Sometimes you just press play without knowing exactly what you’re getting into… and that’s exactly the mood I was in when I chose Companion.

I returned home yesterday after almost 13K steps walking and I wanted to see this movie, that is already #8 in the top films in Greece

Companion, 2025 Dark comedy, AI, Psychological Thriller, Sci-Fi

A weekend getaway with friends at a remote cabin turns into chaos after it's revealed that one of the guests is not what they seem.

From the very beginning, you feel the mystery. The story starts to unfold from the point of view of the lead actress of the movie, Iris who is played by Sophie Thatcher

A lovely, warm love story is unveiled. A couple is on their way to a gathering, at a great house that is located at a remote and secluded spot. The girl who seems to be very attached to her boyfriend, expresses some of her doubts and worries about potentially saying something wrong. She really wants to be liked by the friends.. One of the persons who is at the house (another woman named Kat), does not like Iris at all, and it is evident..

The viewer is about to view a story of some friends having fun, as they learn about their personal experiences.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26584495/?ref_=mv_close

The movie has a moving plot. There are no slow moments, even though there are some logical gaps and some un-answered questions during the time.

At its core, this is not just a simple story. It plays with themes of connection, loneliness, control, and what it really means to “belong” to someone. Relationships are at the center, but they create questions that feel increasingly uncomfortable as the story unfolds. How much of what we feel is real?

The performances are ok. I had not known the actors to be honest, but it was interesting to watch them act.

After a while, the viewer starts question every glance, every pause, every reaction. Something unexpected happens and then a plot twist that makes you try to read between the lines

Now, to be fair, there are moments where the logic feels a bit stretched, where certain decisions or developments might leave you raising an eyebrow.

A few gaps here and there could have been presented in a better way. I think there were gaps in the story/scenario and the actors/directions are doing the best they can. Oddly enough, these imperfections don’t break the experience. (at least not enough for me to stop watching as I do when I dont like a movie - either O stop watching or I fall asleep, lol)

The movie invites you to anticipate what’s coming next, to question motives, to stay alert. It builds curiosity in a quiet, persistent way rather than relying on loud twists or dramatic reveals.

I will not say more about the story or its ending, I have tried not to include anything that may spoil this for you.

All in all, although there is some blood, not many scenes are disturbing. It is an easy-to-watch movie, there were only a couple of scenes I turned my head the other side. It is NOT A GREAT MOVIE, but it can serve as one hour and a half of something to watch with friends or with partner and talk about it, there are many discussion topics that could arise from it.

The movie has a generous 6.9/10 in imdb. I would not put more than 6.

If you decide to watch it, I would like to know what you thought about it :)

I am not sure if the trailer has spoilers, but I would recommend not to watch it in advance. Let the movie surprise you all the way!

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The third season of the Canadian crime TV series Cardinal begins at the most difficult moment in the life of its titular protagonist John Cardinal (Billy Campbell), a police detective from Algonquin Bay, a small town in the north of the province of Ontario. His beloved wife Catherine (Deborah Kay) has just committed suicide after a long struggle with bipolar disorder. Cardinal attempts to restore some semblance of normality to his life by throwing himself completely into his work, and there's no shortage of it even in the provincial town that has recently become the scene of brutal robberies targeting people withdrawing cash from ATMs. A far more serious crime is a double murder that took place at a remote summer house, which Cardinal's partner Lise Dellorme (Karin Vanasse) must somehow solve despite the fact that there are still no bodies. Assistance could come from a young waitress and art student Sam Duchene (Devery Jacobs) who, in fact, witnessed the bloody event, but has personal reasons for keeping her mouth shut. The perpetrator, who managed to get hold of her mobile phone, is trying to convince her further by starting to intimidate her. Meanwhile, Cardinal begins to be harassed by anonymous messages accusing him of being indirectly responsible for his wife's death. When the detective launches his own investigation to uncover the sender, he begins to increasingly suspect that Catherine actually committed suicide.

The third season of Cardinal firmly adheres to the formula established in the previous two instalments. This means that the main villains are again pathological killers who skilfully exploit the low population density of the Canadian province to torment their victims in isolated locations, victims they have abducted, intentionally or accidentally, during their murderous forays. It also means that the main hero, although striving to perform his police duties as conscientiously and thoroughly as possible, will be burdened by a series of dreadful personal problems. And, of course, everything must culminate in a spectacular, action-packed finale. Despite all this, the third season does not create a sense of 'déjà vu', and this can primarily be explained by the fact that the formula works well, and that the writing-producing team led by Aubrey Nealon ensures that everything functions like Swiss clockwork, while simultaneously striving to make the third season at least a little different. Perhaps the most important role in this is that one of the main roles is entrusted to Devery Jacobs, an actress who looks different not only because of her Indigenous heritage, but also due to certain physical parameters that Hollywood has accustomed us to, and in all this she demonstrates exceptional acting talent. The rest of the cast is more than good, with Alex Ozerov particularly standing out in the role of a young psychopath. American actress Rya Kihlstedt also handles her role well, a role that in other circumstances might have been thankless. Billy Campbell has done a good job, and he is still served by the 'chemistry' with Karin Vanasse who plays his partner. The finale is also far better than that of the second season, although one could say that the writers perhaps overdid it a bit in trying to resolve all the subplots as thoroughly as possible. Despite that, Cardinal deserves a recommendation to all fans of Nordic noir in the Canadian style.

RATING: 5/10 (++)

(Note: The text in the original Croatian version is available here.)

