Category: Good Solid Movie

Friendship “Review”

Release date: May 2025 (USA)

Director: Andrew DeYoung

Running time: 1h 40m

MPAA rating: R

Genre: Comedy

Distributed by: A24, Paramount Pictures, Republic Pictures

Finally releasing in my neck of the woods. Friendship, it’s an interesting one but does it intrigue as much as The Surfer? Let’s discuss.

Isn’t it fascinating how a connection can be formed over a wrong address delivery. That’s how Craig Waterman (Played by Tim Robinson) & Austin Carmichael (Played by Paul Rudd) meet for the first time and end up forming a friendship.

I mentioned The Surfer above and for this I’ll attempt not to ruin, but give you the overall feeling this movie gives off without spoilers. As this friendship forms you get to learn more and more about Craig Waterman. The relationship between his wife Tami Waterman (Played by Kate Mara) & his son Steven (Played by Jack Dylan Grazer). You start to feel / see that something is off here and the intrigue kicks in.

It’s a good movie. Worth seeing for sure. But sadly for me personally, the intrigue and pay off doesn’t quite hit, like it did for my in The Surfer. This maybe a short “Review” but honestly going in deeper would take away from your viewing experience within this adventure for friendship.

Curious to know more? Maybe check out The Surfer review to see the levels of layers in that feature. It doesn’t go as deep sadly but it’s a worthy good watch. Popped scoring of 7.5/10.

Go check it out and see how deep the journey takes you one lick a pop? O.o ? Intriguing! 😛

Thanks for coming by Popped for your movie “Reviews”. Going to be a busy week ahead so I’ll be locked in at work for roughly a week. See you next week? for Karate Kid all going well. If not, see you in June 😀 Switch 2 release is 2 weeks away!!

Did you check out any recent movies? Love to hear what you’re watching in the comments. What movies are you looking forward to in Summer of 2025?

See you next batch – Happy movie going! 😀

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Lilo & Stitch (2025) “Review”

Release date: May 23, 2025 (USA)

Director: Dean Fleischer Camp

Running time: 1h 48m

MPAA rating: PG

Distributed by: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Adapted from: Lilo & Stitch

Okay just got out the theatre and placed the O.G in background as I write this. WoW I prefer the original more. 23 Years gap does a number on the memory. Let’s discuss shall we 😀

As far as making a live action version, it does it’s job. It’s entertaining, maybe even get into your feels. But we’re dealing with a different beast. The merge between CGI & Live Action (And Changes to source material).

Divided they were completely fine. Humans were awesome, loved them. CGI was awesome, loved all there scenes within the CGI environments. Outside of Stitch & Pleakley the other characters felt cheap and out of place in the real world.

Sorry Zach Galifianakis, your voice for Jumba was to high pitch. It’s the reason I put the original one on, was to see if memory served me correctly. But he’s way deeper which kept putting me off the character. Billy Magnussen was spot on however 😀 with Pleakley.

They hit the story beats…mostly….but it’s missing something. The charm of the original maybe? The timeline or focused events? As mentioned from the top. It does it’s job of being live action. But for those wanting to share this series with their little ones should check out the original. I’ve laughed so much at these scenes already and the feels / emotion of story hits better in the storytelling with the O.G.

You know what’s also missing…. Captain Gantu. Why’d he get cut? He’s literally Stitch’s antagonist. The scripts already written from the original so why change so much. Even Jumba was changed to be the Antagonist in the live action when he doesn’t want to hurt Stitch. He’s his experiment and knows his capabilities, wanting to design him into something else.

I don’t want to get into a rant. Like I said, it’s good. Entertains enough. Just misses some vital aspects to why I enjoyed the original more. More Elvis! Gantu! Human costumes! Don’t change the characters! The more I’m seeing of the O.G they changed the sister a lot!

It’s the storyboarding and changes that will make or break your experience. Watched the original? you’ll be entertained but wanting what was. First time watching this, you’ll be entertained and should check out what was.

