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Masters of the Universe

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Vampire Owl: Aren’t we the true masters of the universe?

Vampire Bat: I do not think that they are talking about the vampire universe.

Vampire Owl: Every universe requires its own masters.

Vampire Bat: We already have Uncle Dracula here.

Vampire Owl: Yes, even Vampire Elders are there, but they are all symbolic heads.

Vampire Bat: So, you consider us as the true masters.

Vampire Owl: Well, this is the only working universe, isn’t it?

Vampire Bat: The only true universe with relevance, yes.

Vampire Owl: And the only realm without the pure human evil.

Vampire Bat: The human evil has already reached our borders. There is not much of magic left that seems to stop it.

[Gets a thattu dosa and three cups of Munnar tea].

What is the movie about? :: Adam (Nicholas Galitzine) works in human resources, while keeping on searching for a certain sword and lives with his only friend Hussein (Christian Vunipola) in Oklahoma City. People think that him keeping on searching for a sword and telling everyone a specific story about his escape from another planet are parts of his nerd madness which he always had since he was a kid. The search for the sword would affect both his work and social life, as he even tells the same story when on a date. Obsessed with finding the sword due to his memories about being part of another strange world in which he lived as the prince and had come to Earth with a magic sword, Adam receives an anonymous tip in the form of a text message that the sword is located and he reclaims it at a comic store, running away with it. But the next day, he is arrested for stealing the sword, but the police car is stopped in transit on the highway when a strange creature attacks them and halts the traffic. The ape-like creature turns out to be Beast Man (Gary Martin) who had come from another world and chases Adam.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: As Adam keeps running, a woman in white comes to the scene, identifying herself as his childhood friend, Teela (Camila Mendes). She tells him that the sword had given her a signal when it was claimed and raised to the sky, seemingly provided the same signal to many others of their planet far away. In this planet named Eternia which was once ruled by Adam’s parents King Randor (James Purefoy) and Queen Marlena (Charlotte Riley), no longer maintains that peace and prosperity after being taken over by Skeletor (Jared Leto), his sidekick Evil-Lyn (Alison Brie) and a number of other evil minions. This loss after being defeated by a cyborg and weapons expert of Skeletor, Trap Jaw (Sam C Wilson) had also left the commander-in-chief of the army of Eterna, Man-At-Arms a.k.a. Duncan (Idris Elba) to severe depression and alcoholism, much to the dismay of his daughter Teela. After training so many people of the planet to defend the evil forces, he along with many others had fallen into disarray after Skeletor took over and unleashed chaos.

And what more can happen in this world of chaos and destruction unleashed by forces of evil? :: It was the Sorceress (Morena Baccarin) who sent Adam to Earth to save him and the sword from Skeletor, and as it was the original home planet of the queen a long distance away from Eternia, safety was guaranteed, but as a child, he had lost the sword only to be found now, triggering alarms all around the universe. Adam and Teela manage to outrun the Beast Man and escape in their spaceship in front of shocked humans who could do nothing but stare. Back home, the resistance forces against Skeletor who are not imprisoned by Teela leaving her defence outpost and bringing a strange man with the sword, imprisons her and Adam along with an alcoholic Duncan and a former combat robot reprogrammed as a cleaning robot, Roboto (Kristen Wiig). But they escape with the help of the robot and keeps the sword with them while the defenders of the resistance are either killed or captured by Skeletor’s forces. As they try to escape them and come face to face against Trap Jaw, it seems to be the end for them, but can they find a way to defeat him and his shooters against all odds?

The defence of Masters of the Universe :: The movie has some stunning visuals with the setting in a beautiful planet. The world is too good with the fantasy model buildings and the environment which makes it feel like a colourful paradise. Nicholas Galitzine makes a fine impact as the protagonist, while Idris Elba brings the fun. But the best impact is made by Camila Mendes as Teela, who remains a stunner in those action sequences with her movement and style, as the only one true character who is a born-fighter continuing to be so at all times. Jared Leto as Skeletor is a villain to remember, and gets the screen-time he missed as the Joker in Suicide Squad. Morena Baccarin who gets back after The Wrecking Crew gets less screen time even as such a significant character. Alison Brie as Evil-Lyn works nicely too as one never sees any evil this cute and strong in magic. The humour in the movie also remains so much fun, and the elements taken from cartoon are nicely placed here without too much darkness ever coming into picture. Adora a.k.a. She-Ra played by Lauren Saliu shown during mid-credits also keeps us interested as the one scene itself seems to bring lot of hope for a possible sequel about which we are still not that sure.

Positives and negatives :: This is a feeling of nostalgia, and as we had the cartoon of the same name running in Malayalam in this part of the world, there is no other superhero who had this much of an influence on us as children. We had to return home early from school and then we would successfully watch this one. In the case of the movie, people might find that this is a little bit too cartoonish and as more for the children, but those would be the people who forgot how they grew up watching this, and if Avengers, Justice League and team could be taken as full action, this could be too. The supporting characters here could have had some more time, while cutting some time from the moments spent on Earth. The final fight is lovely to watch, even though the moments back on Earth coming in between do not impress much. The quality of the computer-generated imagery losses some quality at times, but remains stable and stylish for most of the time. Use of more magic could have made the world look more charming, and even more shown as part of an exploration like in Avatar, as the design here never far behind.

How it finishes :: The lack of some seriousness might be the reason why it had the same effect as John Carter at the box-office, but one cannot forget the fact that it was one fine movie, and one of the best of that year. We can blame the strange movie-watching habits of the biggest markets of the movie which did not even make Pacific Rim a super-hit, but Asia serves that title well. All these movies surely did well in this part of the world, and one keeps wondering if a better trailer could have meant better result for the movie at the box-office. I would surely love to see its sequel with the lady superhero, but one has to wonder if the same would happen when the total collection is considered. But this is sure to do well on Amazon Prime Video, and that should also mean something to everyone. For now, this is a charming adventure and entertainer which does not have a dull moment once the scenes shift to the far away planet. The beautiful spectacle of a world with a classic adventure with battles to remember is not something that we can always see with this much charm. People can find cartoon-faults, but I find this to be something I should have watched on the big screen with all of its big screen splendour.

Release date: 5 June 2026
Running time: 140 minutes
Directed by: Travis Knight
Starring: Nicholas Galitzine, Camila Mendes, Alison Brie, James Purefoy, Morena Baccarin, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Kristen Wiig, Jared Leto, Idris Elba

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Eenie Meanie

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Vampire Owl: This sounds like a nice name which we can use for a new vampire.

Vampire Bat: How can a vampire be called by such a name in our realm?

Vampire Owl: It is still better than being called Vampire Owl I and Vampire Owl II.

Vampire Bat: So, there is a second vampire who is an owl?

Vampire Owl: We have to be ready for all possibilities in a world of chaos.

Vampire Bat: A world of chaos can only use a chaotic name.

Vampire Owl: That would scare legends like Dr. Frankenstein away.

Vampire Bat: Mr. Frankenstein already have a scary name for himself.

Vampire Owl: Frankenstein is a name given to legends these days.

Vampire Bat: Uncle Dracula has been fed up with that name for some time due to those illegal and ridiculous experiments involving lightning, which have caused power shortage in the castle.

[Gets a gobi masala dosa and three cups of Ooty tea].

What is the movie about? :: Edie Meaney (Samara Weaving) had a troubled past which included being pulled over by police while driving her drunk parents who had drugs in their possession, and had ended up crashing the car. Then, as she was aged fourteen, with her mother dead and father paralyzed after the accident which was meant to save them from being arrested, had to go through a series of abusive foster homes, and was almost sold to sexual slavery, but was saved by John (Karl Glusman), a young criminal with whom she had also fallen in love, and stayed together for about fifteen years. Edie and John had carried out multiple robberies for the ruthless mob boss Nico (Andy Garcia), who had nicknamed her “Eenie Meanie”. She was known for her driving skills which had helped them a lot during the most complicated situations, something which had made her the favourite driver of the group, and her getaways have been iconic. Even her rival driver Perm (Marshawn Lynch) had a high opinion about her.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: In the present, Edie has left her life as a getaway driver a long way behind, and had finally found the emotional courage to break up with John. As she works at a bank to support herself in going to college and get a degree, she becomes stuck at the bank counter during a robbery and is hit on the head to be knocked out. At the hospital, she finds out that she is pregnant with the child of John. Even though there are many advice for her to mind her own business, Edie goes and visits John, who is being interrogated by Nico’s men, and after surprising them, reluctantly uses her driving skills to save him. John had kidnapped Nico’s card counter man Leo (Randall Park) for a certain activity, and as he takes them out of the hiding place, ends up killing him much to the dismay of Edie. Once again pulled into the criminal world, this time being pregnant, she gets a call of Nico and him as well as his right-hand man George (Mike O’Malley) provides her with an offer.

And what more is to happen here as one man would dictate the terms? :: This offer would involve stealing a car containing three million dollars in cash, which is to serve as the prize for an upcoming poker tournament at a casino in the state. Only this could cover their losses due to the death of the man and this would be the one thing that could keep John alive at least for now. After getting a new car with the amount provided by Nico, they go and see Chaperone (Jermaine Fowler) as instructed, but he finds John to be liability who slows down both Edie and the mission, but she remains adamant that he is an integral part of the mission, and it is not just because he had helped him a lot in the past when she had no hope. She asserts that he also has the same kind of skills within him, and has helped a lot with the earlier missions, and that leaves the doubts behind for the time being for them. With some help from casino staff, the Dodge Charger which is to be given as the prize with three million inside is replaced with an identical model which is ready to drive as soon as the cash is loaded into it. But can Edie manage to take it out when everyone’s watching?

The defence of Eenie Meanie :: The movie rest on the shoulders of Samara Weaving, without doubt – her style, dialogues, charisma, dry humour and screen presence, all rises all the way above the whole movie, and rarely do we such a work which feels better than the film itself, and as we remember her performance in Ready or Not, we do feel here that she has always been ready, and eternally ready to shine in action movies. Whenever the movie gets weaker due to its lack of anything special, she becomes the one special ingredient. Elle Graham who plays her younger version had also made an early impact. Then, it can be seen that the heist and getaway driving sequences are nicely shot. During these moments, the high-speed thrills look polished and fast-paced. The humour works at times, and we see some elevation here and there. The second half shows a clear upgrade from the dumb beginning moments, and all the memorable moments are right there. Andy Garcia remains solid as the crime boss. Then the movie has its good looks.

The claws of flaw :: The movie feels elongated with not that much of a content to stretch it to the final run-time which it has achieved. Karl Glusman is playing a strange man who is good for nothing, and the main character for a past, remains attached to the person, and one cannot stop being bothered about it – there are not many things absurd than this which seems to cause everything that happens in the movie. One can only wonder if such a step will be taken by a smart modern woman in any case, as there is always limit to everything. The movie also seems to try too many things, some of them unnecessary – there is a pregnancy storyline, family estrangement and a number of unnecessary characters, which leaves the main heist plot feeling rushed and most of the things seem to wait till the end, even when there were so many opportunities to keep planning and talk about the same in between. There was much to be done to add right towards the action and even humour, and the emotional side just goes not useful at all. Some of the scenes including the first meeting of the two former lovers stay ridiculous.

