Die My Love

 

Lynn Ramsay is a fantastic film maker, Die My Love is a fantastic film. Fantastic yet tedious. Great acting and haunting imagery yet dull as fuck.  Jennifer Lawrence gives her best performance in years, but it still oddly feels empty. 

Heads of State

 

I quite enjoy Ilya Naishuller. Hardcore Henry js a fun experiment,  Nobody is fantastic. Now he has Heads of State,  and it is a Prime film.....and it feels like one. Its fun enough, or atleast not boring, but the plot is thin, the direction is soulless, luckily Idris Elba and John Cena have great chemistry but ultimately this is a forgettable action flick. 

Album of the Year

Ghost

Lambrini Girls

Wet Leg

Ashnikko 

Alt Blk Era 

Match of the Year

Naomi vs Iyo vs Rhea  Evolution

John Cena vs AJ Styles  Crown Jewel

Street Profits vs DIY vs MCMG: Tag Titles: TLC: Smackdown

Seth Rollings vs Roman Reigns vs CM Punk: WrestleMania 

Iyo Sky vs Rhea Ripley vs Bianca Belair: World Title: WrestleMania

CM Punk vs Gunther. World Title. Summerslam

Gunther vs Cena SNME

Oba Femi vs Trick Williams vs Je'Von Evans: NXT Title: Stand & Deliver 

Oba Femi vs Je'Von Evans.NXT Title. Heatwave

Oba vs Je'Von NXT TV

 John Cena vs Dominic Mysterio  Raw

Aj and Dragon vs Je'Von and Leon SNME

 Gunther vs Solo Raw

Becky vs Bayley vs Lyra Evolution 

Judgment Day vs Zaruka vs Charlotte/Alexa vs Kabuki Warriors Evolution

Cody Rhodes vs John Cena. WWE Title. SummerSlam

Je'von Evans vs Ethan Page NXT TV

Ethan Page vs Mustafa Ali. North American Title. Showdown 

Ricky Saints vs Oba Femi. Nxt title. No Mercy 

Punk vs Seth Raw 

Sol vs Bayley  SNME

Men's Chamber  EC

 Roman vs Solo  Raw

KO vs Sami Zayn EC

Stephanie Vaquer vs Iyo Sky: Raw 

Jey Uso vs Seth Rollins: World Title: Raw

Vikingo vs Chad Gable: Worlds Collide 

Seth Rollins vs Cody Rhodes  Crown Jewel

Ethan Page vs Je'von Evans vs Fenix vs Laredo Kid: Worlds Collide 

 Womens MITB

 

Match of December

Gunther vs Cena

Oba vs Je'Von 

Aj and Dragon vs Je'Von and Leon

 Gunther vs Solo

Sol vs Bayley 

A House of Dynamite

 

Only Kathryn Bigelow can take politicians and political pundits under distress from a terrorist attack and make it feel more tense than an actual war. Every second feels like a minute and every minute is nerve racking. Those long seconds are however fast paced, just the pace is a paste of tension. Great acting and genuine shocks make this one of the years best. 

Jay Kelly

 

Noah Baumbach can craft nearly anything.  On paper Jay Kelly should be a sappy bore but he adds in charm, innovation,  heart, sadness and a tribute to George Clooney....i mean Jay Kelly that ultimately feels like an indie road film from 2008. 

Bugonia

 

I'm not a huge fan of Yargos but I did love Poor Things, his follow up was a bit contrived, now he has the film he should have followed it with. Is it paranoia? Is it real? Are they humans? Aliens? The film keeps you guessing and doing so in such absurd ways. Is a calculator a method of communication? I won't get into here but this has some genuine shocks, some fantastic ending and paints tragedy in such a beautiful way. 

The Pitt

 

I kind of swore off watching new TV a couple of years ago. Maybe I'll stick to shows I've seen, or based on IPs, or from creators I follow but most original programming i gave up on. And I loved it,  it gave me more time for film and wrestling,  even though wrestling too I have cut down on. I started Yellowjackets this year because my girlfriend was prepping for season 3 so we watched the first 2. A few weeks ago we were snowed in so she suggested watching The Pitt. Now i thought the show sounded and looked great and it was highly acclaimed but did we need to start it? No, but i am glad we did as this might be the best TV series since Ted Lasso. Its not my favorite of the year but it is easily the best. Fast paced, attention to detail, characters with depth, plots and subplots that matter, genuine shocks and heartbreak. This is what HBO needed and what TV needed. 