7.5/10, it’s entertaining, may get you in the feels, but the product was better in the original. From the sister’s dynamic together to the aliens storylines. That being said, the changes they did make work for the live action to some degree. The final act is honestly what I’d prefer to have stayed the same. But to have that, you need Captain Gantu and thus had to be changed.

Well there you have it. The first movie I was thinking would be a $1 Billion movie of 2025 is out. I’m not so confident having watched it but hey that’s just my thoughts on the 2025 Lilo & Stitch.

Happy watching everyone and let me know your thoughts in the comments :D.

Next up for this week. Friendship. Possibly coming to you tomorrow. Now back to watching the O.G Movie. P.S Nothing bonus after the credit crawl occurs. Scenes before that though were very fun.

Thanks for coming to Popped for your movie “Reviews”. Until next batch. Happy movie going.

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Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning “Review”

Release date: May 23, 2025 (USA)

Director: Christopher McQuarrie

Running time: 2h 51m

MPAA rating: PG-13

Producers: Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie, Jake Myers

Prequel: Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One

With this being the 8th installment of Mission Impossible I think it’s safe to say you at least enjoy these movies to arrive her at the end? Right? – Let’s Discuss.

With the above in mind. I’ll dabble within the first hour to setup Ethan Hunt’s Final Mission… or what at least appears to be his last.

The gangs back together for the…final? time. This time bow tying the past 30 years of this franchise together. Connecting all the characters, situations and missions. What’s the mission this time? To prevent Nuclear Destruction of the entire planet.

It takes about an hour to set this movie up with the various flash backs, character setups and series overview. Momentum will feel good then grind to a very long waited halt before picking back up again…..and again…..and again…. and again… It’s a good movie it just long. Extremely long. Defcon 3 onwards were where things picked up for me personally until toward the ending act just like last feature did.

Moments I felt strongly in the 8 tier but sadly with how long this title it coming just 25minutes longer than Ne Zha 2….I shouldn’t feel like I’ve watched 2 Ne Zha 2 within the first hour and again by the last 30 minutes of this title. MI8 is 2 hours 50minutes long and you feel it.

It’s a final send off though so I appreciate them taking the time to give each character their moments in the spotlight. Popped score of 7.5/10. It’s good, I may even re-watch it when I re-watch the entire series. But otherwise. Good one off viewing from me personally.

Before we get to spoiler? town.

Thank you all for coming by Popped for your Mission Impossible 8 “Review”. With this being the final title I wont ruin the surprise of how this all ends. So get your popcorn, sit back and watch this finale on the big screen.

Stay tuned for Lilo & Stitch later on today!

Potential Light Spoiler?

If they make another feature after this I’d be rather disappointed. This feels like a good stopping point. With the series recaps and tie-ins etc. this felt right to leave it here. However if they were to do one more. Make it a time skip. Ethan’s a dad now and his children are now taking over…. that or a 1 last mission from the shadows ? Maybe…

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Shadow Force “Review”

Release date: May 9, 2025 (USA)

Director: Joe Carnahan

Starring: Kerry Washington; Omar Sy; Mark Strong; Da’Vine Joy Randolph; Cliff “Method Man” Smith

Running time: 1h 44m

Executive producers: Christopher Woodrow, B. Quinn Curry, K. Blaine Johnston, Danielle Reardon, Jennifer Wiley-Moxley.

Distributed by: Lionsgate Films

When you’re unsure on checking a movie out. Make the call. Sometimes you may end up checking out a decently good movie :D. Let’s discuss.

First off, let’s discuss our loving family. I’m not sure why Shadow Force wasn’t pushed as the mothers day movie this weekend but Kerry Washington playing Kyrah will protect her family with no limits. Leaving her husband and son to take down the organization Shadow Force from getting to them and keep them safe. Omar Sy playing Isaac the loving husband and incredible father is put into a situation to save his son that strikes the ignition to Shadow Force finding out their location.

