Tag: film

Tron: Ares “Review”

Release date: October 10, 2025 (USA)

Director: Joachim Rønning

Music composed by: Nine Inch Nails

MPAA rating: PG-13

Producers: Jared Leto, Steven Lisberger, Emma Ludbrook, Sean Bailey, Justin Springer, Jeffrey Silver

Running time: 1h 59m

What an interesting release window right after Sora 2 for a discussion on AI within Tron

Maybe you’re against AI, with it, or indifferent to the sides of good use and bad use. Here comes Tron Ares to continue a franchise, in honesty, the perfect moment in time with releases like Sora 2 in the real world.

Seen the original Tron and/or the sequel Tron Legacy? There are some fun easter eggs set up, and within Ares, which… yeah, you guessed it :D, which they’ve set up for another sequel within a mid-credit scene shortly after the credits begin.

So what’s going on with Tron Ares? Well, playing Ares is Jared Leto (whether you hate him or not in Mobius or other works similar to that, his style of acting actually works for this character within Tron). He plays a programme within the digital world as the top-ranking key to protecting the grid. Eve Kim (Played by Greta Lee) & Julian Dillinger (Played by Evan Peters, (Which I love :D)) are two opposing leaders wanting to use this technology in vastly different ways. One wants to sell AI to the military with the ultimate AI cybersecurity. The other wants to use this for good and cure world hunger, cancers, drugs, etc.

Nine Inch Nails is doing the soundtrack for this feature and honestly is the strongest stand out. I missed it when it’s not playing as the movie felt a little long and a smidge boring waiting for the next epic scene when the music kicks in. It’s a fun popcorn movie.

It’s not getting the greatest reviews from IMDb, IGN & Rotten Tomatoes to average to okay scorings which means I’m at the higher tier giving a Popped score to Tron Ares of 7/10 good one time watch with a .5 going to the soundtrack which was awesome and I may even be okay watching again because I know I’ll love those scenes with it in.

Going to check out Tron Ares this weekend? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. However, until next time, I appreciate you coming by Popped for your movie “Reviews” and the next batch to arrive will be Roof Man & Kiss of a Spiderwoman.

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The Smashing Machine “Review”

Release date: October 3, 2025 (USA)

Director: Benny Safdie

Producers: Dwayne Johnson, Benny Safdie, Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia, Eli Bush, David Koplan

Production companies: A24, Seven Bucks Productions, Out for the Count

MPAA rating: R

Running time: 2h 3m

Was back & forth on watching this after seeing some reviews but… I’m glad I check it out :D.

The Smashing Machine focuses on MMA fighter Mark Kerr during 1997 to 2000 as his career is going exceptionally well however, his personal life is having extreme hardships.

Mark Kerr (Played by Dwayne Johnson) & his wife Dawn Staples (Played by Emily Blunt) are solid actors. However it’s hard to watch their struggles with how uncomfortable their dynamic is. Props to them both being able to act in those bubbles. Mark Kerr’s mentor, trainer and best friend Mark Coleman (Played by Ryan Bader) is also a pioneer of this sport along with Kerr which was awesome seeing some history that kicked off what we know MMA as today.

No bashing or discredit to Dwayne Johnson – I wish his contract would allow losses. Without spoilers or anything, just speaking on his contract and the disservices it does to a movie. Not being able to lose a fight really puts a damper on what could be an awesome comeback story. (Again, not speaking on or for this movie. Just the fact that his contracts are not allowing this.) It creates a no-stakes lack of involvement when it comes to whether there’s a win / lose or close call.

I saw some mid to bad reviews on this title and to be honest it put me off watching the movie. As mentioned at the top. I’m glad I watched it. It’s nothing Oscar worthy. But if you’re into a good story a lesson in history and learning about Mark Kerr and his past. This is a good solid watch. I wouldn’t be opposed to watching it again even. But it’s not walk out bad. It’s not even bad. It’s just a good solid movie and for sure worth watching.

