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.

0

The Surfer “Review”

Release date: May 2, 2025 (USA)

Director: Lorcan Finnegan

Starring: Nicolas Cage; Julian McMahon; Nic Cassim; Miranda Tapsell; Alexander Bertrand; Justin Rosniak

MPAA rating: R

Running time: 1h 43m

Producers: Nicolas Cage, Leonora Darby, Robert Connolly · See more

Solid trailer got me in the theater to check this title out.

The Surfer had me mesmerized throughout. Let’s discuss 😀

Avoid spoilers at all costs, but also, if you were told what goes down in this movie. You probably wouldn’t believe them anyway. This is a good kind of bizarre and weird. The type of weird I’m happy to lose myself within for hours as I navigate the story and what’s going on.

The Surfer, staring Nicolas Cage (In what could be his best movie since 2020? I’ve missed a few since then but this is on another level) as The Surfer :p is a father taking his son to surf on an Australian beach in Cage’s childhood beach. This is until the locals “politely” let them know “Don’t live here, Don’t surf here” before you go on an adventure.

Story wise I’m leaving it here. Go explore. Try not get heat stroke and attempt to stay grounded. Reading some reviews online this is going to be very divided. Again, this is the type of weird and bizarre shit that I’ll shovel into my mouth for breakfast and be cracked out on sugar for the entire day. Loved it!

I’ll need to watch it again to connect more dots and dissect this feature but damn was it a Gooden. Buckle in for a trippy ride and either enjoy it or it seems totally hate it? No middle ground with this one. Socials have it from 45% on Fandango to 87 on RT.

For popped I’m placing this in with last years “Last Stop In Yuma County” with a 9/10 and entering my top 10 list for 2025 thus far.

Fantastic performance all around. Great pacing and tone. Loved the build up and pay offs along the way. Setups and all, loved this title. Can’t wait to watch again with others and discuss.

Speaking of which. Like to discuss this in the comments below I’d be curious your thoughts. Keep spoilers labeled and let’s have fun with it.

Thanks for coming by Popped for your movie “Reviews” and we’ll see you next batch Thursday with a couple of interesting ones all going well. Fight in Flight & Clown in the Cornfield.

1

Thunderbolts* “Review”

Release date: May 2, 2025 (USA)

Director: Jake Schreier

Running time: 2h 6m

Story by: Eric Pearson

MPAA rating: PG-13

Distributed by: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Is Marvel back or some may say are the Avengers back? If you read my Cap 4 “Review” you know my stance with current Marvel and Thunderbolts was on my list of hope… was hope for breakfast or served spoilt milk…. let’s discuss.

The quick review (Non Spoiler)

Super fun time, would watch again, stay until the very end. Want to watch again. Lots of scenes stuck with me that I’d love to hear from others their reactions and thoughts on.

Non Spoiler “Review” – Cucumber is my safe word 😀

Loved these characters, want to spend more time with them and excited to get back to the Thunderbolts* in repeat viewings / future content.

Personal stand outs, Yelena (Played by Florence Pugh) – Fantastic with the team, great character development and lots of cool scenes to explore. Red Guardian – (Played by David Harbour) Yelena’s father is so funny and love the continued development between himself and Yelena. Epic Duo loved them but there’s more. U.S Agent – (Played by Wyatt Russell) Surprisingly a hit. Coming from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier back in 2021. We have my glue between Yelena & The next person on my stand out list. Loved their introduction sequence and that brings us to Bob – (Played by Lewis Pullman) know him or not I think Bob is going to be a fan favorite. Plenty of setup to be intrigued and enough to pull back on to explore this new character randomly thrown into the mix.

MCU – The Marvel Cinematic Universe feels like it’s back. It has it’s Universe back. No longer feeling like a stand alone title. Without going into spoilers. This feels apart of the overall story and I’m ready for what’s to come.

End Credit Scene – Non Spoiler – Stay to the very end. The mid scene this time around is the fun one. Stay to the end. You wont want to miss it. Trust me 😀

What’s next to discuss? You want some more? How about some vague but crazy lines to get you intrigued but beware of potential spoilers? Then stick around to the very end. Mind you, we’ve got to give a score. With me wanting to return and watch again. I’m giving Thunderbolts* a Popped score of 8/10.

