So back in 2023 I didn’t like the first The Super Mario Bros Movie. In my review I said “If you want to see a basic animated film for kids The Super Mario Bros Movie I suppose will suffice but if you are hoping for something fresh, exciting, creative or funny I’m afraid you’ll have to look elsewhere.”

Well, the last 3 years have worn down this critic because the new movie The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is all of those things I accused the original of being and it is not fresh or exciting and yet I liked it! (I do think it is creative and funny so maybe that’s where it won me over)

The truth is I don’t really remember the original film well nor did I have time to rewatch it. I recall it being more boring than the new film which honestly can be a little crowded in the story department (crowded and yet also quite basic in its storytelling.)

The thing is it’s also really cute… For whatever reason I found almost every scene to be charming with adorable characters I enjoyed spending time with. I liked that Mario and Luigi were together for most this movie where they weren’t in the original. I liked Yoshi and his cuteness. I thought Peach was a fun character and her sister Rosalina were delightful characters. The toadstools are adorable. Sometimes even us critics have basic responses to film, and that was the case here. I found it to be a charming adventure.

Of course there are problems. As I said, the story is crowded and yet also quite basic. There is no attempt to dazzle me with the animation like we have seen in so many recent animated films. Illumination is still as generic as you can get in that department but the way they interwove the animation from the video game was quite clever and surprising. I am sure there are loads of Easter eggs fans will get but even my non-gamer heart caught a lot of them.

I’m seeing a lot of critics going very hard on this film but I also wonder what kind of movie can you do for 2 male plumbers in a fantasy world. It’s not a concept that strikes me as ripe for storytelling. What they came up with is a generic adventure to save a princess but they filled it with lost of cuteness and enough laughs to entertain me.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie gets a recommendation from this princess peach.

I just wanted to share a quick post with this month’s Blind Spot pick. It was 1982’s First Blood which is our introduction to the character of John Rambo. This was honestly much better than I was anticipating and I had a great time talking about it with my friend Ryan who filled in for Manda in March.

I didn’t expect to be moved by Rambo’s story but I was. It’s also not as violent as the sequels became known for. It’s a survival story of veteran Rambo being hunted by Brian Dennehy’s Teasle.

I was quite touched when Rambo says “I can’t get it out of my head. A dream of seven years. Everyday I have this. And sometimes I wake up and I don’t know where I am. I don’t talk to anybody. Sometimes a day – a week. I can’t put it out of my mind.”

If you haven’t seen this first Rambo movie, First Blood, I highly recommend it. It’s one of the bigger surprises I’ve had with Blind Spot for some time. A really good movie and I think our discussion was insightful. Would love your thoughts.

April we have the very long Cleopatra which should be an adventure to watch. I’m excited.

I always try to go into every screening with hope and optimism but there are certain franchises that can be a little harder to that for me than others- the Disney live action remakes for example. However, even with them I try to be open minded and sometimes they surprise me. Such was my experience with the most recent Colleen Hoover adaptation Reminders of Him. I strongly disliked her 2 previous adaptations so I looked at this new one with some degree of skepticism. That is why I’m delighted to tell you I really enjoyed this film! In fact, I enjoyed it enough I have seen it twice and I ended up interviewing the director. See below:

And no I didn’t enjoy the film because I was interviewing- the other way around to be honest. Anyway, this is actually a moving character piece about forgiveness, love and allowing people to recover from past wrongs. Maika Monroe plays Kenna who is freshly out of prison and trying to get her life back together. She begins a relationship hesitantly with Ledger played by Tyriq Withers, who has ties to her past. Lauren Graham and Bradley Whitford give strong supporting performances. The 2 leads have smoldering chemistry and they are both likable people I was rooting for (something I couldn’t’ say about the 2 previous films)

If you see Colleen Hoover and groan maybe give Reminders of Him a shot. It might make you a believer too.

Speaking of new perspectives and opportunities I am very sad about my time at KSL Movie Show has come to an end. I loved working on that show and was hopeful it would be a permanent position. Fortunately I am starting up my own weekly show called Friday Flicks which I would love if you all checked out. It’s going to be live streamed at around 9am mt Friday mornings and you will hear all the latest reviews and some really fun segments like TV movie of the week and re-release of the week.

Any help you could give on this new series I would really appreciate. It’s also on the audio streams for both Hallmarkies Podcast and Rachel’s Reviews.

Also my patreon is crucial right now to be able to keep doing what I do as the world seems insistent on me being a lone wolf, doing my own thing. I have some really fun perks so please take a look at the patreon. Most of the patrons have stayed on for multiple years they’ve enjoyed it so much.

Today I have a quick post for you to share our latest episode of Blind Spot podcast series. Manda and I took a look at the 2002 romantic comedy Brown Sugar:

While I like both of the leads in this movie and I thought they had good chemistry (Manda didn’t) the problem comes with the execution of the friends-to-lovers story. What makes that trope great is the building tension between 2 people afraid to make that leap and ruin the friendship. With these 2 they almost consummate their relationship the day before he marries another woman. This not only destroys the tension but it makes both of them unlikable and hard to root for. Do we want a rom-com about cheaters? I don’t think so.