Popped score of 7.5 a weak 8/10 – Good solid movie worth checking out. Great performances and an entertaining story. Did you check it out or on the fence? Let us know in the comments.

P.S – Loved that this movie also took place in Japan 😀 Love Japan, made me want to go back even more!

Thanks for coming by fellow movie goers to Popped for your movie “Reviews”. Anything I missed that I need to catch up on before we dive fully into October batches of movies?

Next up will be Tron 3 followed by Roofman later in the week 😀 Super excited for Roofman and Good Fortune.

Until next batch, though, happy movie going!

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Bone Lake “Review”

Release date: October 3, 2025 (USA)

Director: Mercedes Bryce Morgan

MPAA rating: R

Running time: 1h 34m

Distributed by: Bleecker Street

Production company: LD Entertainment

For a title that came out of nowhere – This was an experience 😀 Let’s Discuss!

Bone Lake starts and end strong. Doesn’t hold back on its R rating and is very expressive with it’s storytelling and adult material. This isn’t for you if you’re not into heavy adult material & gore as it’s jam packed.

Think Barbarian meets Ready or Not. Bone Lake takes two couples booking the same Airbnb on this beautiful lake that just so happens to have a ton of skulls lying at the bottom of it…supposedly…

There’s plenty of intrigue and mystery with solid casting. Sage & Diego (Played by Maddie Hasson & Marco Pigossi) are our first focus couple after the solid hook of an intro. Cin & Will ( Played by Andra Nechita & Alex Roe) are our double booked Airbnb couple that joins us moments later.

How will this affect their stay? Well, without getting into spoilers, but casting an overall plot. Bone Lake is a movie to test your relationship. Testing the trust between couples & against temptations. Will the mystery of their stay be able to stand the test that’s to come their way?

Solid movie which I look forward to re-watching with my wife. Popped score of 8/10. Pleasantly surprised to see it come from nowhere and looking forward to another Bleecker Street movie to come in December – Fackham Hall.

Thanks for coming by Popped for your movie “Reviews”. Posting this one a little late but should finish this weeks batch on Monday with The Smashing Machine :D.

Let me know what you think of Bone Lake in the comments or if you plan to check it out.

Until next time, though, happy movie-going going everyone.

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Good Boy “Review”

Release date: October 3, 2025 (USA)

Director: Ben Leonberg

Language: English

MPAA rating: PG-13

Genre: Horror

Running time: 1h 13m

Poster had me, hearing it’s from the perspective of Indy, this dog had me intrigued. Let’s discuss shall we.

Stick around for after the movie ends, there’s a behind the scenes with the director and his dog Indy. We find out that Indy didn’t even know they were in a movie and it’s pretty cool the difference between movie scenes and the behind the scenes footage.

Todd (Played by Shane Jensen) has something going on, potentially health risk. He moves into his grand fathers haunted house where he lived prior to passing along with his own dog.

Within this hour and 13-minute movie, you’ll have a good horror movie. Filled with scares and uncomfortable scenes that Indy does an incredible job at, along with the directing of the scenes. (There’s a film style they used (Which I forgot) to play off the audience’s own viewing experience to fill the movement and meanings of how the characters are feeling/portraying.)

I was between a 7 and a 7.5 throughout this feature. Ultimately, going to give a Popped scoring of 7.5 for the story told. There’s potential to rewatch to connect dots, but also to watch along with others’ first viewing. This was a good horror movie done with a unique style that isn’t used often. It’s a mixture of the dog’s POV along with regular movie shots, focusing mostly on the point of view of Indy from outside the eye and within.

Thank you all for coming by Popped for your movie “Reviews” I’ll be back over the weekend with 2 more movies released this week Bone Lake & The Smashing Machine.

However, until next time – It’s time for Critical Role Campaign 4 to start 😀 and also, happy movie-going fellow movie goers :D.

