28 Years Later: The Bone Temple review
The Rage Virus was unleashed upon the world by some environmentalist terrorists, turning people into bloodthirsty zombies, and now it’s 28 years later. In “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple”, people have begin to adapt to this savage, murderous, bloody world. Bad news is, so have the bloodthirsty zombies. Since this world is changing, only the most aware, the most intelligent and/or the strongest will survive. Enter Dr. Kelson, played by Ralph Fiennes, who takes innovative steps in his fight against those with the Rage Virus, like coating himself in iodine, which he says prevents being infected by the virus. In the previous “28 Years Later” movie, he had to protect a young boy, Spike, and his mother, Isla. Now a new threat emerges. Is this world ready to deal with them? Is it worth finding out in the theater? Watch this episode to find out! “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” also stars Jack O’Connell, Alfie Williams, Connor Newall, Erin Kellyman, Maura Bird, Ghazi Al Ruffai, Robert Rhodes, Emma Laird, Sam Locke and Chi Lewis-Parry.
Greenland 2: Migration review
In the first Greenland movie, Greenland turned out to be more than just possibly the future 51st state of the United State Of America. It was a refuge for those who survived the trip, and got there before a planet-killing meteor hits Earth. Now with “Greenland 2: Migration”, it’s been 5 years since that meteor, named Clarke, hit. The refuge seems to be getting much closer to its expiration date, and fast. Our protagonists, the Garrity family, led by John Garrity, played by Gerard Butler, are suddenly thrust into a cross-country trip to find another refuge. Kinda sounds like the first movie. Is it worth going to the theater to check it out? Find out in this episode of Movies Merica! “Greenland 2: Migration” also stars Morena Baccarin, Tommie Earl Jenkins, Trond Fausa, Amber Rose Revah, Gina Gangar, Antonio De Lima, Peter Polycarpou, Beruce Khan, Roman Griffin Davis and Gordon Alexander.
Avatar: Fire And Ash review
There are some that laugh at James Cameron’s Avatar movies but Cameron, so far, has always got the last laugh on them all the way to the bank. The first two Avatar movies are the first and third highest grossing movies of all times, not accounting for inflation. Take that internet trolls! Now Cameron is looking to laugh again with his third Avatar movie, “Avatar: Fire And Ash.” Our main characters, Jake Sully, and his Na’vi wife, Neytiri return to pick up the pieces on Pandora after the chaos from the last movie. They have to deal with an unspeakable tragedy in their family, all the while, trying to evade capture, or worse, by the evil Colonel Quaritch and the “sky people.” They desperately want Jake for what they see as treason, and also to be able to exploit the planet Pandora for all its resources. Now a potentially game-changing development, involving human breathing on Pandora, creates an even bigger potential threat to the Na’vi. Commonly referred to Dances With Smurfs or Ferngully In Space, the Avatar movies are Cameron’s environmentalist afterschool specials wrapped up in a CGI extravaganza. Is it worth seeing at the theater? Check out this episode to find out! “Avatar: Fire And Ash” stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Oona Chaplin, Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Edie Falco, Brendan Cowell, Jemaine Clement, Giovanni Ribisi, David Thewlis and Jack Champion.
The Long Kiss Goodnight review
I continue my reviews of unconventional Christmas movies with the yuletide classic, “The Long Kiss Goodnight”, in which you get scenes that mix automatic weapons, Christmas lights, yummy treats, bad beats, pies in the face, mistletoe and bombs that blow. Geena Davis plays Samantha Caine who can’t remember most anything past 8 years ago but steadily is getting memories back. Meanwhile, the covert American government agency she, unbeknownst to her, was an assassin for, thought she was dead but now they know she’s alive and they want to reverse that. Samuel L. Jackson plays Mitch Hennessey, a low-rent private eye, trying to help Samantha remember who she was. He gets caught in the crossfire as naughty government elves come to take Samantha’s Christmas spirit away AKA put her in the ground. All the while, in the background, this movie drops the needle on some great Christmas tunes, which just makes this a bullet-riddled Christmas classic all the more. “The Long Kiss Goodnight” also stars Craig Bierko, David Morse, Brian Cox, Yvonne Zima, Patrick Malahide, Tom Amandes, Melina Kanakaredes, Joseph McKenna, Dan Warry-Smith, Rex Linn and Edwin Hodge.
Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair review
Usually when you stuff too many genres into a movie, you come out with a bloated, overstuffed, pretentious turkey of a movie, but not with “Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair.” In it we get westerns, anime/manga, Kung-Fu action, exploitation movie and a pulpy bloody mess but it all fits into a 4 hour 35 minute mammoth movie, In 2003, “Kill Bill: Vol 1” was released followed by “Kill Bill: Vol. 2” in 2004 as Quentin Tarantino’s 4th and 5th movies. “Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair” combines those two movies together along with some extra footage. A simple plot explanation is The Bride must kill her ex-boss and lover Bill who betrayed her at her wedding rehearsal, shot her in the head and took away her unborn daughter. But first, she must make the other four members of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad suffer. Is it worth going to the theater to see this for the extra footage, or if you haven’t seen it, to see everything in this? Check out this episode to find out. “Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair” stars Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, Julie Dreyfus, Chiaki Kuriyama, Sonny Chiba, Gordon Liu, Michael Parks, Michael Bowen, Jun Kunimura, Kenji Oba, Yuki Kazamatsuri, James Parks, Sakichi Sato and Jonathan Loughran.
Lethal Weapon review
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas and can you hear what I hear? I hear it’s after Thanksgiving now and I need to fit in some retro review of movies that could really be Christmas movies, just in an action movie’s clothing. In this episode, we find “Lethal Weapon” first under the Christmas tree. I mean, the movie has a Christmas song playing over its opening credits for God sakes! “Lethal Weapon” was a surprise action hit in 1987 that paired Mel Gibson with Danny Glover as L.A. detectives Riggs and Murtaugh. The movie started a trend of hundreds of copycat buddy-cop movies faster than Santa deliver presents on Christmas. The “fun” starts in the movie when the daughter of an old Vietnam buddy of Murtaugh’s is found dead. As Riggs and Murtaugh investigate into the death further, they uncover a network of bad little elves delivering drugs from overseas for all the bad little boys and girls. All this happening while Murtaugh has to deal with Riggs’ reckless, death wish behavior over the death of his wife. Have a Holly Jolly Christmas with this movie! Is this a Christmas movie? Find out on this episode of Movies Merica! “Lethal Weapon” also stars Gary Busey, Mitchell Ryan, Tom Atkins, Darlene Love, Traci Wolfe, Jackie Swanson, Damon Hines, Ebonie Smith, Mary Ellen Trainor, Steve Kahan, Jack Thibeau, Grand L. Bush and Ed O’Ross.
The Running Man review
The year 2025 is the year of adapting Stephen King books, where in one it’s people walking, “The Long Walk” and in another they’re running, this episode’s movie, “The Running Man.” If this movie sounds familiar, Arnold Schwarzenegger was in the first movie, “The Running Man”, made in 1988. In this remake, it’s Glen Powell taking the lead role of Ben Richards. A man who finds himself thrust into a game, called “The Running Man”, where people are hunted down to the death, but if you survive for 30 days you get to live a life of luxury. Of course you have to survive being hunted down by professional killers with endless technology and weapons on their side. Also, any citizen who recognizes you can record and report you or just plain kill you on the spot. Is the game rigged? Can Ben survive? Is it worth a trip to the theater to find out? Check out this episode of Movies Merica to find out! “The Running Man” also stars Jayme Lawson, William H. Macy, Michael Cera, Colman Domingo, Katy O’Brian, David Zayas, Lee Pace, Emilia Jones and Sean Hayes.
Predator Badlands review
The first “Predator” movie in 1987 with Arnold Schwarzenegger was a hit, and gave us all our fav Arnold impersonation line, “GET TO THE CHOPPA!” Now we get a new Predator movie, 38 years after that original, called “Predator Badlands.” Is it good enough to “GET TO THE THEATER?!!!” That remains to be seen. The Predator franchise was a Fox product, but now Disney owns Fox and Disney will put its fingerprints on any new Predator entry, including this one. “Predator Badlands” stars Elle Fanning as Thia, who is a synthetic or robot, who is found by Dek, the main predator, played by Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi. Dek is seen as the weakest by his predator clan, especially his father, and is ferociously driven to take down a big trophy and return with it to show he is a hunter, a killer worthy of the clan. He ends up on a planet to take down that trophy and Thia ends up helping him on his journey. Is it worth a trip to the theater to find out what happens? Check out this episode to find out! “Predator Badlands” also stars Reuben De Jong, Cameron Brown, Ross Duffer, Matt Duffer, Michael Homik, Stefan Grube and Rohinal Nayaran.
