Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die

The first time I had heard of Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die (GLHFDD) was a trailer for it in front of my theatrical screening of Return to Silent Hill. Its concept and style of humor immediately piqued my interest, and my own familiarity with some of director Gore Verbinski’s previous work certainly helped. Although I didn’t end up seeing it in a theater, I was able to eventually watch it through streaming, however I had to rent it through Amazon Prime due to the Hulu/Disney+ option hitching up only on the device I intended to watch it on. Not only was I thoroughly entertained by the execution of its premise, it also provided some interesting commentary on the state of technology that made me think about my own usage of it.

John Wick: Chapter 2

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

While the original John Wick film (Chapter 1) was a box office success in 2014, enough to warrant ancillary media, it wouldn’t be until 2017 that there would be a formal theatrical sequel, John Wick: Chapter 2 (Chapter 2), with the same writer and director returning. After finally seeing Chapter 1, I was interested enough in its setting and characters to watch Chapter 2 soon after. Although many sequels tend to have a decline in quality after the first installment, Chapter 2 manages to raise the stakes without going overboard, all while maintaining the same level of quality, even with some nitpicks.

007 First Light (PS5)

As a fan of the Hitman games, the idea of IO Interactive tackling a James Bond game sounded like a match made in heaven. Although Bond himself isn’t a mercenary, his status as a secret agent lends itself well to a gameplay style emphasizing infiltration and stealth without undercutting his license to kill. Although IOI made it clear that such a game wouldn’t play exactly like the World of Assassination trilogy, I still felt excited for what they could do with the property, currently under the ownership of Amazon MGM (there’s even an exclusive skin for buying the game through Amazon, naturally). The final game, 007 First Light (First Light), managed to live up to my expectations, capturing the world of James Bond in a new and exciting way. Its cinematic direction, however, is a double-edged sword in places.

Stubs - Supergirl

Supergirl (2026) starring Milly Alcock, Matthias Schoenaerts, Eve Ridley, David Krumholtz, Emily Beecham, David Corenswet, Jason Momoa. Directed by Craig Gillespie. Screenplay by Ana Nogueira, Based on Characters from DC. Produced by Peter Safran, James Gunn. Run time: 108 minutes. Color. USA. Superhero

Supergirl aka Kara Zor-El (Milly Alcock) with her best friend, Krypto.

 

Something that Supergirl has in common with John Wick is that nobody hurts her dog. Just like Wick slayed a whole hell of a lot of people because someone killed his dog, Supergirl aka Kara Zor-El (Milly Alcock) goes on a revenge tour when her dog Krypto is left incapacitated by Krem of the Yellow Hills (Matthias Schoenaert), the leader of the Brigands, a rowdy group of space pirates. Along the way, she picks up Ruthye Marye Knoll (Eve Ridle), a youing woman who has witnessed Krem kill her father, mother and brother, and is out for her own revenge. Add to that Kara has just three days to find Krem, who has stolen her spaceship, and return with the antidote to save Krypto, a daunting task.

Supergirl is based on DC comics and utilizes characters that would be well-known to longtime readers. How accurate it is to the comics themselves is not something I'm equipped to answer.

The film has not opened as well as had previously expected, but some of the blame on that can be the rather lackluster intro Superman (2025), which is supposed to have kicked off a revival of the DC Universe under the leadership of James Gunn. But some of it has to do with the film itself.

John Wick

Note: This review contains spoilers for John Wick.

Before 2014, Keanu Reeves was best known for The Matrix and Bill & Ted franchises, outside of which his acting was often the subject of mockery. This reputation would do a 180 shortly after the release of John Wick, in which he plays the titular character, to the point where it felt like people, especially online, were overcompensating for his previous treatment. As for the film itself, I had been kind of avoiding watching it, possibly because of how hyped up it was, with my knowledge of the general plot coming from memes. After seeing a trailer for the spinoff movie Ballerina, however, we decided we should actually watch the John Wick movies, beginning with the original 2014 film. I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect from it, but I ended up liking it far more than I expected.

