MOVIE Morning

It's finally here! The first official trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day - the fourth installment in the MCU Tom Holland led Spider-Man franchise - has finally been released by Sony! After announcing the start of production with a set of hype-inducing first-look photos and cast announcements, it's been pretty quiet on the Spider-Man: Brand New Day end... at least officially. A very similar - but not. exact - version of this trailer leaked all the way back in December and we've been on pins and needles to get a more extended official look at this movie since then. As the biggest Spider-Man fan you will probably find talking about the character online (look at my icon photo), it's safe to say that I've been deliriously excited for this movie, as kind of a fresh new entry way into this particular Spidey franchise. Destin Daniel Cretton is also a director who I've always been a huge fan of (Short Term 12 is one of my favorite movies ever made) and I was really hoping he'd be able to punch up this film, both on a visual and emotional level, from the previous films directed by Jon Watts. And, from this trailer, I think it's fair to say it's showing signs that he did just that! Continue on to hear my initial reaction after seeing the trailer!

My most anticipated movie of 2026 - Project Hail Mary - is finally out in cinemas and I think it's pretty safe to say that my track record of my most anticipated movies of each year turning into absolute bangers continues to be pretty good. This is the first time Phil Lord & Christopher MIller - who are truly two of my favorite creatives working in Hollywood - have been behind the camera and directing since 22 Jump Street. They've been major creative & producorial forces behind the Spider-Verse movies and things like The Mitchells vs. The Machines but this is their first live-action work in over a decade, minus their short stint on Solo over at Lucasfilm. But to team them up with Ryan Gosling, with a screenplay adapted from an Andy Weir (The Martian) novel by Drew Goddard - who also adapted The Martian and created Netflix's Daredevil - sounded like every ingrediant I could possibly want for a dream movie. So, does Project Hail Mary deliver? Find out in this review!

Project Hail Mary:

Directed by: Phil Lord and Christopher Miller

Screenplay by: Drew Goddard

Based on the novel by: Andy Weir

Produced by: Ryan Gosling, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Rachel O'Connor, Amy Pascal, Aditya Sood, Andy Weir

Executive Producers: Nikki Baida, Sarah Esberg, Drew Goddard, Ken Kao, Lucy Kitada, Patricia Whitcher

Music by: Daniel Pemberton

Director of Photography: Greig Fraser

Edited by: Joel Negron

Casting by: Nicole Abellera, Jeanne McCarthy

Production Design by: Charles Wood

Costume Design by: David Crossman, Glyn Dillon

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Sandra Hüller, Lionel Boyce, Ken Lueng, Milana Vayntrub, Liz Kingsman, Orion Lee, Aaron Neil, James Ortiz, Priya Kansara

Synopsis: Science teacher Ryland Grace wakes up on a spaceship light years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: solve the riddle of the mysterious substance causing the sun to die out. He must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction… but an unexpected friendship means he may not have to do it alone.

We are now just a day or two away from the 98th Academy Awards and just a few days ago, I already provided my FINAL predictions for who I think are going to take that gold statue for each category. But, now... we're going to get real spicy. As always, I am going to be ranking all 10 of the films nominated for Best Picture this year, from the worst to the best. I think this is a pretty special lineup of movies; I honestly only dislike ONE of these movies and, even then, it's not straight up bad like some movies nominated for this category in the past have been (*cough cough* Emilia Perez ). So, let's begin!

The time is almost here! The 2026 Academy Awards are just a few days away and, as always(!), I will be providing my predictions for the winners of all 25 categories at the 98th OSCARS this Sunday, being hosted by Conan O'Brien. This is coming from someone who's been following the OSCARS pretty much since I got into movies as a cinephile and the craziness & the drama leading into it is some of my favorite stuff in the online film space. And finally, after months and month of predictions and precursors, awards season is finally going to culminate in the big night... a night that should happen sooner (like it used to!) might I add. Will Timmy still pull off the Best Actor victory despite not being able to put Marty away? Will Sinners break all precursor odds by winning the big prize? Well, listen to my predictions to find out what I think! I think we can all agree that the biggest lock - thank god - is that PTA will be finally winning his first OSCAR!

