Monthly Archives: January 2026

KPop Demon Hunters – Movie Review

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TL;DR – Half Musical, Half Action Romp, Half Romance, Half Meditation on the Power of Art, Half Exploration on the Consuming Power of Shame, and All Style.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service to view this film.

Huntrix fights a wave of demons on the top of a train.

KPop Demon Hunters Review Introduction –

As we get to our final films from 2025 before we write our best-of lists, it becomes very clear that no list would feel right if I didn’t engage with the most-streamed movie of the year. If any film has earned the right to be declared a cultural phenomenon this year, it would probably be this. It would be wrong to look at the year without exploring something with such a large cultural impact. Well, then, it is time to dive in and see if it lives up to all the accolades.  

So, to set the scene, throughout history, there have been demons escaping into our world to steal souls that are used as power by their dark lord Gwi-Ma (Lee Byung-hun). However, throughout history, there have always been those with strength of voice and character who have fought back and banished these demons back to the world they spawned from. Every generation, there are a new trio of Hunters that use their voices to reinforce the barrier between the worlds, the Honmoon. The current generation is a K-Pop band Huntrix featuring Rumi (Arden Cho/Ejae), Mira (May Hong/Audrey Nuna) & Zoey (Ji-young Yoo/Rei Ami). When a demon incursion goes very wrong, things get tense in the underworld because soon the Honmoon will turn golden and the demons will be stopped forever. It is this moment of desperation when the demon Jinu (Ahn Hyo-seop/Andrew Choi) comes up with a novel plan to defeat Huntrix: go after their fans by creating a demon boy band called Saja Boys.    

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Twinless – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A fascinating and often confronting look at a very particular type of grief.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Roman and Dennis dressing up as Simms.

Twinless Review Introduction –

Today, we are looking at a film that is probably the penultimate film of the year for 2025. A movie that was much requested and with which I knew nothing about before pressing play beyond a vague understanding that it was delving into the dark comedy space. Sometimes this can be a burden, but today’s film is one of those interesting jaunts that may be better with the viewer knowing as little as possible before walking in.

So, to set the scene, we open with a screech of tyres, a sound of a thud, and then an awkward funeral. It is very difficult for Roman (Dylan O’Brien) because the deceased in this case is his identical twin brother. After a difficult fight with his mother, Lisa (Lauren Graham), Roman decides to seek out some help and joins a support group for those who lost their twin. It is here that he meets Dennis (James Sweeney), another twin who lost their twin. Roman’s life is spinning out of control, and Dennis is a stabilising factor, until…

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The Diplomat: Season 3 – TV Review

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TL;DR – While there is joy in watching this cast eat up the screen in every frame, this is a messier season as they try to transition to something different.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this series.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Military Helicopters flying over Big Ben.

The Diplomat Review –

My background is in International Relations, and it does not come up here as much as I would like, other than the occasional The Hitman’s Bodyguard jaunt. Well, today, given the situation of the world, I thought I would take a chance to have some wishful thinking in a world where the right things still matter, integrity still matters, to pretend for a couple of hours that everything hasn’t just gone to shit everywhere. But to understand why Season Three feels so volatile, we need to look at where Season Two left us.

So, to set the scene, at the end of Season Two, things went from bad to worse when the person, Grace Hagen Penn (Allison Janney), behind the scheme that blew up the British Ship in Season One has become the new President of the United States after the former suffered a heart attack during a conversation with Hal (Rufus Sewll). What was the conversation you ask? Well, it was informing him that his Vice-President may have committed a terrorist act on an ally, that very same Vice-President who is now the President of the United States. This is not a good day for Kate (Keri Russell) because the person she wanted removed just became the most powerful person in the world. Now, from here, we will be looking at the series as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Warfare – Movie Review

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TL;DR – An emotionally charged film that uses every bullet strike to bring you into this world, whether you are ready for it or not.  

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service that was used to view this film.

Looking down a sniper scope.

Warfare Review Introduction –

After Alex Garland came out swinging with Civil War in 2024, I was interested to see what he would follow it up with next. Unfortunately, I just was not able to get to a screening when it had its theatrical release, but before I put my best films of 2025 list together, I knew I had to make sure I crossed this one off the pile of shame.  

So, to set the scene, on November 19th, 2006, in Ramadi, Iraq, a Navy SEAL platoon took up sniper watch to support operations in the area. Two platoons take up position in an Iraqi family’s house to provide overwatch. Watching. Waiting. People peeking and probing their defences. All preparing themselves for that first shot or explosion.  

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Novocaine – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A chaotic ride from start to finish, with a cast that commits to the bit all the way.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ service used to view this film.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Jack Quaid showered in falling glass.

Novocaine Review Introduction –

It has been a gangbuster year for action in 2025, and before I write my best-of-2025 list, I knew I had to catch one more action beat from the year, or in this case, a beatdown. Jack Quaid is always a solid lead, as we have seen in the three other films he released this year [Companion, Neighborhood Watch & Heads of State], so it is only fair that we take a look at number four.  