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Hello film lovers, /Bonjour les cinéphiles,

We’re on Netflix to watch this American-German sci-fi comedy, which runs for 2 hours and 12 minutes.

It’s a recent addition to the catalogue, even though it dates back to 1999, but we’d never seen it before.

Nous sommes sur Netflix pour regarder cette comédie de science-fiction américano-germanique d'une durée de 2h12.

Il est arrivé récemment dans le catalogue, malgré qu'il date de 1999, mais nous ne l'avions jamais vu.

Source Film poster /Affiche du film

Synopsis :

In 2005, the Martin family enjoyed a comfortable standard of living. Richard Martin, the father, had ordered a domestic robot and was proud to introduce their new housekeeper to his wife and two daughters.

Amanda, the youngest of his daughters, decided that this android would be called Andrew and that she would regard him as a friend, or even a confidant. Grace, the eldest, dislikes this new device, which will always be nothing more than a machine in her eyes.

This android is unintentionally different from the other robots designed by the company; he will become more human-like, and Richard Martin will refuse to allow tests to be carried out on his employee, Andrew Martin.

Unlike humans, an android does not really have an expiry date. What will become of him without the humans who looked after him?

En 2005, la famille Martin bénéficie d'un niveau de vie confortable. Richard Martin, le père de famille a commandé un robot ménager et est fier de présenter leur nouvel employé de maison à son épouse et à ses 2 filles.

Amanda, la plus jeune de ses filles, a décidé que cet androïde s'appellera Andrew et elle le considérera comme un ami, voire même un confident. Grace, la plus âgée, n'aime pas ce nouvel outil qui sera toujours qu'une machine à ses yeux.

Cet androïde est involontairement différent des autres robots conçus par la société, il va s'humaniser et Richard Martin refusera qu'on procède à des tests sur son employé Andrew Martin.

Contrairement aux humains, un androïde n'a pas vraiment de date d'échéance. Que va-t-il devenir sans les humains qui prenaient soin de lui ?

Mon avis et petites infos :

We really enjoyed this film, which invites us to wonder what we would have done in the various characters’ shoes… and especially in Andrew’s.

The cast isn’t very large, but it does include a few well-known names:

Robin Williams: Andrew Martin Embeth Davidtz: Amanda Martin / Portia Charney Sam Neill: Richard Martin Oliver Platt: Rupert Burns Wendy Crewson: Mrs Martin Kiersten Warren: Galatea Hallie Kate Eisenberg: Amanda Martin (aged 7) Lindze Letherman: Grace Martin (aged 9) Angela Landis: Grace Martin (adult) Bradley Whitford: Lloyd Charney John Michael Higgins: Bill Feingold, the Martins’ lawyer Stephen Root: Dennis Mansky George D. Wallace: the President of the World Congress Lynne Thigpen: the President of the World Congress

Nous avons bien aimé ce film qui nous invite à nous interroger sur ce que nous aurions fait à la place des différents personnages .. et surtout à la place d'Andrew.

Le casting n'est pas très long, mais quelques noms bien connus y figurent :

Robin Williams : Andrew Martin Embeth Davidtz : Amanda Martin / Portia Charney Sam Neill : Richard Martin Oliver Platt : Rupert Burns Wendy Crewson : Mme Martin Kiersten Warren : Galatea Hallie Kate Eisenberg : Amanda Martin (à 7 ans) Lindze Letherman : Grace Martin (à 9 ans) Angela Landis : Grace Martin (adulte) Bradley Whitford : Lloyd Charney John Michael Higgins : Bill Feingold, l'avocat des Martin Stephen Root : Dennis Mansky George D. Wallace : le Président du Congrès mondial Lynne Thigpen : la Présidente du Congrès mondial

I miss Robin Williams terribly. He took his own life on 11 August 2014. I always thought it was because of depression, that he put on a smile in front of the cameras to hide a deep sadness, but apparently it was more of an act of desperation, as he was unable to cope with the effects of Lewy body dementia, from which he suffered.

We’ve recently heard about this illness following the death of the French actress Nathalie Baye, who passed away from it last week at the age of 77.

And you, did you enjoy this film – which is quite old but which you may have watched again since it was added to the Netflix catalogue?

Enjoy your evenings in front of the telly, see you soon,

Robin Williams me manque beaucoup. Il s'est suicidé le 11 août 2014. J'ai toujours cru que c'était à cause d'une dépression, qu'il affichait un sourire devant les caméras pour cacher une tristesse profonde, mais apparemment, il s'agissait plutôt d'un geste de désespoir à ne pouvoir faire face aux effets de la maladie à corps de Lewy dont il souffrait.

Nous avons récemment entendu parler de cette maladie, à cause du décès de l'actrice française Nathalie Baye, qui en est morte, la semaine dernière, à 77 ans.

Et vous, avez-vous apprécié ce film déjà ancien mais que vous avez peut-être revu, suite à son entrée au catalogue Netflix ?

Bonnes soirées-tv, à bientôt,

Florence

Source photo : image Qwant autorisée

I used Deepl Translator to translate French into English

Proud member of the Principality of Bastion

Src

SPOILERS AHEAD!!

