What I Watched in December 2025

I’ve enjoyed both SISU films but they both make the same mistake that keeps them from being elevated to the upper echelon of action cinema. At a certain point the ever-escalating kinetic madness asks us to believe something that I simply cannot accept as grounded enough to roll with. Until that moment I’m fully onboard with the insanity and rooting for the main character and the film itself to maintain its level of grittiness and over-the-top violence until the end credits. But both films reach a point where my willing suspension of disbelief is shattered and I become just an observer curious about how things will end instead of and invested fan. I’m not sure, but I think they break my involvement at nearly the same point in their respective running times as if the filmmakers reach the final stretch and go too far on purpose. It’s a shame because, overall, I really enjoy them. I just wish they sustained their admittedly heightened level of credibility for the whole tale.  

The List

THE VIOLENT BREED (1984) – 3 (damn, this sucks)

ALIEN: ROMULUS (2024) – 8 (rewatch on Blu)

SISU: ROAD TO REVENGE (2025) – 7

WHOEVER SLEW AUNTIE ROO? (1971) – 6 (rewatch)

ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK (1981) – 9 (rewatch on Blu)

THE TATTOOED STRANGER (1950) - 6 (solid noir with some shaky acting)

KILL BILL: THE WHOLE BLOODY AFFAIR (2025) – 9

GRUMPY CAT’S WORST CHRISTMAS EVER (2014) – 4 (self-aware but it helps very little)

NEMESIS (1992) – 6 (the usual slightly confused but energetic Pyun action film)

ALIEN 3 (2003) – 8 (rewatch of the assembly cut on Blu)

SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT (2025) – 7 (wow! A solid reinvention of the idea)

THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. FAUST (1969) – 5 (avant-garde swirl of ideas)

SANTA CLAUS (1959) – 5 (rewatch – I can’t call it good but I am fascinated)

THE HOUSEMAID (2025) – 7 (solid twisty thriller)

YOUNG SHERLOCK HOLMES (1985) – 7 (rewatch)

WAKE UP DEAD MAN (2025) – 9 (the best of the three?)

DITIRAMBO (1969) – 6 (bizarre Spanish detective tale)

THE DETECTIVE AND DEATH (1994) – 6 (Spanish tale of deceit and death)

TWO O’CLOCK COURAGE (1945) – 7 (Anthony Mann noir with more humor than expected)