There have been few people in the world of Star Wars which have been more divisive than Kathleen Kennedy, and today it was announced that she is stepping down as the head of LucasFilm. An event which has been a long time coming, because most of the stuff she oversaw didn't really give us anything truly worthy of the franchise.

Most but not all, which we'll get to in a minute.

I'm really hoping that new boss Dave Filoni finds ways of making Star Wars exciting and fresh again.

But anyway... Kennedy took over from George Lucas after his terrible prequel trilogy, and and I thought I'd take a look at all the projects that she was overseeing. Except The Madalorian and Grogu and Star Wars: Starfighter, because they haven't come out yet.

THE PHENOMENAL

• Andor Season 01 - If there's anything that Kathleen Kennedy did to make her work at Lucasfilm notable, it was greenlighting one of the best television shows of all time. I don't know how much involvement she actually had (other than giving Tony Gilroy the space he needed to churn out this masterpiece in two parts), but I'm going to give her credit for standing behind the show (and renewing it). This is the best Star Wars to come out of Star Wars since The Empire Strikes Back.
• Andor Season 02 - Ditto.

THE GOOD

• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - This is the film which caught me by surprise. The fact that it works so well given the mess that was going on behind the scenes is some kind of miracle. Plus it gave us Andor.
• The Mandalorian Season 01 - I don't know if it was just that it came along at the right time or what, but everything about Mando is entertaining. Whether it's introducing one of the most meme-worthy, cutest, and all-around cool Grogu (aka "Baby Yoda"), or introducing lore to Star Wars which is actually worthy of remembering, this series gave me hope that the franchise was back.
• The Mandalorian Season 02 - The second season rarely lives up to the first. But this one does. And then we get Bo-Katan and a full-on Jedi Luke Skywalker as the cherry on top of the season.
• Ahsoka Season 01 - It may be because I grew to love the character so much that I was able to overlook some of the problems, but I was quite happy with how the series panned out. If you were a fan of the animated stuff (as I am), this was a no-brainer to watch, and the cast was perfect.
• Skeleton Crew Season 01 - Color me shocked. A Star Wars series built around CHILDREN that's actually GOOD?!? Yes. Yes indeed. I wish that it could have been a bit more imaginative in the settings (seemed very earth-like to me), but it had a cool shades-of-gray mentality about it that made me love it even more.

THE MEH

• Solo: A Star Wars Story - I don't think this movie was quite the disaster that many people made it out to be. Though it should have been. Phil Lord and Chris Miller departed, Ron Howard stepped in, and it still ended up being mostly coherent! Yes, things would have likely been stronger if either team had been given the entire project, but I enjoyed it enough to overlook the flaws. Especially since we got Daniel Glover as Lando, which is brilliant, brilliant casting.
• Obi-Wan Kenobi Season 01 - I love Ewan McGregor's take on Obi-Wan. Unfortunately, he's been given nothing but terrible material and has had to make the best of it. When his mini-series arrived, I was so frickin' optimistic. And it turned out that the guy was having to elevate shallow material again! Even with the problems and nonsense, I still liked this show enough to keep watching. And I guess that's something.
• The Acolyte Season 01 - Despite having some killer fight scenes (seriously, some of the best in Star Wars lore), this show really fell short in the story department. And yet... I still enjoyed some of it. I liked that it was a darker take on the Jedi Order. I liked that the heroes and villains were shades of gray instead of black-and-white. The cast was great and everything was entertaining... until you get to the whole "Force Witches" angle, which was so badly done that it sabotaged everything. A lot of people review-bombed the show because it was female-forward. But this was a non-issue to me, and I thought there were far more critical things to be critical about. I am very sad that the show didn't do well enough to give Manny Jacinto's Qimir another series.
• The Mandalorian Season 03 - It's not that the third season was bad, it's just that it was a big drop from what I was expecting after the awesome first two seasons.

THE BAD

• Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny - Here it is. The last movie with the original Harrison Ford's Indiana Jones that there will ever be. Gotta make it a great story and an even greater film. Right? RIGHT? Nope. While marginally better than Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and possessing some good moments, this it still a bad film.
• The Book of Boba Fett Season 01 - Turns out there wasn't enough Boba Fett in his own show. Or maybe there was, it's just that his storyline was so boring, uninspired, and didn't give us anything interesting, so it just seemed that way. This should have just been another season of The Mandalorian. Maybe Season 2.5 or something. That way, they could have just focused on what they were good at and had Boba Fett guest-appear in an interesting way. Certainly more interesting than anything we got here.
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens - This probably deserves to be a "meh" rated movie, but I watched it again recently and it's just not that good. Though there are some really good moments. And I liked the actors who were cast as Rey, Finn, Poe, and Kylo... all of whom manage to build compelling characters. Where things fall apart is the story timing. How are Rey, who's not been trained as a Jedi, and Finn, who's not a Jedi, even remotely able to put up a fight against Kylo Ren? Senseless.
• Star Wars: The Last Jedi - As a massive Rian Johnson fan, I was thrilled when he got a Star Wars movie handed to him. But it turns out even a genius can't pick up the broken pieces of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and get greatness out of it. And he made some seriously bad choices here that kinda sabotaged his film. Primary among them would be "Space Leia," which was laughably stupid (and don't get me started on the entire Canto Bight crap). There were bright spots though. "The Holdo Maneuver" made zero sense logistically, but was a visual treat. More eye-candy like that and I probably wouldn't have minded the sub-par story so much? I dunno.