I absolutely loved this families dynamic. Having the mother doing all the action while Isaac and his son get to bond was very touching and created feelings/ bonds between the viewer and characters on screen. Getting attached to this family wont make or break your experience but if you get involved with them then your experience will most certainly be well enjoyed.

Next up the action! Comparing to a recent movie – Fight or Flight, this movie brought the characters, emotions, story and action! When the action gets going it’s awesome. Great sound and music while enjoying lots of cool scenes. Great cast of villains for sure lead by Jack (Played by Mark Strong). Yea the movie feels a little long by 5/10 minutes but the feeling kicks in right as the action kicks off / story begins to wrap up, so the feeling is short lived.

I’m more on the side of Fandango viewers as they gave it a 81%, but mind you the other side of this goes as low as 29% on Rotten Tomatoes. So pick your path :D.

I had a good time. Well enjoyed. Loved the son! Loved the family. Which gives Shadow Force in the eyes of Popped a solid good 7/10. Worth watching / checking out for sure. Either it be on streaming down the road or in theatres, the ultimate way to experience movies.

Appreciate you checking out Popped for your movie “Reviews”. Stick around for another tomorrow with Hurry up Tomorrow. Do I know what it’s about? Nope. Have I seen the trailer? Yup, plenty of times. Still no idea. So let’s check it out and report back :D. Thursday – Final Destination!

Watched Shadow Force yet? Love to hear your thoughts below. Check out Clown in a Cornfield? Let me know 😀 – As always though, see you next batch.

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Clown in a Cornfield “Review”

Release date: May 9, 2025 (USA)

Director: Eli Craig

MPAA rating: R

Running time: 1h 36m

Distributed by: Shudder, RLJE Films

Music by: Brandon Roberts; Marcus Trumpp

Round 2 for Shudder this year in theatres. Bringing us this time Clown in a Cornfield, a horror film based upon the novel (Of which I found out there’s 3 in this series).

I thought this was going to another # toward 100. Another 2.5 tier movie which may have something going for it but fails horribly. But wait….outside of the intro which started off like any other type of slasher movie. We open up after this point with our main leads….. of which I actually liked!

So lets go from there. The cast. Everyone did a fine job. It’s a Shudder movie mind you but one worthy of the big screen. It’s no Sinners but something worth checking out for sure. Aaron Abrams plays the father Dr. Maybrook and new Doctor of this town moving in with his daughter Quinn Maybrook (Played by Katie Douglas). Total legend Will Sasso is playing Dunne, the Sherriff of Kettle Springs down.

We shortly learn the kids that will be apart of Quinn’s friend group and the tension between the adults of the town vs the youth. A local legend of the town is that of a killer clown which the group make popular viral videos on Youtube of. That story leads us to the main plot of this feature. Clown in a Cornfield. Sit back, enjoy some Popcorn and have fun with this title. It wasn’t really scary nor overly gory. BUT. It’s gory and impactful in the right moments and makes those scenes count. Not throwing them at you desensitizing the audience for what’s to come but instead create an environment that entices and intrigues the audience into what’s to come and wanting more.

It’s actually all the fun which this film has with itself and audience which doesn’t get boring when the movie feels a little long. It kept me entertained and enjoying the scenes playing out despite feeling a little long. There’s no end scene to enjoy but rest assured there are more titles in this novel series so something to look forward to down the road.

Popped Score of 7/10 strong good movie, possibly even 7.5 with a repeat viewing but solidly 7.

Thanks for coming by Popped for your movie “Reviews” and stay tuned, today we have a double batch viewing, coming up next. Fight or Flight.

Let me know in the comments your thoughts on Clown in a Cornfield and if you have read the novel and how it compares. Should I read it? Because I’m totally in :D.

