Stubs - Samaritan

Samaritan (2022) starring Sylvester Stallone, Javon "Wanna" Walton, Pilou Asbæk, Dascha Polanco, Moisés Arias. Directed by Julius Avery. Screenplay by Bragi F. Schut. Based on Samaritan by Bragi Schut, Marc Olivent, Renzo Podesta. Produced by Sylvester Stallone, Braden Aftergood. Run time: 101 minutes. Color. USA. Superhero

A spec script that no one wanted at the time, Samaritan, was turned into a comic book of the same name by its writer, Bragi Schut, at Mythos Comics, an indie publisher he started with Lewis Fenton. After putting out two issues, the story became known to Sylvester Stallone, of Rocky fame, who was looking for a project for an older actor. The original script was then acquired by MGM, in 2019, but as a result, the story became owned by them and by Stallone, and the comic book had to be shuttered after only two issues.

The production was co-produced by Stallone’s Balboa Productions, and began in Atlanta on February 26, 2020, only to be shut down on March 14 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It wouldn’t begin again until October 8, 2020. With a push back in production, the release date also had to be pushed back from November 20, 2020 to August 26, 2022. By then MGM had been purchased by Amazon. The release, which had been planned for theaters, ended up on Amazon’s Prime Video.

Iron Lung (Film)

It’s not uncommon for online video content creators to branch out into film, whether acting or directing. Less common, however, is a content creator not only writing, directing, starring in, editing and executive producing their own independent feature, but also adapting a video game. Such is the case with Iron Lung, which represents Mark “Markiplier” Fischbach’s feature directorial debut and adapts the 2022 indie horror game of the same name by David Szymanski. As a fan of Markiplier, I followed the status of the production throughout, including how conflicts with shooting times prevented him from appearing in the original Five Nights at Freddy’s film. I also witnessed the splash that Iron Lung made closer to release, with a small theatrical rollout brought on by independently distributing the film quickly ballooning to the point that major theater chains like AMC and Regal picked it up, the latter even offering an exclusive (3D printable) popcorn bucket. I was hyped enough to be a part of something so unique, regardless of the quality, that I bought tickets for an early screening the day they went live. Fortunately, Markiplier managed to put his money where his mouth is and create a very solid, if imperfect, big screen debut.

Return to Silent Hill

Among the more well-known film adaptations of video games, Silent Hill (2006), directed by Christophe Gans, is one of the more divisive ones. Critics at the time didn’t like that much, though fans and general audiences have had a more mixed response. When I saw it for myself at the time that I had immersed myself in the Silent Hill franchise, I did find some genuine criticisms, but otherwise found it one of the better adaptations, especially for its time. Although Silent Hill would stay on the small screen after the disastrous Silent Hill: Revelation (2012) (Revelation), directed by M. J. Bassett, the surprise announcement of a full Silent Hill revival in 2022 included another film, an adaptation of Silent Hill 2 (SH2) titled Return to Silent Hill (Return), with Christophe Gans returning to the director’s chair. In fact, this project acted as the catalyst internally for the series revival, as Konami thought that a film project alone wouldn’t satisfy fans. Now, over three years later, Silent Hill has finally returned to the big screen and, as someone who loved both the original SH2 and the remake, I went in to this one cautiously optimistic. However, while Return did meet my expectations, at least improving over Revelation, it unfortunately fell short where it mattered most.

Anvil! The Story of Anvil

Despite having influenced a number of major metal acts, among them Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, Motörhead and Slash, the Canadian metal band Anvil has remained largely under the radar for most of their careers. Their dedication in spite of this would later inspire a rockumentary in 2008 called Anvil! The Story of Anvil (Anvil!), which documents the trials and tribulations the band faces around the recording of their thirteenth album, This Is Thirteen. While a previous viewing of this film inspired me to pick up a few Anvil albums myself, all of which I still own, I decided to give it another viewing shortly after watching the Spın̈al Tap duology, due to comparisons between the two bands, and found that it still holds up as a powerful story.

Megadeth: Behind the Mask

For the last 41 years, Megadeth have created a legacy as one of the “Big Four” of thrash metal, alongside Anthrax, Slayer and Metallica. Although Dave Mustaine, the band’s founder and only constant member, hasn’t created an empire on the same level as Metallica, the band who famously kicked him out, serving as the catalyst for the creation of Megadeth, he has still found great success in his own right, including sixteen albums and contributions to several film and video game soundtracks, plus tours that regularly sell out in the thousands. In that time, Mustaine has also been through a lot physically, including a successful battle against throat cancer and, most recently, Dupuytren's contracture, which has affected his ability to play guitar. Before closing the book on Megadeth, however, Mustaine has decided he’ll go out on his own terms, including a seventeenth and final studio album, Megadeth, and an extensive global farewell tour. Part of the buildup to the final album’s release included Megadeth: Behind the Mask, an immersive feature that’s both an extensive interview regarding the band’s 40-year history and a world premiere listening party for Megadeth, complete with Mustaine’s own track-by-track reflections. A unique film for sure, but one that did its job remarkably well.

Stubs - Spinal Tap II: The End Continues

Spinal Tap II: The End Continues (2025) starring Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Rob Reiner. Directed by Rob Reiner. Screenplay by Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Rob Reiner. Based on characters created by Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Rob Reiner. Produced by Rob Reiner, Michele Singer Reiner, Matthew George. Run time: 84 minutes. Color. USA. Mockumentary, Comedy

Perhaps proving that you can wait too long between sequels, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, the sequel to This is Spinal Tap (1984), came and went at the box office so fast that if you waited more than a week or so, it was already out of theaters. Budgeted at $22.6 million, the film earned only $3.2 million upon release on September 12, 2025. While commercially a failure, the film has apparently found a second life on HBO Max.

Stubs - One Battle After Another

One Battle After Another (2025) starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, Chase Infiniti. Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Screenplay by Paul Thomas Anderson. Based on Vineland by Thomas Pynchon. Produced by Adam Somner, Sara Murphy, Paul Thomas Anderson. Run time: 162 minutes. Color. USA Black Comedy, Action, Thriller

What is the highest grossing film of Paul Thomas Anderson’s career, a possible Academy Award contender and still considered a box-office failure? The answer is his 2025 film One Battle After Another, loosely based on the novel Vineland by Thomas Pynchon. A modernized version of the novel, with some of Anderson’s own stories incorporated into the narrative, One Battle After Another deals with revolutionaries of the early 2000’s, the French 75, and how actions 16 plus years ago still have consequences.

To be honest, this wasn’t necessarily a film I would have chosen to see. Some of that has to do with Leonardo DiCaprio, who is the star of the film. While he’s often called a great actor, I haven’t really been a fan of the films he’s starred in. However, because the scuttlebutt seems to indicate the film will be popular during awards season, which is now until the Academy Awards, it seemed like one to watch, which I recently did on HBO Max.