Category: Good Solid Movie

Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX: Beginning “Review”

Release date: February 27th, 2025 (USA)

Directors: Kazuya Tsurumaki

Distributed by: NA: Sunrise GKIDS (Theatrical Release

Studio companies: Sunrise, Studio Khara

“Reviewed” by a non Gundam fan that’s curious and interested to get into the series. Love Appleseed, Ghost in the Shell etc. Just something about Gundam disconnects. Which may fit into my preference within this discussion. Let’s begin.

The start of this title was rather jarring to get into. I had no idea of the characters, the forces battling one another etc. Until that title card. Then I was won over and fell in love with the characters setup for what’s to come.

This is a VERY short film. So short I was shocked things started to ramp up with 25 minutes left and they had so much left to answer…. so I did some digging and found out this feature sets up the series to come next month. April 8th on Amazon Prime. You betcha I’ll be checking it out.

From what I read up on this title, this series is an alternative version of the Universal Century timeline. Far apart from the original series. I was informed by a fan that the intro was a recap to catch those new to the series up with this series to branch out and be it’s own thing.

Honestly I cant discuss much on that intro without watching it again now with some more context. A war occurred for 1 year. There’s a Gundam found that they made red in the pilots image, however after a great explosion in conflict goes missing. Which brings us forward a year to those on the Red Gundam’s side searching for him.

Then my favorite group was introduced with clan battle. I loved all those scenes and the joining of the two fighters. If you’re into Gundam you’re going to love it. For me personally someone not into Gundam but glad I watched this to possible get into this new series. I’m giving it a 7.5/10 Popped score of very good, almost great if it wasn’t for that intro being a hard entry to get into.

Until the 8th of April though, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this feature. What content would you recommend I watch to prep for what’s to come. Or continue going in blind having just seen this feature. See you in the comments or in the next “Review” batch tomorrow, with Night at Zoopocalypse.

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Novocaine “Review”

Release date: March 14, 2025 (USA)

Directors: Robert Olsen, Dan Berk

Distributed by: Paramount Pictures

Production companies: Infrared Pictures; Safehouse Pictures; Circle of Confusion

During the feature I kept thinking how much Jack Quaid hadn’t aged from Dawson’s Creek….well, that’s because I was thinking of Joshua Jackson from that and Fringe. Any who, The Boys & Companion is Jack Quaid :D. Shall we begin.

With there being 10 days until the official release of this feature I’ll be very protective of spoilers. The marketing of this film was handled very well compared to a certain title released last month. I believe 2 scenes were cut from the trailer from the film which added to certain points.

From a romantic comedy intro to a action packed twist when our couple experience a bank robbery. This was a fun ride throughout. The last act did cost it an 8/10 great popped score placing it very good at a 7.5/10 but would recommend this title for a fun action comedy with complements to the romantic comedy.

Jack Quaid playing Nathan Caine, an assistant manager at the bank is head over hills interested in Shari, an employee at the bank being played by Amber Midthunder. Nathan has a disease that affects him from feeling pain. So much that eating a slice of cherry pie could cost him biting off his tongue. Mix this “Super Power” with the fact his love interest is taken as hostage during the bank robbery, this film goes off to explore many fun ways to implement this into a wacky over the top action movie.

Sit back, and enjoy the ride on March 14th at your local theatre. Popped Scoring of 7.5/10.

Happy March everyone, looking forward to Mickey 17 this coming week, Looney Tunes next and to explore maybe some hidden gems along the way before Snow White releases end of the month. Whatever your thoughts are on Snow White, we have Minecraft right around the corner leading us into the glorious summer box office of 2025.

Let’s shoot for end of April to look ahead into Summer and cast our predictions for the slate ahead. Thanks for coming to Popped for your movie “Reviews” and I’ll see you, next batch.

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The Monkey “Review”

Release date: February 21, 2025 (USA)

Director: Oz Perkins

Adapted from: The Monkey

Distributed by: Neon

Budget: $10–11 million

Cinematography: Nico Aguilar

Getting a little behind after my surgery so let’s speed run this and get caught up with the Oscars shall we :D.