How it finishes :: The movie maintains the brainless fun mode pretty well, but the slow progress does not help the same too much. The tale also does not seem to add anything too interesting in its narrative, and holds back with its action which arrives too late. The final moments do come up with what it was required to do, but it feels rushed, after all those talks in between. There is some poetic justice delivered right there. Then there is Samara Weaving who makes this feel so much better, and as she shoulders this, the quality itself feels very much improved. There is always hope when she is around, and we see the level of the movie elevated, and this much she achieves with that strange character that takes decisions against her own ideas and plans. The ending stays closer to reality, and most of it was something we waited to see happen. There are many thoughts about how this one could be improved. We would expect a more fast-paced full action thriller with a nicely planned heist, but that much is not reached. This one serves as an entertainer in Jio Hotstar which we can watch for time-pass.

Release date: 22 August 2025
Running time: 106 minutes
Directed by: Shawn Simmons
Starring: Samara Weaving, Karl Glusman, Jermaine Fowler, Marshawn Lynch, Steve Zahn, Andy Garcia, Randall Park, Mike O’Malley

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Ice Road: Vengeance

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Vampire Owl: I have always thought about creating an ice road in the realm.

Vampire Bat: An ice road would not be that smooth a path for vehicles.

Vampire Owl: We just hover over the ice with our vampire levitating skills.

Vampire Bat: In that case, you can ask the vampire sorcerers to create a magical path.

Vampire Owl: No, too many magical witches on the way who could devastate the path.

Vampire Bat: Well, all the magic does not belong to one particular group.

Vampire Owl: Yes, like Dr. Frankenstein uses that magic of science.

Vampire Bat: Mr. Frankenstein will never know true science.

Vampire Owl: Frankenstein’s science is beyond all vampire limits.

Vampire Bat: We will know more about the same when Uncle Dracula addresses one of the great vampire gatherings again and make declarations.

[Gets a fortune cookie and three cups of taro tea].

What is the movie about? :: Mike McCann (Liam Neeson) a seasoned ice-road trucker, is going through a certain amount of survivor’s guilt after the death of his younger brother, Gurty McCann who (Marcus Thomas). Despite the best efforts of his psychologist, he is not able to find anything positive in life. After some days, to honour Gurty’s last wish, Mike decides to travel to Nepal so that he can scatter his ashes on the top of Mount Everest. As he reaches there, there is something going in a village further away from Kathmandu, in Kodari. There, local people keep opposing the construction of a huge hydroelectric dam that would affect the access of water supply from the river, which is the biggest dream and grand project of the nation’s leading industrialist Rudra Yash (Mahesh Jadu). Rudra is determined to make this happen one way or the other, and decides to kill the members of the family who refused to send the lands to them – Vijay Rai (Saksham Sharma), the youngest member of the family is chased by goons through the town.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: While standing in front of protests, Vijay understands that his grandfather was murdered by Rudra’s henchmen by pushing his bus off the huge cliff using a truck killing so many other passengers, thus making it look like an accident, as nobody else was around. Mikes finds his guide to travel to the top of Everest as some guy named Dani, but later realizes that it is Dhani Yangchen (Fan Bingbing), half-Nepali and half-Malaysian who had reached the top of the mountain many times. They join a group of passengers aboard a bus known as Kiwi Express which goes through the Road to the Sky, a narrow, high-altitude mountain pass. An American professor who had recently delivered a talk in the nearby university, Evan Myers (Bernard Curry), and his daughter Starr Myers (Grace O’Sullivan) also get into the bus along with a few others. But soon, Vijay is attacked by two strangers with guns and they knock out the boy while hijacking the bus, asking the driver to go through another route so that they can take him to a location according to their plan. Now, can the bus be saved?

The defence of Ice Road: Vengeance :: All the action at Kathmandu around the Himalayas makes sure that a visually unique and stunning background is achieved, and there are moments with this landscape which makes the situation even better. The visuals keep us hoping for such a journey through Himalayas or any other snow-covered mountains, especially as we rarely see any snow around. The quick pace of the movie makes sure that we are always in an action thriller, even those dialogues seem to support the same. Almost everyone among the cast seems to be fully powered for action, and there is something about their fight for survival which keeps us wishing them the best against all odds. Different types of people coming together to save themselves and defeat the villains never gets less interesting. There is a certain amount of humour and the emotional side is also there up to an extent. The nostalgic, old-school formula which reminds us of those 1980s and 1990s action flicks working so well here keeps us more interested. In the end, it is all about saving a village, and that matters here.

Positives and negatives :: The movie nicely makes use of the available elements from its cast to the visual world that surrounds everyone. It might not become the perfect action thriller without those huge action sequences, but we always have enough. Even with a message about nature and conservation of environment ready to come to the front, it never does the same, and leaving with the same does not happen at all. There are also moments when the movie feels like going the silly way, but with some willing suspension of disbelief, the same is handled well. Even though this one remains visually stunning, the Computer Generated Imagery is not used to the best advantage. The journey through ice road is rather less in this one too. The ending scene is lovely, but it seems a little bit forced. The action just before that was grand, but could have been quicker in execution, and the danger in the end should have given a riskier feeling, especially with a group with rich and powerful people with control over police chasing the people in the bus. Yet, the thrills remain there and the fights continue to be effective.

The performers of the soul :: Liam Neeson once again does the job, and like in Taken, A Walk Among the Tombstones, The Grey and Non-stop, goes through the difficult times to make it better. Nobody does it better than him when playing an aged hero with a past which has more tales to tell than people can think about. Fan Bingbing as the mountain guide Dhani Yangchen is a strong lady lead who can hold her own side in the narrative, and there are some fine fight scenes for her to excel. Amelia Bishop also plays a mercenary villain who gets a lot of action for herself. Grace O’Sullivan’s character is also played well as the significance of this one is also there at all times. Bernard Curry’s work is short-lived as the character is the first one to be killed. Marcus Thomas as Gurty McCann makes some presence through the flashbacks which come to the screen at times. Mahesh Jadu plays an antagonist who is menacing enough, Monish Anand’s supportive villain also has his moments. Geoff Morrell’s character adds some initial fun too. Saksham Sharma as Vijay Rai manages the role just as expected.

How it finishes :: Ice Road: Vengeance is one of those fine entertaining action thrillers which never losses its strength during its journey with a run-time just a little bit less than two hours. This is that kind of a movie which leaves us the feeling of a natural thriller, as it feels close to life due to never overdoing it and the situation related to dam construction and destruction of home and nature remaining even closer to life. There is no extra effort, but we are glad about what we see around. The 70-plus-year-old Liam Neeson trying to climb the Himalayas and also beating up people with a certain amount of struggle still makes it believable while staying on to be a highly entertaining watch which has shots which we will remember. As the movie also has everyone fighting for lives, there is a certain amount of balance here too. As most of us have not watched the previous movie, we cannot really compare this to the first movie, but this is surely that kind of a movie which should have released in the theatres here in style as there is a specific touch that could attract the audience around here.

Release date: June 27, 2025
Running time: 114 minutes
Directed by: Jonathan Hensleigh
Starring: Liam Neeson, Fan Bingbing, Marcus Thomas, Bernard Curry, Geoff Morrell, Mahesh Jadu, Amelia Bishop, Salim Fayad, Saksham Sharma, Grace O’Sullivan, Monish Anand, Shivantha Wijesinha, Rosie Traynor, Seth Kannof, CJ. Bloomfield, Luke Clayson, Sahil Saluja, Anna-Mai Hoek

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

<<< Click here to go to the biggest movie of last year.

<<< Click here to go to the most awaited sequel of the year.

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Psycho Killer

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Vampire Owl: So, they have finally used the exact title for a smart killer.

Vampire Bat: Being psychotic is not a new thing for humans.

Vampire Owl: If this movie was in the vampire world, it would be psychic not psychotic.

Vampire Bat: Our world has its own dose of psychic vampires.

Vampire Owl: Doctor Sleep, I think, was inspired by them visiting the human world.

Vampire Bat: Vampires visiting human world have more similarities to Byzantium.

Vampire Owl: Yet, the human world remains too close to cruelty as their reality.

Vampire Bat: Brutality is the first step to becoming a human. It has always been so.

Vampire Owl: Whenever the word psycho is used in relation to any species, it points to humanity.

Vampire Bat: Uncle Dracula tried long reasoning with them and banned them within minutes.

[Gets a savala vada and three cups of Ooty tea].

What is the movie about? :: Satanic Slasher (James Preston Rogers) has been terrorizing multiple districts of USA for quite some time, murdering people who seemed to be random victims as he never really chose one place at a time. The scenes of murder were identified as places of unparalleled terror where even police officers fear to go. He had received the name from the media and public due to the occult symbols he had left behind at the crime scenes and his brutality seemingly reflecting the hell which he had written about at the areas where the murders took place – Satan worship was the only common thing. Jane Archer (Georgina Campbell) is a highway patrol officer who finds her husband, a police officer, being murdered by Slasher as his identity was almost discovered by the man. She becomes obsessed with finding and bringing the man to justice if she cannot kill him, and with memories of her husband and expecting their first child, she decides to go on a hunt much to the dismay of her relatives and the co-workers who understand that they cannot stop her, whatever they say or do.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: She feels that Slasher could be a murderous Satanic preacher who held his own people hostage and then killed them in a famous case of mass murder, but is someone who was supposed to have died some time ago. The other option is that someone who is a big fan might have taken over the identity, especially someone who is interested in Satan worship and hopes to go full evil as a demon of destruction to please the devil, the signs clearly being there in the death scenes. She also finds out that Slasher murdered a female pharmacist in a small town around and had raided the pharmacy for a number of antidepressants and other drugs. Despite her getting no support from the FBI which had taken over the case from the police, one of the officers Becky Collins (Grace Dove) provides her the route of his attacks and the fact that he had never taken the drugs to sell them, and could have only used them for himself. She also adds that he had also attacked a librarian and some books were also reported stolen from the local library.

And what more is to happen here as a demonic serial killer is on the hunt? :: Slasher also kills a couple facing a car breakdown whom he finds on the way, and gets into a church and kills the parish priest there after asking for a confession, and drinks his blood. But he is not satisfied as he keeps looking for answers. As Jane finds him staying in a motel and tries to restrain him all by herself as FBI provides no support, he attacks her and beats her up before throwing her out of the room, knocking her out before fleeing. Slasher decides to speed things up and goes to a mansion owned by a Satanist cult which is run by a strange man, as they replied to a secret Satanic advertisement with codes which was given by him after committing a murder. Slasher uses them to find a man whom he has been looking for, and despite them accepting him as one of theirs, he finds their ways hedonistic as the Satanic members go on naked sexual acts pairing up random men against women for unleashing their carnal desires in the name liberation and liberalism against all limits of morality. He decides to do something that he feels will open the gates to hell. But can he do that all by himself? How many more will die in the process?

The defence of Psycho Killer :: Georgina Campbell as Jane Archer comes up with a brilliant performance, as we feel the determination related her, and how well she does a woman on vengeance as much on duty and mourning. James Preston Rogers as the slasher is a strong presence, and never losses the power of the psycho killer on a mission. The grim, bloody and dark atmosphere of the movie works really well as the visuals suit the serial killer mode as much as the demonic level nicely. The brutal murder of the hedonists in the Satanic mansion might be one of the best moments in the movie as it has a certain amount of poetic beauty to it. The next classic moments come by the end of it, as the attempt to open the gates of hell got a terrifying vibe to it, with hidden implications, even though not a real intervention of supernatural in store. The evil here can be really felt as there is the Satanist and anti-God vibe to it; the depiction of the same is exactly as we have seen in the movies and news here too – the need to do evil is rather too strong here.

