Movie: Ballerina (2025) Caution Spoiler Alert

 

Ballerina

Came out; 2025

Time; 2 hours 4 Minutes

Watched: Amazon

Rated: R for strong/bloody violence throughout and language

IMDB Rating; 6.9/10

Rotten Tomatoes:

Tomato Meter 76%

Popcorn Meter 92%

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring.

Ana de Armas as Eve

Keanu Reeves as John Wick

Ian McShane as Winston

Anjelica Huston as The Director

Gabriel Byrne as The Chancellor

Norman Reedus as Daniel Pine

Lance Reddick as Charon

Story Line.

A young woman remembers the time when as a little girl she witnessed her father getting killed by cult members. She is then adopted by a society of assassins and trained for many years to become a ballerina, body guard and assassin. She performs well in all these activities to the satisfaction of her superiors. Her heart however is made up to seek vengeance against the killers of her father. Despite being warned not to take up this dangerous mission she goes ahead and single handedly wages war against them.

Thoughts:

As with every John Wick movie after #1, there was too much middle. They tried to put too much in a short amount of time.

This movie started strong with the backstory. It stayed strong until about the middle.

The casting and the story line was great, the action was on point, and it all tied into the John Wick series

All in all, it was a decent movie

CAUTION; Spoiler Alert

Eve Macarro is the daughter of assassins Javier of the Ruska Roma crime syndicate and his Cultist wife. As a child, Eve was taken away from the Cult by Javier, which led to the death of her mother. To retrieve Eve, the Cult and its Chancellor raid their home; Javier dies as he helps Eve escape. New York Continental manager Winston Scott brings Eve to the Ruska Roma, an assassins society under the cover of performance dancers, where she meets their Director and agrees to enlist.

Over the next 12 years, Eve trains as a ballerina, assassin, and bodyguard. She briefly meets John Wick during his visit with the Director,[c] and he hints at an escape from the cycle. However, Eve completes her training by killing a former Ruska Roma member and earns the title of "Kikimora". On her first mission, Eve successfully protects her first ward.

While on a mission two months later, Eve is attacked by and kills a Cultist. Seeking revenge, she asks the Director about the Cult but is forbidden from pursuing them due to a longstanding truce between the Cult and the Ruska Roma.

Eve disobeys the Director and visits the New York Continental to meet Winston. Winston reveals that one Cultist, Daniel Pine, is staying at the Prague Continental with a large bounty on his life. Eve travels there and infiltrates Pine's room; she discovers Pine is hiding his daughter Ella from the Cult. Cult member Lena increases the bounty on Pine, causing several assassins to descend upon Pine's hotel room. Pine entrusts Ella to Eve, promising to give her information on the Cult later. As they exit the hotel, Cultist Dex shoots Pine, while Lena incapacitates Eve and kidnaps Ella. The Continental staff execute two captured assassins for their attack but spare Eve after determining she did not break any Continental rules.[d]

Eve attempts to purchase weapons from arms dealer Frank, but the Cult attacks his shop. After Eve kills the assailants, Frank helps her narrow down the location of the Cult's base in Hallstatt, Austria. As Eve enters the town, she quickly comes under attack by its inhabitants, all of whom are Cultists. Eve is eventually captured and brought to the Chancellor. He reveals the Cult is a refuge for former assassins and that Pine is his son and Ella his granddaughter. Eve breaks free before being cornered by Lena, who reveals she is her older sister. Lena says Javier abandoned her during his escape as he feared that the Cult had already indoctrinated her. The Chancellor then orders their deaths; Lena is killed, but Eve manages to escape.

The Chancellor calls the Director to declare war on the Ruska Roma. The Director explains that Eve went rogue and appeases the Chancellor by hiring John Wick to eliminate her. John arrives at Hallstatt, where he finds and quickly defeats Eve, but implores her to abandon her pursuit. Eve pleads for her revenge, prompting a sympathetic John to give her until midnight to kill the Chancellor. Eve resumes fighting the Cult while John assists her from a distance, killing Dex and several other Cultists. The Chancellor attempts to flee with Ella, but Eve corners them. The Chancellor attempts to reason with Eve, but she executes him and rescues Ella. John informs the Director of the Chancellor's demise, which she accepts.

Ella is reunited with a recovering Pine at the Prague Continental. Eve seeks refuge at the New York Continental, having left the Ruska Roma, and is warned by Winston that the surviving members of the Cult will seek revenge against her. While attending a ballet performance by her friend Tatiana, Eve learns of a $5 million bounty on her head, and she leaves the theater.

Movie: Straw (2025) Caution Spoiler Alert

 

Straw

Came out; 2025

Time; 1 hours 45 Minutes

Watched: Max

Rated: TV-MA

IMDB Rating; 6.5/10

Rotten Tomatoes:

Tomato Meter 55%

Popcorn Meter 70%

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring;

Taraji P Henson as Janiyah Wiltkinson

Sherri Shepherd as Nicole

Teyana Taylor as Detective Kay Raymound

Sinbad as Benny

Rockmond Dunbar as Chief Wilson

Ashley Versher as Tessa George

Mike Merrill as Detective Grimes

Glynn Turman as Richard

Shalet Monique as Rayah Dunnam

Diva Tyler as Isabella

Story Line;

A single mother navigates a series of unfortunate events, leading her down an unforeseen path where she becomes embroiled in a situation she never envisioned, finding herself at the center of suspicion in an indifferent world.