THE GUT-WRENCHINGLY AWFUL

• Willow Season 01 - I couldn't get past the first episode. No, I wasn't a huge Willow fan to begin with, but this was so badly conceived and implemented that I don't understand what Kennedy was thinking when she greenlit it. Who was it for? The script needed serious work, and allowing it to proceed without another couple of passes is a failing.
• Galaxy's Edge Disney Park Land - Out of all the bad decisions that can be left at Kathleen Kennedy's doorstep, this is the one that blows my mind. Disneyland and Walt Disney World are going to build huge new lands. Imagineers wanted them to be a celebration of the Star Wars that everybody loved. Apparently Kennedy shot that idea down and insisted that they be built around the sequel trilogy instead. No Darth Vader. No Luke Skywalker. No Princess Leia. No R2D2 & C3PO. Instead we get Rey, Kylo Ren, and who-the-fuck-ever. AND THEN... yesterday it was announces that Disney was bringing the original trilogy characters to Galaxy's Edge as they should have done in the first place. And it's about fucking time. I can only guess this was supposed to be announced after Kennedy's stepping-down was announced and somebody goofed. It's crazy that she thought ditching the characters that made Star Wars be Star Wars in favor of the new characters that she oversaw was a winning strategy. Yeah, the time-frames converge, but who cares? It's not like EVERY. OTHER. LAND. at the parks isn't merging different times and even worlds. So dumb. There's no excuse for this nonsense.
• Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker - I honestly don't understand how this nonsense soup was put into production. It's just so dang stupid. It has absolutely nothing to say, doesn't progress Star Wars at all, wastes a golden opportunity for a proper send-off of the original trilogy, and is head-scratchingly awful with story beats that make absolutely no sense. Wayfinders? Really? There's not a lick of internal logic here. Ideas are half-baked. Dialogue is plain bad. As executive producer, was Kennedy asleep at the wheel... or did she just not care?

THE MISSING IN ACTION

• Rogue Squadron - After the hot fucking mess that came out of Patty Jenkins shitting the bed utterly in the awful, awful, Wonder Woman sequel, I can't say I'm upset that this movie was canceled. But it is fucking embarrassing that Kathleen Kennedy championed it to begin with only to have it disappear.
• Untitled Kevin Feige Film - When he was riding high on the incredible success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it was kind of a no-brainer to let Feige helm a Star Wars project. Then the movies started tanking, the shows weren't memorable, and his movie had apparently vanished.
• Untitled Rian Johnson Trilogy - Did I love what Rian Johnson did with Star Wars: The Last Jedi? No. But did this deter my enthusiasm for him getting a new trilogy of Star Wars films? It did not. I would have loved to have seen what Johnson would have done if getting to start from scratch instead of inheriting something to work off of. Oh well.
• Untitled David Benioff and D.B. Weiss's Trilogy - Thank God this was canceled. These dumbasses fucked up an un-fuck-upable series with the final two seasons of Game of Thrones in order to rush it to a conclusion so they could do Star Wars. It should have been apparent to everybody... especially Kathleen Kennedy... that Benioff & Weiss were only good at adapting existing material and should have never been given an entire trilogy which would rely on them creating their own ideas. Again, I refer you to the final two seasons of Game of Thrones. Kennedy side-stepped an absolute landmine here, and had this trilogy of movies went forward, I'm almost certain that it would have resulted in her getting fired.
• Star Wars: Duel of the Fates - The original movie ending to the sequel trilogy, this Trevorrow script (which was leaked online) had problems and wasn't perfect... but it was better than the wet fart of an ending we got out of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and my guess is that Kathleen Kennedy is the bad decision that's responsible. Much like her shepherding of the entire sequel trilogy.

I may be in desperate need of sleep, but don't you fear about your weekly smattering of bullets... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...

   
• Seek Shelter! This squirrel got lucky during a storm...

Adorable. But animals usually are.

   
• NEWSFLASH: Young Wisconsin man dies from asthma attack after price of inhaler skyrocketed nearly $500. BEST HEALTH CARE IN THE WORLD, PEOPLE!

   
• Fuzzy & Buttered! Am I the only one who freaks out over how sage is fuzzy before you cook it? Delicious delicious sage...

Can't beat it on butternut squash with browned butter poured over the top! Except now my home is going to smell like buttered popcorn for the next two days.

   
• Eight! Eight Dollar Foot Long! Subway is advertising their new "Sub Club" where you buy three foot-longs and get the fourth for free. So I go to the app to find out how much they’ve increased the prices to cover this promotion. A Veggie Delight is $10.69 now. With a free fourth sub, the price ends up being $8.00. This is for a veggie sandwich with extra cheese (because their cheese is whisper thin now, and they stopped putting double cheese on veggie subs years ago). A bun, cheese, and veggies is $8.00... but not now... eventually. — Remember $5.00 foot-longs, which you could get with pricey meat options if you wanted? I wonder how much those subs cost now? This kind of "deal" is such bullshit. I’d rather eat at a place that just gives me a fair price at the start rather than holding my money hostage until I buy enough to get a fourth sub. Yeah, I know a lot of places do this to encourage repeat visits, but $10.69? My burger meal card has initial lower prices which earns you a free meal after ten. That seems a smarter deal because you don’t face sticker shock every time you eat there. $10.69... for a cheese sandwich? Really?