Stubs - Toy Story 5

Toy Story 5 (2026) voices Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Conan O'Brien, Scarlett Spears, Greta Lee, Shelby Rabara, Mykal-Michelle Harris, Craig Robinson, Frank Welker. Directed by Andrew Stanton. Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Kenna Harris Produced by Lindsey Collins, Jessica Choi Run Time: 102 minutes. Color. USA Animated, Adventure, Comedy

The toys are back in town and it’s good to see them.

Honestly, I was a little nervous about this film, based on fears that the Toy Story franchise would eventually run out of steam. But after 31 years, I’m happy to say that it can still make me cry.

Second Opinion - Toy Story 4

Note: This review contains spoilers for Toy Story 4.

Toy Story 3 had arguably the perfect sendoff to the original Toy Story trilogy, ending it on a very emotional high note. The enduring popularity of the Toy Story brand, however, would ensure this would not last long, as a fourth entry, Toy Story 4, was released nine years later in 2019. While this movie is arguably a good example of an unnecessary sequel - I remember liking it when I first saw it, even importing a 3D Blu-ray copy - I hadn’t actually watched it again until recently when revisiting the series for the next unnecessary sequel, Toy Story 5. I still liked it on a second viewing, but still felt it didn't quite reach the same emotional high as the third film.

Toy Story 3 (Game) (PS3)

For the longest time, big-name feature films would often receive a tie-in video game released on major platforms alongside their theatrical run, either adapting the film based on older scripts or telling an original story related to it; while this model hasn't entirely disappeared, the proliferation of mobile gaming has changed this approach for the most part. The Toy Story franchise is no stranger to such tie-in media, with Toy Story 3 being the last of its kind under the original model. However, the Toy Story 3 game takes a different approach that still remains unique to it, featuring both the expected Story Mode and a highly-lauded Toy Box Mode that served as a precursor to the short-lived toys-to-life game Disney Infinity. While I have had experience with the PS3 version of this game, which is old enough to still have an expired free ticket offer inside, it wasn't a hands-on one, until I decided to look at the game myself while revisiting the series in anticipation of Toy Story 5. Surprisingly, the game actually holds up pretty well on its own, with the Toy Box Mode in particular still living up to the hype even 16 years later.

Toy Story 3 (Film)

Note: This review contains spoilers for Toy Story, Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3.

While a third entry to the popular Toy Story franchise would seem inevitable due to high box office returns, Toy Story 3 had quite a rough development. The short version is that, due to the distribution contract Pixar had signed, Disney owned the rights to all of their characters and could make sequels for any of their films, which strained the relationship between the two companies. Disney would push forward with their own Toy Story 3, to be produced by new studio Circle Seven Animation, for a 2008 release. Disney’s acquisition of Pixar, however, placed Disney Animation under new management, Ed Catmull and John Lasseter, with Circle Seven shutting down shortly after and sequel production transferred to Pixar. Pixar would craft a whole new story, which would eventually see the light of day as the final version of Toy Story 3 in 2010. Although the film would cost about $200 million to create, making it one of the most expensive films ever made at the time, it was the first animated film to make over $1 billion, even becoming the highest-grossing animated film ever until Frozen, and would receive numerous nominations and awards, including an Oscar for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song (“We Belong Together”).

At the time the film came out, when I was in high school, I felt cautious optimism going in; optimism from Pixar’s flawless track record up to then and caution from how the third film in a series usually isn’t as good as the first two. Fortunately, it stuck the landing as perhaps the perfect ending to the trilogy (with not a dry eye in the audience by the time the credits rolled). Admittedly, I hadn’t seen this entry as much in the interim, partly due to the devastating emotional core and some rather heavy imagery, but by the time I finished watching it now, over 15 years later, I remembered why it had left an impact at the time it had come out. However, I had also forgotten how intense it could be at the same time.

