My Review of I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025)

 

Written by Sam Lansky And Jennifer Kaytin Robinson And Leah McKendrick

Directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson

Ava: "Fuck the 4th of July."

Julie: "Couldn't agree more."

Oh, the legacy sequel. I guess Halloween (2018) and Scream (2022) really set the bar of what to do with them. They're also more iconic franchises than this one.

A few weeks ago, I went back and watched the first two theatrical movies and the straight to DVD third instalment. This movie for obvious reasons only alluded to the theatrical releases in the franchise.

Our group seem to be a little older and things opened with the engagement of queen bee, Danica Richards (Madelyn Cline) and rich boyfriend, Teddy Spencer (Tyriq Withers). Add in former lovers, Ava Brucks (Chase Sui Wonder) and Milo Griffin (Jonah Hauer-King) as well as social outcast, Stevie Ward (Sarah Pidgeon) and you've got a new generation of protagonists.

Anyways, the five go on a drive, bump into another car that goes over the road and instead of going to the police, they decide to cover it up with some help from Teddy's father, Grant (Billy Campbell). Cut to a year later and there's consequences to be had for the fivesome.

First of all, Danica's new fiancée Wyatt (Joshua Orpin) was one of the first people to die at the hands of the Fisherman and it didn't take long for podcaster, Tyler Trevino (Gabbriette Bechtel) to also join with the body count. Anyways, wasn't this supposed to be a legacy sequel?

Well, it was and having original survivors Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt) and Ray Bronson (Freddie Prinze Jr) back in the mix did liven things up a bit. In the space of twenty six years, both Julie and Ray have split up and one of them had changed for the absolute worst. Can you guess which one?

Of course, it's Ray who decided to take up the mantle of the Fisherman along with the grief stricken Stevie. The former was pissed at the events of 1997 being forgotten and the latter's boyfriend was the victim at the start of the movie.

As someone who's had mixed feelings about a franchise killing off another long term male protagonist, I'm really disappointed with the way things planned out for Ray too. It definitely felt like character assassination and a misguided creative swing. Julie's screen time isn't much either and there's some hooks for the inevitable sequel that should be announced shortly.

- With the constant references to Helen Shivers, I'm genuinely impressed they got Sarah Michelle Gellar to reprise the role in a dream with Danica. 

- A credit scene had Julie track down Karla Wilson (Brandy Norwood) while this movie had only Ava, Danica and Stevie surviving.

- Ava turned out to be the first bisexual main character. Aside from being exes with Milo, she also hooked up with Tyler.

- Chronology: 2025 Southport for the duration of the film. Julie had left the place to be a professor.

I neither loved or hated this latest instalment of I Know What You Did Last Summer. It had it's moments and I did love that cameo appearance but overall, it's mostly an okay legacy sequel.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Monster (2003)

 

Written And Directed by Patty Jenkins 

Aileen: "'All you need is love and to believe in yourself.' Nice idea. It doesn't exactly work out that way. But I guess it was better to hear a flat-out lie than to know the truth at thirteen."

Long before her acclaim and fall with a Wonder Woman duology, there was a time when people remembered Patty Jenkins as an award nominated and winning director. This was the movie that put her on the map.

Focusing on one of America's most famous serial killers, this movie also saw Charlize Theron physically transform herself to play former prostitute turned killer, Aileen Wuornos. This film would depict Wuornos's crime spree but more than that.

There's an opening narration which set the tone for Aileen's car crash of a life and an encounter with a young lesbian named Selby Wall (Christina Ricci) represented something that Aileen had never felt before - love and Aileen herself insisted she wasn't gay.

However the romance between Aileen and Selby somewhat made the two into outcasts. Selby found herself ostracised by her conservative father and her aunt, Donna (Annie Corley) while Aileen's attempts to go legit ended up being a non starter.

In real life, Aileen murdered at least seven men and her first victim was a john named Vincent Corey (Lee Tergesen). In this case, Aileen did murder him in self defence but following victims would be men who hadn't intended her harm, men she robbed or even one man who actually tried to help her.