So, to set the scene, Nathan “Novocaine” Caine (Jack Quaid) is, by all respects, just a normal, mild-mannered bank executive, other than the fact that he actually cares about his clients. He is more reserved than you would expect, but that is because he has a nerve issue where he can not feel pain. Which you would think would be a good thing until you realise just how much your interaction with the world is based on that. His self-imposed isolation is brought to a sudden end when he finds a kindred spirit in Sherry Margrave (Amber Midthunder), which is suddenly interrupted by Santa-dressed bank robbers who take Sherry as a hostage. Now, only Novocaine is available to save her.

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Roofman – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A slow meditation on isolation and despair when who you are is not who the world wants.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit sequence.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Channing Tatum dancing through a Toys R Us store

Roofman Review Introduction –

Today, we are looking at a sort of odd film as we wrap up 2025. Going into Roofman, all the marketing implied that this was a quirky, fun romp of shenanigans. To be fair, there is some of that there. However, the film we got is very different from the one that was marketed.

So, to set the scene, in 1998, Jeffrey Manchester (Channing Tatum) made a living by breaking into McDonald’s via the roof. He felt it was the only way he could provide for his family after leaving the military. After being arrested, he is sent away for 45 years, but the same skills that allowed him to rob the burger places allowed him to escape prison. Prison plans and a truck trip later and he was a ‘free’ man, but with everyone looking for an escaped prisoner, Jeffery had only one place to hide, in a Toys R Us store.

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Sisu: Road to Revenge – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While it loses some of its drive halfway through, it is still the action romp that it needs to be as carnage stretches across Russia.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There are mid-credit sequences.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Sisu: A Finnish word that cannot be translated. It means the white-knuckled force of courage and unimaginable determination.

Sisu: Road to Revenge Review Introduction –

It is that time of year when I take a look back on 2025, and see all the films that I missed that I need to take a look at before I start my best of 2025 lists. I won’t get to all of them; there isn’t enough time. However, one film I knew I had to see was the follow-up to a Finnish gem from 2023. Sisu is one of the few films in the post-John Wick era that took the action style and improved on it. But can lightning strike twice?  


So, to set the scene, after WW2, Finland lost territory to the Soviet Union, and the Finns living there were forced to flee. In 1946, after finding all that gold in Lappland, Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila) returned to his home in Karelia, now on the wrong side of the border, to where his dead family once lived, hoping to take the house and rebuild it in a land of peace. But when Aatami crossed the border, his passport triggered a response in Soviet high command. The KGB (Richard Brake) tasks Igor Draganov (Stephen Lang), the man who killed Aatami’s family, to finish the job. But Aatami is a man who has left hundreds of Red Army and Nazi corpses in his wake, and he won’t go down without a fight.    

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PLUR1BUS: Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – A profoundly moving series exploring isolation, consent, and free will in the framework of an all-powerful and all-knowing Hivemind.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the AppleTV+ service that viewed this series.

Warning – This series contains flashing lights.

Warning – This series contains scenes that may cause distress

71D 13H 31M 30S.

PLUR1BUS Review –

To be honest, I was not sure what to expect when I sat down to watch Pluribus. I didn’t expect Pluribus to immediately contend for my favourite series of the year — though in hindsight, given the creative pedigree, perhaps I should have. But whatever the case, few shows have made me ponder like this.   

So, to set the scene, one evening, two SETI scientists find a repeating message coming from space. It is nothing bouncing off the Moon. It is a code repeated every 78 seconds and sent from 600 light-years away. As the scientists try to break the message, Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn) is busy signing the latest addition of her romance fantasy book. But little does anyone know that one bite and a kiss later, the entire world changes. Now, from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there may be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Fallout: The Profligate [S2E3] – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is the first episode of the season that has felt a touch on the messy side, more setting up pins down the end of the alley than hitting strikes, but that might just have been me not gelling with some of the plotlines.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime subscription used to watch this series.

Maximus not having a good time.

Fallout: The Golden Rule Review Introduction –

In the world of Fallout, there are a lot of pieces on the board, with people, factions, and forces unseen across the Wasteland that are all on the move. But when you have all those pieces moving around, it can be easy for things to lose traction, most notably your engagement with the narrative. I think that might have happened a touch today.

So, to set the scene, things have not been going well for Lucy (Ella Purnell) after she left The Ghoul (Walton Goggins) in the hospital. She did not know that the person she was helping was a member of The Legion, who did not find her musings on The Golden Rule very motivating. Meanwhile, the Brotherhood’s early musings of a civil war have hit a snag when Paladin Xander Harkness (Kumail Nanjiani) from the Commonwealth has arrived full of swagger and implied threats. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there may be [SPOILERS] ahead.   

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