River City Girls 2 (PS5)

Three years after the release of River City Girls (RCG), a game that I really enjoyed once I finally tried it out, WayForward released a direct sequel, simply titled River City Girls 2 (RCG2). The lead-up to it felt exciting, with some hype centered around the six playable characters and, later, the ability to play as Jimmy and Billy Lee from the Double Dragon series. There was even a Gallery Nucleus event that I attended where some of the people involved, including artist REM, talked about some of the choices they made for the game. However, my own enthusiasm waned as I had made the mistake of ordering the game from Limited Run (the version with the soundtrack), so I didn’t get around to finally playing it until recently due to other game releases and events coming up in the meantime. Now that I finally have, it feels bad for me to say that, in spite of the general improvements and positive reception the game received overall, it still felt like a letdown compared to the original in the places where it mattered.

The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act

Note: This review contains spoilers for The Amazing Digital Circus Episodes 1-8.

When Glitch Productions released the pilot episode for The Amazing Digital Circus (TADC), created by Gooseworx, back in 2023, no one could have predicted its viral popularity. As someone who had watched the series since day one, it was interesting seeing that popularity grow in real time to the point that it had a very packed panel at San Diego Comic-Con and the series finale would receive a limited theatrical release via Fathom Events starting two weeks before the official YouTube premiere. Naturally, I secured tickets to the opening weekend as soon as I found out about it so that I could witness a historical event in indie animation for myself. Although this finale did get leaked onto the internet ahead of the screening, I went in spoiler-free following a series rewatch and, as per Glitch’s instructions, I will not spoil the finale in return. However, I am allowed to share my thoughts on it, so here’s why I felt that The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act (The Last Act) felt fitting, but imperfect.

Mortal Kombat II (Film)

Note: This review contains spoilers for Mortal Kombat (2021).

Back in 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Warner Bros. released their first film in a rebooted Mortal Kombat film series, simply titled Mortal Kombat (MK). As this release occurred as part of a day-and-date theatrical and streaming film slate for that year, I watched it through HBO Max and liked it enough (with a much more positive view on a rewatch), though I was unsure if it would ever materialize. Sure enough, this year saw the release of Mortal Kombat II (MKII), which received a better critical response (64% on Rotten Tomatoes vs 55% for the original), though with a shaky box office return that may put the prospect of a third film in jeopardy. Nevertheless, I actually watched this one in a theater, albeit a few weeks late, and walked away wishing for the potential third film.

Second Look - Toy Story 2

Note: This review contains spoilers for Toy Story 1 and 2.

Following the success of the original Toy Story film, Disney desired to capitalize on it with a sequel, developing one themselves for the direct-to-video market. When the project, Toy Story 2, was upgraded to a theatrical release, Pixar were unsatisfied with what had been made and were given permission to overhaul it themselves, but they only had nine months to do the whole thing due to Disney not wanting to budge on the 1999 release date. While I was too young to see the original Toy Story when it first came out in a theater, I was old enough to see Toy Story 2 this way, and many of its themes and contributions to Toy Story canon stuck with me well into adulthood. Looking back on it, where the original Toy Story has held up as a timeless classic, Toy Story 2 has managed to solidify itself as another classic in its own right thanks to its strong writing and well-handled themes.

I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream (PC)

Back in 1995, developers Cyberdreams and The Dreamers Guild released a video game adaptation of one of Harlan Ellison’s most famous short stories, I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream (IHNMAIMS), cited as one of the ten most reprinted stories in the English language. This adaptation, written and designed in collaboration with Ellison himself, would receive positive reviews and develop enough of a cult following over time that Nightdive Studios would later remaster the game for modern systems in 2013, followed by a console port in 2025. Admittedly, although I had known about the short story for the longest time, I finally checked it out after learning that a series that I like, The Amazing Digital Circus, took inspiration from it. Naturally, this also led me to playing the video game, which, for the sake of this review, I’ll mention was through the Nightdive release on Steam with all patches up to this point applied. There is some jank in the game’s design, especially one originally intended to have no win state, but it’s still worth checking out for how well it builds on the original story.

Second Opinion - Toy Story

Note: This review contains spoilers for Toy Story.

Back in 1995, years before the studio tied the knot with Disney, Pixar made history with Toy Story, the first ever completely CGI animated film. Its impact on the animation industry, for better or worse, cannot be understated, as it revolutionized the medium and opened up more of its potential. The most impressive thing about the film, however, isn’t that it spawned an ongoing multimedia franchise or made a lasting mark on pop culture through iconic characters and moments, but that even over 30 years later, despite the animation showing its age, it still holds up as one of the studio’s best films and among the best that the medium has to offer.

