Entertainment To-Do List: Week of 12/19/25

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Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas! (CREDIT: Fearless Records)

Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.

Movies
Avatar: Fire and Ash (Theaters)
The Housemaid (Theaters)
Is This Thing On? (Theaters)
Marty Supreme (Theaters)
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants (Theaters)

Music
-Peter Criss, Peter Criss
-The Pretty Reckless, Taylor Momsen’s Pretty Reckless Christmas – Cindy Lou Who grew up, but she still loves Christmas.
-Ben Hosley and Various Artists, Slow XMas 5 – A holiday tradition.

‘Marty Supreme’ is Firing on All Cylinders

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He’s Supreme-ing all over the place! (CREDIT: A24)

Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa, A’zion, Kevin O’Leary, Tyler Okonma, Abel Ferrara, Fran Drescher, Koto Kawaguchi, Sandra Bernhard, Spenser Granese, Luke Manley, John Catsimatidis, Isaac Mizrahi, George Gervin, Ted Williams, Emory Cohen, Géza Röhrig, Larry “Ratso” Sloman, Ralph Colucci, Penn Jillette

Director: Josh Safdie

Running Time: 150 Minutes

Rating: R for Plenty of Language, Inescapable Violence, and Some Embarrassing Nudity

Release Date: December 19, 2025 (Limited Theaters)/December 25, 2025 (Expands Nationwide)

What’s It About?: Marty Mauser (Timothée Chalamet) could just be the biggest deal in the world of 1950s global athletics. That’s how transcendent his table tennis skills are. Now you may be thinking, “Table tennis? Measly old ping pong? What are you getting on about?” Well, Marty doesn’t have any patience for your skepticism. In fact, he doesn’t have patience for much of anything. On the rare occasions when he loses, he throws a fit about how his opponents aren’t playing the game properly. And when he’s back home in New York City in between tournaments, he’s getting up to all sorts of trouble, much of it of his own making. He’s being pulled in a million different directions, by a colorful cast of characters who are equally charmed and enervated by him. They include his very pregnant childhood friend (Odessa A’zion) who’s married to someone else but claims that the baby is his; a faded movie star (Gwyneth Paltrow) he’s trying to mack on; her control freak husband (Kevin O’Leary, aka Shark Tank‘s “Mr. Wonderful”) who could also be his sponsor; his uncle (Larry “Ratso” Sloman) who tries to get him arrested to teach him a lesson; some random criminal (Abel Ferrara) who puts Marty in charge of his beloved dog; and his taxi driver friend (Tyler Okonma, aka Tyler, the Creator) who gets strung along for the ride. Meanwhile, his mother (Fran Drescher) is caught in the background looking incredulous.

What Made an Impression?: I Probably Would’ve Fallen Asleep: There are some movies that I’m afraid to talk about too in depth when reviewing them because I don’t want to spoil anything. Marty Supreme is similar but profoundly different: I don’t want to say too much because I could easily end up just listing all the plot details without providing any analysis. This is a dense flick that also manages to whiz by despite its two-and-a-half-hour running time. Ostensibly a sports drama, it’s also just as much a crime caper, screwball comedy, and lovingly realized period piece. And each slice of the pie delivers.
That Boy Can Ball: But let’s be clear, even though the plot isn’t all ping pong all the time, Chalamet came to play. There are no half-measures with this thespian. He’s expressed his desire to be one of the all-time greats, and he’s clearly compelled to impress his audience. But this isn’t joyless Method acting, instead it only makes us hungry for more. Just as he served as a musical guest on SNL after playing Bob Dylan, I wouldn’t put it past him to show up paddle in hand for the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games.
A Champion for the Ages: To sum it all up, Marty Supreme is one of the most unmissable cinematic experiences of the year, a runaway train that careens off the tracks all the way to Jupiter. And a bang-up entertainer like this delivers an appropriately propulsive soundtrack, with Oneohtrix Point Never delivering one of his typical mind-melting scores, while some needle drops from the ’80s offer temporal displacement that somehow doesn’t feel anachronistic. Give yourself time and space to breathe after this one, you’re gonna need it.

