The Reel World

"Be warned. A sequel is coming. I have a lot more to say."

When certain stories become public domain, you just have to expect that there will be a lot of people creating their own “unique” versions of the same tale, all in the name of making a few bucks.  When it comes to adaptations of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, I think we can all agree every attempt to tell the story has not been in the name of preserving the art.  What I do find surprising: despite all the attempts to bring the story to the screen, there still isn’t a version that I can say is a perfect retelling of the tale. Though each may have its pros, for the most part it just never seems to translate well. Recently del Toro put together one of the more faithful versions of the story, replete with atmosphere and wonder. You can tell he's a fan of directors like James Whale, who brought the first two Universal classic Frankenstein films to life. In 1935 Universal released what stands out today as one of the best horror films ever made with The Bride Of Frankenstein. So I was rather looking forward to seeing this year's entry in the complicated tale of a "monster" seeking companionship, The Bride. I think that both James Whale and Mary Shelley must be rolling in their graves asking to be brought back to curse this latest venture. Alas, they can't. Allow me to do it for them.

Something I was really looking forward to going into the new year was watching 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026). The movie series, 28 Days Later (2002), 28 Weeks Later (2007), and 28 Years Later (2025), holds cultural significance in the post-apocalyptic horror genre. Its revival last year after 18 years was a big deal for those who have been following the franchise since the first release of 28 Days Later (2002), starring Cillian Murphy. It is somewhat unique in that it is less about the infected being “undead” and more about the “rage virus.” Part of what makes these movies so great, really, is how plausible this virus is in terms of epidemiology, as well as the downfall of civilization as a result. The original 28 Days Later (2002) details the nature of the virus, while 28 Weeks Later (2007) showcases how it seemingly cannot be contained, even with strict quarantine efforts. 28 Years Later (2025) is more about how what’s left of humanity has learned to cope with the virus as the new norm, and the second installment, The Bone Temple (2026), features a revelation about the virus that changes everything we are made to believe about it.

As noted, this second installment is a direct continuation of the events that transpired in 28 Years Later (2025), which featured a young boy, Spike (Alfie Williams), who is trying to help his mother, Isla (Jodie Comer), after she becomes sick. He hears of a doctor in the area over yonder, but instead discovers the Bone Temple. We learn that this structure serves as a memento mori, a reminder of death, meant to represent what we have lost and choose to remember. In fact, it is a Latin phrase that translates to “Remember that you must die,” which is meant to acknowledge our own mortality. While the doctor, Dr. Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), was unable to save Spike’s mother, he performed a ritual meant to honor her death and help process grief.

"The water taught them peace. The fire will test their soul."

I don't really have to tell you what Avatar is. If you haven't heard of it by now, I have only one question to ask of you: how was that coma? Ever since he cleaned up at the box office with Titanic, James Cameron has been planning this movie series. The only trouble was that the technology to make it did not exist. Most filmmakers would have either tried anyway, or simply waited until the hardware caught up with their imaginations. Not James Cameron. He decided to invent the equipment himself. The result is a 3D filming process that allows for the most realistic images you likely have ever seen on a movie screen. He combined the new process and equipment with new state-of-the-art computer-generated technology. The result is a movie that was truly the first of its kind. It was a huge risk for Cameron. A lot of money went into not only making the film, but the technology development. In many ways Avatar was really an audition film. The technology continued to improve, and two years ago we got the second film, Avatar: The Way Of Water. The film explored more areas of Pandora, and now another two years later, we have Avatar: Fire And Ash.

Just as things started to get intriguing, what happened? The credits rolled. While I’m not completely surprised by the cliffhanger ending, I was mildly annoyed by it. Which is not to say that I didn’t enjoy this sequel that somehow managed to walk a fine line between funny and suspenseful. I won’t call it scary, because it’s still a little PG in that regard. However, the story was entertaining, as were the characters, most of which were reprising their roles from the first film. I wasn’t sure that a sequel could break new ground, but given that Five Nights At Freddy’s is both a popular video and book series, I suppose there are many places that the story can go. Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Lail, Piper Rubio, and Matthew Lillard reprise their roles and are joined by McKenna Grace, Freddy Carter, and Skeet Ulrich, which makes for a surprise Scream reunion. That said, if I am being honest, Ulrich felt criminally underutilized in this project. I expected that he would play a bigger start in the story, and I was really hoping for more interaction between him and Lillard in order to better signify the Scream homage. Well, I suppose there is always the next film, which as stated, is most certainly planned for.

Interesting detail: voicing Chica, the animatronic that Rubio’s Abby was closest to, was Megan Fox. Her involvement in the project was an unexpected surprise. Even more interesting, the return of Corry Williams (aka CoryxKenshin), who made a memorable impression as a cabbie in the first film and reprises that role for the sequel. His appearance this time wasn’t exactly on par with what I remember from the first film, but seeing him added to the continuity and intrigue of the film.

From the moment I saw the trailer for Caught Stealing I immediately was taken back to the late 1990s, when so many films were trying to emulate the success Pulp Fiction had by mixing comedy and violence.  I mean, the kinetic energy of the trailer was giving me the same vibes I got when I first saw Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and The Boondock Saints. This isn’t a bad thing at all; heck, I miss these kinds of films. Lately it seems all the action films now are bad John Wick knockoffs or the woke superhero films that lack anything resembling artistic merit. I had every intention on seeing Caught Stealing in theaters, because this just looked like the kind of film I’d have fun with, but unfortunately this had such a short window at the theaters that it was gone before it had a chance to even find an audience. The quick turnaround with these films moving from theaters to streaming is enough to make your head spin, and the film studios wonder why they are taking losses, and this isn’t even a big-budget film despite having a solid cast and a relatively well-known director at the helm. I’m not saying this is a film that would ever break the bank and be a $100 million runaway hit, but this is a film that has the potential to gain a cult following. In a world where physical media is being killed off by the studios, it’s as though the studios are making it impossible to generate a profit from anything no matter if it finds an audience or not.

