MrDHWong

"Final Destination: Bloodlines" is the sixth film in the "Final Destination" horror series. Directed by Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein, and starring Kaitlyn Santa Juana in the lead role, it reinvigorates the two decade plus franchise by providing everything veteran fans could ask for while remaining mostly accessible to newcomers.

For the longest time, college student Stefani "Stef" Reyes (Kaitlyn Santa Juana) has experienced recurring nightmares of her grandparents Iris (Brec Bassinger) and Paul (Max Lloyd-Jones) dying horribly along with many others in the collapse of a high-rise tower back in 1969. Although the tower never actually ended up collapsing, Stef soon realises that her nightmares are in fact premonitions she inherited from Iris, who saved the lives of everyone inside the tower by correctly predicting that the building would topple over. Upon finding Iris (Gabrielle Rose) living in a heavily-fortified remote cabin, Stef is told by her estranged grandmother that by preventing the tower from falling, she had interrupted Death's original plan for everybody there that day, resulting in the survivors dying off later on in the order they would have been killed, along with their descendants who aren't supposed to exist. After Iris quickly dies right in front of her, Stef works desperately to prevent both herself and her remaining family members directly linked to Iris's bloodline from meeting their inevitable fates, hoping to break this deadly cycle before it is too late.

There aren't many horror franchises with a premise quite as flexible and innovative as the "Final Destination" series. Beginning all the way back in 2000, this collection of films has shown audiences across generations the various clever and often graphic ways people can be killed, whether it's getting trapped inside a tanning bed or by corrective laser eye surgery going horribly wrong. With seemingly endless methods for one to die, it should come as no surprise that this series has been able to remain relevant among pop culture for just over a quarter of a century, a feat rarely accomplished by other horror film franchises. Though fourteen years have passed since the last cinematic entry, 2025's "Final Destination: Bloodlines" proves that this lengthy hiatus was just what the series needed, delivering a sixth movie that is bound to satisfy longtime fans and novices alike.

Similar to its five predecessors, the film immediately sets up its story by showing us an obviously dangerous location that has the potential to cause the deaths of many people. In this case, it is at opening night inside a large tower on the brink of collapse due to poor construction, something of which is teased to the audience at numerous points. However, the key difference here is the time frame of this setting, taking place in the year 1969. We watch as young couple Paul and Iris enjoy themselves among the party of guests inside the tower, with others blissfully ignorant of the shoddiness of the structure's glass floor that starts cracking under the weight of the dancing patrons. After a young boy throws a penny off the tower's observation deck, the coin becomes sucked into an air duct and is lodged in one of the fans, causing the blades to break apart and fly off into the area populated by the partygoers. This leads to a chain reaction where the floor collapses, gas leaks catch fire, and the tower itself topples over with everyone inside dying brutally in the chaos. As one would hope, this whole sequence is graphically violent and not for the squeamish, but anyone with even the most basic knowledge of the "Final Destination" films should certainly expect that by now.

Flashing forward to modern day, we see that this entire opening is actually a nightmare that student Stef Reyes is having after falling asleep during a college lecture, with Paul and Iris revealed to be her maternal grandparents. Since these nightmares are recurring vividly, Stef decides to get to the bottom of this and learns from the reclusive but still living Iris that what she is experiencing is a premonition of what would have happened all those years ago had Iris not interfered with fate. As a result, Stef has now inherited her grandmother's same hereditary vision, marking her and Iris's other blood relatives for death. Hoping to break this curse, Stef tries to protect her family from falling victim to Death's cruel tricks, a task easier said than done due to the abundance of deadly objects they are surrounded by at all times. From here on out, the film consists of many potentially fatal situations and scenarios that everyone related to Iris finds themselves in, ranging from swallowing a shard of glass to jumping on a rake hidden underneath a trampoline. There are several instances where these scenes could go either way, and the appeal of these moments can be found in the suspense over whether or not the film will follow through on killing off a character or faking us out after some build up.