From the opening scene with Adam Scott (My wife and I just started watching Severance during my recovery which was cool seeing him in the intro of The Monkey), to the intro when our twin brothers are in their youth and seeing Tatiana Maslany playing their mother.

I was rather entertained and digging this feature. Placing it easily at an 8/10 for it’s greatness. Capturing the fun energy of gory kills that Hearts Eyes didn’t quite capture for me personally but did for so many others.

Tatiana Maslany smashes the roll out the park channeling the performance to her Orphan Black era which is one of my all time favorite shows of all time. (Fingers crossed she can continue from here and course correct the awful writing/script she was delt with She-Hulk).

The Monkey is centered around two twin brothers whom inherit a “toy” (Don’t call it a toy) wind-up monkey which results in the death of individuals throughout the movie. Splitting the movie between their childhood and then 25 years later in their adult years. This movie certainly takes a decline as certain threads and plot points collide in an awkward mess ruining the greatness that was setup earlier.

It’s a good watch maybe even very good but sadly ends shy of being great due to those last act weakness’s. Did you get a chance to check out The Monkey? Love to hear your thoughts and with that, let’s jump over to the Oscars and get caught up shall we :D.

Popped “Review” score of 7.5/10 – Not to shabby on a 10-11 Million $ Budget to make some box office $. Still insane to hear Ne Zha 2 which has hit over 2Billion Dollars was made on a 80Million budget. Insane!

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Paddington in Peru “Review”

Release date: February 14, 2025 (USA)

Director: Dougal Wilson

Story by: Paul King; Simon Farnaby; Mark Burton

Distributed by: StudioCanal, Sony Pictures, Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Releasing

Based on: Paddington Bear; by Michael Bond

Box office: $104 million

Paddington may have gotten older since releasing in England vs now in the states, but lets buckle up for another charming dose of Paddington Brown. Now adventuring within Peru.

This is the third installment of the franchise and maybe the last? I honestly have no idea but it sure feels like a wrap on this series with all the characters getting older. Some leaving the nest, others finding their way and even a nod to some throw backs throughout the series.

Despite briefly seeing her at the end of the second feature. Aunt Lucy has become depressed, acting out of character and getting herself lost on an adventure. The Reverend Mother of the Home for Retired Bears, sends word to Paddington in hopes that reuniting him with his Aunt this would help in her depression.

Sadly the trailer shows 85% of the story so you know what comes next. Paddington and the Brown family will go off to look for Aunt Lucy while getting into many adventures along the way. This is the third installment so you’ll know if this franchise is for you by now…..right?

I honestly wish the film had the same energy from the ending scenes for it’s entirety. This could have pushed it into a repeat viewing. However this is a still a good fun movie and worth seeing. Popped scores this batch a 7.5/10.

Tomorrow I’ll try checkout both Captain America 4 along with Ne Zha 2. Then Nickle Boys for the best picture nomination on Sunday, before having surgery on Tuesday :D.

I’ll post my Oscar thoughts during next weekend after seeing Nickle Boys and maybe Emelia Perez/I’m Still Here.

Thank you for coming by Popped.blog for your “Reviews” and love to hear your thoughts on movies released thus far or even coming out soon for 2025.

Until next time! Keep on Popping 😀

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Dog Man “Review”

Release date: January 31, 2025 (USA)

Director: Peter Hastings

Distributed by: Universal Pictures

Based on: Dog Man; by Dav Pilkey

Music by: Tom Howe

Produced by: Karen Foster

The poster looks super cute and enjoyed watching Captain Underpants so had to check this title out.

To my surprise there was a Bad Guys 2 short prior to the movie. Love this direction for DreamWorks as 2024 Inside Out 2 didn’t have a short which was mind blowing for a Pixar movie not to feature a short.

Buckle your seatbelt as Dog Man takes you through a barrel of laughs, emotion & visual overload. A great fathers day movie, I wasn’t expecting to have so much love and bonding in this movie.