Positives and negatives :: The final moments provide that fine twist related to the idea of hell, and it is indeed a smart move but people will still feel that this is a deviation from the serial killer mode which was to go on a full psychotic murder spree from the shadows. There could have also been more action in the final moments and a supernatural twist would have also done more. The Satanic cult tropes, bloody aesthetics and the atmosphere for fear still stays well here. Malcolm McDowell’s role is also worth noting as Satanic leader, but one feels that he could have been there for more. The same is the case of Grace Dove and Logan Miller who leaves rather too early. Then, the Computer Generated Imagery show some struggle at times too. The blood and gore, despite never over done for a slasher movie, might not be comfortable for everyone. Its release also went unnoticed, as we look when it really came out for the viewers. If it was not for its entry into JioHotstar, I would have never known about it either.

How it finishes :: The movie maintains the aesthetic of horror as a psycho killer going the Satanist way provides the extra, but one also feels that the final product does not go to the psychological thriller mode which was also there for the taking. This is still a classic finish with some moments to remember in between, as we see a kind of slasher with nostalgia which brings something to stay with its divergence which is not from the basic elements, but to bring something new. The movie surely had so much scope as a slasher which could make it big here, as the idea would feel still relevant in this world rather than where it really released. For all the die-hard slasher fans of 1990s thriller aesthetics, it will always remain the right watch for us. When most of us remember that we were all fans of Evil Dead, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Scream and other franchises from quite some time ago, this one should begin another franchise – the ending happens in such a way that there is scope for sequel. A slasher fan would find it better not to read too much of those negative reviews and go for a sequel if it finally gets released.

Release date: 20th February 2026
Running time: 91 minutes
Directed by: Gavin Polone
Starring: Georgina Campbell, James Preston Rogers, Malcolm McDowell, Logan Miller, Grace Dove

<<< Click here to go to the previous review.

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

The Wrecking Crew

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Vampire Owl: We have acted as wrecking crew of our vampire army before.

Vampire Bat: I thought you preferred the words, destruction and devastation.

Vampire Owl: I had also used the word, annihilation. But not anymore.

Vampire Bat: So, you are becoming more positive in your ideology.

Vampire Owl: As long as I do not see any human; they are too evil towards infinity.

Vampire Bat: Human evil in a particular form is also shown in this movie, I believe.

Vampire Owl: Humans can only elevate the evil; there is no escape.

Vampire Bat: Shadow demons once called them the true demonic ones.

Vampire Owl: Shadow demons, despite their strength in shades are lesser evil.

Vampire Bat: Human evil will always find a way, even better than the undead witches.

[Gets a pineapple cake and three cups of Vagamon tea].

What is the movie about? :: James Hale (Dave Bautista) and Jonny Hale (Jason Momoa) are step brothers who have been living apart for a long time, never really feeling the need to meet each other or even have a talk over the phone in the last few years. Jonny has moved to Oklahoma, and is working as a police officer with his girlfriend Valentina Silva (Morena Baccarin) a Portuguese-speaking immigrant from Brazil. After he makes a mess of things again as he has been doing for a long time, he gets suspended, and despite all the begging about him needing her and in spite of all the sweet talk about her being the most beautiful Latino girl he ever known, Valentina decides to leave him citing the lack of concern and talk he had with her in the last few months. At the same time, James is an officer in the United States Navy, and is living a happy and peaceful life with his wife Leila Hale (Roimata Fox) and his two children back in Hawaii, and takes his job very seriously. He is a much-loved figure in his town for his responsible and helpful behaviour, and the family has built quite a positive reputation.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: The death of their father by a car accident brings them together, even though they know nothing about him from the last few years, and have not seen him quite some time. Jonny decides to stay at Hawaii for some time to attend the funeral as well as investigate his death. The meeting with James and his family feels like a thought process, as they had not seen each other for such a long time, and never even called to know the other. Their cousin Haunani Palakiko (Frankie Adams) also arrives for the funeral, and she is one of the few people permanently settled in the area as she works for the mayor of the town, Peter Mahoe (Temuera Morrison). Jonny tells James that the death of their father was not an accident, as he was attacked by some Yakuza thugs at his Oklahoma home, and they were asking for a package which was sent by their father. James does not want Jonny to investigate and get into trouble as the police had already called it an accident, and their father was carelessly standing on the road while the car was speeding.

And what more would happening here as there is indeed a mystery to solve? :: James feels that Jonny just keeps getting into trouble for one reason or the other like the day when he had to leave home for a long time while being hunted by a local crime syndicate who still seeks vengeance. But James decides to go through the investigation just to make sure, and Jonny is already on the same, beating up people according to the need for information. As their paths converge to their father’s apartment, they find plans for a casino and resort. With their cousin’s help, they discover that the casino is to be built on the Hawaiian homes which are already occupied by the locals. It is to be built by an influential billionaire known as Marcus Robichaux (Claes Bang), and the brothers decide to crash one of their grand parties. There, they meet Monica Robichaux (Lydia Peckham), who is Marcus’ wife, and also the members of the same gang who launched an attack on Jonny. Monica tells him that she had hired their father to investigate on her husband. They realize that all of these are connected and there might have been some secrets which got out. But can they find out anything before they are hunted or the evidence is destroyed by money and influence?

The defence of The Wrecking Crew :: The movie works the best more due to its use of its leading cast, the two classic action heroes who do such a fine work. Dave Bautista, the Drax of Guardians of the Galaxy from Marvel and Jason Momoa, the Aquaman of Justice League of America from DC, manages to do deliver heavy punches as they did in those movies where they had superpowers, but this case remains much believable. The different characters which they have been playing in the past also helps in the purpose, and they genuinely look like they belong to one bloodline and fights together like a near-perfect team of two brothers. The hand-to-hand fight scenes are intensely physical and very much gory, with the fight between two brothers also adding to the same. Then there is Morena Baccarin who gets into the action so well, and that sequence with a helicopter chasing the car is too good especially with her around. Along with the rest, she also handles the humour really well. Morena transforms into an action star very soon, and the other female characters despite following well, just got to do the usual thing.

The claws of flaw :: The movie depends too much on the main characters and does not come up with anything different or special. The action and the journey itself never really leave the predictability as we look at the beginning and the initial situations. We should have also had more of Morena, as she seems to have come to leave her lover and drive a car away from a helicopter, and is not present during the rest of the movie at all. Lydia Peckham could have also had a bigger role here, as she looked stunning when she was there, and her character had a lot of scope too. Then the investigation could have also been as interesting as the action, as we wonder how this could have been made more of a suspense-filled search for a murderer and what lies beneath all of these. The final moments become predictable in nature as the bigger revelations happen too soon. The later moments of the movie after the big fights serve less than one would expect. This could have also used the beaches to a better advantage as we look closer.

How it finishes :: The Wrecking Crew goes through its action and a certain amount of humour without looking back at any moment. There are some stylish and classic action moments which would be remembered for how well it is shot with that humorous side, and never really moving away from that light-hearted side. The energy that the characters possess in unparalleled, and it is not just limited to the main protagonists, but also to their partners. As Dave Bautista’s serious strength and Jason Momoa’s wild-man energy matches each other, we watch it in the style of watching a computer game with wrestlers beating up the bad guys – with the case of WWE’s Batista, this would feel as perfect as it could be, as he and the Rock has provided the feeling that wrestling has come to Hollywood, and John Cena has also did it up to an extent. It is a privilege to have wresters who can act in action thrillers, as they make the whole situation better in a believable manner with that kind of a physique. After all, there is no better places to build performers for action that World Wrestling Entertainment which had some of the most classic scripts and on-ring works that we watched during childhood.

Release date: 28th January 2026
Running time: 122 minutes
Directed by: Ángel Manuel Soto
Starring: Dave Bautista, Jason Momoa, Claes Bang, Temuera Morrison, Jacob Batalon, Morena Baccarin

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✠ The Vampire Bat.

Predator: Badlands

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Vampire Owl: They used to call vampires by the title predators.

Vampire Bat: Those times are over now, with a specific set of books and movies.

Vampire Owl: You should know that there is always a chance to reclaim that position.

Vampire Bat: As far as I know, predator is not really a position.

Vampire Owl: It could be the side title of a vampire.

Vampire Bat: You know that these predators are aliens, don’t you?

Vampire Owl: Dr. Frankenstein has told us that there is information which shouldn’t be revealed.

Vampire Bat: Mr. Frankenstein, in the form of a fake doctor, tells nothing of relevance.

Vampire Owl: You know that he inspired a book and so many adaptations.

Vampire Bat: That was the imagination that served, not the person.

[Gets a paneer puffs and three cups of Wayanad tea].

What is the movie about? :: Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) is the smallest member of his clan on the planet Yautja Prime, and is considered too weak to be among the predators. To prove that he is better than most of his kind, Dek plans to hunt a creature known as the Kalisk, an apex predator on what is often called the death planet – the world far away known as Genna. Kwei (Mike Homik), his stronger elder brother tries to prepare him for his battles as much as he can. But their father Njohrr (Reuben de Jong) appears all of a sudden and asks Kwei to kill his brother as he is a shame to the clan of fierce warriors. But Kwei refuses only to be killed by their father, but not before he sends his brother to the death planet so that he can prove his worth by hunting and defeating the feared creature. He reaches the planet, but realizes that this is no easy task, as the planet itself has that kind of flora and fauna which makes it very difficult to survive, as danger is hidden in almost every spot around there.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: As Dek losses most of his weapons and tech while fighting the forest, he comes across Thia (Elle Fanning), an advanced, but damaged Weyland-Yutani Corporation android, whose team of synthetic soldiers was destroyed by the Kalisk while on a mission. She had lost her body from the waist downwards and with the help of Dek, manages to free herself from her predicament and supports him against the incoming trouble, and guide him. He ties her to himself as she had no legs and faces the dangers while moving forward through the treacherous terrain. Soon, while on a hunt, they are joined by a friendly creature that Thia names Bud. The creature marks Dek with her saliva and accepts him as her clan as he defeats two creatures which were on their trail. But he tells them that the one thing that matters is the trophy, and that it can only be gained by killing the creature. Despite Thia telling him that back on Earth predators like wolves have the alpha that protects the pack, he remains adamant that he would be the alpha who kills the most and not the one who protects.

And what more could follow in this world of unmatched danger? :: Thia understands that Dek only understands revenge and is looking forward to prove that he is worthy against all odds. It is then that Thia’s twin android and the expert hunter Tessa (Elle Fanning) is found and revived by Weyland-Yutani androids and is repaired at their main base. She is warned that she would be decommissioned and replaced if she fails her mission. She finds out that she is with an alien creature that would remain a threat to their mission. With a new Weyland-Yutani team, Tessa begins searching for Dek’s group, and finds his crashed ship which has the arms and ammunitions which interests her including those which belonged to his brother. Thia who reaches the area where she was ambushed, finds enough of the technology to connect herself to her body parts below the waist. But at the same time, she understands that Tessa and her group is coming, and the creature is also nearby. A big fight seems to be on the cards. Now, who will survive and will the fight be worth it?