Thoughts:

Holy shit, why did I put off watching this for so long?! This was amazing

It was raw, emotional and extremely relatable. We've all had days where everything goes wrong, and nobody cares. We've all been in situations where there is nothing we can do, and nobody will listen

Also, can we talk about Taraji and how good of an actress she is?! From yelling about bathrooms to this character?! She is literally amazing

The majority of people right now reading this are just as angry at the world as I am, costs go up 7% but we only see 2% raises, we are all 3 missed checks away from being homeless or can't afford our medication. This really puts everything in perspective!

CAUTION; Spoiler Alert

Janiyah Wiltkinson is a single mother living in a dilapidated apartment with her frequently ill daughter, Aria. One morning, Aria expresses frustration over her inability to bathe herself and tells Janiyah that her teacher said she couldn't afford lunch. Though visibly upset, Janiyah focuses on getting to work.

As she leaves, Janiyah gives spare change to Benny, a neighbor in a wheelchair, prompting her landlord to threaten eviction unless rent is paid by 10:00 a.m. After dropping Aria off at school, Janiyah goes to her grocery store job, where a family throws a glass bottle at her after she refuses to process a WIC transaction for ineligible items. Her unsympathetic boss, Richard, orders her to clean up the mess. While in the back room, a friend who pities her attempts to help by offering her some money, but Janiyah refuses.

During her shift, Janiyah receives a call from the school reporting that Aria has sustained injuries, requesting her presence. Janiyah tries to explain they occurred during a seizure in the bathtub, but the school insists she comes over. Richard refuses to let her leave, furious that she always makes up excuses, and threatening to fire her if she doesn't return within 30 minutes, and refuses to pay her check when she politely asks.

She rushes to the bank to withdraw lunch money for Aria but is delayed by a long line. When she finally arrives at the school, she is confronted by the principal and Child Protective Services, who question her ability to care for the child and take Aria into custody despite her pleas.

Driving back to work in the rain, Janiyah accidentally cuts off an off-duty police officer, who retaliates by throwing a drink at her and forcing her off the road. Responding officers impound her car due to expired documents. When she returns to her job, Janiyah is fired, and Richard again refuses to issue her paycheck. Upon arriving home, she finds she has been evicted and her belongings discarded.

Janiyah returns to the store to confront her boss. While there, two armed robbers enter, where one addresses her by her name written on her name tag; one demands Aria's backpack, and when Janiyah refuses, she is assaulted. In the struggle, she grabs a gun and fatally shoots one of the robbers while the other one escapes. Despite explaining that the robber knew her name from her tag, Richard accuses her of staging the robbery and calls 911. He ruthlessly adds that he'll like to see what sort of parent she'll make from prison, upon which she shoots and kills Richard, then flees with her paycheck.

At the bank, a teller refuses to cash her check without proper identification, pushing Janiyah to pull out the gun in desperation. The teller complies, but a silent alarm is triggered. The bank manager, Nicole, recognizes Janiyah and attempts to calm her. Meanwhile, Detectives Raymond and Grimes, already investigating the earlier incident at the store, are alerted to the robbery.

Raymond, a former Army negotiator, speaks to Janiyah over the phone and gradually establishes a rapport. Meanwhile, inside the bank, a teller secretly livestreams the standoff, drawing public sympathy. When Janiyah discovers that the security cameras are on, she immediately demands that they switch them off. Nicole and Janiyah work together to disable the bank's cameras.

Meanwhile public support for Janiyah grows as the citizens rally outside demanding the police authorities "free Janiyah". Janiyah is triggered and frustrated by the science project her daughter made, which looks like her bomb, and attempts to turn it off much to the panic and fear of the hostages in the bank.

Janiyah realizes the confusion regarding the science project and demands that Nicole calls Detective Raymond and tell her the item in the backpack wasn't a bomb, but Nicole suggests otherwise, insisting that the "bomb" was the only thing stopping the police from storming into the bank. Meanwhile, another teller, Tessa, writes a message on a bathroom window revealing that the supposed “bomb” in Aria's backpack is actually a science project.

Detective Raymond identifies and confronts the off-duty officer who harassed Janiyah, and has him detained. When the FBI refuses to let Janiyah confirm his identity directly, Raymond sends Nicole in with a photograph. Janiyah confirms the officer's identity and releases the hostages, though Nicole chooses to stay with her.

Janiyah then receives a phone call from her mother, who reminds her that Aria died the night before from a seizure. A flashback reveals that Aria's presence throughout the day was a hallucination, and the earlier phone call from the school and the visit from Child Protective Services never occurred. Nicole, aware of Aria's death, remained to support and protect Janiyah.

As the FBI prepares to storm the bank, tear gas is fired and Janiyah hallucinates being shot. In reality, she peacefully surrenders to Detective Raymond, with Nicole at her side.

Movie: Superman (2025) Caution Spoiler Alert

 

Superman

Came out; 2025

Time; 2 hours 9 Minutes

Watched: Max

Rated: PG 13 for violence, action and language

IMDB Rating; 7.2/10

Rotten Tomatoes:

Tomato Meter 83%

Popcorn Meter 90%

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring;

David Corenswet as Superman

Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane

Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luther

Bradly Cooper as Jor-El

Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr

Edi Gathegi as Mr. Terrific

Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner

Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl

Story Line;

Set within a new DC universe. A few years into his heroics, Superman embarks on a personal quest to understand his Kryptonian heritage and mix it with his upbringing as mild mannered Clark Kent. But things get complicated when ruthless industrialist Lex Luthor frames Superman for an international incident and plans to put himself on top by bringing Superman down. Now with aid from Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen and the Justice Gang, Superman must embrace his lineage and fully become the hero we deserve in order to stop Luthor's plot and save the world

Thoughts:

I find it really hard to believe so many people liked this movie! It has really good ratings, but I found it boring and not at all good.