   
• Techflation! This bullshit is getting out of hand...

And here it is in action...

I'd like to know how asshole corporations are justifying this. Assuming they feel the need to. It's all monopolies and collusion from here on out. We've got a government that doesn't give a fuck. On the contrary, the government is being paid to look the other way.

   
• Apple Macintosh Hot Take: It’s hard to justify Tahoe icons. And indeed it is very hard, because it's fucking sloppy. But that's Apple now... fucking sloppy.

   
• Cinematically Real! This is the video that nails it. This is why the Avatar movies work when others abusing technology in film fail...

These movies are pure cinematic spectacle. I cannot wait to see Fire & Ash.

   
And now back to your regularly-scheduled Sunday...

And here we go... my annual wrap-up of my favorite films of the year! Or, to be more accurate, my favorite films that I actually saw. Which has again been hampered severely by my unwillingness to go to the theater. The experience is absolute shit in a day-and-age where people are inconsiderate assholes, and I am just not doing it. Oh well. Still love movies though. Even though a lot of the ones I liked didn't prove profitable.

THE EIGHTEEN NINETEEN BEST

#1 Superman (DC Comics/Warner Bros.)
As I have made abundantly clear over the years, I fucking loathed the Zack Snyder DC Comics films. Dark, dour, joyless, soulless, meandering crap that treated all super-heroes like gods, even when the characters aren't gods. Which made everything boring as hell. Then along comes Jakes Gunn, who made Superman interesting, fun, and hopeful. In a way we haven't seen since the two Richard Donner films. And it's glorious. As is that weren't enough, we're given Krypto the Superdog, and he steals the movie. Also stealing the film? Mr. Terrific, which was a wonderful surprise in every measure. If this is what we're getting out of the Gunn DC Universe, count me in. While not perfect, it's right up there with the Donner Superman flicks, Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, and the first Patty Jenkins Wonder Woman film (not the absolute pile of shit that was the second one). Can't ask for much more than that.

#2 (tie) Thunderbolts* (Marvel Studios)
While I liked this movie very much, the ending wasn't what I would have hoped. Though, to be honest, when you're dealing with a god-like entity and your entire team can only "shoot and punch," there are precious few other ways it could have ended. That aside, this is one of the better Marvel flicks in years. The cast is all great. The dialogue is snappy, funny, and always moving the story forward. And there's an overriding message to it all that's a strong foundation to build upon. Unfortunately movie audiences didn't agree, and it's probable that the film will only break even after all is said and done.

#2 (tie) Fantastic Four: First Steps (Marvel Studios)
The original Marvel Comics super-group is also one of the more unique. At their core, they're a family of explorers, and those stories which support this concept are the best. Unfortunately, the previous Fantastic Four movies were shit. The people making them were writing super-hero stories for just anybody, not a family. Then Marvel got the rights to the team back, they had a retro-futuristic story that was exactly what should have happened from the start, and came up with a brilliant way of making it fit into the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole all while respecting the source material in a way that works.

#3 Sinners (Warner Bros.)
There's something satisfying about a horror genre film which manages to be highly successful despite being built around a very serious message. That doesn't happen very often. Impeccably crafted by Ryan Coogler, the movie tackles racism in the Jim Crow South head-on in a way that's not at all subtle. The fact that it's a story so beautifully told and gorgeously shot is just the icing on the cake.

#4 Ballerina (Lionsgate)
"Was... was that a flamethrower tango?" Heaven only knows I love a good action-flick, and this was top-tier. In addition to being a part of the John Wick Universe, it stars Ana de Armas, whom I love to pieces. Alas, it was not the box office smash it deserved to be, so we're unlikely to get a sequel. I don't understand it at all. The guest-starring cast was epic, including Keanu Reeves, Ajelica Houston, Ian McShane, Lance Reddick, and Gabriel Byrne. As if that wasn't enough, it was every bit as intense, thrilling, entertaining, and well-made as anything else in the John Wick franchise (some of those action sequences and kills were stunning). And yet... maybe with streaming and video sales a sequel might still happen? I sure hope so.

#5 Mickey 17 (Warner Bros.)
That Bong Joon Ho is a remarkable filmmaker is not up for debate. But when I saw the trailer for this film, I had to wonder if he had lost his mind. This was the follow-up to Parasite? But then I saw the movie and it had a quirky brilliance reminiscent of Snowpiercer that was far better than you'd think it would be. I was happy to see that Robert Pattinson manages to craft another unique character which is sometimes offbeat to distraction but never fails to serve the film.

#6 Playdate (Amazon)
As you have no doubt noticed from previous year picks, I'm a sucker for a good action comedy, but honestly didn't think this was going to be worth my time. I watched it only because Alan Ritchson was in it, and had zero expectations. Only to find one of the funnier flicks of the year lovingly wrapped in a full-on action movie that succeeds on all fronts. Kevin James, an actor I just haven't seen in things because his projects don't interest me, was flawless in his role as hapless bystander turned hilarious participant in the madness. I loved it from start to finish and it will likely turn into one of those comfort movies I put on as background noise while I'm working or cleaning the house, but ultimately end up watching because I just can't help myself.

