Category: Great Movie!

Ready or Not 2: Here I Come “Review”

Release dateMarch 20, 2026 (USA)

DirectorsTyler Gillett, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin

ProducersJames Vanderbilt, Tripp Vinson, Brad Fischer, William Sherak

Running time 1h 48m

Distributed bySearchlight Pictures

It’s been HOW LONG!? Ready or Not released in 2019 :O That’s insane – Let’s Discuss!

I was asked coming out of the theatre if it’s as good as the original. I sadly don’t remember the experience of the first to give it as good, better, or worse. But I remember really enjoying it. I also really enjoyed the sequel. So it’s as good as the original? I’d watch it again happily, thus an 8/10 Popped score.

Samara Weaving returns as Grace Le Domas, joined now by her sister Faith MacCaullay played by Kathryn Newton. Their dynamic was a joy to explore throughout this man…woman hunt 😀 It’s in the rules and the game of Ready or Not isn’t over yet. Plenty of depth to unfold and I’ll leave it there for you all to enjoy.

This time around, the game has expanded to include families, each with its own unique style and weapon of choice for killing the MacCaully sisters. Sarah Michelle Gellar joins the cast as Ursula Danforth alongside her twin brother Titus Danforth played by Shawn Hatosy. Elijah Wood is the Danforth’s lawyer and adds so much fun to this new installment.

The jokes, executed with perfect timing, were a total hoot and are going to offer the audience a barrel of laughs and plenty of fun action to behold. Check it out this weekend or the following weekend if Project Hail Mary is taking up this weekend for most movie-going attendees.

Thanks for coming by Popped for this week’s “Reviews”. Checking out or checked out Ready of Not 2? Love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Stick around though as I was also able to check out The Pout Pout Fish that was a cute delight.

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Project Hail Mary “Review”

Release dateMarch 20, 2026 (USA)

DirectorsPhil Lord, Chris Miller

ProducersRyan Gosling, Phil Lord, Andy Weir, Chris Miller, Amy Pascal, Aditya Sood, Rachel O’Connor

ScreenplayDrew Goddard

CinematographyGreig Fraser

Running time2h 36m

Potential Oscar Nominee for 2026? Question? or Statement! 😛

Avoided the trailers/marketing or not – No spoilers coming from us here at Popped! So let’s get into it!

Waking up, alone, on a spaceship, with little to no memory – Going to be a mind-bend & lonely place. Well, welcome to the exploration phase of Project Hail Mary, as the audience enters this universe trying to understand how we all got here. Through various scenes, we’ll experience memories as they return of Dr. Grace (Played by Ryan Gosling). In what could be my favorite role of his since Ken, honestly, with no hate on Fall Guy, which I’m pretty sure I rated 8.5/9 out of 10. I quite like Ryan Gosling movies :D.

Story summed up without spoilers – Dr. Grace is being recruited to solve the riddle behind a mysterious substance that’s causing the sun to die out. Only a critique… It’s a long movie, but mainly the first hour, in my opinion. Now I watched it at midnight and let out shortly before 3am, having been up since 3:30am. Having an additional hour and 40 minutes to go, I loved it! There are so many scenes from the last hour and 40minutes I’d love to re-watch.

On a rating, I’m between an 8.5 and a weak 9/10. A repeat viewing will be in order, but honestly, the characters were what I loved most, along with the visuals. I’d love to discuss that….but that’d be revealing the magic behind the story and what’s to unfold. We had someone in the audience who had read the book. It’s identical and highly praised; they also thoroughly enjoyed it. SO, Project Hail Mary, plan to watch it? Curious? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Until next time, though. Happy Movie Going, fellow Movie-Goers – Statement! 😀

Thanks for coming by, Popped for your movie “Reviews”. Stay tuned over this weekend for Ready or Not 2 along with maybe Pout Pout Fish for a fun bonus. I’m going to get some sleep before my morning shift. Maybe tomorrow night I’ll check out Project Hail Mary once more with my wife depending on her schooling.

Couple weeks till Mario Releases 😀 So excited!

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Hoppers “Review”

Release dateMarch 6, 2026 (USA)

DirectorDaniel Chong

Running time1h 45m

MPAA ratingPG

Music composed byMark Mothersbaugh

Distributed byWalt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

What a day for Wild Robot 2 to be announced 😀 – No hate just funny timing 😀

From the intro, Mabel (Our main lead, voiced by Piper Curda) was a super loveable character. Her love for animals is shown through the interaction of her teachers and all the citizens around her in Beaverton. A beautiful, touching story with her grandmother, along with many great messages being shown and taught for all audience attendees. Hoppers was a fantastic time at the movies, a solid, great movie.

