alex Garland teamed up once again to bring us 28 Years Later, a sequel that was nearly TWO decades in the making for this series! On paper, this should’ve been a textbook example on how to revive a franchise! Not only because you are bringing back the original blood from the original 28 Days Later but so much so time had past since the last installment in 28 Weeks Later that releasing a new installment now made perfect sense in terms of franchise continuity and this current age of horror we are currently living in. However, there was something that felt quite off!

Whether that was because of Boyle’s bold directing style he’s always been known for, it’s very uneven tone, and ending in a way that felt so out of left field that it never felt like it belonged in the same ballpark to begin with, 28 Years Later wasn’t the pitch perfect relaunch needed to justify an entire new trilogy of films, nagging loose ends be damned. It’s not that the humanity wasn’t presence behind and in front of the camera but it’s more that it got plagued by the virus.

However, that didn’t stop Sony Pictures from wanting to shoot back-to-back new entries to the 28 Days Later franchise in an attempt to jump on the same “welcome back” horror train that have made the new Scream movies a success! Instead of Danny Boyle, it’s Nia DaCosta (Candyman (2021) & The Marvels) that would be in charge of following up on the previous film’s divisive ending in the hopes to keep the franchise’s engine running, (although writer Alex Garland did return for this installment as well). While I’m not sure she will be able to do that from a box office standpoint, she CERTAINLY did it from a quality standpoint!

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple feels like the film that most audiences members were wanting the first time around! It offers a much greater expansion of the post-apocalyptic setting that this series has been set in since day one, it has more layers to the overall themes surrounding humanity and survival, a much better and more balanced tone that never takes you out of the picture, and laying out bread crumbs in ways that actually feel satisfying rather than manipulative. While some of the flaws from the previous film are carried over (shaky cam, certain characters faith left in the air, an extremely juicy cliffhanger, etc..), The Bone Temple is able to pick up where the original 28 Years Later left off in the best and most satisfying way possible.

Premise: As Spike (Alfie Williams) is inducted into Jimmy Crystal’s (Jack O’Connell) gang on the mainland, Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) makes a discovery that could alter the world.

What makes The Bone Temple a successful second impression for 28 Years Later is not only improving upon what didn’t work about the previous film but also expanding upon the things that did. The main aspect being a deeper dive into this post-virus world and the people that have survived/suffered from it. The main driving force here is the exploration of the alpha infected and the forever pantsless, raising the question of which side generally has more humanity than the other regardless of how they were impacted by the virus. While, yes, we have seen stories surrounding zombie-like creatures discovering more humanity within themselves (A.K.A. Day of the Dead), there’s something a bit extra when viewed from the perspective of a literal scientist!

That exploration is on full display between the scenes with Ralph Fiennes’ Dr. Ian Kelson and Chi Lewis-Parry’s Samson. Not only because both actors are able to sell the hell out of each moment they are on screen together but because it gives the deepest dives into the overall message about how everyone in any universe will always have humanity within their grasp, all they have to do is reach for it. Even if these kind of themes have become a staple of these post- apocalypse flicks, the aesthetics performances, and subversive narrative choices is able to help present it in a fresh new light.

When it comes to the virus-infected group presented, the Fingers gang is about as brutal and creepy as they come. While they do have an introduction that comes close to capturing the same over-the-top energy that brought down the previous film, it is able to show great restraint throughout the movie , where you have those moments of goofy levity but are still able to get satisfying gore and take them seriously as a legit threat. And yes, the Fingers gang is clearly motivated based on overly religious faith but it still serves as a nice contrast to everything that has gone wrong in the world that the characters are set in, showcasing the downfall of society in isolation, with the (no pun intended) KILLER performances from Jack O’Connell as the main fingers leader, Jimmy and Erin Kellyman as a more sympathetic fingers member as Kelly. This aids in making the dynamic between Dr. Kelson and the Fingers all the more compelling, the contrast of two different kinds of people who based their actions on either proven science or twisted beliefs.