Blade II was released just about four years after the first film. The very late 90's to maybe about 2011 or so is a pretty iconic time period for me personally, and this franchise certainly played a major role in forming the culture of that time period. For movies, I feel as though it was the perfect time of combining CGI with practical effects like makeup, legit sets, and actually filming at locations and not just utilizing pure green screens. Nowadays many bigger epic films just feel like glorified cartoons. There isn't the same attention to detail anymore and it's a shame. Of course there's always exceptions. There are still some good films with wise ways of using CGI nowadays, and there are films from 1998-2011 that used CGI poorly, but in general I believe what I say is true for the most part. In some cases, modern CGI looks worse than films from the 2000's! This issue has even been occurring in video games.

Anyway, I think Blade II does an above average job at combining practical effects that films from decades prior mastered, with modern CGI to create a very visually appealing movie!

In this sequel, Blade has to basically fight a wicked looking new form of vampires that are stronger than normal vampires. Sorta kinda in between his own strength and a regular vampire's strength. They are called Reapers. They pose a threat because of their strength, are immune to many traditional vampire weaknesses besides sunlight, and their infection spreads wickedly fast. They have incredible hunger and can infect both vampires and humans.

The action in this sequel is non-stop and high caliber in that it's just intense and gnarly. The Reapers themselves feed in a very ugly, gruesome, and alarming fashion. Their whole jaws expand and they look highly unnatural and alienlike. Frankly, as a horror fan, it is pretty awesome. This franchise does a great job at never ever being shy about being equally traditionally horrifying, traditionally action packed, and even traditionally superhero like. Once again these strengths are on display in a super admirable way in Blade II as they were in Blade. This franchise's versatility is so memorable and top notch!

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Now, I do like the first one better for a mixture of reasons. I think this second one missed an opportunity to expand on Blade's background/lore a bit. I also was mildly confused about what happened to Karen Jenson, the woman from the first film. I actually think she did a great job and was a cool character. It was mildly lame that Abraham Whistler was brought back to life from a storyline perspective. I think it made everything feel sort of inauthentic, like the consequences in the Blade universe aren't legit. Don't get me wrong his character is awesome, but it just felt a bit lazy to bring him back in my opinion. Combining Karen's disappearance with Whistler's reappearance it just felt pretty odd and out of place.

In general the storytelling felt a bit basic and rushed in this second installment. Super vampires that are basically pretty zombie-like in their attacks. Not that interesting of a concept. It had potential but I feel like they fumbled it a bit in their execution.

The action was solid, I wasn't too bored but it did feel a bit repetitive for awhile. Sorta like a shooter style video game where you're just infinitely killing bad guys, progressing to the boss. I know this is how many hero movies go but it just felt quite predictable.

There were some enjoyable twists though. Scud turning out to be a bad guy, thinking he outsmarted Blade, only to have it be revealed that Blade outsmarted him was cool. Damaskinos and the Bloodpack essentially utilizing the Reapers as an elaborate way to capture Blade was a nifty little storyline for sure as well.

Ron Perlman plays a cool role in this one. While it's a different character entirely, it's cool to see him in this knowing that Hellboy, another favorite film of mine in basically the same genre as Blade, was to be released two years later! What a time to be alive!

Hellboy and Blade! That would be a SICK duo! Src

I had mildly higher expectations for this one, it had good strengths but also noticeable, sort of stale weaknesses.

All in all though it's very watchable and still a lot of fun! No doubt about it! It didn't ruin Blade for me.

I gave the first a very strong 9.5 rating and I stand by it! That first one was awesome!

I had trouble thinking of a number for this one, so I ended up producing a bit of an oddball number.

Blade II gets an 8.875/10!

So through two of the three films, the series has just about a 9.19/10 rating. Can't wait to finish the trilogy!

I absolutely love the movie The Martian. It is one of those movies that no matter what part of the movie I walk in on, I sit down and watch it to the end. There is so many different cycles of exposition, rising action and climax that it feels like ten movies in one. Like The Martian, Project Hail Mary is based on a book by author Andy Weir. Considering it is by the same author and about a similar topic, one man surviving in space, it had a high bar to measure up to. And did it ever!

My wife and I went to see Project Hail Mary by ourselves (no kids for once) in a Dolby theater. We are so happy that we did. Not only were the visuals and sound simply incredible, it felt so good to be on an adult date on a Saturday night like when we first met. And this movie deserved to be seen on the biggest screen possible so we are thrilled we did.

If I had known one simple detail, I think my expectations would have been even higher. It wasn't until the final credits that I found out that the movie was directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. If you aren't sure who they are, these are the guys who directed 21 Jump Street, 22 Jump Street and The Lego Movie. So it should have been no surprise there were some belly laughs in this awesome movie. It should also be no surprise that about half way through it becomes a kids movie... in the best way possible. It becomes cute and fun but not in a saccharine way. It was just flat out pleasant and entertaining. I spend nearly the entire movie smiling. These guys know how to make an entertaining movie.

Everything is awesome when you make a great movie!

Without spoiling anything not already shown in the previews, the movie centers around a scientist who goes on an earth saving mission to figure out why our sun is dying. My wife, who read both this book and the Maritain, had very high praise for the film. in fact, she said it was better than the book. One of the reasons is that Lord and Miller decided to tell the story in a non-linear way. Instead of it being all set up for the mission and then the mission, they bounce back and forth. This means that you never get bored with either part of the story. It was masterfully done.

Quite often when I see a movie base don a book, it feels "off". The majority of the time, I feel like something is missing. This is especially true when I have not read the book... which is quite often. This is not the case for Project Hail Mary. They crammed in a lot of story in the 150 minutes of runtime. Although I am sure they sped up some details and most likely left something out, I never felt like anything was missing. More importantly, I was so engaged in every second of the film that I never got up to go to the bathroom once. That is VERY rare for me in a two and one half hour movie. So that is the highest praise I can give.