The lore behind the "Final Destination" series has never been particularly deep, with the main premise usually being the lead character foreseeing a vision of themselves and/or their associates being killed and stopping it from happening, prompting Death, an invisible entity, to find alternative ways for these people to die instead. Despite this boilerplate template, these set ups are always so simple but so devastatingly effective in the way they are handled over the course of each movie that they have audiences still coming back for more each time, likely out of curiosity to watch the creative methods the writers will conjure up for them to be killed. This film is no exception, as it has some of the bloodiest, goriest, and occasionally funniest death scenes I have seen throughout the entire franchise. For instance, during the opening with the collapsing tower, people are seen plummeting hundreds of feet to the ground and exploding into bloody chunks while a pair of workers just so happen to be listening to the song "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" on a portable radio at the same time. On the other hand, the numerous fake-outs that bait the audience into believing a character is going to die a certain way keeps viewers like me on their toes, even if some of them are better than others. Moments like these help the film stand out as one of the best entries in the entire series, feeling simultaneously familiar yet refreshingly new.

In the role of this film's protagonist, Kaitlyn Santa Juana is both watchable and likeable as Stef, whose unconditional love for her family is what drives her to protect each of them from dying. Although she doesn't stand out quite as much as previous lead characters, Stef nonetheless proved to be someone I wanted to see survive by the end of the story, and given the amount of horrific death and dismemberment of others she experiences at various points, things could easily go off the rails at any given time. Juana never overacts or descends into cliched "Scream Queen" territory when playing Stef, instead depicting her as a regular young lady who has the unfortunate luck of being born within a cursed bloodline. Her interactions with the rest of the supporting cast are all handled well, especially one with a posthumous appearance from a certain actor who has been in three of the five previous films.

Successfully injecting some new life (and death!) into the long-running horror franchise, "Final Destination: Bloodlines" is a worthwhile belated entry that is as accessible to rookie viewers as it is to its loyal fans. Due to the anthological, loosely-linked structure of the series, watching the prior films is not a requirement to understand everything that is happening, although I would personally suggest still checking out the other movies at some point anyway. With that said, so long as Death can keep thinking of more imaginative ways to kill those who toy with their inevitable fates, it looks like the franchise will continue on for many years to come. And as long as they remain this entertaining to watch, audiences will keep flocking back for more.

I rate it 7/10.

"Superman" is the first film in the DC Universe (DCU) and the second reboot of the "Superman" film series. Written and directed by James Gunn ("Guardians of the Galaxy" trilogy, "The Suicide Squad") and starring David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, and Nicholas Hoult, it begins this brand new cinematic universe on an exciting note with great action and an optimistic tone.

Thirty years after being sent by his parents to Earth as a baby from the dying planet Krypton, Kal-El / Clark Kent (David Corenswet) has been saving the world from danger as the powerful hero "Superman", inspiring hope among people around the world. To effectively blend in with the rest of humanity, Clark also works as a reporter for the Daily Planet in the city of Metropolis with the assistance of his co-worker Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), who is aware of his secret identity. One day, billionaire CEO Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), who considers Superman to be a menace, invents a way to infiltrate Superman's Fortress of Solitude in Antarctica, stealing a message sent by Clark's birth parents and manipulating it to turn the public against him. After Superman voluntarily turns himself in to the authorities, Lex imprisons the once-beloved superhero inside an artificially created pocket dimension, using this opportunity to continue his sinister plan to grant himself even more power over the masses.

If you were to ask people to name who they believe to be the very first superhero, there's a good chance they will all collectively answer with "Superman". Though it's debatable whether or not you could really consider the character the first of his kind when you take into account other pre-dating fictional heroes like Zorro or the Phantom, it is indeed Superman who essentially helped popularise the term "superhero" as a whole. With that popularity comes a slew of cinematic feature films, beginning in 1978 with Christopher Reeve's take on the character and most recently concluding with Henry Cavill's version during the ten year duration of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). Kicking things off for the rebooted DCU, James Gunn's 2025 film titled simply "Superman" is the ideal direction for things to be heading for this iconic superhero, embodying the appropriate fun, action, and human emotion required to help the character appeal to audiences of all ages.

