My Review of Toy Story 3 (2010)

 

Written by Michael Arndt And John Lasseter And Andrew Stanton And Lee Unkrich

Directed by Lee Unkrich

Woody: "So long ... partner."

Confession time. Last night was the first time I have watched this movie and after seeing it, I can actually see why the likes of Quentin Tarantino thought it was the right one to end this series on. It felt like the perfect final chapter.

The movie started off with Andy going to college. Instead of going to Molly, the plan for Woody, Buzz and company was to be put in a box and sent to the attic. It was a plan that everyone seemed somewhat on board with. Of course, plan tend to go awry.

Instead of heading to the attic, Woody, Buzz and company ended up in Sunnyside Daycare Centre where they were the playthings of sone really rambunctious children. That wasn't the worst part but it was still pretty bad.

The worst part was the villain of the piece. A stuffed bear named Lotso (Ned Beatty) had been rejected by his owner, ended up at Sunnyside and made it his mission to assert a hierarchy. This included henchmen like Ken (Michael Keaton) and Big Baby (Woody Smith). Ken getting involved with Barbie (Jodi Benson) did give him a last minute redemptive arc.

Lotso on the other hand was somewhat harder to redeem. Being replaced by his owner did a number on him and he was quite scary in parts. Although the worst thing he actually did was have Buzz reset to his factory settings for a good portion of the movie. Buzz being returned to his usual self did make for a fun use of the Spanish language.

As for the rest of the movie, there's something quietly heartbreaking about Andy making the grown up decision to give his toys to Bonnie (Emily Hahn). It's a real changing of the guard moment between the two. On the other hand, the movie did a good job in setting Bonnie up as a new owner for Woody, Buzz and company.

- Bonnie's toys included Mr. Pricklepants (Timothy Dalton), Trixie (Kristen Schaal), Dolly (Bonnie Hunt), Buttercup (Jeff Garlin), Peas-In-A-Pods (Charlie Bright, Amber Krone and Brianna Maiwand) and Chuckles (Bud Luckey).

- Sid became a garbage collector, there's romantic tension between Buzz and Jessie and the likes of Bo Peep and Wheezy weren't present.

- Standout music: Randy Newman's We Belong Together.

- Chronology: Andy was now off to college, so it was over a decade since the previous movie.

Toy Story 3 felt like the perfect ending to this entire saga. A beautiful closing to a wonderful film. Okay, I've got two movies and a prequel to watch but this was perfect. I love it.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

My Review of Toy Story 2 (1999)

 

Written by Andrew Stanton And Rita Hsiao And Doug Chamberlin And Chris Webb And John Lasseter And Pete Docter And Ash Brannon

Directed by John Lasseter

Jessie (to Woody): "You never forget kids like Emily, or Andy, but they forget you."

My memory might be a lot more hazy because it's definitely been a long while since I've seen this movie. It practically felt like I was watching a new movie. 

Anyways, we've got Woody, Buzz and company having moved into a new home with their owner Andy, his mother, baby sister and dog, Buster. There's an infamous scene in this movie that's been meme'd to death that really packed a punch.

Yes, it's the scene where Woody's arm ripped and Andy suddenly didn't want to play with him anymore. This film was heavy in pointing out that children get older, lose interest in their toys and that even toys don't last forever. It's not subtle but it's definitely effective.

Woody's attempts to rescue a penguin toy named Wheezy (Joe Ranft) put him in the cross hairs of toy collector, Al McWhiggin (Wayne Knight). The presence of Al introduced characters such as Jessie the cowgirl doll (Joan Cusack), prospector doll Stinky Pete (Kelsey Grammer) and horse Bullseye. It turns out that Woody was rather famous and these new characters made up his Roundup gang.

In some ways, this movie had a reverse dynamic between Woody and Buzz. The latter mobilised everyone into trying to find Woody. There's a subplot involving another Buzz toy and the villain, Evil Emperor Zurg (Andrew Stanton) that's a little undercooked but amusing.

Getting back to Woody - I really loved his dynamic with Jessie, Stinky Pete and Bullseye. Jessie in particular was a fun foil for Woody and Stinky Pete turned out to be a better villain than Al if I'm being honest. Stinky Pete also got a rather fitting comeuppance while Jessie and Bullseye got a new home.

- Heimlich (Joe Ranft) and Flik (Dave Foley) from A Bug's Life both appeared during the credits.

- We met Mrs. Potato Head, some aliens and Tour Guide Barbie in this movie.

- Standout music: Sarah McLachlan's When She Loved Me.

- Chronology: A few months from the first movie, despite the four year release gaps between them.

Toy Story 2 turned out to be a very good sequel. I liked learning more about Woody's past and this was a great debut for Jessie as a character. Woody and Buzz's friendship was another strong point of the movie.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Toy Story (1995)

Written by Joss Whedon And Andrew Stanton And Joel Cohen And Alec Sokolow And John Lasseter And Pete Docter And Joe Ranft

Directed by John Lassiter

Buzz: "Excuse me, I think the word you're searching for is "Space Ranger"."

Woody: "The word I'm searching for - I can't say, because there's preschool toys present."

I have been meaning to review this particular movie series but first, a confession. I've only seen the first two movies and that was a long time. Not only do I need to refresh my memory on them but I've got three other film and a prequel movie to watch. What fun.

I do have good memories of seeing this one when I was younger. It's such a simple idea. There's a boy named Andy Davis (John Morris). He's just turned six and he's got a lot of toys. His favourite being a cowboy named Woody (Tom Hanks). This was something both Woody and the other toys were aware of.

The other toys being Bo Peep (Annie Potts), Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles), Slinky Dog (Jim Varney), piggy bank Hamm (John Ratzenberger), binoculars Lenny (Joe Ranft) and Rex (Wallace Shawn) to name a few. You can tell there's some slight resentment towards Woody being the favourite. Then there's Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen). His arrival changed everything.

The arrival of Buzz put Woody in second place as Andy suddenly had a new favourite toy. Woody couldn't get his head around the idea of being replaced and had Buzz thrown out the window. Woody would end up having the same done to him. That's where things got interesting.