The main MVP here has to be the woman behind the camera in Nia DaCosta. While she unfortunately got thrown under the bus with her taste with the MCU machinery with The Marvels (which I still enjoy for what it was), she is able to carry over her masterful directorial skills with horror that she displayed with Candyman (2021), with possibly even better results here. While far less camera tricks or random bullet time moments that Boyle did the last time around, she is still able to provide her own significant stamp here. The camera work is beautiful, the atmosphere is haunting yet mesmerizing, the brutality from the fingers clan delivers the skin-crawling horror set pieces that’s needed for a film like this, and even the sound designs offers a few new tricks up it’s sleeve during important key moments that makes the film feel more appropriate to see in a theater. Ms. DaCosta is able to provide her own distinctive voice that is able to feel appropriate to the franchise and NOT off putting.

It’s not quite a 100% though. There are certain sequences that is plagued with that awkward shaky cam that the previously film suffered from, making a handful of moments uncomfortable to watch because of how poorly it’s framed and NOT because it’s legit horrifying. There’s also Alfie Williams’ Spike that feels a bit like a footnote this time around. While his arc here is functional and works well enough in it’s own right, he doesn’t have as much importance to the narrative as he did the first time around, lacking that family dynamic hook that made his character compelling from the previous film. And while there is a surprise character played by a surprise actor (That got me nearly as excited as seeing Tobey Maguire in No Way Home!) that does leave the door open about what a potential third film could deliver, it will certainly make for a VERY depressing “what if?” scenario if we never do get that third film in the near future.

It made have taken a second try but 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is able to deliver the complete full package I wanted from the last film, while standing as perhaps the best installment in this franchise since the original. The acting is terrific, the horror and gore will disgust you in the most delightful ways imaginable, and it is still able to follow the franchise’s overall themes by continuing to offer fresh, new, and different perspectives about a world that has plunged into total chaos without taking you out of it or even inviting comparisons to the world that we are currently live in. I sure hope this is able to find it’s audience because if not, then MAN are they missing out!

NFL 2026 Playoff Predictions

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That’s right! I’m back with a new sports piece on here for the first time in forever! I know there’s at least a couple of my followers that have been waiting for something like this. Since the NFL playoffs are on the rise, why not do my own predictions on how I believe things are going to go down in the postseason for 2026? Will I be wrong on nearly every single pick? Possibly, but hey, these are fun to make anyways!

American Football Conference Wild Card Rounds

Houston Texans (#5 Seed) vs Pittsburgh Steelers (#4 Seed)

Date: Monday, January 12th, 7:15 PM CST

Pick: Houston Texans

Reason: Another year, another incredibly mid Steelers team that’s able to pixie dust their way to another record over .500, keeping Mike Tomlin’s winning streak as head coach alive. However, just like the past several playoff trips for Pittsburgh, this is where the end of the road will likely be. Even if Houston’s offense leaves much to be desired, the Texans defense will keep the Steelers at bay very easily. The Steelers will be exposed once again as frauds and literally NO ONE but Pittsburgh ownership will be shocked by this.

Buffalo Bills (#6 Seed) vs Jacksonville Jaguars (#3 Seed)

Date: Sunday, January 11th, 12:00 PM CST

Pick: Buffalo Bills

Reason: When looking at playoff history, analytics and odds favor Jacksonville. The Jaguars are 4-1 at home in playoff games, while Josh Allen himself has yet to win a single playoff game on the road. Not to mention, Liam Coen has been the perfect fit in coaching Trevor Lawrence, who has been red hot for the past five stats. So, why would I go with the Bills here? Because Allen can carry a playoff run, Buffalo still has a running game around James Cook, and the Bills have had enough playoff experience to be able to match the moment this time around. Plus, with no Patrick Mahomes in the way, you just know Allen won’t tolerate one playoff game and go home! While the Jaguars have elite talent, the Bills have more experience in the playoffs and will use that to achieve victory!

Los Angeles Chargers (#7 Seed) vs New England Patriots (#2 Seed)

Date: Saturday, January 11th, 7:15 PM CST

Pick: New England Patriots

Reason: As much jokes have been made about the cake walk schedule that the Patriots have had all year, they are facing an absolute perfect storm in the LA Chargers! Their offensive lines are beat to hell, their defense hasn’t been much better, nearly all their free agent signings have been flops, and I don’t think there is a playoff team that has been bitten by the injury bug this hard. New England is still a far cry for what they once were from their two-decade long dynasty but they will have enough here to at least make it past one round.