I honestly loved all the characters in this movie. From Mayor Jerry (Voiced by Jon Hamm) to King George (Voiced by Bobby Moynihan). Try spotting the character voices for many others, because looking through this list, there are a lot of big names here :D.

Without spoilers! – Mabel is protecting the animals from Mayor Jerry and his construction crew. Through some very awesome but nothing like Avatar science ways ;p. Mabel is able to communicate with the fellow animals to protect the animal world.

Hopped summed up – Super Cute :D. No kidding. I was as tired as when I watched Zootopia 2, but I managed to stay awake and enjoy this fun story! Stick around for 2 post-credits scenes. Both are fun in different ways. Before the crawl and after. Even the smallest of characters can make huge impacts 😉 hehe.

I mentioned Wild Robot from the top, due to being my 9/10 rating. Sadly, as great as Hoppers was. It didn’t quite get me in the feels like Wild Robot did. It’s a solid 8/10 from me here at Popped, but RT score sits at 95% with IMDb being 7.6. Love to know what you thought of Hoppers when you check it out this weekend at the theatre.

I appreciate you coming by Popped for your movie “reviews”, fellow movie goers 😀 Had any surprise hits yet this year, like GLHFDD was for me? Love to hear in the comments below.

I plan to watch The Bride either Saturday or Sunday, all going well. Undertone releases next Thursday, also before we get Oscars & 3 new titles – Big ones being Project Hail Mary & Ready or Not 2, Pout-Pout Fish though maybe a gem of a watch?….. well, at least the first two haha, we shall have to wait and see.

I’ll probably review Oscars this coming Saturday/Sunday, also, and post those up. As mentioned prior, the best animated section really killed my buzz for this year, but I’m rooting for Sinners for best picture. I’d be happy with OBAA also though :D.

Until next time, though, happy movie-going fellow movie-goers 😀

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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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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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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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Marty Supreme “Review”

Release date: December 25, 2025 (USA)

Director: Josh Safdie

Producers: Timothée Chalamet, Josh Safdie, Ronald Bronstein, Eli Bush, Anthony Katagas

Cinematography: Darius Khondji

Screenplay: Josh Safdie, Ronald Bronstein

Running time: 2h 29m

Marty Supreme is a great movie! – I just watch too many movies. Let’s Discuss!

Let’s split this “Review” into two parts. The shorter, to-the-point, and the longer, which may touch upon spoilers, to explain the score. Shall we begin? 😀

Non Spoiler – “Review”

Timothee Chalamet playing Marty, set in 1950’s, Marty has a dream of becoming a champion table-tennis player. Enjoy a 2 and half hour journey to see if this dream comes true. It’s a great movie. Very entertaining and filled with incredible supporting characters.

Popped score of an 8.5/10 – I thought about the 9 all the way home once the credits began to play. I went out in the SoCal rains to check this feature out based on all the high praise and buzz. It didn’t disappoint. But when comparing it to other films. It had to be a .5. Shall we discuss below?

Potential Spoiler “Review” – the .5

I’ll use a couple of titles for examples for those interested in why it didn’t get the 9/10.

Sinners – A movie that intrigues at the start. Builds at a slower pace to set the stage. In a fantastic explosion of awesome! – Reveals the final stage for a spectacular second half that’s an insanely good watch, again and again.

F1 – A movie that had me on the edge of my seat. With no interest in Formula 1. Had me hooked and totally engaged with the sport and characters. Felt like there were stakes involved. *Marty Supreme* broke that immersion when I saw characters stand still and not return the ball when other shots were far harder to make.

One Battle After Another – Being slightly longer than Marty Supreme. I didn’t feel the length of time, unlike I had with Marty. Despite there being a solid score at times. Within OBAA, that score fueled you with energy. Energizing you through multiple long scenes that went by in a flash, for being so engaged and hooked. I’ve only seen OBAA once. Within that showing, I had a couple talking the ENTIRE time. Despite that experience. I was fully engaged and locked in. Marty Supreme sadly had slowed down, which, little things within the audience did distract, pulling me out of the experience.

Challengers – A previous year movie, which was my #1. Just like this year’s F1. The momentum. Engaged energy. Music & Characters back and forth. Presented a perfect performance for me personally, which I could honestly say is maybe my 10/10 film. I haven’t seen it more than once. However, based on that one showing. I had a 10/10 experience.