Frankenstein review
Director Guillermo Del Toro is a master at bringing gothic horror to the big screen in glorious fashion, which he does for this episode’s movie “Frankenstein”, but only in a small number of theaters. Most people will have to see this on the small screen because Del Toro decided to make his long-awaited “Frankenstein” movie for Netflix, the king of small screen. Nevertheless, it’s fantastic to see a classic movie monster on the screen, with an excellent cast no less. Oscar Isaac plays Dr. Victor Frankenstein, Mia Goth is Elizabeth, Christoph Waltz as Harlander and Charles Dance as Leopold Frankenstein. This version of the classic tale introduces us to Victor Frankenstein as a young boy to begin to explain his mad ambitions, then onto his creation of The Creature and then the aftermath. We even get to see The Creature’s story from his perspective. Does this all add up to an entertaining movie? Check out this episode to find out! “Frankenstein” also stars Felix Kammerer, David Bradley, Lars Mikkelsen, Christian Convery, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Kyle Gatehouse, Lauren Collins, Sofia Galasso, Ralph Ineson and Burn Gorman.
Tron: Ares review
Back in the day when only the wealthy had home computers, came a revolutionary movie called “Tron” from Disney in 1982. The computer generated visual effects in it were so out of this world that the Oscars refused to nominate “Tron” because they thought using computers for visual effects was cheating. Fast forward to 2025, when a stance like that by the Oscars is blatantly moronic and we get the third movie in the “Tron” series, “Tron Ares.” As you would imagine, the visual effects are more than a little better than in 1982, but is the story, are the characters, is the plot pacing? Our main character is Ares, a soldier program, created by the Dillinger Corporation, to be created and used repeatedly by the military and also used to infiltrate the computer systems of rival companies. One of those rival companies is ENCOM, the company introduced in the original “Tron”, and the CEO of ENCOM is looking for something that’ll give them the edge over the Dillinger Corporation. Ares is dispatched by Julian Dillinger, the CEO of the Dillinger Corporation to find out what ENCOM is up to but becomes confused about following his orders the deeper he gets. Is it worth going to the theater to find out what happens next? Check out this episode to find out! “Tron Ares” stars Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Jeff Bridges, Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith, Gillian Anderson, Hasan Minhaj, Arturo Castro, Cameron Monaghan and Sarah Desjardins.
The Smashing Machine review
UFC, or the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the mixed martial arts league, started out small like any new sporting endeavor. However one of the great fighters of that early period was Mark Kerr, played by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The need, the craving, is to win no matter what and Kerr took that seriously. The new movie “The Smashing Machine” shows what happened to Mark Kerr because of that. Also, the UFC was very disorganized and a lot of the fighters suffered because of it. Mark did too and he had his girlfriend, Dawn Staples (played by Emily Blunt), there alongside him as he suffered through emotional torment and drug use. Is this a feel-good story in the end and there’s a happy ending for Mark and Dawn? Is it worth going to the theater to find out? Watch this episode to find out. “The Smashing Machine” also stars Ryan Bader, Bas Rutten, Kenny Rice, Jerin Valel, Andre Tricoteux, James McSweeney and Jonathan Corbblah.
One Battle After Another review
Hey! Feel like the topic of political violence doesn’t come up near enough nowadays? Have you ever been doom scrolling and thought, “This is cool and totally not rotting my brain, but ya know what would be cool? Putting this up on a movie screen for 2 hours and 41 minutes!” If this is a current and accurate description of you, dear reader, get ready to be happy because boy! Is “One Battle After Another” for you! Leonardo DiCaprio plays Bob who for most of the movie is a broken down, always behind, drugged out criminal who was part of an anti-America militia. Just picture Antifa. They bomb buildings, they rob banks, they break into illegal alien holding facilities and free the illegal aliens. Fast forward and he’s hiding from the authorities with his high school-aged daughter. All along an immigration enforcement figure, named Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw and played by Sean Penn, is after him and his daughter. Will they elude the authorities and continue to break the law consequence free? Is it worth finding out at the theater? Check out this Movies Merica episode to find out! “One Battle After Another” also stars Benicio Del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, Wood Harris, Alana Haim, Chase Infiniti, Shayna McHayle, Paul Grimstad, Dijon Duenas and Brooklyn Demme.