This wasn't action packed, there were too many smaller story lines, and it just wasn't to the caliber of previous superman movies.

Too confusing and just not there. The cast was great that's about it

CAUTION; Spoiler Alert

30 years in the past, Jor-El and Lara send their child Kal-El to planet Earth to escape from the war that is going on, on the planet Krypton. Kal-El goes on to be raised by his adoptive parents, Johnathan and Martha Kent in a small town called Smallville and his name becomes Clark Kent. Clark gains incredible power from the light of the sun. Clark watches his Kryptonian parents farewell message and he decides to go out helping people under the persona of Superman. 3 years later and as Clark Kent he works for the local newspaper company with his friend Jimmy Olsen. Clark has also been in a relationship with his other co-worker, Lois Lane.

Three weeks after Superman stops an invasion by Boravia, but the US government begins to worry about Supermans powers and Lex Luther says if push comes to shove, he can defeat Superman himself. Lex is a billionaire who can control Hammer of Boravia, which he uses to defeat Superman in a battle. Superman goes to his fortress of solitude, located in Antarctica to regain his strength and power, using a small dosage of solar power. Lex Luther despises Superman and resents him for making him look insignificant and unworthy, so using Hammer and the Engineer, manages to get break into the fortress and robs Superman of his parents message, along with the super powered dog named Krypto.

Superman, alongside his fellow heroes the Green Lantern, Mister Terrific and Hawkgirl cause a diversion by fighting against Lex Luthers kaiju, whilst Lex retrieves the last bit of the message. Lex Luther plays the clip and Superman hears a part of the speech he had never heard before, the part of his parents encouraging him to go out and conquer Earth, which is broadcast globally. This momentarily turns the public against the alleged threat, causing Superman to temporarily surrender to the government and he is taken in for interrogation. Flag hands Superman over to Lex Luther, because of his power.

Inside an artificial pocket dimension, Lex Luther imprisons Superman along with some other foes, such as Krypto. With the son of Metamorpho also behind bars, Lex gets busy working on a way to defeat Superman once and for all. He works with Metahuman to create a substance called Kryptonite to destroy Superman. Lexs girlfriend Eve Teschmacher, who has grown smitten with Jimmy lets them in on a secret that Lex secretly supports Boravia in the hopes of getting back half of the Jarhanpurs territory in return. Suddenly, Mister Terrific and Lois arrive to rescue Superman, Krypto and Metamorpho, destroying the pocket dimension in the process. Unfortunately they also cause a black hole to open up, threatening the universe.

As the ever expanding black hole edges ever nearer to Metropolis, a second Bovarian battle ensues. Green Lantern, Hawkgirl and Metamorpho fight against them, whilst Superman goes off to battle the Engineer and Hammer, when he learns that Hammer is Lexs unsuccessful attempt at cloning Superman. Relentlessly, Lex refuses to close the black hole and in his desire to defeat the hero, he lets the hole rip the city or Metropolis in half. Mister Terrific and Lois go to hack into Lexs system in the hopes of closing up the hole. Meanwhile, Superman throws his clone into the hole and it sucks up its body. Mister Terrific and Lois then go on to reveal Lexs plans, through the planet and they close the hole, ultimately saving the world. After all the chaos calms down Lex is arrested.

Supermans cousin Kara Zor-El comes to his fortress to collect her dog Krypto, whilst Superman recovers from his injuries. Superman likes to relax by watching home videos of when he was younger with his true parents, Johnathan and Martha Clark. As the credits roll, Superman and Krypto look down on Earth from the moon and in a post-credits scene, Mister Terrific tends to the repair job of the fallen Metropolis buildings, as Superman makes fun of him for not doing such a perfect job.

Movie: Don't Look Up (2021) Caution Spoiler Alert

 

Don't Look Up

Came out; 2021

Time; 2 hours 18 Minutes

Watched: Netflix

Rated: R for language throughout, some sexual content, graphic nudity and drug content

IMDB Rating; 7.2/10

Rotten Tomatoes:

Tomato Meter 56%

Popcorn Meter 78%

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring;

Leonardo DiCaprio as Dr Randall Mindy

Jennifer Lawrence as Kate Dibiasky

Meryl Streep as President Orlean

Cate Blanchette as Brie Evantee

Rob Morgan as Dr Teddy Oglethorpe

Jonah Hill as Jason Orlean

Mark Rylance as Peter Isherwell

Tyler Perry as Jack Bremmer

Timothee Chalamet as Yule

Rob Perlman as Benedict Drask

Ariana Grande as Riley Bina

Kid Cudi as DJ Chello

Himesh Patel as Phillip

Melanie Lynskey as June Mindy

Story Line;

Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence), an astronomy grad student, and her professor Dr. Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio) make an astounding discovery of a comet orbiting within the solar system. The problem - it's on a direct collision course with Earth. The other problem? No one really seems to care. Turns out warning mankind about a planet-killer the size of Mount Everest is an inconvenient fact to navigate. With the help of Dr. Oglethorpe (Rob Morgan), Kate and Randall embark on a media tour that takes them from the office of an indifferent President Orlean (Meryl Streep) and her sycophantic son and Chief of Staff, Jason (Jonah Hill), to the airwaves of The Daily Rip, an upbeat morning show hosted by Brie (Cate Blanchett) and Jack (Tyler Perry). With only six months until the comet makes impact, managing the 24-hour news cycle and gaining the attention of the social media obsessed public before it's too late proves shockingly comical - what will it take to get the world to just look up?

