Author: Prowen

Love Movies and have people ask my thoughts on them. So decided to cook up a fresh batch of popcorn and thus Popped was born.

Crime 101 “Review”

Release date: February 13, 2026 (USA)

Director: Bart Layton

Producers: Chris Hemsworth, Bart Layton, Dimitri Doganis · See more

MPAA rating: R

Running time: 2h 20m

Distributed by: Amazon MGM Studios, Sony Pictures Releasing International

I have my office back! Let’s catch up on last weekends batch of “Reviews”.

To “Rapid Fire” this batch of “reviews” to catch up :D.

Chris Hemsworth (Playing Mike Davis) a master thief, with Halle Berry’s character (Sharon Combs) an insurance broker, join forces for a big heist. Meanwhile Mark Ruffalo plays a detective, that’s pursuing the criminal that’s committed non violent heists all along the 101 freeway in California, in attempts to prevent a multi-million dollar crime! Non violent being the key to our other character Ormon (Played by Barry Keoghan).

Quick notes: – Crime 101 was a fine movie. Keeping me entertained but felt extremely long. It’s a worthy watch but don’t go in tired haha. I had to lock in to keep awake. Everyone does a good job. Has some nice action and interesting cinematography as the voice over plays throughout various scenes.

Has some good elements to be a Popcorn Heist/Detective movie. Just sadly slow and rather long. A weak 7 or 6.5 for me personally here at Popped :D.

It’s been a minute since GOAT but I’ve finally returned to the office to type up this recent batch of “reviews”. March 1st is approaching which I’m excited for RT to open up applications :D. Oscars are coming on the 15th. It’s time to lock in and catch up. Even if the salt to the wound of animation nominees is still feeling rather fresh.

See you for the next “Review” with my first 9 :O of 2026 😉 see you there :D.

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Goat “Review”

Release date: February 13, 2026 (USA)

Directors: Tyree Dillihay, Adam Rosette

Producers: Stephen Curry, Rodney Rothman, Erick Peyton, Adam Rosenberg, Michelle Raimo

Executive producers: Fonda Snyder, Rick Mischel

Running time: 1h 40m

MPAA rating: PG

First hearing about Goat I wanted Spider verse 3 – In the end. They won me over and I had a Goat time!

Has Goat brought back Laughs per Minute? Because I laughed SO much in this feature!

Caleb McLaughlin (Stranger Things anyone :O) is back in the spotlight as the voice of Will Harris – Our Goat of the movie! Setting the stage 10 years prior with his love for the Thorns team and his idol Jett Fillmore. Will dreams big to be apart of the team and bring home the Claw for his home town.

Stephen Curry is not only a Producer on this movie but is also the voice actor for Lenny Williamson – The Giraffe with the long neck :D. Goat has a great assortment of characters. I wish we got to learn more about them but they all do get to shine even though I wanted more :D.

Great soundtrack that I look forward to listening again. This is solidly in the 8’s for me personally for Popped. Wish there was more games shown or extra scenes diving into our side characters. Despite wanting more this was so fun!

Goat offers a good time for fans of the game, Animation, Music, or even those wanting a good laugh. This is worth seeing in movie theatres and I’m excited to hear more from the audience over the weekend.

8/10 – Roots Run Deep!

Going to check out Goat or now interested after hearing the above? Love to hear your thoughts in the comments below! Stay tuned over the Weekend/Week for upcoming “Reviews”.

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die | Crime 101 | Cold Storage | Scarlet | Wuthering Heights?

Until then though, happy movie going fellow movie goers 😀

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Whistle “Review”

Release date: February 6, 2026 (USA)

Director: Corin Hardy

Running time: 1h 37m

Producers: David Gross, Macdara Kelleher, Whitney Brown, John Keville

MPAA rating: R

Distributed by: Elevation Pictures

Ancient Death Whistle…. Sign me up 😀

Once again Shudder comes to the big screen with a worthy theatrical release – Whistle!

It’s a fine to weak 7 good movie which had several elements I enjoyed watching this feature. Yea the story could of had a better wrap up but that’s the fun with these smaller indie movies. You’re not sure what direction they’ll take.

Bring ear plugs if you’re wanting to preserve your hearing or care about that :P. The movie gets incredibly loud. Concepts of death and the loose rules established were fun. Loved that Nick Frost was apart of this title :D. Gave me homage feelings to Shaun of the Dead :D.

Currently, the movie is sitting at a 6/10 on RT & IMDb. Why this is getting less attention than Primate baffles me, but I’ve only heard from others how awful Primate was, with some exceptions to its sound design. Whistle does have a pool utilized, but they also have an actual world established. Shout-outs to the fair scenes, as those maze designs and costumes were very cool. Sky Yang’s character, Rel, had Nightwing vibes, which was very cool!