Unlike previous "Superman" media, this film actually begins three years after Clark Kent debuted as his superhero alter-ego, firmly establishing his worldwide recognition immediately to the audience. To pull this off, the film skips over showing what most viewers are already familiar with, instead informing us of everything we need to know of Superman's origins through onscreen text and then delving straight into the action, the humour, and most importantly, the communication between characters. We watch as Superman tirelessly and painstakingly works to protect others from any kind of dangerous activity, whether it's monsters attacking cities or just people standing in the wrong place at the wrong time. Occasionally helping him along the way is his superpowered dog Krypto, who shares his master's superpowers in addition to the cheeky personality one would expect from a canine friend. When he's not saving the world, Superman assumes his civilian identity as Clark Kent, working at the Daily Planet alongside his reporter girlfriend Lois Lane, who already knows of his double life. As to be expected with someone of his track record, James Gunn's handling of this superhero source material proves he was the perfect choice to helm this movie, which feels narratively different yet still recognisable in its execution.

Later, we are introduced to Lex Luthor, the tyrannical CEO of LuthorCorp, whose hatred of Superman manifests into an obsession with destroying the widely-loved hero no matter how hard he must work or how much money he must spend. Being a powerful figure in the media, Lex uses his influence to turn public opinion against his superhero arch-nemesis, secretly altering a stolen message of Superman's Kryptonian parents to say that their son should use his powers to conquer the Earth rather than save it. Naturally, the world's view of their hero becomes hostile, resulting in nearly everybody demanding his incarceration and allowing Lex to cease the moment to his advantage. This is a great way to set up the antithesis between the film's hero and villain, as we watch Superman putting his own safety aside for the sake of protecting others to turn himself in while Lex only yearns to have absolute power at his fingertips with nothing there to stop him. Although this might not be as thematically deep as in previous stories, I nonetheless find it to be the best method of playing it safe when introducing the necessary basics of setting up this new cinematic universe.

Like the original films starring Christopher Reeve, this film has a far more fun and light-hearted tone in its approach to storytelling. For instance, the film often shows the playful banter between Clark Kent and Lois Lane, with Lois finding it difficult to separate the nerdy, bespectacled Clark from the heroic, caped Superman while they are at home together. This allowed for some humorous dialogue that helps these two feel like a believable couple who actually fell in love with each other under realistic circumstances, only it just so happens that one of them is a superpowered alien from another planet. Similarly, although Lex Luthor's intentions are diabolical, they are never so much that they seem too intense for a story like this, being akin to the comics they originate from as well as earlier Superman-related media. Because of this, the film actually seems as though it can be enjoyed by viewers from all walks of life, whether they are young children unfamiliar with Superman or veteran fans desiring to see a new incarnation of their famous hero. As someone who falls into the latter category, I was very pleased with this direction that James Gunn has taken.

In regards to the creative aspects of the movie, James Gunn has found ways to make his film feel like his own while also paying respectful tribute to other Superman stories that preceded it. Perhaps due to how highly recognisable it is, Gunn has his composers John Murphy and David Fleming sprinkle in musical cues from the classic John Williams Superman theme at certain times throughout the story, which is a nice audio reference for fans who grew up with the original movies. Also, for eagle-eyed viewers, Christopher Reeve's son Will Reeve can be seen making a cameo at one point, likely to acknowledge the enduring legacy of his father. There are also other Easter eggs and hidden moments of fan service littered throughout the film, some of which will probably go right over people's heads upon their first viewing.

As the title character, David Corenswet embodies everything the iconic "man of steel" should be, both as a superhero and a regular civilian. It's rare to watch anything related to "Superman" that makes you want to see Clark Kent on screen equally as much as Superman himself, mainly due to how perfectly balanced the scenes were for both of them. It's nice to watch Clark interact with his Daily Planet co-workers, whom most view him as a weak nerd, and it's fun to later see him save people's lives as Superman. My favourite scenes were of him playing with his dog Krypto, who truly is his loyal best friend whenever the going gets tough. I can definitely see Corenswet's Superman leading the charge for other DCU projects in the future, since this feels like one of the more realistic cinematic incarnations of the character in many years.