Marty Supreme – Offers slightly below the levels of the aforementioned movies. It’s a great movie and totally deserves the praise it’s getting. But comparing it to, for me personally. Popped score of an 8.5/10.

Thank you all for coming by Popped for your movie “Reviews”. Read the short or longer version I appreciate you taking the time. Love to hear your thoughts on Marty Supreme in the comments below.

I loved Sinners even more the second viewing. Specially the second half with the couple not talking. I’ve yet to see ABAA a second time without people talking. I mention them as currently they are my two contenders for 2025 Movie of the Year :D.

Any ideas what yours is yet? Love to hear it in the comments. Fingers crossed, Ne Zha 2 gets a nomination at the Oscars. Based on the Golden Globes, I’m rooting for Demon Slayer! For #1 Animated movie of 2025.

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Avatar: Fire and Ash “Review”

Release date: December 19, 2025 (USA)

Director: James Cameron

Running time: 3h 17m

Budget: 400 million USD

Sequel: Avatar 4

Story by: James Cameron, Amanda Silver, Josh Friedman, Shane Salerno, Rick Jaffa

It’s the third installment, so I’ll have a short and spoilers ash “Review”

Short 8/10 “Review”

Well, I was going to link my “Review” of Avatar 2 buuuut, I started this blog after that year :S So, let’s recap quickly and get to it. Hated the first movie. Was a big hater of this series until checking out Avatar 2 in 3D. WoW! Totally won me over – LOVED IT! Would have been a 9/10 for me personally.

We’re back again with what feels like a Part 2 of the second movie with the third installment. Had a great time. Felt long but didn’t feel like 3 hours 17minutes, despite it being daylight when I went in and totally dark when I came out haha.

Would recommend checking this installment out on the big screen if you enjoyed the second movie. It’s literally that movie again, but characters have a lot to resolve from the ending of the second movie, and lots of growth to have across the 3-hour journey.

This time, I checked it out in 3D HFR. Although still not for me personally, I had to give it another try after my last attempt with the Hobbit films. Will continue to watch in 3D as the world is beautiful, and it’s the best way to experience this series on the big screen. 8/10.

Spoiler ash “Review”

Wicked Part 1 had all the songs, the story, characters, and fun times. Wicked Part 2 had to deal with the ramifications of the first movie. A darker tone/style and had to navigate what just occurred in the previous installment, while balancing the story and journey ahead with the peaks of epic that just occurred towering above expectations for the sequel.

It’s hard to obtain that feeling again. Despite having a great time. Especially the final hour. The overall feel for Avatar 3 had the second installment towering above expectations. I felt like this go-around couldn’t live up to the story being told. (Enough of that until we discuss story spoilers in the comments.)

I’m excited to see what’s to come in the 4th installment with a potential time jump once more. I loved connecting with the family in the 2nd installment, and unfortunately, as it is for the characters in this movie. Despite their growth, the ending of the previous movie did leave our characters in a darker place, which was hard to get into at the start of the movie for me personally.

Want to discuss more Avatar? See you in the comments below!

Appreciate you coming by Popped for your movie “Reviews”. As usual, don’t want to touch spoilers. Specially for a 3rd installment movie being this deep into the series you’d think you’d know if it’s for you or not. But alas some viewers do enjoy waiting to binge the lot no matter how many years that may take. 2029 & 2031 for the 4th & 5th installment. Will we get KH4 by then? We’ll have to wait and see.

Few movies left to end the year, but I’m honestly surprised by what’s not making it onto my top 10 list to end the year off. How are your lists going? Love to hear them in the comments.

Until next time, fellow moviegoers. Happy Movie Going and Happy Holidays!

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Rental Family “Review”

Release date: November 21, 2025 (USA)

Director: Hikari

Producers: Hikari, Julia Lebedev, Eddie Vaisman, Shin Yamaguchi

Languages: Japanese, English

Running time: 1h 50m

MPAA rating: PG-13

Trailer caught my interest and love seeing Brendan Fraser in new projects – JAPAN! 😀

Branden Fraser plays Phillip Vandarploeug, a struggling American actor working in Japan.

The first 30 minutes or so, I was feeling out this character and the surrounding areas of Japan. During this process, it dawned on me that I connected to the little girl in this film with her first interactions with Phillip.

