Category: March 2025

Death of a Unicorn “Review”

Release date: March 28, 2025 (USA)

Director: Alex Scharfman

Producers: Jenna Ortega, Alex Scharfman, Jacob Epstein · See more

Distributed by: A24

Edited by: Ron Dulin

Music by: Dan Romer; Giosuè Greco

Finally our last “Review” this evening with our triple decker “Review” coming to a close. Wish this wasn’t so but brace yourselves for this one.

From the studio and creators that brought us the greatest movie of 2023. My favorite title that year. Brings us Death of a Unicorn. Maybe it’s the lack of connection for the family daddy daughter intro. Maybe the fact they showed us the ending scene in the poster which feels oddly familiar…Cap4? Or the fact I had so many actors in this title that I usually enjoy. Just not hitting with me. Or simple the fact it was a 40minute tale drawn out for almost 2 hours when I’d rather watch a better executed title on Max called Common Side Effects that tells this story vastly superior.

After hitting a Unicorn while on a business trip Jenna Ortega’s character Ridley is a deep connection with it when touching it’s horn before her father Elliot played by Paul Rudd smashes its head in ending it.

Not sure where the Wednesday Ortega was or the Ant Man 1 Rudd was but their performances this time round were rather weak. Best character and actor in this title for me personally was Griff played by Anthony Carrigan.

I could go on about this feature but from the trailer you can piece together this film. Unicorn Revenge with some family drama. Maybe you can stretch it to a deeper meaning with why I connect it with Common Side Effects but just checkout that series over this film. Then watch this and tell me what you think.

My worst movie of 2025 thus far. I enjoyed Snow White more than this. Ash had a solid last 40minutes compared to anything in here. Cap 4 at least had a good story device within the marketing spoils. So with that going joint 3/10 with Cap 4. Death of a Unicorn is going in at my streaming “Review” score. Not worthy of the big screen over other recent films like Last Breath, Magazine Dreams, and the plethora of solid good 7 tier range films that have released the past month.

Looking at other platforms it’s pretty across the board mid 55%-57%.

With that, wraps our third title “Review” for this evening.

Appreciate you coming by Popped for your movie “Reviews” and love to hear your thoughts in the comments. Was I wildly off compared to your experience? Did you have an answer for our horror studio? I’m personally placing Neon & Blum House fighting it out. A24 is so hit and miss with massive misses recently that 3rd place has yet to hit the wells flooring.

That wraps up March for movies and leads us to the first title in April – Minecraft. Expect some Popped Dates soon with community discussions on various topics. Also Anime “Reviews” to come soon also as we wind down March.

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A Working Man “Review”

Release date: March 28, 2025 (USA)

Director: David Ayer

Producers: Jason Statham, Sylvester Stallone, David Ayer, Bill Block, Kevin King Templeton, John Friedberg, Chris Long

Distributed by: Amazon MGM Studios

Based on: Levon’s Trade; by Chuck Dixon

Cinematography: Shawn White

Welcome to the 2nd movie of this weeks “Review” batch with A Working Man.

Jason Statham is back in another action packed popcorn flick playing the character Levon Cade this time round. A working man and ex military. His skills and family situation will be put to the test.

I absolutely loved the chemistry between Levon & his daughter Merry Cade (Played by Isla Gie). This feature is a perfect fathers day popcorn flick for anyone into action and fatherly love for his daughter. Bonded by family and father hood. Levon goes on the hunt to search for his bosses daughter Jenny Garcia (Played by Arianna Rivas) when she’s abruptly kid napped one night during a pub crawl with her gal pals.

Michael Pena plays Joe Garcia, Jenny’s father and although the chemistry isn’t felt between the family. He’s a name from Ant Man that could draw people in along with Statham himself. Not to forget David Harbour being in this title but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

The trailer keeps mostly to the intro / first half and packs this feature with a ton of action. Left with plenty of material for a potential sequel this is a fun experience worth checking out if you’re into these types of movies.