Thoughts:

I didn't really know much about this going in. It was listed as Sci-Fi/Comedy so I wasn't sure if I should expect Mars Attacks or something else.

This was serious, but not too serious. The jokes are said in a serious manner but the plot is very real. It was honestly great

Watching Leonardo explode about the administration being shit is very reminiscent of real life right now

Listen to the words Arianna Grande sings during the concert toward the end, this is what makes this a great movie.

CAUTION; Spoiler Alert

Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence), a Michigan State University astronomy graduate student doing work with the Subaru Telescope, discovers a previously unknown near-Earth object. Her professor, Dr. Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio), calculates that the comet will impact Earth in about six months, and is large enough to cause a planet-wide extinction event. NASA internally confirms Mindy's calculations. Accompanied by NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office head Dr. Teddy Oglethorpe, (Rob Morgan) Dibiasky and Mindy present their findings to the White House but are met with apathy (They are made to wait all day in the waiting hall (and then put up in a cheap motel for the night) before being granted an meeting with the President and her top advisers) from President Janie Orlean (Meryl Streep) and her son, Chief of Staff Jason Orlean (Jonah Hill). The comet is predicted to strike off the coast of Chile with the power of a billion Hiroshima bombs. This is an extinction level event. 100% certainty of impact. Yet the White House's reaction is to wait and assess, as Janie explains that she has had many "end of the world" meetings during her tenure as President.

Oglethorpe urges Dibiasky and Mindy to leak the news to the media, and they do on a morning talk show hosted by Brie Evantee (Cate Blanchett) and Jack Bremmer (Tyler Perry). The world is still engrossed with the breakup news of pop star Riley Bina (Ariana Grande) and her boyfriend DJ Chello (Scott Mescudi). Mindy and Dibiasky meet Bina at the waiting room for the talk show. Bina reconciles with Chello on live TV, even though Chello cheated on Bina publicly. Chello proposes and Bina accepts.

When the hosts do not take the threat seriously, Dibiasky loses her composure and rants about the threat, prompting widespread online mockery. Dibiasky's boyfriend Phillip (Himesh Patel) dumps her by publicly denouncing her, while the stoic Mindy receives public approval. The actual news about the comet's threat receives little public attention. Furthermore, the threat of the comet is publicly denied by Orlean's Director of NASA Dr Calder (who calls the story more near miss hysteria), a top donor to Orlean with no background in aeronautics.

When Orlean is involved in a sex scandal (She has sent pics of her private parts to her supreme court nominee), she diverts attention and improves her approval ratings by confirming the threat of the comet and announcing a project to launch a spacecraft that can strike and divert the comet. Benedict Drask (Ron Perlman), a general, is tasked with piloting the spacecraft that will divert the course of the comet.

Due to this pivot and Janie wins the approaching mid-terms. Her popularity skyrockets and she gets her supreme court nominee approved in the Senate. The spacecraft successfully launches but is forced to turn back by Orlean when Peter Isherwell (Mark Rylance), the tech billionaire CEO of BASH and another of Orlean's top donors, discovers that the comet is composed of trillions of dollars' worth of rare-earth elements. The White House agrees to commercially exploit the comet by fragmenting and recovering it from the ocean using new technology proposed by BASH's Nobel Laureates that has not undergone scholarly peer review.

The White House sidelines Dibiasky and Oglethorpe, while hiring Mindy as the National Science Advisor. Dibiasky reveals the government's plan to let the comet hit Earth, sparking riots worldwide. Orlean's administration threatens Dibiasky into silence. Mindy becomes a prominent voice advocating for the comet's commercial opportunities and begins an affair with Evantee. World opinion is divided among those who demand total destruction of the comet, those who decry unjustified Alarmism and believe the mining of the comet will create jobs, and those who deny that the comet even exists.

Dibiasky returns home to Illinois (where she is disowned by her parents who are in support of the jobs that the comet is going to create) and begins a relationship with a teenage boy named Yule (Timothée Chalamet). Mindy's wife, June (Melanie Lynskey), discovers his infidelity and leaves him. Mindy becomes angry (after he questions Peter on the lack of scientific peer review of his plan. Peter insults Mindy by saying that BASH has 40 MM data points on Mindy, knows what diseases he is going to have and when and how he is going to die), voicing his frustrations on live television, launching into a rant criticizing Orlean's administration for downplaying the impending apocalypse and questioning humanity's indifference. Subsequently, he leaves the operation to commercially exploit the comet and reconciles with Kate as the comet becomes visible from Earth. As Mindy, Dibiasky and Oglethorpe organize a protest campaign on social media against Orlean and BASH telling people to "Just Look Up" and calling on other countries to conduct operations of their own to deflect the comet, Orlean's administration launches an opposing campaign, "Don't Look Up". Bina and Chello support Mindy's campaign and even organize a concert to help spread their message.