Otherwise, the story is based around this Whistle that once heard or blown on. Death will be called and seek you. I won’t spoil the causes, and all but again the deaths were a lot of fun, a majority of the time. Which is where it gets that weaker 7 rating for me personally.

So what about yourselves? Going to check out Whistle? Already seen it? Love to hear your thoughts down below in the comments.

Greatly appreciate you for coming by Popped for your movie “Reviews”, stay tuned for more awesome movies coming up in the month of February. Hoping good things from GOAT. Good Luck Have Fun Don’t Die and maybe some other random surprises along the way.

Until next time though fellow moviegoers – Happy Movie Going 😀

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Send Help “Review”

Release date: January 30, 2026 (USA)

Director: Sam Raimi

Screenplay: Mark Swift, Damian Shannon

Producers: Sam Raimi, Zainab Azizi

Cinematography: Bill Pope

MPAA rating: R

Finally got to see Send Help, 1 scene could have looked good in 3D, but 2D was the way 😀

A strong balance between the usage of horror & comedy. Without spoilers, though. Is this Scary Movie or Scream? Does this parody the genre or take itself somewhat seriously? Depending on the line you find yourself in. That ending / last 30 minutes is going to either get you to a 9/10 or take some hits, bringing you into the 8’s.

Personally, I’m at 8.5/10, possibly 8, but in this ballpark. Without spoilers, this could have been a 9 in the bag and onto my top 10 list for 2026 thus far. It’s still the best movie of 2026 thus far that I’ve seen, but I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Shall we discuss the movie and set this up for y’all :D?

Rachel McAdams plays Linda Liddle (From Account?), a huge fan & lover of the Survivor TV Show. She also has this overbearing boss who doesn’t appreciate her work, her talents, or the commitment and dedication she’s given to the company, which the boss’s father built for him to inherit. The boss in question? Bradley Preston (Played by Dylan O’Brien) a total jerk and awful boss that’s going to find out how much Linda will have to offer in his survival.

Yes! His survival! Stranded on a deserted island after their plane crashes en route to a business meeting. It’s a battle of wills and wits to make it out alive.

Plenty of setup to create throwbacks and bowties. Even if there are a few layers of mystery to discover and reflect upon after the movie. It’s a great watch, and I’ll look forward to checking it out again at some point with the misses :D.

Thank you for coming by Popped for your movie “Reviews”. What did you think of Send Help? Love to hear in the comments and with that I’m off to bed before I continue the battle in Oathsworn Session 14 in 6 hours :D. Night all or good morning for those waking up to this :D.

Until next time though, happy moviegoing fellow moviegoers 😀

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Iron Lung “Review”

Release date: January 30, 2026 (USA)

Director: Markiplier

Starring: Mark Fischbach; Caroline Rose Kaplan; Seán McLoughlin; David Szymanski; Troy Baker; Elsie Lovelock; Isaac McKee

Producers: Will Hyde, Jeff Guerrero, Amy Nelson

MPAA rating: R

Running time: 2h 7m

Didn’t know this was based on a video game…maybe should have done some research!

I went in, not seeing a single trailer of this movie. Markiplier’s name was enough and sold. I came out wishing I had more context for the story. Let’s discuss, shall we?

Let’s start with my headliner sentence and work from there. If this were an exclusive title on a streaming platform. I’d subscribe to see this movie. Iron Lung is a high-quality, low-budget movie that stars Markiplier, not just directed by himself. Markiplier is now in my mind, an actor, not just youtuber. He delivers an excellent performance throughout this movie and really holds the movie up, being that he’s our focus for 95% of the time.

I’d honestly consider this an Oscar nomination for costume and hair, harken back to Substance. For such a low-budget title, they did an excellent job with every design in this movie. I won’t spoil, just wanting to paint a picture :D.

It’s an extremely dark movie so don’t get too cozy or you may drift off like I did. But then something will occur. You’ll be locked in and they middle will pull you out and into a ride for the finale. Yes without context of the story I did find this rather long. But I was so intrigued I had to keep with it. Wanting to know the mystery and reveals to pay off.

Ask me about the story. You’ll get this: Convicts are granted an option. To have their freedom by going (Like a submarine) deep into the oceans of blood to explore/find (Something). Or be sentenced to prison instead. Looking at the Google overview, it says: “Survivors of the apocalypse launch an expedition to a barren moon with an ocean of blood.” I think doing some research with limited spoilers would be recommended for this title. It feels like an incredible adaptation of a video game. I just don’t have the accuracy for context. So far, 93% on RT. So, fans of Markiplier & the video game are very happy with this.