No end scene to stick around for so many no sequel. But I’d be happy for a return to these characters and to see what crazy situations could come from this title.

Overall a solid 7/10 good movie. Those online are fairing a lot more mid tier with 53% to 5.7/10. Google users are at 96% so some of us are thoroughly enjoying the action packed into this one.

Ready for the next feature in our triple decker “Review” this evening? Stick around to find out how this all ends!

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The Woman in the Yard “Review”

Release date: March 28, 2025 (USA)

Director: Jaume Collet-Serra

Language: English

Producers: Jason Blum, Stephanie Allain

Written by: Sam Stefanak

Distributed by: Universal Pictures

Welcome to the first of a triple batch “Review” this evening. First up, another contender for the Blum House Universe – Woman in the Yard.

Ramona (Played by Danielle Deadwyler) is struggling with grief after loosing her husband. Tay her son (Played by Peyton Jackson) is doing his best to be the man of the house in his fathers absence & Annie (Played by Estelle Kahiha) Tay’s little sister is still rather young but has story for growth within her character throughout her story.

As the setting of this family is laid out within the opening scenes. Tay is requested to put the family dog out into the yard before the events take a turn. “Mum, there’s a woman in the yard” – From here the story takes a turn. Without getting into spoilers I’ll be vague but establish levels of interest / areas that worked into my scoring.

Paranormal vs Psychological horror – What are you expecting from this feature? I’ll leave this here and let you experience. A story of grieving told through the studio Blum House.

The use of music, sound, camera work and visual cinematography is what established a feature that created tension and put me on edge when seeing this title. It didn’t need to use jump scares or cheesy visuals. Those scenes were present but worked due to the settings laid out and built upon in this tale. Plenty to experience with this and to enjoy. At least I across the board I feel most will find this title good. Looks like online critics aren’t fairing as well but we’ll get to that later on.

Example of great tension for those into Doctor Who – Weeping Angels mechanics are in play 😉 – Don’t look away now. Dogs warning barking is the first sign of trouble….. when did it get so quite? This and plenty more is to be explored, experienced and elaborated upon going into this one hour 25minute feature.

Stay tuned for my Blum House Universe proposal lists 😀 I’m curious your thoughts on it also.

Popped score of 7.5/10 – Solid Good Film throughout with elements of greatness but just shy for myself. With an RT score from critics of 40% & IMBd currently at 6.7/10 I’m definitely the higher end of the spectrum with this one.

Speaking of laying the ground work with settings. What Horror Studio are you most into consistently? – Blum House | Neon | A24 – Love to hear your thoughts by the third title of our batch of features this week.

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Magazine Dreams “Review”

Initial release: January 20, 2023

Released: March 21, 2025

Director: Elijah Bynum

Screenplay: Elijah Bynum

Producers: Jeffrey Soros, Dan Gilroy, Jennifer Fox, Simon Horsman

Box office: $701,365

Distributed by: Briarcliff Entertainment

Wasn’t on my radar, however my friend asked if I intended to watch this feature. I’m so glad I did. Just like another feature that released this week. We’re discussing the movie. Although real life events have had a huge impact on this title. I’ll be discussing the feature in this “Review”. Love you my friend ❤ Congratulations and so happy for you. With that ray of light, “may your heart be your guiding key”.

Jonathan Majors is back and with a 2 year delay on this title from original release and may sadly not be up for Oscars (Despite totally worthy) lets dive into his character Killian Maddox trying to make it in the world of professional bodybuilding while taking care of his ailing grandfather.

From the top, this feature is very dark. In several avenues. Remember the light, find a source and continue forth. The first hour alone was so jam packed with events I thought the movie was abouts to wrap but still have 1 hour remaining. My freaking mind was blown with this. A solid good movie throughout, I was raising my score little be little each way not wanting to watch this title again for the heaviness. But then the light hit. I saw it and grasped on. Entering the tier of greatness.

