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I Just Watched... (Movies/TV/DVD)

Watched the latest Final Destination last night. Lot of fun. Deaths managed to be brutal, and fun at the same time. Gore was really well done. Didn’t hate the characters. Which is rare for these movies.

Tough seeing Tony Todd looking so frail. Wonderful sign off for him in the movie. There’s a moment where he makes eye contact with the camera for his a fraction of a second, and it hit me a little harder than I was expecting.
 
I rewatched Final Destination Bloodlines last week. Honestly, I would of preferred if they ditched that sister and brother as the main characters, and focused on the cousins. The Scuzzy Metal Guy/Hick Dumbass with a Peanut allergy/Bitchy Valley Girl team stood out way more, and brought the most entertainment value to the movie. Erik is already one of my favorite characters of the franchise and he cracked me up throughout Bloodlines.

I loved that Tony Todd cameo. Brought gravitas to the story, and I thought it was a nice tribute. It was shocking seeing him as thin as he was, but he sold his lines so well. His appearance ended up making the movie mean more, and will always add to it on repeat viewings.

The final girl they chose, and her brother and father were really uninteresting, but worked for me on a campy level. The lead girl's acting was so bad it ended up adding to the movie, and I chuckled a bunch whenever she had nightmares and screamed. I still really liked it, but I like 1, 2, 3, and 5 a little more after watching it a second time.
 
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I've been catching up on a bunch of older movies I've never seen:

Once Upon a Time in the West (I'd seen this several times as a kid but not in a looong time)
The Duelist's (Loved everything about this)
Dial M For Murder
The Killing
The Maltese Falcon
 
cobainwasmurdered said:
I've been catching up on a bunch of older movies I've never seen:

Once Upon a Time in the West (I'd seen this several times as a kid but not in a looong time)
The Duelist's (Loved everything about this)
Dial M For Murder
The Killing
The Maltese Falcon
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Dial M For Murder is such a great movie.
 
Watched the first two seasons of "Foundation" and really enjoyed it. I love the books and I think most of the changes (especially the entire Genetic Dynasty concept) have worked. It really really made me wish Apple had gotten the rights to Rings of Power.

I'm also watching "Smoke" another Apple show which has one episode left to air in the season I think. Taron Egerton is super entertaining in this.
 
I haven't liked a Wes Anderson film since Grand Budapest Hotel, so I had low expectations for The Phoenician Scheme. I ended up being really surprised, and I think this might be one of Wes' best films. I loved the main three characters played by Benicio Del Toro, Michael Cera, and Mia Threapleton. Threapleton was kind of a revelation and I loved Sister Liesl. She is Kate Winslet's daughter, but I forgot that pretty quick, and she's very very talented. She might have a great career ahead of her, and she's very striking, and has a grace about her just like Kate. And absolutely shines among all the powerhouse talent in this movie.

Benicio was amazing and in a just world would get some oscar buzz. I think this is up there with Traffic and Sicario as some of his best work. I think Zsa Zsa Korda might be one of my favorite Wes Anderson characters already. And Michael Cera fit so perfectly in the Wes Anderson world. He was absolutely hilarious. The movie is one of his Anderson's funniest. I loved all the running gags and Cera's goofy Norweigan accent.

All the cameos and small parts were perfectly done. I especially loved Tom Hanks and Bryan Cranston playing brothers and Benedict Cumberbatch's insane character. I really don't have many complaints. If you can't stand Wes Anderson, it's not going to change your mind about him. But, I think this is a return to form after Asteroid City, Isle Of Dogs, and The French Dispatch.

8.5/10
 
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Watching the series Hightown on Netflix. It's really intense and well acted. Luis Guzman pops up in season 2 and I like when James Badge Dale pops up on TV shows.

My only gripe are the constant references to Boston sports (it takes place in Cape Cod). As a NYer, I can't stand it!
 
Caught Stealing starts off pretty meh but really gets going 30-45 minutes in. It isn't Aronofsky's best but is far from his most underwhelning film (Noah). Matt Smith was especially great. It also helps that it was filmed in my city.
 
The movie affirmed that Butler has a magnetic charisma but it’s really Brad Bunny that continues to shine when he appears in film.
 
"Crime Scene Zero" is basically , a Korean show in which celebrities step into fictional murder cases, take on roles as suspects or detectives, and use deduction, debate, and improv to unmask the hidden culprit. It's actually the 5th season but it's the first on Netflix and has an English dub for those who don't want to use subs. It's funny and also fun trying to figure out who the murderer is.
 