The Day the Earth Blew Up

 

I love Looney Tunes, them doing a b movie tribute was up my alley. Warner Bros deciding to not release this or Acme vs Wile E Coyote was not. Luckily Ketchup Entertainment released this to great acclaim. It's a fun watch that I think alot of parents will enjoy with their kids,  it's not perfect but it's a fun time. 

Play Dirty

 I love Shane Black. His films balance action and comedy perfectly. His casts understand the assignment and he delivers. Whether it be buddy "cop" movies like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and The Nice Guys, superhero films like Iron Man 3 or sci fi & horror like The Predator his stamp is all over his work. Play Dirty, while not awful, and does have a few witty lines of dialogue, ultimately just feels like a director for hire made for Amazon film. No vision, no heart, just feels empty & soulless. 

Silent Night Deadly Night

 

This is how you do a remake. You take a familiar concept and plot, use the same characters and settings but you switch it up by no longer making it a straight up slasher but a slasher where the killer targets villains. A tad Dexter? Sure but this is a bloody and fun flick that will be a welcome rotation during the holiday season for me. 

Welcome to Derry

 

In 2017 I wasn't excited for It. The original terrified me as a kid but hearing of a new one did nothing, then the trailer dropped and I was floored. I then saw it 4 times in theatres and have since bought countless shirts and figures. It's a top 10 of all time for me. Now hearing of a TV series, I was hesitant.  Not everything needs a show. I'm so glad this did, this is fantastic. The acting, thr sets, the horror elelements, the non horror plot, the emotion and human connection.  Keeping Pennywise hidden for the first half then unleashing hell the second was perfect,  and while the finale was a tad contrived it was still satisfying and easily one of the best shows of the year. 

South Park

 

South Park season 27, the year the right came after the show, they year the right came after Paramount, the year Paramount went right, the year South Park started with season 27 and ended with season 28.......just watch it, laugh at it, even if you're conservative,  you might realize how dumb your president is and how shitty we have become. If you're liberal, enjoy,  if you're middle of the road then this show has been for you......it's just the target is easier now. 

Wake Up Dead Man

              

I love the Knives Out series. It's a fun and brilliant whudunit with fantastic acting and macabre humor. The first is a masterpiece,  Glass Onion is so worthy, Wake Up Dead Man? Well the plot is there, the humor is there, the layers are there, as is the set design and costuming,  I just feel the characters outside of Blanc and the priests weren't as developed. It's still a great flick and a fun watch. 

Beavis and Butthead

 

What can I say what I already haven't said about the past few seasons of Beavis and Butthead? Hilarity,  a hidden tenderness, gross out sophistication.  Each season this show manages to prove that less is more and to only write when it is right. 90s animation is killing big today's. 

Match of November

 John Cena vs Dominic Mysterio 

Conjuring Last Rites

 

The Conjuring: Last Rites is the supposed finale of the saga.....until the TV series that is. The Warrens retired and evil is vanquished......or so it happens in the glamorized version of their lives. Now the first Conjuring is a classic, a masterpiece,  but the spin offs and sequels, not so much. I had no interest in this film but my girlfriend and I watched it on HBO Max, and it is the hokiest of the bunch.....but it is also probably the best since the original.  Will I check out the pilot of the series? Yes. This here should end it though.

VHS Halloween

 The VHS films have always been a mixed bag, Halloween might be the biggest miss they've had, while also having a couple of the most engaging. The despicable girls that dress as babies had some Nightmare fuel but it was Barbarian lite. The wrap around was gore for gore sake, the foreign title was a chore, Bit Size I was stoked for cause of Yule Log and Too Many Cooks but it felt so goofy. The final chapter about a haunted garage gone wrong was the best but it too fell apart. This series needs to scale back or tighten up cause the characters are always shitty and the plots even shittier. 