#7 Nobody 2 (Universal)
The first Nobody was a total surprise. Yes, I love Bob Odenkirk. Yes, I love the movies that David Leitch produces. Putting them together should have immediately caught my attention. But it didn't until the film got to home streaming. But the second time around? Oh yeah. I bought it the minute it was available digitally. And was not disappointed. Filled with the humor, wit, charm, and explosive action you'd expect... with an endgame you deserve... I sure as heck hope that this is a stepping stone to Nobody 3.

#8 The Ballad of Wallis Island (Peacock)
Always a great thing to manage to be pleasantly surprised by a movie. And this one surprised me quite a lot. If I had to sum it up in one word, that would probably be "charming," though it's so much more than that. Originally a short film that got turned into a full film, it doesn't feel like a short film that got stuffed with enough fluff to reach feature-length. Wonderfully scripted and beautifully shot... sentimental and sweet... but never cloying or tedious, I'd recommend this movie to anybody looking for a nice distraction from the horrors of everyday life.

#9 The Phoenician Scheme (Focus)
You either get Wes Anderson or you don't. I'm not going to sit here and pretend that everybody will love this movie. But I did. First of all, this is the first role where Michael Cera wasn't playing Michael Cera, which was refreshing. Second of all, the cast is absolutely stacked... starring Benicio del Toro to Mia Theapleton... and there's guest appearances by Tom Hanks, Richard Ayoade, Riz Ahmen, Jeffrey Wright, Willem Dafoe, Bryan Cranston, F. Murray Abraham, Benedict Cumberbatch, Scarlett Johansson, and a guest appearance by Bill Murray that is so sublimely perfect that I still can't get it out of my head. Wes Anderson movies are not going to rake in a billion dollars, so I can only guess that he can always attract talent like this because they just love working with the guy. And they know they'll get to be in an awesome flick like this.

#10 A Working Man (Amazon)
While not the fantastic Jason Statham flick that The Beekeeper was last year, it was still another action flick worth watching. And I was very glad to have it given that The Beekeeper 2 hasn't been released yet. While Statham movies don't always have a twist like Wrath of Man did, preferring to be a straight A-to-B shot of straight-up action like this one, I'm just not looking for that every time. Sometimes I like to turn my brain off and go from A-to-B. But there IS a twist here... this movie was written by David Ayer and Sylvester Stallone?!? Didn't see that coming!

#11 Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning (Paramount)
The final film in Tom Cruise's "Ethan Hunt Octology" is pretty amazing in some ways... and a head-scratching mess in others. Nearly three hours in length, the first third is non-stop exposition which has some fun flashback moments to show how the past of the franchise relates to current events, but it's mostly a boring slog. We would have been far better off had they just cut to the chase and not try to link every last thing together before the movie actually starts (though I loved Donloe being a bit part in the first film being a major player in the last!). But once it actually does start? It's pretty great, featuring amazing action at the endgame with a hallmark stunt that's Tom Cruise at his death-defying best. The Entity from the previous film is gaining control of the world's nuclear arsenal, which spells doom for all humanity unless Hunt & Co. can figure out a way of stopping it. And the fun is in the ride, not really the conclusion. A good film that could have been great, Final Reckoning isn't the worst way for the Cruise era to go out... until the inevitable reboot.

#12 Black Bag (Focus)
Few directors I like are as hit or miss for me as Steven Soderbergh. Here he's not only hit, he's done it in a way so stylish and engaging that it has me wondering what pushed him to get there (I thought Presence was good, not great, so this was a surprise). Few writers I like are as hit or miss as David Koepp. Sure he did a brilliant job of adapting Jurassic Park, but he can also stink up the screen with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull too. Here he's not only hit with a sexy, svelte, stylish, engaging script, but came up with such a great hook that it has me wondering what pushed him to get there. What should have been a retread of Mr. & Mrs. Smith ends up being something so much more when it stars Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender, elevating a spy caper to something worth your valuable time. A part of me wishes that this was a 6-episode TV series so it could have had a little more room to breath and given us more of a good thing.

#13 Wake Up Dead Man (Netflix)
Rian Johnson knows how to craft a good mystery movie, and this one was so good that I immediately had to run back and watch Knives Out and Glass Onion because I was left wanting more. As always with a mystery flick that doesn't cheat the viewer, I gotta immediately go back and watch it again so I can see all the clues that I missed. This time it wasn't quite as easy to see, but it was all there to be discovered.

#14 Weapons (New Line)
There is nothing that makes me happier than when people I like find success. Zach Cregger is one of those people whose acting roles always made me a fan... but this? This?!? Brilliant horror with compelling characters which drive it to deserved success. And a frickin' mind-blowing character turn by Amy Madigan that's almost worth the price of admission alone.

#15 KPop Demon Hunters (Netflix)
Proving for the hundredth time that Sony Pictures has no fucking idea what they are doing (which is apparent to anybody who saw Morbius, Madame Web, and Kraven), they took this brilliant animated movie and... gave it to Netflix?!? If you love K-pop music like I do, this is great. If you like tunes with meaningful lyrics like I do, this is great. If you love good animation like I do, this is great. If you just like a good movie, this is great. It's great.

