Is This Thing On? (2025)

After a trial separation with his wife, a depressed man tries his hand at stand-up comedy. He's not so much funny as he is honest and raw as he expresses his feelings in a candid, therapeutic way. It's an often uncomfortable comedy-drama about breaking down a marriage in order to try and save it. Will Arnett and Laura Dern shine. Loosely inspired by the story of comedian John Bishop.

3½ weed cookies out of 5

Groundhog Day (1993)

"It's gonna be cold, it's gonna be grey, and it's gonna last you for the rest of your life."

It's always intimidating nutting one of my favorite movies because my paltry words can never come close to summating the impact it's had on my life. This classic time-loop rom-com pits Bill Murray against an eternally repeating day as he perpetually tries to get it right (a fantasy we can all relate with, if there were no consequences). This is one of those movies that grows on you as you revisit it over and over throughout the years until it can finally do no wrong. The perfect blend of darkness and despair, with lightheartedness and hope.

5 doozies out of 5

Send Help (2026)

Sam Raimi finds new victims to torture in Rachel McAdams and Dylan O'Brien. 

A mousy woman looked over for promotion by her douchebag boss discovers that the tables have turned after surviving a plane wreck on a desert island, where she puts her practical know-how to great use. It's a survival adventure thriller with Raimi's signature flourishes of dark humor, which I found to be an absolute delight, at least until it falls into the familiar trappings of genre.

3 Survivor skills out of 5

Return to Silent Hill (2026)

Director Christophe Gans returns to the franchise he adapted 20 years ago. Yeah, you're old. The good news is that you can safely skip Revelation on your rewatch of the series, as this one is a straight adaptation of Silent Hill 2. And by "straight," I mean it plays fast and loose with the plot. This definitely won't please the purists. But if you're like me and haven't played it in about 25 years, it nails the atmosphere and mood of the piece just fine. With its low budget and no-name cast, it feels simple and faithful to the tone of the original, and doesn't take away from the horror by overexplaining its mythology. It has a dreamlike quality that pulls you in and almost puts you to sleep. Take that as you will. Bottom line is, if you liked the first Silent Hill film, you'll probably like this one. If you hated that one, then there'll be no new converts here.

2½ air raid sirens out of 5

Mercy (2026)

Taking a page from the Minority Report pre-crime handbook, and set in the scary near-future (2029), the A.I. Justice System has charged a man of killing his wife, and he has only 90 minutes to prove his innocence or be executed in this sci-fi techno-thriller that plays out in real time. The catch is that it mostly takes place in a virtual courtroom, where he has to beat a 97.5% probability by gathering evidence from all the data uploaded to the internet at his disposal.

This could have easily turned into another screenlife War of the Worlds-type situation, but mercifully, it's handled a lot more competently. It's easy to get swept up in the logistics and breakneck pacing. It falters in the final third, but it's interesting enough to grab your attention and hold it there for its duration.

2½ gut instincts out of 5

Greenland 2: Migration (2026)

Some films don't really necessitate a sequel, yet here we are, 5 years later. Survivors are now living underground where a calamity forces them to find a new safe haven. Conveniently, it comes down to these three characters again as they go traipsing through the ravages of post-apocalyptic Europe, which now resembles something closer to The Walking Dead. It's less about natural disaster and more about the assholes left behind. Even though the plot feels convenient and it's easy to predict, the performances elevate an otherwise average spectacle to something that leaves slightly more of an impact.

2 craters out of 5

Greenland (2020)

Clarke is a comet heading inbound for Earth. One family has been selected for emergency shelter relocation, but gets separated and must navigate their way to safety through the ensuing chaos and destruction, while the rest of the world is doomed to an extinction level event in less than 48 hours. This epic survival flick feels very straightforward; it's a stressful film that's more about the preparation for the disaster than the actual apocalypse soon to occur.

3 shock waves out of 5

Primate (2025)

January is notorious for theaters dumping all the low-rated horror flicks on their schedule. This is about as basic a concept as you can get: a domesticated sign language chimp introduced into a human family unit becomes infected with rabies and goes on the offensive. The practical effects and gory kills are self-explanatory, although largely uninspired. It almost sounds as though it were scored by John Carpenter, so it has a dark menacing feel to it. If you've seen films like Link or Monkey Shines, you already know what to expect.

1½ "movie, bad" out of 5

We Bury the Dead (2025)

After an experimental weapon is detonated off the coast of Tasmania, a body retrieval unit is deployed to clean up the mess, including a woman searching for her missing husband. Unfortunately, those with unfinished business still roam the lands. It's a zombie drama that reminded me a lot of the first half of 28 Days Later, or early days on The Walking Dead, especially in its simplicity. It doesn't quite stick the landing, but it's better than most films of this type.

2½ grinding teeth out of 5

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026)

It took nearly 20 years between the release of the last two movies, and in less than a year, we've now doubled the length of the 28 Days Later series.

The survivor of the previous film has reluctantly joined a gang of Jimmys, while Dr. Kelson experiments on the infected. Nia DaCosta takes over from Danny Boyle while Alex Garland resumes screenwriting duties. What sets this apart in my mind is its hypnotic, almost operatic quality. Somehow, it feels different from the rest. Ralph Fiennes makes this film especially watchable (as well as the big-dicked Samson). Unfortunately, like its predecessor, it leaves off on another big fat cliffhanger that won't be paid off until the next one... which is the one we've all been waiting for. It's a nice little tease, though.

3½ soothing sounds of Duran Duran out of 5

Note: The final film in this new 28 Years trilogy is as yet undated. Dammit.

