Sep 30, 2025

Monthly Media Recap - September 2025

 Hey, hey! The Monthly Media Recap is dropping a day early because tomorrow starts the annual, month-long Countdown to Halloween!
 
Linked titles will take you to a trailer. There's a lot to get to, so let's go!
 
 
Gatchaman Progress
Episodes watched this month: 3 
Currently up to: 62
 
Streaming

I didn't watch these all series in September, I just happened to finish watching them in September.
 
Dexter: Resurrection (Paramount)
I thought the end of New Blood was fine and wasn't expecting more but they came back swinging with a vengeance. An absolutely stacked cast and a secret club of serial killers made this a heck of a ride!
 
Alien Earth (Hulu)
My favorite live action Alien thing since Aliens. As much as I liked this, I feel like they crammed too much into it and didn't follow through on some of it. Maybe in season two? Some complained there wasn't enough xenomorph but I really liked seeing the other weird lifeforms and the trans-humanism themes.
 
Blockbuster (Netflix)
Despite not hearing anything good when it dropped, I'd been meaning to get around to this. I will watch Randall Park in anything, full stop. This wasn't nearly as bad as people seemed to think. It's not great but it's a perfectly decent sit-com.  
 
Wednesday (S2, Netflix)
Still loving the show for the most part. While the writers definitely "get" Wednesday, I feel like they're missing the mark on most of the rest of the family, especially Gomez. I'm also not a fan of Thing's subplot this season. The reveal was silly and I don't know why they did it other than the need to have everything tie into everything else.
 
Movies

 
Campfire Tales (1997, Tubi)
A horror anthology that gathers up some urban legends you probably haven't thought about since you were a kid. It's kind of like Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark for an older audience. Despite the R rating, it feels a little tame but does an okay job of telling its stories. Having seen it now, I can say this is one of the worst trailers I've ever seen as far as how well it represents the movie.
 
Rating: 6/10

Thunderbolts* (2025, Disney+)
As much as I like Yelena and Red Guardian, this exceeded my expectations. It promoted a gang of second string characters to the front with plenty of great action and character moments. I think it stands above most of the recent MCU releases because, like the FF, it makes the characters human and relatable. 
 
Rating: 8/10
 
 
Dangerous Animals (2025, Shudder)
Once you know the baddie is a serial killer that feeds people to sharks, you kind of know how the movie has to end but that doesn't stop you from enjoying the ride. Jai Courtney is chewing up the scenery here like a great white and I'm here for it. There's some tense moments during the victim's escape attempts backed up with very good physical stunt work that puts you right in there with her. The ending jumps the shark (sorry) a bit with how campy it is but the movie earns it for me by then.
 
Rating: 7/10, totally shocked it opens with a song by The Donnas
 
Maybe a decent premise but very poorly executed. Who plays a party game where you answer questions like "Who would you let live?" and then drink a hallucinogen? The movie is around 70 minutes but it feels longer. Most of the actors are flat and I honestly couldn't tell you what the overall story was. Either there's a time loop or it's a very bad attempt at telling the same story from different character's perspectives...or maybe they all get shot into their own timelines. I don't know and don't care enough to bother looking it up!
 
Rating: 2/10
 
 
Escape Room (2019, Amazon Prime)
I saw the thumbnail for this while looking for something else and went back to find it a couple days later. Do you know how many movies there are with Escape Room in the title?! As much as I enjoyed this, I couldn't stop thinking about how anyone could have constructed this elaborate series of escape rooms inside a building. The ending felt a little weird because they were setting up for a sequel which I'm kind of interested in to see if it answers my big question.
 
Rating: 6/10 
 
How's this for an unexpected twist on my movie list? If you like this type of movie, Reese Witherspoon, and/or Will Ferrell, you'll probably enjoy this movie. It's not bad, but it's pretty much what you'd expect after seeing the trailer.
 
Rating: 6/10
 
 
Night of the Reaper (2025, Shudder) 
Nothing like an 80s throwback horror flick to get you ready for October. This one has a good spooky vibe to it. It's not as much a slasher as a stalker mystery. The way the final girl foils the killer makes no sense because it requires her to know things she shouldn't be able to know but I had so much fun before and after that point that I can let it slide.
 
Rating: 6.5 
 
This Month
New: 7   Rewatch: 0

Year to Date
New: 62   Rewatch: 8

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