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“And you ... and you! Y'all went and did Scary Movie 3 & 4 without us!” 

I never thought we were going to get this movie. After the Wayans walked away from the franchise (rightfully so), I never fathomed the idea that we might one day see Shawn and Marlon return to the franchise. Yet here we are, and I only wish that we would have gotten it sooner. Maybe then I could have resonated with it better. Don’t get me wrong, I still loved it, but there was more than one joke that missed it mark with me. The film reminded of a time capsule. When it is unearthed, nostalgia transports you back to the time when you first buried it. However, you are not quite the person that you were back then, and your sense of humor may not be the same as it was. That said, I still thoroughly enjoyed the movie. Shawn and Marlon are unquestionably masters of their trade, and they slip back into their roles effortlessly, as does Regina Hall. Anna Faris, not so much.

"My cousin and I have very different ideas about what it means to be a hero. He sees the good in everyone, and I see the truth." 

Since Endgame, I’ve been waiting on DC to seize the momentum away from Marvel. The MCU has essentially been waffling since that epic conclusion, so I figured that DC would engage in some carpe diem and saturate the market in order to pull the focus away from their rival. And yet, that doesn’t seem to be the case. We are lucky if we get one movie a year, and if I’m honest, the one we get isn’t spectacular; they are just average. I wasn’t blown away by last year's Superman, and I wasn’t blown away by this year’s Supergirl. Milly Alcock was a great choice, and I won’t dispute that, and Jason Momoa is carbon-copy casting for Lobo, but the quality of story makes these top-tier casting choices wasted effort. In a time when DC should be giving us a layered story that draws us in, they give us a straightforward fish-out-of-water story about a girl and her dog with a dash of space pirates.

"Protect me today in all my travels along the road's way. Give me your warning sign when danger is near that I may stop while the path is clear." Prayer of intercession of Saint Christopher, patron saint of travelers.

There's been a lot of talk in the last few years that Saint Christopher had been stripped of his sainthood. Of course, that isn't true at all. He had his feast day taken away, as all saints do at one time or another. You see, there are only 365 days to a standard year, and there are far more saints than there are days of the year. His feast day was given up to Saint James, the apostle. Why go through this bit about Saint Christopher, you might be asking. You see, the old boy is quite the center of the latest horror film by director Andre Ovredal. His last hit was the Dracula spin-off film The Last Voyage Of The Demeter, which was one of the best horror films of that year. He's returned to his somewhat folk-horror roots with Passenger, and once again it's the best horror film I've encountered this year. It's now out on Blu-ray out from Alliance Home Entertainment. It's got everything a good horror film should have and doesn't lean too heavily on the standard tropes of jump scares or manic editing to mask the bad f/x. This one is a keeper, and you'll get far more enjoyment out of taking home the Blu-ray than you will through streaming. Sometimes streaming is enough. This is not one of those times.

"Since 2009, special guest contributor Felix Albuerne Jr. has been reviewing new films in theaters for podcasts, terrestrial radio, and TV outlets. In 2023, he launched a YouTube channel and the latest iteration of his review site, "Film Buff Unplugged," on Substack. Subscribe for free at https://fbunplugged.substack.com/ and https://www.youtube.com/@filmbuffunplugged." and follow him on social media here: https://linktr.ee/felixfilmbuff.

The second installment of Nintendo's flagship animated film franchise is a wild ride full of colorful action and more clever nods to classic games, but it's much more for the kids than the first film

"When my father smells oil, nature repents! And there'll be oil; when it flows - and flow it will - my father will be right here with a bonus for everybody! It'll be Saturday night in a few hours, and I've only one more duty - to see our Mexican workers and wish them a safe journey 'home'. You all have a happy weekend and wish me one; we've labored hard and we deserve the happiness that all Americans know to be their birthright!"

It was Sam Spiegel who first saw the potential of the Horton Foote novel and play The Chase back in the 1950's. It was suggested as a vehicle for Clift Mongomery but the rights languished for almost 10 years.

It's Planet Of The Apes meets Cujo, and it sure isn't pretty. Part of me actually loves this kind of thing, but it has more to do with when the film is than how good or bad the film happens to be. For a lot of critics, we have just spent the better part of our holiday season being inundated by awards bait in one form or another. Everyone wants your attention right now. I have to vote in two guilds, and honestly by the time it's over and I've managed to cram 60-70 films or more into my Holiday activities, I'm honestly more than a little burned out. So after that little break as January begins, I always welcome that first film that asks nothing more of me than to sit there and soak it in. There aren't going to be any Best Picture nominations here. No one is going to be buzzing about Primate when we start talking Best Actors and Cinematography.

“Man, I just deliver packages for a living. What the f—k am I doing here? What a day…”

Donald Faison’s quote during the opening scene of Next Day Air sums up the film for the most part; a delivery blunder lands Leo (Faison) in the middle of a drug deal gone wrong in Philadelphia.

 "Everybody deserves a second chance."

In some parts of the country there's a saying. If you don't like the weather wait a few minutes. It'll change. That's exactly how I felt by the time my two hours watching M3GAN 2.0 was through. It was entertaining, to be sure, but I felt like I had been through about five movies before it was finally over. It's hard to imagine that is has been three years since we first met the robot/children's toy gone berserk, but it really has. It was my hope that everyone was just waiting until they had a great new idea before they trotted the killer doll out again. Most of the characters and actors who survived their first encounter with M3GAN returned for the sequel, with at least one of them being somewhat of a surprise appearance, and just like that first movie, you really have to be careful who you trust, because killer dolls aren't the only things that are dangerous here. The humans can actually be a lot worse, and that just might be the point, as M3GAN 2.0 gets a head start in the upcoming heated competition for the coming summer blockbuster season. We're just weeks away from a DC and Marvel one-two combination, but will M3GAN 2.0 survive the punches? Not likely, I'm afraid.