Marty Supreme is Recommended If You: Wish that Uncut Gems had been more like Forrest Gump (or vice versa)

Grade: 4.5 out of 5 Orange Ping Pong Balls

‘The Housemaid’ Delivers on Its Promise of Twisty and Shocking Thrills

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They were maid for this (CREDIT: Daniel McFadden/Lionsgate)

Starring: Sydney Sweeney, Amanda Seyfried, Brandon Sklenar, Michele Morrone, Elizabeth Perkins, Indiana Elle

Director: Paul Feig

Running Time: 131 Minutes

Rating: R for Sex, Nudity, A Shocking Amount of Violence, and Other Disturbing Behavior (Including Sexual Assault)

Release Date: December 19, 2025 (Theaters)

What’s It About?: Millie Calloway (Sydney Sweeney) is desperate for a job, any job, especially one that’ll guarantee a roof over her head. She’s an ex-con out on parole who’s been living in her car, you see. So it feels like a miracle when she’s hired by Nina Winchester (Amanda Seyfried) as a live-in housemaid for her gated suburban mansion. Nina’s husband Andrew (Brandon Sklenar) and seven-year-old daughter Cecelia (Indiana Elle) are a little puzzled at first by their new roommate, but it’s really Nina that Millie has to watch out for, despite their promising start. Her behavior becomes increasingly unstable as she constantly gaslights Millie. Meanwhile, Andrew is lifesavingly eager to protect his new employee. But as you might suspect, The Housemaid is the type of movie where these characters aren’t exactly who they initially seem to be.

What Made an Impression?: History Repeating Itself: Is Sydney Sweeney basically just Amanda Seyfried but a decade younger? If we thoroughly compare and contrast their personalities and career arcs, it probably won’t be an exact match. But in this movie, their already similar faces and hair are styled about as closely as they possibly can be. And that is surely intentional in pretty much every way you can possibly conceive of.
Can We Be Real?: The Housemaid is a movie that you’ve got to be patient with, and director Paul Feig trusts that his audience will be okay with a two hour-plus runtime despite the breeziness of the trappings. Furthermore, you have to be willing to accept that until the final act, Seyfried is pretty much the only actor who’s not suppressing her emotions. But the payoff is worth it, because the climax is climactic all over the place. And before we get there, it’s not completely devoid of entertainment value, especially thanks to some especially droll line readings, like “Juice is a privilege, not something you drink out of a dirty glass.”
Broke is What They’re Going For: Throughout this review, I’ve been teasing just how twisty and revelatory this movie’s conclusion is. So of course I’m going to conclude by teasing that aspect once again. Obviously, now’s not the time for spoilers, but I will say that The Housemaid spends its last 45 minutes or so earning its R rating, and then some. Covers are dropped, old wounds are revealed, new wounds are poked, and just desserts are delivered forcefully. Folks, if you’re planning on seeing this, you gotta do so in a crowded theater full of stunned ooh’s and ah’s.

The Housemaid is Recommended If You: Wished that Conclave had been more like The Stepford Wives

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Fake Resumes

‘Search for SquarePants’ is Proof that SpongeBob Belongs on the Big Screen Forever

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Is it Sponge-worthy? (CREDIT: Paramount Pictures)

Starring: Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, Clancy Brown, Rodger Bumpass, Mark Hamill, Regina Hall, Carolyn Lawrence, Mr. Lawrence, George Lopez, Ice Spice, Arturo Castro, Sherry Cola

Director: Derek Drymon

Running Time: 96 Minutes

Rating: PG for Cheeky Humor Overload

Release Date: December 19, 2025 (Theaters)

What’s It About?: The Flying Dutchman wants to break free! But will his scheme to accomplish that goal also result in the downfall of Bikini Bottom’s most famous fry cook? SpongeBob SquarePants (voiced as usual by the indefatigable Tom Kenny) has finally grown just tall enough to ride the local physics-defying rollercoaster. But when he actually lays his peepers on it, he suddenly decides that he’s not ready after all, so instead he and his best pal Patrick Star (Bill Fagerbakke) go on a deep(er)-sea adventure to prove their mettle as swashbucklers. Unfortunately, that puts him in the crosshairs of the aforementioned Dutchman (voiced nearly unrecognizably by Mark Hamill), who sees in Mr. SquarePants the perfect sacrificial lamb to break the curse of his ghostly existence. But have no fear, as Mr. Krabs (Clancy Brown) and a surprisingly not-that-reluctant Squidward (Rodger Bumpass) are in hot pursuit to ensure that the boys have a little help to get back home safely.