The defence of Predator: Badlands :: The movie surely has some good action, and fighting is all around, from surviving a dangerous jungle with strange flora and fauna to fighting android robots with advanced weapons. The battle against the apex predator and the final battle requires special mention along with that fight of Thia with her body separated into two especially of the waist below has an innovative as much as funny side to it. There are also some funny lines to go with the fight, but that does not bring the quality of the battles down, as we see the big creatures being destroyed and getting attacked by nature itself in all its grandeur. The movie never ceases to be a spectacle, as the scope is a lot, with alien planets including desert lands and dense forests – the creatures are nicely created and detailed, with the possibility of danger nicely felt. It would have been a movie more for the theatre than for Jio Hotstar as we enjoy the beauty of the worlds on the screen, as we would have in computer games like Mass Effect and Unreal Tournament, or Star Trek works.

Positives and negatives :: Elle Fanning as Thia stands apart as one of the best android robotic characters of all-time, something which we see this good only in the Alien movies – Prometheus, Covenant, Romulus etc have known this Weyland Corporation more than any other, and the cross-breed of franchises has been clearly shown here with this particular presence. Her other character in the form of antagonist pales in comparison as this one keep scoring all the time. Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi makes this particular Predator work well according to the situation, and the bonding works nicely. Other humanoids become rather irrelevant here. The movie also provides the message of being together and coming back strong as the underdog, but in the process, loss some of the qualities of Predator franchise, seemingly getting closer to the Guardians of the Galaxy, Thunderbolts and Suicide Squad. There seems to be the easy way taken at times, especially after that grand fight at human side in the end. The characters are still well-developed to keep us further interested.

How it finishes :: Predator: Badlands releasing on Jio Hotstar was something quick that we did not realize that the same had happened. This quick release was pretty much needed though, as we looked forward to watching another live-action movie featuring the classic alien or predator. There are those action sequences which justify its release, and despite the predator character undergoing a little too much of a transformation, works really well. The final scenes leave scope for a fine sequel, and we all hope that it will be served well. Until then, we enjoy being transported to a world of charm and danger, but certainly that of beauty in a planet far away. After all, when people were after Terminator, its sequels and others, we were the ones who stuck to Predator as the one classic science fiction thriller that we would remember. After all, we are all in a world of the hunted and the hunters. There is no escaping the same. The idea of hunters developing a conscience is never a bad idea despite changing a little too much of the core idea.

Release date: 7th November 2025
Running time: 107 minutes
Directed by: Dan Trachtenberg
Starring: Elle Fanning, Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, Reuben de Jong, Mike Homik, Alison Wright, Cameron Brown, Rohinal Narayan

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

The Running Man

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Vampire Owl: I have been wondering why humans keep running so much in their lives.

Vampire Bat: They search for meaning in their lives, but finds nothing in the end.

Vampire Owl: You mean to say that there is no hope for humanity.

Vampire Bat: Well, humanity never really had any hope.

Vampire Owl: I remember watching that old movie with the same name.

Vampire Bat: Well, we had also read the book with the same name.

Vampire Owl: Stephen King movies have often struggled to make an impact in the last few years.

Vampire Bat: Yet, Doctor Sleep was one of the greatest among them.

Vampire Owl: There are always It, Pet Sematary, The Monkey, Carrie, Salem’s Lot and others too.

Vampire Bat: We cannot expected all such adaptations to be classic horror stories.

[Gets one M&M McFlurry and three cups of mint tea].

What is the movie about? :: In a not that distant future United States of America, an authoritarian media network takes control of the nation while focusing on patriotism and the need to keep the country safe from its usual and common enemies, some of the inside and the others from outside. Most of the citizens of the United States live in poverty with minimal access to healthcare which leads to a high infant mortality and most children not even born among the majority who lives with minimum low wages. Most people are busy with the meaningless and unreal violent game shows and absurd reality television. The most popular programme running in the nation is The Running Man, hosted by Bobby Thompson (Colman Domingo), which has three runners selected with a big opportunity to win a billion dollars by surviving 30 days while being hunted down by five hunters selected by the media team itself. They are led by the furious Evan McCone (Lee Pace) as they are allowed to take any step to end the runners, while citizens are also provided with opportunities which would bring them rewards.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Starting with thousand dollars and a twelve-hour head start when they are not attacked by anyone, the runners are also required to video tape themselves and send to the media office or else forfeit their earnings and more viciously hunted with no rewards. The murder of the hunters would also bring rewards to the runners, raising their earning by a long way. This is where Ben Richards (Glen Powell) attempts to join, as he is not able to buy medicine for his little daughter after being blacklisted for union activism which had him standing for the other workers, leaving him jobless and not able to care for his family. He had planned to join a game with lesser risk, but was drafted into The Running Man with Jenni Laughlin (Katy O’Brian), a seemingly confident young woman in his neighborhood and Tim Jansky (Martin Herlihy), a nerdy character who seems nice to everyone. Despite trying to back down, Ben is made to agree to the offer by Dan Killian (Josh Brolin) with an amount which he had never seen in his life, despite his wife Sheila Richards (Jayme Lawson) warning him against it.

And what more can happen in this world of future chaos with no real hope for humanity? :: Despite giving a safe house to his family and also providing an advance, Ben is shown as an enemy of the state to the audience and his wife’s moral side is also questioned, much to his dismay, as he promises to be back and give them what they deserve. But he would have no time for anything, as his time started, with all three contestants keeping on running through their own paths. With the help of a disguise taken from a friend, he goes to New York City and manages to start there by staying in a hotel right in the middle of the city and blend among the crowd with his changed looks. He watches Tim wandering in the city as it is shown as part of the show in television, and as he just goes through a normal life, is shot dead by the hunters bringing excitement to the audience who call for the blood of the other two runners. Ben who gets scared about the situation, and not sure about his safety in the big city anymore, decides to escape to Boston. But would that save him from the hunt or will be able to finish the hunters instead?

The defence of The Running Man :: The dark and possible future of the world and with a feeling of Stephen King’s novel, this one makes us very much interested in the movie which also has some nice chase and fight scenes. The world has been very nicely created, and we see how will it suits the situation, and there is a certain amount of charm even to its dark side. The charisma and intense physicality of Glen Powell as the desperate hero of his family manages to keep the movie strong. He had to do something extra to match the original hero and he comes close. Josh Brolin becomes the true antagonist whom we will remember for that terrifying face within that visage. Colman Domingo’s energy makes this even more suitable for its premise and genre as that works so well. Among the ladies, it is Emilia Jones who scores the most, and she is that character whom the audience will fall in love and even brings a certain amount of humour here. They fit nicely into this dystopian society which is obsessed with the circuses of ultra-violent television while being told what to do and made to struggle by the ruling class with the help of the reality shows which reflects the world differently.

Positives and negatives :: There are some classic moments from Lee Pace, but that comes a little late for our liking. The fans of the original might not feel that this matches, due to the absence of Arnold as the man of unparalleled strength. There were still opportunities for more, as the other runners could have also had focus, especially that of the lady runner who was doing so well. The emotional side of the wife and kid works less here for some reason, and the wife role seems to be dismissed as an irrelevant one with Emilia taking over as the lady who decides to switch sides to save the hero. The 1987 version, despite its own deviations, had a more heroic version of the same, and it is only natural that people would prefer that Arnold version, as his work with the fights would also be more believable as he is provided with that kind of a past; the female lead in that movie also had that unparalleled presence in the film, but not anymore. The final battle in the flight could have also been bigger, and the lack of a huge spectacle makes sure that the movie struggles even further.

How it finishes :: Those who have watched that older version might wonder about the necessity of having this one around. There is the world that we have seen before, brought to the big screen again in a similar, but different form. There is the action and thrills in a fine world, and we are entertained enough to be interesting in the movie throughout its run. But when the familiar scenario keeps getting repeated, people will wonder if how much of the same returning to the screen and what all not being adapted from the novel would be the right thing for this kind of movies. The movie remains visually striking and adds to the Stephen King adaptations which have done a good job on the screen, but it was surprising to see it not going too good at the box-office – well, we never really go to know if the movie even released at this part of the world, and one has to guess that due to those lower quality imitations released in different languages in India, with even post-apocalyptic worlds cheaply imitated. This one is superior to those movies which ridiculously copies elements from Hollywood and other languages and presents them as their own, but does leave the audiences slightly wishing that the creative strength here had run stronger, but most of us would be happy with what is found here. Then there is the message against government control.

Release date: 14th November 2025
Running time: 133 minutes
Directed by: Edgar Wright
Starring: Glen Powell, William H Macy, Lee Pace, Michael Cera, Emilia Jones, Daniel Ezra, Jayme Lawson, Katy O’Brian, Sean Hayes, Colman Domingo, Josh Brolin

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Pongala

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Vampire Owl: I did not know about this movie being released then.

Vampire Bat: Well, just some movies take all the hype in this world.

Vampire Owl: Most of those hyped movies are like good for nothing too.

Vampire Bat: Unless those collections come down, there will always be such movies.

Vampire Owl: Such movies will never be hits in the vampire world.

Vampire Bat: You know that vampires will never create such big movies, but will have content.

Vampire Owl: Only in our world, there is quality about everything.

Vampire Bat: You know that even the smallest stone of Dracula Castle is shaped in quality.

Vampire Owl: Uncle Dracula is never known to make mistakes, you know.

Vampire Bat: The Vampire Elders have given assurances to him towards infinity.

[Gets a gobi paratha and three cups of Bandarawela tea].

What is the movie about? :: Aby (Sreenath Bhasi) is a man who had to go through a lot of crisis and trauma during his early life, as his father Joseph (Alencier Ley Lopez) had owed a lot of money to man named Lawrence (Sudheer Karamana). This man had come into their home to sexually assault his mother, he had to fight as the elder child, and the situation led to the intruding man getting killed, for which he had to go to correctional home life followed. From that day, his father had gone missing, and he had to take care of his family including his mother and younger sister from the moment he returned from the correctional home. It was not an easy task for him, and he joins the gang of Sabu (Baburaj) a local fish monger and gang lord who has his own violent ways of dealing things and maintaining his business over everyone else. Aby quickly proves his worth in street fights, as he rises through the ranks of Sabu’s goons to become his most trusted henchman. At the side of Sabu’s brothers Biju (Kichu Tellus) and Baiju (Indrajith Jagajith), he remains a force to reckon for. They maintain a iron-fisted monopoly over the harbour of Vypin.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Despite things seemingly in a violent, but profitable manner, Aby remains a stoic young man who does not care about many things, and seems like a man without feelings for the people of the village. During this period of random fights, a woman from the neighbourhood named Linta (Yami Sona) keeps following him, and tells him that she is in deeply in love with him. Though Abhi remains to be stoic and focused on his responsibilities, Linta who does not stop following him becomes a part of his life, as she is the best friend of his sister and also keeps visiting their home. At the same time, one of Aby’s close friends, Martin (Surya Krish), has a hidden crush on Linta, which she never reveals to his friends or her. Things then take a further twist when Sabu attempts to sexually exploit the vulnerability of his former classmate, a woman who used to be his classmate. Sabu, Biju and Baiju also begin expanding their criminal enterprise into illegal drug trafficking which leads to further rift being formed with Aby, despite his effort to keep peace between him and his childhood friend Biju. Will there be peace or will everyone turn against Aby without mercy?