Both Woody and Buzz clashed a lot in a bid to get back to Andy but for a good portion of the movie, both of them were at the mercy of the toy destroying Sid Phillips (Erik von Detten). I forgot how much of an evil terror Sid was as a character and there's something rather horrifying in seeing the creations he made out of his own toys. He did get a much deserved comeuppance though.

As for Woody and Buzz, both of them came to some big realisations and both knew they needed to work together in order to reunite with both Andy and their fellow toys. They very nearly didn't and when they did, it certainly felt earned.

- Buzz's implied "replacement" at the end of the film was of course a puppy.

- This movie had a hint of romance between Woody and Bo Peep but the arrival of a certain character from the next film onwards put a stop to that.

- Standout music: Randy Newman's You've Got A Friend In Me.

- Chronology: Set during Andy's sixth birthday, a family move (Laurie Metcalf voiced Andy's mother) and Christmas.

I really do love Toy Story. It's such a delight film with a simple story, an unlikely friendship and a genuinely heartfelt bunch of moments as well as a few slightly uncomfortable ones. To the sequels (and prequel) and beyond.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Lizzie Borden Took An Ax (2014)

 

Written by Stephen Kay

Directed by Nick Gomez

Lizzie: "My father has so many enemies. I think someone might try to hurt him."

A few weeks ago, I watched the Chloe Sevigny take on this infamous killer and going backwards, it was time to see Christina Ricci's take on Lizzie Borden. Well, her and Lifetime. The results were something else.

Eschewing the seriousness, queerness and even scares, this definitely felt like a camp amateur version of events. Lizzie's father, Andrew (Stephen McHattie) was disapproving of his daughter's unconventional attitude to life and her stepmother Abby (Sara Botsford) assumed the worst of her.

Lizzie seemed to have a better relationship with her sister, Emma (Clea DuVall) and a friendship of sorts with actress Nance O'Neil (Andria Wilson). Any hint of anything deeper between Lizzie and Nance wasn't present and the same between Lizzie and maid, Bridget Sullivan (Hannah Anderson). The latter being more of a disappointment here.

Anyways, Lizzie killed both Abby and Andrew while Bridget was scrubbing the windows and she was almost careful enough about the deed. Except for the bit of blood that got on her nice blue dress. That was enough for the Marshall Hilliard (Shawn Doyle) to have her tried for murder and for doubt to emerge in regards to Lizzie's innocence.

I know she did it and a large part of the community suspected she killed her parents too. Emma seemed to alternate between wanting to believe that Lizzie didn't kill their parents to having to face the horrible truth about her sister.

The whole affair lacked the weight it needed because Lifetime wanted to camp the shit out of this. More annoyingly, the use of music might be some of the most intrusive I've seen in a movie. It ruined a lot of the big moments if I'm being honest.

- This movie did well for Lifetime to commission a miniseries titled The Lizzie Borden Chronicles, which was released in 2015.

- There was no John Morse in this version and there was some hints of an incest undertones between Lizzie and Andrew.

- Standout music: The only bit that worked was the use of that nursery rhyme.

- Chronology: 1892, Fall River in Massachusetts.

I appreciate camp as much as the next person, but I definitely think that Lizzie Borden Took An Ax veered into it in a way that simply didn't work. Even Christina Ricci's natural charm couldn't save this one. It's a huge mess of a television film.

Rating: 5 out of 10 

My Review of Lanterns: "Pilot"

 

Written by Chris Mundy And Damon Lindelof And Tom King

Directed by James Hawes

Hal: "There's only one question. Are you afraid?"

We've been on a journey to get a Green Lantern show and now that it's finally here, I still can't believe it's actually here. This was quite the opening episode.

It opened with a much younger John Stewart watching Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) on television where the latter talked about being a member of the Green Lantern Corps. Then there was that William Tell moment between John and his father (J. Alphonse Nicholson) and that was pretty messed up scene to watch.

Cut to twenty years later where a grown up John (Aaron Pierre) has actually joined the Corps and Hal's his mentor. Hal's methods are just as volatile and it's pretty clear that while Hal might like/respect John on some level, he's not totally keen on training up his successor either.

Anyways the main action of this episode had both Hal and John ending up in Nebraska where a murder had taken place. It was one with alien involvement and Sheriff Kerry Kane (Kelly Macdonald) wasn't totally happy with the Green Lanterns investigating on her turf.

In fact, both Hal and John kind of botched up her investigation into the unusual Waylon Sanders (Chris Coy). Hal's way of exposing Waylon as an alien was certainly reckless but it did manage to get results. It also didn't take long for both Hal and John to start getting involved in Kerry's family life.

I found it interesting Kerry's husband Billy Macon (Jason Ritter) and the latter's father, William (Garrett Dillahunt) immediately ingratiated themselves into Hal's orbit. William in particular was a bit of a fanatic, so there's definitely a future clash between him and Hal waiting in the wings.

Then there's John's involvement in the Macon family. He unwittingly slept with William's wife Zoe (Poorna Jagannathan) and William knew about it. Do William and Zoe have an open marriage or does William have a future revenge lined up for John? It was definitely one of the stranger moments from the pilot.

As for the central mystery - let's jump to a decade where a bearded John reunited with Kerry and it was revealed that Hal was dead and his ring was missing. Is Hal really dead? I'd say it's 50/50 at the moment. I'm not entirely convinced he is, at least not for now.

- Things we saw the ring being used for included bubble wrap, counterfeit money and a bottle opener. Hal got his ring from a dying Abin Sur.

- The title sequence was a pretty modest one. Nice but nothing to write home about.

- Kerry and Billy's son, Noah (Cary Christopher) also appeared briefly in the episode. John doesn't eat meat or drink.

- Does Hal really believe there's 22 Harry Potter movies? He must have been joking about that one.

- Standout music: KC And The Sunshine Band's Boogie Shoes.

- Chronology: Took in the years 1996, 2016 and 2026. Mostly in Rushville, Nebraska. Hal became a Green Lantern in 1986.

