Fantastic Four: First Steps and Thunderbolts*

A pair of Marvel movies.

Fantastic Four: First Steps

In a world where the future feels very much like the Jetsons, established super heroes and planetary defenders the Fantastic Four (this time led by Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards) face a pair of unexpected events: the impeding arrival of world eater Galactus, and having a baby. Alas, the script makes it that not all Four get an equal amount of importance - this mission could have been done with just three.

The bad part of being established heroes means there are lots of public speaking / speaking to the crowd parts but good CGI and some nice action pieces keep the story moving. While there are similarities to the Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) there are enough differences to make it unique. Alas overall, its still a pretty average movie. 

Thunderbolts*

When a group of individual black ops operatives from various sources (with a focus on Florence Pugh's Black Widow) are sent into a trap, they end up forming a team that reluctantly saves the day. Outside the decent plot, humor and action pieces the movie explores depression which is different for a superhero flick. Despite that the acting, story and overall tone are still vastly more enjoyable than Fantastic Four: First steps above. Thumbs up!

KPop Demon Hunters

What a good excuse to get musical numbers in!

Demons have always been trying to invade the world but since the beginning of time there have always been a trio of battle bardic women who destroy them with magic weapons but also trap them in hell with their songs. The most modern trio is on the verge of locking them in for good, but hell sends through their last hope: a demon boy band!?

It is easy to see why this movie is so popular, and not just from the songs which are also quite enjoyable. The super powered starlet heroines are frequently shown in a comical and very humanizing light and despite the whole demons eating everyone's souls bit the tone is light enough for everyone to enjoy. Excellent and highly recommended! 

Terminal List: Dark Wolf

A decent prequel.

This prequel to the Terminal List follows Ben Edwards (Taylor Kitsch) on his quest to kill all the bad guys, rules be damned - which actually makes for an interesting story. With an ok body count, some nice action pieces and a decent enough plot I quite enjoyed this one, despite it dropping the tension ball during the final episode which is a bit of a shame. Extra shout out to the cool intro sequence that really reminds you its a prequel too.

I do have that same gripe I did with (the now cancelled) Countdown though: too much time wasted on the bad guys. Those segments can be shortened down so much and it would improve the story. Oh well, if this prequel gets a sequel then maybe they can sort that out next time.

Jorel's Brother and the Eastern Exorcist

Two games with non-English origins.

Jorel's Brother and the Most Important Game in the Galaxy

This point and click adventure is based on a Brazilian cartoon called "Jorel's Brother", who is the protagonist here and in the show apparently. See Jorel is the most fantastic guy in town and basically the chosen one so its no fun to play him - instead you are his wimpy little brother who has no name of his own.

The art style gets some getting used to, and the logic to solve some puzzles is annoying due to having to do the same action multiple times to progress (and you don't realize its progressing) but luckily the hint radio is very useful. That said I really got into it and finished the game in one weekend sitting and am now somewhat interested in seeing the series that it spawned from - if I can find a subbed or dubbed version of it anyway.

Eastern Exorcist

This Chinese side scrawling action RPG is an excellent one, with decent graphics, easy controls, some excellent design decisions (like putting teleport spots to save time and giving infinite dash to let you traverse places fast), interesting plots and a very wide array of enemies (mooks and bosses) to contend with. Combo attack timings aren't super difficult to execute, though some chains are simply more useful than others. Same with how there are many things that can be leveled up but in reality you'll likely be using just the most useful ones repeatedly. I really enjoyed this one.

The Naked Gun and Ice Road: Vengeance

Liam Neeson to the rescue!

The Naked Gun (2025)

This comedic legacy sequel of the old 1994 Naked Gun movies has Liam Neeson in the main role as the son of the previous protagonist. It better pacing and more modern effects while keeping the same tone, silly plot and sense of humor as the previous ones. That last point is pretty important actually, because if you didn't like the jokes before you're not going to like the gags here either. The opening five minutes will be a pretty good indicator of if you'll be on board or not. I liked it, but it's not a great film. :P

Ice Road: Vengeance

This sequel to the Ice Road has Liam Neeson's protagonist from the first film head over to Nepal where  he is waylaid by bad guys and given an excuse to make this an action flick! Not sure about the timing and pacing in some parts but I do like that plot armor is weaker in this which makes it a more enjoyable watch than the first movie. He does do less driving here though, so if you preferred him behind the wheel instead of kicking ass then the first movie will be better for you.

Monument Valley I & II

A beautiful puzzler that won't wreck your mind (too much).

These simple point and click puzzle games put you on a journey through some impossible architecture that will amaze your mind. While the shapes might be impossible the puzzles are actually pretty easy, and with only 10 (+13 ish extras) of them in the original and another 15(ish) in the sequel these are games you will be done with in two to three nights at most... and it is worth it, despite some glitchy bugs towards the end of number II. A great example of simple done well and easily recommended even for those not usually into puzzle games. Thumbs up!

Samorost 2 and the Battle of Polytopia

A pair of super simple games.

Samorost 2

This funny point and click hand drawn adventure sees you journey through space to save your dog who has been captured by aliens. It's a short upbeat game (unlike Happy Game) and while there are some obtuse trial and error bits to it, its not nearly as bad as Machinarium. This is a fun short ride if you can get it for free. 

The Battle of Polytopia

This is basically a boiled down version of Civilization with block graphics. You spend turn based action points to grow your villages, move your troops and basically try to either wipe out all the other civilizations on the map or just be the "best" after [x] amount of turns (usually 30 in the base mode). It is super simple to learn and quite fast and relaxing to play - but it does feel a bit... hollow? Not a bad little game, but it probably only serves as a bridge to actual Civ games.