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Eleanor the Great “Review”

Release date: September 26, 2025 (USA)

Director: Scarlett Johansson

Producers: Scarlett Johansson, Keenan Flynn, Jessamine Burgum · See more

Production companies: Wayfarer Studios, These Pictures, Pinky Promise, Dauphin Films, Maven Screen Media

Executive producers: Justin Baldoni, Steve Sarowitz, Jamey Heath · See more

Running time: 1h 38m

loved June Squibb in Thelma and had heard this was maybe Oscar-worthy, let’s discuss!

Eleanor spends 70 odd years with her best friend Bessie, who’s a holocaust survivor. After setting us up with a beautiful connection the film moves Eleanor to New York City to live with her grandson and daughter. Here Eleanor is alone and without a friend which her daughter sets Eleanor up in a group activity putting her on a path to finding new friendship and connection within a holocaust survivor support group.

I’ll leave story points to the above and let you experience and pulled back the veil of story that’s to be told. Through deep connections, personal stories that could very well be based on true events. This film will take you on a ride that could vary your experience depending on those connections.

The friendship that blooms between Eleanor (Played by June Squibb) & Nina (Played by Erin Kellyman) is a total joy. I also very much loved the performance of Bessie (Played by Rita Zohar), which could be in my supporting actress nominee for the 2025 Oscars.

Within this hour and 38 minute feature you’ll experience and learn about handling loss, grief and how to build connection when feeling alone.

Popped scoring of 8.5/9 out of 10. A feature I very much enjoyed, loved spending time with these characters.

Campaign 4 of Critical Role starts soonish so going to rapid fire this weeks batch. Thank you all for coming by Popped for your movie “Reviews”. Stay tuned for Anemone & Good Boy coming up next :D.

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One Battle After Another “Review”

Release date: September 26, 2025 (USA)

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

Running time: 2h 50m

MPAA rating: R

Cinematography: Paul Thomas Anderson, Michael Bauman

Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures

Intriguing trailer and lots of pre buzz about potential Oscar nominee – Had to check this out 😀

It’s interesting sitting down to right this as to where to start. Looking at the overview from googles search page it’s skipping the beginning of the movie which really gets going fast. Despite personally being the weakest point of the film for me. It does an incredible job setting up the entire movie. For an almost 3 hour long movie. Adding 10 minutes to fully establish / show how the connection was started between General Lockjaw (Played by Sean Penn) & the mother Perfidia Beverly Hills (Played by Teyana Taylor) would have been nice (Unless I totally missed it) (Carveat for this entire “Review” I had people talking 8 seats away from me the ENTIRE movie).

The “intro” or opening of this movie (Which felt like 3 movies in 1 without going into spoilers) had 2 timelines it felt like co-existing as they told this story of resistance and battle against the system (Without getting political within a political movie 😀 – It’s almost showing us the timeline that could occur with the current direction of America). Leonardo DiCaprio playing Bob Ferguson is later forced into a scenario where he single dad raises his daughter Willa (Played by Chase Infiniti).

You know me here at Popped I don’t like getting into spoilers so I’ll keep this groundings here to set the scene and with that One Battle After Another plays out constantly reflecting on the intros story and plagued by those decisions chasing them forth throughout the almost 3 hour long film.

Now I’ve mentioned it twice about this movie being so long, for a crucial point. To me personally, on top of the people constantly talking. Didn’t feel like 3 hours. It’s longer than Nezha 2 and still didn’t feel as long as that. Some scenes lasted more than 30 minutes but felt like mere minutes. Thanks to personally my opinion to the incredible music score. If there’s a category I’d nominate this movie for, would be that score. It impacted the scenes on an entirely different level which without it would have lost some oomph to what’s playing out on screen.

The last hour went by so quick but I honestly loved it. Great characters and impactful touching story. Wish I’d seen / saw the origins of that connection at the start but with how well crafted the entire remaining movie was. It made sense it felt complete and still played off that setup which was so crucial in driving that feeling throughout the movie.