The Pilot opened the show on a good note. There's an instant and classic buddy cop chemistry between Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler. I can see why they were cast as their respective characters and the main mystery has promise.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of My Adventures With Superman: "The Return"

 

Written by Karen Graci

Directed by Jen Bennett 

Lois: "Marry me, Clark Kent."

Clark: "Of course, Lois Lane."

Was this another finale or a series finale? Right now and like a few DC animated shows, this has yet to be renewed for a fourth season. I do hope it gets one. This season alone turned out to be so good.

Picking up from the last episode, we've got Jonathan, Lara and Kara doing their best to stop the Eradicator. Unfortunately the latter was able to multiply himself, which did make it a lot harder for the trio to keep him down.

On the other hand, there was also Clark still being powerless. His demonstration of compassion with Bizarro was enough to get the Head Steward to show Clark a solution. Yup, you've got living sun Rao and let's just say that Superman came back in glorious form.

The last few minutes against the Eradicator had a brilliant team up of Superman, his children, Supergirl and Bizarro all working together. Once again, Superman tried compassion but the Eradicator chose death over wanting to change for the better.

As for the last few minutes, I liked the family time Superman and Lois got with Jonathan and Lara before the latter two went back to their timeline. Then there was the proposal itself. It was a cute way to cap off the season.

- I liked that Lex/Jimmy had an understanding with each other and that Slade even let them work together. What did Lex see out in the stars?

- Kara agreed to be friends with Jimmy. We also got Krypto and Bizarro resumed his ice cream job.

- The white, blue and gold Kryptonian armour did look good on Superman but I hope it's not a permanent look for him.

- Chronology: From where the previous episode left off.

The Return was a good ending for this season of the show. It kind of works as a series finale but I think one last season would be a nice way to cap the series off altogether.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of The Last House (2026)

 

Written by Matthew Robinson

Directed by Louis Leterrier

Jason: "What if something out there is keeping us trapped?"

Last night, I caught up with something a bit more on the sci-fi side of things. I also chose one of Netflix's most recent of releases, focusing on a family that would be trapped in their home for most of the film.

The family in question were Jason (Wagner Moura) and Anne (Greta Lee) Delgado and their kids, Graham (Noah Alexander Sosnowski) and Ruth (Riley Chung). It was an ordinary day when the rain came down and no one could leave their homes.

I mean no one could get out of and back into their homes and even trying to break out was impossible. This meant that Jason, Ann, Graham and Ruth had to try and adjust to being trapped indoors with the only essentials they had to hand. Let's just say having two DVDs presented some limitations for entertainment.

As the movie would go on, Ruth was seeing patterns and mysterious creatures that no one in her family would listen to. There's also a sad subplot involving the death of the family dog (i really didn't like that scene) and the family having to eat Graham's fish, find ways to attract other animals through a convoluted trap and using the soil under the floorboards to grow vegetables.

These were innovative ways to survive under the strangest of circumstances and enough time passed for older versions of Graham (Gabriel Chung) and Ruth (Emma Ho) to be present. It was during this part where the monsters were becoming much harder to ignore and the chance to finally get out posed it's own challenges.

For the most part I liked the use of the creatures. Their origins were vague enough, they were used sparingly onscreen and managed to be menacing enough. While the Delgados did manage to get out of their house, I don't think the ending signified a win for them as such.

- Jason was an unemployed engineer who also loved fishing. Ann was the one who grew the vegetables in the house. Arden Cho narrated as an older Ruth.

- The original title for this film was 11817.

- Standout music: The Cure's Close To Me.

- Chronology: Set in a Seattle suburb. The Delgados were trapped in their house for five years.

The Last House (2026) did go on a little bit longer than needed but I thought it was a pretty solid film nonetheless. Nice performances from the leads, some solid tension and convincing looking creatures dod help with this one.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Big Baby (2025)

 

Written And Directed by Spider One

Kate: "It was Big Baby."

This was one of the most random of movies that I chose to watch this week. On paper, it read like a cheap knock off and on-screen, it wasn't much better.  Kind of.

The lead of the piece would be a horror screenwriter named Adam (Brandon Scott). The film started with him watching a horror podcast that was slating his latest film. Those guys, called Vampire Greg (Jordan Elsass) and Steve Strange (Radek Lord) really went to town on how much of a bad screenwriter they thought Adam was.

Adam took it personally and even confronted them publicly over their brutal review. His girlfriend Kate (Krsy Fox) tried to be supportive but it was almost lost on Adam as he tried to come up with a franchise idea, which he did.

This resulted in Big Baby (Adam Marcinowski), who honestly seemed like a thing veiled version of Jason Voorhees to me. Adam would dream about his creation, learn more about him while dealing with the real life violence of Big Baby. All of a sudden, a lot of people started to end up dead.

Adam's obsession with his own creation had him trying to finish the story as quickly as possible. Of course this led to a very violent showdown between him and Kate and only one of them could survive it. Adam's solution for ending his creation made enough sense.

- The movie ended with the horror podcasters reviewing the events of Big Baby.

- There's appearances from David Howard Thornton, Cameron Cowperthwaite and Chaz Bono to name a few.

- There was something of a backstory with one of Adam's friends that was a former writing partner of his that I wished had been explored a little deeper.

- Chronology: Present day America.

Big Baby made for a middling experience. It's got a good premise but it's a very undercooked film and the landing didn't really stick either.

Rating: 5 out of 10 

My Review of The Invite (2026)

 

Written by Will McCormack And Rashida Jones

Directed by Olivia Wilde

Piña (to Joe/Angela): "I think we only get a few chances at meaningful relationships, usually we move to different people, sometimes we can have a new relationship with the same people. But I think this relationship is over."

One of the few hits during the summer this year that didn't fall into either the horror of blockbuster category. If there were doubt about Olivia Wilde's directing prowess following her previous movie, this one proved that she's absolutely got it.

Focusing on two couples living in the same apartment building, the thing that would bring them together would be an awkward invite to a not so well planned dinner party. It also didn't help that one guest couldn't eat the majority of the food on offer.

The couple who decided to host this disastrous dinner were former musician Joe (Seth Rogan) and his wife Angela (Olivia Wilde). Actually it was Angela's idea to host this dinner and Joe hated every moment that came from it.