Killian idolizes the worlds best and heavily featured in body builder magazines “Brad Vanderhorn” played by Mike O’Hearn. This was his only point of communication to others outside of his grandfather and appointed therapist. I can discuss how dark this gets but I’ve painted that picture enough to hold back here. Experience this story and ride yourselves. Jonathan Majors does an incredible job acting through so much emotion. Trying to hold things together while portraying the disconnect within his mind to social aspects.

I wrote a line here that hit me hard, struggling between his career and isolated social life. His career can be impacted by surgery under knife. Even if this surgery can be life saving. His life’s over without the career and over without the surgery so what does one do? On the other side, people are scared of who you are. Struggling with social queues, having thoughts and discussions within your head that let’s out emotion and feelings to those unprepared. This is a very sad and depressing movie that gets you feeling for this guy.

Love to write more but wanting to avoid spoilers so I’ll keep it here. A great movie that without giving anything away hopefully. Ends with such an impactful saying / statement to all. It’s a heavy one but a story worth visiting. Open your heart and mind. Find your light. Then continue forth for the next 2 hours. A great movie 8/10. I may revisit but sometime down the road.

Others on social platforms are rating this from a 6.8 on IMBD to 91% on Fandango and 95% with google users. I stated it at the top and I’ll say it once more. I’m glad I checked this title out.

Have you checked out Magazine Dreams? Love to hear your thoughts below. Maybe we can dive a little deeper but for now. Let’s allow others to experience this story.

Thank you for coming to Popped for your movie “Reviews”, I’ll see you for a triple dosage of Popped “Reviews” this coming thursday.

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Ash “Review”

Release date: March 21, 2025 (USA)

Director: Flying Lotus

Producers: Matthew Metcalfe, Nathaniel Bolotin

Distributed by: Amazon.com

Production company: XYZ Films

Looking like the Returnal video game and starring Aaron Paul. I took a dive into the space of Ash…. let’s discuss. (Really! I’d love to discuss. But not about this movie….directly..?) Confused? Let’s work backwards to understand…. get it ;p.

Shudder, the horror streaming platform has once again got a movie into theatres. Going by the RT scores. Good for them! I’d like to discuss this in a new segment I’ll be making, possibly every week or 2. We need a bigger discussion directly rather than throughout “review” postings.

Riya, played by Eiza Gonzalez wakes up after some visual imagery with a head wound and unsure what is going on. It’s now up to Riya to explore this space to not only piece together what’s going on but also to survive and something has destroyed the station and even killed her crewmates ! :O! The movie starts you off later in the timeline to piece together throughout.

If you’re interested then stick with the next hour and 20 ish minutes. If not. Good luck! You’ll be waiting awhile to get a recap then “enjoy?” the last 40minutes as you get to go forward past that point to wrap the 2 hour film up.

Maybe it’s not for me but it’s definitely hitting for some with reviews from 5.8 to 76% scores on media platforms. Sadly this film for me personally was intended for the Shudder streaming platform to enjoy that last 40minutes. But that’s where the bigger discussion comes from.

This movie does save some cool music and sound effects for the later half. Intriguing story / development. For some, some visual horror and jump scares even if they failed for me personally. It’s a cheap movie, but hey, it’s a movie after all. Enjoy your popcorn and relax. Or you could go watch the Alien franchise :S.

It’s a straight up streaming movie for me personally. 3.5/10 – Others are enjoying it so maybe worth checking out. At least to see that final 40 minutes. You know me and those last 40 minutes 😉 (Nod to Ne Zha 2 :D).

Bigger conversation – I’ll probably type up a Popped Date 😉 about streaming services and their movies going onto the big screen. I love it! Keep it coming. But maybe get your better movies on the big screen rather than your mid B tier. It’s a reason why we call movies a streaming movie.

Wouldn’t it be nice to see a “Streaming Movie” actually being praised and on the big screen winning awards. That after seeing it on the big screen get to go home and in a few months get to experience it again! Disney + and other platforms have issues with their sound mixing. Sometimes headphones are better than speakers. But the theatre has the immersion.

