Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender

It goes without saying that Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender (ATLA) proved very popular and successful, so much so that it spawned two follow-up series, The Legend of Korra (Korra) and the upcoming Seven Havens. In the interim, however, it has had two divisive live-action adaptations, M. Night Shyamalan’s infamous The Last Airbender film and the Avatar: The Last Airbender remake from Netflix. Creative differences regarding the latter would inspire the formation of Avatar Studios, with series creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko at the helm, to expand the world of ATLA, starting with what would become the film Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender (Avatar Aang). This project would later receive more notoriety not just for a pivot from the original theatrical distribution to streaming directly on Paramount+, but also for someone leaking the entire finished film online months in advance.

Of course, release plans moved forward, with a premiere at San Diego Comic-Con 2026 (I attended the event, but didn’t go to the screening) and a limited run in only two theaters solely to qualify for the Oscars shortlist, despite protest from fans and members of the crew. Although I would have seen the film anyway as an ATLA fan, the increased awareness from the troubles surrounding the film’s production and release further piqued my curiosity. Although I found the film enjoyable, it did unfortunately fall short where it counted the most.

Mortal Kombat (1995)

When the fighting game Mortal Kombat debuted in arcades in 1992, its success led to a sequel, Mortal Kombat II, in 1993. As Mortal Kombat 3 (MK3) was being developed for a 1995 release, the games were expanded into a multimedia franchise, including a PG-13 live-action film, Mortal Kombat (MK95), released months after MK3. While I was aware of the franchise for the longest time before being formally introduced to it through the 2011 game, I became curious about MK95 film after seeing the 2021 reboot, but didn’t follow through on it until recently when I saw Mortal Kombat II (2026) in a theater. While I found it to be enjoyable in places, I found it to have a flawed execution and some missed opportunities.

Stubs - The Odyssey (2026)

The Odyssey (2026) starring Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong'o, Samantha Morton, Zendaya, Charlize Theron Directed by Christopher Nolan. Screenplay by Christoper Nolan. Based on Homer's Odyssey. Produced by Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas. Run time: 173 minutes. Color. USA/UK Epic, Action, Fantasy, IMAX

As a follow up to his Academy Award winning Oppenheimer, director Christopher Nolan chose a text that dates back to the 8^th century B.C. attributed to Homer, a Greek poet. It is a sort of sequel to The Iliad, which centers on a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles during the last year of the Trojan War. It’s follow-up, The Odyssey, chronicles the ten-year journey of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, back to his home after the fall of Troy.

It seems a little surprising that such a film based on a 2,800-year-old poem would arrive with such anticipation. Most tickets for its opening weekend sold out months in advance. But that is the pull of Christopher Nolan, the director behind Oppenheimer but also such films as Memento (2000), Insomnia (2002), Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Inception (2010), Interstellar (2014), Dunkirk (2017), and Tenet (2020). He has a following few modern directors have, save, perhaps, Steven Spielberg.

Ballerina (2025)

The John Wick franchise has proven lucrative enough to spawn a franchise in its own right, and following John Wick: Chapter 4 (Chapter 4), now includes spin-off films. The first of these, Ballerina (full title From the World of John Wick: Ballerina), was released earlier this year and seeing a trailer for it was what got me started on going through the John Wick franchise in the first place. Now that I’ve circled back to it, I found it somewhat decent, but the timeline as presented in the movie makes its placement within its parent series confusing.

John Wick: Chapter 4

Note: This review contains spoilers for John Wick: Chapter 3.

Before John Wick: Chapter 3 (Chapter 3) had even released, development went underway for two sequels, Chapter 4 and 5, with the original intent to film both back-to-back. As production went on, however, notably without the involvement of series creator Derek Kolstad, the hypothetical fifth film was dropped in favor of just Chapter 4. Although it would miss its original 2021 release date due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it would see the light of day in 2023 to critical acclaim and the highest box office for the series at $447.3 million (against a budget of $100 million). As this film would conclude John Wick’s story, at least at the time, it’s good to know that it ended with a bang. However, Chapter 4’s sheer length, clocking in at about 169 minutes (almost 3 hours), only highlights the issues I had with Chapter 3 even more.

Descendants: Wicked Wonderland

From the perspective of someone who has only watched
The Rise of Red.

As an outsider to the Descendants IP, my first formal experience was with the 2024 film The Rise of Red, which I felt had some neat ideas but an uneven execution. Unsure if I would invest any further into it, the opportunity came with the recent sequel film, Wicked Wonderland, which, as a testament to traditional advertising, I learned about through a bus stop ad while running errands. Like the previous film, my interest was piqued at the prospect of seeing more of Wonderland after getting a taste of it in The Rise of Red. Unlike the previous film, Wicked Wonderland did see a premiere on Disney Channel, but I waited for it to be on Disney+ the following day before watching it, and found it to be an improvement over its predecessor in many respects.

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum

Note: This review contains spoilers for John Wick and John Wick: Chapter 2.

When a popular film like John Wick: Chapter 2 (Chapter 2) ends on a cliffhanger, a sequel will surely follow. Audiences would wait two years for John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (Chapter 3), which started production even before Chapter 2 had released and came with high critical praise. At the time, it had also become the highest-grossing film in the franchise, making $327.7 million against a budget of $75 million, in only 10 days. Of course, it’s difficult to maintain a high level of quality throughout a trilogy and while Chapter 3 does do that where it counts, it unfortunately feels lacking in story.