Just like Matt Damon in the Martian, Ryan Gosling is able to carry the movie in a significant number of one-man scenes. He's charming and, as we learned in the Barbie Movie, very funny. He pulls off the school teacher turned "hero" incredibly well. You root for him.... and all of humanity the entire time.

OK I do have to say something about the "science". I am not a scientist. Heck I'm not even a middle school science teacher but even I know some of the science things in this movie must be impossible. But that is OK. Any movie about taking a science teacher on a trip to another galaxy to save the sun requires a significant amount of suspension of disbelief. Because this movie was so well done and so entertaining, it earned that suspension of disbelief. So if you are looking for an episode of Cosmos thsi is not the movie for you. But if you are looking to have fun and enjoy an awesome popcorn movie, go see this on the big screen ASAP!

Image Source

2025 Movies Marathon

I have grown a bit of a tradition in January to watch all the 'Youtuber Top 10 Films Of The Year' videos to catch up with everything that was potentially good in the previous year. I'm now more or less done with them and will move on to both watching 2026 and older movies again from here on out.

Solid New Horror Movies

Together (6.4/10)

The plot of this movie is pretty straightforward when taking it literally. There is some kind of cave where there is a liquid, when 2 people drink from it they get drawn to eachother and when they touch they start merging. This happens to a couple who have a bit of a difficult relationship. To me the entire plot felt more like a gimmick and the movie was made from the main vision in mind to have some visual scenes where the bodies merge together in different ways.

Image Source

The story never really captured my interest that much as there wasn't really any mystery to wonder about as you kind of have to go with the flow knowing there never really were going to be any answers about where it all came from. This happens more often in Horror movies but as long as the setup is interesting and the journey compelling (like in many of my favorite horror movies listed above) I don't mind. For this one though, I never really cared about any of it. I also wasn't triggered by any of the 'deeper meanings' of any of it or a hidden message the movie tried to give.

Conclusion This was one of those horror movies that simply didn't do it for me and months after watching it, I mostly forgot about it. The plot feels like it's a tool to create certain body horror scenes, it wasn't really that scary, I didn't care much about any of the deeper meanings and if I had not watched it yet, I would just advise myself to either skip it or just watch a 15 minute Recap of this movie on YouTube. It also wasn't as bad as I might portray it here so still a 6.4/10.

Previous Years -> List Watched Movies in 2025 -> List Watched Movies in 2024 -> List Watched Movies in 2023

Garden of Bones (S02E04)

Airdate: 22 April 2012

Written by: Vanessa Taylor Directed by: David Petrarca

Running Time: 52 minutes

The fourth episode of Game of Thrones’ second season, Garden of Bones, is a prime example of the series’ occasional penchant for misleading episode titles. Rather than heralding a narrative centred on the exotic eastern continent of Essos, the title is a geographic reference to a location that features merely as a footnote within a side storyline. The episode’s substantial dramatic weight is almost entirely invested in the grim, politically charged goings-on within Westeros, making the titular “Garden of Bones” feel like an afterthought—a colourful name for a desert we never truly see, attached to a plot thread that is only just beginning to unfurl. This dissonance between title and content is the first clue that this instalment is less about mythical landscapes and more about the brutal, often petty, realities of war, power, and survival in a world where life is cheap and cruelty is routine.

The episode’s title refers to the nickname of the desolate desert that surrounds the great port city of Qarth, a barren expanse where travellers denied entry meet their desiccated end. This is precisely where Daenerys Targaryen and her dwindling khalasar find themselves, despite her bloodrider Kovarro’s (Stephen Cole) assurances that he had negotiated their access. The sequence at the gates of Qarth is a great example of condensing world-building and character dynamics into a tight scene. Daenerys is met with scepticism by the Spice King (Nicholas Blaine), a representative of the ruling Thirteen. His refusal to admit her without proof of her dragons underscores a central theme: in this world, power must be demonstrated, not merely claimed. Daenerys’s reluctance to reveal her dragons, fearing theft, highlights her growing political caution amidst her vulnerability. Her salvation comes from the mercantile cunning of Xaro Xhoan Daxos (Nonso Anozie), who leverages an ancient custom, the Sumai, to vouch for her. This brief foray into Essos offers a tantalising glimpse of Qarth as a paradise of plenty and intrigue, a stark contrast to the episode’s primary setting, but it remains just that—a glimpse. The “Garden of Bones” itself is never depicted; its menace is merely stated, making the title feel more like a poetic allusion than a direct narrative anchor.

The episode’s true beginning is rooted firmly in the mud and blood of Westeros. It opens with a tense, atmospheric night sequence where inexperienced Lannister sentries are slaughtered by Stark direwolves—a prelude to the Battle of Oxcross. The following morning reveals the brutal efficiency of Robb Stark’s tactics, as he surprised and annihilated a large, but green, Lannister force. The battle is presented less as a massacre, with the Lannister soldiers being freshly recruited boys, cannon fodder to compensate for earlier losses. This establishes the episode’s unflinching tone towards war’s reality. In the aftermath, we see Robb’s moral compass tested. Lord Roose Bolton (Michael McElhatton), a bannerman whose family’s sigil is a flayed man, suggests executing prisoners to ease logistical burdens. Robb’s refusal is telling; it is partly born of a genuine abhorrence for such cruelty, and partly from a pragmatic understanding that such acts are counterproductive, breeding further resistance. His attention is then captured by Talisa of Volantis (Oona Chaplin), a healer tending to the wounded. Her anti-war sentiments, delivered with a humanistic clarity, immediately distinguish her from the native nobility and foreshadow her significant, if controversial, role in Robb’s story.