Personally, without that context, I’m giving Iron Lung a Popped score of 6.5 or weak 7/10. It’s a fine movie with plenty of good factors baked in. Without more story & lore explained/established throughout, I found this long after the initial intro, before the latter half picking up with awesome music and again, incredible acting from Markiplier and the costume designs.

Iron Lung is going to be an awesome streaming movie. It’s a high-quality production within low-budget confines, which will be thoroughly enjoyed in theatres for fans and those in the know. Now it’s time for me to watch a lets play and dive into the lore before watching it again.

It’s been a minute but I’m back and with an interesting title at that. Thanks for coming to Popped for your movie “reviews”. Did you check out Iron Lung? Interested to check it out? Or even doing some research now before your visit to the theatre. Love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Stay tuned for Sunday night / Monday for my Send Help “Review”. Wasn’t able to attend last night, but on Sunday, I’ll be checking it out. Heard lots of positive feedback thus far. So excited to jump in :D.

Until next time, though, fellow moviegoers. Happy movie going :D.

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Mercy “Review”

Release date: January 23, 2026 (USA)

Director: Timur Bekmambetov

Starring: Chris Pratt; Rebecca Ferguson; Kali Reis; Annabelle Wallis; Chris Sullivan; Kylie Rogers

Producers: Timur Bekmambetov, Charles Roven, Majd Nassif, Robert Amidon

Running time: 1h 41m

Distributed by: Amazon MGM Studios, Sony Pictures Releasing International

Mercy – A guilty pleasure movie? Well, I had a good time at least 😀

Saw 19% on RT and, well, let’s get to it shall we :D.

I honestly had a really good time in this movie. Throw your hate for A.I aside if you’re watching this movie, as maybe that’s why the RT is that low? You’re not going into Mercy for Oscar-winning acting. It’s a popcorn movie that was entertaining and had great music. 7.5 from me at Popped.

Interested to hear more? Let’s continue.

Chris Pratt plays Detective Chris Raven, who awakens at the start, strapped to this chair. His (If you recall Minority Report, then you get the idea of this movie) judge, jury & executioner, Mercy is the A.I program Judge Maddox (Played by Rebecca Ferguson), which uses advanced technology to predict whether you’re guilty of a crime. In Chris’s situation, being guilty of killing his wife.

It’s an hour and 40-minute movie that moves the pacing along well. Keeps you engaged and even has breadcrumbs of a detective mystery to solve, leading to Chris’s execution before the 90-minute timer runs out. Is Chris guilty or innocent? If innocent who killed his wife? Go watch Mercy to find out :D.

I was going to say something, but that’d be a spoiler, so I’ll say the movie can be predictable if you’re following the breadcrumbs. But that’s what kept it from the 8 for me personally. Again, maybe a guilty pleasure movie for me, haha. Someone hated this movie, and others may not like their cup of tea. It’s a movie that’s for sure. A movie for someone like me? That’s true to be. Otherwise, a bump along the journey that is January, as we await the nominations for the Oscars! In just under 3 hours from this going live.

Love to hear your thoughts on Mercy in the comments below. Is this your marmite? You either love it or hated it. Maybe somewhere in-between. I wouldn’t be mad watching this movie again. But maybe only the 1 additional watch for quite some time :D.

Thanks for coming by, Popped for your movie “Reviews”. By time I awake, the nominations will be live for the Oscars and I’m excited…..I’m probably going to be disappointed.. 😛 that Ne Zha 2 wasn’t nominated for best animated feature of 2025.

Until then, though, happy movie-going fellow moviegoers. Good Luck & Have Fun, may your Oscar hopes and hopefuls be in the nomination by the time we all wake up :D.

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All You Need Is Kill “Review”

Release date: January 16, 2026 (USA)

Director: Ken’ichirô Akimoto

Running time: 1h 25m

MPAA rating: R

Had no idea other than it’s an anime before entering theatre. Shall we dive in?

For those that watched Edge of Tomorrow back in 2014 think of this as that in animated beauty. A random alien plant type structure arrives on earth and dubbed by them as Darol. Awakens one day as Rita is carrying out her day collecting resources from it with releasing massive alien flowers. Too die and re-awaken the very same morning to relive the same day over again.

It’s up to Rita and Keiji to figure this thing out and break the time loop and save earth. This title offers some nice character development and awesome action. Sadly I’d like to have known more on Darol the before / after of this story which maybe could come with a sequel but it’s lacking of setup / narrative wrap up kept me from getting to a great score.

Popped score of 7.5/10. Had a solid good time with this one and it’s pretty short if you happen to have it playing near you.