Still I did like the tribute to hip-hop and the supporting cast is fun including Queen Latifah. It’s available to watch on hulu if you want to check it out.

My patrons keep me honest and able to see and review as much as I do. Make sure you check out the patreon for perks, exclusive reviews and to be part of our monthly events and watch alongs. If you value honest criticism check it out. Find out more here.

It’s amazing how time flies. 2026 marks my 10th year doing the Blind Spot project. It’s also the beginning of my 3rd year doing the podcast coverage for the series with my friend Manda. As much as I enjoyed writing my own thoughts on the movie I have enjoyed even more watching and talking about them with my friend. For this epic year of Blind Spot we have 12 movies picked out for 2026. It’s a diverse and fun list I hope you will all enjoy. Here goes:

January- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

February- Brown Sugar

March- Rambo: First Blood

April- Cleopatra

May- Sweet Charity

June- Housesitter

July- SubUrbia

August- Once Upon a Time in America

October- Single White Female

November- New York, New York

December- Black Christmas

So there you have it! All 12 picks for 2026. What do you think of this list? I hope once I get things finalized with my future with KSL Movie Show I can figure out a  new normal for written reviews as I know I have been woefully negligent in that department this year. Nevertheless, I hope you have a wonderful New Year and look forward to many positive experiences to come.

I think all movie fans (including critics) have directors and writers that while excellent at their crafts just aren’t on our wavelengths or taste. These filmmakers make movies that aren’t bad but will rarely be listed amongst our favorites due to themes and stylistic choices they like to embody. One of these directors for me is writer/director Shane Black.

These feelings about Black’s work is perhaps surprising because he always sets his films at Christmas so you’d think I’d be drawn to him but his aggressively quirky style and mixture of violence and comedy rarely works for me. Such is the case with his early hit Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. This is by no means a bad movie but it’s just not my taste.

In the film Robert Downey Jr plays a burglar turned actor who gets involved with a series of crimes in seedy LA by trying to help his childhood friend named Harmony (Michelle Monaghan.) We also see Val Kilmer playing a gay detective named Perry and Corbin Bernsen as the mob boss Harlan Dexter.

The best part of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is the editing and action. It is constantly moving from one set-piece to the next. The performances are also a lot of fun throughout with a star-making turn from RDJ.

I guess where the movie loses me is in the aggressively self-conscious script that prefers more about flashy dialogue over authentic characters. It’s distracting when the screenwriter is drawing more attention t themselves rather than the story or characters.

Speaking of the story it’s kind of a mess. Characters are introduced out of nowhere (like the pink haired girl) and then never addressed again. The narrative is all-over-the-place and I’m not sure who the protagonist actually is. One wants to say it is RDJ but we learn more about Harmony and at times it seems like her movie. It’s one of those movies one has to enjoy in the moment because the overall story is muddled.

All that said Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a confident debut feature from Black. It may not be my cup of tea stylistically but at least he has a style and I can see why it was viewed as a promising start for him and his work.

My patrons keep me honest and able to see and review as much as I do. Make sure you check out the patreon for perks, exclusive reviews and to be part of our monthly events and watch alongs. If you value honest criticism check it out. Find out more here.

Hi everyone! I hope you are enjoying a wonderful November. I actually posted our Blind Spot episode a couple of weeks ago but forgot to post it here on the blog. We made a last minute change to the schedule when I realized I had a major blind spot in the original Predator movie from 1987.

I am perhaps one of the few people who saw Predator Badlands before seeing the original film. This is particularly unique for that film as Badlands subverts the franchise by telling the story of a predator creature instead of the normal human POV. I really enjoyed Badlands as a stand alone entry but even without seeing the other films admire it’s attempt to try something new (we are getting a Moana remake just to remind you how rare such an attempt actually is.)

The biggest surprise watching the original Predator film is how much of a monster movie it is. It is not the scifi movie of something like the Alien films but more similar to something like Jurassic Park. I was also surprised how much of an ensemble film it is. Honestly Carl Weathers is as much the star of the film as Arnold Schwarzenegger.

It’s also more of a war movie than I expected with many scenes reminding me of Apocalypse Now or other 80s era war films. The director John McTiernan is in love with the visual effects of the 80s including making the predator be clear or invisible. It is a very bloody film but at under 2 hours doesn’t feel bloated like many action movies do today.

If you haven’t seen Predator it is definitely worth a watch, as is Predator Badlands. It’s the kind of franchise filmmaking we should be encouraging from Hollywood (and Disney) instead of the soulless entries  they so often offer.

My patrons keep me honest and able to see and review as much as I do. Make sure you check out the patreon for perks, exclusive reviews and to be part of our monthly events and watch alongs. If you value honest criticism check it out. Find out more here.