Popped scoring of 9/10. I almost gave it 8.5 but thought of Sinners and put it down to the talking by me. I actually got up and moved seats because of them which ticked me off but I was so into the movie I didn’t want to leave. Going onto my top 10 list of 2025 which means something is getting taken off 😦 which would be Americana. This next 9/10 for 2025 is going to be tough as this is really shaping up my 9s to my 9.5 and maybe even 10 :O. INSANE! But I love movies and I hope you continue to enjoy watching them also.

Appreciate you all coming by Popped for your movie “Reviews”. Let me know what you felt of One Battle After Another in the comments below. I was going to checkout Gabby’s Dollhouse for a joke but decided against it. Still to come later in the week is Elanor the Great.

Next batch will be pretty big next week, we have 3 movies dropping Good Boy, Anemone & The Smashing Machine to kick off October. See you in spooky season :D.

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Xeno “Review”

Release date: September 19, 2025 (USA)

Director: Matthew Loren Oates

Producers: Kevin Hart, Matthew Loren Oates, Shana Marie, Jesse Jensen, Luke Kelly-Clyne, Bryan Smiley, Rameez Khan

Production companies: The Henson Company, Tabooma, HartBeat Productions

Running time: 1h 43m

MPAA rating: PG-13

Rare opportunity to watch a movie based on the poster and nothing else… how was it?

WoW what an interesting experience. Looking at the RT scores so far only critics have there rating up which is crazy considering the polarizing contrast to Him’s rating.

Alien crashed down to earth in a rather dark opening for a PG-13 movie. Some of the films elements really pushed this rating. In England there’s a 15 rating which this movie got close to but kept within PG-13. Our main character Renee (Played by Lulu Wilson) is from an extremely toxic environment and family. Her only friends being that of her reptile friends mainly her pet snake.

Linda her mother (Played by Wrenn Schmidt) and mothers boyfriend Chase (Played by Paul Schneider) are not a supportive loving family what so ever. Chase is a dead beat drunken A-Hole of a person while Linda has not delt with the passing of her husband and stays with Chase as he makes her feel needed.

Unlike the chemistry of Big Bold Beautiful Journey, Xeno actually creates a touching story between Xeno & Renee. I didn’t cry but my feelings were for sure going within the last 30 minutes. Stick around for a mid credit scene by the way for a potential sequel 😉 :D.

For those watching Xeno with little ones. Maybe get ready for some dark / adultescent conversations afterwards. From dark matters within the home. To current situations within America when it comes to loved ones and the government. This movie touches upon a lot of subjects that may strike an emotional cord within you.

For the most past the movie was fine to good. But that last 30minutes really sealed in the 7 rating touching on some 7.5 aspects of emotional feelings and connection to the characters. Theirs growth and plenty of lore to peel back within a potential sequel. Kevin Hart was one of several producers along with his production company being apart of this title. So maybe give support if you enjoyed and see if there’s more to come from this property.

Thanks for coming by Popped for your movie “Reviews” :D. Appreciate you taking the time and hopefully excited or intrigued to see what comes next week with One Battle After Another. I’ve been hearing a potential award winner? We shall have to wait and see :D.

Until next batch though fellow movie goers, happy movie watching 😀

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Him “Review”

Release date: September 19, 2025 (USA)

Director: Justin Tipping

MPAA rating: R

Producers: Jordan Peele, Ian Cooper, Win Rosenfeld, Jamal M. Watson

Screenplay: Justin Tipping, Skip Bronkie, Zachary Akers

Production company: Monkeypaw Productions

Oof! This movie is getting hit hard, maybe there’s an enjoyable movie in Him…..for some?

Let’s work backwards. Then forth once more :D. Popped Score of 7/10 a weak but good watch movie. My wife literally broke this movie down on the way home saying she loved it and would re-watch it placing it in the 8’s for Popped. Online it’s getting hit with 29% to 60% for critics / audience. So what gives?

Him is a Horror? Thriller? Movie based around American Football. Cameron Cade (Played by Tyriq Withers) has been raised up on worshiping his dads/families team the San Antonio Saviers and their goat of a quarterback Isaiah White (Played by Marlon Wayans).