National Football Conference Wild Card Rounds

Los Angeles Rams (#5 Seed) vs Carolina Panthers (#4 Seed)

Date: Saturday, January 10th, 3:30 PM CST

Pick: Los Angeles Rams

Reason: Some might cry foul on this predictions after Carolina’s recent victory against Los Angeles in Week 13. However, as history tends to show, the playoffs is a different animal all together. The Rams will most certainly learn from this experience, studying every move that the Panthers will make and come back stronger than before. Matthew Stafford getting Davante Adams back will definitely give the team a big boost along with beating aided by Puka Nacua, Krysten Williams, and the NFL’s best scoring offense. The Rams offensive lines will be too much for them to handle, certainly exposing the Panthers for playing in a garbage fire of a division.

San Francisco 49ers (#6 Seed) vs Philadelphia Eagles (#3 Seed)

Date: Saturday, January 11th, 3:30 PM CST

Pick: Philadelphia Eagles

Reason: San Francisco has had a good run but they are way too battered up right now. Trent Williams and Ricky Pearsall are key pieces that are injured, Brock Purdy has been sloppy the last four games (73.4% completion percentage in that time span), and the defense has allowed over 145 rushing yards per game in the past two contests. Not to mention, Philadelphia is 4-0 S/U at home when it had 100 rushing yards. For once, I’m going with what analytics says and go with the defending champs! Unless the 49ers are able to continue spreading their pixie dust, it will all run out here.

Green Bay Packers (#7 Seed) vs Chicago Bears (#2 Seed)

Date: Saturday, January 10th, 7:00 PM CST

Pick: Green Bay Packers

Reason: The good news for the Bears is that they are finally good again. The bad news for the Bears is that this might be where the road ends. This should be a tight game all around, with both teams being evenly match, as their two showdowns during the regular season proved. However, I can’t help but get the feeling that Jordan Love will shine under the spotlight, with Matt LaFleur keeping the aggression on offense. Chicago will have to rely too much on the running game and Caleb Williams won’t be able to match Love on the passing and throwing gain. It’s nice to have the Bears playing in important games but they are not ready to take the next step forward this year.

American Football Conference Divisional Rounds

Houston Texans (#5 Seed) vs Denver Broncos (#1 Seed)

Date: TBD

Pick: Denver Broncos

Reason: I know it’s easy to favor Houston here since Denver will CLEARLY be plagued with the #1 seed curse. To be fair, I can see the concerns. While their defense has been excellent with the most amount of sacks from any team, their offense has been inconsistent as hell and only seems to pull the UNO wildcard when the timing is convenient. The thing is, the EXACT same thing can be said about the Texans! And considering Denver has home field advantage and proven they can thrive in super close games, I still say Houston’s success will stop here and Denver will move on!

Buffalo Bills (#6 Seed) vs New England Patriots (#2 Seed)

Date: TBD

Pick: Buffalo Bills

Reason: While New England’s can succeed against a injured-plagued mess like the Chargers, Buffalo is a different story. Despite the glaring flaws of the Bills, they are a team of scrappy dudes and grinders. Josh Allen will continue to carry the team on his back along with his masterful running mates while the youth of the Patriots will not be able to thrive in the spotlights this time around. It’ll still be a good year overall for New England! Take this core and build upon it for the future!

National Football Conference Divisional Rounds

Los Angeles Rams (#5 Seed) vs Seattle Seahawks (#1 Seed)

Date: TBD

Pick: Los Angeles Rams

Reason: This will be Seattle’s worst nightmare. The Rams are Sam Darnold’s kryptonite, they know his every move and expose him as hard as TMZ when they cover a big celebrity! Not to mention, Seahawks offense lines always tend to need time to settle in each game, something which they can not afford against LA’s stellar offense lines. LA will advance and the memes of Sam Darnold will be eternal!

Green Bay Packers (#7 Seed) vs Philadelphia Eagles (#3 Seed)

Date: TBD

Pick: Philadelphia Eagles

Reason: The Packs flaws will be on full display here, a solid enough offense line that will not be able to overcome their messy and beaten up defense. The Eagles will overcome their also messy and flawed offense by keeping Green Bay in check on the defensive of side. Once again, the tush push will prevail! Philly better hope that the NFL doesn’t ban it because all they can do and spam it to even sniff at the Super Bowl for a second year in a row!