From prior to Dog Man existing, this cop duo was the brains and brawn of the police force. Sadly, due to an explosive incident attempting to capture Petey, the head of Dog and body of the Man became Dog Man and thus the emotion begins. Going from having your best friend one minute to being merged the next. There’s a lot of heart and loneliness to Dog Man at first.

That’s until Chief calls Dog Man and centers his focus onto capturing Petey. An “Evil” cat that’s out to do bad. You know what could top his evilness? A clone of himself! Thus Lil Petey was born! Loved loved loved these three characters. Chief is great along with Flippy the Fish, Flippy. You’re going to have a blast watching this movie.

So many moments of greatness, I’m back and forth on a 8 or 7.5. I’m excited to see more as there’s plenty of source material to expand on this franchise. I’d love to watch it again but somethings keeping it back from an 8 due to moments of lengthiness despite being an hour and 34 minutes long.

Did you check out Dog Man? Excited to check it out this weekend? Love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. Stay tuned for 1 last movie of the month with Love Me. (Which maybe the movie I thought Companion was :P) Coming Friday Night.

Thanks for coming by Popped.blog fellow movie goers and have an awesome weekend ahead with Companion and Dog Man :D.

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Companion “Review”

Release date: January 31, 2025 (USA)

Director: Drew Hancock

Producers: Zach Cregger, Raphael Margules, J. D. Lifshitz, Roy Lee

Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures

Budget: $10 million

Cinematography: Eli Born

When you have the day off to watch films and it happens to coincide with a horror secret movie. You just gotta take the Mrs to go check it out :D.

In my head I thought Companion was the virtual reality AI movie that’s coming up but I was wrong. I did hear lots of positive buzz so did go in with higher than usual expectations.

My wife and I had a good time in this movie. It’s a good one time watch about a group of friends going out into the middle of nowhere to hangout. I’ll keep it spoiler free so I’ll keep it short. If you enjoy Jack Quaid staring in another upcoming movie Novocaine or Lukas Gage who was in Smile 2 along with Sophie Thatcher in the recent release of Heretic, then you’re going to have a good time. Great performances from everyone.

The plot/story points can be weak and pulled apart but overall it’s not bad. A good one time watch movie I’m sitting between a 7/7.5 on this title. With the audience reaction to certain scenes I can see some enjoying this more than others. I’m feeling this sits nicely at a 7 when looking back on this feature and if I’d watch it again.

That’s been this weeks latest batch of “Reviews”, pretty short but don’t want to spoil the experience here as that’s the whole point of this title. Keep an eye on Popped.blog for another “Review” staring that of Dog Man to wrap up the first month of 2025.

Overall a good month of movies. Definitely starting stronger than 2024 and something I’m excited to see more from as we get nearer to the summer with big block busters releasing.

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Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl “Review”

Release date: 3rd January 2025 (Netflix)

Directors: Nick Park, Merlin Crossingham

Distributed by: Netflix, BBC

Music by: Lorne Balfe; Julian Nott

Production company: Aardman Animations

This guy above us was what intrigued me to watch this title. I remember episodes being shorter, I thought 40mins tops but back then Wallace & Gromit episodes were 24 to 30 minutes long. This was perfect in my youth…. so how’s it now? Being 3 times the length and on Netflix?

Just like how Mufasa played the Nostalgia play. Vengeance Most Fowl certainly pulled all the punches to get you in the feels. From the music, imagery and their relationship. It had it all…. and sadly some bloated stuff to boot.

Sorry Norbot but I’d have cut most of your scenes out to relive Wallace & Gromit The Wrong Trousers as a reboot. Shoot I’d love to see that updated with these graphics and go right into this sequel rather than watch 40minutes of bloat to see its sequel.

I’m being harsh to be honest but it’s mainly due to wanting to talk about the next title 😀 which was SO GOOD! haha. Honestly though its not bad. It’s just not great like what came before it.

Wallace & Gromit Vengeance Most Fowl has a popped score of 7/10. It’s good. But just good. Condense the episodes and stick to a concise plot and I’ll be back. Otherwise it’s a streaming film and there’s a reason why Cinema / Theatre has a different caliber than streamers.