Thank you – For coming by Popped for your movie “Review” of Thunderbolts*. Planned for this week is Surfers among many random titles releasing over this weekend and next. But until then. Enjoy watching Thunderbolts* it’s a lot of fun and feels like the MCU is back. See you next batch. Let’s get Thunderbolts* to at least 80Mill opening weekend…100 would be awesome – Beating Minecraft would be juicy :D.

Potential Spoilers – Beware – Some fun little comments

DC has some competition with this team with an upcoming superhero of theirs. Who will win? Goku* VS Superman?

Marketing felt like old time Marvel marketing 😉 nice one! Let’s keep this up and not return to Captain America 4 territory.

New discussion unlocked – Who’s the real Avengerz? Or even, who’s your Avengers?

2026 gunna be a good freaking year for Marvel and I’m honestly feeling pretty good. Fab 4 has some work for me to get into. But Thunderbolts* is carrying 2025 on it’s back.

The Sound Track! :OMG I HEARD IT!

Enjoy 😀

Potential Spoilers – Beware – Some fun little comments

0

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.

0

Until Dawn “Review”

Release date: April 25, 2025 (USA)

Director: David F. Sandberg

MPAA rating: R

Running time: 1h 43m

Producers: David F. Sandberg, Gary Dauberman, Asad Qizilbash, Lotta Losten, Roy Lee, Carter Swan, Mia Maniscalco

Distributed by: Sony Pictures Releasing

Loved the video game, little silly it got remastered the next system generation rather than making a sequel. Now we have a movie based on the video game. Will a sequel movie arrive before the game?

Played the video games and interested in this feature? Or saw the trailer and wanted to check it out? Let’s discuss Until Dawn for both, then dissect which experience I’d recommend.

Clover’s sister has disappeared for a year when Clover and her friends go searching in her sisters last known area for answers. While traveling down this road they go through a wall of water that reveals a place of shelter to figure this strange situation out.

What comes next for our group of 5, is nightly resets full of terror that resets upon everyone’s death if the group doesn’t survive until dawn.

From here enter the scares? / Many dozens of villains which will differ between game to movie. For those that played the game. Stick with the game experience. This doesn’t really offer you anything new unless you’re interested in seeing a sequel setup which (From my experience) the game left pretty open ended depending on your ending unlocked.

For those interested in the trailer and never played the game. Check it out, maybe it’ll get you to play the video game which does a vastly better job at creating atmosphere, tension and the horror experience.

By throwing so many enemies at the audience it didn’t allow the film to setup each enemy to have it’s time to play and create scares. There are some surprises and cool moments but sadly when comparing to the game. It didn’t succeed in my eyes.

Not an entirely bad watch but nothing more than above average at best. Popped score for Until Dawn at a 6/10. Socials have this from 53% to 6/10 on IMBd.

Did you play or checkout the movie of Until Dawn? Love to hear your thoughts below. Did you get any easter eggs from the movie that I missed? I only played the game through once so I’m sure there’s a lot there I didn’t see but loved my playthrough over watching this feature when comparing them.

Thanks for coming to Popped for your movie “Reviews”. Stick around if you’re on the fence of Colorful Stage! The Movie:- Unless you’re already watched / locked in then maybe my “Review” isn’t for you.

0

The Accountant 2 “Review”

Release date: April 25, 2025 (USA)

Director: Gavin O’Connor

Starring: Ben Affleck; Jon Bernthal; Cynthia Addai-Robinson; Daniella Pineda; J. K. Simmons

Running time: 2h 5m

MPAA rating: R

Distributed by: Amazon MGM Studios, Warner Bros. Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

How’s this getting lower scores than The Legend of Ochi! Something smells off here. The Legend of stolen Sneaks got flipped with Accountant 2 while Ochi got flipped with Sneaks 😀

Been a minute since the first title but this started and ended with the same energy as the first. Thoroughly enjoyed this feature. Loved the chemistry between Ben Affleck & Jon Bernthal. Brothers to the end :D.