No worries about picture, sound or comfort as it offers the ultimate experience. So why not bring your ultimate features? A small piece of the bigger convo I’d like to discuss.

Sound interesting? Then keep an eye on that Popped Date and maybe a Youtube video will be created from that discussion?

Thank you for taking the time to come by Popped for your movie “Reviews”. I started this journey last year and despite the second year attempting to elevate this space with a podcast. The execution was poor and not worth yours or my time. That being said, I’d like to elevate and expand this space. Make it a platform / community where we enjoy movies and share our experiences and discuss.

I have have a ton of time to watch the movies. But editing YT Videos or content isn’t the best either for myself. So I’ll continue to cook and through the Popped Dates will create a space to plant those seeds and see what blooms. I’d like to get that down in the second year of Popped and possibly move in that overall goal by or into the third year. What comes after the third year ? Good question! But by 2026 I’d like to have found those answers and look forward to having you along with me on this ride.

Once more, greatly appreciated. I’ll see you next batch!

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The Alto Knights “Review”

Release date: March 21, 2025 (USA)

Director: Barry Levinson

Producers: Barry Levinson, Irwin Winkler, Jason Sosnoff, Charles Winkler, David Winkler

Budget: 45 million USD

Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures

Cinematography: Dante Spinotti

De Niro got me in. The Bullet that didn’t kill me kept me there. The story that unraveled had me wanting to finish this once and for all. The right way. Frank Costello’s way 😀

Based on true events. The Alto Knights is a tale being told of Americas two most notorious gangsters, Frank Costello played by Robert De Niro & Vito Genovese….played by Robert De Niro.

At first I had no idea what I was watching. So many factions and sides to this back and forth Piece by Piece storytelling between movie and documentary. Then it clicked. I got it. It was like the match being lit before the fuse made contact.

I was in! I had my side and I was rooting for the boss. Which Boss? Ah! You didn’t pay attention to the clues ;), enough’s enough. Let’s get into the meat and potatoes shall we.

I’m not going to ruin this experience. So did I enjoy it? Yes! De Niro and all the other actors did a great job. From having no knowledge and a little hard to navigate into. I was won over and thoroughly enjoying it. Even at the cost of the fuse reaching it’s destination in fireworks.

Fireworks you say? I’ll let you enjoy, sit back and watch history unfold on this tale. Learn some history that this was based on and have a good time. For myself personally. I felt the feature was very good, giving this a Popped score of 7.5/10. Good watch, maybe wont revisit it but enjoyed the ride. Others looking online while writing this. Seem to of had the opposite experience with some platforms ranging from 39% to 6.1/10. With google users rating 88%.

With this info, use your best judgement if The Alto Knights is worth checking out and spending 2 hours with these characters. I had a good time. Love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Thanks for coming by Popped.blog for your movie “Reviews” , stay tuned for tomorrow with Ash! – Want to hear my thoughts on the movie as a spoiler “review” also let me know and I’ll dive deeper into previous or up coming batches.

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Locked “Review”

Release date: March 21, 2025 (USA)

Director: David Yarovesky

Producers: Sam Raimi, Zainab Azizi, Ara Keshishian, Petr Jákl, Sean Patrick O

Based on: 4×4; by: Mariano Cohn; Gastón Duprat

Production companies: ZQ Entertainment; Raimi Productions

Had no idea about this movie prior to going in. The actors / Producer caught my eye and …. was locked in on this one ;).

This “Review” will be short due to a fairly simple setup but a whole lot of depth once locked in.

Bill Skarsgard plays Eddie Barrish, a down on his luck / deadbeat dad. Take your pick. Having to turn to crime in order to get by and acquire money to repair his vehicle in order to pickup his daughter. Eddie finds himself within the vehicle that will lock him in for a ride he wasn’t prepared for.

Anthony Hopkins plays William, a character played through the car to interact with Eddie in this horrific yet enlightening? Experience to come for them both.