The defence of Pongala :: The movie’s natural backdrop of the Vypin fishing harbour within Cochin provides an authentic and atmospheric feel – the visuals support the same really well. The initial scenes which go longer with a few flashbacks could nicely bring the situation to the picture without much of a difficulty. In this world, the action also happens well, but in simple manner, despite the leading character’s heroics. There is no attempt to follow that absurd nonsense flying and slow-motion of the so-called superstars who look like balloons and rockets while getting claps from the dumb and brainless fans who celebrate their famous stars destroying SUVs, cars by trying to throw villains on them or out of them and enjoy broken vehicles. The songs are fine and the music remains effective, as the mood of the movie in that setting has been maintained well. The actors nicely get into situation and keep the movie going without any trouble. It is always good to see the less explored areas in the industry getting attention too. Even though it was not much known during its release, the OTT should do well for the movie.

The claws of flaw :: The plot seems to have been somewhat inspired from the predictable, pre-2000 revenge tropes with gang wars even though it is shown as happening much later at the same area. The dialogues also feel somewhat dated and uninspired for these times. There are also so many fights which the hero wins with unparalleled ease, and it is not something we would expect from a man fighting so many people at once and when battling terrifying antagonist who comes with such a build-up. The one-man army mode feels outdated even though the fights and more like a street fight and therefore more realistic than those infinite slow-motion fight scenes create for those superstars in the name of style or rather dumb nonsense created for the brainless fans. The romance also feels like not given the full strength and the focus there seems to be not on love, but a past and sympathy. The predictability in the movie can also be seen at times, with the movie going through what we expect on more than one occasion.

The performers of the soul :: Sreenath Bhasi leads the way in a convincing way here as he moves away from his earlier roles by a long way and delivers a committed, physically agile and intense performance as a stoic action hero who doesn’t show fear in his actions. He has surely come a long way, and the signs of the same were already visible in a few other movies which released earlier, and this one reiterates the same. There is something about Baburaj in this kind of movies and with similar roles which pose no challenge to him – this one is also a more controlled performance from him rather than the usual antagonists. Kichu Tellus also has a role which is familiar to him and leaves him any difficulty. Yami Sona is a lovely addition to the movie, and this feels like the first time I am seeing her in a movie, and she does her job really well, even though we do not see her that much as we wanted in the movie, and the romance should have had a better focus than just her forcing it upon the situation. Sampath Ram has a fine screen presence, but does not get that much to do in the movie other than talk, following by contact on mobile phone. Alencier Ley Lopez only has a limited role here too. But Sadiq Mohammed has a notable presence and it is a role in which we have seen him multiple times, as he shows no struggle with it.

How it finishes :: It is clearly seen that the movie does not try too hard, as it follows an idea which has been tried so many times. The action works well, and we enjoy this as another old model movie which never really tries too hard. The predictability will hold it back and repetitions will do the same, but it keeps us interested from the beginning to the end. The atmosphere of the Vypin coastal belt and harbour brings a breathing character of its own. Sreenath Bhasi as a stoic becomes a fine action hero too. This adds to his versatility and carries the movie’s action sequences almost entirely on his shoulders. The attempt at the revolutionary side would not work, but taking the movie back to the working class who are actually hardworking itself has been a tough thing, and the movie has made that happen without any character who is lost in the internet – such movies are rare when taken in a big city, and that much is achieved. But with a little bit more focus and a shorter length, this one could have done wonders as there were nice opportunities for a fine twist and one villain who could unleash himself in a grand manner.

Release date: 5th December 2025
Running time: 138 minutes
Directed by: A B Binil
Starring: Sreenath Bhasi, Baburaj, Kichu Tellus, Sampath Ram, Sadiq Mohammed, Alencier Ley Lopez, Yami Sona

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Anaconda

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Vampire Owl: So, we are back to having some snakes around too.

Vampire Bat: We have been the fans of some nice anacondas in the past.

Vampire Owl: Do you think that there can be a vampire anaconda?

Vampire Bat: We do not take snakes in the vampire team anymore.

Vampire Owl: What section of the vampire rule book says so?

Vampire Bat: The new set of rules will be coming up soon.

Vampire Owl: Dr. Frankenstein approves of such vampires for sure.

Vampire Bat: Well, Mr. Frankenstein is the only man who knows nothing.

Vampire Owl: Frankenstein is a man of great knowledge.

Vampire Bat: Uncle Dracula knows the man a little too well to allow him here.

[Gets a kadai paneer dosa and three cups of Peermade tea].

What is the movie about? :: Jeff (Terence Yin) is a poacher who has been going through hunting adventures for very long, and is looking for something bigger this time. He focuses on tracking the legendary Crimson Anaconda which would make him so rich that he would not have go on a hunt again any time soon. He arrives in a forest to find the snake. At the same time, a circus in China is failing like many others. Lan (Nita Lei) leads the show with her performance called Naked Escape which is a water-escape act supported by water-escape. She has an underwater escape routine inside a large glass tank where she is tied up and thrown, and her friendly pet python is also part of the act. Li (Xingchen Wang) wishes to be the leader of the show as she performs high-flying acrobatic acts along with some balancing stunts, and often follows a seductive mode to keep the audience interested. Jiao (Gang Wang) plays the strong man of the circus with some heavy lifting and a boy Peng (Zirun Wang) who performs in a monkey outfit. As the audience catches that the monkey is not real, they also find out that the strong man is not carrying that much weight as it falls on them.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: According to the audience, Li’s performance is considered to be not enough and Lan’s performance is considered to be cheating as despite being called Naked Escape, she is fully clothed. As the circus is sold and the new manager Jin (Shaohang Xu) takes over, he is revealed to be someone with a past of working with the crew earlier in a lower role. Li is quick to try and seduce him while Lan decides to leave the circus immediately. According to him, there is a new show set in Thailand, and they have to travel on a boat through the rainforests of the country. After a lot of discussions, Lan decides to return, much to the dismay of Li who had hoped to be the charming leader of the show. While on the river, she almost succeeds in being the face of the circus by providing sexual favours to Jin but is disturbed by Wei (Hao Wu) who has been added as a zombie surprise to the circus, and is forced to put her clothes back on. They are stopped on the way by the waterway facing a block with some strange crates in the river.

And what is to follow her in the world of humans and snakes that follow? :: The group would need to turn away from the path and take a much longer route, which would take them a few more days to arrive, but their new manager is completely against the same. He tells them that they need to reach there within the stipulated time or they will keep losing money, as the show really need to start when required. He still hides the truth that he does not intend to do have any show, but sell the organs of the performers as part of his deal with the traffickers, as it was how he had become rich after leaving the circus. They decide to destroy the crates using a dynamite, but as they destroy the same with an explosion, a number of snakes from the crates fall into the boat, and Li is almost killed with snakes fall on her and runs through her clothes, only to be saved by Lan using a hose. Jin who is chased by snakes is saved by Jeff, and it turns out that he is looking for his anaconda in this particular jungle only. He also saves Jiao who gets a tiny snake inside his ear. He earns everyone’s trust with ease, but Lan remains doubtful. Now, are they going to be hunted be anaconda or will Jeff get to the snake even if he has to go through them?

The defence of Anaconda: Cursed Jungle :: The movie delivers some simple fun which reminds us of some of those older movies dealing with the same kind of situations. There is a believable location nicely built here, and we realize the same quick enough. The humour here is very much working, and the two ladies lead the way very well. Nita Lei and Xingchen Wang plays two contradicting characters, and this adds to the overall comic side of the movie, and the character of the former makes her the perfect scream queen to face some unlimited horror. The scares work with a certain amount effectiveness, especially with the quick snake attacks. The feeling of danger can be felt throughout the movie as nothing other than snakes seem to have a say in the jungle or even in the river right in the middle. Terence Yin also makes a strong, sinister villain that never seems to step back from his mission. One keep feeling that the change of setting and characters from the Americas to the South-east Asia has only helped the franchise. This reboot of the movie can be said as something which has saved the franchise.

Positives and negatives :: The movie feels too short, but it is also its advantage as there is no dull moment in there. Along with the action and the use of snakes, the movie uses its fine greenery to the advantage. The snakes do not look that perfect all times especially with its movements and attacks, but it might be the best we have had with giant snakes in a long time; there are moments when the snakes look some extra believable, as we feel that China has used the budget much better than any other nation not just with this particular movie, but also with a few others. Then there is that scope for sequel too, and with the leading lady surviving as expected, the same would be a great watch. Still, we keep wondering why the movie did not use the special skills of the circus-based characters here, and at least the art of escape and acrobatics could have been put to the best use, even though not in the highest form. There are also those predictable ideas of horror happening around here, with some repetitions, especially as it seems to follow that usual horror formula – yet, the same remains entertaining as much as interesting.

How it finishes :: This movie is the first of its franchise which is not in English, and is also the shortest among those films. As it introduces new types of anacondas to the franchise, the young cast from China nicely adds some fine humour as much as the action. This world of the snakes is nothing less than realistic while staying within the world of horror. As the fear is generated effectively, we are only glad to see the Anaconda franchise back running as we keep wondering if Lake Placid will also return soon with the Jaws. This is that kind of movie which will also bring some nostalgia back to us, as the many movies of this franchise has kept coming to us through Times Now channel. Whenever we think about a creature movie, this might be the first thing that comes to our mind, unless it is full in water, as sharks often take the first spot. With the scope to wander through both water and land, this snake, with a team of many others, serves the purpose really well. Then you also remember that there is nobody better than the Chinese to come up with a surprise classic with so much grandeur, something which was done earlier with The Wandering Earth.

Release date: 23rd January 2025
Running time: 84 minutes
Directed by: Xiang Qiuliang, Xiang Hesheng
Starring: Terence Yin, Nita Lei, Xingchen Wang, Gang Wang, Zirun Wang, Shaohang Xu, Tat-Wah Lok, Paul Che

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Mr. X

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Vampire Owl: I have heard about an entity known as Vampire X.

Vampire Bat: I doubt if the X here could be used for the vampires.

Vampire Owl: Dr. Frankenstein had successfully created such an entity.

Vampire Bat: Mr. Frankenstein couldn’t even create a cup of tea with his hands.

Vampire Owl: You underestimate the story of Frankenstein, dear vampire of the night.

Vampire Bat: Which Mr. X movie do you underestimate though? There have been many.

Vampire Owl: Sadly, I have seen none of them.

Vampire Bat: Well, you have been a fan of X-Factor in WWE, I think.

Vampire Owl: Yes, until I met the team of Evolution there.

Vampire Bat: I have to say that I personally like the cast of this particular movie.

[Gets a Chicken Masala Puffs and three plates of Strawberry Shortcake].

What is the movie about? :: Gautham (Arya) has been serving as an undercover RAW Agent for some time under Indira Varma (Manju Warrier), being assigned some small missions with his team mostly in the Chennai area, and rarely extending to other parts of Tamil Nadu. He is in love with Keerthana (Anagha Maruthora), a doctor working in a nearby hospital where he often goes when he gets injured. Gautham identifies as a businessman who often gets injured due to some reckless actions and Keerthana is not aware of anything more about the person. As their relationship crosses three years, they decide to get married, and Gautham who is not able to keep the secret about him being in the special wing for that long, decides to quite from his job, soon submitting his resignation to Indira. But at the exact moment when he says that they should get married as soon as possible, Indira arrives with another mission, something different from what they had been doing in the past, and it is a very significant one.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: It is revealed that Gautham’s father Parameshwar a.k.a. Mr. X (R Sarathkumar) has been a RAW Agent all the time, and he had managed to save a nuclear device from falling into the wrong hands, which would trigger a large-scale conflict or even a war, keeping it with him for quite some time while hiding in an undisclosed location. But he was captured by a group of Russian mercenaries, which had led to Indira sending a special agent Amaran (Gautham Ram Karthik) to Moscow. But soon, he joins the other side, and captures Mr. X with his group of mercenaries from Pakistan. A video with him is sent to Indian intelligence, warning that he is going to be sent to Islamabad with the nukes. This leads to the Indian military sending a group to Moscow to find and kill Mr. X and get the nukes, while Indira sends her own team to find him alive along with the nukes. Gautham is to be part of Indira’s team, but when they reach the place, they only find a woman who identifies herself as Mr. X’s daughter, Aditi (Athulya Ravi), but they are ambushed by Amaran who snatches the nukes and get ready for a nuclear attack. Can the team stop him in time?