This disaster in the west sends ripples to King’s Landing, where the petulant King Joffrey channels his frustration into sadistic theatre. In one of the episode’s most disturbing scenes, he publicly threatens Sansa Stark with crossbows and orders his guards to beat and forcibly disrobe her. The humiliation is a naked exercise in power, designed to compensate for his military impotence. It is halted only by the timely intervention of Tyrion Lannister, the acting Hand. Tyrion’s subsequent conversation with Sansa, where he notes she has learned to parrot the line about loving Joffrey, is a poignant moment. He recognises her survival strategy—the adoption of a protective falsehood—and in doing so, reveals his own understanding of the court’s vicious dynamics. In a parallel attempt to manage Joffrey’s violent impulses, Tyrion, advised by Bronn that the king might be tempered by sexual experience, arranges for the prostitutes Ros and Daisy (the latter played by pornographic actress Maisie Dee) to be sent to him. The plan backfires horrifically. Joffrey, revealing the depths of his depravity, uses a crossbow to force Ros to viciously beat Daisy. This subplot underscores the episode’s theme of casual, institutionalised brutality, showing how violence trickles down from the throne itself. Tyrion’s political manoeuvring continues as he is visited by Lancel Lannister, Cersei’s erstwhile lover and now her messenger, demanding Grand Maester Pycelle’s release from the black cells. Tyrion agrees, but not before confronting Lancel with his scandalous affair and turning him into a reluctant spy within Cersei’s chambers—a move that showcases Tyrion’s superior skill in the game of whispers.

Meanwhile, Arya Stark and Gendry, among other Lannister prisoners, arrive at the colossal, cursed fortress of Harrenhal. Partially melted by dragonfire during the Targaryen conquest, the castle is a monument to ruin and ill omen, yet it serves as the Lannisters’ primary stronghold after their recent defeats. The prisoners are subjected to the random, sadistic whims of their captors, who select individuals for torture and death under the pretext of interrogating them about a mysterious “Brotherhood.” This sequence is a harrowing depiction of meaningless cruelty, where life is extinguished for sport by bored, brutal men. Gendry seems destined for this fate, but is saved by the sudden arrival of Tywin Lannister. Tywin’s chastisement of his subordinates is not motivated by mercy, but by pragmatism; he sees wasted labour, not wasted lives. He saves Gendry for his skills as a smith, and, in a moment of sharp perception, sees through Arya’s disguise as “Arry,” recognising she is a girl. Her bold admission impresses him, and he recruits her as his cupbearer, setting in motion a dangerous game of cat and mouse. Harrenhal, with its scale and history, becomes a powerful symbol in this episode—a place of past destruction now hosting present-day atrocities, a fertile land blighted by the enduring scars of power struggles.

The political chessboard expands further as Petyr Baelish arrives at Renly Baratheon’s camp as Joffrey’s envoy. “Littlefinger,” usually a master of manipulation within the confined court of King’s Landing, finds himself out of his element in a military camp. His attempts to ingratiate himself with Renly by hinting he might switch sides fall flat, as do his awkward efforts at rekindling a romance with Catelyn Stark. Catelyn’s cold rebuff—she can never forgive his treachery that led to Ned’s death—is a stark reminder that some betrayals are indelible. Catelyn herself engages in high-stakes diplomacy, orchestrating a tense parley between the Baratheon brothers, Renly and Stannis. The meeting is a study in contrasting claims: Stannis insists on his unassailable hereditary right, while Renly boasts of the superior numbers his charm and the Tyrell alliance have granted him. The dialogue crackles with familial resentment and political posturing, ending in a stalemate that underscores the futility of their conflict in the face of the larger Lannister threat.

It is Stannis, acutely aware of his numerical disadvantage, who takes the most drastic action. In a scene that veers from political drama into dark fantasy, he orders his loyal servant, Davos Seaworth, to use his old smuggling skills for a clandestine mission. Davos is to ferry the red priestess Melisandre to a cave near Renly’s camp. There, in a sequence that remains one of the series’ most visually and conceptually arresting moments, Davos watches in horrified astonishment as Melisandre disrobes and literally gives birth to a shadowy, demonic creature. This manifestation of blood magic, a literal “shadow” of Stannis’s lineage and desperation, slinks away into the night to solve his brother problem. The scene, culminating in Carice van Houten’s chilling delivery, confirms the ominous tenet of her faith: “the night is dark and full of terrors.” It provides the episode with a powerful, unsettling cliffhanger that expands the series’ mythological scope.

Written by Vanessa Taylor and directed by television veteran David Petrarca, Garden of Bones is notable for introducing the audience to two potent, contrasting locations. Harrenhal is an imposing, ruined monument to destructive power squatting in the fertile Riverlands, a symbol of how war blights plenty. Qarth, seen only through its magnificent gate, is presented as a gleaming paradise of wealth and mystery, an oasis in a deadly desert. The episode takes a decisively dark turn, relentlessly reminding viewers of the pervasive brutality in George R. R. Martin’s world. From Sansa’s public shaming and the torture of peasants at Harrenhal to Joffrey’s psychopathic abuse of prostitutes and the massacre of green boys at Oxcross, the narrative insists on the cheapness of life amidst dynastic squabbles.