American Football Conference Round

Buffalo Bills (#6 Seed) vs Denver Broncos (#1 Seed)

Date: TBD

Pick: Buffalo Bills

Reason: Denver’s luck will run out here! Buffalo’s offensive lines will cause them problems too early and by the time they have some momentum, the damage will be done and it will be far too late! All it takes is for the Broncos to be out of their comfort zone and they will be finished. That tends to be the case with most #1 seeded teams! The Bills will pass and literally run their way to victory, leading Allen to his first Super Bowl appearance in his career!

National Football Conference Round

Los Angeles Rams (#5 Seed) vs Philadelphia Eagles (#3 Seed)

Date: TBD

Pick: Los Angeles Rams

Reason: I don’t know how or why but I just got the gut feeling the football gods will randomly give LA mega powers and take out the defending champs on their home turf, preventing a second straight SB appearance and third of this decade. I can see the Eagles putting up a fight but since the sports gods want to torture me, they will allow the team owned by Satan himself in is Stan Kroenke to another Super Bowl appearance! Please, don’t fail me again, Josh! You are my only hope!

Super Bowl LX

Buffalo Bills (#6 Seed) vs Los Angeles Rams (#5) Seed

Date: Sunday, February 8th, 5:30 PM CST

Pick: Buffalo Bills

Reason: This will be Buffalo’s year! I can feel it! The Bills have probably the most wide-open change imaginable to secure their first ever Super Bowl trophy than I think they ever will for the immediate future! No Mahomes, No Burrow, and No Jackson! Josh Allen will play the game of his life, Bill’s No. 1 rushing attack will lead the charge and expose the holes in the LA Rams, and Buffalo’s rather flawed defense might do a LOT of bending but they will NOT break! This may not be the best Bills team of this core or the best NFL team on paper but as we have seen many times before, the best team on paper is NEVER guaranteed a championship! Congrats, Mr. Hailee Steinfeld! You finally got your ring!

We Bury The Dead (2026) Movie Review- Welcome To 2026!

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Well, welcome back to reviewing to me! That’s right! After a year long hiatus, I am back baby! To celebrate, let’s review a new movie that absolutely NO ONE is talking about!

We Bury The Dead is a new zombie survival horror flick that is written and directed by Zak Hilditch and stars the INCREDIBLY lovable Daisy Ridley! Here we follow a woman named Ava (Daisy Ridley) as she goes on a journey to find her missing husband while being forced to confront grief, loss, and the undead that keeps haunting her throughout! She meets a couple of folks along the way who help guide her but soon Ava discovers that the more she tries to discover the truth about her husband’s disappearance and the land of zombies, the more heartbreaking the truth might actually be.

Admittedly, there’s not a ton that can be said about We Bury The Dead other than what you would expect to be based on the cover and premise of the film. It offers a fresh take on the zombie subgenre, that unlocks a very unique vision from the perspective of Hilditich of the land of the undead, while being able to dive into the kind of themes mentioned before in ways that wasn’t done in from similar films such as World War Z, The Walking Dead, and The Last of Us. It certainly does take it’s sweet ass time to get from Point A to Point B and does occasionally slip into those plot conveniences and coincidences that tend to be a staple for these kind of flicks but for the most part, We Bury The Dead is solid and engaging enough that it won’t have you thinking too much about them before the credits roll.

Daisy Ridley is the main driving force of the film and manage to keeps that same engaging presence she always gives no matter what film she is in. She contains great chemistry with the limited cast she is able to interact in, particularly Brenton Thwaites. So much so that most of the film’s momentum comes to a screech halt every time Thwaites is NOT onscreen and only regains that momentum again once another zombie gets thrown into the mix.

However, for a film that is clearly prioritizing atmosphere over action, it does it job about as remarkably as it can. The cinematography is breathtaking, the tone is as grim as the way the zombies look, the visuals is able to assist in the film’s telling of a story about seeking closure in the wake of absolute tragedy, and the haunting score by Clark is able to give off more of that tension, cluster phobic vibe than all the Resident Evil films combined (Don’t let me down this time, Zach Cregger!). While you still get your occasional zombie kill beat here and there, it’s the film’s overall approach to it’s atmosphere and scary vibes that are the main driving force here.