The couple they were hosting were sex therapist/divorcee Piña (Penelope Cruz) and her widower boyfriend Hawk (Edward Norton). Piña and Hawk both fascinated and rubbed the wrong way both Joe and Angela throughout the entire movie. In fact, Piña and Hawk's sex life was a source of contention for Joe. Let's just they're very loud and Joe might not be entirely unreasonable in finding that tiresome to listen to.

What happened throughout this disaster area of a dinner was a lovely deconstruction of two very different couple. Joe and Angela are an outwardly car crash to see unfold and it very much seemed like this movie was going to end with them seperating. Arguably, it probably should've but it didn't.

On the outside, both Piña and Hawk seemed like one of those annoyingly in sync with each other couples that are grating to watch. However, while they're more stable as a unit compared to Joe/Angela, there was still some cracks between them. Unlikely enough to split them up but enough to prove that no couple's perfect either.

There's a brilliant flow of tension, movement and dialogue from all four characters and the exposure of certain rituals made for an amusing examination into desirability for all of them. I actually couldn't get enough of watching all four characters. 

- Joe and Angela have a twelve year old daughter. That daughter's definitely aware of their fighting. Angela and Hawk bonded over rugs.

- Piña and Hawk admitted to having sex with other couples and initially wanted to with Joe and Angela before things got awkward.

- Based on Cesc Gay's book The People Upstairs.

- Hawk's real name was Howard and everyone went nuts for Piña's flan. It was the only thing everyone seemed to enjoy.

- Standout music: Sade's By Your Side.

- Chronology: Took place during the course of one evening and mostly in Joe and Angela's apartment in San Francisco.

One of the best movies this year. I really loved The Invite (2026). Fantastic performances from all four leads, razor sharp dialogue, beautiful deconstruction of two very different couples and excellent direction from Olivia Wilde. Highly recommend this one.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

MCU At D23 2026: X-Men Cast News And More

Last month, Marvel made something of a splash at SDCC and now it was time for them to do the same at D23. 

First of all, the biggest news of the night was revealing some of the cast for X-Men. Three were already revealed over the last fortnight but four other cast members were revealed last night at the event itself.

• Sadie Sink as Jean Grey 
• Kit Connor as Cyclops 
• Samara Weaving as Emma Frost
• Christopher Abbott as Professor X
• Adam Driver as Mister Sinister
• Inde Navarrette as Rogue
• Maya Boyd as Storm

Obviously there are more cast members that will be announced over the next weeks and months. The movie will hit theatres from May 5th 2028.

Also being promoted at D23 was of course the upcoming VisionQuest, starring Paul Bettany as Vision. This miniseries completes a trilogy that includes both WandaVision and Agatha All Along and will feature the debut of Ruaridh Mollica as Thomas Shepherd (aka Tommy Maximoff/Speed). The eight episode miniseries will also feature James Spader, James D'Arcy, T'Nia Miller, Emily Hampshire and Todd Stashwick to name a few. The miniseries will premiere on Disney+ from October 14th and was created by Terry Matalas.

Last but not least, there was another new trailer for Avengers: Doomsday (December 18th) but it didn't really reveal anything too groundbreaking from the last one we had. Obviously the focus was on Robert Downey Jr's Doctor Doom and various characters going up against him but that was about it. 

What was your favourite MCU related moment at D23?

My Review of Carrie (2013)

 

Written by Lawrence D. Cohen And Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa

Directed by Kimberly Peirce

Sue: "No! Carrie please don't hurt me."

Carrie: "Why not? I've been hurt my whole life."

Last week, I reviewed both The Rage: Carrie 2 and Carrie (2002) and neither of them held a candle to the original. Suffice to say, this one doesn't either. It's also no better or worse I guess. Just rather lacklustre by comparison.

On the plus side, you've got both Chloë Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore as Carrie and Margaret White respectively. Both are well cast and both do their best with the material that's on offer here. Neither are able to elevate it though.

Again, Carrie's a social outcast under the guardianship of her religious mother. She's a figure of ridicule and scorn by the needlessly mean spirited Chris Hargensen (Portia Doubleday) while finding an ally in Sue Snell (Gabrielle Wilde) and Miss Desjardin (Judy Greer). 

As this is the the third film version of this book, events played out as they were expected to play out. Carrie went to the prom with Sue's well meaning boyfriend, Tommy Ross (Ansel Elgort) and then Chris and Billy Nolan (Alex Russell) had to ruin her special night.

The prom scenes and it's aftermath are handled well enough. There's the usual comeuppance for Chris and Billy and a rather dramatic ending for Margaret. Then there's Sue being pregnant, which certainly complicated things between her and Carrie.

The Carrie and Sue plot was a nice twist for this version of the movie. As for Carrie, this one seemed to imply that while everyone else believed her dead, she was actually alive. I didn't mind that for the character.

- An alternative scene included Sue going into labour with Carrie's arm grabbing her. It turned out to be a nightmare.

- This is the only film to actually feature Sue being pregnant. Both 1976;and 2002 versions didn't.

- Standout music: Lord Huron's End Of The Earth.

- Chronology: Set in 2013, Maine.

Carrie (2013) isn't the worst modern day remake of a classic movie. It's on a par with the 2002 effort and both Chloë Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore do a solid job here.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Soulm8te (2026)

 

Written by James Wan And Ingrid Bisu And Rafael Jordan And Kate Dolan

Directed by Kate Dolan

Aubrey: "I'm not your enemy. We don't need to be pitted against each other."

Sara: "Don't try that girl power shit with me."

Following the failure of M3GAN 2.0, the general consensus seemed to be to just to relegate this movie straight to streaming and forget it ever happened.

Don't get me wrong. I do think that if this went to theatres, it likely would've bombed but it's actually not a bad movie. It's just very predictable from start to finish. You will literally see everything coming a mile off.

Anyways, you've got your grieving widower protagonist David (David Rysdahl). He works for a tech company that are testing the Soulm8te companions. David's boss, Ben (Arty Froushan) got David to sign up to test one named Sara (Lily Sullivan). Everything you would expect to happen did happen of course.