Taylor’s script sharply contrasts how characters navigate this oppressive atmosphere. Tyrion emerges as remarkably capable, using wit, threat, and compromise to maintain a fragile order. In contrast, Petyr Baelish stumbles, his courtly skills less effective in the field. Tywin Lannister is ruthlessly pragmatic, his cruelty always in service of a tangible goal, unlike his grandson Joffrey, whose evil is capricious and ultimately self-destructive.

The episode also marks a significant departure from Martin’s source material. The character of Talisa Maegyr is a complete invention for the television series, replacing Jeyne Westerling from A Storm of Swords. Talisa’s background as a Volantene healer injects a distinctly modern, pacifist sensibility into the medieval setting, arguably serving as a conduit for contemporary audience sentiments within the increasingly grim narrative.

Garden of Bones is an episode of stark contrasts and deepening shadows. Its misleading title belies its core focus: a relentless exploration of power’s corrupting influence and war’s dehumanising cost across Westeros. While the Qarth subplot offers a brief respite of exoticism, it is the grim realities of Harrenhal, King’s Landing, and the war camps that leave a lasting impression. The episode successfully advances multiple plotlines with efficiency and emotional punch, cementing the season’s dark trajectory and setting the stage for the seismic shifts to come.

RATING: 8/10 (+++)

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A24 told people Undertone (2026) is the scariest movie you will ever hear, and I took it for a spin tonight, whats why the late psot for my regular scheduel, took it with that pitch already lodged in my brain, which is a tough place to start because very few movies can actually make that claim and actually cash out, but I end up spending the first half watching the movie and half arguing with the marketing in your head like this is bs. The setup is this woman named Evy, short for Evangeline, she is back home taking care of her dying mother who just lays in bed without speaking taht much during the entire movie, and Evy is stuck in this suffocating house doing all the caretaking by herself while her only real company is her podcast co host Justin, who calls in remotely from London while she runs the recordings from her side. The movie opens with Evy going through a batch of audio files sent to them by some stranger and she is doing this live during a podcast recording while Justin listens in over the phone, the two of them fumbling through tracks and reversing audio until they start picking up something strange buried inside the recordings, you probably getting the idea, this random guy let loose a demon on them through the internet? like wtf of a crazy concept but fine Im down with it. Justin is remote the entire movie, you never actually see him on screen, so it is not two people sitting together in the dark doing this, it is Evy alone in that house at night with Justin as just a voice in her ear, and the isolation that creates is probably the most effective thing the movie does because you feel how completely alone she really is in there.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35892608/
• Platform: PRIME VIDEO

The sound design is the thing that actually hooks you and keeps you watching past the first thirty minutes, because they do some dope things with reversed audio and layered voices that start to feel like they are coming from inside the walls around you rather than out of the speakers, btw to get the best out of this movie you got to watch with headphones. The recordings were made by a couple named Mike and Jessa, and what starts as pretty mundane late night audio of Jessa talking in her sleep slowly turns into something unsettling when Evy and Justin start reversing certain tracks and realize she has been saying something, something that when flipped around turns out to be an invitation to a demon named Abyzou and that is where the movie starts to get its claws out. Abyzou comes from real folklore, she is this female demon from Mediterranean and European mythology connected to miscarriages and infant death, a creature driven by her own infertility to target pregnant women and mothers, and the movie layers that mythology into the recordings in a way that lands so damn perfect because it ties back to what Evy is personally going through at home, not her mom. The reveal that Evy is six weeks pregnant while all of this is happening gives the whole thing a very personal touch that the movie clearly wants as its emotional ractor to keep pumping fear and dopamine through your body, at the same time a vulnerability that the demon can exploit and on paper that is a very smart move because it connects the external supernatural threat directly to the most intimate and frightening part of her life. There is also a moment where Evy finds a small religious figurine in her mother's nightstand alongside some disturbing drawings and that discovery is supposed to be the pivot where her skepticism starts cracking, she starts feeling there is something off and the actress Nina Kiri sells it with just her face and body language because that is all she has got to work with given how stripped down the whole movie is, I have always said that few characters in small spaces are some of the most difficult movies to make, I can only remember one that really pull it off that was "127 (2010)".

You know from the tittle that not everything is pink and rainbows for this movie so here is my argument on where things start to fall apart though, because the middle section of this movie is a long exhausting set of scenes of Evy walking from room to room in a dim cramped house while Justin clicks through audio files over the phone and the pacing just completely loses its footing, but I get it there is not much to do with basically a single character. You get distorted nursery rhymes slowed down and run through reverb, you get floorboards creaking and lights flickering, you get Justin losing his cool every five minutes while Evy tries to hold the episode together for their listeners and none of it escalates at a pace that actually builds dread because the movie keeps cycling through the same set of sounds without giving you anything new to look at. The story tries to add weight through Evy's guilt about her mother and been pregnant, she feels so unconfortable about it the entire time and those are interesting threads no doubt but they had to take advantage of them and constantly, but they never fully connect to the supernatural threat in a way that feels earned, for the most part it feels like a must without asking permission and they just kind of sit beside it. The recordings reveal more about what Mike and Jessa went through and the circumstances that surrounded them, and you start getting calls from other listeners during the live recording that hint at how wide the reach of Abyzou actually goes, which is a creepy idea, but the execution keeps running out of momentum right when it needs to push forward. Justin is loud and over the top as a remote presence and you can feel Evy getting worn down by him, which is realistic I guess, but it does not make for a great time when you are listening to him yell about how this is going to be their biggest episode and you are already an hour in and still waiting for something to actually happen, well now that I think about it at least the movie does make you feel sad for Evy and mad about how Justin is been at her, the whole thing starts to feel like a podcast you are not quite interested but is the drama between this two that at least keeps you watching.