It’s definitely not a perfect movie by any means but the flaws aren’t enough to squander this picture. Like I said, this is a rather slow moving motion picture, which is a warning to those that are going into this purely for the zombie kills and blood gore fest. And the way it resolves certain plotlines, while makes perfect sense thematically, might make one feel empty emotionally and as part of the whole picture. Then again, I feel like if ANY of us become a part of a zombie apolaypse, we would have very little to actually be happy about afterwards.

Regardless, We Bury The Dead is a damn good time for what it’s going for. It’s an engaging another horror flick that checks all the boxes you want out of these post-apocalyptic films while also finding enough of a new voice of it’s own that makes it go well with the shelf of other recent zombie horror flicks. It’ll likely not be on your mind too much just days after you watch it, but hey as a way of kick starting of what will likely be ANOTHER chaotic year, it does it’s job perfectly well.

Other comments:

  • Sorry if this is a rather short review but I figured I needed to flex my muscles a bit because it’s been over a year since I last done a full review for this blog! I do expect to go more in depth with future reviews but also, I wouldn’t mind doing mini-reviews for films once I become incredibly busy in my personal life.

  • Also, have a very happy new year! Whatever your New Years resolutions are, I really hope you stick with them because they are important!

My Most Anticipated Movies of 2026

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2025 has concluded, which means we are now off to 2026! And what better way to start this year off with a bang (Recent global events aside!) then to share what new films I’m looking forward to the most in 2026!

When looking through all the big and small movies to come out this year, 2026 has potential to be the biggest year for movies in the post-Covid era. This has to do with the fact that a.) more people are more comfortable going back to theaters than before and b.) the latest strikes in the entertainment industry let to plenty of projects get pushed back. Because of that, this might just be the kick in the pants that the industry needs to get things back into full gear before it’s too late. At least until Netflix gets their full greasy hands on Warner Bros!

The most impressive thing I’ve discovered when doing research of all the main films slated for 2026 is how there seems to be more variety between original projects and upcoming installments in long-running franchise IPs. If the majority of them are able to deliver, then 2026 should be a strong year in film and especially in theaters due to having the kind of film for any sort of demographic.

2026 has potential to be such a massive year for films that I couldn’t boggled down my most anticipated list to just 10 or 15! Instead, I’m gonna do a top 20 because why not!

No honorable mentions, no amount of time wasting! I’m just kick things right into gear and give you all my 20 most anticipated films of 2026!

20.) 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

While I was more mixed on last year’s 28 Years Later than I expected to be, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple has potential to more than make up for it is able to stick the landing! Acting as the second movie of the multiple sequels that’s been in the making for nearly two decades now, director Nia Dacosta is hoping to finish what Danny Boyle started in giving the 28 Days Later series a proper wrap-up after being on hiatus for so long! Regardless of how you felt about the last installment, I imagine you will at least be somewhat curious to see how things end here!

19.) Ready or Not 2: Here I Come

The original Ready or Not was a massive surprise when it came out in 2019! After adoring that film so much, no doubt that I’m curious to check out the sequel! Samara Weaving is returning to her role that made her a scream queen and this time she is not alone! She will be joined by newcomer scream queen, Kathryn Newton, and the O.G. scream queen that is NOT Neve Campell and Jamie Lee Curtis in Sarah Michelle Gellar, Buffy the vampire slayer herself! Oh, and Elijah Wood is here too! Although the seven-year long gap does raise concern and I’m not too sure if a sequel is justified, Ready or Not: Here I Come certainly has my curiosity peak.

18.) Toy Story 5

Speaking of seven-year long gaps and sequels that probably shouldn’t exist, we have Toy Story 5! There’s plenty of reasons to raise eyebrows at this one! The Toy Story franchise already had at least two definite endings up to this point and the fact that another one is being made just goes to show how creatively bankrupt Disney and Pixar has become! However, I can’t help but be intrigued by the film’s supposed premise, with the idea that toys are becoming irrelevant and being replaced by tech and electronics! If that’s not relevant to our times, then I don’t know what is! There’s also the fact that longtime Pixar veteran Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo, Finding Dory, Wall-E, and co-writer of all four Toy Story films) is returning to writing and directing does ease some major concern as well! I just wonder how the heck are they gonna explain Woody’s return after the way the last one ended?