Wicked For Good

 Wicked For Good starts off feeling important. Elphaba is a vigilante, Glinda is the puppet for the Wizard and all the animals are shunned. From there....it falls apart. The musical numbers didn't feel as grand as the first, the plot is all over the place, characters come and go, time is jumped, there is no development outside of Elphaba's meeting with the Wizard. It felt disconjointed and rushed. I liked it overall but this was not the epic finale I wanted.  I feel this actually would have been better as a series.

 

Karate Kid Legends

 

I was not excited for Karate Kid Legends at all, just let Cobra Kai be it. This is as if Sony wanted the series to continue.....so let's use Jackie Chan....but other execs knew people only want the OG so let's bring in Ralph Macchio, it makes no sense. With that said the film feels like a Karate Kid knock off.....only with those two stars.....yet it works. This is a fun flick with likeable characters, good action and a fast pace, even if it is a bit uneven.  The final scene is honestly worth it for anybody that is a fan of Cobra Kai and the best part of the film.  

Frankenstein

 

Guillermo Del Toro is the perfect director for Frankenstein.  He kept the gothic nature, embraced the elegance, and created atmosphere. This isn't Universal, it's a Del Toro beast and it oozes his touch while making the monster human. 

Spooktacular

 

Spooktacular is a look at the Genesis and crash of the Massachusetts horror "theme park" SpookyWorld. Theme park at the time,  but for those of us that work in the haunt world, it's just a typical haunted attraction now.....only they booked it like a convention.  I would have loved to have attended this but atleast we got am entertaining doc out of it. As someone that works in a year round halloween store, there was alot to relate to. 

The Running Man

 

I grew up with Arnold and The Running Man.  Is it good? Hell no, but it's fun. As a teen I fell in love with the work of Edgar Wright, he is legit top 5 film makers for me. Wright reuniting with writers of Scott Pilgrim and even Michael Cera on a new version of the Running Man? Hell yes. Now the first act feels by thr numbers, and not very Wright but once the game starts it is pure Wright through and through, or atleast someone that wants to be Wright, something is missing. It's funny this is a Paramount release since the film itself is very satirical and shines a mirror on society. 

Match of October

 John Cena vs AJ Styles 

Ethan Page vs Mustafa Ali. North American Title. Showdown 

Seth Rollins vs Cody Rhodes 

Predator Badlands

 

Predator Badlands is my favorite of the series since The Predator, if even not Predator 2. It's fun, brutal, builds characters and even has Weyland Yutani. It is a but too jokey here and there but it doesn't derail the film, it also is quite tame with the pg13 but it works since there are no humans.

Night of the Reaper

       

Night of the Reaper is Shudder's best since Late Night With the Devil. It's a whodunit of sorts that is part police investigation and part girl in a strange house being stalked. A few twists and turns, some of which are contrived, but work. Good characters and well built tension carry this with an atmospheric vibe.

Peacemaker s2

 The second season of Peacemaker isn't quite the home run season 1 was, but with the changes in DC they did that they could. Multiple plots, characters cycling through the same stories, and a epilougue of an ending were the negatives but the humor, characters and overall plot and direction of DC carried it. 

Tron Ares

 I love the original Tron. The long wait for Legacy was insane but it felt like a major event. While it didn't set the box office on fire, the soundtrack did amd then it found it's audience on home video and streaming, so much thst it felt like a top tier game changer. We then had another long wait for the third chapter, Ares. With Nine Inch Nails, the Disney Ride and Disney Plus this bad alot of hype behind it. My showing wasn't packed but it was electric. Unfortunately many in the audience was laughing at the film and ridiculing it on the way out....myself? I enjoyed it.  It takes a but for it to get going,  the characters aren't much developed but Jared Leto and Evan Peter's make it work.  The visuals are great, the plot is contrived but if you turn off your mind relax and float down stream you can be on a ride. I much preferred the scenes in the grid, but outside in our world they turned this into a superhero film, and judging by the stinger, that is planted for the fourth. Well, see you in 15 years. 

Good Boy

 

Good Boy is the latest theatrical release from Shudder and another win for them. This flick in intense abd fucked me up,  not cause of anything scary just my concern for the dog and the human connection.  It's a great film but one I don't know if I can emotionally take again, very similar to A Monster Calls.