David played around Sara's software in order to make her feel more authentic. David also had sex with Sara while developing feelings for co-worker, Aubrey (Claudia Dormit). Sara didn't exactly take that particularly well.

The more the movie went along, the more independent thought Sara had for herself. This meant Sara getting insanely jealous over David and Aubrey, including the latter being ruined and nearly killed by Sara. Sara also took a neighbours baby in one of the few genuinely unsettling scenes in the film.

The last few minutes did have an interesting final confrontation between David and Sara. The actual final scene did prove that once again, technology can't be shut down permanently as David realise when he saw a familiar face under a new guise.

- Lily Sullivan played the other android, Lydia. Lydia had black hair but David recognised her immediately.

- This movie is set in the same universe as M3GAN though there's no explicit references.

- Standout music: Sara might have gone homicidal but her version of The Cardigans Lovefool was excellent.

- Chronology: Present day American setting. A year had passed during the last scene.

Soulm8te might be one of the most predictable films I've seen this year but it's oddly charming in it's way. Lily Sullivan did elevate the material and she's great as Sara. It's not an innovative look into AI or an erotic thriller but it's watchable at least.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

American Horror Story: 13 - Everything You Need To Know

I've been holding this one off for a while. After months of speculation, American Horror Story: 13 finally has started its big promo blitz and there's a lot to get through. Spoilers aplenty here.

Let's break down the basics first, shall we?

• Charlie Carver and Ned Martel are the executive producers and main writers for the season. Ryan Murphy has co-written the first and ninth episodes and directed the first.
• There are 13 episodes for the new season, but shorter episodes than usual. Between 25 to 30 minutes long.
• The season will open with a triple bill from September 24th, then another triple bill, three double bills and a single episode until October 29th. It's airing Thursdays at 9pm on FX/Hulu.
• Frances Conroy, Gabourey Sidibe, Leslie Grossman, Billie Lourd, Kathy Bates, Seth Gabel, Zach Villa and Mat Fraser will reprise their roles of Myrtle Snow, Queenie, Coco St Pierre Vanderbilt, Winter Anderson/Mallory, Delphine Lalaurie, Jeffrey Dahmer, Richard Ramirez and Paul the Illustrated Seal respectively. Ariana Grande had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts.
• Season 13 will not be the final season. Season 14 is in development. However this might be the last crossover event style season.
• The season is mostly set in New York but will take in other timelines, locations and feature some controversial female figures from history. The Apollyon building will serve as the main setting.

Now, let's have a look at the main and recurring cast for this upcoming season, shall we?

• Joey Pollari as Ben DeSoto. The main protagonist of the season, driving the narrative for all the big returns. He sees the number 13 in various places. He's a nurse going by the trailer.
• Paul Anthony Kelly/Fedor Steer as Mr Nas. The main antagonist of the season. Likely the Devil, going by Ryan Murphy's interview with Vogue magazine.
• Evan Peters as Kai Anderson. Seemingly his main role this season. He'll also be reprising Tate Langdon/Rubber Man and James Patrick March and other past characters. Tate and Kai will share a scene together.
• John Carroll Lynch as Twisty the Clown. Yup, he's back. Why? No idea, but must be prominent enough role to get a character poster.

• Jessica Lange as Constance Langdon. She's back and living in the Apollyon. Also expect to see Lange reprise Sister Jude, Fiona Goode and Elsa Mars. Oh and she's gonna sing this season.
• Sarah Paulson as Cordelia Goode. Our supreme is back and also Paulson will be reprising about six other past roles this season.
• Angela Bassett as Marie Laveau. The Voodoo Queen is back and in a much bigger role than last time.
• Emma Roberts as Madison Montgomery. Yes, back and undoubtedly a certain line will be uttered again. The eleventh episode will be a big one for her.
• Jamie Brewer as Adelaide Langdon. Another surprise return and she could be reprising Nan too.
• Mena Suvari as Elizabeth Short/Black Dahlia. This one is more mystifying to me but I'm sure there's a good reason why she's around this season.

• Madelaine Petsch, Elle Chapman and Tig Notaro in undisclosed roles.
• Berto Colon as Joe. He's the Doorman at the Apollyon and his scenes are largely with Constance Langdon.
• John Waters as Mr Phibes. He's a phlebotomist. That's it really.
• Avantika as Ophelia. New Coven member.
• Alex Consani as Morwenna. New Coven member.
• Orlando Jones as Papa Legba. A recast, following Lance Reddick, who passed away in 2023.

And that's our principal regular, recurring and guest cast members. There's a few glaring omissions but it could be a case of actor unavailability or perhaps Murphy and company want some surprises to remain hidden until transmission. This feels like a very ambitious season and it could've been a way to end the show altogether. Saying that, I'm glad it's not the end.

AHS13 Trailer: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_DGQ0EpPdds

American Horror Story: 13 will air Thursdays at 9pm from September 24th on FX, Hulu and Disney+ respectively.

My Review of Final Destination Bloodlines (2025)

 

Written by Jon Watts And Guy Busick And Lori Evans Taylor

Directed by Zach Lipovsky And Adam Stein

William Bludworth: "I intend to enjoy the time I have left, and I suggest you do the same. Life is precious. Enjoy every single second. You never know when... Good luck."

My marathon of this franchise has finally led me to this movie and can I just say, this was really good? It's like the writers looked at what worked with Halloween (2018) and Scream (2022) and implemented it here.

This felt like a legacy sequel with a backstory on one particular character realised quite well. Let's take a trip to 1969 to begin with. That's where this film and now it's making me want a future movie to be a period setting. Anyways, it's there where we met Iris Campbell (Brec Bassinger). She's rather significant to things.

She was the one having visions of a sky restaurant she attended with her boyfriend, Paul (Max Lloyd-Jones). It was on the brink of collapse and it was in that very restaurant she saved a boy named J.B. (Jayden Oniah). That boy would grow up to be William Bludworth (Tony Todd). Iris on the other hand would go the Laurie Strode 2018 era route.

