Second Look - Starlink: Battle for Atlas (+ DLC) (Switch)

Back when the Toys-to-Life genre, established by the Skylanders franchise, was at its peak, the genre’s saturation and competition for physical shelf space led to a decline in popularity and eventually the dissolution of the big three brands, those being Skylanders itself, Disney Infinity and LEGO Dimensions. Many new IPs entering the market at the end of its lifespan went largely unnoticed as a result, one of which was Ubisoft’s Starlink: Battle for Atlas (Starlink), which sought to set itself apart with the premise of swappable and customizable ships, inspired by model kits. This announcement went largely ignored, that is until it was revealed that the Switch version would include a special appearance from Nintendo’s Star Fox franchise, complete with a playable Fox McCloud and Arwing. Even with the boost from a fanbase starved for new content after the divisive Wii U entry Star Fox: Zero, Ubisoft would eventually halt production of the physical toys due to poor sales, resulting in deep discounts, though they would still continue to support the game digitally.

When I first played the game out of curiosity, I picked up the Switch version just so I wouldn’t feel like I was missing out on anything, though I lacked the knowledge on Star Fox to truly appreciate the representation. After going through (nearly) all of the Star Fox games up until this writing, I decided to go back and revisit this game, this time putting more focus on the Star Fox content to see how well it was handled. Though a little rough in places, I had more of an appreciation for the content and thought it to be what Star Fox Zero should have been.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III

Note: This review contains spoilers for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III.

While the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ first foray into live action proved rather profitable, making $202 million worldwide (lifetime) on a budget of a mere $13.5 million, the wider franchise couldn’t replicate its success. As the 1990s continued, the initial wave of Turtlemania waned thanks to declining toy sales and 1987 cartoon viewership, on top of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (TMNT II) pulling in a lower box office performance ($78.7 million against a $25 million budget) than the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film (TMNT I). In an effort to squeeze more money out of the franchise while they still could, Golden Harvest would produce a third film, simply titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (TMNT III), released in 1993, that not only continued the trend of diminishing returns (earning $54.4 million against a $21 million budget), but earned a reputation for driving the franchise into relative dormancy until the 2003 cartoon aired. As someone who had just missed Turtlemania by virtue of being born too late for it, I had no real attachment to the turtles until later incarnations, which eventually led me to slowly exploring other parts of the franchise, including the live-action films. During my recent journey of watching the films in order, I ended up at TMNT III and finished with a complete understanding of why it couldn’t turn a profit.

Star Fox Zero + Star Fox Guard

After the release of Star Fox Command on the DS, a new Star Fox game was created for Nintendo’s then-current Wii U console in collaboration with PlatinumGames, titled Star Fox Zero (Zero). Rather than a continuation of that timeline, Zero is a full-on continuity reboot, aiming to introduce the Star Fox IP to a new generation. Unfortunately, due to a combination of factors such as its control scheme, it being a retread of Star Fox 64 (which had already gotten a 3DS remake five years prior) and releasing near the end of the Wii U’s life cycle nixed any plans there may have been for a sequel. Said control scheme, which requires use of the Game Pad, also notably makes this one of the few first-party Wii U exclusives that has not yet been ported to the Switch. After getting to play it, while I didn’t find it as bad as the negative reception at launch made it out to be, it’s clear to see how this game may remain chained to the Wii U for some time, as its dependence on the Game Pad would make a Switch port difficult.

Star Fox Command

Following the release of Star Fox: Assault (Assault) on the GameCube, a new Star Fox game, Star Fox Command (Command), was developed for Nintendo’s then-new DS system and released early in the system’s life cycle. Admittedly, I didn’t have much interest in this game at first, but I ended up investing in a physical copy, partly to fill the unsightly gap in my Star Fox collection after realizing it was the only game I didn’t own in any capacity and partly to complete my experience with the timeline started by Star Fox 64 (64). Rather notably, said timeline represents a more experimental era in Star Fox history, with each subsequent game after 64 attempting to bring something new to the table to stand out. In the case of Command, its most notable feature is its use of multiple endings, as well as a unique control scheme based around the DS touchscreen, making it stand out from even the radically different Star Fox Adventures (Adventures) and Assault. While these are interesting ideas in theory, the end result unfortunately falls a little short in practice.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze

As Turtle Mania continued into the ‘90s, it was natural to follow up the success of the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) film (TMNT I) with a sequel, this one coming just one year later in 1991 as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (TMNT II). Much like the first film, this was one I was vaguely aware of since childhood, but didn’t watch for the first time until around the release of the 2016 TMNT film, Out of the Shadows. After rewatching TMNT I, I decided to give TMNT II another fair shot, finding it to still be enjoyable, if weaker than the first.