With that fellow moviegoers out there within the real of Popped 😀 We come to a close on this batch for January week of the 16th. To be continued next week with Mercy & Return to Silent Hill which I’m very much excited for…..but not expecting much from haha.

Thank you all very much for coming by Popped and spending your time with us here. Love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. Going to check out the titles mentioned above next week?

See you then fellow movie-goers and happy watching 😀

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No Other Choice “Review”

Initial release: August 29, 2025

Director: Park Chan-wook

Cinematography: Woo-hyung Kim

Story by: Donald E. Westlake

Languages: Korean, English

Producers: Park Chan-wook, Michele Ray Gavras, Alexandre Gavras, Baek Ji-sun, Oh Hyeon-am

Came out last year but finally made it’s way to my area this year January 😀

Yoo Man-soo (Played by Lee Byung-hun) has worked for the Solar Paper company for 25 years. After being brought by American owners. Sadly gets laid off. Having had everything in your life to finding yourself in a moments notice as a desperate man. No other choice takes you through the journey of Yoo Man-soo going through extreme lengths to protect his family and home by eliminating the competition for the job he wants.

Another movie with a fantastic cast and great characters. This movie has you going through such lows I ended up checking the time with an hour left and mind blown there’s so much more that can unfold.

Popped score of 8/10 – This was a great movie and worth checking out if you were unable to see it in your area late last year and expanding to more markets now in January.

Appreciate you coming by Popped for your movie “Reviews”. No Other Choice is currently my highest rated movie of 2026 but what’s to be my first 9 ? Maybe its the last title in this batch.

All you need is Kill…. 😀 See you there.

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Dead Man’s Wire “Review”

Release date: January 9, 2026 (USA)

Director: Gus Van Sant

Producers: Noor Alfallah, Cassian Elwes, Tom Culliver · See more

Screenplay: Austin Kolodney

Production companies: Pressman Film, Elevated Films, RNA Pictures, Sobini Films, Elevated Films (II)

Running time: 1h 45m

Based on a true story which is truly insane when you see what unfolds!

Richard Hall (Played by Dacre Montgomery (Not Zac Efron which I kept thinking :P)) son of Mortgage company president M.l. Hall, is taken hostage in 1977 by Tony Kiritsis (Played by Bill Skarsgard) to expose the Halls and demand justice for a sabotaged property deal.

Sometimes movies that are based on true events take liberties but it’s insane the real footage included in this title to parallel what you see recreated on screen.

Solid performances across the board and sit back to listen to a very beautiful voice over the radio as Fred Temple (Played by Colman Domingo) provides the peanut butter to a very enjoyable jam sandwich as you get dug in and take several layers of bites into the story unfolding before your eyes.

A 7.5/10 solid good movie well worth watching. I’d be happy watching again.

That’s 2 of 4 from this batch :D. What’s your thoughts on The Bone Temple & Dead Man’s Wire? Let us know in the comments below! Shall we get stuck into No Other Choice next 😀

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28 Years Later: The Bone Temple “Review”

Release date: January 16, 2026 (USA)

Director: Nia DaCosta

Production companies: DNA Films, Columbia Pictures, Decibel Films

Running time: 1h 50m

MPAA rating: R

Distributed by: Sony Pictures Releasing

Been curious how this will perform and while still divided, my excitement continues to build

You can check out my thoughts on 28 Years later before diving into its sequel – Bone Temple!

I was conflicted between the two stories within the previous installment and continued to be within this title. However! Upon reflecting that ending and taking these installments as a series whole. My excitement continues to build and I enjoyed the payoff. Even if I didn’t realize it until the moment hit :D.

No Spoilers here but taking my thoughts on the previous installment you can piece together what elements I enjoyed and didn’t and theory craft from there 😀 Or just go watch this movie!

Throughout the journey of this installment I was having a good time. With minor elements I wont get into the rating dipped to a 6.5 and back to 7 for others. That last 30minutes gave me goosebumps and for that. The Bone Temple gets a Popped score of 7.5/10. But will it on a second viewing? Maybe this will have two scores. Stand A-Lone & Trilogy score. Loved the connecting web that brought the series together and with that the long wait for the hopeful third installment of this 28 years trilogy can potentially bring this franchise to a close in fantastic climax? Let’s see shall we!

Appreciate you coming by Popped for your movie “Reviews”. Being this is a sequel keeping very spoiler free but from my prior thoughts and what’s mentioned. I think you can paint a picture :D.

That being said I have 1 hour to get this weeks batch of “Reviews” out so let’s press on as this is 1 of 4 movies watched this week 😀 INSANE I KNOW haha.

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