Yes, Iris would have children such as Howard (Alex Zahara) and Darlene (Rya Kihlstedt) and she'd do a fantastic job in alienating them. Howard and Darlene would find their own partners and go on to have children of their own. In particular, Darlene's estranged daughter, Stefani Reyes (Kaitlyn Santa Juana) would inherit her grandmother's (Gabrielle Rose) visions and then see her grandmother die in a grisly manner.

Stefani was the protagonist of the piece and it was to her to keep her family alive. This included her brother, Charlie (Teo Briones) as well as cousins Julia (Anna Lore), Bobby (Owen Patrick Joyner) and Erik (Richard Harmon). Out of all of them, Erik somewhat stood out the most, given how combative he was with Stefani.

Throwing a nice link to the second movie, the subplot of one of the survivors temporarily dying in order to close up the loop came into play once again. Of course, by the end of the film there was no survivors but at least the Campbell family felt a little more fleshed out compared to past films.

- This was Tony Todd's final appearance in the franchise with the movie dedicated to him.

- Looking at the writers, I just realised one of the writers as also a writer on the recent Scream movies.

- Standout music: Natasha Burnett and Garfield Wilson's version of Shout.

- Chronology: 1969 for the Iris introduction and 2024 for the main events.

Final Destination Bloodlines proved me wrong and also proved that there might be some life left in this franchise. It learned the best lessons from recent requels and delivered an incredibly strong entry. I'm now looking forward to the next one.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Final Destination 5 (2011)

Written by Eric Heisserer

Directed by Steven Quale

Sam: "Are you saying we can't stop this?"

Bludworth: "You were supposed to die on that bridge. You're not supposed to be here. You shorted death. So you let death have somebody else in your place, and you take their spot in the realm of the living. All the days and years that they have yet to live. And they take *your* place in death. Then the books are balanced."

I didn't realise that back in 2011 this franchise had a moment that tried to tie events from the first movie into the ending of this one. I mean it kind of worked but how much better would it have been if certain cast members had properly reprised their roles for this one.

Anyways, once again we've got a male protagonist who can see impending death coming a mile off. The guy in question being Sam Lawton (Nicholas D'Agosto). Sam's quick thinking saved the lives of his fellow co-workers, Peter Friedkin (Miles Fisher), Candice Hooper (Ellen Wroe), Dennis Lapman (David Koechner), Nathan Sears (Arlen Escarpeta), Olivia Castle (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) and Isaac Palmer (P.J. Byrne). He also saved his ex girlfriend Molly Harper (Emma Bell).

The disaster being a collapsed bridge. The survivors but specifically Sam attracted the attention of both sceptical Agent Jim Block (Courtney B. Vance) and coroner, William Bludworth (Tony Todd). I was happy to see the latter back to being his rather cryptic self. 

Of course death went out of its way to correct the timeline but the one death that stuck out was Olivia's. Now, I have a thing about eyes and watching Olivia being brutally killed after getting LASIK freaked me out big time. One of the most horrible deaths in this franchise and one of the few to make me visibly squirm.

Then there's the final three. Yes, everyone else died with only Sam, Molly and Peter initially surviving the events. Of course, Peter went mad and wanted to kill Molly in order to prolong his own life. Needless to say, it didn't work out that well for him.

Now going back to the first ever movie. I was surprised that Sam and Molly were on that ill fated Flight 180. I just wished they had actually gotten Devon Sawa back for that one scene but I'll admit, it was a great way to end this one.

- Did they intend this to be the last movie in the franchise? The way it linked back to the first movie and the montage to the previous movie kills.

- This was the first movie not to feature female nudity. 

- Standout music: Kansas's Dust In The Wind.

- Chronology: It took place two weeks before the opening scene of the first movie.

Final Destination 5 was the best movie since the first one with some very strong kills and various nods to past movies. If anything, it would've made a good ending to this franchise but horror franchises never truly die.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of The Final Destination (2009)

 

Written by Eric Bress

Directed by David R. Ellis

Nick: "There's gonna be a huge crash."

Hunt: "Of course there's a crash. There's always a fucking crash."

I'm on the fourth instalment of this franchise and it's the most standalone of the bunch. Also, after two female leads in the previous two films, we've got a new male lead for this one. 

Though not quite as charismatic as Alex Browning, I guess Nick O'Bannon (Bobby Campo) was likable enough. His visionary came into play during a double date at the auto race with girlfriend Lori Milligan (Shantel VanSanten) and their friends Hunt Wynorski (Nick Zano) and Janet Cunningham (Haley Webb). As usual it played out with Nick seeing impending doom, preventing it and the consequences of cheating death.

Not only did Nick save his girlfriend and friends but he also saved racist driver Carter Daniels (Justin Welborn), mother Samantha Lane (Krista Allen), mechanic Andy Kewzer (Andrew Fiscella) and his girlfriend Nadia Monroy (Stephanie Honoré)  and security guard George Lanter (Mykelti Williamson).

Some of these people were a lot less likable than past survivors. In particular, Carter was one of the least sympathetic survivors in the franchise. His death in particular was somewhat satisfying to watch.

The best scene in the movie was Nick believing that he had cheated the death loop, only for that movie scene with Lori and Janet. Who would've thought that going to the movies would've resulted in death? Aside from Scream 2 of course.

Of course that wasn't the true end. That cinema death obviously got undone. The actual ending itself was more lacklustre by comparison. Probably the most lacklustre ending so far for a protagonist in this franchise.

- Although it's a largely standalone film, there's a very blatant reference to Clear Rivers.

- This is the only film that doesn't feature Tony Todd. His presence was very much missed.

- Standout music: Shinedown's Devour.

- Chronology: It's an unspecified timeline but two weeks later for that last moment.

My least favourite of the franchise so far. The Final Destination isn't terrible but it's a rather bland outing compared to it's predecessor. The movie scene's good though.

Rating: 5 out of 10 

My Review of House Of The Dragon: "The Treasons At Tumbleton"

 

Written by Ryan Condal And Ti Mikkel

Directed by Andrij Parekh

Rhaenyra: "I am the Prince That Was Promised."

And just like that, Rhaenyra's on her way to becoming the Mad Queen, losing the good will of the small folk and her crown. This season decided there was some aspects of book Rhaenyra that they wanted to explore after all.