Phillip finds himself being recruited by an organization called “Rental Family.” Selling people services of emotions, such as an apology service, friendship, or being their biological father, to gain acceptance into a school, etc. This was the main storyline I thought we’d be following. But it’s just a piece of a bigger interconnecting web of relationships and connections you’ll create along this story.

I was solidly in the 7’s with this title. Having a nice time exploring Japan while creating these connections. I wasn’t connecting to everyone’s story until it hit me. (The moment I mentioned earlier). I went up to 7.5 as I would honestly re-watch this movie if asked. But that ending had a beautiful bow tie and a heart-warming message/effect on me, which got it a Popped score of 8/10.

Next Wednesday, I’ll be back with another double batch, Zootopia 2 & Eternity. Before kicking off December with Fackham Hall & Five Nights at Freddy’s 2.

Thank you all for coming to Popped for your movie “Reviews”. Wicked For Good is out this weekend, so lots of good movies to enjoy with the family.

Happy movie going, fellow movie goers 😀 See you next time!

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Wicked: For Good “Review”

Release date: November 21, 2025 (USA)

Director: Jon M. Chu

Running time: 2h 17m

Adapted from: Wicked, The Wizard of OZ

MPAA rating: PG

Distributed by: Universal Pictures

This one pains me….shall we get into it? Let’s Discuss!

If you’ve been here a while, you may know I was expecting this to be in my top 10 of 2025.

Let’s review my 9s thus far, quickly. Sarah’s Oil, Christy & Soul On Fire – My most recent 9’s all hit me in the feels. Elanor, Honey Don’t & One Battle After Another – Great pacing with storytelling and impact of experience.

Top 10 list 9s – F1, Life Of Chuck & Bring Her Back – Movies that impacted their genre. Had a powerful emotional impact within me or had powerful meanings behind their storytelling that sat with me.

There’s more, but hopefully you get my point from the type of experiences I felt / had while watching these movies. Sinners, The Surfer & Last Breath included. Shoot Ne Zha 2 I still talk about to this day.

I re-watched Wicked Part 1 on Sunday. Monday, I re-watched the original Wizard of Oz. Tonight I got to see Wicked For Good. It’s not like I’m remembering part 1 from last year or some time ago. Watching Wicked, then Wicked For Good, you’d think I’d be ready and connected to all the characters…. so why did the feeling feel off for almost an hour?

The intro felt like an action movie. Felt disjointed and rough. I loved the grand sets and musical performances in part 1 so much that I’ve watched it 3 times and love it. The quality didn’t feel as grand across each musical number this time around. For some, yes. But not for quite some time.

(Stopped to re-read my Part 1 “Review”) – WoW, it had that impactful experience which can be felt in the words. Anywho. Let’s get back to Part 2.

Let’s get to the point of my concerns, shall we? The pacing felt off. Where moments could have been elaborated or enjoyed being in the moment a little more. You’re whisked away to the next scene. Next setup or attempting to contain this part 2 within a certain time to contain the remainder story.

I’d loved to have had 20-30 more minutes. Let’s chat in the comments, spoilers if you want to know where and why. Tin Man was done right, but the others. Well, you saw the majority of the lion scenes in the trailer… I’m not going to rant about the other. Solid human performance and that’s that.

Would you watch a remake of The Wizard of Oz? Because honestly, it mostly lives up still. But part 2 is going to miss a massive freaking story plot off camera! There’s room for it to be done. Maybe then Part 3? It would fix the pacing and story as a whole. But they could have just added those scenes into Part 2. It’s a real shame, but watching part 2 tonight, I kept hoping to get out of the 8’s. I’d love to re-watch this title…..but it doesn’t get a 9 for me personally, and that pains me.

Popped score of 8.5/10 for Wicked For Good…. as much as it pains me, this just felt off in too many areas. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below, and I’ll be watching out over this weekend if I’m alone or others feel like this didn’t live up to / hit the same bar as Part 1 did.

Oscars will be a hard decision in so many categories. If K-pop Demon Hunters take music? Ne Zha 2 Animated. I can see Cynthia Erivo as my best actress & Ariana Grande as Supporting Actress?

Have you started thinking of your choices yet?

With that though everyone, as this gets rather long. Thank you all for coming to Popped for your movie “Reviews”. Even when tough choices need to be made. You can rely on Popped to make those hard decisions and go off my personal viewing experiences. To give you those #’s :D. Painful or not. Hits & Misses. I’ll be doing this next year and going deeper yet.

Thank you all again! Happy Movie Going. Fellow Movie Goers :D.

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