I’ve come to thoroughly enjoy all the projects that Bill Skarsgard signs up with. Locked is yet another title on his belt which is a solid good experience. He mostly carries this movie as the majority is played out within the car itself. Great camera work and story telling.

Again I wont go into details or plot points for those curious on this one so I’ll slap this with a straight up 7. Good ride on this one and glad I checked it out.

Have you checked out Boy Kills World? If so you’ll enjoy this one. Tomorrow I’ll be checking out The Alto Knights so check back later on tonight for a slightly different movie.

Thank you for coming by Popped for your movie “Reviews” and I’ll see you, next time.

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Snow White “Review”

Release date: March 21, 2025 (USA)

Director: Marc Webb

Budget: 209 million USD

Distributed by: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Adapted from: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Snow White

Music by: Jeff Morrow (score); Larry Morey and Frank Churchill (songs); Pasek and Paul (new songs);

“Reviewing” Disney’s Snow White: Not getting involved in politics and all. Just discussing the movie as that’s why we’re here on Popped. To discuss and “Review” movies of which this is.

For those already decided on watching or forgoing this feature. This “Review” isn’t really for you…..unless you’re open to the thought of checking it out or interested in my thoughts. Otherwise, on the fence or curious, stick around for my journey across the kingdom of Disney’s SnowWhite.

The Good

Rachel Zegler is Snow White in this version of Snow White. Surprised me with how good she made the bad scenes, almost saving the movie in moments which blew my mind that I actually liked her. From her songs to the new story additions she felt in place….Until those gosh darn last 30minutes after a certain story beat occurs…..how poisoned things went to end it all.

Andrew Burnap whom plays Jonathan in this edition of Snow White. This tweaked story added to this edition of Snow White introduces a band of bandits that fight in the name of the king. Their leader Jonathan was a nice addition to this story and worked well with it, not feeling forced or out of place unlike his merry band which seemed to offer just comedic relief and little of a band of bandits.

The Story & Music which some was new and others was nostalgia play. Scenes with the dwarves was saved due to the music. I still didn’t like them but between the music and Snow White I didn’t hate them.. The first 15minutes was all new? story before leading up to the intro of the original film. (The Original is a little hazy in memory so apologize if some of it was actually in there) Up until the last 30minutes the story progressed well and I enjoyed the new additions weaving between an okay 5.5 to a fine movie 6.5. Sadly the bad was just bad enough that the poison hit that much harder into my system.

The Bad

Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen. Until she turned into the evil witch, I hated all the scenes with the Evil Queen. It felt like she just read the script and didn’t get into her character. The songs felt off and the story / acting was pulling me out of the world being created. Bad casting? I’m not sure. Maybe a mixture of that and a poor script which led to the poison to end my curious bite.

The Seven Dwarves were saved by nostalgia plays of music. I disliked their design going in and I couldn’t get behind them whilst watching their scenes. The ending was a total WTF and their….magic? hands was not explained nor lead to anything later on. Maybe the magic of CGI? You’ll have to tell me about that scene in the mine because WTF. I was honestly enjoying my delicious Harkins Popcorn until that scene made me freeze in shock.

Partial bad nod to the huntsman – I see they attempted to pull off the original scene but didn’t hit the same. Maybe it was what came after in the woods but a partial bad nod.

The Poisoned Apple

This movie would have been just okay to fine at best depending on your personal experience. That all changed for myself in the last 30 minutes as the movie needed to wrap up. I wont spoil the ending but I’ll drop a couple of things nodding to it.

Dopey was almost in there as an okay member of the film. Actually getting some scenes where I rooted for him… WTF Disney…WTF.

Gal Gadot resolution / ending / Her Singing 😦

The kingdoms people again resolution / ending was very odd and jarring compared to the setup of the film.

With that we come to our conclusion of Snow White. A roller coaster of slight ups and down but staying pretty consistently between the 5’s & 6’s. Came to an awful downward journey in the last 30 minutes coming in at a 4.5/10.