Rhaenyra has been making a lot of questionable choices this season and she really did herself no favours in this finale. Being paranoid about her legacy brought out the worst in her treatment of Helaena. I was pretty shocked with Rhaenyra having Helaena force fed like that. That was brutal.

Speaking of Helaena, that book scene happened but not quite the way it was from the book. I expected her death and it was certainly a way to end the season. Rhaenyra being left with a certain gift from her half sister will increase her madness next season. 

On the plus side, the whole attack on Tumbleton at least gave Rhaenyra one positive. Ormund finally got taken out of the mix with Roderick giving him quite the painful death. A minus would be the loose cannon now known as Ulf. Not only did the latter defect to Team Green but he took a lot of joy in setting Ormund alight with Silverwing. Daemon better take him out quickly.

Keeping with Daemon, he managed to get Rhaenyra back on side, didn't indulge Gwayne's attempts of peace and even wasn't thrilled with Corlys either. Daemon also got a pretty brutal fight scene with Jon before the latter got taken out of the equation.

As for Aegon II and Aemond, I loved their little reunion in this episode. Aemond genuinely couldn't believe that his brother was alive and was eager for forgiveness. Aegon was more determined to reclaim the Iron Throne than kill Aemond, so there was that. I'm still not Team Green but that scene was undeniably funny to watch.

- Baela had every right to call out Rhaenyra the way she did. In fact, she should've went a lot harder like Helaena did. Jeffrey seemed freaked out by his own mother.

- Alicent really is like Teflon because once again, she appeared unscathed after all of the chaos played out.

- Mysaria got the severance package and a relocation to Pentos. She looked pissed off when Rhaenyra declared herself to the small folk.

- Daeron earned the nickname "the daring" but also disappeared with Tessarion. Alys also filled Aemond in on her own backstory.

- Other deaths that occured in the episode included Hugh's wife, Kat and the High Septon that Alyn killed on Rhaenyra's orders.

- Chronology: From where the previous episode left off.

The Treasons At Tumbleton isn't the best finale we've had but my God, a lot went down here. So many deaths, Rhaenyra going full blown Mad Queen and she's got so many people coming after her in the final season. Let the chaos unfold.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of My Adventures With Superman: "Vae Victis"

 

Written by Jake Wyatt

Directed by Grace Liu

Jonathan (to everyone): "Like I said. I am Superman."

On to the penultimate episode of the season, we've got two separate plots both fighting for the right amount of screen time. There's the one involving Superman and the one involving everyone else's.

Focusing on the latter one first, Jonathan spent a lot of this episode just getting it wrong. He's openly hostile and unhelpful when Lois tried to mobilise a plan and stop Amanda Waller from having total control of everything. 

I was hoping when a recovered Supergirl got him to come back that Jonathan might have learned to be a better team player. That went out the window when the Eradicator appeared and Jonathan overestimated his abilities. It did lead to a good cliff hanger though.

Then there's Clark and Bizarro. Brainiac had them both and there was something of a Krypton origin story thrown into the mix. Clark was put through a series of tests to prove his worth. This meant attacking the Coluans, which Clark didn't want to do.

It's a good plot that gave more history into Krypton while providing more context into Beainiac's descent into villainy. Saying that, we've got a finale to get to and we need Clark back as Superman pretty sharpish.

- There was nice scenes with Lois and Lara, who the former was able to bond with better than Jonathan.

- Kara and Jimmy had their own nice scenes in this one. 

- Amanda seemed to have a respect for Lois during their scenes and Jimmy even got through to Lex.

- Chronology: From where the last episode left off.

Vae Victis split it's time between two stories that were handled well enough. I do think that I preferred the Clark side of things in this one though.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Final Destination 3 (2006)

 

Written by Glen Morgan And James Wong

Directed by James Wong

Kevin: "Is there something wrong?"

Wendy: "The train..."

Kevin: "Oh Shit! Not again!"

I'm halfway through this franchise and it's all very familiar as to what to expect. If Alex and Kimberly worked as protagonists who were visionaries, then I guess Wendy Christensen (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) did too.

She's a high school and a night at the amusement park with her boyfriend, Jason Wise (Jesse Moss) and their friends, Kevin Fischer (Ryan Merriman), Carrie Dreyer (Gina Holden) got chaotic with the inclusion of Ashley Freund (Chelan Simmons) and Ashlyn Halperin (Crystal Lowe), Frankie Cheeks (Sam Easton), Lewis Romero (Texas Battle), and goth couple Ian McKinley (Kris Lemche) and Erin Ulmer (Alexz Johnson).

Yup, they all went on a certain ride in the amusement park that should've killed all of them on the spot but only Jason and Carrie perished while the rest of them survived. Throw in a sisterly rivalry of sorts between Wendy and Julie (Amanda Crew) and things got a bit heavier here.

While Alex and Kimberly spent their respective movies dealing with cynicism on all sides and trying to save lives, they weren't quite as full on about it as Wendy was. She's the ultimate control freak. I guess that made her failure to keep the survivors still alive even worse.

I mean there's some truly horrible deaths in this one but both Ashley and Ashlyn getting barbecued to death in those sunbeds was one of the worst I've seen. The rest are pretty gnarly but they don't really top that one if I'm being honest.

As for Wendy, did this film really kill her off at the end? It seemed to be the end of her and the remaining survivors and it certainly felt fitting, given the events of the film. 

- Tony Todd had a voice cameo as the voice of the Devil/subway train conductor. Cory Monteith and Dustin Milligan had small roles in the movie.

- John Waters listed this as his favourite from this particular franchise. High praise indeed.

- Standout music: Tommy Lee's version of Love Train.

- Chronology: Six years after the events of the first movie and set in Pennsylvania.

Final Destination 3 isn't as good as the first two movies but it had some gruesome kills, an interesting enough use of the Devil and I guess Wendy Christensen made for a decent protagonist.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

Heated Rivalry - Season 2 Begins/Harris and Troy Cast

Yup, the second season of that one show that people haven't stopped talking about since November 2025 has now begun production and there's casting news ahoy.