Match of Sept

 

Ricky Saints vs Oba Femi. Nxt title. No Mercy 

Lilo and Stitch

 

My girlfriend loves Lilo & Stitch and How to Train Your Dragon, with both having love action remakes this year plus Chris Sanders flooring me with The Wild Robot, I dove into both. I watched all of both trilogies and loved em. I finally saw the live action Stitch and much like the animated one, I was not prepared. This is touching, heartfelt, at times more sad than the original, fun, well acted and how a remake should be, familiar yet different enough.  Now I am ready for my Disney World Vacation. 

One Battle After Another

 

One Battle After Another is PT Anderson's best film since Magnolia. I know I said that about There Will Be Blood and Licorice Pizza but it truly shows how masterful he is. Here is an exercise in tension with pitch black humor, quirk and the best acting from his cast since Blood, I would say Magnolia but Daniel Day Lewis killed it I'm Blood. It is a highly topical film, my main complaint was too many endings but as the endings were happening they all served their purpose. One Masterpiece After Another. 

Match of August

 CM Punk vs Gunther. World Title. Summerslam

Oba Femi vs Je'Von Evans.NXT Title. Heatwave

Cody Rhodes vs John Cena. WWE Title. SummerSlam

Him

 Him is an interesting film, the trailer looked intriguing but the reviews were awful, after seeing it j can see why. This thinks it is elevated horror when it is not. It's surreal, it's visceral, and it succeeds in those aspects, the script however is all over the place. Solid acting all around with great tension and atmosphere. It's Fight Club meets the Prisoner just set around football and in a horror realm. It's jumbled but I admired it. 

Demon Slayer

 I'm not huge in to anime. I appreciate it but none ever captivate me, my favorites are Akira, High School of the Dead, Mind Game, PokeMon, Scott Pilgrim, the Animatrix, Vampire Hunter D, and Perfect Blue. I have watched stuff like Dragon Ball, Full Metal Alchemist,  One Punch Man, and even watched a few episodes of Demon Slayer. My girlfriend's 14 year old daughter loves Demon Slayer, she wanted to see the new film, and like a proud parent, you take them to see the film they want to see. This is a visually stunning film, lots of action and heart, overly long, even she thought so. I had a good time with this. It isn't my cup of tea but I found enjoyment in it. 

Strange New Worlds s3

 

Strange New Worlds had possibly their best season this year, some great action, heart, comedy, characters and even horror. But the finale might have been the shows biggest mixed bag.. That isn't to say there weren't glimpses of greatness, it had some genuine shocks that went for the eye but it didn't feel like a finale...  until it did, the final moments made it go from lackluster to great, the start of a 5 year mission. I feel next season will replace some of these characters we love with ones we loved from TOS, and if they do continue, we needs years 4 and 5 of the original series.

Spinal Tap 2

 

This is Spinal Tap is a monumental film in mocumentaries,the faux band became real and performed all over and became spokesman for various products. Now we get the sequel, and what truly makes this work is that the three leads created these characters so they know how they will age and it does wonders here. Unlike Borat 2, this isn't trying to be a prank show, this is a film through and through it just happens to be done in that mocument style and Rob Reiner shows all these post Office  mocku series how it is done. It's funny, has heart and goes to 11.

Caught Stealing

 

Daron Aronoffsky is one of the best filmmakers alive. He makes bleak films that make you cringe yet are beautiful (for the most part), now he gives us his "fun" film. Yes, it is fun, and the trailers make it look very Guy Richie, and it is st times, but this has the Arronoffsky stamp on it. The characters are tortures with trauma, they live like shit and there are some genuine depressing moments but ultimately this is his making a quirky action film and nailing it on every level. The characters and acting, the stunts and action, the plot and violence.  The gritty NYC setting of 1998 works great here and the punk rock nature carries it on. 

Batman Ninja vs Yakuza League

 

One of my favorite animated Batman films is Batman Ninja, i was stoked for a sequel but while this is action packed and fast paced, it ultimately just feels like a cash in animated venture. I don't really have faults with it, it just did nothing for me. I loved the lore but it felt overstuffed and over produced. 