Thanks for coming to Popped.blog, whether you came due to the Popped Cast or a fellow movie goer that enjoys reading these “Reviews”. I appreciate having you here. Check out the next “Review” where I plunge into the movie Better Man. Which was incredible. I’ll explain why over there :D.

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Flow & Mufasa “Review”

Release date: October 30, 2024 (France)

Director: Gints Zilbalodis

Language: English

Distributed by: UFO Distribution

Box office: US$6.8 million

Latvian: Straume

Music by: Gints Zilbalodis; Rihards Zaļupe

Missed this one upon release however with this title winning best animated movie for the golden globes I had to check it out.

Flow is a beautiful movie not only in visuals but in its heart and soul. Flow sets us up with an introduction to this cute cat shown in the image above. Very quickly we’re introduced to an array of characters that either serve as a threat or established entity in this world.

When a natural disaster? Occurs we find ourselves in a world that continues to flood. Higher and higher the water level rises and the journey that flows ahead of us is a journey of our cat and companion animals that shows even your enemies can be your closest friend.

Loved this journey, however I’d give it a solid one of watch with maybe a repeat viewing down the road. Worthy of praise but to beat Wild Robot! COME ON haha, but seriously it’s really good. Better than Inside Out 2 for a 1 time watch but couldn’t imagen checking this out again.

With no dialogue anyone can watch this title and enjoy the visuals and story on screen.

I’d give it an 8.5/10 but could be an 8 with how much I’d like some information established that goes unanswered along the way.

Release date: December 20, 2024 (USA)

Director: Barry Jenkins

Distributed by: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Adapted from: The Lion King

Box office: $481.6 million

Music by: Dave Metzger; Nicholas Britell (score); Lin-Manuel Miranda (songs)

Doing a double batch here as these titles came out last year. Doesn’t mean I didn’t want to talk about them specially with the Oscars coming up and Flow maybe among them?

I had no interest with Mufasa, however an annoying but catchy song/saying was in my mind. I always wanted a brother…..I always wanted a brother…. I always …okay okay I get it. Let’s watch this thing and give it context.

This was a rollercoaster of a score / experience. On one hand, when it’s hitting your nostalgia play this title felt so good but played on it so cheaply. If it wasn’t for the epic journey ahead this title wouldn’t have been as good. Hmmm kind of feels like Furiosa doesn’t it with Fury Road.

Loved the mini sequel that starts this title. Kind of lost me when we went into the backstory. That was until we meet Mufasa and his brother Taka. I thoroughly enjoyed the “Evil” lion tribe the white lions. These were awesome and actually had my favorite song “Good Bye” :D. Felt like a threat and gave so much weight to Mufasa and his actions.

Mufasa felt like such a giga Chad which was cool to see. Loved his journey and despite Taka being a cowardly entitled character. Loved the switch into his Scar alter ego which we’ve known from the original Lion King.

I’d give Mufasa a solid 7/10 but that’s mainly due to Nostalgia and with how the movie ended making me want to watch the original once more. I never saw the “Live Action” version of Lion King so I look forward to checking it out now. Will a sequel come from this ? Unsure.

If they re-wrote or cut like 30minutes from this title a potential 8 could have been scored for Mufasa but sadly the lows and ehh moments kept it from being great and just a solid good. Better than I expected that’s for sure.

Thank you all for coming by Popped.blog and checking out this latest batch. We come nearer to the Oscar nominations and I’m excited to see what outcome comes for 2024 movies.

Looking ahead for 2025, tomorrow I’ll be checking out Better Man and curiously hopeful to have A Complete Unknown experience but we’ll have to wait and see.

Until next batch, enjoy The Popped Cast and look forward to a Wallace & Gromit “Review” real soon :D.

