Last 4 on @letterboxd.social. Back to work tomorrow. Boooooo

Good eating this morning.

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Dear MARVEL, when you get around to the FANTASTIC FOUR 2, would you mind finding a way to also make it some kind of follow up to ETERNALS. Cheers.

Just had my first play through of Dave Mustaine’s farewell to heavy metal, the self titled new album from MEGADETH. There are moments of genius in the album, which, 40 years into a career, is the most we can hope for. It’s big, messy and fun, occasionally pretty bad, often brilliant. Like its maker!

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I know very little about the new MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE film (beyond Jared Leto being in it- which is never a good thing), but that new trailer for the trailer is so awful that it has put me off it entirely. That’s some achievement in 15 seconds

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Got a lot of love for 28 YEARS LATER: BONE TEMPLE. 2026 has delivered its first banger horror film and a villain for the ages.

Cheers @letterboxd.social. You provide such fun and valuable service for film fans.

With the exception of (the excellent) THE KING OF NEW YORK, director ABEL FERRARA is a massive blind spot for me. Mrs Claus set about rectifying that. Heard nothing but great things about this. Looking forward to it.

I am now all done with 2025 at the cinema- won’t be heading back until the New Year. So here’s my picks of the year. I only managed 35 new films at that pictures this year. Down 10-15 on my normal viewing. Alas… responsibilities elsewhere (and artistic fatigue).

6) SEVEN- long delayed, but finally here, DAVID FINCHER’s masterpiece arrived early in the year. It’s visual look has been enhanced (from a decidedly iffy early Blu ray) and the murk and grime remain in tact. WB delivered the goods with this release.

MASTER AND COMMANDER- here for the soundtrack alone (so punchy and hard hitting) it’s a miracle that we got a new physical release of this at all. A few years ago it seemed a REMOTE chance at best. The definitive way to watch this EPIC film

4) NIGHTMARE ALLEY- 2025 has seen Criterion really find their feet on the 4K format, and in my opinion this is their best release. 2 versions of the film (the B and W D cut looks INCREDIBLE) and a wealth of special features make this a must buy for GDT fans. The digipack case is also lovely.

3) MI: THE FINAL RECKONING. Coming with (like FALLOUT but not DEAD RECKONING) the expanded IMAX scenes included this has jaw dropping moments of visual clarity. The DOLBY ATMOS soundtrack is reference also with the creaks and groans during the submarine sequence a particular highlight.

THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY. Finally, this all timer arrives to mass market with HDR. Given the arrow big box treatment, the special features provided (including a feature length film) are all exceptional. This is a tremendous package featuring all the bells and whistles.

1) F1- the most fun home cinema experience of the year bar none. It was always a given that this would look stunning but it’s the DOLBY ATMOS that really shines. Offering rumbling hard hitting LFE and a roaring racing scene surround package, the musical tracks show amazing finesse. So so good.

2025 has been the best year for physical media in a long time. Boutique labels have delivered the goods again and again, whilst on occasions the major studios have also stepped up. Here’s my 1 (F1) to 10 (Nightmoves) BEST 4K BLU RAYS of the year.

The new 4k of UNDER SIEGE looks and sounds INCREDIBLE. As with the previously released THE FUGITIVE, ANDREW DAVIS was heavily involved in the process of upgrading and obviously knows a thing or two about film preservation.

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Who do the powers that be at Netflix call master- is it:

A) Artists
B) Art
C) Customers
D) Heritage and History
E) Community

Or is it

F) Share holders

????

Best case scenario every Warner film ends up on Netflix (doubtful- has every Fox movie ended up on Disney +, or have many just vanished?)

It GREATLY benefits from dispensing with THE RATS and allowing the main party to shine through.

The less said about the shows portrayal of Ciri’s band of thieves, the better (it’s everything wrong with modern cinema/ TVs attempts at humanising every character)

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I know that the WITCHER show has never reached the greatness that it SHOULD HAVE, and most people gave up on it yonks ago, but I have persevered as the source material is important to me.

However, THE JOY OF COOKING (S4ep5) shows that the makers of the show do actually GET IT. After all.

Do you think James Gunn will still get to make Man of Tomorrow? I can see a version of this tale that sees the Snyderverse restored. Had Gunn’s timeline been more advanced, then no chance. But 2 movies (and 2 tv shows) in… who knows.

The main downside will be for physical media fans and retailers. WB, probably more than any other studio has propped up 4k and Blu Ray, with only boutique labels doing more (and they’ve put out a lot of WB titles themselves). Presumably that will come to a swift end.

Had an epic film run on my days off this week. Was fun.

£2 each on FB Marketplace. The Spy Who Loved Me “007” and You Only Live Twice “Blofeld”. Pleased with that.

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Battlefield 6 and Remedy studios (along with AC Shadows) properly got me back on my PS5 this year… with 2026 approaching there’s a lot to look forward to:

RE9: Requiem
007: First Light
Saros
Ominusha
GTA6

Are all my most anticipated. What are you all looking forward to? Am I missing any?

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See that the HEAVY METAL YouTube and influencer community are going in on Dave Mustaine following the release (of the clearly deliberately cheesy and on the nose) I DON’T CARE by MEGADETH.

More respect should be shown to Dave, who is up there with anybody for his contributions to HEAVY MUSIC.

🎵🎶🎼

C - C7 - F - G7 - C
G - G7 - Am - F - G

Well, I suppose there is now. Like all things- context is key.

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The RUNNING MAN appears to have had a false start at the global box office adding to the overall sense of misery for cinema chains this autumn. WICKED and AVATAR offer a glimmer of hope for a strong end to 2025, but will they over perform expectations enough to claw back some of the losses suffered?

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Completed ALAN WAKE 2 today following its recent release on PS PLUS. What an unbelievably clever game. Absolutely mind blowing stuff. Joins ELDEN RING and CYBERPUNK 2077 as the best games of this current generation. (I know I’m 2 years late to the party but…)