What are your thoughts on the movie Disney’s Snow White? Skipping it for a different movie this week / next? Or holding out for Minecraft? Love to hear your thoughts and I’ll see you across this weekend with a few titles.

The Alto Knights, Ash & Locked before next week ending March with Death of a Unicorn, The Woman in the Yard & A Working Man to end March and jump into Spring season of 2025 movie going before Summer lands around the corner.

Thanks for checking out Popped for your movie “Reviews” and I’ll see you next batch :D.

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Black Bag & Opus “Reviews” – Double Batch

Release date: March 14, 2025 (USA)

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Budget: $50 million

Distributed by: Universal Pictures, Focus Features

Cinematography: Peter Andrews

Produced by: Casey Silver; Gregory Jacobs

Double batch coming your way a little late due to busy / lack of interest in this mid range batch… no offence.

Seeing the current review scores, I’m glad it’s doing well. Love the cast but the pacing is so incredibly slow. Lack of action and only picked up in last 20minutes. I compare this movie to being in a 50MPH zone stuck behind someone going 30. I want to get to my destination but it’s taking forever.

Slow rides don’t put you off? Then have fun. 6/10 Popped Score

Distributed by: A24

Budget: $10 million

Music by: Danny Bensi (score); Saunder Jurriaans (score); Nile Rodgers (music); The-Dream (music)

The weirdness that intrigued me, maybe the thing that puts you off.

Think a lower budget Indie A24 version of Blink Twice. Popstar from the 90’s is returning to release a new album. Inviting several guests to his groups little “Resort?” we get introduced to our main lead POV Ariel Ecton being played by Ayo Edebiri.

Ariel is a journalist doing a report on this popstar / album but finds herself mixed into a twisted plan with….. cultists…. :O.

It’s a weird movie but personally a much more enticing one than Black Bag giving this a fine rating of 6.5/10. Again the weirdness will put off many. But for some, it maybe the thing that gets you to like it.

Rapid fire batch this week. Expect Snow White, Ash & Alto Knights to come for the next up-coming batch :D. Followed by to end the month, Death of a Unicorn, Women in the Yard & Working Man.

Thanks for coming by Popped for your movie “Reviews” and I’ll see you next time 😀

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The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tune Movie “Review”

Release date: March 14, 2025 (USA)

Director: Peter Browngardt

Distributed by: Ketchup Entertainment, GFM Animation

Adapted from: Looney Tunes

Box office: $1.92 million

Music by: Joshua Moshier

February delay was just enough time to brew a fresh batch of boba tea…let’s chew on that.

It’s been quite some time since we’ve had a Looney Tunes movie / content so I’m excited to finally have this IP back in action. Quick draw “Review” this is through and through a good movie. Let it chew a little and some may even say its g.g.g..g.g Boba Great!

Having just watched Night of the Zoopocalypse, it’s funny to see a similar yet different plot point. While not focusing on a zoo through the animals POV. We get to see the looney side of events that played out for the humans in that situation. Getting to explore the friendship between Daffy Duck & Porky Pig with the addition of a new member of the gang Petunia Pig.

The film starts off, as I mentioned before. Good and through time the Looney Tunes magic cooks up a very good fun ride throughout this feature. Worth checking out for sure and really gets me excited to see what’s to come for more Looney Tunes Movies. I wont spoil any potential cameos as I know a few people mentioned the lack of Bugs. So go explore the title yourself and have a fun time.

Maybe other characters will have their own movies before we get an Avengers type movie with the entire cast?

Short and sweet “Review” placing this title at a soft chew of an 8/10. Solidly 7.5/10 very good with a delightful after taste getting it to the 8 of greatness.

Stay tuned for Black Bag & Opus tomorrow as we approach the mid way point of March and almost wrap up the first quarter of 2025. Looking forward to doing our Summer predictions soon and to look back at what’s come thus far and any titles that stick out for next years Oscars.

Thanks for coming by Popped and stay Looney 😀

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