#16 Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (Netflix)
Look, it's a wallace & Gromit movie. What else do you need to know? Wildly funny, brilliantly animated, wonderfully charming.

#17 Zootopia 2 (Disney)
I saw this on a Disney cruise ship in the middle of the ocean. It was surprising for feeling so fresh just as the first one was surprising for feeling so unexpected. I would not mind at all getting a third film in the franchise so long as they keep finding new ways to keep this amazing world and fascinating characters interesting.

#18 One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Yes, yes, I know that this is the #1 movie on a lot of lists for 2025. And it is a very, very good film. But it's just not my cup of tea. I can watch it and appreciate the talent that went into making it. I can even see how some consider it a masterpiece of cinema. And it is. But when your top three films are all super-hero movies, and you found more entertainment from a cartoon with talking animals, then "masterpiece" only goes so far in what you want to watch for entertainment. Oh well. I liked it enough to have it hit my list, so maybe I'm not totally a lost cause?

NOT IN MY TOP EIGHTEEN, BUT FEELS LIKE IT SHOULD BE

• Captain America: Brave New World (Marvel Studios)
  Apparently they changed the movie more than once as they were shooting, and the result is a big ol' mess. They tried to come up with another Captain America: Winter Soldier by pumping in some political espionage, but did a terrible job of it. The narrative is anything but smooth from beat to beat and the overall story was boring. As if that wasn't enough, the air battle at the one hour mark was truly awful. I did love that Joaquin Torres played a part as the new Falcon (I was surprised he was in the previous TV series The Falcon & The Winter Soldier), but everything else was pretty bad. Sam's dialogue was mostly groan-inducing instead of clever (and even Anthony Mackie couldn't save it). Harrison Ford was given horrible material. Sabra was jammed into the show for no reason. The villain was good, but used badly. And Isaiah Bradley, a character with so much to offer, was inexplicably used as a pawn for a silly plot point. And then there's Red Hulk, which was a great idea, but implemented in a stupid way and defeated in an even stupider one after a disjointed battle at The White House that had Sam's vibranium wings charging up, then mysteriously discharging from one action beat to the next. Where did that energy go and why did he never direct it at Red Hulk until the very end? This entire movie was such a nonsensical wasted opportunity and I honestly don't understand it. I was still entertained enough that I was happy to see it (and it sets up Wolverine nicely with the adamantium angle), but holy shit did Sam (and the fans) deserve better than this.

HONORABLE MENTION

• Frankenstein (Netflix)
  As a massive Guillermo del Toro fan, I was looking forward to this. What I wasn't looking forward to was yet another Frankenstein's Monster movie. And yet... del Toro found a take that managed to elevate it to a level I should have anticipated, but didn't for some reason. Don't make the mistake of skipping it because you're not into monster movies. This is a film with something to say.
• Novocaine (Paramount)
  Finding an interesting concept for a movie is rarely Job #1. Here it is. Finding a way to turn that interesting concept into a decent flick is rarely Job #2. Here it is. The result is not without its missteps, but is wholly entertaining.
• Final Destination: Bloodlines
  For a Final Destination movie to work, the writers have to be very clever about how Death comes for the characters. The more convoluted and interesting the series of events, the more interesting their death, and the more entertaining the movie will be. This time around the writers were very clever indeed, trying to find new ways to breathe life into the franchise. Sure, the logic doesn't always track from film to film and they violate their own rules as to how you can "cheat death," but ultimately that's not what's most important. This is my favorite out of the entire franchise, and having Tony Todd's character fully explained from the previous films is just icing on the cake.
• Elio (Disney)
  Adorable. Well-animated. Stylistically fun and engaging. I don't know why this film failed so badly at the box office, because it has all the pieces which make you think it should have been a big success.
• The Life List (Netflix)
  When it comes to rom-coms, there's really not much new territory left to tread. It's all been done before. What makes it work is how they re-tell the same old story. And this is how The Life List manages to rise above. It's yet another "woman has to try to change her life for the better to honor her dying relative" tale, but one that's done quite well.
• F1: The Movie (Apple)
  This is not a great movie, but it is a visual stunner with racing scenes that are worth the price of admission. I'm not an F1 fan, but if you are... this is a total no-brainer for you to watch. Otherwise? It could be seen as tedious if you can't jump in.
• Eternity (Apple)
  Okay, you got me. These afterlife movies never seem to fare well with me, but this time you got me. A woman having to choose between her first and second husband in the afterlife is just enough of a twist on an old theme as to catch my interest, and Elizabeth Olsen knows how to play it to perfect comedic effect.