17.) Forgotten Island

In case you don’t know, there are plenty of original animated films that is expected to be released by some of the major western animated studios! Sony Animation has Goat coming out in February, Pixar has Hoppers releasing in March, and Disney themselves has Hexed as their major Thanksgiving release! However, the one original animated film for 2026 that I am the most curious about is Forgotten Island, the latest original animated film by DreamWorks. And the main reason for that being that is being directed by Joel Crawford, the man that helped make the animated masterpiece that is Puss In Boots: The Last Wish! While it’s definitely great that Sony and Disney are trying their best on making more modern animated classics that can hopefully messed well with their sequels, I would put all my eggs in the basket that DreamWorks will be able to deliver the best in that department with Forgotten Island.

16.) Coyote vs Acme

Coyote vs Acme existing at all seems like some sort of miracle! After originally being obtained as being a tax write-off, Warner Bros decided to reverse their controversial decision and give this film a full theatrical release! While that alone is enough to put this on a most anticipated list, the reason is on here is that the overall premise could between the Coyote and Acme could make for the perfect cross between live-action and animation that the Tom & Jerry movie tried and failed to be! I also have good vibes from Warner Bros Animation after enjoying The Day The Earth Blew Up so much last year! I just hope most people put their money with their mouth is and actually show up to see this one in theaters!

15.) Digger

Here’s an intriguing new film that I never would’ve expect! An original black comedy film from the director of Birdman and The Revenant that stars Tom Cruise! If that is not enough to get you intrigued, then I don’t know what will! While there is little that we know about other than the fact that this is an original film that is being made by the people I just mentioned, the fact that we are still capable of getting original films like this is proof that creativity isn’t 100% dead in Hollywood! My only advice to Warner Bros is to have this film switch release dates with Dune: Part Three! I might make a piece on that soon enough!

14.) Masters of the Universe

There are a lot of reasons to be optimistic about this latest iteration of Masters of the Universe! It’s got a very talented director in Travis Knight (Kubo & The Two Strings, Bumblebee), a very talented producer in Chris Butler (ParaNorman), and a very talented cast (Minus ONE major exception!) that can help make this an instant modern classic! Oh, and early test screenings have been very positive for this one as well! The only major hurdle for this film to overcome is Jared Leto! That guy ALWAYS seems to be a bad luck charm (At least if the likes of Suicide Squad, Morbius, Haunted Mansion, and Tron: Ares is anything to go by!). I don’t know why Hollywood keeps trying to make him a thing but like……please stop!

13.) Send Help

It’s a newly original horror flick made by the godfather of horror in Sam Raimi! I don’t think I need to explain anymore!

12.) Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew

Just like with most recent new takes of beloved classic IPs I properly wouldn’t have been interested in otherwise, the main thing that is carrying Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew is Greta Gerwig behind the camera! Mrs. Gerwig’s follow-up to the monster smash hit that was 2023’s Barbie is a brand new film from The Chronicles of Narnia that will be based off the 1955 novel, The Magician’s Nephew! And even though this is being disturbed by Netflix, this film is actually getting a full IMAX theatrical screening release before being sent to streaming! Whether that’s intended to be sneak preview of what to expect from Netflix once they get their hands on Warner Bros or not, the fact that a new Netflix film gets a full theatrical release like that does give me slight hope for movie theaters in the future! Anyways, I’m curious to check this one out!

11.) Michael

Michael Jackson is no doubt the most popular musician of all time. With the high trailer numbers and the multiple generations of fans that MJ has gained throughout the course of several decades, there should be no reason to doubt his annual biopic will be a huge theatrical success. And considering the cast and crew that’s involved with this one, there’s little doubt that this shouldn’t be an enjoyable and (mostly) accurate biopic of the most famous singer that is NOT Boeheim Rhapsody! My only concern is how far they are willing to dive into the controversy surrounding Mr. Jackson, if not at all! That seems like it can be a real “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” scenario that no matter what happens, the filmmakers will lose! Although that alone is what prevents this from sneaking into the main top 10, this biopic should still make for a genuine crowdpleaser come spring!

10.) The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

Mario is back baby and this time around, he is going out into a galaxy far, far away! With the inclusion of fan favorite characters such as Yoshi, Rosalina, and Bowser Jr. to adapting what is widely considered to be two of the best Mario games (if not the best video games) of all time in the Super Mario Galaxy series, I have little doubt that our beloved Italia….I’m sorry BROOKLYN plumbers will be able to make lightning strike twice! Even if the plot ends up being all over the place, this will no doubt be a visual wonder for the eyes that was made to be seen on the big screen! In these crazy, chaotic times we are living in, we need more cartoony nonsense than ever before! And The Super Mario Galaxy Movie looks to be delivering just that!

