December 16, 2025
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Arturo Castro, Bill Fagerbakke, Carolyn Lawrence, Clancy Brown, Derek Drymon, George Lopez, Ice Spice, Mark Hamill, Mr. Lawrence, Regina Hall, Rodger Bumpass, Search for SquarePants, Sherry Cola, sponge, SpongeBob, Spongebob Squarepants, The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, Tom Kenny
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
December 11, 2025
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Andy Samberg, Barry Primus, Betty Buckley, Bodhi Rae Breathnach, Bonnie Hunt, Byron Howard, Callum Turner, Chloé Zhao, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Dainton Anderson, Danny Trejo, David Freyne, David Wilmot, Don Lake, Elizabeth Olsen, Elliot Baxter, Emily Watson, Eternity, Fortune Feimster, Freya Hannan-Mills, Ginnifer Goodwin, giving thanks, Gratitude, Hamnet, Idris Elba, Jacobi Jupe, Jared Bush, Jason Bateman, Jenny Slate, Jessie Buckley, Joe Alwyn, John Early, Ke Huy Quan, Miles Teller, Nate Torrence, Noah Jupe, Olga Merediz, Olivia Lynes, Patrick Warburton, Paul Mescal, Quinta Brunson, Shakira, thankfulness, Thanskgiving, Zootopia 2
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.
More
December 9, 2025
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Andrew Scott, Annie Hamilton, Benoit Blanc, Bridget Everett, Cailee Spaeny, Daniel Craig, Daryl McCormack, Glenn Close, James Faulkner, Jeffrey Wright, Jeremy Renner, Josh Brolin, Josh O'Connor, Kerry Washington, Knives Out, Mila Kunis, Noah Segan, Thomas Haden Church, Wake Up Dead Man, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
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
December 4, 2025
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Audrey Lynn-Marie, Elizabeth Lail, Emma Tammi, Five Nights at Freddy's, Five Nights at Freddy's 2, FNaF, FnaF 2, Freddy Carter, Josh Hutcherson, Matthew Lillard, Mckenna Grace, Piper Rubio, Skeet Ulrich, Teo Briones, Theodus Crane, Wayne Knight
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
December 3, 2025
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Akira Emoto, Brendan Fraser, Kimura Bun, Mari Yamamoto, Rental Family, Sei Matobu, Shannon Mahina Gorman, Shino Shinozaki, Takehiro Hira
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!
December 2, 2025
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Eric Lin, James Chen, Jennifer Lim, Lawrence Shou, Lucy Liu, Madison Hu, Orion Lee, Rosemead
Lucy Liu in Rosemead (CREDIT: Vertical/Screenshot)
Starring: Lucy Liu, Lawrence Shou, Orion Lee, Jennifer Lim, Madison Hu, James Chen
Director: Eric Lin
Running Time: 97 Minutes
Rating: R for Language and Mature Themes
Release Date: December 5, 2025 (New York)/December 12, 2025 (Los Angeles)
What’s It About?: In an urgent tale based on unsettling true events, Lucy Liu plays a mother named Irene who’s very worried about her schizophrenic teenage son Joe (Lawrence Shou) and his increasingly erratic behavior. When she discovers that he’s been looking up information about infamous mass shootings, she starts to suspect that he’s planning to pull off the same thing at his school. Unfortunately, she cannot devote all of the energy that she would need to prevent this, because she is also dealing with a terminal cancer diagnosis. As Irene feels Joe drifting further and further out of her grasp and she becomes more and more isolated from the rest of the world, irreversibly drastic action starts to seem like the only possible solution.
What Made an Impression?: Praying That It Doesn’t End This Way: After reading that synopsis, perhaps you’re scared that Rosemead is running headlong in the most tragic direction. Of course, you could look up the real story to find out if those suspicions are warranted. But in the interest of avoiding spoilers, I’ll leave that resolution to the theater. However, I’ll also make sure to note that whether or not the worst does indeed happen, the dread hanging over that possibility is unbearably palpable throughout the entire movie. This definitely isn’t the sort of film you should be watching at your most emotionally vulnerable. Conversely, it is the kind of movie that makes you question if it’s even worth putting absolutely devastating stories like this up on the big screen. Hopefully they can foster understanding and play at least some small part towards preventing further tragedies.
That’ll Do: To redirect things over to a more technical discussion, Rosemead didn’t exactly thrill me with its daring or bowl me over with its aesthetic choices. Above all else, I’m glad that Lucy Liu really got the opportunity to flex her dramatic chops. She’s been putting in consistently great work for more than three decades, and I can’t remember her ever getting a spotlight quite like this one. It would just be nice if it were in a movie I could rave about more breathlessly. As it is, though, this is a perfectly fine cinematic contribution that everyone involved should be appropriately proud of.