From his childhood to now up and comer Cameron has dedicated himself to being the Goat of the Saviers. Taking the opportunity to be trained by Isaiah White in his unfortunate forced retirement due to injury.

The trailer shows a lot of this training and despite that still offers a lot of unseen content from the second half and end of the movie. Here at Popped I wont go into spoilers. However I may touch on something that may help your experience in the below section….maybe? Which is why I gave the score on top if you’d like to give this movie a try or wait for streaming.

Wrap up Prior to “Possible” Spoiler Talk

Before we dive in deeper, wanted to say and give my appreciation to those that come by and check out Popped “Reviews”. I watch a lot of movies and sometimes come away with very different experiences to others. But hey, that’s why I love movies. We can watch the same thing and have totally different experiences and that’s a wonderful thing that movies offer in their experiences.

Giving Him a try this weekend or not, thank you very much for your time and would love to know your most marmite / vegemite movie going experience in the comments below :D. Joker 2 sticks out to me 😀

Possible Spoiler Talk

I came away from the ending having watched a dark story of American Football and the dangers that can and do occur with the game. It offers twisted horror elements and physiological imagery that creates moments of disturbed displeasure but nothing like the Conjuring with jump scares horror. It’s within the imagery and the deeper layers that this movie tells its story.

My wife came away dissecting all the layers of the movie through Theology. So much religion and messages from the working man to the 1% was dived upon within this film. Seriously I told her to make a review herself as it was such an interesting experience I didn’t have.

So maybe get into your psyche and think of depictions and meanings behind the characters and what’s being displayed on the screen. Lots of Greek nods. She never re-watches movies so to hear she would for this and the depth that the creator put so much attention into this movie was insane the divide it’s having with audience viewers. But hey, as mentioned above, that’s the beauty of the movie going experience.

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A Big Bold Beautiful Journey “Review”

Release date: September 19, 2025 (USA)

Director: Kogonada

Screenplay: Seth Reiss

MPAA rating: R

Running time: 2h 19m

Producers: Seth Reiss, Youree Henley, Ryan Friedkin, Dan Friedkin, Bradley Thomas

Well, that was a Journey…. Let’s Discuss!

The movie opens up with David (Played by Colin Farrell) going to a Car Rental Agency and heading off to a wedding where he comes across Margot Robbie’s character Sarah. The Wes Anderson style oddness to the Car Rental Agency was fascinating and a storyline I was very intrigued by. This meeting between David & Sarah was very much the opposite for me personally.

Separately, the characters were interesting. Had lots of depth and layers to explore when their big bold beautiful journey begins and plays out. Sadly for me, I couldn’t get behind their chemistry. The relationship felt forced and I didn’t connect to them in this way.

Played within the trailer, the school scene was where I begun to enjoy both the movie and this relationship. But sadly the movie only had a few moments for me that had this impact of enjoyment. Often times I was left waiting for something to happen and to be past the silent awkwardness of the scene.

It’s a journey. The journey will take you through moments of their lives which was a worthy watch. Just wish the relationship part could be removed and shorten this movie down by 30 minutes. But hey that’s just my feelings and thoughts. How about yourself? Did this journey feel big bold & beautiful? Let me know in the comments.

With that being said, giving this feature a Popped score of 5.5. A barely above average movie with some okay fine moments but overall, probably something to stream and enjoy at home. Cinematography was nice. Had some moments of La La Land even but otherwise….it’s a movie.

Not the best week for movies as we jump into the next feature of this weeks batch. Him. Something that’s going to be very polarizing for sure. Marmite or Vegemite comes to mind :D.

Thanks for coming by and taking the time to visit Popped for your movie “Reviews”. After Him will be Xeno, a movie I’ve seen no trailer for and only a movie poster 😛 oh boy! haha.

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Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba The Movie: Infinity Castle “Review”

Release date: September 12, 2025 (USA)

Director: Haruo Sotozaki

Running time: 2h 35m

Language: Japanese

Film series: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba

MPAA rating: R

Loved this movie but there’s a but 😀 Let’s discuss shall we – Mostly in spoiler section!