When Orlean cuts out China, India and Russia from the comet mining deal, the three countries conduct a joint attempt of their own to deflect the comet, but their spacecraft explodes at launch. BASH's attempt at breaking the comet apart also goes awry (4 ships, out of 30 fail to launch) and fails (Many more explode on the comet and never complete their mission of deploying micro nukes. The explosives fail to fire in sync and the comet is still whole), leading to Isherwell, Orlean and some other wealthy Americans fleeing Earth on a spaceship (with 2000 seats) designed to keep its passengers alive Cryogenically while it seeks the nearest Earth-like planet. Peter's algorithms had predicted that they would be eaten by a Bronteroc, but they don't know what it means. Orlean offers Mindy two places on the ship, but he declines, choosing to spend his last moments in the company of his family, Dibiasky, Yule, and Oglethrope. The evacuees inadvertently leave Jason behind. The comet hits the planet, killing the majority of the population of Earth, though some survive; the minority includes Jason, who sees nobody around him, and then posts about this on social media.

22,740 years later, the Americans who left Earth prior to the impact land on a lush alien planet, ending their cryogenic sleep. They exit their spacecraft nude and mostly empty-handed. Orlean is quickly killed and eaten by an alien creature called a Bronteroc, while more Bronterocs approach the humans.

Movie: Nobody 2 (2025) Caution Spoiler Alert

 

Nobody 2

Came out; 2025

Time; 1 hours 29 Minutes

Watched: Amazon

Rated: R for strong bloody violence, and language throughout

IMDB Rating; 6.4/10

Rotten Tomatoes:

Tomato Meter 78%

Popcorn Meter 89%

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring;

Bob Odenkirk as Hutch Mansell

Connie Nielsen as Becca Mansell

Christopher Lloyd as David Mansell

John Ortiz as Wyatt Martin

RZA as Harry Mansell

Sharon Stone as Lendina

Colin Hanks as Sheriff Abel

Gage Munroe as Brady Mansell

Paisley Cadorath as Sammy Mansell

Lucius Hoyos as Max Martin

Story Line;

Workaholic assassin Hutch Mansell takes his family on a much-needed vacation to the small tourist town of Plummerville. However, he soon finds himself in the crosshairs of a corrupt theme-park operator, a shady sheriff, and a bloodthirsty crime boss

Thoughts:

According to the facts, this was at a water park due to Bob Odenkirk's family vacations to Wisconsin Dells. As a Wisconsin resident, the Dells hasn't been this cheesy since the very early 80's.

The fist movie was so good, I had high hopes for this one and it didn't disappoint. It was a fun time.

I like movies like this, it's funny, with action, a great plot and it doesn't take itself too seriously.

CAUTION; Spoiler Alert

This sequel to the first 'Nobody' film opens with Hutch Mansell (Bob Odenkirk) sitting in an interrogation room looking beaten up, this time sitting with a dog. Two agents speak to him and ask him who he is.

Sometime before this, we see Hutch has returned to his life as an assassin-for-fire, taking on contracts issued by man known only as The Barber (Colin Salmon) to work off his debt to the Russians for destroying the Obshak. His work has kept him more distant from his wife Becca (Connie Nielsen) and their kids Brady (Gage Munroe) and Sammy (Paisley Cadorath). Hutch acknowledges that his work is keeping him from his family, and it is weighing on him.

Hutch later sees an ad for a summer town called Plummerville that his elderly father David (Christopher Lloyd) took him and his brother Harry (RZA) to when they were kids. Since summer break is coming up, Hutch convinces Becca and the kids to go on a trip as a family. Hutch promises to Becca that he will keep his "work life" out of the picture while he is with his family. He even tells The Barber that he is requesting a break before taking on his next contract.

The Mansells pick up David from his retirement home so he can join them on the trip. After settling the kids into their rooms, Hutch and Becca spend a private afternoon in their room drinking wine after a long time apart.

Later on, the family tries to go to the water park together, only to be told that it is closed due to an incident. They are given hot dog coupons as a consolation, so Hutch takes them to the nearby diner for lunch. There, he catches the unwanted attention of the local sheriff, Abel (Colin Hanks), since Hutch was reminiscing about spending time there with David and Harry.

The family then goes to the arcade after getting free passes for there too. While there, Hutch tries to talk to Brady, who has had a black eye from what was originally believed to happen during one of his football games, but is implied to be from a fight. Brady gives some tickets to some girls who were checking him out, and then uses some other tickets to buy a prize for Sammy. One of the girls' boyfriends, Max (Lucius Hoyos), antagonizes Brady for talking to her and then rips Sammy's prize in two. Brady responds by decking Max in the face and then twisting his arm around. Hutch intervenes, as do some of the arcade staff. They are forced to leave, but when Sammy tries to pick up her doll, one staff member smacks her arm. Hutch initially tries to let it go for Becca's sake, but then quickly walks back to beat the shit out of the staff member, plus one coworker and another guy who tried to be a hero.

Hutch and Brady are at the police station, where Abel is ready to grill Hutch. He meets Wyatt Martin (John Ortiz), Max's father and the owner of the Plummerville theme park. He is angry with Hutch because Brady twisted Max's pitching arm. Wyatt orders Hutch and his family to get out of town. After Hutch agrees, Abel tells his men to go after Hutch and get rid of him.