DIDN'T SEE, MIGHT HAVE MADE MY LIST

• Splitsville
  This is a flick that was completely off my radar... until I had two very different friends say I should give it a look because it's a funny dive into relationships which I might like.
• Avatar: Fire and Ash
  Apparently this is the best of the Avatar movies so far. I liked the first two, though found them to be spectacle more than story, which is why I'm intrigued by the idea of a film that's both. Maybe that's this one.
• Sentimental Value
  Have Stellan Skarsgård in your cast, and you've automatically got me as an audience. Alas, the subject matter of family drama didn't feel like something I was ready to dive into, so I never paid the money for the digital streaming. I will absolutely be looking at it when it hits whatever streaming platform gets it, and have heard good things.
• 28 Years Later
  I loved the idea of a new installment to the franchise, but was pissed at the idea of a trilogy when the single installments which preceded this one were so wonderfully done. But I guess you couldn't go from 28 Years Later to 28 Decades Later very easily, so maybe that's all they had?
• Lavender Men
  The concept of a movie that's intentionally all over the place tonally while trying to put a lens on queer history as a jumping off point for modern lives is just compelling enough to make me want to see it.
• Predator: Badlands
  When the trailer hit, it didn't seem like it was an actual Predator movie... it felt more like somebody using Predator to shove through an original story so it could get made. I'm told this is not quite true, and the film is actually quite good. So sign me up. Eventually. When I have time.
• Bugonia
  While not a fan of Yorgos Lanthimos by any stretch of the imagination, there's no denying that he's a compelling filmmaker. After he destroyed Poor Things (in my humble opinion, as a fan of the book), I wasn't planning on watching Bugonia until I started hearing about it in favorable terms from critics I like. So... maybe?

DISAPPOINTING

• Fountain of Youth (Apple)
  Guy Ritchie is one of my favorite writer/directors. This dumpster fire is what happens when he doesn't write what he directs. And, unfortunately, the stacked cast does nothing to save it. I honestly don't understand how this was made, because everybody involved should have questioned the script.
• Love Hurts (Universal)
  As a big fan of the Ke Huy Quan renaissance we're getting, this was just awful. Lazy, sloppy, and cringe in all the worst ways.
• Lilo & Stitch (Disney)
  With very few exceptions, these Disney live-action remakes are just not worth it. I always end up disappointed because 1) They are not necessary and end up inferior to the source material, and 2) They make senseless changes which sabotage what makes the original story so good.
• The Old Guard 2 (Netflix)
  To say I was rabidly looking forward to this sequel to the brilliant original adaptation was an understatement. I loved The Old Guard and couldn't believe we were finally getting more. Then we get this disaster. Needlessly confusing and inexplicably nonsensical, all they had to do was continue what they had been already started. Instead we got this? Why? The action wasn't even elevated, which makes this a miss in every department.
• The Naked Gun (Paramount)
  I wanted to like the remake, but the entire viewing I was just disappointed that it wasn't the original. So much of it was just... dumb-funny. It didn't hold any genuine laughs for me.

WORST

• Section 31 (Paramount)
  Gut-wrenchingly awful. You have legend Michelle Yeoh doing her best to tear up the scenery at her evil best, but nothing could save this bland story which wouldn't even be notable if not for being tied to Star Trek.
• The Electric State (Amazon)
  A misguided and overall boring, sad, and terrible adaptation. Utterly bizarre that The Russo Brothers, who gave us so many exciting movies, would create this kind of mess.
• Now You See Me: Now You Don't (Lionsgate)
  The first two movies were shit where special effects and camera tricks were supposed to fool us into thinking that these "magicians" could actually do impossible magic tricks, all while being mired in stories with laughably huge plot holes and general stupidity. This was more of the same, and I sincerely hope they're finally done with this crap. Go track down the excellent TV series, Deception instead.
• War of the Worlds (Universal)
  I tuned in specifically to see if the movie is as bad as it was said to be by critics. It's worse. What an unbelievable turd. Zero internal logic. Zero reason to be made. And you can't really blame anybody involved, because swapping out the cast for even the best actors on the planet would in no way save it.

DIDN'T SEE, MOST CERTAINLY SHIT

• Tron Ares (Disney)
  A special effects treat on top of a story by people who don't seem to know what makes Tron be Tron. I do like me some great visual effects though, so I will likely tune in when Disney+ starts streaming it.
• Jurassic World: Rebirth (Universal)
  When are they going to have the good sense to just let this franchise die? MUTANT DINOSAURS?!? That's just a monster movie. It has zero to do with dinosaurs come back to life, which means this is not a Jurassic Park movie, and just continues a downward spiral of something that was once great becoming shit.

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat. Pleased do put a penny in the old man's hat. And an entry in his web browser... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...

   
• Joining! I am utterly ensnared by PLUR1BUS. It's slow... but deliberate... you just know that Vince Gilligan is building things up for a payoff, because otherwise there wouldn't be a point to the show? But what form that takes for the first season when we have more seasons to go? No idea...

There's one episode left until the long wait for Season 02.

   
• Full Disclosure! I can't remember the last time I was even remotely excited for a Steven Spielberg film. I am a bit excited for this...

The film looks suitably disturbing, which is about the only way the subject like this could be interesting.

   
• Ignorance! “I don’t even know how to pronounce it, so it must be bad... and I’m too big of a dumbshit to do a Google search before cluttering social media with my ignorant bullshit, so here you go...”

We are so fucked. All the vanquished diseases are coming back, and these idiots are intent on keeping it that way.

   
• Blunder Woman! The first Wonder Woman movie was a revelation. It's one of my favorite super-hero films ever made, and definitely one of the best DC movies they've ever made. The scene where she steps out of the trench brought tears to my eyes, because it was that moment Diana is Wonder Woman. In a way we haven't seen since Lynda Carter's flawless take on the character decades ago. But the sequel, Wonder Woman 1984, was a steaming pile of crap. I was mortified by it. There was no single area where it didn't fail. I couldn't believe that Patty Jenkins would release this. And this video explains why...