Rachel Brosnahan also stands out as Lois Lane, whose confidence in her position as a reporter takes its toll on her relationship with Clark. Thankfully, both Brosnahan and Corenswet have great chemistry with each other, as every time they were on screen you really get the sense that these two genuinely care for one another's wellbeing. It's fun to watch as Lois tries to make sense of everything occurring around her in this world with superheroes, supervillains, and other happenings that give her plenty of material to write about in her articles. So far, Brosnahan's Lois Lane is my favourite version of the character, probably because this one seems like the most grounded out of all of them up to this point.

But special mention has to go to Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, whose performance is easily the best cinematic depiction of the character since the late Gene Hackman. Every time he is on screen, this Lex has the ability to intimidate the viewer either by his charismatic presence alone or his highly intelligent methods of manipulation to get what he wants. Hoult brings out all of the trademark ruthlessness of Lex's supervillain personality, playing him like a corrupt businessman with a seemingly unlimited amount of wealth at his disposal, which is something audiences have needed to see from this character for quite some time now. Hopefully we will see more of Hoult's Lex in other DC-related media, as I can imagine him being a menace to other heroes aside from just Superman.

Successfully setting the stage for things to come, James Gunn's "Superman" is a fitting beginning to what looks like an enjoyable DCU. Although some might disapprove of it playing things a bit too safe, it nonetheless does its job at establishing the important foundations of where things could lead creatively later on. Given the currently wounded state of their competitors at Marvel, there exists the chance this DCU could beat them at their own game, or at the very least provide them with some much needed healthy competition. Regardless, the future of this new franchise is looking pretty good.

I rate it 8/10.

"Jurassic World: Rebirth" is the fourth "Jurassic World" film and the seventh film in the "Jurassic Park" series. Directed by Gareth Edwards ("Monsters", "Godzilla", "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story", "The Creator") and starring Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey, and Rupert Friend, it tries to squeeze more life out of a series that ran its course decades ago but only continues to put a damper on its legacy.

Five years after the events of "Jurassic World: Dominion", the present day Earth has proven mostly inhospitable to the escaped dinosaurs that once terrorised the humans and other animals that call it home. Because of this, the surviving dinosaurs have been forced to relocate to more tropical climates around the equator, as these are the only places in the world that properly resemble where they thrived millions of years ago. In an effort to develop a cure for coronary heart disease, pharmaceutical company executive Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend) recruits covert operative Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson), palaeontologist Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey), and team leader Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali) to embark on a top secret mission with him to extract DNA samples from three of the largest known prehistoric creatures. Since these dinosaurs can all be found on the island of Ile Saint-Hubert, the team immediately set forth towards this location, rescuing a shipwrecked family along the way.

It's pretty difficult to ignore the significance of the "Jurassic Park/World" franchise, as for over three decades each of these films have delivered plenty of dinosaur-related action and fun for audiences worldwide. With that said, I'm certain most people like myself would agree that the series as a whole peaked with the first film, though there's no denying the other ones that followed definitely have their fair share of entertaining moments. Three years ago, I blindly assumed that the sixth film "Jurassic World: Dominion" would serve as an indefinite conclusion to the series, considering the amount of nostalgia bait and tied-up loose ends it contained to distract us from the lacklustre output of its predecessors. However, I am now eating my words as with the release of "Jurassic World: Rebirth" in 2025, we have a standalone continuation that proves even with a new director and one of the writers of the original "Jurassic Park", the series should have probably stayed extinct.

The story opens nine years after the events of "Jurassic Park III" on a remote island inside a laboratory where scientists are hard at work creating dinosaurs by splicing the DNA of various other creatures together. We then follow a pair of these scientific minds as they make their way into a containment room where something large and sinister is being kept hidden away from everyone, which necessitates the two of them entering using keys that only work when turned at the exact same time. Unfortunately for them, the wrapping from a Snickers chocolate bar gets blown into the door's locking mechanism and clogs the system, causing all of the computers to malfunction and release this dangerous creation upon the unsuspecting scientists. What could have been an emotional send off to these characters instead made me laugh at the absurdity of an entire scientific team's efforts being brought to its knees by a small chocolate wrapper, and from a Snickers bar no less! Could this be an obligatory product placement or the film's attempt to showcase humanity's hubris to us once again? At this point in time, does it really matter anymore?