This kind of setup, one location, one actress, sound as the delivery system for dread, makes you think about other similar movies like Relic, movies that use space and atmosphere to make you feel without seen too many characters, they try hard with the sound to do the heavy lifting, so I guess its just hard to pull of without relying on visible monsters or traditional jump sequences. Undertone clearly wants to exist in that same category and the idea is good because there is real untapped potential in a horror movie built entirely around audio, sound is deeply primal and the right movie could absolutely make that work at a high level. But where something like Hereditary or even The Black Phone used sound as one tool inside a larger landscape with multiple characters, although the scene at the basement on Black Phone where Finney is trapped the entire time there are multiple shots of him alone, phone rings, a voice on the other side. Undertone puts sound in the driver seat without enough story context to keep things going strong and after a while you start to feel the gap between what the concept promises and what the end product actually delivers. The Abyzou mythology is interesting and I went down a pretty deep rabbit hole on it after watching because the story around her is way more disturbing than anything the movie shows you and that gap between what you find when you Google it and what the movie gives you is telling for a demon with that much history and symbolism deserved a way better script to exploit all that context.

I wanted to like this more than I did, its not the scariest same as it not the worst, and part of what makes it frustrating is that the pieces were all sitting right there, a good performance by Nina Kiri, a very very creepy mythological foundation as the backstory for a mythological demon, sound design that has real teeth in the right moments and the kind of single location that forces a movie to earn its scares through craft rather, pure acting and directing without the need of a big budget, most of the time where good small budget movies shine. But with the pacing is all over the place and the story never quite figures out how to turn the pressure into something that can be sustained throught he movie, it spikes and then falls flat, over and over, and as the movie gets closer to the end it shifts into something that actually resembles supernatural chaos inside that house you have been waiting so long that it just feels rushed or almost obligated to happen certain way. Im not going to drop the ending just like that but its very ambigous to say the least, I can understand its suppose to be like that by design to make you want more about it, it rather feels like they ran out of time or script. I am giving it a 7/10 because the cool concept and some real moments of effective sound horror are not enough to cover for how much dead air there is between them, and A24 calling this the scariest movie you will ever hear is not doing them any favors because that kind of hype creates expectations that this movie simply cannot cash, Im desappointed on them for this type of marketing honestly.

#undertone, #a24, #horror, #movie, #review, #podcasting, #demon, #audio, #folklore, #eevee, #justin, #scary, #supernatural, #sounddesign, #film, #disturbing, #pacing, #letdown, #trash, #creepy, #mystery, #folklore, #demonology, #hauntedhouse, #static

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Hello, Spider-Man fans. Today I’m bringing you one of the best movies featuring our favorite hero from both the comics and the world of film and entertainment. That’s right, I’m talking about Spider-Man. Directed by Joaquín Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation. Like its predecessor, this film features the voices of Shameik Moore, Hallee Steinfeld, Oscar Isaac, Issa Rae, Jake Johnson, and Jason Schwartzman. Discover the movie that expanded the Spider-Man multiverse forever.

Hola, fanáticos de Spider-Man. Hoy les traigo una de las mejores películas de nuestro héroe favorito tanto de los cómics como del mundo del cine y el entretenimiento. Así es, les estoy hablando de Spider-Man. Dirigida por Joaquín Dos Santos, Kemp Powers y Justin K. Thompson; Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse fue producida por Columbia Pictures y Sony Pictures Animation. Al igual que su antecesora, esta película cuenta con las voces de Shameik Moore, Hallee Steinfeld, Oscar Isaac, Issa Rae, Jake Johnson y Jason Schwartzman. Conoce la película que expandió el multiverso de Spider-Man para siempre.

Source: FilmAffinity.

Plot

The film opens with a monologue by Gwen Stacy, who tells us about her life as Spider-Woman—a life that hasn’t been easy—and explains that this is why she fully understands what our protagonist, Miles Morales, is going through. Gwen reveals that, some time ago, she accidentally killed her best friend, Peter Parker, who in her universe had become the Lizard. Because of this, and because her father, Captain George Stacy, was present at the time, Gwen is constantly on the run from the police, who believe she is a murderer. However, one day, an incident involving a villain from another universe causes Gwen to reveal her identity to her father.

Trama

La película inicia con un monólogo de Gwen Stacy, quien nos habla de su vida siendo Spider-Woman, la cual no ha sido tan fácil y que es debido a esto que comprende perfectamente lo que vive nuestro protagonista, Miles Morales. Gwen nos cuenta que, hace tiempo, ella asesinó por error a su mejor amigo, Peter Parker, quien en su universo se había convertido en el Lagarto. Debido a esto y a que su padre, el Capitán George Stacy, estuvo presente en ese momento, Gwen huye constantemente de la policía debido a que piensan que es una asesina. Sin embargo, un día, un incidente con un villano que viene de otro universo hace que Gwen revele su identidad ante su padre.

Trailer & Review

Here is the trailer for the movie:

By: Sony Pictures Entertainment.

All the best.

By: Nattosheru.