Rosemead is Recommended If: “Lucy Liu’s Career-Best Performance” was on your 2025 Bingo Card
Grade: 3 out of 5 Diagnoses
November 25, 2025
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Woody Harrelson, Morgan Freeman, Dave Franco, Rosamund Pike, Justice Smith, Ruben Fleischer, Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Ariana Greenblatt, Lizzy Caplan, Dominic Sessa, Now You See Me: Now You Don't, Now You See Me
I see them! … Or do I? (CREDIT: Lionsgate)
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Dominic Sessa, Justice Smith, Ariana Greenblatt, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher, Rosamund Pike, Lizzy Caplan, Morgan Freeman
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Running Time: 112 Minutes
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: November 14, 2025 (Theaters)
I would LOVE to live in the world of the Now You See Me movies! Here’s why: nothing makes a lick of sense, but somehow everything always works out perfectly in the end. Just so long as you’re not one of those selfish Master of the Universe types, that is. Is this what justice looks like? Well, it’s at least what Justice Smith looks like, considering that he’s one of the main new stars arriving for the third entry, Now You Don’t. And in case you’re wondering, here’s my response to that subtitle: yes, they do, and they probably always will!
Grade: Actually, Though, This One’s a Little Too Illusory
November 20, 2025
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Jalmari Helander, Jorma Tommila, Richard Brake, Sisu, Sisu: Road to Revenge, Stephen Lang
The Road to Revenge is filled with so many explosions (CREDIT: Heikki Leis)
Starring: Jorma Tommila, Stephen Lang, Richard Brake
Director: Jalmari Helander
Running Time: 89 Minutes
Rating: R for Blood and Guts
Release Date: November 21, 2025 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: Following the end of World War II, after a chunk of Finland is ceded to the Soviet Union, former Finnish Army commando Aatami Korpi returns to this territory to dismantle his family house and then rebuild it elsewhere. But when the Soviets catch wind of his presence, they’re not exactly content to let him just do his own thing. Because, you see, after Aatami’s family was slaughtered by Red Army officer Igor Draganov (Stephen Lang), he went on quite the killing spree of his own, which means of course now the Soviets have hired Draganov to finish the job. I’ve never seen the first Sisu, so I don’t know how much of this backstory is set up in that chapter. But it doesn’t particularly matter. Once that bare-bones premise is established, Road to Revenge is just nonstop action, and that’s pretty much all you need to know.
What Made an Impression?: Boom Launch: Does it ever get old launching a missile at close range and watching it gloriously explode upon impact? Jalmari Helmander sure hopes not! If the world of Sisu represents the writer/director’s cinematic philosophy, then the big screen shouldn’t go more than 30 minutes without such a climactic outburst. And hey, I’m not complaining, because at least he also takes the time to patiently build up to all that mayhem with (relatively) smaller moments of cascading chaos. Are Megadeth’s ears ringing? Because this is undeniably a symphony of destruction!
It’s Cold Over There: Road to Revenge features one of my favorite establishing chyrons in quite a while, as it whisks away to a foreboding location with the text message “Meanwhile in Siberia.” It could’ve just said “Siberia,” but that simple-yet-no-by-means-undervalued “Meanwhile in” really took it to another level, and I hope it tickles everyone else as much as it did me.
A Final Release: When discussing such a simple, straightforward adrenaline-delivery machine like this one, I don’t have much more to add to what I’ve already said beyond “Boom, boom, boom!” But before I conclude, there is another reaction that I ought to share, as Helmander and Tommila take a breath and then make sure to leave us with another sort of catharsis. I won’t go into detail too much in case you want to be surprised, but just know that if you somehow find yourself getting swept into a heartfelt connection amidst all the carnage, your fragile emotional state will be handled with care.