The next day, Hutch takes the family for a duck boat ride, but he notices some of Abel's guys following them. He lets Becca, David, and the kids go off on one boat while he hops on another and lets the four goons follow him. After trying to de-escalate the situation, the goons proceed to attack Hutch. He shows them that he is no ordinary tourist, but he loses a pinky during the fight. After getting tossed off the boat, Hutch resurfaces and continues kicking their asses. The lead goon later contacts Abel while he being wheeled away and missing a few teeth to let him know that Hutch got away from them.

Hutch later contacts Harry to come help him before getting in touch with The Barber. He informs Hutch that Plummerville has always been a secret haven for drug trafficking and bootlegging. The operation is run by a psychotic woman named Lendina (Sharon Stone). She is seen in her casino up against an opponent at the poker table. After learning that the man was cheating, she kills him, her dealer, and every last eyewitness. The Barber warns Hutch not to piss off Lendina.

Wyatt is shown working for Lendina since she killed his father and has forced him to pay off his father's debts. Wyatt wants out, but Lendina has her claws in him. After they hang up, Lendina talks to Abel since he also works for her, double-crossing Wyatt. She orders him to keep Wyatt in line by taking something (or someone) of value to him.

Abel kidnaps Max and holds him hostage. Hutch finds a warehouse where Abel and his goons are meeting, along with a huge pile of cash meant for Lendina. Hutch douses the cash with gas and threatens to burn it unless Abel agrees to back off of him and his family. Abel relents, but as Hutch is leaving, he notices Max being taken away. He leaves briefly but quickly returns to start annihilating Abel's goons. One guy tries to kill Hutch using a table saw, only for Hutch to push the guy's head down onto the blade. When every last guy except Abel is dead, Hutch frees Max and shoots one of the lights, causing the sparks to ignite the cash and some nearby chemicals. Abel runs away as the building explodes, destroying everything inside while Hutch drives away with Max.

Lendina soon learns that all of her assets are gone, and her goons bring her surveillance pictures of Hutch and his family in Plummerville. Abel, who survived but is badly burned, contacts Lendina to have her round up more men to go after Hutch. She officially declares war against the Mansells and proceeds to go after them.

Hutch has David take Becca and the kids to a nearby lodge for safety since the villains will try to get them at the hotel. He also brings Max there for safety, and he and Brady are officially on good terms. Before Hutch goes to finish things, he admits to Becca that he broke his promise, and he suggests that she get away from him for her protection.

Hutch goes to speak to Wyatt, who is in a drunken rage over Max's disappearance. After trying to attack Hutch, he calms Wyatt down and informs him that Max is safe. Wyatt explains his relation to Lendina and how he hates her. Wyatt shows Hutch his father's arsenal of weapons that he would have used against Lendina before she killed him. They proceed to booby-trap the entire theme park as they await Lendina's arrival, with some help from David and Harry. Meanwhile, Becca asks Brady to be in charge while she "goes for a walk", and takes a nearby rifle with her.

Lendina and her goons arrive at the theme park, while her henchman Kartoush (Daniel Bernhardt) brings a few gunmen with him to the lodge to go after the family. After Abel leads Lendina to Hutch and Wyatt, she has her men execute Abel (because he's a "pain in the ass") and the gunmen start to go after the men. They lead the goons into every possible trap, whether it's mines in the ball pit, or swinging grenades, each thug gets blown up promptly. At the lodge, Brady tries to fight off a thug while Max keeps Sammy hidden. Harry shows up and slices up the bad guys with his kitana before dueling with Kartoush. After a brief fight, Harry decapitates Kartoush.

Most of the park's henchmen are down, but Hutch, David, and Wyatt have all been incapacitated. Lendina prepares to have Hutch executed, but Wyatt shoots one of her henchwomen before she can kill Hutch. That woman's partner goes nuts and tries to kill Wyatt in retaliation, but she is shot too. Lendina tries to kill Hutch herself, but Becca shows up with the rifle and shoots Lendina in the chest and eye with tranquilizer darts. A final wave of gunmen show up, and David rises to set off the final round of explosives. Hutch and Becca dive into a pool as the whole place goes up in flames, with Lendina cracking a small grin before she and her men are incinerated.

Hutch and Becca are later seen being interrogated by the agents, along with the dog (who was rescued from the park). The agents are called by their superior and are forced to let the Mansells go.

The family later returns home, where they watch a slideshow of pictures from the trip together (along with Brady's girlfriend). They include pictures of the family having fun, along with pictures of Wyatt and Max since they are now all friends. Hutch sits and smiles as he finally gets some peaceful time with his family.

Movie: Choose or Die (2022) Caution Spoiler Alert

 

Choose or Die

Came out; 2022

Time; 1 hours 24 Minutes

Watched: Netflix

Rated: 16+

IMDB Rating; 4.8/10

Rotten Tomatoes:

Tomato Meter 31%

Popcorn Meter 46%

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring;

Lola Evans as Kayla

Asa Butterfield as Issac

Robert Englund as Himself (Voice)

Angela Griffin as Thea

Eddie Marsan as Hal

Story Line;

A broke student who, in pursuit of an unclaimed $100,000 prize, plays an obscure 1980s survival computer game. After a series of unexpectedly terrifying moments, she soon realizes she's no longer playing for the money, but for her own life.

Thoughts:

This was ok, it was almost Cabin in the Woods with the symbols and the why.