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The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim “Review”

Release date: December 13, 2024 (USA)

Director: Kenji Kamiyama

Adapted from: The Lord of the Rings

Story by: Jeffrey Addiss; Will Matthews; Philippa Boyens

Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures

Budget: $30 million

For someone who watched LOTR once back in the day and then the Hobbit trilogy once, before watching the first film’s extended cut last year (Which I loved and became invested in the series unlike my first viewing), I probably wouldn’t have had this on my list of movies to watch. After my experience last year, I’m even more grateful to have watched it, as I’d have missed out on such a cool anime movie of LOTR’s.

As much as I didn’t like Wulf and his sudden switch in perspective on events that occur in the setup of this movie. I really enjoyed all the characters. Wulf and his dad just completely suck (Wulf’s Dad sucks for his actions while Wulf himself sucks for his poor writing).

The war of Rohirrim comes to be due to our main female lead, Hera refusing to marry and supported by her father and older brothers would have a war break out with Wulf and his people that leads to bigger stakes than just a rejected proposal.

This tale goes back almost 200 years from the original series where Frodo comes into contact with the ring. Here we get some sprinkled easter eggs. Delicious lore setup and exploration. Along with extra character history that I’m hoping leads to future movies that tie nicely in with this series.

The music is rather nostalgic to the original series. Even if a little reworked/tweaked, I was delighted to hear a familiar tune as we come into, through, and out of this movie.

Lots of good action is sprinkled into this 2-hour feature. Some extremely long credits of roughly 8 minutes and no end scene. This was a fun title to watch. Maybe I’ll watch it again as a recap for the entire series but otherwise, this is a solid 7/10 good watch movie.

Thank you for coming by Popped for your movie “Reviews” and look forward to Kraven potentially tomorrow. Next week Sonic 3, maybe another 1/2 movies before the years out but Sonic 3 is my most anticipated movie of 2024 and I’m so hyped to sink my teeth into it :D.

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Here “Review”

Release date: November 1, 2024 (USA)

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Distributed by: TriStar Pictures

Based on: Here; by Richard McGuire

Box office: $475,000

Budget: $50 million

I’m glad the coin landed heads 3/5 times because this movie was an experience. I usually avoid reviews before watching a movie. This time however I saw a 1/5 from the guardian pop up on my feed.

With that in my mind it led to the coin flip to determine if I go or not.

I’m glad I did, however I totally get why this wouldn’t hit for all.

Sometimes I watch a film and get up against a wall on what to write first and how. So I’m glad I could be present here to watch and be apart of so many individual stories throughout an hour and 40minutes.

If you have loved ones or those you’re close to then this movie maybe for you. So many moments and scenes that hit home and makes you appreciate or shine light on appreciating moments with family and loved ones. Make the most from life and try not push things off as you may never get back round to them.

It sure is crazy how time fly’s isn’t it. What a time for Here to arrive at the first day of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). An event that occurs once every year, running through the entirety of November for writers to achieve the goal of writing 50k words.

Here takes place within one still frame throughout time from the dinosaurs to present time. Sometimes there’s stories that I find hard to fit within this story as I have no idea what connects them with the films entirety.

Mostly though you’re going back and forth between times, even blending time periods together throughout the movie. I loved the use of picture within picture as it brought a cool and engaging affect for transitions between scenes and time periods.

The main story being told is across the time of Tom Hanks character Richard Young’s life from his parents moving in to the final chapter of Richard & Margaret Young played by Robin Wright.

As I’m writing I’m seeing a lot of 1/5 reviews which seem to be hitting on the fact that there’s to many stories being told and the disconnect between a few of them.

I wouldn’t hit it that harsh but I can see this being above average. That being said for me personally I give it a 7/10 for the simple fact that the messages being told and the current events in my life occurring, echoed a lot in the movie and it warmed my heart.

Take it as a 6-7 range if you’re on the fence. Love to hear your thoughts on this title. For tomorrow’s batch I’ll be checking out Conclave & The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.

Anime links will popup soon however I plan to start that at the beginning of 2025. So have any recommendations for new anime in 2025 drop them in the comments.

Thank you all for coming by and spending time here at popped. Blog I greatly appreciate you all and I’m excited to see what’s to come in 2025.

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