The Long Walk 7/10

Really solid movie. There's not a lot to it but it does a good job at developing the characters (especially Ray & Peter) to have you rooting for them and feeling emotional when certain characters end up not making it (some of their own choices, some by circumstance).
 
Frankenstein 8/10

Great movie. Great direction, cinematography, acting from Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi. Love that it hewed pretty close to the novel.
 
HarleyQuinn said:
Frankenstein 8/10

Great movie. Great direction, cinematography, acting from Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi. Love that it hewed pretty close to the novel.
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I really wish I agreed. Most of the acting is good and yeah it's well directed and looks great (it's Guillermo Del Toro, of course it is), but I ended up feeling a little disappointed. Isaac's performance...is something else IMO, the movie doesn't really find anything interesting to say about its subject, doesn't give Mia Goth a lot to do and the ending feels unearned
when you see how much of an asshole Victor Frankenstein is
. I wouldn't call it bad (outside of Isaac, everyone is good to great), but I ended up feeling disappointed.
.
 
Recent watches.

Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)
-Enjoyed this quite a bit. Well cast all around. Didn’t overstay its welcome. Really enjoyed the look of the movie. Very curious to see how they tie the team in with the rest off MCU. Pedro gets top billing, but Kirby feels like the lead of the movie. Kinda very cautiously saying that it looks like Marvel is back.


Read Window (1954)
-Trying to do a couple classics a year that I’ve been meaning to get to. Loved this one. Very well shot. Just a fun movie to look at. I know this movie more from The Simpsons than the movie itself. Like Citizen Kane before I saw that one. Couldn’t help but laugh at one bit where when Stewart is spying on a neighbor, and he comments about the man with the woman in her apartment is a little young for him… considering the age gap between himself, and Grace Kelly.


All The Creatures Were Stirring (2018)
-Mediocre little Christmas horror anthology. Looks like it was shot for $0. The wrap around story was alright where people are on a date at a weird theater that’s acting out the segments in the movie.
-First one was a white elephant office party meets Saw. Too short to get invested in.
-Second story was about a guy that locks his keys in his car, and meets a pair of strangers who loan him their phone to help him out. For how short the story is the build is too long for where it ends up.
-Third story is a really bad telling of a Christmas Carol. Guy is too unlikeable, and story is too short for the redemption to take.
-Fourth story is a guy who hits Blitzen with his car on the way home. It’s unclear to me whether it’s Blitzen himself or another reindeer that follows him home after. Feels out of place with the rest of the stories somehow.
-Fifth story is a guy that gets visited by aliens every year on Christmas because they want to understand the holiday. Easily the best of the bunch. But still not great. Features Constance Wu. That’s the most notable thing about the entire anthology.
 
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Keeper (2025)

6/10

Solid little movie that felt pretty consistent for 3/4ths of it then kind of just gets weird at the end (which fits the story but directorially felt like Osgood wanted to make it more sideways than it was).
 
The Wrath of Becky (2023) on Netflix

7/10

This totally feels like a @Big Papa Paegan movie in the best way. My mom turned me onto this and I'm so glad she did. I just loved this. It's John Wick meets Radio Silence mashed with Dale & Tucker vs. Evil if they had kidnapped the dog and Wick vowed revenge on them for that instead while doing fun, elaborate over the top traps instead.

It's just the right mix of simple plot meets fun which they completely lean into.
 
HarleyQuinn said:
The Wrath of Becky (2023) on Netflix

7/10

This totally feels like a @Big Papa Paegan movie in the best way. My mom turned me onto this and I'm so glad she did. I just loved this. It's John Wick meets Radio Silence mashed with Dale & Tucker vs. Evil if they had kidnapped the dog and Wick vowed revenge on them for that instead while doing fun, elaborate over the top traps instead.

It's just the right mix of simple plot meets fun which they completely lean into.
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Well, you aren't wrong. I enjoyed the hell out of it. Did you see the first one, Becky?

Wrath was a total improvement, but it does give a little more reasoning behind why Becky (Lulu Wilson, who feels like she'll be a bigger deal in the next few years) is so immediately gung ho about doing what she does.
 
Big Papa Paegan said:
Well, you aren't wrong. I enjoyed the hell out of it. Did you see the first one, Becky?

Wrath was a total improvement, but it does give a little more reasoning behind why Becky (Lulu Wilson, who feels like she'll be a bigger deal in the next few years) is so immediately gung ho about doing what she does.
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I didn't even know there was a first one, lol. May have to check that one out then.
 
letterboxd.com

The Order (2024)

A string of violent robberies in the Pacific Northwest leads veteran FBI agent Terry Husk into a white supremacist plot to overthrow the federal government.
letterboxd.com letterboxd.com

I liked how bluntly this film treated American Nazism. It's interesting when foreigners make movies analyzing these aspects of society. They usually cut straight through the bullshit and see it much more clearly than people who were born here.
 