Stubs - A Farewell to Arms (1932)

A Farewell to Arms (1932) Starring Helen Hayes, Gary Cooper, Adolphe Menjou. Director Frank Borzage. Screenplay by Benjamin Glazer, Oliver H. P. Garrett. Based on the novel A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway (New York, 1929) and the play of the same name by Laurence Stallings (New York, 22 Sep 1930). Produced by Benjamin Glazer (Associated Producer) Run time: 90 minutes. Black and White. USA Drama

As a writer, you’re often advised to write what you know, and the novel A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway, may be a good example. Responding to an International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement recruitment effort, an 18-year-old Hemingway signed to be an ambulance driver with the American Red Cross Motor Corps in Italy. Within two months of landing in Italy, Hemingway was badly wounded in mortar fire and would spend six months recovering in the Red Cross hospital in Milan, where he fell in love with a nurse, Agnes von Kurowsky, seven years his senior. The two would become engaged but she would break off the engagement after Hemingway came back to the States. That experience would be the basis for his third novel, A Farewell to Arms first serialized in Scribner's Magazine (May-Oct, 1929).

Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii)

Sequels seem inevitable after a successful game release, especially for a series as popular as Super Mario. What makes Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Galaxy 2) stand out, however, is that it was originally intended as an updated version of the original Super Mario Galaxy (Galaxy) called Super Mario Galaxy More, but there was enough new content that the development team turned it into a full sequel. When Galaxy 2 released for the Nintendo Wii in 2010, it garnered instant acclaim, with many considering it on par with or even better than the original and became one of the best-selling titles for the system (though it would still fall a few million units short of the original). Since I played the original Galaxy in anticipation of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, I continued my journey with Galaxy 2, this time through the original Wii release via the Wii U’s backwards compatibility. While it did deserve the praise it had received, I felt more mixed about the presentation overall compared with its predecessor.

Stubs - The Sheep Detectives

The Sheep Detectives (2026) starring Hugh Jackman, Nicholas Braun, Nicholas Galitzine, Molly Gordon, Hong Chau, Emma Thompson; voices: Brett Goldstein, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston, Chris O’Dowd, Regina Hall, Patrick Stewart. Directed by Kyle Balda. Screenplay by Craig Mazin. Based on Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann. Produced by Lindsay Doran, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner. Run Time: 109 minutes. Color. USA/UK Comedy, Mystery.

I’m a big fan of mysteries, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard of one in which a flock of sheep help solve a murder. But that’s the plot of The Sheep Detectives, a new film that’s currently in release. And, while it may sound far-fetched, the film is very much worth watching, and in fact, I’m looking forward to seeing it again.

The Devil Wears Prada 2

In a more risk-averse post-pandemic Hollywood climate, decades-long gaps between movie sequels are more common. This is especially true for films under the Disney umbrella, with The Devil Wears Prada 2 (distributed by 20th Century Studios) strutting down the runway 20 years after the original The Devil Wears Prada from 2006. Despite the passage of time between productions affecting both the returning cast and the world that their characters inhabit, this is one case where the using the same passionate crew results in a follow-up that manages to stand with the original as a natural next step rather than fall painfully short.

Stubs - The Devil Wears Prada

The Devil Wears Prada (2006) starring Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Stanley Tucci, Emily Blunt, Simon Baker. Directed by David Frankel. Screenplay by Aline Brosh McKenna. Based on The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger.  Produced by Wendy Finerman. Run time: 109 minutes. Color. USA. Comedy, Drama

Lauren Weisberger was 26 when she turned her experience as an assistant to Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour into a book. The best-selling novel, The Devil Wears Prada, spent six months on New York Times's bestseller list. Fox bought the rights to the novel even before it was finished. Carla Hacken, then the studio's executive vice president, had only seen the first hundred pages of the manuscript and an outline for the rest of the plot.