Of course as the bodies began to pile up, Aileen was eventually caught, turned on by Selby and ultimately sentenced to death. We don't see the last bit but it's mentioned as the credits closed. 

- Actors who played other victims of Aileen were Pruitt Taylor Vince, Marco St. John, Marc Macauley, Scott Wilson and Tim Ware.

- Wuornos gave Jenkins access to letters to gain an insight into her life.

- Standout music: Duran Duran's All She Wants Is, Blondie's Tide Is High and Journey's Don't Stop Believing.

- Chronology: The movie covered from 1989 to 2002, Daytona Beach in Florida as well as Ohio.

Monster was an incredible directorial debut for Patty Jenkins and it's still holding up incredibly as a movie. Charlize Theron really went above and beyond for her portrayal of Aileen Wuornos and it's such a compelling performance.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Byzantium (2012)

 

Written by Moira Buffini

Directed by Neil Jordan

Clara: "I'm never merciful and knowledge is a fatal thing."

I was in the mood for an Irish themed vampire flick of sorts and I stumbled upon this one. Gemma Arterton and Saoirse Ronan as a mother/daughter vampire duo. Why the hell not?

Yes, the movie opened with vampire matriarch Clara Webb killing one of her clients and telling daughter, Eleanor that they had to move again. The latter wasn't particularly pleased about that.

Anyways Clara and Eleanor moved to a coastal resort and both women get love interest. For Clara, that meant the generally shy and grieving Noel (Daniel Mays), who inherited the Byzantium Hotel. Clara didn't take long into turning it into a brothel with Noel passively letting her do what she wanted.

As for Eleanor, she went to school and forged a connection with leukemia patient, Frank (Caleb Landry Jones). She also attracted attention from her teachers, Morag (Maria Doyle Kennedy) and Kevin (Tom Hollander) by telling stories of her mother's past.

There's flashbacks to Clara being made into a vampire, which was where Brethren members, Savella (Uri Gavriel) and Darvill (Sam Riley) factored into things. They didn't approve of Clara being a vampire and they certainly didn't approve of Clara killing a Brethren member and having Eleanor made into a vampire.

The last act had Eleanor and Clara against each other before the Brethren brought back together. Then we had Clara show some growth from the movie by actually letting Eleanor live her own life while she reunited with Darvill.

- Neil Jordan who directed this one previously directed the more famous Interview With The Vampire.

- Although Clara and Eleanor are clearly vampires, they're referred to as soucriants. Johnny Lee Miller appeared as Captain Ruthven, who turned Clara.

- Standout music: Etta James Don't Cry Baby and Girls Love Shoes Flaunt.

- Chronology: 2010 in a coastal town. The movie was filmed in parts of Ireland and the UK. Clara and Eleanor were made into vampires over 200 years ago. Napoleonic Wars.

Byzantium was a delightful feminist take on the vampire genre with great performances from both Gemma Arterton and Saoirse Ronan respectively. It's also a rather underrated film from the acclaimed Neil Jordan.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

Justice League Unlimited - Episodes 11-15 Reviews

The first season ended with some time travelling hijinks and the second season began with a fight club and a trip to Apokolips.

Episode 11: Wake The Dead

This episode began with a bunch of kids playing around with magic in order to protect themselves from being bullied. After that, they're absent from a story that brought back the return of Solomon Grundy. It's also a story that was the building blocks for Hawkgirl getting a very public redemption, one that John Stewart was more than willing to back up as well. Solomon's reduced to a more brutish state than his last appearance. 7/10

Episode 12: The Once And Future Thing, Part One: Weird Western Tales 

The first of a two part finale. In the Watchtower, you had Batman, Wonder Woman and John Stewart somewhat talking to each other before Chronos popped up and then they all got dragged into the Wild West. This meant being paired with characters like Jonah Hex and Bat Lash to defeat Tobias Manning. Then the episode ended with Chronos getting his powers back and a future completely different than expected. 8/10