Sisu: Road to Revenge is Recommended If You Like: The Idea of Inglourious Basterds crossed with Looney Tunes
Grade: 3 out of 5 Kabooms
November 19, 2025
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Ariana Grande, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James, Colman Domingo, Cynthia Erivo, Ethan Slater, Jeff Goldblum, Jon M. Chu, Jonathan Bailey, Marissa Bode, Michelle Yeoh, Sharon D. Clarke, Wicked, Wicked: For Good
To have and to Wicked, For Good and for worse (CREDIT: Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures)
Starring: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Marissa Bode, Ethan Slater, Michelle Yeoh, Sharon D. Clarke, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James, Colman Domingo
Director: Jon M. Chu
Running Time: 137 Minutes
Rating: PG for Steamy Sensuality and Broom Fights
Release Date: November 21, 2025 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: Oz is of course a wonderful and magical place, but it isn’t always filled with honesty. That is what Elphaba Thropp (Cynthia Erivo) is desperately trying to tell us at the beginning of Wicked: For Good. Now that she knows the dark truth about what the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) and Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) are up to, she’s gone off into hiding into the woods as she plots to lift the curtain and free the animals. Meanwhile, Glinda (Ariana Grande) is taking a much less revolutionary approach as an official representative of Oz, though she still holds out hope that she and Elphaba can reconcile. On top of all that, Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) is caught in the middle between these witchy ladies, Elphaba’s sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode) is now governor of Munchkinland, her Munchkin friend Boq (Ethan Slater) is bristling at his position working for her, and a certain visitor from the Midwestern United States is about to get dumped into the middle of all this finagling.
What Made an Impression?: Another Way of Looking at Things: It’s a simple realization, but worth drawing out: the whole endeavor of Wicked on the big screen is a matter of shifting perspectives. Indeed, that was already true about this franchise when it previously existed in just book form and then as a stage musical examining a decades-old and oft-revisited property from exciting new angles. As someone who’s never read Gregory Maguire’s novel (or any of its sequels) or ever seen the show, I’m only catching a whiff of the panorama expansion that these big screen adaptations have established. But even that lack of perspective is another perspective! So I understand your frustration, Elphaba, when everyone else is unable or unwilling to see the bigger picture. And you too can have that realization! All you have to do is open your eyes to how much your eyes remain closed.
We’ve Made Mistakes, Now What Do We Do?: Everything comes home to roost in this conclusive chapter, which is how things tend to go in conclusive chapters, after all. In this case that means we see a much more dour Wizard, a warier dynamic between friends and former friends, and a thoroughly less whimsical populace. That equals a significantly less fun outing compared to the first Wicked movie, though the upside is that the psychological depths are more acutely felt and impossible to miss. There’s a sense of inevitability that at times can come off as deflating but that also feels honest and necessary. Now’s not the time to soar but to carve out a compromise you can live with in an imperfect world. Is that a formula for keeping the fire of cinematic magic fully aflame? I have mixed thoughts on that matter, but the final warnings we’re left to reckon with nevertheless remain timeless.
Wicked: For Good is Recommended If You Like: Filling in the edges
Grade: 3 out of 5 Bubbles
November 18, 2025
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Cameron Brown, Dan Trachtenberg, Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, Elle Fanning, Keeper, Mike Homik, Osgood Perkins, Predator, Predator: Badlands, Reuben de Jong, Rossif Sutherland, Tatiana Maslany
Which one is the real Predator and the real Keeper? (CREDIT: NEON/Screenshot; 20th Century Studios/Screenshot)
Keeper
Starring: Tatiana Maslany, Rossif Sutherland
Director: Osgood Perkins
Running Time: 99 Minutes
Rating: R
Release Date: November 14, 2025 (Theaters)
Predator: Badlands
Starring: Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, Elle Fanning, Reuben de Jong, Mike Homik, Cameron Brown
Director: Dan Trachtenberg
Running Time: 107 Minutes
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: November 7, 2025 (Theaters)
Yes, the rumors are true, I have seen both Keeper and Predator: Badlands (in that order). Now it’s time to answer the question on the tips of everyone’s tongues: do I yearn to live in the worlds of these movies? Both are inhospitable in their own ways, but is there any upside?
In the former, Tatiana Maslany plays the object of Rossif Sutherland’s affection, but all the spooky goings-on at the cabin he takes her to makes her doubt that he’s truly affectionate. Meanwhile, the titular “Badlands” in the latter refers to the planet Genna, which is home to some majorly dangerous flora and fauna. Now even if I weren’t a Predator, I certainly wouldn’t want to jump into that unprepared, so maybe I could first dip my toes into it Avatar-style or via a simulator. I reckon I could make it work eventually, especially if I brought along some friends.
Back to the Keeper Cabin, the ghosts and specters are fun to experience from a distance, but if I were actually in their midst, I’m worried I’d be a little too unfamiliar to them and they just wouldn’t know what to do with me. So we’ll give P:B the edge in the Making a Home Department. But they’re both worthwhile movies in their own ways!
Grades:
Keeper: 5 Flashbacks out of 3 Stretchy Heads
Predator: Badlands: I Especially Liked It When Elle Fanning Wouldn’t Stop Yammering
Older Entries
Newer Entries
Jmunney's Blog 