The Long Walk review
You may think the American economy stinks now but it’s still not bad enough to warrant the twisted walk that’s portrayed in the movie “The Long Walk.” This movie takes place in a alternative history that resembles the 1950s. There was a great war and most people are in poverty. However there is an annual event called The Long Walk that’s meant to inspire every state in America to work harder to make the country prosper again. A man from each state is chosen to participate in The Long Walk from a pool of men from each state who signed up. If you are the last man remaining at the end, you’re rich and you are granted one wish for whatever you want. The rules? Very simple. If you stop walking long enough, you get shot dead. So lace up your Nikes and try not to have too much fun! The Long Walk is run by a character called The Major who is portrayed to be a malevolent, heartless blowhard so it makes sense he’s played by Mark Hamill. Is it worth checking this movie out at the theater? Check out this episode to find out. “The Long Walk” also stars Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Garrett Wareing, Tut Nyuot, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Jordan Gonzalez, Joshua Odjick, Roman Griffin Davis and Judy Greer.
The Conjuring Last Rites review
In “The Conjuring: Last Rites”, Ed and Lorraine Warren have worked over a thousand cases as spiritually guided paranormal investigators, helping save people from demonic forces. That doesn’t mean they’ve seen everything and this latest case might be the one that breaks them. This is the real-life Smurl case in suburban Pittsburgh, where the introduction of a possessed mirror into their home, also introduces evil spirits. In addition to that, the evil spirit within the possessed doll, Annabelle, continues to haunt Ed and Lorraine’s daughter. Is it worth going to the theater to find out what happens next? Watch this episode to find out! “The Conjuring: Last Rites” stars Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Mia Tomlinson, Ben Hardy, Rebecca Calder, Elliott Cowan, Kila Lord Cassidy, Beau Gadsdon and Molly Cartwright.
Backdraft review
Fighter pilots have “Top Gun.” Race car drivers have “F1” and “Days Of Thunder.” What movie did firefighters have up until 1991 to put their heroics on full display? Nothing. Absolutely nothing, until a director, mostly known for making comedies, decided that firefighters finally get their day in the sun. That director was Ron Howard and the movie that helped the aura of firefighters burn so bright is the movie I’m reviewing in this episode of Movies Merica. That movie is “Backdraft.” Kurt Russell and William Baldwin play Stephen and Brian McCaffrey, two brothers who grew up in a family of firefighters in Chicago. To put it mildly, they don’t like each other very much. Stephen is a veteran firefighter and Brian is his younger brother still trying to carve out his niche in life. Brian decides his latest venture is to go into the family biz and fight fire too. Add to the family friction, a series of mysterious deaths due to fires, that may or may not be murder. Many of you have seen this classic, but for you of those who haven’t, is it worth checking out? Watch this episode of Movies Merica to find out! “Backdraft” also stars Robert De Niro, Donald Sutherland, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Scott Glenn, Rebecca De Mornay, Jason Gedrick, J.T. Walsh, Tony Mockus Sr., Cedric Young, Juan Ramirez, Kevin Casey, Jack McGee and Mark Wheeler.
Eden review
In the new Ron Howard movie, “Eden”, a group of disillusioned Europeans settles on a remote, uninhabited island in the Galápagos. They’re inspired by a man, played by Jude Law, who came to the island and supposedly found happiness. They soon discover that their greatest threat isn't the brutal climate or deadly wildlife, but one another. Human nature is what it is after all. Sinful. As tensions spiral and desperation takes hold, a twisted power struggle unfolds, leading to betrayal, violence and death. Is it worth a trip to the theater to find out all that happens? Check out this episode of Movies Merica to find out! “Eden” also stars Ana De Armas, Vanessa Kirby, Daniel Bruhl, Sydney Sweeney, Jonathan Tittel, Felix Kammerer, Toby Wallace, Ignacio Gasparini, Richard Roxburgh and Paul Gleeson.