PIXAR is back! Hoppers is the latest original animated effort from the studio and is looking to be (fingers crossed) their first original hit in quite a while. Now, to be fair, Elemental did have great legs and went on to make over half a billion dollars... but even that had a really slow start opening weekend. It continued on and made money becuase it was well received, and I think a similar effect will work on Hoppers even though it's already opening bigger. I have loved Pixar since I was a kid; like so many Gen-Z'ers, so many of their movies mean so much to me and I'm always ready for Pixar to shatter my soul & piece it back together all in a 100-minute family film. Does Hoppers alos stand as their best original work of the 2020s? Find out in this review!

Hoppers:

Directed by: Daniel Chong

Screenplay by: Jesse Andrews

Story by: Daniel Chong and Jesse Andrews

Produced by: Nicole Paradis Grindle

Executive Producers: Pete Docter, Kiri Hart, Domee Shi, Peter Sohn, Lee Unkrich, Michael Warch

Original Score by: Mark Mothersbaugh

Directors of Photography: Jeremy Lasky, Ian Megibben

Edited by: Axel Geddes

Casting by: Kate Hansen-Birnbaum, Natalie Lyon, Kevin Reher

Production Design by: Bryn Imagire

Cast: Piper Curda, Bobby Moynihan, Jon Hamm, Kathy Najimy, Dave Franco

Synopsis: Scientists have discovered how to ‘hop’ human consciousness into lifelike robotic animals, allowing people to communicate with animals as animals. Animal lover Mabel seizes an opportunity to use the technology, uncovering mysteries within the animal world beyond anything she could have imagined.

Maggie Gyllenhaal's latest film - The Bride! - has now hit theaters. This is the latest film from Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy's Warner Bros. slate where they let a bunch of filmmakers off the leash to make some wild, original movies... and this one is no exception. Delays and rumors of bad test screenings aside, I have been hyped to see a new take on the Bride side of the original Frankenstein story from Mary Shelley and I'm glad to say that I had a really good time with it, despite the film being overstuffed and packed with just a few too many ideas for it's own good. Listen on to hear more!

The Bride!:

Written and Directed by: Maggie Gyllenhaal

Produced by: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Osnat Handelsman Keren, Talia Kleinhendler, Emma Tillinger Koskoff

Executive Producers: Pete Chiappetta, Courtney Kivowitz, Andrew Lary, Carla Raij, Anthony Tittanegro, David Webb

Music by: Hildur Gudnadóttir

Director of Photogrpahy: Lawrence Sher

Edited by: Dylan Tichenor

Casting by: Douglas Aibel

Production Design by: Karen Murphy

Costume Design by: Sandy Powell

Cast: Jessie Buckley, Christian Bale, Jake Gyllenhaal, Anette Bening, Peter Sarsgard, Panélope Cruz, John Magaro

Synopsis: A lonely Frankenstein travels to 1930s Chicago to ask groundbreaking scientist Dr. Euphronious to create a companion for him. The two revive a murdered young woman and The Bride is born. But what ensues is beyond what either of them imagined.

Welp, here we go. Scream 7, which comes from franchise creator Kevin Williamson and stars the queen of final girls herself Neve Campbell, is now out in cinemas. Listen, I don't know about you but I'm just glad we can all move on from this movie now that it's finally out. It's a shame because the original Scream is - and always will be - my favorite horror movie of all-time; it was inventive and broke the genre it ways that were needed in 1996 while still showing such love and admiration from it. Scream 7 loses the plot and does not understand what made this franchise great in the first place... and no, I'm not just hating on it because of dumb actions made by studio executives. Listen on to here why Scream 7 is the first truly terrible Scream movie.