What Made an Impression?: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Sponge: At this point, it’s important to establish some context in my own personal SpongeBob journey. I was 11 when the show premiered on Nickelodeon in 1999, which is to say that I was almost too old to become a fan of a new Nicktoon. But this one had a surreal sensibility that held an ageless appeal to hook me just in time. However, it was never Priority Number One in my TV viewing schedule, and by my college years, it had fallen pretty much completely by the wayside. Fast forward a generation or two later, and I’m stunned to discover that new episodes are still being produced. Apparently, that longevity is the source of significant controversy, as creator Stephen Hillenburg (who passed away in 2018) reportedly wanted the show to end after the release of the first big-screen outing in 2004. Plus, the switch to a more computer-generated animation style has represented the loss of a lot of the original charm for a significant segment of the fandom. But as someone who gradually drifted away from Bikini Bottom with no ill will, I don’t have any declared loyalty in these dilemmas.
Always Ready: So all that background info is a windup to saying that I came to Search for SquarePants with an open mind and an eagerness to rediscover that logic-breaking glee of days gone by. And I must say: I found it. Oh baby, I found it! This movie is an absolute delight that lives up to the very best of SpongeBob. The demented energy and penchant for absurd set pieces that mash up the animation with cheap-looking live-action are just as on point as they’ve ever been. Of course though, as someone who’s been out of the loop, I can’t declare for sure if this is a return to form or rather a continuation of sustained excellence. But I can confidently insist that this outing is a fine addition to a sterling legacy.
They’ve Got a Way with Words: To prove how much I loved this movie, I will enter into evidence my moviegoing notebook, which is absolutely filled to the brim with transcriptions of the most hilarious bits of dialogue. Here are some choice selections, which may or may not be just as gut-busting out of context:
-“But-but-but-” “Butts are for toilets.”
-“We can’t lose in a Winnebago.”
-“I say puh-tay-toh, you say puh-tah-toh.” “No, I don’t.”
I also  lovingly wrote down a bunch of descriptions of visual gags, including a particularly cheeky one involving a brick that’s highlighted in the trailer.
Cool as Ice: Finally, I must heap special praise upon the theme song of SpongeBob’s growth spurt, “Big Guy” by Isis Gaston, aka The Bronx’s own Ice Spice (who also has a small part as an amusement park worker). It’s a total banger that’ll be thumping on my speakers throughout the holiday season. It’s not quite as iconic as Wilco’s “Just a Kid,” but give it a few years, and I might just be ready to declare that it’s on the same level.

The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants is Recommended If: You loved SpongeBob back in the day and have fond memories you’d like to revisit, or if you never stopped loving this yellow guy and want to spend more time in boisterous movie theaters

Grade: 4 out of 5 Dutchmen

Entertainment To-Do List: Week of 12/12/25

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Squirmin’ in December (CREDIT: HBO/Screenshot)

Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.

Movies
Atropia (Theaters) – Starring Alia Shawkat.
Dust Bunny (Theaters)
Ella McCay (Theaters)

TV
American Masters: Starring Dick Van Dyke (December 12 on PBS) – There’s also a 100th birthday celebration for Dick airing in select movie theaters this weekend.
-A Saturday Night Live Christmas (December 18 on NBC, re-airing on December 22)

Music
-Nas and DJ Premiere, Light-Years

Sports
-College Football Postseason (December 13-January 19 on Various Networks) – I’ll be rooting for the Hoosiers to win it all.

Comedy
Sarah Squirm: Live + In the Flesh (December 12 on HBO)

This is What Happens When You See the Thanksgiving 2025 Movies During One Week in December

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Thank you to the movies! (CREDIT (Clockwise from left): Agata Grzybowska/Focus Features;
Walt Disney Animation Studios/Screenshot; A24)

Zootopia 2

Starring: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Ke Huy Quan, Andy Samberg, Fortune Feimster, Idris Elba, Patrick Warburton, Shakira, Quinta Brunson, Danny Trejo, Nate Torrence, Bonnie Hunt, Don Lake, Jenny Slate

Directors: Jared Bush and Byron Howard

Running Time: 108 Minutes

Rating: PG

Release Date: November 26, 2025 (Theaters)

Hamnet

Starring: Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Emily Watson, Joe Alwyn, Jacobi Jupe, David Wilmot, Olivia Lynes, Bodhi Rae Breathnach, Freya Hannan-Mills, Dainton Anderson, Elliot Baxter, Noah Jupe