Not going to dive into this story. It’s literally the movies adventure to discover. So sit back and enjoy. Don’t miss the beginning as it sets up all the adventure.

Heard this is apart of a trilogy and I’m ready for what’s to come. No post credit scene so feel free to leave straight after the title ends. Loved how this continued development from characters in the first installment.

Only critique is some scenes felt a little long but added to character growth / setup for fun scenes shortly to come from them :D.

More substance than action movies like A Working Man. Some material can be heavy for some audiences so be prepared for that. It had me on the edge of my seat along with many others when looking around the theatre.

Was hovering around an 8 to 8.5 but going to place The Accountant 2 at a 8/10 great watch. May watch again. For sure would revisit if watching this as a trilogy. Socials are giving this from 7.3/10 on IMBd to 92% on Fandango.

Thanks for coming by Popped for your movie “Reviews”. More to come tomorrow as I catch up with Until Dawn & A Miku Who Can’t Sing. Didn’t check it out at first thinking it was a concert. Found out it’s an actual movie. Stay tuned for tomorrow on that :D.

0

The Legend Of Ochi “Review”

Release date: April 18, 2025 (USA)

Director: Isaiah Saxon

MPAA rating: PG

Running time: 1h 35m

Cinematography: Evan Prosofsky

Distributed by: A24

A24 is back at it again with another title. Is this being praised by fans or are movie goers actually enjoying this? I’d love to know if this is a Joker 2 situation or am I completely out of touch these days liking Sneaks and ….. Let’s get into it 😉

The trailer didn’t interest me but I have a mission to 100 so checked out Legend of Ochi.

With a dark intro into this world of Ochi and the gang of young boys lead by Willem Dafoe (Playing Maxim) going against this “Evil?” creature I was optimistic! That was short lived. Not going to harp on a young actor. The main lead Yuri (Played by Helena Zengel) seemed to have her dialogue out of sync with her lip sync. In addition to her character being annoying.

The story and hope for Ochi and his clan was what got me…..sadly (Some Minor Spoilers?) You don’t get to see them much compared to the humans….

Our human group Maxim and his son Petro (Played by Finn Wolfhard) along with daughter Yuri among the many boys of this village are hunting / defending the village from these creatures. Maybe I missed the why behind Maxim’s motives but I had enjoyment / investment into these human characters. I wanted to see Ochi and the story behind them all.

My comparison or reference is going to see Gremlins and having their story forgotten about or not written in for the sake of this humans and their journey.

For my personally this missed massively where I wouldn’t even stream it or at least watch the beginning scene and ending 15/20 mins. The remainder was a slog. I looked up how long this feature was. 1 Hour and 35minutes. I felt like this was longer than 2 hours. People were shocked I liked Sneaks. :O If you liked Ochi more than Sneaks or even liked Ochi and didn’t watch Sneaks. I’ve lost it 😀

The Legend of Ochi felt like a waste of time that offered me nothing. I could do a spoiler “Review” if interested and the further reasons why I didn’t like this title. I came for the legend and got a hunt to extinct Ochi. 2.5/10 Popped score on this one. Going to bump Cap 4 up as it doesn’t belong in it’s placement currently. Ochi is going down in my bottom 5 list of 2025 thus far.

Maybe a little harsh but compare this with Sneaks. Let me know what you preferred and I’d be curious to see if I’m out of touch with the general viewing audience or if we have a Joker 2 situation occurring with A24 fans here.

IMBd had this title at 6.2/10 up to RT score of 80%.

Thanks for coming by Popped for your movie “Reviews” stay tuned right after this for The Accountant 2 “Review” :D.

1

Sinners “Review”

Initial release: April 18, 2025

Director: Ryan Coogler

Running time: 2h 17m

MPAA rating: R

Budget: 90 million USD

Producers: Ryan Coogler, Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian

Kudos to Ryan Coogler on creating a trailer that teases what’s to come in this title while also not showing his hand like a few other movies we’ve had this year and prior.

If you know me you’ll know I like to speak code. So let’s speak code on this one to keep those cards sealed and in hand so your enjoyment of this title can be at its fullest.