Scream 7:

Directed by: Kevin Williamson

Written by: Kevin Williamson and Guy Busick

Story by: James Vanderbilt & Guy Busick

Based on characters created by: Kevin Williamson

Produced by: Paul Neinstein, William Sherak, James Vanderbilt

Executive Producers: Gary Barber, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillet, Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, Ben Fast, Cathy Konrad, Marianne Maddalena, Ben Ormand, Chris Stone, Chad Villella, Kevin Williamson

Music by: Marco Beltrami

Director of Photography: Ramsey Nickell

Edited by: Jim Page

Casting by: Rich Delia

Production Design by: John Collins

Costume Design by: Leigh Leverett

Cast: Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, Isabel May, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Roger L. Jackson, Anna Camp Joel McHale, Celeste O'Connor, Sam Rechner, Asa Germann, Mckenna Grace

Synopsis: When a new Ghostface killer emerges in the quiet town where Sidney Prescott has built a new life, her darkest fears are realized as her daughter becomes the next target. Determined to protect her family, Sidney must face the horrors of her past to put an end to the bloodshed once and for all.

Crime 101 - based on a novella by Don Winslow - lands in cinemas this weekend. It's a crime saga but a surprisingly focused chaaracter drama, with interconeecting threads that lead to quite the convergence in the third act of this movie. This film is being adapted by Bart Layton, who made the critically acclaimed American Animals which I was also a big fan of. Unlike that though, he's now been given a big Hollywood production with big name movie stars and a much, much bigger budget. Does Crime 101 live up to his previously acclaimed work? Find out in this review!

Crime 101:

Directed by: Bart Layton

Screenplay by: Bart Layton

Based on the novella by: Don Winslow

Produced by: Tim Bevan, Dimitri Doganis, Eric Fellner, Benjamin Grayson, Chris Hemsworth, Bart Layton, Shane Salerno, Derin Schlesinger

Executive Producers: Joely Fether, Amelia Granger, Peter Straughan, Bergen Swanson

Music by: Blanck Mass

Director of Photography: Erik Alexander Wilson

Edited by: Julian Hart, Jacob Secher Schulsinger

Casting by: Avy Kaufman

Production Design by: Scott Dougan

Costume Design by: Jenny Eagan

Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Halle Berry, Mark Ruffalo, Barry Keoghan, Monica Barbaro, Corey Hawkins

Synopsis: An elusive thief, eyeing his final score, encounters a disillusioned insurance broker at her own crossroads. As their paths intertwine, a relentless detective trails them hoping to thwart the multi-million dollar heist they are planning.

Another year of movies is now behind us... or - I should say - it's been behind us now for over a month. I had a busy, bust end to 2025 and an even busier begining to 2026, meaning that I pretty much had no time to record my usual end-of-the-year lists and even less time to watch all the movies I wanted to see. And despite being over a month late, some sacrifices did have to be made on the film department. And just to warn you, my list is extremely boring this year. I promise you I didn't just look at the Best Picture lineup and try to match my top 10 list to be as close as possible to it; most of my list was already done by the time we got anywhere near the announcement of the OSCAR nominations. Anyways, that's enough of the broing setup. At long last, here are MY top 10 favorite movies of 2025!

Sam Raimi is finally back! Send Help (20th Century Studios) finally hits UK cinemas this weekend after rolling out in most international markets last week (& with preview screenings the week before that!). If you watched my most anticipated films of 2026 ranking, you'll know that this was one of my top ten most anticipated films of the year because I love, LOVE Sam Raimi's work, whether it's a big, heartfelt, crowdpleasing comic book film or a kooky, goofy genre thriller. Send Help marks only Sam Raimi's third film in the last decade and a half, and is his first original thriller in over fifteen years. I also love both Rachel McAdams and Dylan O'Brien, and the early reviews seemed to indicate that my hype would be satisfied. So, did Sam Raimi deliver? Find out in this review!

Send Help:

Directed by: Sam Raimi

Written by: Damian Shannon, Mark Swift

Produced by: Sam Raimi, Zainab Azizi

Executive Prodcuer: Jonathan Hook

Music by: Danny Elfman

Director of Photography: Bill Pope

Edited by: Bob Murawski

Casting by: Danny Long, Nancy Nayor

Production Design by: Ian Gracie

Costume Design by: Anna Cahill

Cast: Rachel McAdams, Dylan O'Brien, Edyll Ismail, Dennis Haysbert, Xavier Samuel, Chris Pang, Thaneth Warakulnukroh, Emma Raimi

Synopsis: Two colleagues become stranded on a deserted island, the only survivors of a plane crash. On the island, they must overcome past grievances and work together to survive, but ultimately, it’s a battle of wills and wits to make it out alive.