Director: Chloé Zhao

Running Time: 126 Minutes

Rating: PG-13

Release Date: November 26, 2025 (Theaters)

Eternity

Starring: Miles Teller, Elizabeth Olsen, Callum Turner, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, John Early, Olga Merediz, Betty Buckley, Barry Primus

Director: David Freyne

Running Time: 114 Minutes

Rating: PG-13

Release Date: November 26, 2025 (Theaters)

And now, I’m going to discuss my reaction to three films that came out in time for Thanksgiving but that I didn’t get around to seeing until December. Nevertheless, I shall reveal what I am thankful for regarding each of them, because it’s important to practice gratitude throughout the year.

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Does ‘Wake Up Dead Man’ Have the Power to Wake All of Us Up?

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Where is this man on the scale of Awake to Dead? (CREDIT: Netflix)

Starring: Josh O’Connor, Daniel Craig, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, Thomas Haden Church, Jeffrey Wright, Annie Hamilton, James Faulkner, Bridget Everett, Noah Segan

Director: Rian Johnson

Running Time: 144 Minutes

Rating: PG-13

Release Date: November 26, 2025 (Theaters)/December 12, 2025 (Netflix)

You will believe a man can be resurrected! That’s the tongue-in-cheek promise of Wake Up Dead Man, the latest Knives Out mystery. As a lifelong practicing Catholic, I was especially primed to appreciate Benoit Blanc venturing off to an off-the-beaten parish on Easter Weekend to help the new young priest (Josh O’Connor) figure out the death of the firebrand monsignor (Josh Brolin). And ultimately, Rian Johnson very much succeeded in helping to restore my faith. That’s not to say that I had completely lost my faith, and it’s also not to say that any character literally comes back to life. (Although in the interest of avoiding spoilers, I’m not not saying that either.) Furthermore, I’m also certainly not saying that you have to be Catholic to enjoy this movie (nor that all Catholics will automatically enjoy it). But it did convince me anew of believing in the stories we tell ourselves, and that is a blessing.

Grade: 10 Awakenings out of 7 Crypts

Entertainment To-Do List: Week of 12/5/25

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Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.

Movies
Man Finds Tape (Theaters)
100 Nights of Hero (Theaters)

TV
30 for 30: Boo-Yah: A Portrait of Stuart Scott (December 10 on ESPN) – Sweet sassy molassy!

Music
-Kyle M., Winter’s Wish (Released November 21) – Featuring the new holiday classic “Mrs. Claus is Getting Down.”

The Movie ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s 2’ is a Sequel to the First ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ Movie, Now Here’s My Review

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Da Bear (CREDIT: Universal Pictures)

Starring: Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Lail, Piper Rubio, Matthew Lillard, Theodus Crane, McKenna Grace, Teo Briones, Freddy Carter, Wayne Knight, Audrey Lynn-Marie, Skeet Ulrich

Director: Emma Tammi

Running Time: 104 Minutes

Rating: PG-13 for Violence That Feels Like It Should Look Bloodier

Release Date: December 5, 2025 (Theaters)

What’s It About?: Have you ever had to deal with your younger sibling pining for her ghost friends inside murderous animatronics? That’s the very common dilemma that Mike Schmidt is dealing with while looking after his sister Abby (Piper Rubio) in the wake of the massacre at the end of the first Five Nights at Freddy’s flick that resulted in the death of serial killer William Afton (Matthew Lillard). Mike and Afton’s daughter Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail) are doing their best to look out for each other, but the spirits at the shuttered entertainment pizza joint are restless and still calling out to whomever they can lure into their clutches to escape their containment. Meanwhile, Abby is doing her best to make a good impression at her school’s robotics contest, but her teacher (Wayne Knight) is kind of a jerk.

