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. 

King of the Hill

 King of the Hill is a welcome change to "TV" it isn't high art, it isn't trying to be a next wave of fandom, it is just a gift to fans. We are in a renaissance of animated TV with The Simpsons, South Park, Beavis & Butthead and now this. Simpsons can be hit & run...i mean miss, South Park finally refound itself, B&B is still the best of the best, but this here feels like a fan film, a epilogue and it is what was needed. Do we need another season? No, but i'll gladly take it. 

Freaky Tales

 

I have enjoyed all of the Ryan Fleck and Amma Boden films, all have been great but my favorite was Cpt Marvel, a film that let's face it is not personal,  now we get my new favorite of theirs, Freaky Tales. This flick has four chapters, each one following a different set of characters that intertwine with each other. We gets punks vs nazis, rap battles, video store backroom poker, and basketball samurais.  It's funny, bloody, and topical even though it is set in the 80s. This feels like Repo Man, Buckaroo Banzai and Scanners mixed together.  How Pedro Pascal can do major blockbusters like Fantastic Four and great genre films like this in the same year is honorable.  How they landed the video store clerk is impressive.  This flick is a blast. 

Together

 

Together is beautiful and unnerving.  It is great, but I don't know if I can ever watch it again. It makes you feel things and honestly that alone is perfect,  as is the acting, directing,  the horror, the romance or lack there of, it's likeable and unlikeable,  it's bleak yet hopeful,  cynical yet optimistic.  Horror in 2025 is amazing and this is one of the best. 

Trick or Treat with Reed Richmond

 

I love Chris LaMartina's films, my favorite of which are his "recorded on vhs" style films such as WNUF. That one is special, and his follow up Out There Mega Tape was solid. Now he has Trick or Treat with Reed Richmond and while it may not be as horror as the first two, this one is a blast. Anyone that grew up in the 90s and remembers the original Sci Fi channel or the cheesey halloween specials detailing the history of the holiday is in for a Treat....not a trick. The cast nails it, the commercials are stellar, this is a fun halloween flick that will be part of my rotation. Q

Weapons

 

Zach Cregger knocked it out of the park 3 years ago with Barbarian. Now he is back with weapons and he ups the tension makes it more bleak and goes just as bonkers this time around. The entire cast is fantastic here, the story is tight and told through characters, the gore goes for thr jugular, his eye for craftsmanship is impeccable,  doing a Resident Evil movie while it will be great feels like a step down, he needs to continue with his masterful slices of horror. 

The Naked Gun

 

When a new Naked Gun was announced I kinda rolled my eyes. Did we need this? No, especially since comedy is sort of dead. Seth McFarlane and Akiva Schafer being attached were good signs, Liam Neason leading was gold....the trailer dropped and I was sold. This is a solid comedy, it is not non stop laughs and not every joke works but when a joke lands it is hilarious and when one was really hilarious your laughter kept rolling. Comedy is back, whether you like or hate this and Happy Gilmore 2, the response they are getting whether criticaly or in box office/ratings shows that comedies are back!

Match of July

Naomi vs Iyo vs Rhea 

 Becky vs Bayley vs Lyra 

Judgment Day vs Zaruka vs Charlotte/Alexa vs Kabuki Warriors