The defence of Mr. X :: The movie has high quality written all over it, and unlike the Bollywood movies with superstars which spawns many movies and spin-offs and create unreal universes, this one surely brings more believability and also a certain amount of class with the same. The action scenes, chase sequences, multiple surprises and suspense ready to make an impact – everything is just there for the eyes with the support of some stunning visuals as the locations chosen for the movie are just perfect. The covert missions, conspiracies and problems of national security or even a possible nuclear disaster adds intrigue to the plot. The cinematography has a certain amount of style and quality which makes the whole thing rise above many other movies which claim to deal with a similar situation. The female characters are also given a lot of importance in the movie, and without them, the day is never really saved – the action also has a lot of them which also never gets overdone like in the high absurdity mode of Bollywood. There is also that fine ending and the promise of a sequel after a satisfying climax.

Positives and negatives :: It can be said that some plot developments may feel predictable to viewers who often watch similar spy thrillers. The emotional side is not that strong and some characters do not really have that much of development, but with so much to add here with a complex tale, such a thing would not be considered as a big deal. After all, we have some fine motives for even the antagonist, and some well-developed female characters here, with none of the two among them being the same; some of the best characterization variety among ladies’ roles. The final moments at the nuclear reactor are of Hollywood quality, and despite those initial moments when the movie takes some time to get going, the level is raised very soon. It seemed like some beginning moments except for the side of the nuke never really had the audience interested. But you will see that when you get going with the main mission here, things never get slow, as the pace could only get more and more. The feeling that the idea here is superior to many other movies, keeps us even more interested as its world moves forward.

The performers of the soul :: Arya leads the way here as the man who is responsible for too many things, but has to go on with it while dealing with his past which involves a lost father and sister, followed by a troubled childhood. He remains solid in his work as the one who has a tale of love on one side and the missions to save the world on another. He excels in fight scenes too, and the looks surely suit the same. Anagha Maruthora whom we had started so well in her first movie itself in the form of Rakshadhikari Baiju Oppu does a lovely job here as the one heroine of the film. She goes through the romantic and crisis moments well. Manju Warrier is solid in the action role, and it is great to see her in such roles; it remains a pleasure to see her in different types of works after her grand comeback. Gautham Ram Karthik remains a strong antagonist who also has so many moments for us to remember the character, and this is a strong one. Then there is Athulya Ravi who is a lovely addition to the movie, and she is also a character with secrets that we will remember. Raiza Wilson has a charming presence here with her own secrets of the character, while Tara Amala Joseph plays the next relevant female character who makes an impact. R Sarathkumar has a fine presence, but will have more to do in a possible sequel.

How it finishes :: It feels like Arya’s movies never really got the attention it deserved, even though there has always been talk about them in this part of the world. This is another movie which did not gain that much of an attention, and most of us never really knew that this movie released. We knew that the Bollywood movie with the same name existed, but not this one, which is a shame. After all, this is a stylish and engaging spy thriller that successfully blends action, suspense and twists with a certain amount of quality that stays on. The director needs a lot of appreciation for bringing this entertaining cinematic experience which feels mostly complete. The film also benefits greatly from the committed performances of the cast, as nobody lags with the work. Sometimes, one would feel that the lack of romance between RAW and ISI agents are just enough, and the absence of those dance numbers which come in the middle of nowhere would also be enough compared to the Bollywood spy universes which go on party mode. This needed to be a big hit, but does not seem to be so, and we will still hope for a sequel, as people will be appreciating this one on Jio Hotstar.

Release date: 17th April 2026
Running time: 153 minutes
Directed by: Manu Anand
Starring: Arya, Gautham Ram Karthik, R Sarathkumar, Manju Warrier, Athulya Ravi, Anagha Maruthora, Raiza Wilson, Jayaprakash, Kaali Venkat

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

War Machine

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Vampire Owl: I am sure that they are talking about.

Vampire Bat: We are not war machines, for we are simple friendly neighbourhood vampires.

Vampire Owl: There was a war in the realm, and we fought many battles.

Vampire Bat: The magical wars do not make us war machines.

Vampire Owl: Still, you have to agree that we are not friendly at all.

Vampire Bat: Well, we have been friendly with the vampire elders.

Vampire Owl: Vampire elders are just respectable seniors who cannot be fought against.

Vampire Bat: Still, most of the new generation vampires are not friendly with them.

Vampire Owl: The new generation was never meant to respect elders.

Vampire Bat: Well, we have already witnessed the highest level of new generation disrespect. And we know that it keeps happening each and every day.

[Gets a masala bonda and three cups of Munnar tea].

What is the movie about? :: 81 (Alan Ritchson) attends RASP to earn and assignment to a battalion of the consolidated 75th Ranger Regiment, and meets others who wishes to be part of it and are assigned similar numbers. He was hoping to be part of the group with his brother, but both were attacked by insurgent groups in Afghanistan during a mission and only he had survived, despite sustaining heavy injuries. He was also awarded a medal which make him look like a war hero to other despite his guilt of surviving alone. 15 (Blake Richardson) who is an young man who does not care about anything immediately feels that 81 has the immense pride that keeps him apart, while he himself gets into trouble for unruly behaviour as the funny young man of the whole camp. 7 (Stephan James) attempts to get closer to 81 who continues to be not open to anything personal in nature and makes no conversations with others. The group that includes 60 (Keiynan Lonsdale), 57 (Daniel Webber), 44 (Alex King) and 109 (Jack Patten) gets to the final around along with 81 who almost drowns while giving up during an exercise.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: The seniors have their doubt about 81’s mental state despite him doing physically well after coming back from that life-threatening injury. They feel that he should go back and attend some long sessions of counselling, but as he refuses to do so, they make him the leader of the final group. He had opposed to that idea from the beginning, but this time, there is no choice during the final exercise known as the Death March, which serves as a simulated mission in the nearby forest to destroy a classified aircraft and bring home a pilot. It is then that the reports on television talk about a suspected asteroid flying past the planet and slowly breaking off into pieces which move away from each other. But the same is dismissed are irrelevant as the team set on their mission, only to find a strange flight-like machine on the location and sets off the explosives. But it does not harm this particular machine which rises and begins an attack, surprising them. They do not have any contact with the base and are stranded there without any strong weapon as they are running simulation. What kind of other-worldly thing has come up with this attack?

The defence of War Machine :: The fights in the movie are really impressive, with some classic shots, but never really overdoing, and staying close to a reality of make believe, keeping the willing suspension of disbelief exactly where we wish to see it. There are the believable combat scenes and large-scale explosions, giving the action a realistic feel rather than that usual overload of alien unreality. The blend of military action and science fiction never really gets out of control as both are combined really well and without any doubt seemingly arising about the progress. There are not many alien movies which have managed to be this realistic in nature. The emotional side also works surprisingly well here. The alien machine is nicely designed and we see it working in a pattern which remains as much interesting as it catches our attention. The truth that during an invasion by an advanced alien civilization, humans never really stand a chance, and that they have no real superheroes to save them is asserted well, while focus still on the possibility of a sequel which could make some fine advancements here.

The claws of flaw :: The characters do not develop that much here, and we never even have the names of the main characters, which is strange, as at least the first name could have helped us to connect with them more. Some of the characters seem to be left there to die rather than to live inside the story. The predictability is there as we feel the aliens coming to Earth earlier, and the progress seems to reveal who all are going to survive and how this cannot end here with bigger scope only coming later. There is some loss of strength in between, and it is regained only a little later in the second part. A better focus on the other members of the squad, the supporting characters, would have helped better. The beginning stages do feel like there is something missing, and the power to satisfy the genre is also not there to be taken in the early stages. The story could have also had something special to make things better during the initial stages of soldier training which never really advances as we think it would – those moments seem to be just a random addition to make things get somewhere better.

The performers of the soul :: Alan Ritchson who leads the way comes up with a commanding performance as the central character, as he adds both physical intensity and screen presence to this particular role which demanded them. His portrayal lands an anchor for the film’s action-heavy narrative and keeps the strength felt whenever he is around. The emotional side is also handled well by him showing the loss as well as the bonding related to brotherhood. The movie always has something about him, and despite having so many characters around him, keeps the focus right there. Jai Courtney has only a small presence here, and we would miss having any more of the same later. Stephan James plays the second most important character to make an impact, and we see him developing into an important character soon enough. Blake Richardson brings the humour in a movie which mostly lacks in the same. Dennis Quaid also has his moments as we see how the movie progresses.

How it finishes :: This happens to be that science fiction action thriller focusing on an alien invasion that succeeds primarily through its strong but realistic action sequences, impressive but believable visual effects and some good performances from the leading cast which serves the emotions and the need for adventure really well. Even though it has that alien invasion to focus, it never really losses itself here in the process to create something like the usual movies of the genre. It only occasionally relies on familiar genre conventions, and manages to do enough for the fans of both military action and science fiction. Despite its shortcomings in some character development and often struggling with the narrative depth, this remains a fast-paced and engaging watch that serves as an enjoyable entertainer that could be watched on a fine weekend for some nice fun. After all, we have waited so long for an alien invasion to happen, but all that we are left with in real life is humans fighting each other due to different strange reasons, and we never really reached an end to that human violence itself. At least we see aliens making an impact in movies and considering the current situation, one has to wonder on which side most humans will be when there is that invasion.

Release date: 6th March 2026 (Netflix)
Running time: 107 minutes
Directed by: Patrick Hughes
Starring: Alan Ritchson, Dennis Quaid, Stephan James, Jai Courtney, Esai Morales, Keiynan Lonsdale, Daniel Webber, Alex King, Jack Patten, Blake Richardson, Steve Nation, Robert Rabiah, Patrick Hughes

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Popeye’s Revenge

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Vampire Owl: Isn’t this that person known as Popeye the Sailor Man?

Vampire Bat: Well, this character entered the public domain in the United States of America.

Vampire Owl: This reminds me of those other movies which dealt with similar idea.

Vampire Bat: Well, these childhood icons were truly killers, I would say.

Vampire Owl: Yes, the truth that William Golding said about children, right?

Vampire Bat: The children are all inherently evil, we know.

Vampire Owl: Even the newly reborn vampires are no different from the same.

Vampire Bat: Children in their original form are children of the night.

Vampire Owl: But we are also children of the night, aren’t we?

Vampire Bat: But we are less evil compared to humans who lack even basic goodness.

[Gets a bourbon biscuit and three cups of Ooty tea].

