The Long Walk (2025)

Based on Stephen King's first completed novel (as Richard Bachman), "The Long Walk" is an annual event where fifty teenage boys compete to walk the furthest in order to win a hefty cash prize and a "wish" at the end of it. The catch? If you stop walking, you die. It's a dystopian survival tale reminiscent of The Hunger Games and Squid Game where we see what lengths poor people will go for money, all for the entertainment of the wealthy and powerful.

This one is a hard sell because you're basically watching people walk for two hours and there isn't a ring in sight. It's grim and harrowing and unlikely to rouse one's spirits, but I find that refreshing somehow.

3½ final warnings out of 5

Alien: Romulus (2024)

Set between the events of Alien and Aliens (yet made 40 years after the fact), this loose "inter-quel" shouldn't work as well as it does. But behind the skilled direction of Fede Álvarez (Evil Dead, Don't Breathe), he manages to pull it off with enough finesse to make Ridley Scott proud. It retains that lo-fi look that makes you feel like it was shot back in the '80s (with one glaring exception which I won't spoil). You've got all your classic staples here; androids, cocoons, ovomorphs, face-huggers, chestbursters, full-on xenomorph and...well, I'll let you discover for yourself. 

There are not too many surprises to be found here if you are familiar with the Alien franchise, but it's done so competently, you don't really mind. It's nostalgia bait for sure, but it's a good one.

3 wait...what is that? out of 5