As is common practice in Hollywood, four screenwriters worked on the property. Peter Hedges wrote the first draft; another writer passed. Paul Rudnick did some work on Miranda's scenes, followed by a Don Roos rewrite. Aline Brosh McKenna produced a draft that struck a balance for Finerman and Frankel, whose notes were incorporated into a final version, rearranging the plot significantly, and focusing the story on the conflict between Andy and Miranda.

Meryl Streep was not the first choice for Miranda. She was initially not considered because no one knew she could be funny. Before her, Michelle Pfeiffer, Glenn Close, and Catherine Zeta-Jones were considered before her. Signing Streep allowed Fox to greenlight the project.

Second Look - Devil May Cry 2

Note: This review contains spoilers for Devil May Cry 2

Near the end of the production of the original Devil May Cry (DMC1), Capcom struck while the iron was hot and greenlit a sequel. Unfortunately, this sequel faced a very troubled production under its original director, who remains anonymous to this day. When Capcom assigned the second director, Hideaki Itsuno, to the project, he was shocked by the lack of any real progress, which amounted to almost nothing aside from the Stinger animation. With only a few months left, he built pretty much the entire rest of the game from scratch. The end result, Devil May Cry 2 (DMC2), released on the PS2 in 2003 to poor reviews, though it still established some series conventions and had high sales numbers. The game’s development disaster also motivated the team to improve their work, with most staying on for future entries. In fact, near the end of development, Itsuno successfully convinced Capcom to let him direct Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening from scratch because he didn’t want to be forever known as “the guy who directed DMC2.”

In the years since its release, DMC2 has gained a reputation as the worst game in the series, even more so than the controversial reboot, DmC: Devil May Cry (DmC). It really is. However, I’ve also felt unsatisfied with my coverage of the game in the past, both in my review of the original PS2 version and the other when talking about the Devil May Cry HD Collection as a whole. Since I re-reviewed DMC1 in the context of its origin as Resident Evil 4, I decided that even though DMC2 is certainly the worst game in the series, it deserved a better and more in-depth look. As with my re-review of DMC1, this re-review is based on DMC2 as presented in HD Collection.

Stubs - Le Ballet Mécanique

Le Ballet Mécanique (1924) Starring Alice Prin aka Kiki of Montparnasse. Directed by Fernand Léger, Dudley Murphy. Written by Fernand Léger. No Producer Credited. Run time: 19 minutes. Black and White/Color. France. Experimental, Silent, Short.

Filmmakers have been experimenting with celluloid almost as long as the technology has existed. One of the earlier examples is Le Ballet Mécanique (1924), a French film with American input released and mostly credited to Fernand Léger, although American Dudley Murphy was also involved in the filmmaking.

The film they made is, to quote The Silent Era review, a montage “of live action cinematography, shots of geometric shapes, colors, odd found items, commercial product photography, observations through a mirrored prism, image repetition, household items and machinery in movement, fairground attractions, and stop-motion animation.”

Mercy (2026)

Having a narrative unfold on screen in real time takes a lot of planning and coordination to pull off properly, which may be why it’s rare enough to be notable. Even more difficult is carrying that through an entire film or TV episode, with notable early examples being Alfred Hitchcock’s 1948 thriller Rope and Robert Wise’s 1949 boxing drama The Set-Up. When I first heard about the recent 2026 film named Mercy, the premise sounded vaguely interesting, but I wasn’t sure about seeing it until confirming that it unfolds in real time, which made me thinks of the aforementioned films that I had been exposed to when I was younger. Though I missed the theatrical window, it being an Amazon MGM distribution meant I was able to watch it for free on Amazon Prime Video (now with ads after the introduction of Prime Video Ultra). While I enjoyed it and thought critic reviews were a little harsh, I feel like I might have felt differently had I watched it outside of a streaming platform.

Exit 8 (Film)

When the independent Japanese game The Exit 8 (JP: 8番出口) by Kotake Create was released in 2023, it made a big splash on the indie game landscape, inspiring numerous other games to put their own spin on its unique anomaly hunting mechanics. This popularity would eventually lead to it getting a Japanese live-action film adaptation, titled Exit 8 (JP: 8番出口), directed by Genki Kawamura, in 2025. The existence of the film adaptation intrigued me even as someone who hadn’t played the game but knew about it, more so when distributor Neon gave it a limited (sub-only) US theatrical run earlier this week. Not knowing when I’d have another chance to see it, I managed to secure tickets for the most convenient screening within my area and found it to be well worth the effort.