9.) Avengers: Doomsday

The drum has already been beat many times about how Marvel is NOT what it once was! However, one still can’t help but be intrigued with what’s going on with Avengers: Doomsday! With the return of Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Ma…….I mean Doctor Doom, Chris Evans as Captain America, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, and the original X-Men from the Fox Marvel universe, Marvel will certainly be looking to capitalize on the familiarly and nostalgia of their past to make this the gigantic hit it will need to be! Oh, and you also got the Fantastic Four, Thunderbolts*, Wakandians, and whoever the heck the latest Avengers are supposed to be to join the party as well! Regardless of your feelings of the MCU post-Endgame, this and the upcoming Secret Wars film is what the entire Multiverse saga has been building to! Even if I’m far more curious than excited about this one, I still can’t help but be so darn curious of what’s to come in theaters this Christmas!

8.) Disclosure Day

A new original UFO flick from the great Steven Spielberg?! I never thought that would be possible in the year 2026! In all honesty, I believe it is time to take each new Steven Spielberg film more seriously than before! With the legendary director approaching his 80s and possibly on thin supply, who knows when his last film will come? With Disclosure Day, this looks to be a modern telling of how humanity would respond in this current day and age to aliens actually existing. To tell this story, we have Steven teaming up with longtime screenwriter David Koepp (Jurassic Park, Spider-Man (2002), War of the Worlds) and an incredibly talented cast in Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, and Colman Domingo! Whatever this ends up being as foretelling as Spielberg’s own A.I. Artificial Intelligence remains to be seen but this should remain one very fascinating new sci-fi film!

7.) Supergirl (2026)

Some might be surprised to see Supergirl be THIS high on the list but that’s for two main reasons. 1.) You have director Craig Gillespie, who has helmed previously successful female-led films in I, Tonya and Cruella and 2.) it’s highly acclaimed Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow series that the film is based on, which turned Kara from being her usual flawless looking girl power superheroine to being a more relatable and pure messy failure that is still haunted by her tragic past. After celebrating her 23rd birthday, Supergirl is expected to travel across the galaxy with her lovable dog Krypto where she will meet a young Ruthye Maryne Kroll that will lead her to a quest of revenge! If this is able to keep up the punk rock energy that James Gunn was able to provide with Superman (2025), Supergirl (2026) might make for more than a worthy companion piece to that along with expanding the new DC Universe in real fascinating ways!

6.) Dune: Part Three

There will be plenty that will bark for this not being higher on the list! After two incredibly well done and satisfying entries, I do expect Timothée Chalamet and Denis Villeneuve to deliver as satisfying of a conclusion as one possibly can with the series! However, the main concern comes from being an adaption of Dune: Prophecy, a rather divisive story that has been constantly debated among fans since the book was published back in 1969. It follows up the story of Paul Atreides in rather unexpected and subversive ways, which many people deemed to be very unsatisfying and unfulfilling to his story. While I am more than interested to see how that exact story will be adopted onto the big screen, Dune: Part Three will have to been seen to be believed that it will be able to fire all cylinders for the third time in a row! Please, just move that release date, Warner Bros! You do NOT want to have this film be buried by Avengers and give Netflix more ammo to NOT what to release your films in theaters!

5.) Werwulf

What can I say! Robert Eggers is one of the best filmmakers working today and I thoroughly enjoyed his take on Nosferatu! Take those two elements together and no doubt I would be greatly excited for his next feature horror film with his take on Werwulf! There’s just something about a filmmaker whose excels greatly at making films that take place FAR removed from our own timeline and into a complete different century itself! Recruiting some of his main players from previous films such as Aaron-Taylor Johnson, Lily-Rose Depp, and the ALWAYS delightful William Dafoe, Werwulf should certainly be on the radar for any horror film fan out there!