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Colorful Stage! The Movie: A Miku Who Can’t Sing “Review”

Release date: April 18, 2025 (USA)

Director: Hiroyuki Hata

Art director: Kurumi Suzuki

Cinematography: Kazuya Iwai

Distributed by: Shochiku

Editor: Ayumu Takahashi

Only got on my radar due to being a movie and not a concert exclusive movie. I’ve seen nothing of Miku content. I don’t watch V-Tubers outside of Ironmouse so I’m probably not the targeted audience for this title. With that caveat said. Shall we jump into this “Review”?

I’m going to compare this to Colors Within for comparison as “Reviewing” an anime movie focused around music. Firstly before that. I did love the messaging and get the point behind what Miku was attempting. I just didn’t connect with her song which impacted my experience.

Side Note for readers: You’re going to hear the word SEKAI a lot in this movie. A potential drinking game? I’ve only heard this in reference to Isekai’s. SEKAI in Japanese means “World” or “Universe” which you’re going to be jumping around a lot which was a little jarring at first to know if the characters were the same people or different versions of one another.

The story / premise of this movie is based around Miku wanting to reach those in need of support and form a deeper connection through emotional music. (Sadly her song didn’t hit with me unlike Colors Within) In order to achieve this due to having difficulty connecting with those surrounded in darkness, she reaches out to others that are able to reach people through their music (Which I did enjoy once you finally get there).

For around 45minutes this movie was okay. Then it started to “Cook” as people say. Some very interesting story and character development occurs that got me interested in the title….which was sadly ruined by repetitive conversation going over and over what Miku’s mission was and how they were going to achieve her mission and reach her and others alike.

The reason why I compare this to Colors Within is because this process setting up the concert was extremely drawn out and should have been cut down. While Colors Within was enjoyable and the music did connect with me which kept me engaged wanting to see their performance. Miku can’t sing was sadly not resonating with me but maybe that’s because I knew nothing of these characters. I disliked the robotic voiced characters over the human ones. (Apologize if these people are big in this world. I’ve no idea.)

For me personally it was good overall. I’d give it a 7/10. But fans are loving this title. Socials are from 6.4 on IMBd to 96% on RT & Fandango. Fun fact for those wanting more after the credits. There’s an after show which plays for an additional 10-15minutes. (Which was weird as the lights up go up during the credits. So having an anchor concert in bright lights was off).

Did you checkout this title? Have plans to? Seen Colors Within? Love to hear your thoughts below. Colors Within is $10 right now on Amazon Prime which I may actually go purchase to revisit their music.

Thanks for coming by Popped for your movie “Reviews” and I’ll see you next batch :D. Big one next week! Thunderbolts. – Spoilers are all over the internet so be careful if you’re hiding from them.

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Sneaks “Review”

Release date: April 18, 2025 (USA)

Directors: Rob Edwards, Chris Jenkins

MPAA rating: PG

Producers: Laurence Fishburne, Gil Cloyd, Helen Sugland, Leonard Hartman, Patrick Worlock

Running time: 1h 28m

Production companies: Cinema Gypsy Productions · See more

Maybe the low expectations. Maybe all the heart and soul in this feature. I have to say, had a solid time in this one. Shame not many will see it over movies like Minecraft though.

The trailer does a great job focusing on the shoes so I wont go into the other layer this title has. For a movie about shoes this title captured (At a lesser quality) the feeling of toy story and similar titles with talking inanimate objects.

The combination of music, characters, emotion and meta jokes was such a surprise I was between great and solidly good. I think others maybe at the lower end of fine to good but this title got me thoroughly entertained.

Edson our high school basketball player (Voiced by Swae Lee) finds himself in competition for these beautiful new shoes which he’s in dyer need of for this career. The Collector (Voiced by Laurence Fishburne) has other plans. In an adventure between them both. Our main story comes from the journey of our sibling shoes during the theft. Being stolen from Edson they find themselves apart. (Shoes are called Ty & Maxine (I believe it’s Maxine)).