Episode 13: The Once And Future Thing, Part Two: Time, Warped 

Ending this first season, we've got Batman, Wonder Woman and John Stewart in a far future where Chronos has dominion over everything and the likes of the Jokerz and Ghoul as enforcers. Fortunately there's also Static Shock, Batman Beyond, Bruce Wayne and Warhawk to help out the trio. Warhawk in particular represented a huge spoiler for John. Chronos was at his most vindictive in this episode, making his comeuppance all the more satisfying to watch. 8/10

Episode 14: The Cat And The Canary

The second season got off to a modest start with Green Arrow and Black Canary enjoy some friendly sparring/flirting before Wildcat somewhat came between. Mainly because he was involved in some underground fight club run by Roulette. We got some fight scenes that were fun enough, though Green Arrow was nerfed a lot in the second half of the episode. 6/10

Episode 15: The Ties That Bind/Miracles Happen

With Darkseid indisposed, it turns out that Apokolips has become open to a power grab. Granny Goodness wants it but needs Kalibak but the latter's being held captive by Virman Vundabar. Granny then took Oberon prisoner so Mister Miracle and Barda along with The Flash will aid her cause. There's some nice flashbacks providing context to Mister Miracle's relationship with Granny Goodness before the latter got her just desserts. 7/10

Next blog I'll tackle The Doomsday Sanction, Task Force X, The Balance, Double Date and Clash.

My Review of The Sandman: "Death: The High Cost Of Living"

 

Written by Neil Gaiman And Allan Heinberg

Directed by Jamie Childs

Death (to Sexton): "Thank you. I had a nice day."

Last week felt like the true finale to the show but this episode could maybe be seen as an epilogue for this show overall. It's also got a very simple premise.

The premise being what would happen if Death took the day off? Every one hundred years that's exactly what she does. She takes a day off and lives a human life. She wanted the whole experience and for that, she needed human interaction.

That would come in the form of Sexton Furnival (Colin Morgan). He's a journalist who broke up with a woman named Sylvie. His flatmate Billie (Jade Anouka) wanted him out of the way so she could have sex with her girlfriend, Amelia (Adwoa Akoto). They'd end up in a fight before later making up.

As for Sexton, he was considering suicide until an accident put him in Death's crossbars and the two struck up a rather chaotic friendship. Oh and Mad Hettie putting them together in order to retrieve her "soul".

Throw in friendly cab driver Lennie (Tracy Ann Oberman), a nightclub reunion with Billie and Amelia and their single friend, Jackie (Ellie Mejia) and things were getting a bit much for Sexton. Then there was Theo (Jonno Davies) holding both Sexton and Death at gunpoint in order to get the latter to bring back his dead girlfriend. 

Eventually they got free, Death seemed happy with how her day as a human turned out and then she "died". Oh and Mad Hettie's "soul" was a picture of her daughter and Sexton got a new lease of life and a potential new girlfriend with Jackie.

- Sexton liked three sugars in his tea and wrote climate reports for The Guardian. He also had a Superman mug and found a Superman fridge magnet.

- Theo learned that Death's sigil couldn't bring people back or control Death herself.

- Death went under the alias of Didi, given to her by Sexton. She also had a conversation with herself near the end of the episode.

- Sylvie is never once seen in the episode, despite being frequently mentioned.

- This episode officially marked the end of this saga. Originally there was a Dead Boy Detectives scene that got cut from the series.

- Chronology: Present day London for the duration of the episode.

Death: The High Cost Of Living was a quiet way to end things. Were things different, I'd like to think that Netflix would've given this show a third season and covered more arcs but I'm grateful for what we did manage to get. Great performances from Kirby Howell-Baptiste and Colin Morgan.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

DCU Blog - July 2025 Edition: Superman Soars, Supergirl First Poster, Wonder Woman Movie Fast Tracked

Yes, it's the end of July and with it, some of the most exciting stuff to happen in relation to DC. Oh, it's been a hell of a month.

As of now, Superman (2025) has made over $516 million worldwide at the box office. The movie's an undeniable hit. A digital release has yet to be confirmed.