We’re entering the final battle of this series so I wont go into what this movie is about. If you’re jumping in here……go watch the series and come back in the potentially 2 year gap before part 2 of this 3 part movie trilogy. YEA! 2029 could be when this conclusion wraps up. I think a whole bunch of people will be checking out this manga in that time span. (It’s very short series) Which is insane it’ll take so long.

I’ll save my rant in the spoiler section about that last comment above.

Let’s discuss non spoiler quick and then elaborate. By the by, speaking with my wife. We are two different fans of this property which I’m sure will be a challenge for the creator to please us both in the next 2 parts….. love to hear your thoughts on that one.

What I enjoyed!

Loved the action scenes, the quality of the imagery & the epic music! The film finished & started extremely strong. I’m pumped for the second part and may even re-read the manga once more.

What I didn’t enjoy!

The move felt long due to a foot on & off the pedal / gas pacing. From memory of watching this feature. All the scenes that weren’t present within the battle / (Spoiler) were in TV quality it felt like over the quality that was being shown during the battles. It did feel off and the cut to black felt like this is where the “episode” ended before continuing.

Why there’s a rant?

Because I love this series and I thoroughly enjoyed a lot of this movie. But the elephant in the room for me personally. Nezha 2. It’s my #1 animated movie for this year. I want Demon Slayer to destroy it or at least be held on that level…… for my personally. Due to spoiler talk. It just misses it. I’d love an edited version that shortens the movie and keeps to the battles / ending. But then that’s where my wife’s & I’s experience differ.

Shall we transition!

This is the final battle. It’s a trilogy of movies to finish this franchise. If you’re watching this movie. You most likely know what you’re getting into. Or have friends / family that have clued you in so you can enjoy this movie without or with little confusion.

So with that said and before we jump into spoilers. I’m giving the Infinity Castle Demon Slayer movie a very strong great 8.5/10 which I’d love to have had been a 9. Maybe it’s a 9 and Nezha 2 a 9.5 but seriously let’s get into why.

Wrap before the spoiler talk

Appreciate you for taking the time to come by Popped for your movie “Reviews”. This is an interesting one to discuss. With it being the finale of a series rather than a stand alone movie or earlier part of a series like the first movie which felt perfect as apart of the series while also stand alone.

Lots to discuss further more within the spoiler talk that not even I mentioned. So if you’re interested. I’d love to hear from you in the comments or soon to be our specific social media pages that I’ll eventually create by year 3 of this platform haha.

Until next time though – Happy movie going everyone ❤

Spoiler Talk

The battles were freaking awesome. The music and scores could rival that of KPop Demon Hunter which are Oscar worthy. But every time the battle got going you’d be taken out of the moment to have flash backs. You’ll have a recap or moment to build up and explain how we’re going to have the ability to defeat or fight further the opponent in front of us. (Reading the manga felt very quick and maybe it works in this media) But the movie having this took me out of the experience constantly in those first 2 fights.

Now with this said, this was my personal experience. My wife loved those parts while not enjoying the backstory of the last fight which I personally loved and hope it executed in the next feature in part 2.

Which brings me to the potential 2 year gap between sequels. I read it’s to improve the quality of the film….So why did those flash backs feel like quality TV episodes rather than feel like the movie playing around it? I hope this is what they mean by improving the quality but who’s to know other than the creators.

That ending had me hyped as it lead perfectly into the second part. I’m ready for more. I’ll have to re-watch the movie once more and see if that 8.5 gets to a 9. (Sinners did it but mainly due to a couple next to me talking).

Love to hear your thoughts in the comments on your experience. The movie was epic! Let’s agree there. But did you find it long due to reasons mentioned above? Did you get taken out of the fights due to the same reasons or another? Let me know below. I’m personally hoping part 2 is like the last fight. Nezha 2 had an incredible last 40 minutes that offered so much emotion while feeling epic and connected. For those that watched it and get what I mean let me know your thoughts also on the two experiences.

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