I am still furious that the franchise was destroyed by this one film. I can only hope and pray that James Gunn will be sure we get a Wonder Woman film that's deserving of the character's legacy.

   
• B- B- B- Buck! I was sad to learn that Gil Gerard died this past week. Though, to be honest, I don't remember much about his work. The only show I can even think of him appearing is Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, which I only watched because Erin Gray's "Col. Wilma Deering" and Pamela Hensley's "Princess Ardala"...

The writing on the show was pretty bad, something I was able to recognize despite the fact that I was watching it at 13 years old. Though to be fair, the writers were likely under massive constraints to reign in the budget. But I do remember that Gerard dug into the corny, campy scripts with gusto, which meant that it was at least entertaining. And for that he'll be remembered.

   
• We're All Paying for AI! There it is.

I have found shockingly little use for AI, which is surprising, because I thought it would be changing everything for me. And maybe one day it will. But right now it's just so... bad.

   
• UnShock! Shocking. — I lie. This may be the least shocking story I've read in recent days...

Turns out there didn't need to ever be some kind of "deep state" conspiracy. It's all being done right out in the open.

   
And now I'm decorating the Christmas tree! Just kidding. My cats would murder it.

LOL.

Yesterday I mentioned that I had watched the latest installment of the Knives Out franchise of films. This morning I forgot who played Father Jud (Josh O'Connor) I got an interesting result returned.

Sit back and enjoy...

What's even better? They got Daniel Craig to watch it...

BEIGNET BLANC! BWAH HA HA HA HAAAAA!

And I'm dead.

I finally got around to watching the third installment of the Knives Out trilogy: Wake Up Dead Man, and really enjoyed it. I know many people are saying that it eclipsed the second film but isn't as good as the first. Probably true. Though, upon rewatching it, I've grown more and more fond of Glass Onion. I think it did a very good job of adding some depth to Benoit Blanc, and the cast was sublime. Especially Janelle Monáe, who I don't know as an actor but a musician. She was phenomenal playing a character playing a character. You wouldn't think that somebody with such little acting experience could have pulled that off so beautifully, but she did.

As with the past movies, Wake Up Dead Man has a stacked cast, all of whom are flawlessly cast and give a great performance. You already know that Daniel Craig, Josh Brolin, Jeremy Renner, Andrew Scott, Jeffrey Wright, Jeremy Renner, and GLENN CLOSE are going to kill it... but Mila Kunis holds her own as a police chief and Josh O'Connor in the lead role as Father Jud does not falter scene after scene...

Basically... assistant priest Father Jud is suspected of murdering the charismatic head priest at an upstate New York parish. The local police chief calls in master detective Benoit Blanc to solve the mystery and an interesting case unfolds.

If you liked previous installments of Knives Out then you will probably like this one, which is a bit darker in tone. Writer/director Rian Johnson knows how to craft a good mystery (which makes the cancelation of Poker Face all the harder to take), so I hope Netflix isn't finished with the franchise just yet. This film could have used more backstory for Benoit Blanc, and I am looking forward to that possibility in future installments.

If we're lucky enough to get any.

I'm going to be stockpiling my posts for a couple weeks because I've got a trip coming up but, no worries, I'm stockpiling bullets too... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...

   
• Shoresy! YES! The new season of Shoresy is dropping for Christmas! IT'S THE MIRACLE WE NEED RIGHT NOW! I've grown to love this show almost as much as Ted Lasso...

I seriously hope that they find a way to continue keeping this show alive.

   
• Boosted Again! Because I am totally fucked if I ever get COVID with my screwed up lungs, I got my tenth booster yesterday. It only seems prudent since I'm going to be traveling and hanging out with loads of people in crowded spaces. So... can somebody please remind me when I'm dying again? I was told I'd be dead within three to six months the first time I got vaccinated. Then I was told I was definitely going to die with each new booster I got. But... nothing. Even worse though, I am still not a lizard person or a 5G relay, as promised by all the conspiracy theorists.

   
• Rolled! There's epic. Then there's this...

Rick Astley is still making music, and released a new album two years ago. He's still got it.

   
• Justice? Every fucking day it seems as though Trump is pardoning another criminal who totally deserves to be serving time for their crimes. Why? And, more importantly, why isn't his base calling him on it? I thought this was supposed to be the "tough on crime" movement. But, alas, that's apparently not the case.

   
• More Krypto! I was going to pass on the James Gunn Superman movie art book because it's only 176 pages, and the Marvel books run 350+ pages... so I thought it would be lacking. But I love the film, Geeks of Doom gave it a great review, and it was on sale, so I bought it. A really gorgeous book, and I'm glad to have it...

Needs more Krypto though! Heck, it could have all been Krypto! Where's that book?

   
• Blame Game! This is a terrific video. Why can't we all just be happy for consensual adults finding each other and making each other happy? Why are we always looking for somebody to blame for absolutely everything? And why are our LGBTQ+ brothers, sisters, and others so often where the blame gets placed? I wouldn't trade my LGBTQ+ friends for anything. Any one of them means more to me than any fifty bigots who would try to tear them down. Any hundred. Any thousand.

Just let people play the hand they're dealt the best they can and find their bliss... just as we're all doing.

   
And now to pack my suitcase...