Star Fox: Assault

With the success of Star Fox Adventures (Adventures), Nintendo greenlit a sequel, Star Fox: Assault (Assault), this time developed by Namco rather than Rare, with the latter having been purchased by Microsoft. After I had originally played Adventures, I admittedly didn’t have much interest in the other Star Fox games, until I learned that Assault was a sequel and even contained elements from Adventures beyond Krystal becoming a mainstay, which led me to explore the franchise further and eventually receive Assault as a gift. Like the previous game, Assault was also developed for the GameCube, however I could not get my GameCube to properly read the disc, so I ended up playing it through the backwards-compatible Wii. After finally getting to play it, I found it an interesting follow-up to Adventures due to its different gameplay approach, and I also liked getting to see its characters and setting again, however briefly.

Star Fox 64 3D

Following the release of the original Star Fox on the SNES, with Star Fox 2 having been shelved despite being fully completed, the series was rebooted for the then-recent Nintendo 64 system in 1997, aptly named Star Fox 64. In 2011, as part of a series of 3DS remakes of older Nintendo titles, Star Fox 64 received one as Star Fox 64 3D, which aimed to be faithful to the original release while adding new content. I had become curious about playing Star Fox 64 after playing Star Fox Adventures, which was made as a sequel to it, to get a better hang on the story, but didn’t actively attempt to do so until the Nintendo 3DS eShop was shutting down, at which point I went for a physical copy of Star Fox 64 3D both for convenience and to get the best experience possible. After finally getting around to playing it, I can see why it’s considered a classic game in terms of gameplay and story.

Hoppers

As I said in my review of Elio, Pixar’s track record has proven rather hit and miss in the 2020s, complete with Elio itself finishing its theatrical run as a box office bomb that maybe made its $150 million budget back. This made me less enthusiastic about their follow-up film, Hoppers, at least at first. The more I saw the trailers, however, the more my curiosity got the better of me and I ended up watching it on opening weekend. Although I didn’t have high expectations going in, I had a genuinely good time and walked away with a willingness to actually rewatch a recent Pixar film later, which rekindled some hope for the studio’s future.

Mission: Impossible III

Note: This review contains spoilers for Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.

Despite the mixed reception to Mission Impossible 2 (M:i-2), its success would lead to a sequel, Mission: Impossible III (M:i:III). Production got off to a rocky start with the search for a director, that is until Tom Cruise suggested J. J. Abrams after binge-watching two seasons of Alias. After some initial production delays, the final release in May 2006 garnered greater critical reception and became the eighth-highest grossing film of 2006. Unfortunately, it still proved a financial failure against its budget of ~$150 million and has the (dis)honor of its place as the lowest-grossing film in the entire franchise and hurting Tom Cruise’s career until Ghost Protocol revived it. Looking at the film now, it’s a shame that it didn’t do well, as it is an improvement on its predecessors, but I wouldn’t consider it my favorite either.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)

While Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) debuted in 1984 with a sleeper hit independent comic book series by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, it didn’t truly become a global phenomenon until it was adapted into an animated series in 1987. With Turtle Mania going strong, the next logical step would be to adapt it into a live-action film (as was the style at the time), also named Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT I), in 1990. As a kid, I was vaguely aware of this film growing up, but I never watched it until the Turtle bug bit me much later. Although my first viewing was around the release of the 2014 film, I felt like giving it another shot after attending a pre-release for the Magic: The Gathering | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles expansion. Even without having any personal nostalgia for it, and it isn’t perfect, it’s easy to see why this film is so beloved and is easily the best of the original film trilogy.

Star Fox

After playing through Star Fox Adventures, I became interested in seeing what other Star Fox games were like, which quickly turned into a deep-dive that involved going back to the franchise’s 1993 roots with the original Star Fox (aka Starwing in Europe) on the SNES to see how it all began. Although I own a SNES and the game itself isn’t too difficult to find, I would end up playing the game through the SNES Classic, as it happened to be one of the included games and has a save state function that would make an otherwise difficult game easier for me to get through and play in chunks. While the game does still impress with the hardware limitations at the time, there are still areas where it didn’t age quite so well due to later entries improving upon what it set out to be.