Flashing forward five years after "Dominion", we see how the dinosaurs roaming the world have not been able to properly adapt to life in this new age, with some of them going extinct once again and the others migrating to tropical locations that better suit their living conditions. The remaining ones are seen causing minor disturbances among the human population, such as a sick and dying brachiosaurus lying in the middle of the streets obstructing traffic in New York City. This is where the film sets up its plot, where we're introduced to our lead character Zora Bennett, who is recruited along with a palaeontologist, a team leader, and others by a pharmaceutical representative to take biomaterial samples from dinosaurs located on the aforementioned remote island to create a drug that prevents heart disease. As contrived as this concept sounds, I was willing to go along with it so long as the film could provide some interesting, fresh material to reinvigorate the series. After all, it's not like the original movie had a story fully grounded in reality either. Unfortunately, from here on out, the film delivers nothing more than the usual "been there, done that" dinosaur action we've all seen six times before, only in a much less exciting fashion.

Even with his proven track record at handling movies with large monstrous creatures, there's not a whole lot that director Gareth Edwards can deliver to us that gives me hope for the future of this series. Granted, Edwards does choose to place emphasis on the atmosphere of Ile Saint-Hubert, showing us the sweeping landscape of this abandoned island and the remnants of the research facilities that imply many DNA splicing experiments took place here. Though this did give the location a bit more personality than usual, these all felt like cosmetic additions rather than important improvements to the overall story. Again, previous films in the franchise have done a much better job at placing the audience right where dinosaurs would call home in today's world, some without the need for us to sit through contrived scenes of the characters reacting either in shock or in amazement at what they're seeing.

There also isn't anything worth saying in regards to the film's characters, and none of the actors playing them have much to do with the weak material they have to work with. Scarlett Johansson is watchable enough as Zora, who at least looks like she's having fun wielding a gun and defending herself from being eaten by these large prehistoric creatures, but that's really all there is to say about her performance. The same can be said for Mahershala Ali as Duncan, who, like Johansson, runs from dinosaurs, shooting at them, and protecting the team from becoming devoured. Things don't fare much better for Rupert Friend and Jonathan Bailey, whose roles I kept mixing up due to how underwritten they each were. Thankfully, it didn't really matter in the end since everyone was so one-dimensional that their entire presence in the movie is easily forgotten about once you leave the theatre.

However, the one surprising thing that stood out to me in a bad way was the addition of the vacationing Degado family, consisting of Reuben (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), his daughters Teresa (Luna Blaise) and Isabella (Audrina Miranda), and Teresa's boyfriend Xavier (David Iacono), all of whom are rescued by the expedition team after their yacht is capsized by a Mosasaurus. The reason why I did not care for them that much is because at no point did these four ever contribute anything crucial to the plot aside from helping to pad out the runtime. Aside from the occasionally cute scenes of Isabella playing with a baby Aquilops she names "Dolores", I didn't really find the Degados particularly appealing to watch and they seem shoehorned into the story at the last minute. These characters could have been taken out of the movie altogether and the plot would have still played out exactly the same without them, albeit, with a shorter duration.

As the franchise continues its sharp decline, all "Jurassic World: Rebirth" has done is reaffirm my stance that this series should have gone on a lengthy hiatus years ago, even before the release of "Dominion". It exists as nothing more than proof that you can only pull from a drinking well for so long until you're hoisting up an empty bucket, and this one is completely dry. In the past, I have defended the previous films for being simple popcorn entertainment that require little thought process to enjoy for what they are, and in any other case, I would be inclined to do so here as well. This time I refuse to do so, because if six other films have done it better already, why should you even bother with this one?

I rate it 5/10.