4.) Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Even in an era where superhero fatigue is at an all-time high, Spider-Man will ALWAYS have major anticipation with each new film that is released! Five years removed from the box office juggernaut that was No Way Home, we see Tom Holland return as the iconic web swinger that will likely see Peter Parker in a role which he puts his superhero side of him above his personal life side. Also, we have Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton taking the helm, which should CERTAINLY help with the film’s action and major set pieces! Between the additions of fan favorite Marvel characters such as The Punisher, Hulk, and whoever the heck Sadie Sink is suppose to be playing along with being a potential building bridge towards Avengers: Doomsday, Brand New Day will act like the golden era of Marvel never left and should very easily be a success for Sony and Marvel.

3.) Project Hail Mary

I’m surprised more people aren’t talking about this one being among their most excited films for the year! It’s based off a beloved recent book that was written by the author of The Martian, it has perhaps the most creative and talented duo working in Hollywood in Phil Lord & Chris Miller (Their first film they’ve directed together since 22 Jump Street back in 2014!), and how can you not be enthralled by the star power of Ryan Gosling! If the cast and crew here are able to work their magic like Ridley Scott and Matt Damon did with The Martian over a decade ago, then I don’t see how this won’t end up being among the most satisfying mainstream releases of 2026!

2.) Godzilla: Minus Zero

Many people probably didn’t know that this film was coming out this year but after doing my research and seeing what films is suppose to come out in 2026, I HAD to put this one on the list! After the massively delightful surprise that was Godzilla: Minus One, Takashi Yamazaki is returning to the director’s chair to helm the very anticipated sequel in Godzilla: Minus Zero! With how excellent Minus One was and how perfectly captured the nature of not just Godzilla but the best of humanity itself, there is just no reason to NOT be excited for this sequel or have any doubt that Mr. Yamazaki will NOT be able to deliver here. I don’t need to know much about this film other than the fact that it’s a sequel to Godzilla: Minus One and it’s suppose to come out in 2026 to have it up THIS high on the list! BRING ME GOJIRA!!!

1.) The Odyssey

If there is one director working today that can get people excited based on their name alone, it’s Christopher Nolan! If there is one director that you can contained will give 110% effort into every film that they make, it’s Christopher Nolan! If there is one director whose film will give everyone their full money’s worth for their IMAX ticket, it’s Christopher Nolan! If there is one director that gives you a slight bit of hope for the future of cinema, it’s Christopher Nolan! With an extraordinary cast and crew in front of and behind the camera, source material that was made to be adapted to the big screen, and made by a filmmaker whose desire is to make films the way they are suppose to be made and seen on the big screen, I have little reason to NOT put The Odyssey as my most anticipated film of 2026! If this ends up becoming the cultural and box office phenomenon that Oppenheimer managed to be in the summer of 2023, then there might just a reason to be optimistic for the future of films! Bring it on Matt Damon and Christopher Nolan! I’ll will be there day one!

Blog Update

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Hello, everybody! I hope you are having a very happy new year thus far! I just wanted to give you all a quick update on my plans for 2026 on this blog and what to look forward to in the future!

To be honest, I don’t have much to say that is entirely new that I didn’t mention in my last blog update. But since I deleted that a few days ago to save some space for this year, I figure I would go over again what I want to do for this blog for 2026!

As many who follow me through this blog probably know, 2025 was a very up and down year for me! I couldn’t upload as much as I wanted to because there was just too many personal life distractions for me. Because of that, most of the pieces throughout 2025 involved top 10 lists or rankings of certain franchises or directors. Those are usually very easy for me to do, which is why I was able to crank them out throughout the year.

However, I am looking to turn over a new leaf for next year. By that I mean that I am looking to be much more productive throughout 2026! Not only through my personal life but on here as well! I am looking to be much more active and make more pieces on here per week!

2026 is shaping up to be a MASSIVE year in terms of films, entertainment, and pop culture! I want to capitalize on that as much as I can, being able to keep up to date with the latest news surrounding entertainment and even sports! Because of that, I want to go back to making reviews on the latest movies and video games that I am interested in. I even have a plan to do one on the first movie I plan to see this weekend, We Buy The Dead! I will also have a list of my most anticipated films of 2026 that should be out tomorrow!

And that’s about it! I am very much looking forward to 2026 and what pure chaos awaits me! Thanks to everyone out there in the world that takes the time out of their day to read up on what I have to say on here! I owe you all my life!

Look forward to more content on here and cheers for a merry 2026!