Ty is the type of shoe that wants to be owned by the Collector and treated well on a pedestal. Maxine on the other hand being brand new out the box, wants to experience life with someone that will use them for their aspirations in life. The Collector by the way has his companion dog called Mercury which is solid in this feature.

There’s so many more characters and fun people in Sneaks to enjoy. Even the narrators of the story were a lot of fun. Meta jokes and lots of shoe puns / jokes.

If you check Sneaks out let me know what you thought. Not many scores are posted so IMBD alone has Sneaks at 5.2/10 & RT Critic score at a 50%. So take this with a grain of salt. I love me some animation movies and this got me in the gooey center. Talking about it with my wife last night I was chuckling looking back at certain jokes and lines.

If working man is a switch your brain off popcorn flick. Maybe this is leave your critical animator eye at the door. It’s not Into the Spider verse, but the combination of music, soul and laughs had me scoring this at a 7.5 / weak 8 Popped Score. Worth a viewing. Has some nice messaging and definitely better than Minecraft which is insane people are still coming out to cause havoc with the chicken jokey scene.

Enough of that though let’s not dive into a rant. Today we check out The Wedding Banquet. Any movies that caught you off guard? I’m usually one to have some sort of opposite experience to others so I’m curious what’s yours.

Thanks for coming by Popped for your movie “Reviews” and I’ll see you back here tomorrow.

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Drop “Review”

Release date: April 11, 2025 (USA)

Director: Christopher Landon

Producers: Michael Bay, Cameron Fuller, Jason Blum, Bradley Fuller

Language: English

Distributed by: Universal Pictures

Box office: $3.4 million

Trailer was pretty cool and had me intrigued. Let’s discuss the final Drop of this weeks Batch.

Welcome to the final feature of today’s batch. Having seen the trailer ? There’s still a lot of enjoyment in this title. Does it show a lot of the thrill? Yea, but it doesn’t ruin it. The intro sure does hook you if the trailer hasn’t already.

Violet is a widowed mother trying to get back out there in the dating game. This feature is around that date and the craziness that consumes this date when Violet begins to receive Drop messages being sent to her cellphone.

A short movie of an hour and a half, it’s got good pacing and even has some extra fun for those that watched the trailer. (You know me and the battle against the spoilery trailer :D)

Everyone’s a potential suspect. So who’s your suspect in this mystery? Check out Drop at your local theatre to find out. Going to be fairly short with this one to avoid spoilers and all.

A solid good movie worth checking out with a 7/10 Popped score. Maybe a sequel in our future? We shall wait and see for what stories can be created. I’d love to learn more though but let’s discuss that in the comments :D.

Socials on this title are fairly high with 6.5 IMDb to 83% on RT.

Thanks for checking out this weeks triple batch of “Reviews”. Anything stand out to you? Something I missed (Other than Warfare. Seeing that Tomorrow/Monday). Lots of features releasing throughout April so it’ll be a busy month of movie going experiences and entertainment.

What title are you most looking forward to?

See you next batch!

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The King of Kings “Review”

Release date: April 11, 2025 (USA)

Director: Jang Seong-Ho

Based on: The Life of Our Lord; by Charles Dickens

Box office: $7 million

Music by: Kim Tae-seong

Production company: Mofac Studios

Loved the animation and was curious to check out an Angel Studio movie. So what better way than to checkout The King of Kings on Passover.

I’m not religious to start with so take this experience with that knowledge. In school studying Religious Education I wasn’t really into all this but the information learnt was useful to know of different religions. Having media and tales told through well created content like The King of Kings would have been great for my childhood self and recommended for today’s youth. More stories and tales should be created by this team for all religions. They did a very good job.

This feature kept me entertained despite all the distractions occurring. I watch a lot of movies but the audience for this title were something else. Lots of talking, babies crying. People on cellphones, some recording small scene clips. There was an awful lot going on but the feature kept me entertained.