One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5 (2026)

A fly on the wall documentary highlighting the production of the final season of Stranger Things, which encompasses 10 years of development building up to its culmination. Combining 1980s nostalgia with the coming of age genre and Stephen King-style of horror, it became a global phenomenon to a whole new generation of kids, in the tradition of E.T., The Goonies and Stand by Me. As a fan of the show, I found it a cathartic look at saying goodbye to childhood.

3 emotional table reads out of 5

Note: There are Ups and Downs, but I'd rate the show 4 Demogorgons out of 5. 

2025: A Year in Review

Still sorting through my thoughts of 2025 and there are not many frontrunners in my mind. Here's what I got so far (subject to change in the coming weeks):

Best of 2025 (in no particular order):

Bugonia: Paranoia realized

Eddington: 2025 summed up in 2020

Eternity: How will you choose to spend it?

Friendship: Friendship is rare...

Hamnet: Shakespeare takes on the great tragedy

The Legend of Ochi: A throwback fantasy adventure

Love Me: AI takes on the concept of romance

Marty Supreme: Ping-pong for the big leagues

No Other Choice: When you've been dragged to your limit

One Battle After Another: And another, and another...

Presence: A POV ghost story

Rental Family: Loneliness, far from home

Song Sung Blue: Neil Diamond fans unite

Superman: Best superhero flick of the year

The Surfer: Suffer...Surfer...

The Life of Chuck: Currently my favorite film of the year

Honorable mentions (too many not to mention):

Americana: Coen meets Tarantino in a modern-day Western

Avatar: Fire and Ash: Yep, another one...

A Big Bold Beautiful Journey: Working through the traumas of the past

Cheech & Chong's Last Movie: Hope it's not the last we see of 'em...

Companion: Try not to spoil it for yourself

Die My Love: Romance, motherhood, mental illness; not in that order

Dracula: A Love Tale: An oft-told tale, done well

Dust Bunny: Always check underneath your bed

Exit 8: Faithful adaptation of the Japanese horror game

Frankenstein: Beauty on the outside, ironically

The Great Flood: Wash away our sins...

If I Had Legs I'd Kick You: Life is a kick in the nuts

Is This Thing On?: Healing, through comedy

It Was Just an Accident: Revenge is a dish...

The Long Walk: Get busy walkin' or get busy dyin'

Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning: Or is it...?

The Rule of Jenny Pen: The inmates have taken over

Sentimental Value: Reconciliation through art

The Smashing Machine: Rock, smash... our hearts

Together: Make sure you're in it for the long haul

Train Dreams: Food for thought

28 Years Later: They never left...

The Ugly Stepsister: Cinderella with a dark twist

Wake Up Dead Man: Murder in the ranks of the church

Weapons: Wicked good fun

Wicked: For Good: I know when I've been beat

The cream of the crap (mmm...nutty):

Back in Action: First POS of the year

Bambi: The Reckoning: Shitting all over the memories of the original

Ebony & Ivory: So bad, it's brilliant?

Fear Street: Prom Queen: I don't even remember seeing this one

I Know What You Did Last Summer: Didn't we do this already?

Ick: Infects the brains of the viewer as well

In the Lost Lands: My poor memory is sometimes a blessing

Kinda Pregnant: Kinda mostly awful

A Merry Little Ex-Mas: Made my holidays much less bright

Now You See Me, Now You Don't: I wish I didn't

Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare: Childhood ruined, one movie at a time

Primitive War: Jurassic Park, minus everything great about Jurassic Park

Sacramento: Insufferable pricks to the end

The Strangers: Chapter 2: We still got one more of this shit to go...

The Toxic Avenger: Just when you thought Troma couldn't sink any lower...

Troll 2: I liked the old one better

Tron: Ares: At least the neon lights are cool...

War of the Worlds: Worst film of the year and a personal affront to H. G. Wells

Note: I will be going dark for a little while, while I recharge my batteries....

-bud

(Disclosure: AI was used to generate the above banner, and that is the only time AI has ever been employed on this blog.)

When Harry Met Sally... (1989)

"Well, that's the good thing about depression; you get your rest."

You know how you can tell when a movie is a classic? When you haven't seen it in years, yet you still remember it as vividly as if you saw it the other day.

Directed by Rob Reiner* and scribed by Nora Ephron, this perfect marriage of romance and comedy explores 12 years of a platonic relationship through chance encounters, and the eternal question of whether men and women can just be friends. Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan are effortlessly charming in the roles of two complete opposites, where the timing never seems to line up.

Along with Annie Hall, I consider it to be one of the best rom-coms of all time.

5 of what she's having out of 5

*The director of what I would consider to be five 5-star movies:

This is Spinal Tap (1984)

Stand by Me (1986)

The Princess Bride (1987)

When Harry Met Sally (1989)

Misery (1990)

R.I.P. Rob Reiner and good riddance to this terrible year...

The Great Flood (2025)

AKA: 대홍수 (Daehongsu)

This one starts off immediately. Heavy rainfalls at a high-rise apartment building in Seoul forces its residents upwards, including a woman and her young child. That's only the first stage of this apocalyptic sci-fi disaster epic. The real bend of this film unfurls about 20 minutes into the film, but I won't reveal it here. The twisty and convoluted premise manages to sustain the suspense for most of its runtime, even when you're ahead of the narrative.

3½ swimming goggles out of 5

Train Dreams (2025)

Chronicles the life of one Robert Grainier, an ordinary man without much sense of direction or purpose, who searches for meaning in the absurdity and tragedy that follows him during the early twentieth century. Life is simple but hard, and similarly, I found this film meditative but dull, which is probably an accurate depiction of what life was like back then. The cinematography is beautiful and brings to mind the works of Terrence Malick, as we're treated to long stretches of quiet contemplation. It seems to be about how the world changes and leaves us behind, which is as profound as it is devastating.

3 boots nailed to a tree out of 5