Spider-Man: Brand New Day “Review”

Release date: July 31, 2026 (USA)

Running time: 2h 25m

Let’s break this down 😀 Non-spoiler – Partial Spoiler – Go Watch It 😀

Non-Spoiler “Review”

Enjoy Spider-Man movies? Love the MCU? Then what are you reading this for? Go to your nearest theatre and enjoy this latest edition of Spider-Man :D. He’s devoted himself to protecting New York in a timeline that’s forgotten him. The least you can do is support him! :D. Honestly, a great movie – Need another watch to see if this gets a 9. – Popped score of 8.5/10 – It’s 4am, and I’m awake, so could very well get the 9 for keeping me entertained 😀 But it could also be the factor why I’m feeling the .5.

Thanks for coming by, Popped, for your movie “Reviews” – Appreciate you taking the time, and I’m excited to hear from you all in the comments below. With that said, go check out Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Or continue reading for more spoiler-ish “Review points” :D.

Partial-Spoiler “Review”

Through all the trailers and build-up press on this latest edition – I thought we were getting another Captain America: Brave New World repeat…. If you don’t know, then good for you. Interested in what I mean? Go read my review.

That being said, even with a cast spoiler. I had plenty of surprises in this movie. I didn’t know who the cast member was playing, nor did I until the reveal, so props to Sony for handling the movie and marketing better than Marvel does with their property.

Loved the dynamic and exploration of the reset to Peter’s relationship/friendship. The chemistry between Peter, MJ & Ned was perfect, and I’d love to experience it all over again in all 4 movies.

Another dynamic I loved was between Spider-Man & Frank (The Punisher, played by Jon Bernthal). I need to catch up with Daredevil: Born Again to see if I missed anything between them before Brand New Day.

Stick around until the very end for something small….. may get your Spidey senses tingling for what’s to come in December – It’s small, mind you, but I’m excited for either this Christmas or next Christmas depending on how long they’ll keep us waiting for what’s to come next. 8.5/10 Popped score. – Need another viewing when I’m more awake to see if the 9 is claimed :D.

Spoilerish Town?

I’m going to re-watch No Way Home to compare with this one. I feel the reveals in the previous installment were personally way grander and epic than in Brand New Day. While NWH had impact built up from what came before. This one comes from what awaits ahead. So the impact will honestly hit differently depending on what hypes you more. The grand work created from all the epic moments of the past – relived and meme-ed on in epic movie fashion. Or are you hyped for the potential storylines and nods to comic/animated stories that we’ll finally get to experience on the big screen in epic MCU live-action awesomeness? Only you can really tell with this.

Until next time, fellow movie-goers – Happy Movie-Going! 😀

July 30, 2026 0

One Night Only “Review”

Initial release: August 7, 2026

Director: Will Gluck

Running time: 1h 42m

Producers: Will Gluck, Jacqueline Monetta

Screenplay: Travis Braun

Cinematography: Yaron Orbach

Got to check this out early, thanks to Harkins Secret Movie 😀 What a nice surprise!

Honestly thought the trailer gave a lot away, but after watching it. I had a blast! One Night Only was super funny. Totally raunchy, and I loved the chemistry between Allie (Played by Monica Barbaro) & Owen (Played by Callum Turner).

The government imposes a mandate that once a year, they allow sex to be legal outside of marriage. It’s this night we get to follow Allie & Owen through their journeys and exploration; however, their paths continuously cross time and time again. Maybe destiny or fate is calling?

This movie had so many laugh-out-loud moments and emotional attachment that I’d honestly love to watch it again.

Popped score of 8/10 – Coming out next week on August 7th – Stick around next for this week’s juggernaut – Spider-Man! Brand New Day :D.

July 30, 2026 0

The Odyssey

Release date: July 17, 2026 (USA)

Director: Christopher Nolan

Producers: Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas

Music composed by: Ludwig Göransson

Adapted from: Odyssey

Story by: Homer

I’d love to chat more, but have ants to deal with… blasted!

No spoilers but what an epic of a film. From the incredible cast. Sound design. Scale / Scope of the story. This 3 hour movie despite feeling a little long at moments. Kept you engaged and entertained throughout.

With a serious bow tie ending. The Odyssey is a must-watch. I’m excited to jump back in again. Moments of exploration had me wanting to replay Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. By the end, I was banging my foot along. My audience was locked in and silent the entire ride.

Some story of what this epic tale is all about? A son’s search for his father. A father & husband embarking on a perilous journey home, returning from the Trojan War. Obstacles to be faced are an understatement. Such deadly circumstances await our characters that need to be seen on the biggest screen!

Easily a 9/10 – My joint first place #1 movie of 2026 thus far!

Thanks for coming by Popped for your movie “Reviews” – I’ve got to dash but excited to return for Spiderman….hopefully with the ants dealt with :S.

July 19, 2026 0

The Invite “Review”

Release date: June 26, 2026 (USA)

Director: Olivia Wilde

Producers: Megan Ellison, David Permut, Ben Browning

Screenplay: Will McCormack, Rashida Jones

Executive producers: Glen Basner, Saul Germaine, Patrick Chu, Alex G. Scott, Shayne Fiske, Andy Kim, Alex Astrachan

Story by: Cesc Gay

Didn’t expect ants to be invited over during my hiatus! So let’s make this quick!