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After watching The Housemaid, my wife wanted to watch another movie so we landed on another movie I had on my bucketlist for a while and its just a great option to watch with your partner, I mean comedies for the most part are, we had a good time watching The Housemaid and The Naked Gun (2025) I been sitting on for a while because hoenstly Im not a guy who watch comedies alone, had to be something really special. The first impression often is that reboots usually suck, you know this, I know this, everybody knows this and this was always going to be a tough sell because Leslie Nielsen was one of those actors who had a thing nobody can teach you or copy no matter how hard they try, the guy literally became multiple memes from his action movies, but he is also very funny too. Then you got director Akiva Schaffer is a legit master of parody, mostly from the many years he use to write for SNL I think it was like 5 to 7 years on the grind, and he nails the deadpan without making the whole thing feel like a cheap cash grab or a total letdown for the fans of the OG movie who would have eaten him alive for messing this up. The movie opens with a completely new scene that sets the tone right away for the next eighty five minutes and you can feel pretty fast that the spirit of the original is alive even if the world has changed since the eighties, which was a relief because I really did not want to see another classic get reduced to a nostalgia bait disaster by people who do not understand what makes the original jokes actually work. This is a movie where every background detail matters and the way it drops you into the chaos immediately puts you back in that old school slapstick world where anything can happen and will.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3402138/
• Platform: PRIME VIDEO

Liam Neeson comes as close as you are going to get to that dry legendary style that made Frank Drebin an icon, and while he is obviously not the original guy he is one of the best possible choices for Frank Jr because he plays the whole thing with complete dead seriousness and that is exactly why the dumb stuff lands so hard. That is the whole secret of the Naked Gun formula and it is harder to pull off than it looks because the second you break character at the audience it all falls apart. Neeson never winks, hee just walks into every catastrophic scene like he is solving a real crime and that commitment is what makes the you lose your mind and start laughting, Im writing and just smiling remembering the movie. The movie builds out a story about Frank Jr trying to stop some global criminal and it is packed with wordplay and huge sight jokes and I bet if you watch this with more than two they would be going absolutely crazy. Then we also got Pamela Anderson as the love interest for this movie, she plays Beth, its hilarious because if you were born during the 80s well you know how hot she use to be, this was something I was not sure about but she has that perfect classic look and her timing with Neeson is actually really solid when things get weird between them. They are both playing it completely straight while the world around them is collapsing in the most ridiculous ways possible and that straight faced chemistry is what makes those scenes work instead of feeling forced. It reminded me of why I used to go out and watch movies before it became so damn expensive, going to the teather was just loud stupid fun without any of the pressure to mean something important.

The whole plot is basically just a redundant cop story which is exactly what this kind of parody should be, nobody is here for story, the story is just a delivery mechanism for the jokes and the jokes come fast one after another to keep the dopamine and laughts going during the entire runtime. I loved that the movie did not leave behind the older crowd because there are dated references to Janet Jackson and the Black Eyed Peas that any fifty year old dad is going to lose it over, but it also throws in electric car cheap shot jokes and other modern stuff for people who might not even know who Frank Drebin was before today. There is a sequence at Cane’s club where Frank and Beth are trying to quietly dig up evidence tying Richard Cane to the larger conspiracy, with Beth keeping him distracted out front while Frank slips into the back to poke around where he absolutely should not be, and naturally everything starts going sideways almost immediately. It was an actual tense scene, its one of those scenes where the movie just keeps escalating the bit past the point where you think it has to stop and then keeps going anyway, what starts as a simple sneak and distract moment, turns into a full blown chain reaction of collisions, failed improvisations, and panic, with every attempt to recover only making the situation worse in exactly the way this series needs. The effects work is a solid mix of practical and digital and the stunts have a weight to them that you do not always get when something is pure CGI; you can feel the chaos has some real physicality to it, I always preffer practical effects over CGI because it does give you that realism, this is why I love 90s movie, those Beverly Hills Cop movies, this matters more than people realize in a comedy like this. The joke lands harder when bodies seem to actually be flying, crashing, and scrambling through a real space instead of a rubbery and that sense of impact gives the whole sequence an extra kick. It is not just funny because the jokes are absurd, it is funny because the scene is built around a clear objective and then delights in wrecking it piece by piece.

Paul Walter Hauser does not get as much to do as I was hoping and that is a bummer because the guy is a comedy gold mine and every time he showed up I wanted more of him, he still delivers some solid moments as the sidekick just trying to survive the wreckage Frank Jr leaves everywhere he goes but I could have watched a whole side plot of just him reacting to things. That is probably the biggest missed opportunity in the whole movie. There are a few spots where a joke drags just too much for my taste but they probably wanted to keep things balance for everyone, there are also moments where a scene feels like it got edited in a hurry but those moments are rare and they do not kill the vibe of the thing. The overall experience is just pure joy, I had a good time but not a great time, this is not like watching Kevin Hart or Dave Chapell on stage, the comedy I like most of the time. This movie still proves you can actually bring a dead franchise back if you hire the right people who care about what made the original work instead of just cashing in on a name, its clear that this movie make things right when it comes to the source material and keep things as close as possible still with that new generation touch.

#nakedgun2025, #liamneeson, #pamelaanderson, #akivaschaffer, #moviereview, #comedyreboot, #slapstick, #parody, #frankdrebinjr, #newmovies, #theaterlife, #laughoutloud, #classiccomedy, #boxoffice, #banger, #dope, #legit, #funnymovies, #humor, #deadpan, #actioncomedy, #cinemafan, #worthwatching, #movienight, #popcornmuncher

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