What’s The King of Kings even about? Well this is a tale being told from a father to his imaginative son (Whom has a fascination for King Arthur, Dragons and Sword Fighting). A story told by Charles Dickens of Jesus Christ. From his birth to his resurrection. Loved all the interactive scenes between storytelling and “real life” segments along with telling a story through the eyes of a curious young boy.

Mentioned at the start. I’m still in the camp of King Arthur. Didn’t quite resonate with these religious tales in my youth and still love Dungeons & Dragons. (Not that they can’t both be enjoyed by any means). This was a fun experience and mostly being enjoyed on socials from 62% to 7.2/10 on RT & IMDb. Maybe it’s the impact it had on the audience I was with but I had a very good time with a 7.5/10. The crowd applauded throughout the ending and despite going hard at the end. Angel Studio made a good point of having children experience this title.

(P.S My own little message on that ending pay it forward message) – About the paying it forward program that Angel Studio’s offers. Please actually use it when you’re unable to afford or experience this feature. Taking free tickets, refunding them or just experiencing this on someone else’s dime is pretty low when the children at the end of this title are literally speaking to the audience for those unable to. It’s a good message when heard and used by the right people. It’d be horrible if someone that doesn’t require this pay it forward program to exploit for free tickets / money.

I’ve got a few Popped Dates planned. One of those is the discussion on this current Minecraft Chicken Jockey meme going around. The fact Jack Black & the films director are endorsing it is shameful and needs to be discussed. Not just for this title but future installments and for others interested in replicating it with other properties. Having fun is one thing. But disturbing public viewings, creating chaos, causing damage to property and further stress and work on theatre staff is not having fun.

Little different on the ending to this “Review” but felt right to place that here on a title that had an audience with little ones. This is 2 of 3 in this week’s batch of “Reviews”. Prepare for the last… Drop ;).

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The Amateur “Review”

Release date: April 11, 2025 (USA)

Director: James Hawes

Distributed by: 20th Century Studios

Based on: The Amateur; by Robert Littell

Budget: $60 million

Edited by: Jonathan Amos

Checked out the Chinese Theatre in LA after the Nintendo Switch 2 Hands On Event. Guess what we watched 😀 Haha buckle up for a triple batch “Review” starting with The Amateur.

So we’ve discussed recently the things a father would do to get back his daughter or that of the fatherly bond to return a daughter. How about taking that energy and seeking to revenge the death of your wife.

Laurence Fishburne (Playing Henderson) is back!(Thankfully because he’s awesome!) as Morpheus!? Not this time! Henderson aids our CIA Decoder Charlie Heller (Played by Rami Malek) in his training for revenge. Maybe some lessons along the way of what type of person Charlie is but firstly. The reason for why this movie exsists.

Rachel Brosnahan (Playing Sarah, Charlie’s wife..well.. yea wife 😀 :*(.. )

Watched this with my wife and she was in tears. She fell in love with this couple and made such an impact on the story and purpose for character motives and direction. This was a fun movie with much better pacing than similar movie Black Bag. My wife and I enjoyed this type of thriller being told with different methods for action than just guns. Lots of fun surprises even if the trailer showed 2 of the big kills.

This feature did feel a little long, maybe 20 minutes which is where I’m back and forth between a fine movie and a good one. Maybe if the seating was more comfortable it’d be a 7 and my wife had a good time with this one but wow I’ve been spoilt with Harkins Theatres. Their seats, popcorn quality, staff are all incredible and going to other theatres has definitely highlighted their charms and excellence. Big shout out to them after experiencing the IMAX Chinese Theatre in LA.

A weak 7/10 Popped score but a fun thriller that’s mostly being seen in that above to great rating on socials. 61% RT to 89% on Fandango. Stay tuned for a very different type of movie in this weeks batch. King of Kings.

Did you check out The Amateur this weekend? Love to hear your thoughts below. Thanks for coming by Popped for your movie “Reviews” and don’t forget this is 1 of 3 for this batch :D.

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