What Made an Impression?: Land of the Rising Dead Kids: The primary antagonist this time around is the spirit of a little girl named Charlotte (Audrey Lynn-Marie), a victim of Afton’s who blames all the clueless parents at Freddy’s for her demise, since they just sat around and did nothing. That blame is now extended to all parents in her afterlife. This is kind of reminiscent of J-horror ghost stories, wherein the curse of a murdered child eternally reaches its coils into anyone who comes into contact with its presence. FnaF 2 is nowhere near as good as the classics of that genre, like The Ring or its Japanese original. But there was also a fair deal of schlock in that trend, so FnaF 2 surely isn’t the worst example, either.
Bang, Clank, Sizzle: When the monsters in your movie are lumbering animatronic animals, the sound mix tends to be filled with crashing metal, twisting gears, and crackling electricity. Unfortunately, these aren’t exactly the most pleasant sounds, though they’re certainly true to the situation. It’s not as bad as the worst Transformers sequels, which were incomprehensible in their garble of machinery. Considering that FnaF 2 is ostensibly a horror movie, this arrangement is horrifying in the sense that it tested my patience. But I’m not sure that was the intention.
Where’s the Edge?: Maybe if I were more well-versed in the lore of the FnaF video games and their various spinoffs, then perhaps these movies would hit harder for me. But I don’t really feel like I’m missing anything. The plots are straightforward and easy to follow, character motivations are clearly spelled out, and the visual language is sensible. There’s just no verve or pizzazz. Freddy and his crew may be ostensibly let loose, but the reality is that they’re still on a tight leash. But at least Wayne Knight gives a bizarrely great performance, so you might laugh a few times!

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is Recommended If You Like: Cold pepperoni

Grade: 2.5 out of 5 Animatronics

A Quick ‘Rental Family’ Review and Then Some Awards-Worthy Thoughts

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Normally I would prefer buying a ticket, but this is one Rental I’ll recommend! (CREDIT: Searchlight Pictures/Screenshot)

Starring: Brendan Fraser, Takehiro Hira, Mari Yamamoto, Shannon Mahina Gorman, Akira Emoto, Shino Shinozaki, Kimura Bun, Sei Matobu

Director: Hikari

Running Time: 110 Minutes

Rating: PG-13 for Some Language Here and There

Release Date: November 21, 2025 (Theaters)

Since Rental Family is already out in theaters by the time I’m posting this review, I’ll be quick with my thoughts and then transition into a related matter. This is one of those movies where the trailer spells out the premise pretty much perfectly, as Brendan Fraser plays the delightfully named American actor Phillip Vandarploeug, who’s living in Japan when he’s hired by the titular company to serve as a stand-in for various clients’ friends and family members. His main gigs involve pretending to be the previously absent father of a young biracial girl (the winning Shannon Mahina Gorman) and a journalist/friend hanging out with a retired actor struggling with the onset of dementia (Akira Emoto). I was worried that this premise could lend itself to an overly cloying adventure, but writer/director Hikari and his cast wisely opt for a generally understated approach. Except when they get madcap! That’s right, this movie is surprisingly silly at times, and I have to admit that I expelled some genuine belly laughs. Overall, Rental Family works as well as it does because it has Fraser at its center, and that’s a big reason why I give it a Grade of 3.5 out of 5 Fake Dads.

And now I’ll segue into taking a pulse on the state of the Oscar race, specifically the Lead Actor category. Fraser won that little gold man just a few years ago for The Whale, so we know he’s on the Academy’s radar, or at least he has been in the past. Weirdly enough, though, I haven’t heard his name batted around at all in this year’s Oscars discussion, despite Rental Family being Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and being distributed by a studio (Searchlight Pictures) with plenty of experience running awards campaigns. Although maybe he does have a chance, and I’m just caught in the prognosticator echo chamber at the moment.

Spanning outward, I’ll throw my weight behind someone else who appears unlikely to get a nom despite totally deserving one, i.e., Liam Neeson in The Naked Gun: he perfectly fulfilled the assignment! A few names I think could be legitimate contenders include Jeremy Allen White for the Springsteen movie, Joel Edgerton for Train Dreams, Dwayne Johnson for The Smashing Machine, Ethan Hawke for Blue Moon, and maybe even Jesse Plemons for Bugonia.

But ultimately I foresee this race coming down to three dudes: one a former winner, one a former nominee but not yet a winner, and one who’s surprisingly never been nominated. That would be Leo D. in One B. After A., Timmy C. in Marty S., and Michael B. J. in the vampire flick I really, really loved. I’ll be pulling for Mr. Jordan’s double-duty performance, but if I’m a betting man, I’m leaning ever so slightly in the DiCaprio direction (especially considering the repeat acting winners we’ve seen recently with Emma Stone and Adrien Brody).

But wouldn’t it be hilarious if everyone just got Fraser’d in the end? Lol!

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