OK, enough of my soapbox ramblings, and on to the film …

It is hard to believe it has been nearly a decade since Mel Gibson last directed a film. Hacksaw Ridge remains one of my favorite war films made in the 21^st century, and I thought for sure it signaled the return for Gibson, since he’s been in Hollywood jail since 2006. He’s managed to get some work in some bad direct-to-streaming films, though I feel the last great film we’ve gotten to see him on screen was 2018’s Dragged Across Concrete, which didn’t exactly set the box office ablaze. I’m bummed by this, because really he’s one of the few surviving icons from the 80s and 90s that I believe still has some talent and could give cinema a few more great films, that is if Hollywood could just give him that chance. He’s been attached for years to doing another Lethal Weapon, but I have a hard time believing that will happen, and then he’s been working on his sequel to The Passion of Christ, which in theory could give his career the boost he needs to go on to some bigger and better projects, bur unfortunately I’m just not too optimistic about that. This year Mel Gibson stepped back behind the camera to direct the new thriller Flight Risk, which opened to little fanfare, but is it any good? Well, fasten your seatbelts; we’re about to get into it.

Madolyn (Michelle Dockery) is a US marshall who has travelled to the Alaskan wilderness to track down Winston (Topher Grace), a weaselly fugitive they’d like to use to testify against a mob boss. They charter a plane to escort Winston to bring him in so he can testify, but unfortunately the pilot (Mark Wahlberg) isn’t who he claims to be. It turns out the pilot is an assassin hired to take out Madolyn and her escort, and this turns to a claustrophobic showdown 3000 feet in the air. Even when the US marshal is able to subdue the assassin, she still has to contend with the problem of flying the plane and not knowing how to fly or even where they are located.

“You should be so proud of her.”

Shelby Oaks is something special when you look at it objectively; it’s a film that was crowd funded by the YouTuber Chris Stuckmann, who wanted to take a shot at making a movie of his very own. The original goal was to raise $600,000, but by the time his Kickstarter was closed, he was able to raise over 1.4 million to make his film. Before he’d even begun filming, this is already an impressive achievement considering how many established filmmakers struggle to get funds together to make their own films. For Shelby Oaks, over 14,000 people contributed to funding the dream for this directorial debut, so again, in my book Chris Stuckmann already won for being able to pull this off. Now the film has a producing credit from Mike Flanagam attached as an executive producer and Neon in charge of the films distribution … so needless to say, there is a great deal of hype around this film. Two films immediately come to mind when I think about this kind of hype before a film even reaches audiences, The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity … both films that innovated the found-footage genre but also had some clever marketing once acquired for distribution.  Does Shelby Oaks live up to the hype? Well, from my experience, this is a pretty divisive film.

“Because they need someone to be wicked -- so you can be good.”

I’d say this is one of those times when dividing the project into two parts did more harm than good. No one can discount the impact of the first film, where Cynthia Ervio and Ariana Grande gave us phenomenal and complimentary duets, as well as excellent acting performances. Also, no one can discount the impact of the musical that has dominated the theater for more than twenty years. However, I’d say the good thing about the theater version is that you get all of that at once. In the case of this film and its predecessor, the films are divided into acts, and in my humble opinion, Act 1 is the stronger of the acts, which is also the case with the two films. Wicked set a very high bar by empowering Ervio’s character to stand up for injustice and against Jeff Goldblum as the fraudulent Wizard of Oz. Also, there is certainly a difference in songs. Specifically, in Wicked For Good, there isn’t a song to match the dominance of Defying Gravity.

“Stop filming me!”

Interestingly enough, this 2025 remake/adaptation is a more faithful reproduction of its source material than the 1987 version. The 1987 adaptation, while popular, took liberties when it came to the main character’s backstory and motivations, such as him being a wrongfully accused and convicted policeman getting his shot at freedom by participating in a TV game show where convicts called Runners must battle killers for their freedom. In the 2025 remake, Ben Richards, now played by Glen Powell, is a blacklisted blue-collar worker living in dystopian anarchistic police state with his wife and infant Cathy. Unable to afford medicine for Cathy's influenza, Ben attends tryouts for the network's game shows, where his anger, misanthropy, and physical fitness see him selected for "The Running Man", their most popular and dangerous show. That backstory is much more in line with the 1982 Stephen King novel. Rounding out the cast are Josh Brolin, William H Macy, Lee Pace, Michael Cera, and Colman Domingo. Arnold Schwarzeneggar even makes a surprise appearance. It’s quick, though. Blink and you could miss it.

“The Yautja are prey to none, friend to none, predator to all.”

This has certainly been a resurgent year for the Predator and Alien franchises. In the case of the Predator franchise, Badlands builds on the momentum and resurgence established by prequel film Prey. In the case of this iteration, we are treated with a film from the perspective of a Yautja warrior as he embarks on the rite of passage needed to be inducted into the Yautja clan. This was the unique perspective needed to take the franchise to new heights. For the first five films, we have watched the Yautja be the antagonists, and now we get to see what drives them as they come to the forefront for the first time. I expected that there would be a great deal of action, which was the lure that got me to the theater. What I didn’t expect was the healthy amount of humor that was also infused into the story. This of course is primarily courtesy of Elle Fanning’s character. Or least one of her characters; for this film, the actress pulled double duty as a pair of identical Weyland-Yutani Corporation synthetic androids; one that partners with our Yautja protagonist, while the other opposes him.