My movie watch list from last year. Listed in order I enjoyed them. Not in quality. Last two years I’ve watched less than the year before. Going to try, and keep on a movie a week pace for 2026. I’m ahead of that so far.


First time Movies in 2025

  1. Thunderbolts* (2025)
  2. Weapons (2025)
  3. Rear Window (1954)
  4. The Night Before (2015)
  5. Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)
  6. Superman (2025)
  7. Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025)
  8. Friendship (2024)
  9. 28 Years Later (2025)
  10. Sinners (2025)
  11. The Naked Gun (2025)
  12. Pig (2021)
  13. The Monkey (2025)
  14. Mickey 17 (2024)
  15. Companion (2025)
  16. Terrifier 3 (2024)
  17. 8-Bit Christmas (2021)
  18. Cuckoo (2024)
  19. Captain America: Brave New World (2025)
  20. The Beekeeper (2024)
  21. V/H/S Halloween (2025)
  22. Heart Eyes (2025)
  23. Final Destination 5 (2011)
  24. Starry Eyes (2014)
  25. All the Creatures Were Stirring (2018)
  26. Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie (2023)


-First movie watched: The Beekeeper
-Last movie watched: V/H/S Halloween
-Movies seen in the theater: 5
-Horror movies watched: 13
-Christmas movies watched: 4
-Surprise find of the year: The Night Before
-Letdown of the year: Captain America: Brave New World
-First time watches vs previous year: -13



2025 Rewatches

-Return of the Living Dead (1985)
-The Running Man (1987)
-Casino (1995)
-A Hard Day’s Night (1964)
-Happy Death Day (2017)
-The Crow (1994)
-Earnest Saves Christmas (1988)
-The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
 
Been watching 11.22.63 on Netflix and it's pretty solid. I've always seen the cover in stores but know next to nothing except a guy goes back in time so I have no idea how closely it hews to the book, etc.
 
Y2K
They Live
Anora
Juror #2
A Real Pain
Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Gretal & Hansel
Oculus
Strange Darling
Spoonful of Sugar
Conclave
Super 8
I Saw The TV Glow
Primer
The Big Hit
Bridge of Spies
The Great Outdoors
The Omega Man
Flow
Late Night With The Devil
Poolhall Junkies
The Substance
Grand Theft Hamlet
Presence
Three Days of the Condor
The Iceman
Robot Dreams
Black Bag
MaXXXine
The Last Starfighter
Sunshine
Companion
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II
Dirty Work
28 Days Later
28 Weeks Later
One Crazy Summer
American Gigolo
28 Years Later
Less Than Zero
McQ
Locked
C.H.U.D.
Weapons
Honey Don't
Eenie Meanie
The Terminator
The War Wagon
Copycat
Friendship
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
The Fog (1980)
House
Jason Goes to Hell
Breathless
Meru
Who Killed The Montreal Expos?
Cabin Boy
Event Horizon
Witness for the Prosecution
Sorry, Baby
Strange Brew
Ten Little Indians (And Then There Were None)
Good Boy
Train Dreams
The Fly (1986)
After The Hunt
Sisu
A Christmas Carol (1984)
Wake Up Dead Man
Home Alone
Home Alone 2
All is Bright
Bad Santa
The Naked Gun (2025)
One Battle After Another
Bottle Rocket
Zodiac

I got to 81 last year, bold are first time watches. Listed in chronological order.

28 Years Later, Sorry, Baby, and Robot Dreams are probably the new ones on this list that I enjoyed the most.
 
I finally watched K-Pop Demon Hunters and I’ve gotta make a note thanking everyone who recommended it. I went in expecting “this might be okay” and came out really impressed. It’s a silly but wonderful little film that’s genuinely well-made, and definitely deserved all the praise it got from the story to the animation to the voice acting to the surprisingly catchy songs.
 
Big Papa Paegan said:
Well, you aren't wrong. I enjoyed the hell out of it. Did you see the first one, Becky?

Wrath was a total improvement, but it does give a little more reasoning behind why Becky (Lulu Wilson, who feels like she'll be a bigger deal in the next few years) is so immediately gung ho about doing what she does.
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Finally watched Becky @Big Papa Paegan and that was just as much fun. I actually think it had better directing, editing, more gore (I had to turn away at the eyeball scene lol), and cinematography but the acting, story, and sequel was just more fun as a whole. I was surprised just how effective Kevin James was though as the lead bad guy, him having that physical build definitely helped IMO.

6/10 bordering 6.5/10.
 
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