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.

Stubs - Moana (1926)

Moana. A Romance of the Golden Age (1926) starring Ta’avale Uni, Fa’amgase Súa-Filo, Pe’a Taulealea, Tu’ungaita. Directed by Robert J. Flaherty and Frances Hubbard Flaherty. Produced by Robert J. and Frances Hubbard Flaherty. Written by Robert J. and Frances Hubbard Flaherty. Black and White. Run time: 98 minutes. USA. Silent with sound, Documentary

If you ever wondered where the term "documentary" comes from, you need look no further than a contemporary review of this film. Scottish filmmaker, film theorist, and critic John Grierson, writing for The New York Sun under the name “The Moviegoer”, coined the term in his review on February 8, 1926, the day after Moana opened. Grierson is considered by many to be the father of British and Canadian documentary film. Despite that, many view the film as more docufiction.

Deltarune Chapter 5

Note: This review contains spoilers for Deltarune Chapters 1-4.

As promised at the end of Deltarune Chapter 4, Toby Fox has released Chapter 5 about a year later (and as a free update, as advertised). Naturally, as with Chapters 3 & 4, I played it as soon as I could and did my best to dodge spoilers throughout my run, keeping in mind that Toby Fox had stated in the newsletter that Chapter 5 would be lighter than the others before the game really gets heavy. Although I enjoyed the Chapter and am still excited to see what comes next, there were issues that I hope the remaining Chapters iron out.

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.