Nobody 2 review
The star of “Nobody 2”, Bob Oedenkirk, typically plays sleazy, cowardly, funny characters, like in “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul.” However, in the “Nobody” movies, he gets to stretch his acting chops by playing an unassuming, middle-aged, ass-kicking secret agent, named Hutch Mansell, balancing life with a wife and two kids. In this sequel, since he’s always gone dishing out pain, his family is under strain. He’s a neglecting husband and an absent Dad. It’s time for urgent action to remedy the situation. It’s serious time for a family vacation. As you find out, Hutch kinda sucks at planning a vacation and he ends up taking his family to an old, dilapidated vacation resort called Plummerville. They try to make the best of it until trouble finds them and some bad guys make Hutch turn the vacation into a slaycation. Is it worth going to the theater to find out what happens next? Find out in this episode of Movies Merica! “Nobody 2” also stars Connie Nielsen, Christopher Lloyd, John Ortiz, RZA, Sharon Stone, Colin Hanks, Gage Munroe, Paisley Cadorath, Colin Salmon, Jacob Blair and Daniel Bernhardt.
Weapons review
If you like a horror movie that will keep you guessing and constantly exclaiming “OMIGAWD WHAT AM I WATCHING!!!?”, then the movie “Weapons” just might be that movie for you. This movie is brought to us by the director of the surprise horror hit from 2022, “Barbarian.” That would be one Zach Cregger and we’ll see if he goes two for two with this latest offering from him. “Weapons” starts off with the plot point that suddenly 17 elementary school kids, all from the same class, suddenly run out of their houses at 2:17am, and never return. Naturally suspicions are pointed at their teacher, Ms. Gandy, played by Julia Garner. One of the sources of suspicion is a father of one of the missing kids played by Josh Brolin, who’s questioning of Ms. Gandy leads them both into a path of darkness. Is it worth going to the theater to find out what happens next? Check out this episode to find out. “Weapons” also stars Alden Ehrenreich, Cary Christopher, Benedict Wong, Austin Abrams, Scarlett Sher, Jason Turner and Amy Madigan.
The Naked Gun (2025) review
In 1998, we got the sequel to the movie “The Fully-Clothed Gun”, known as “The Naked Gun.” Leslie Nielsen played ace detective Frank Drebin who showed everyone the wrong way to be a cop. Now, in 2025, we’re getting the inevitable. A remake of “The Naked Gun” starring Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jr. who now has to carry on his father’s legacy of being a cautionary tale with a badge who shoots first, asks questions much later, sometimes never. This reboot is brought to us by the same guys who brought us “Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping” and countless SNL skits, the Lonely Island boys. They get some help from Seth McFarlane from the “Ted” movies and “Family Guy.” Pamela Anderson, who never saw a boat she didn’t have fun on, plays Frank’s love interest. Sorry, no boat scene in this movie. They go up against the evil tech billionaire that I’m sure wasn’t at all modeled after Elon Musk. He’s played by Danny Huston who slimes his way across the screen. The original “Naked Gun” movies at hilarious quips and sight gags galore, and they landed most of the time. How many land in this reboot and is it worth going to the theater to see? Find out in this episode of “Movies Merica Live” with special guest star Adam from “Vets Talkin!” “The Naked Gun” also stars Paul Walter Houser, CCH Pounder, Kevin Durand, Liza Koshy, Eddy Yu and Michael Beasley.
Superman review
In this episode we talk about what is no doubt the most anticipated movie of 2025, James Gunn’s “Superman.” Gunn is more known for his quirky movies with unusual characters engaged in constant frenetic action. This time he takes on the most well-known superhero, the first son of Krypton. No small feat. Can he make everyone with their own idea of who they think Superman should be happy? In this latest Superman movie, Superman (David Corenswet) has been protecting Earth for a few years along with working at the Daily Planet with Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan.) In the meantime, his arch nemesis Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) is hatching plans with the government to rationalize taking Superman out. Superman just might need all the help he can get and he might get that from the Justice Gang with Green Lantern, Mr. Terrific and Hawk Girl. Also, we can’t forget Superman’s furry friend, Krypto. Can Superman survive what Lex and the government got coming for him? Is it worth going to the theater to find out? All will be revealed in this episode of Movies Merica. “Superman” also stars Frank Grillo, Alan Tudyk, Maria Gabriela de Faria, Sara Sampaio, Dinesh Thyagarajan, Wendell Pierce, Michael Ian Black, Beck Bennett, Skyler Gisondo and Mikaela Hoover.