This was a lot of fun. Barrels of laughs with some genuine surprises throughout. Combined with the music/sound design, it felt like a tango back and forth between our 4 cast members.

Getting to the end unlocks a second watch. No spoilers, but I honestly want to watch it again to pick up on little nuances established at the start, prior to the couple’s meeting.

Imagine coming home from work to find your wife has invited the neighbors over. Which are very much not your typical neighbor… or are they 😀 :P.

7.5/10 solid good time with this one. Possibly a weak 8/10.

Stick around for The Odyssey – My joint contender for movie of the year thus far 😀

July 19, 2026 0

Moana 2026 “Review”

Release date: July 9, 2026 (USA)

Director: Thomas Kail

Producers: Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Beau Flynn, Hiram Garcia

Running time: 1h 56m

Distributed by: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Thought I was going to hate this but that sound track carries this movie hard…let’s discuss!

As mentioned above, the soundtrack is amazing, just as it was 10 years ago. Everything with Catherine Laga’aia, who’s playing the live-action Moana, was amazing. Honestly loved her. The rock wasn’t even as bad as I had expected prior. He’s still not Maui to me. But he doesn’t do as bad a job as I thought prior to watching.

I had a good time with this. A personal 7/10 one time watch good time. It doesn’t hold a candle to the original. But, going in with a 36% RT score my expectations were set extremely low and I walked away honestly having a good time with the soundtrack. Maybe I had rose-tinted glasses on due to it? But if I pulled up the original alongside this like I did getting home from live action Lilo & Stitch, maybe I can tear it apart. But watching it as a movie with the animated version deep into my past memories I walked away having a good time.

Nothing at the end of this title, so maybe no live-action Moana 2. Honestly, Disney needs to stop with these live-action remakes. They’re never done better or add anything to the discussion. The soundtrack carries it, and the lead, Catherine, does a great job of capturing this story in live action.

Thank you for coming by Popped for your movie “reviews”. Did you checkout Moana in theatres? Love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. Still to come from this weeks batch is The Invite. Next week we have the 3 hour long Odyssey before having a week away with no/limited releases for Comic Con weekend then the big Spider-Man to wrap up July :D.

Looking forward to those yet to come. What movies are you looking forward to after Spiderman at the end of the month? Let us know in the comments below.

Until next time though, fellow movie-goers. Happy Movie-Going :D.

July 10, 2026 0

Evil Dead Burn “Review”

Release date: July 10, 2026 (USA)

Director: Sébastien Vaniček

Producers: Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert

Screenplay: Sébastien Vaniček, Florent Bernard

Cinematography: Philip Lozano

Production companies: Ghost House Pictures, New Line Cinema, Screen Gems

Preferred this over Lee Cronin’s The Mummy – Was actually good gory fun 😀

Watched a ScreenCrush recap before watching this yesterday. Was a good watch. Plenty of gory gory moments, kills, action of variety 😉 was a good time despite weak character depth / attachment.

New to Evil Dead maybe this is a hard watch. Otherwise this is very much inline for an Evil Dead feature. Got the gore, horror, comedy (Thanks grandma :D) and action to boot. Sadly weak on the characters but did enjoy the connection between the two intros we get connecting our cast and villain together.

Deadites are back and their after the family of their grandfather that stole from them many many years prior….. nothing at the end to stick around for from what I saw but otherwise a good one time watch of 7/10. Gore fest lovers will enjoy :D.

Thanks for coming by Popped for your movie “Reviews”. Stick around as we dive from the depths of hell into the depths of the ocean with Moana live action :D.

July 10, 2026 0

Minions & Monsters “Review”

Release date: July 1, 2026 (USA)

Director: Pierre Coffin

Running time: 1h 29m

Prequel: Minions: The Rise of Gru

Distributed by: Universal Pictures

Trey Parker voices a character in this movie – As soon as Goomi spoke – I couldn’t unhear SouthPark 😛

Another Minions movie, this time we’re set in the 1920’s, 48 years before the 2015 Minions movie. For the most part, this movie was a good, solid time. It had great moments, which I’d love to give an 8, but also a lot of okay parts, bringing the Popped score to a 7.5/10.

Two storylines combine into a great ending, but the story mostly told through the trailer had already been shown and was my personal weakest interest. So it’s a good thing that the second storyline was a gem to experience. Loved that to bits, but for spoiler reasons, I’ll keep that a surprise in the comments to be discussed.

The Rise of Gru, for the sake of memory, was a better movie, but I’d have to go back and rewatch it. Seeing the review scores thus far, Monsters is performing stronger, so make of that as you will :D. Toy Story 5 is still my Oscar choice for Best Animated Feature this year; however, Wildwood from Laika, releasing at the end of the year, is my most anticipated animated movie.

Until October 23rd 2026, another potential hit is coming on September 25th with Forgotten Island.

Thank you for coming to Popped for your movie “Reviews”. Just a short one as this series has had several sequels already so should know what kind of movie this is. First time watching a minion movie? That’s why I still like to keep the surprise for your watching experience :D.

Until next time though fellow movie-goers. Happy movie-going! 😀

July 1, 2026 0