The Toxic Avenger

 I grew up with Troma, I shouldn't have but I did. Toxic Avenger was a staple as was the Toxic Crusader. I had the figures and as a teen I dove into Troma more, reading Lloyd Kaufman's books highly inspired me. I worked with him a bit in 2010 and knowing his views on hollywod, and seeing his stamp of approval on a Toxie remake had me sold. The film is not high art, nor should it be. It's crass humor, over the top gore and feels down and dirty. Where as Hobo With a Shotgun feels inspired by Toxie, this feels inspired by that.  Macon Blair is already an impressive filmmaker and with this it could be his ticket to doing DC if he wanted to, cause of James Gunn. I don't want it per se, I want directors to have their own voices, but I feel he is going places after this. Peter Dinklage almost acts too well here, but everyone is having a good time,  my only complaint really is the CG blood, but I let it slide. I am all for more trips to Troma, I mean St. Roma!

Resident Alien

 

Resident Alien won me over on the pilot and the first season made it a favor mine. S2 sort of made the s1 finale meaningless but the season was still strong. S3 was hit and miss but ended on a high note. Now we have s4 and it too makes the previous finale feel not as important but ultimately this show is about the characters and this season makes you remember why this show is so great,  the characters. All the plots come together and the characters grow with it and the finale made me tear up,  was the show perfect? No but the characters were(for the most part)

Final Destination Bloodlines

I didn't see the first Final Destination until the second one came out. At the time I was anti mainstream horror and anti cgi. The past week my girlfriend and I revisited them along with the rest in the series. The first one is solid, the second one improves on it, the third is fun, the fourth is dumb and the fifth is pretty damn good at connecting everything and making the franchise feel big. I became a fan of the series during this rewatch. Now we get the sixth and it too it pretty damn solid. Great kills, we'll developed characters, these films is what the Monkey tried to be just not being mean spirited and pretentious like that was. I can finally say I am stoked for them to make another. 

Please Don't Feed The Children

 

Steven Spielberg's daughter Destry Spielberg has directed a horror film on Tubi. It's solid, a step above most Shudder films, but still quite generic. There are glimpses of her dad but ultimately it's still quite by the numbers  

Warfare

 

Alex Garland is an amazing filmmaker, and when he retired with Civil War, he ended on a fantastic note. Then Warfare came along and, boom he is once again directing....or co directing and damn, had he not been attached i may have skipped this but luckily he is and what we got was an intense & tight 90 minutes that is quiet for a great period and explosive aswell. 

War of the Worlds

 

File War of the Worlds under films Noone wanted a remake of. 2005 Spieldberg tried it,  and it was fine. Now we get a zoom call version where shit that should take days takes minutes and everyone seems to be able to quickly learn how to hack and compound medicine.  The acting is awful and this felt like an asylum film.

It's Always Sunny

 

2025 is the year comedy returned to film but on TV, the gold standard keeps on kicking ass and that ass is......the gold standard......which is It's Always Sunny. As fucked up as ever, as reflective as ever, with alot of heart, especially in the finale. 

Nobody 2

 

When Nobody came out in 2021 it was a gift during the pandemic era. A quiet family man forced back into the crime world by taking down the mob. It felt perfect for a sequel and now we have it. Nobody 2 is fun and bloody and the cast is having a blast. The plotbis thin but the action sequences are top notch. Definitely could go for thirds.

Jimmy & Stiggs

 

Joe Begos latest film is just as badass as his last. Super simple premise and execution in filmmaking.  An alien invasion that takes place in an apartment, Joe Begos' own personal apartment. It's a neon drenched coke fueled tale of survival with plenty of gore and aliens that will make those of us that used to watch the Fox alien specials feel nostalgic.  

Killer of Killers

 Killer of Killers is a solid animated film. I feel many overhype animated adaptations of movies, comics and games these days if only cause people want to enjoy something other than by the numbers live action flicks. This here is on par with Prey, and it being from the same director makes sense. I dug the art style and the layout of the invasions over the years but the flick was kind of a throwaway, which it being an animated film, can't really throw a flag on it. I feel many films could benefit from going this route. With that said, bring on Badlands.