God of War: Sons of Sparta

Note: The review contains spoilers for God of War: Sons of Sparta and God of War: Ghost of Sparta. 

The God of War series is no stranger to having canon installments developed by other studios outside of Santa Monica Studio, but not a full original console game. Such is the case with God of War: Sons of Sparta (Sons of Sparta), a PS5 exclusive co-developed by Mega Cat Studios, the studio behind Five Nights at Freddy’s: Into the Pit. Unusually for the series, let alone for its high profile, the game was shadow-dropped on the PlayStation Store during the February 2026 PlayStation State of Play. Although the release was sudden, I still got the game on release day, though it took a while to finish due to my own personal endurance. Upon completing it and reaching the post-game, I thought it was a worthy entry in the series, but not without some questionable design choices.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

Note: This review contains spoilers for The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

The success of 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie, grossing over $1 billion on a $100 million budget, would naturally justify a sequel, announced one year later and released in 2026. Despite animation studio Illumination’s track record for the inconsistent quality of their output, I still enjoyed The Super Mario Bros. Movie (in spite of its flaws) and felt growing hype as the sequel, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, drew closer, enough that I finally played the original game that it was based on, Super Mario Galaxy. Although some skepticism and negative critic reviews popped up during the lead-in to the film’s release, I felt that I should see first-hand how it shaped up compared to the original. Unfortunately, for every enjoyable element, there is something that holds it back from greatness.

George of the Jungle

Back in 1967, ABC aired George of the Jungle, one of Jay Ward’s most famous creations, which lasted 17 episodes (thanks to the animators regularly going over budget) and spawned some legacy media of its own. One of these was a film adaptation, George of the Jungle (GOTJ), which started life as a spec script called Gorilla Boy that parodied Tarzan. Disney would buy this spec script and have it rewritten into GOTJ (fitting, since the original cartoon was itself a parody of Tarzan). The final film released in 1997 and, in spite of the mixed reception, would more than earn its $55 million budget back with a final box office tally of about $174.4 million. I myself had vague memories of watching it as a kid, though not in a theater, and recently found myself curious about it again while revisiting the original cartoon. One stream through Disney+ later and while I can see how many children of the 90s would have more familiarity with this incarnation than the original, as well as fond memories, I found it less than stellar watching for the first time through adult eyes.

Super Mario Galaxy (Switch)

Back in 2007, Nintendo released Super Mario Galaxy (Galaxy), an early release for their explosively popular Wii system and the third 3D platformer in the Super Mario series. During its lifetime, it sold nearly 13 million copies on its original platform and continues receiving critical praise, even against other modern Mario titles. Although I had heard about the game for nearly two decades, including comparisons made against other games like Sonic Lost World, I got hyped enough for the release of a 2026 film adaptation, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, that I decided I should finally play the game and express my thoughts on it as the first Mario game reviewed on this blog. Fortunately, I can confidently say that it lived up to the hype, though Mario’s journey through the stars wasn’t entirely a smooth one.

Before continuing, I want to firmly establish that this review is based on the Switch version of the game as presented in Super Mario 3D All-Stars (which I played through a physical copy) and played with a Switch Pro Controller (due to suspected JoyCon drift). As such, I will not make any comparisons with the original Wii release or the later Switch compilation re-release with Super Mario Galaxy 2.

The version used for this review.

TMNT (2007)

Although the initial Turtlemania wave died down at the tail end of the 1990s, the 2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) cartoon proved to be the adrenaline shot that the franchise needed to continue forward. As such, this would eventually lead to a new theatrical film in 2007, simply titled TMNT (TMNT 07), only this time fully animated in CG. While my first viewing was some years after the film initially released, I decided to give it another try after watching the original live-action trilogy, in part because it is meant to serve as a sequel to those films. It did make a lot more sense in this context, but it still had some issues.

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.