The acting was fine, the plot was fine, but the movie itself was just ok

CAUTION; Spoiler Alert

Hal, a married man with a dysfunctional family who is a collector of retro video games, receives a copy of an interactive fiction computer game called CURS>R. Hal installs the game and starts to play, expecting it to be nothing more than a classic 1980s text-based adventure game. However, when the objects around him begin to interact with the game, he realizes it is something more, and his family is harmed as a result.

Three months later, college student Kayla is working as a cleaner to pay for her studies. She provides new and old technology to her computer-geek friend, Isaac, who in return helps her learn to code so that she can gain sufficient skills for her classes. Kayla's mother, Thea, has become a drug addict after the death of her son Ricky, and also suffers psychological and sexual abuse from her rent collector, Lance, who supplies her with drugs and forces her into prostitution in exchange for not being evicted from her apartment.

One day while visiting Isaac after work, Kayla discovers the CURS>R game in his apartment, along with a phone number offering a $125,000 prize. She calls the number and receives a recorded message from the Terror Director telling her to complete the game and insert the number code at the end of it to win the money. Attracted by the offer, Kayla accepts the challenge, thinking it will be easy money, and arranges a deal with Isaac to share the prize. That night, Kayla starts playing the game in a cafe and discovers that it can interfere with reality in different ways-the game level ending with a waitress eating broken glass and dying. The next day, Kayla tries to stop the game by destroying the tape. She tells Isaac what happened, but he finds her story hard to believe.

Later, while Kayla is working a graveyard shift, her mother desperately calls her for help. Kayla discovers that CURS>R has managed to escape to the net and is following her, forcing her to choose ways to save her mother from a giant rat. Thea eventually falls from her bedroom window and, severely injured, ends up in hospital. Later that night, Kayla goes to Isaac's apartment and together they try to discover the mystery behind the game. They find a sort of code in the sound of CURS>R, in an unknown language, and theorize it is what allows the game to interact with the real world. Together they manage to survive the night after the game exploits Kayla's trauma over the death of her brother, who drowned in a public pool. Isaac and Kayla hack the prize number to a storage facility where the game was created. In recording sessions of the making of CURS>R, they discover that the creator of the game, Beck, found a curse in different symbols and embedded the codes into the game to gain more benefits by using the suffering of gamers. When they discover the code needed, the game traps Isaac and forces Kayla to choose in order to save him, but ends up killing him.

The game orders Kayla to "beat the boss" and gives her a set of coordinates to follow that lead her to Hal's house, now a cruel man who tortures his wife Laura and son Gabe. Hal explains that he never ended the game and after two levels, it promised to leave them alone if he made more copies of it. The game then orders both Kayla and Hal to fight while reversing the pain that each experiences; i.e., if Hal is hurt, Kayla feels it and if Kayla is hurt, Hal feels it. An intense fight ensues, during which Hal is drowned and Kayla barely manages to survive. Kayla receives the game prize, which enables her to take total control of the curse. She uses this ability to kill Lance, which heals both herself and her mother. It is then revealed that the building in which Kayla worked is owned by Beck, who asks her who is next to suffer. Kayla answers that it will be only the ones who deserve to

Movie: Abandoned (2022) Caution Spoiler Alert

 

Abandoned

Came out; 2022

Time; 1 hours 42 Minutes

Watched: Netflix

Rated: PG-13 for terror, some violent content, thematic material and brief strong language

IMDB Rating; 3.8/10

Rotten Tomatoes:

Tomato Meter 17%

Popcorn Meter 16%

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring;

Kate Arrington as Cindy

Emma Roberts as Sara

John Gallagher Jr as Alex

Michael Shannon as Renner

Story Line;

After a young couple moves into a remote farmhouse with their infant son, the woman's struggles with postpartum psychosis begin to intensify...as the house reveals secrets of its own

Thoughts:

Questions I asked myself while watching this movie: How did they get the baby to cry so much and why the hell didn't they WD40 these doors in the house?!

Also, I don't get the ending. Was it all in her head? Did those boys really live in the attic?

It wasn't bad, I think it deserved higher ratings than what it got, the acting was fine and you could feel the turmoil coming though the screen

CAUTION; Spoiler Alert

Suffering from postpartum depression, former preschool teacher Sara Davis and her veterinarian husband Alex move into a countryside farmhouse with their fussy newborn son Liam. Realtor Cindy discloses that forty years earlier, Anna Solomon murdered her baby and her abusive father Robert before killing herself in the same house.

Sara becomes fascinated with Anna's story and discovers she looks just like Anna did. Sara begins wearing items that belonged to Anna as she starts having haunting experiences such as seeing frightening visions of Anna and Robert. Sara also starts hearing strange sounds and things repeatedly go missing throughout the house. In the meantime, Alex tries to find out why local farmer Harrington has a litter of sick pigs.

Sara and Alex meet their strange next-door neighbor Chris Renner. Over time, Sara learns Renner was Anna's undisclosed brother. Renner confirms that their mother died giving birth to him, which was when Robert began repeatedly raping Anna, who in turn killed her baby because of the incest. Renner reveals that Anna had two other babies, but he refuses to say what happened to them and warns Sara against investigating the childlike voices she hears from hidden parts of the house.

Alex forces Sara to see psychiatrist Dr. Carver after he becomes concerned that her worrisome behavior and beliefs about being in a possibly haunted house may be endangering their son. Carver prescribes anti-psychotic medication for Sara, but she refuses to take it because breastfeeding is how she feels close to Liam.