The time period is 1932 and twin brothers Smoke & Stack being played by the incredible Michael B. Jordan return from Mississippi Delta after years of being away working in Chicago for Al Capone.

Using their $ they purchase a sawmill to start up their new business, a juke joint for the local black community. Their cousin Sammie is introduced as an aspiring guitarist, joining them despite opposition from his pastor father who warns that blues music is supernatural….

Now if you know, you know, and if you don’t, then avoid the trailer and go in blind for a pretty big reveal of this movie and why people are speaking so highly of it. The majority of this title is taking place over a period of a day leading to the events that start this movie with a whammy. (Don’t miss the intro scene, turn up on time).

I thoroughly enjoyed the build up and journey of these characters as the trailer reveals but that alone is a solid good watching experience. Then the aftermath and what comes next is what I’d watch this title again for. Despite how good the setup was. It’s what keeps this going into the 9 tier but sits solidly at 8.5 drawing this title out a little long but totally worth going out and watching this feature at least once.

I just watched this yesterday and looks like my wife wants to check it out today so I’ll be going back already, haha. Socials has this from a 8.2 to 98% so people are thoroughly enjoying Sinners.

Without going into spoilers. You may hear buzz about hope for a sequel. Stick around slightly longer during the credits. You’ll see why. Sinners will display and you can walk out the theatre then but you’ll know when it’s time to leave. Wanting more blues, stick around to the very end for that last scene but nothing story related if you want to save 5minutes.

For those that watched the trailer – Non Spoiler – After Second Watch

Just got out from second watch, OMG it’s incredible. Loved the pacing during second viewing. Go to bathroom before you get to the club otherwise you’re almost locked in or miss some of the best scenes. Music was insanely good and all the characters and actors do incredible! Maybe due to a couple chatting next to me in my first viewing but loved loved loved this second watch. My wife even gave the movie a 10/10 so bumping it to 9/10 and placing it on my top 10 list.

Enjoy 😀

Thanks for coming to Popped for your movie “Reviews”. Did you enjoy Sinners? Want to discuss what could come next? Then let us know in the comments below.

Coming up this week we have The Accountant 2, Legend of Ochi & Until Dawn “Reviews”. Would anyone be interested in me “Reviewing” Cheech & Chong’s Last Movie or randomly On Swift Horses?

2

The Wedding Banquet “Review”

Release date: April 18, 2025 (USA)

Director: Andrew Ahn

Story by: Ang Lee, James Schamus, Neil Peng

Running time: 1h 43m

Screenplay: Andrew Ahn, James Schamus

Distributed by: Bleecker Street, Universal Pictures

Super cute trailer got me curious for a fun comedy at the movies. After all the action we’ve had this spring.

The Wedding Banquet focuses the story around 2 gay couples that are best friends. Lee & Angela (Played by Lily Gladstone & Kelly Marie Tran) are attempting to have a child through IVF and Min & Chris (Played by Han Gi-chan & Bowen Yang) having their own set of relationship and personal troubles.

The first hour until we get nearer to the trailer segments was a little long setting up our characters and getting to know them. I didn’t personally find a connection with them until the stories started to intertwine. Min proposes a green card marriage with one of his friends as his grandmother is threatening to return him to Korea due to his visa expiring.

I loved the character of the grandmother Ja-Young (Played by Youn Yuh-jung) as she has her own journey and development. Angela’s mother is also a fun addition May Chen (Played by Joan Chen).

Loved the Kingdom Hearts shout out which may bring this rating up haha but honestly it was fun and a good watch even with the slow burn. Popped scoring of a fine to good but personally I’d settle with a 6.5/10 for The Wedding Banquet.

Enjoy the character journeys, personal growth and fun times ahead, specially in the second half.

Thanks for coming to Popped for your movie “Review” of the Wedding Banquet. I’ve heard from others I’m definitely alone on my enjoyment of Sneaks, so I’m curious if this is another hit or miss with movie going watchers. IMBd has this title at a 6.7 along with Metacritic. RT is sitting strong with 88%.

Stick around for the next “Review” Sinners.

0

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.

0

A WordPress.com Website.

Up ↑