Naomi Ackie has been cast as the female lead for Clayface (September 11th 2026). Filming will begin in the UK next month. 

Yet again, James Gunn has reaffirmed that Robert Pattinson will not be the DCU Batman. The Batman - Part II will film early next year for it's October 1st 2027 release.

James Gunn has also confirmed that The Brave And The Bold is still happening.

The first poster for Supergirl (2026) was released earlier this month. The movie will be released from June 26th 2026.

Luca Guadagnino has stepped away from Sgt. Rock. James Gunn has said the movie will happen with a new director.

James Gunn has confirmed that he won't be writing the second season of Creature Commandos.

The first in a series of an animated one shots for Krypto is rumoured to be coming out in September.

Ana Nogueira has been confirmed as the writer of the upcoming Wonder Woman movie. She's also still writing the Teen Titans movie, though that's on hold for a bit.

James Gunn and Zack Snyder parodied themselves in a recent episode of Rick And Morty.

Aztec Batman: Clash Of Empires will be released from September 19th.

Mattson Tomlin has hinted that he might be writing for another DC hero in a recent Twitter exchange.

The second season of Peacemaker (August 21st on HBO Max) will feature cameos from past and future DC characters. There's a podcast every Thursday and Monday from James Gunn and guests going over the first season.

Keeping with the awards buzz, The Penguin has been nominated for 24 Emmys.

David Jenkins will write and executive produce the pilot for Booster Gold. Kumail Nanjiani will not be playing the titular role.

Filming for Lanterns has wrapped. It'll air on HBO in the first half of 2026. The show will be John Stewart's story.

That's it for this month but things are certainly hotting up for DC right now.

My Review of Mulan (1998)

 

Written by Rita Hsiao And Chris Sanders And Philip LaZebnik And Raymond Singer And Eugenia Bostwick-Singer And Robert D. San Souci

Directed by Barry Cook And Tony Bancroft

Mulan: "My ancestors sent a little lizard to help me?"

Mushu: "Hey! Dragon. *Dra-gon*, not lizard. I don't do that tongue thing."

Back in 2020 when the live action version of this came out during the height of COVID and went down like a lead balloon, I reviewed. I also realised that I never reviewed the animated version. Time to amend that.

Our lead heroine, Fa Mulan (Ming-Na Wen) has gotten to that age where her parents wanted to marry her but after one disastrous encounter with a matchmaker, it seemed like marriage wasn't going to be on the table for Mulan.

Of course, marriage wasn't that big a priority for Mulan and when the Emperor was mobilising conscriptions that included Mulan's much older father, Fa Zhao (Soon-tek Oh). Mulan tried to get him out of it, he didn't like her intervention and then she conscribed herself in his place.

Mulan posing as a man in the Chinese Army aided with tiny dragon Mushu (Eddie Murphy) was where the movie came to life. She butted heads and then became friends with fellow soldiers, Yao (Harvey Fierstein), Ling (Gedde Watanabe) and Chien-Po (Jerry Tondo). Then there was her rapport with Captain Li Shang (BD Wong).

Yes, there's a hint of romance between Mulan and Li Shang throughout their time together but of course, there were obstacles. The main one being that Mulan's identity as a woman came out during a crucial time and of course, there was the war itself.

This came into the third act in the Huns seize the palace and take the Emperor hostage. The battle between Mulan and Shan Yu (Miguel Ferrer) did lead to the former being rewarded as a hero and even getting Li Shang to stay for dinner. Oh and a legacy intact for Mushu.

- This was the first Disney movie to ever get released on DVD, a year after it's theatrical release.

- The only Disney movie to use the phrase "crossdresser".

- Standout music: Honour To Us All, Reflection, I'll Make A Man Out Of You, A Girl Worth Fighting For and True To Your Heart.

- Chronology: The real Mulan appeared in a 6th century ballad.

Mulan isn't one of my favourites but it's an enjoyable one. As it's Disney, there's some creative liberties taken with this one but the songs are good and the romance more understated.

Rating: 7 out of 10