What is the movie about? :: Johnny (Steven Murphy) is a man with a troubled past. As child, his peculiar appearance with muscular forearms and a strange chin made him the target of continuous bullying at school, and his love for sailor outfit had not made things any better. One day, after a bully hurts a girl who tried to save him from bullying, the boy ends up killing one of his tormentors by strangulation which also leads to the boy’s eyes popping out of their sockets. To protect their son, his parents hide him in their basement, where he befriends an unseen person slipping supportive messages from under the door of another locked door there. But the townspeople who are driven by fear and anger for the unknown psychotic child tries to seek vengeance on the ugly, brutal killer and set the house on fire. He escapes while his father and mother burns in the fire, but seemingly drowns in a nearby lake which keeps the angry people of the local town relieved and satisfied about the boy’s fate.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Fifteen years later, a group of vloggers Alan (Kyle Jordan), Cherry (Eva Ray) and Mia (Danielle Scott) visit the area for their episode of Haunted Houses of Evil, a series taking the viewers inside the homes of murderers. This time, they talk about the killer boy Johny who is called Popeye for his looks, and his house is being renovated by new owners who have no idea about what to do with the house as there has been so many disappearances in the area. They try to make it feel that Popeye’s ghost in haunting the area, but Mia who sees some movement in the fog is concerned about what is happening around there. They keep moving around in the unusual fog, and Alan goes to the basement with Cherry while Mia sets up the sound for the shooting before the owners or the locals show up. In the basement, Cherry removes her clothes and seduces Alan, and while they are having sex, Popeye drops in and kills both of them. He also kills Mia who wanders further in the fog. But this disappearance goes unnoticed as nobody knew that they were there.

And what more is to happen with one of the strangest killers on the loose in the fog? :: The house gets transferred to the name of Lora (Amanda Jane York), a former teacher at the school where Popeye has studied as a kid, and she along with her husband George (Oliver Mason) have plans for the house, while their daughter Tara (Emily Mogilner) comes up with an even bigger plan, to make it a haunted house attraction which can become one of the best in the state with the kind of backstory it possessed. She had listened to the story from different people she knew, and her boyfriend Dylan (Connor Powles) agrees to the same. They are joined by their best friend Donna (Danielle Ronald), her boyfriend Nick (Bruno Cryan), his secret sex partner Sky (Atlanta Moreno), quick money seeker Kathy (Karolina Ugrenyuk) and a nerdy Max (Fyn Phoenixx) who are all looking for some extra pocket money which Tara has promised them along with a few interesting nights on a charming holiday mood in the cabin in the woods. With tension running between Donna and Sky to claim Nick as their own, the group has to deal with the killer and a seemingly insane woman named Olive (Kelly Rian Sanson), can they do it before facing death?

The defence of Popeye’s Revenge :: Here is another unstoppable force of a psycho killer, and this is someone right out of our childhood, a hero turned into pure evil. This makes the whole situation different from Halloween, Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer or any other which comes as the natural slasher antagonists of ultimate chaos. To add to it, we have a fine setting, an environment which keeps the horror going with a supernatural touch, as the villain is someone who will keep coming at you. There are some practical horror moments with a lot of interesting kill scenes, with the bath-tub murder bringing the best of it – the grasscutter and many others do follow the same as the full slasher mode is switched on; there was also a test does in the beginning when we look closer to it. This violence clashes with the nostalgia creating a new world of favourite childhood terror. The isolated house in the middle of nowhere and stalking by a resurrected monster makes the blood and gore that much more interesting in this world of childhood monsters. The fear is nicely generated in the situation which is leaves with no options to escape.

The claws of flaw :: The movie often feels particularly suited for the slasher audience, and the rest might not enter this world with that much of an ease, as a certain amount of specialization can be felt, never going out of that self-imposed restriction. If one thinks much more about, there can be a feeling of missed opportunity, and it might be due to the lack of budget that provides such a feeling. If there is a second movie with the same character, one might be able to find a better budget and bigger scenes out there. The slasher effect can be seen the best in the group of youth involved here, as they are mostly generic slasher victims whom we have talked about in The Cabin in the Woods which explored the whole genre model. We once again have the young group coming, getting hunted, some of them dying, followed by an attempt to survive, and there is some success with the antagonist killed or almost murdered and coming back. The character development was minimum even though they have managed some balance by letting the characters work on some interesting moments.

How it finishes :: Popeye the Sailor Man as the one-eyed, spinach-loving cartoon sailor known for his superhuman strength after eating spinach, and having Olive as girlfriend, has defined our childhood for quite a long time. But this time, we see the other side of him, and these twists related to our childhood characters depicting them as murderous monsters in the form of a different Steamboat Willie, Winnie-the-Pooh, Peter Pan, Bambi etc, continues to make an impact. The movie’s quality might be called into question here as we do not seem to have the budget in its favour here, but still, it shall entertain in its own way as a slasher in the usual old model. While not going on a polished horror model, this one still manages to raise its level without trying too hard and following the usual policy. After watching this version of one of the greatest cartoon characters of all-time, it is yet to be seen if we will see Popeye as the same cartoony person again, for this character is also going to stay, and the version will stay in the slasher list for some time.

Release date: 13th February 2025
Running time: 80 minutes
Directed by: William Stead
Starring: Steven Murphy, Emily Mogilner, Connor Powles, Danielle Ronald, Bruno Cryan, Atlanta Moreno, Karolina Ugrenyuk, Fyn Phoenixx, Kyle Jordan, Eva Ray, Danielle Scott, Amanda Jane York, Oliver Mason, Kathi DeCouto, Paul Frost, Kelly Rian Sanson, Clarisse Félix, Max Arlott

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Pretty Lethal

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Vampire Owl: There is nothing more lethal than vampires, not even werewolves who crawl in.

Vampire Bat: These people are referring to ballerinas in a fight.

Vampire Owl: I have always felt that vampires need ballerinas around for positive influence.

Vampire Bat: Don’t we fight enough in other forms?

Vampire Owl: We should never be that short of options in a world of chaos.

Vampire Bat: At least this is on Amazon Prime Video for reference.

Vampire Owl: I think that I am going to learn dancing outside too.

Vampire Bat: You remember the dancing fight of Jumanji too?

Vampire Owl: Yes, that has inspired me to develop my fighting steps. I am issuing a red notice.

Vampire Bat: You do not need to learn any more fighting as there no wars or encounters in our realm right now.

[Gets a parippu vada and three cups of Munnar tea].

What is the movie about? :: An American ballet troupe is honoured to be part of a prestigious international ballet competition in Budapest. This invited team consists of their leading dancer Bones (Maddie Ziegler), a rich and selfish Princess (Lana Condor), very religious and prude Grace (Avantika Vandanapu), kind-hearted and helpful Zoe (Iris Apatow) and her dumb and mute sister Chloe (Millicent Simmonds), and their proud and highly supportive teacher, Thorna (Lydia Leonard). The group is not that fond of each other, but gets together with their dancing routine really well. A series of confusion in their travel arrangements and also at the airport ends them in a bus which also gets broken down near a small town, from where transportation seems to be difficult to get in a short notice. They move into the town, hoping for a place to stay the night until the bus is repaired or some alternate mode of transportation is arranged by the authorities. A man from the town invites them to the Teremok Inn which served as a fine hotel and restaurant.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: The place is under the control of Devora (Uma Thurman), a former ballerina who also runs a small crime family. While taking Chloe to the toilet, Thorna sees Devora brutally torturing a man in her office, and feels that the situation is not safe for the girls. She tries to call all the girls so that they can leave, but Pasha (Tamás Szabó Sipos), who is the son of another crime lord who collects money from the area, shoots her on the head as she pushes him away when he tries to make sexual advances to her. When Princess threatens to call the police, Devora takes the corpse away and has the girls locked in her basement. She also burns their passports and cellphones, as she feels that nobody knows that the girls are in the inn or even this particular town. Bones tries to run away, but is knocked out and dragged downstairs by her legs. At the same time, Chloe who was in the toilet, unaware of the situation, continues to be friendly with the people around her, and even gets the offer of a tattoo.

And what more can happen as there seems to be something more terrifying coming up? :: While Chloe becomes friends with Devora’s son Artyom (Krisztián Csákvári) over the tattoo for which she waits in the room, an unconscious Bones is tied up. Devora’s right-hand man Osip (Miklós Béres) drugs and tries to rape Grace, only to find himself killed by the girls, as Bones escapes from her bondage. Princess (Lana Condor) tries to escape all by herself, but as she finds their teacher being chopped into pieces by a man known by the name Doktor (Gábor Nagypál), returns to them, as they go searching for Chloe. As the girls find themselves surrounded by Devora’s henchmen, they come up with dance moves with razors blades stuck in their shoes and taped to their fingertips, doing well enough to mortally wound the henchmen, surprising everyone in the building. Devora asks for Pasha’s father, the dreaded crime lord Lothar (Michael Culkin) to come there by himself before any deal could be made, and reminds Doktor to be prepared to deal with corpses of ballerina girls. Can the girls do well enough to survive as further evil is unleashed on them?

The defence of Pretty Lethal :: This is one movie which quickly gets into action, and the whole 10o minutes of run-time is used well to create maximum impact. The use of dance training as a lethal weapon works really well here, and each actress is so graceful in their movements. When this dance choreography meets some violent action, we have the feeling of class all around. There is also a lot of energy and style related to the proceedings. Even though everyone has similar significance here, Maddie Ziegler as Bones remains the one who remains closes to a protagonist as a leader-kind figure, and comes up with a splendid performance with a lot of energy that seems to come from within, making her a perfect action star. Avantika Vandanapu plays the next notable role, and the Tarot-star blends in incredibly well. Millicent Simmonds of A Quiet Place fame makes this one count, while Iris Apatow and Lana Condor also join well. Uma Thurman has a strong presence as the revenge-seeking antagonist who moves on between different shades while Lydia Leonard’s character is missed too soon.

Positives and negatives :: The movie could have used better promotions, as most of us came to know about this one by accident while looking at Amazon Prime Video for new movies. There are also those usual cliches that run through the movie, even though sometimes, it just adds to the overall charm of the flick within the genre. The characters are all interesting even though there is not that much development related to it due to the focus on action – we surely would not mind the same. The movie still maintains some good humour, and that comes out of nowhere to keep us more interested in the proceedings. The viewers can think that this is too much away from being realistic, but when we think about very old superstars beating up fifty people at a time, this is not that much, and the dance steps keep us believing in the world. The choice of setting, and the one particular building and its inside makes another world working like a dream. As the progress is even, there is nothing much lost around here.

How it finishes :: Pretty Lethal is a fun ride which never really stops being entertaining throughout its run; there are no ups and downs as this feels like one complete entertainer of its genre with some fine action and beautiful visuals supported by the actors who shows their skills in this environment really well. Being an entertaining action-thriller with some inventive ballet-based combat would never be easy, but with some energetic performances, this one score very well. If you are looking for some stylish action and don’t mind the movie taking a few things for granted, there is a big entertainer with some moments to remember. After all, we are always looking for someone who thinks differently and creates a movie out of it. This is surely one of them, and it has ballerina getting the central focus, and making an impression like never before – maybe that title could have been used here in plural, but when we look closely, we have that fine weekend entertainer which can be watched with a lot of fun expectation.

Release date: 25th March 2026 (Amazon Prime Video)
Running time: 100 minutes
Directed by: Vicky Jewson
Starring: Iris Apatow, Lana Condor, Millicent Simmonds, Avantika Vandanapu, Maddie Ziegler, Uma Thurman

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✠ The Vampire Bat.