Mission: Impossible 2

It’s not uncommon for a film sequel, created off the back of the original’s success, to try a more action-oriented different direction compared to the original. Such was the case with Mission: Impossible 2 (M:I-2), which even placed John Woo, best known by some for the movie Face/Off, in the director’s chair, which automatically made it a bit different from Brian De Palma’s suspense-driven Mission: Impossible (M:I). Although M:I-2 debuted to mixed reception, it’s hard to argue with the results, as it grossed $546.4 million against a ~$120 million budget, which notably made it the year 2000’s highest-grossing film. While M:I-2 certainly has its fans even now, and it’s honestly hard not to see why, the end result almost comes at the expense of what makes a good Mission: Impossible movie.

Stubs - Mission: Impossible

Mission: Impossible (1996) starring Tom Cruise, Jon Voight, Henry Czerny, Emmanuelle Béart, Jean Reno, Ving Rhames, Kristin Scott Thomas, Vanessa Redgrave Directed by Brian DePalma. Screenplay by David Koepp, Robert Towne. Based on Mission: Impossible by Bruce Geller. Produced by Tom Cruise, Paula Wagner. Run time: 110 minutes. Color. USA Action, Espionage

If you were a fan of the original TV series, Mission: Impossible (1966-1973), you were definitely interested when Paramount announced it was bringing the story to the big screen. You might have been drawn in for its star Tom Cruise, or the script by Robert Towne, or the direction by Briana DePalma, but this was a film designed to put people in seats. But if you were a fan of the original series, you might have qualms with the adaptation.

Stubs - Little Amélie or the Character of Rain

Little Amélie or the Character of Rain (2025) English voices: Lily Gilliam, Lucille Ainsworth, Francesca Calo, Page Leong, Jayne Taini. Directed by Maïlys Vallade, Liane-Cho Han Screenplay by Liane-Cho Han, Aude Py, Maïlys Vallade, Eddine Noël. Based on the novel The Character of Rain (Métaphysique des tubes) by Amélie Nothomb. Produced by Claire La Combe, Edwina Liard, Henri Magalon, Nidia Santiago. Run time: 78 minutes. Color. France, Belgium Animated. Drama.

Sometimes, it takes awards season to make you aware of the films that were released, which is what brought Little Amélie or the Character of Rain to my attention. This year, it was one of five films nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. That awareness took the film from unknown to one of my favorite animated films of the year and my personal front runner to win that award.

Stubs - They Call It Sin

 

They Call It Sin (1932) starring Loretta Young, George Brent, Una Merkel, David Manners Directed by Thornton Freeland. Screenplay by Lillie Hayward, Howard J. Green Based on the novel They Call It Sin by Alberta Stedman Eagan (New York, 1932). No Producer Credited. Run time: 68 minutes. Black and White. USA. Pre-Code, Drama.

If you’re ever looking for a film to watch, the old adage "you can’t judge a book by its cover" can come into play if you go simply by the title. Case in point, They Call It Sin from First National. I saw the title in the guide for TCM and saw that Loretta Young was the star. Young had been the lead of many racy pre-code films and the promise of one with this title was too much to pass up.

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.

Stubs - Blackmail (1929)

Blackmail (1929) starring Anny Ondra, John Longden, Cyril Ritchard. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock Screenplay by Alfred Hitchcock, Benn W. Levy. Produced by John Maxwell. Run time: 85 minutes (sound). Black and White. United Kingdom. Thriller.

1929 was not only a crucial year in Hollywood history, with the coming of sound, but was also in Britain. With local film production in decline and the British film industry having to compete with the more polished and financially successful American studio product, British films were fighting for survival.

That year, Alfred Hitchcock’s Blackmail began as a silent film production. However, the producer, John Maxwell, was anxious to cash in on the new technology and gave Hitchcock the okay to reshoot some of the film as, what was called back then, a “talkie.” However, it has been reported that Hitchcock wanted to reshoot the entire film with sound. However, the finished film was a combination of the two technologies.

The first six and half minutes of the sound version are lifted from the silent film. So much so, that at one point you might be wonder if you’re watching the silent version before you hear non-synchronized dialogue. There are other sequences of the sound film that are also from the silent version as well.

There was some other obstacles to get over, including the fact that the lead actress, Prague-born Anny Ondra, had a noticeable Czech accent, and according to some, a "reedy voice", that was judged unsuitable for the film. With sound in its infancy, something like dubbing was not possible. Rather that re-casting the lead, Hitchcock hired actress Joan Barry to read the dialogue off-camera while Ondra lip-synched her lines.