Robert Solomon's ghost seemingly attacks Sara while she bathes with Liam. The baby disappears. Upon recovering from her near-drowning, Sara follows Liam's cries to the attic. Sara finds all of the items that went missing collected in front of a previously immovable slab. Two feral boys representing Anna Solomon's other children seemingly emerge holding Liam. Claiming the baby belongs to them because Anna can't properly care for him, one of the boys refuses to return Liam. The other boy then raises a hand ax that he swings down onto Sara.

The camera cuts to Sara safely cradling Liam in the now empty attic. Sara excitedly exclaims, "He's mine." Alex returns home and Sara confidently tells him, "It's over." The couple goes on to become a happy family while raising Liam. However, worry covers Sara's face once more when she becomes pregnant for a second time.

Movie: It Ends With Us (2024) Caution Spoiler Alert

 

It Ends with Us

Came out; 2024

Time; 2 hours 10 Minutes

Watched: Netflix

Rated: PG-13 for domestic violence, sexual content and some strong language

IMDB Rating; 6.3/10

Rotten Tomatoes:

Tomato Meter 54%

Popcorn Meter 88%

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring;

Blake Lively as Lily Bloom

Justin Baldoni as Ryle Kincaid

Jenny Slate as Allysa

Hasan Minhaj as Marshall

Brandon Sklenar as Atlas Corrigan

Kevin McKidd as Andrew Bloom

Amy Morton as Jenny Bloom

Story Line;

IT ENDS WITH US, the first Colleen Hoover novel adapted for the big screen, tells the compelling story of Lily Bloom, a woman who overcomes a traumatic childhood to embark on a new life in Boston and chase a lifelong dream of opening her own business. A chance meeting with charming neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid sparks an intense connection, but as the two fall deeply in love, Lily begins to see sides of Ryle that remind her of her parents' relationship. When Lily's first love, Atlas Corrigan, suddenly reenters her life, her relationship with Ryle is upended, and Lily realizes she must learn to rely on her own strength to make an impossible choice for her future

Thoughts:

There was tons of controversy around this movie when it was first released, I followed it a little.

I've never heard of this book, this movie though was really good.

The DV starts small, the way it's filmed, you don't see it right away.

I found everything to be well filmed, put together, great cast and story line.

CAUTION; Spoiler Alert

Lily Bloom delivers a eulogy at her father, Andrew's, funeral. From the podium, she announces that she will list five of her favorite things about him. After standing in silence for several seconds, she walks off.

Back home in Boston, she meets neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid. They flirt until he is called away for emergency surgery. While renovating the building that will become her flower shop, Lily meets Allysa. She hires Allysa and learns that she is Ryle's sister.

At Allysa's birthday party, Ryle tells Lily that he is infatuated with her. They kiss, but she declines to sleep with him, saying that he is only interested in casual sex, whereas she wants a relationship. She spends the night at his apartment and accepts his invitation to date him the next morning. Ryle convinces her to introduce him to her mother, Jenny, at a new restaurant called Root. There, Lily discovers that the owner and head chef is her former boyfriend, Atlas Corrigan.

Flashbacks reveal that Andrew had physically abused Jenny and that Lily had found Atlas living in an empty house next door after he had run away from his mother's abusive boyfriend. They fell in love, and upon finding them in bed together, Andrew severely beat Atlas. Atlas joined the Marines.

One morning, Ryle burns his hand while cooking breakfast for Lily. When she tries to help, he slaps her, but he immediately apologizes, insisting that it was an accident. While Ryle, Lily, Allysa and her husband Marshall are dining at Root, Atlas notices Lily's bruised eye and Ryle's bandaged hand. He confronts Lily, imploring her to leave Ryle. When Ryle finds them together, he assumes the worst and a physical altercation breaks out, culminating in Atlas ejecting Ryle.

Atlas visits Lily's shop, gives her his phone number and tells her to call him if she ever needs to. Lily confides in Ryle that her father abused her mother. While visiting Allysa and Marshall in a hospital after the birth of their daughter, Lily accepts Ryle's proposal of marriage. Soon after, they elope. Ryle later finds Atlas's phone number hidden in Lily's phone case. During an ensuing argument, Ryle pushes Lily down the stairs. He later claims that she fell and that he tried to catch her.

Atlas is interviewed by a local magazine, telling them that he named his restaurant in Lily's honor. In a jealous rage, Ryle tries to rape Lily. She escapes and seeks out Atlas, who takes her to a hospital, where she discovers that she is pregnant. Lily stays with Atlas for a few days, during which time he reveals that he had planned to kill himself on the night she found him, but that she had inspired him to carry on living.

When Lily opens up to Allysa about Ryle's treatment of her, Allysa reveals that, as a child, Ryle had accidentally shot and killed their brother, Emerson, which led to unresolved trauma manifesting as uncontrollable bouts of rage. She insists that Lily does not take Ryle back. Lily moves out, but Ryle implores her to return, promising to seek help and stop the abuse.

Lily gives birth to a daughter, whom they name Emerson. She tells Ryle that she wants a divorce, and he initially resists, but eventually agrees when she asks him how he would react if their daughter were to be abused by a partner. Lily hopes that she has broken the cycle of abuse in her family and tells her daughter, 'It ends with us.'

Months later, Lily and Jenny take Emerson to visit Andrew's grave, where Lily leaves a blank eulogy on his headstone. She meets Atlas at the farmers' market. She tells him that she is no longer with Ryle, and they smile at each other.