15 Feb 2026
During the marketing and release cycle of this movie, I didn’t have high hopes. A Predator movie with a non-English-speaking alien as the protagonist? I had doubts.
It’s a small story that takes place over a short period of time. And in this little tale, every detail is perfect. There are loads of set-ups and payoffs. Multiple characters’ arcs are surprisingly poignant. One of them is of a species that have so far been portrayed as cold, not-so-relatable killing machines.
The inclusion of Wayland-Yutani was icing on the cake.
Dan Trachtenberg is leading a Renaissance era for this franchise.
9/10 ★★★★★★★★★★
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02 Feb 2026
This is a first in my new series, Micro Reviews. I won’t review every film I watch; that would get tedious and make movies un-fun quick. However, the occasional movie comes along that’s thought-provoking enough to justify jotting down a few of them.
I’ve been thinking of doing this for a while. Why not start with the 2,000th movie that I recently rated on IMDb? I have bonus thoughts on the American remake from 6 years later. Double-feature micro reviews will be uncommon, I think, but let’s bend the rules this one time.
It’s very, very hard to judge and rate a movie that was not only released 72 years ago, but also with the backdrop of a place, culture and sensibilities that I’m unfamiliar with. I appreciate Seven Samurai (1954) for a lot. There are memorable characters with distinct personalities (Kikuchiyo!). There is notable clarity in visual storytelling, such as tracking the number of downed enemies, even if some action moments were harder to follow. While the journey was interesting, the ending lacked a kind of punch that I was hoping for.
I would recommend this movie to people intrigued by film history, but not widely.
7/10 ★★★★★★★☆☆☆
The Magnificent Seven (1960) is a faithful adaptation that’s more palatable to my sensibilities. Props for not making it a scene-by-scene remake and for remixing characters and dynamics instead. It didn’t hold my attention fully, but I liked it as a product of its time. Ultimately, I think it will end up less memorable to me than the original.
6/10 ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
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26 Jan 2026
I started this blog over five years ago. In the introductory post, I decided to record five movies around my 1,000th movie rated on IMDb.
I’ve been rating movies since around the age of 16, which was when I first started using IMDb ratings for reference. So, this only counts movies I’ve watched and rewatched since then.
Years later, I just hit 2,000 and figured I should immortalize the five titles leading up to this for no reason.
Film 1995: Bring Her Back
Film 1996: The Surfer
Film 1997: The Rip
Film 1998: Infernal Affairs
Film 1999: Decision to Leave
Film 2000: Seven Samurai
Only feature films are included in the count, and there is always a minuscule chance I forget to rate something.
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14 Sep 2025
Since the beginning of time invention of video, humanity has thirsted for realism. For recorded video, this usually means higher resolution, richer colors, broader dynamic range, and perhaps higher framerates. For video games, this meant higher polygon count in models, higher fidelity shadows, detailed reflections, realistic skin and hair.
With decades of work put into so many disciplines - various display technologies, 3D rendering, visual effects, simulation engines, game design - I believe that we’re finally nearing the limits of fidelity, or at least the end of incessant thirst for it.
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28 Sep 2024
Big budget, “eye candy” singleplayer games have hit a point in improved fidelity and quality of gameplay where, for many of them, it may be time to double down on expansions over sequels.
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