Ghost War

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Vampire Owl: Finally, we have ghosts entering the wars of our realm.

Vampire Bat: I do not think that they really meant that here.

Vampire Owl: There is the need for ghosts in our battlefields to make the war more interesting.

Vampire Bat: Do you understand that ghosts need not always be supernatural in life?

Vampire Owl: I would say that they would always have the spirit at all times.

Vampire Bat: If we were in India then, this could have been resolved by watching earlier.

Vampire Owl: Amazon Prime Video in one realm never had faith in another.

Vampire Bat: Well, they call it regions, don’t they?

Vampire Owl: All the same, just like the ghosts all around the world.

Vampire Bat: Ghosts are real, not in one form, but many. Still, the Jack I miss is that of Jack Reacher.

[Gets a tortilla and three cups of bubble tea].

What is the movie about? :: MI6 faces a crisis in UAE, as an MI6 mission to extract intel run by Nigel Cooke (Douglas Hodge) fails when his men are killed by Liam Crown (Max Beesley), a former operative of the same intelligence agency after a series of incidents in Dubai. This lands Nigel in trouble as a senior MI6 officer, with Liam seemingly having some sinister motives which could create an international crisis, but there is no clue about what it could be. Meanwhile, Jack Ryan (John Krasinski), a former United States Marine officer and decorated Afghanistan veteran who has retired as a famed Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) field operative, and is now working in hedge fund risk management at the Wall Street, is approached by his old friend. So, this old friend James Greer (Wendell Pierce), is now working as a CIA Deputy Director under Elizabeth Wright (Betty Gabriel) who has taken charge as the new Director, and is facing a twisted situation, with changes happening at the base levels as much as at the top positions.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: As Jack finds Nigel in Dubai with his friend Mike November (Michael Kelly), the newfound man is shot dead without much time left to talk, and he gets only a cigarette pack from him. Before they could be shot or taken into custody by the local police officers, MI6 officer Emma Marlow (Sienna Miller) takes Jack and Mike to her safehouse. She tells Ryan that Liam was part of Project Starling, a brutal black-ops programme created by James and Nigel after 9/11. It was a group which was allowed to exist in the shadows like ghosts, and take whatever measures required to end terrorist groups. They were not used to asking questions, and had successfully ended many terrorist activities and the groups associated with weaponized indoctrination. But now, they had ceased to exist due to the government growing a conscience and such strong measures no longer accepted. Now, what does the seemingly non-existent organization’s leader want, as chaos keep spreading in the shadows, and deaths continue to happen in cities?

The defence of Jack Ryan: Ghost War :: The movie begins with a premise that we are going to remember for some time, and there is no question about the possibility of fine development with such an idea. The danger which is shown here is real, and there is always the feeling that something sinister could always happen in between. There is no shortage of big car chases and action scenes, making it entertaining as a straightforward spy thriller with some fine visuals of different cities around the world. The beginning and end of the movie in Dubai can be appreciated as the moments catch our attention really well, and we also see more of the same city in the movie. The team here works together, and there is also a fine antagonist to remember, who has a sinister side which is less revealed but contributes to a terrifying future which is less revealed and more in the imagination. The chemistry between the main characters is to be remembered too. The ending will remain interesting for most of the fans, and it leaves an opening for a classic future for this particular franchise as ideas have opportunities here.

The claws of flaw :: Jack Ryan: Ghost War has too much of ups and downs, and it is more visible as the movie gets further near the finish. It never really raises its level and makes it different from the usual kind of movies from similar universes. The predictability factor remains a part of the movie, despite the surprises thrown here and there. It also follows familiar spy-movie formulas and doesn’t offer many surprises – one can safely say that it never really tries, and there is going beyond the usual here. That smartness and innovation which should have been there, is not to be seen, as we see just another tale in the regular format here. This was more or less suited to be part of a television or web series with this kind of progress which has been made. The villain, even though strong, needed more of a presence and appearances, as well as dialogues; the talk never really has much from most of the characters to be that memorable. This often makes us feel the drag in between, even in not that long a movie that we have here.

The performers of the soul :: John Krasinski brings an interesting version of a former intelligence operative to the screen. He remains likable and believable in this particular role, and there is no exaggeration in this particular depiction. From the moment we meet the character, we feel that there is something interesting coming up. Sienna Miller whom we have known in this part of the world for G.I. Joe and American Sniper more than the other movies of her, has a fine action role here too, and it reminds us of Rebecca Ferguson of the Mission Impossible movie series during its later part. Wendell Pierce as James Greer comes up with a solid performance here, and the dilemma of the character is portrayed well by him. Michael Kelly as Mike November has a comparatively smoother and less complicated character that provides a sigh of relief. Douglas Hodge is missed too early, and despite making an impression, Betty Gabriel had a fine entry, and is a likable character too, but is missed too soon. Max Beesley as Liam Crown makes a strong antagonist, even when he is not present on the screen.

How it finishes :: Jack Ryan: Ghost War does lose its power at times, with never really maintaining the same strength at all times. But there is a certain guarantee about this as we keep enjoying the world here. Those who have been following the tale for long in different times will have further opinions about the same, and a rather clearer one. It still never really comes up with those new ideas to make it stand apart among spy movies of same kind. We are often reminded that all spy movies would follow a usual pattern, and there is nothing which can be done to go beyond the same. As far as this movie is concerned, all depends on the viewers and the taste, as this one surely entertains, and how much one keeps up to it shall depend on the audience. As it has released directly to Amazon Prime Video, I would say that there is nothing to be lost in watching this one in parts when time permits. After this movie, the trend might only keep going to bring similar kind of movies, even out of Hollywood.

Release date: 20th May 2026 (Amazon Prime Video)
Running time: 107 minutes
Directed by: Andrew Bernstein
Starring: John Krasinski, Wendell Pierce, Michael Kelly, Max Beesley, JJ Field, Douglas Hodge, Betty Gabriel, Sienna Miller

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Osiris

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Vampire Owl: A movie about the Egyptian god who brings the dead back to life?

Vampire Bat: I feel that there will be only a small connection.

Vampire Owl: The name should actually be associated with us as we come back from the dead.

Vampire Bat: The vampire elders do not approve of the dead given more importance than the undead.

Vampire Owl: Is there any undead who do not come from the dead?

Vampire Bat: The undead are also summoned through magic.

Vampire Owl: Aren’t they the animated skeletons of necromancers and northern witches?

Vampire Bat: And they call us the animated ones.

Vampire Owl: The necromancers have been banished for too long.

Vampire Bat: There are still the necromancer vampires.

[Gets an avocado shake and three cups of Vagamon tea].

What is the movie about? :: US Special Forces on a mission in the desert, Kelly (Max Martini), Rhodie (LaMonica Garrett), Jax (Jaren Mitchell), Reyes (Michael Irby), Gibbs (David Meadows), Nash (Linds Edwards), Bull (Dawson Towery) and Scars (Stanley White Jr) find themselves in a tough battle on the ground, only to find something else also coming up. They are abducted by some strange floating structure of gigantic proportions that appears on the sky after unleashing some kind of weapon on the ground. The floating structure seemed to cause enough havoc on the ground, much more than what was happening around. After a series of nightmares, those who survived awaken, disoriented and confined within some stasis pods, on what seems to be an alien spaceship or an extra-terrestrial building, maybe even located outside the planet. The structure seems to be scientifically advanced, with very less lighting, even though not without stains and dirt, as if straight out of a realistic first-person shooter game.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: As the soldiers further explore the areas, they come across skinned human corpses hanging from above and unfamiliar but seemingly advanced weapons and technology. They also find a struggling young Russian woman Ravishka (Brianna Hildebrand) who is tightly chained to a pole, and as they rescue her, they meet her captors too. The captors are strange creatures, tall, eyeless humanoids with armored skin, sharp claws and energy-based weapons and shields. They keep fighting their way with the help of alien devices which they manage to take from the fallen ones. Ravishka tells them that she feels that she is from around there as she has been around for a long time, and explains that the ship collects humans to be processed as food. She guides them in a journey away from danger through lesser-traveled maintenance tunnels. After a series of encounters with aliens and near-death situations, they fall into a pool of blood filled with remains of dead humans.

What more happens here as aliens seem to be near-invincible and ready for food? :: They are rescued by another survivor named Anya (Linda Hamilton), Ravishka’s mother, who tells them that she has been there for a very long time, and was part of a Russian team which tried to fight the aliens who tried to take over the world. None of them are left now with the last group being captured with Ravishka and brutally murdered. Now, they have to depend on the newly found friends. There, they realize some of the strangest truths about what happened on Earth and how aliens have been going about. They have now lost almost half their soldiers, and are only fortified better with the alien weapons and ammunitions – but the aliens are tracking them through heat signatures and sound. After knowing more, they realize that they have a bigger mission than they thought about and it would be tougher than ever. Can they accomplish that without losing any more of their people?

The defence of Osiris :: The movie has some fast-paced combat that keeps us interested at all times. The signs are shown early enough with the first battle in the desert before the aliens’ arrival, and points to some military warfare more than a random alien invasion. The shootouts feel great from the desert to the alien ship and we have an action game mode feeling going on here. The details are very good, with the spaceship having a classic look, and aliens looking like part of a fine design. There are those moments when we first see the aliens, and the second just before that, which kept us at the edge of the seat like not many other alien movies could do. These are the kind of aliens that we can accept more than any other, and brings some nostalgia back to us. The action feels classic, and we are reminded of Doom in its multiple forms as aliens are no less than demons either, even supported further by some dialogues spoken. The intensity of the battles keeps a certain level at all times. The need for survival is always there, hoping against hopelessness.

The claws of flaw :: The movie does not go deep into the material, and is happy with the surface level journey. There seems to be a little bit too much dependance on the early science fiction movies, including Alien and Predator as well as those sequels. The innovation was there to be taken, but it does not come to the front. The script could have used a push, with more classic elements, and as we see how the movie ended, there could have been more clues in between, with better connection to the title. By the end of the movie, saving the girl gets too much of an attention despite her being introduced as a fighter in captivity in the beginning. Some of the characters are just there for the sake of being there, and even the main characters seem to get less attention to their detail. The moments of survival and twists could have also been better written to create better impact, and alien invasions could have been explained with visuals. There were so many opportunities to make the situations more and more interesting.

How it finishes :: There was always scope for so much more, but that much is not taken here, with the safe zone seemingly the place to be, without that extra innovation. There are not many deviations which seem to be in the mind of the makers which could come out of the box. Still, this remains a very much entertaining journey – there is no boring moment as you are transported to this dangerous world. It is that strong sci-fi action entertainer rather than a thoughtful science-fiction movie. The fast-paced action, alien attacks and nostalgic appeal the best for some time-pass watch rather than provoking thoughts. But some struggle in writing, predictability in plotting, and thin character development keep it from standing out within its genre or leaving a lasting impact. It feels more like a derivative sci-fi action film that never ceases to be entertaining, and also has a scary side taking it close to another genre, as we wonder if this could also become a successful computer game in future.

Release date: 25th July 2025
Running time: 108 minutes
Directed by: William Kaufman
Starring: Max Martini, Brianna Hildebrand, LaMonica Garrett, Linds Edwards, Jaren Mitchell, David Meadows, Michael Irby, Linda Hamilton

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.