Turns out the second trailer for Project Hail Mary is even better than the first.

And, heaven help me, this may actually be the movie which has me heading to a theater come March...

I'm more than a little shocked that the trailers are spoiling some of the things from the book that were kinda designed to be a surprise... but it still looks fun enough that it may not matter.

It's dreary and raining buckets here, but I'm not going to let that get me down... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...

   
• Dating! I know. I know. Playdate got savaged in the reviews and is generally considered a bad movie. But I loved it! Alan Ritchson's character is hilariously random...

This is the kind of off-the-wall stuff that makes Amazon Prime worth the price of admission.

   
• NEWSFLASH: Pasta at Twice the Price? Some Italian Producers Face Huge U.S. Tariffs. If I could find bronze-extruded, slow-dried pasta that was American made... then great. I'd buy it. Happy to purchase American if the quality is good. But I ain't going to buy shitty teflon-extruded, rapid-flash-dried crap that won't hold sauce and is just a slippery gawdaful mess. I'd eat half the pasta... but I'd gladly pay twice the price to get something good.

   
• FedExSNL! This morning I popped in my DVD of Feds, a film from the 1980's which is so much better than it had a right to be. Mostly because the leads were so flawlessly cast...

And I was like "I wonder what Mary Gross is up to now?" But could find nothing current until I found a podcast interview, which was quite a treat!

   
• Hand Me That Paperclip! ZOMG! MACGRUBER IS ON THE EPSTEIN LIST?? I was such a fan. But no more!

UPDATE: Somehow, something has gone terribly wrong with the Saturday Night Live YouTube Channel... videos from the past five months have disappeared? Bummer.

I lie. I still think MacGruber is one of the funniest SNL characters, and I loved his movie and limited series. I'd love to get more of that, but if Will Forte is going to pop by Saturday Night from time to time to keep the character alive, I can be happy with that.

   
• Death of a Penny! Does ANYBODY who's whining about the US Penny ending know how rounding even works? Amount ending in 1¢ or 2¢... round down. For example, you're paying out of your piggy bank and something costs 52¢ but neither you nor the store has any pennies, so you pay 50¢ — But for an amount ending in 3¢ or 4¢... round up. For example something costs 54¢ then you pay 55¢. In the end, the odds are 50/50 that something will go up or down and, given the value of a penny now-a-days, nobody is getting rich off rounding. BUT LISTEN TO PEOPLE GOING ABSOLUTELY MENTAL... "BUSINESSES WILL LOSE MONEY!" And it's like... yeah... 50% of the time they will lose 1 or 2 pennies. BUT THE REST OF THE TIME THEY'RE GAINING 1 or 2 PENNIES! And how many people are paying cash any more? Apparently it's enough that BUSINESSES WILL LOSE MILLIONS! Except to lose one million dollars, you'd have to come up short 100 million pennies in rounding transactions. Okay, boomer... I'll take not wasting money minting coins that are worth less than they cost to make. As for those states which "don't allow rounding"... guess they'll have to fix that. — As for me? I'M MORE UPSET THAT WE'RE LOSING THE HAVE A PENNY GIVE A PENNY, NEED A PENNY TAKE A PENNY TRAYS! BLASPHEMY! THE END OF DAYS ARE NIGH! TODAY NO MORE PENNIES... TOMORROW PAYING WITH THE MARK OF THE BEAST! BET! Guess we're just going to be another penniless third-world country. Like Canada.

   
• Edo! A video from nine years ago which I had never seen popped up this week. It was on the history of Japan, which fascinates me anyway, but this was by Bill Wurtz, whom I was a big fan of back in the day. Which is why I was so shocked that I had never seen it...

If you want a different take on Japanese history which is half as fun but twice as long, here you go...

   
• Ugly! I will not call anybody "ugly" based on their appearance. That's a pretty shitty thing to do. But I don't hesitate calling somebody "ugly" when it comes to what they show us that's on the inside. In that respect, Kim Davis is one of the most butt-ugly, awful excuses for a human I've ever seen. She wants to "preserve the sanctity of marriage" by refusing to do her job of granting marriage licenses... all while having been through multiple divorces and so-called scandalous behavior around those marriages herself...

It's like having a job at a steak house and refusing to serve meat because you're vegan in public, but you eat steak at home. Hypocrisy 101. If the job isn't suitable for you or your so-called beliefs, THEN FIND ANOTHER JOB... LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE DOES. But no. This repugnant pile of heinousness wanted the Supreme Court to give her license to shit on other people's happiness when the PURSUIT of happiness is SUPPOSED to be in this country's DNA. You did what made YOU happy when it comes to marriage(s), so let other people have that too. Or get fucked and go away. That works too.

   
And on that shiny note of perspective... enjoy the last of your weekend.

Diane Keaton, D'Angelo, and Drew Struzan have passed. All of them a punch to the gut.

But the one that hits the hardest is Struzan. His movie posters are iconic, and I have bought some of them over the years to hang up (including Back to the Future II and Blade Runner: The Final Cut)...

I've also got a couple of his books somewhere that I need to dig out.

Struzan's style is unmistakable, and it's no wonder that so many artists have tried to imitate it over the years. Some of the most famous films ever made were advertised with posters he created, And trying to cash in on that only makes sense.

You will be missed, sir.