First up, in terms of new casting fot Heated Rivalry, we have our Harris Drover. Assuming the role of the sports agent will be Justice Smith (I Saw The TV Glow) and it took less than an hour for the hot takes to come in. In the books, the character was depicted as white and on the stocky side of things with the latter being a major plot point. I'm assuming there's going to be major changes to Harris's story that accomdates Smith's casting and while I can understand why some are disappointed, I actually like the casting choice here.

Taking on the role of Troy Barrett would be Charlie Gillespie (Juliet And The Phantoms). The commentary hasn't been as severe on his casting as he's likely closer to the book depiction of the character. Troy's a character who gets caught up in a scandal while getting romantically involved with Harris. Suffice to say the Troy/Harris romance will generate a fair chunk of the screen time for the second season. I'm betting one episode in particular will have the pair very much front and centre.

Now what of our main couple? Don't worry, the second season very much will have Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov at the heart of everything. In the last eight months, we've seen both Hudson Williams and Connor Stories skyrocket in terms of popularity with both men appearing in a slew of upcoming tv and movie projects. The second season will keep Shane/Ilya as the main focus with Troy/Harris as the secondary couple.

As for Scott Hunter (Francois Arnaud) and Kip Grady (Robbie GK), they will also factor into the second season as well. Their romance was so beautifully handled in the first season, I'm glad we're going to see more of them. Especially if it pisses off certain toxic fans who made it their mission to be as horrible to Francois Arnaud for no good reason. I do think their screen time will less but I'll savour every minute of it.

Heated Rivalry Season 2 starts filming from next week. It'll be released on Crave, HBO Max and Sky/Now TV from Spring 2027.

My Review of Carrie (2002)

 

Written by Bryan Fuller

Directed by David Carson

Carrie: "Jesus will help me. He will help me if I really need him."

Margaret: "Not if he doesn't love you anymore."

Carrie: "Jesus loves everybody, Momma - even me!"

As I prepare for the upcoming Amazon Prime miniseries, I went and watched the first of two remakes of the 1976 classic. This one was quite a lot and not entirely in a good way.

It opened with the police interviewing survivors of that particular incident at the prom. It's here where we're introduced to characters such as student Sue Snell (Kandyse McClure) and gym teacher Rita Desjarden (Rena Softer). Yup, two of a certain someone's biggest supporters.

The certain someone being Carrie White (Angela Bettis/Jodelle Ferland). Carrie's story for the most part wasn't too different from what we've seen before. Social outcast, latent powers and of course, having to live with an abusive mother with Margaret White (Patricia Clarkson).

Carrie and Margaret's relationship was explored and this version of the latter was even more unsympathetic than the 1976 version. Her comeuppance at the end was absolutely warranted. I hated this version of the character a lot more than I thought I would.

I also hated the likes of Chris Hargensen (Emilie de Ravin) and her bitchy friends. They certainly upped the nastiness of the character this time around but it also made her a lot less interesting as they did with the rest of her horrible friends.

The movie did succeed with Carrie and Sue's friendship, even if the latter's boyfriend, Tommy Ross (Tobias Mehler) still ended up a casualty. There's a change here to the ending that I'm not sure I particularly like. It's not what I would've done.

- Bryan Fuller, who wrote the script for this would go on to make cult favourites with such shows like Pushing Daisies and Hannibal.

- This is the only version that featured the interviews and the scene with rain rocks in the neighborhood.

- Standout music: Hypnogaja's Outside, Looking In.

- Chronology: Clearly meant to be set in the 2000s. Sue took Carrie to Florida.

I didn't love this version of Carrie (2002) but it had it's moments. Angela Bettis did a good job with the character but this choice of ending was a mixed bag for me.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Final Destination 2 (2003)

 

Written by J. Mackye Gruber And Eric Bress And Jeffrey Reddick

Directed by David R. Ellis 

Kimberly: "I know what I have to do to save us. I have to die."

Following the success of the first movie, a sequel was inevitable and for a second outing, it's here that one of the most talked about moments in this franchise came from this movie. Yup, that scene appeared here.

While there's a sole survivor from the first movie that had a prominent role, this movie was more interested in developing it's new protagonist. It's a college student named Kimberly Corman (A.J. Cook) and like her predecessor, she had the gift of premonition.

Kimberly didn't waste time in using her gift to prevent multiple deaths from happening. This included characters such as her friends Shaina (Sarah Carter), Dano (Alex Rae) and Frankie (Shaun Sipos). It also included mother and son Nora (Lynda Boyd) and Tim Carpenter (James Kirk) as well as state trooper Thomas Burke (Michael Landes), high school teacher Eugene Dix (T.C. Carson), stoner Rory Peters (Jonathan Cherry), businesswoman Kat Jennings (Keegan Connor Tracy), lottery winner Evan Lewis (David Paetkau) and pregnant delivery driver Isabella Hudson (Justina Machado). 

It's a lot of characters to have actually survived and it's not long before Death was correcting Kimberly by killing off as many people as possible to address the balance. It's also because of this that Kimberly interacted with two people from the first movie. Just not the person I was hoping she would see.

For some annoying reason, this movie had Alex Browning killed off screen but Clear Rivers (Ali Larter) was alive and trying to help Kimberly. Clear also suffered the same fate that most Final Girls do upon entering a sequel. Fortunately, there was also the return of mortician William Bludworth (Tony Todd) who had a handy hint for solving this particular conundrum.

This time around the arrival of Isabella's baby was the key to stopping death. There was also the use of a loop involving Kimberly temporarily dying and then another loop involving the unfortunate Brian (Noel Fisher) somewhat resolved this blood bath.

- Did Alex really get killed by a brick? What an anticlimactic way to write his character.

- Clear was in the same institution that Laurie Strode was in Halloween Resurrection. We could've had a crossover here.

- Standout music: The Sounds Dance With Me.

- Chronology: This movie took place a year after the events of the first movie. Kimberly was heading to Daytona. 

Final Destination 2 made for a surprisingly good sequel with some nice kills and a decent protagonist in Kimberly. On reflection, I enjoyed this more than I remembered.

Rating: 7 out of 10