Paddington in Peru (2025) – Review
Quick Thoughts – Grade – B+ – Paddington in Peru is a charming adventure film that features hilarious performances from Antonio Banderas and Olivia Colman
You gotta hand it to first-time feature film director Dougal Wilson for agreeing to take over the directorial duties of one of the most beloved franchises of recent memory. Taking over the franchise from Paul King (who directed the blockbuster Wonka instead of returning for the third film) is a big ask, but after decades of directing music videos, commercials, and short films, first-time feature director Dougal Wilson does a fine job of carrying on the Paddington franchise’s tradition of success. With a story from Paul King and Simon Farnaby (who wrote the first two Paddington films), and a screenplay written by Mark Burton (Wallace & Gromit films), Jon Foster (The Adventures of Paddington), and James Lamont (The Adventures of Paddington), Wilson had enough great material to craft a successful sequel that has already grossed over $100 million worldwide. It also helps that Erik Wlsion (cinematography), Rosie Alison (producer), Pablo Grillo (director of animation) worked on the project because Wilson could rely on Paddington-pros who worked on the prior films during the production.
The main difference between Paddington in Peru and the other two films is the latest installment is an adventure yarn that sees Paddington and the Brown family tackling the Peruvian jungle in an attempt to rescue Paddington’s beloved Aunt Lucy, who disappeared when she presumably left her cabin to find the mythical El Dorado. The treasure hunt plotline is a good call, because after two successful films involving England-based shenanigans, relocating the stuffy Brown family to a dangerous jungle takes them out of their comfort zones and into the crosshairs of wonderful characters played by Antonio Banderas and Olivia Colman.
The film kicks off with Paddington getting into his usual exploits (destroying things) inside a photo booth that takes a series of blurry and smooshed photos for his British passport. After years of living in England he’s become an umbrella-toting citizen who lives in the attic of the cavernous home owned by the Brown family. Things are good for Paddington until he receives an alarming letter from the Reverend Mother (Olivia Colman) of the home for retired bears in Peru. The cheerfully written and slightly ominous letter (perfectly narrated by Colman) informs Paddington that his beloved Aunt Lucy misses him dearly and would love for him to visit. The timing is good because the safety-obsessed Henry Brown (Hugh Bonneville) just started a new job that requires him to take more risks, and Mary Brown (Emiliy Mortimer – who does a fine job taking over the role from Sally Hawkins) is dreading an eventual empty nest as Judy (Madeleine Harris) and Jonathan (Samuel Joslin) are in their teenage years and close to leaving for college.
Shortly after they arrive in Peru, the family meet the Reverend Mother, and after a delightful musical number involving floating guitars, deep breathes, and an elderly bear being hit in the stomach with a dusting sick, Paddington and the Browns learn that Aunt Lucy has disappeared and the only clue to her is whereabouts is a map to a location deep in the Amazon forest. The newly adventurous Browns hire a boat captain named Hunter Cabot (Antonio Banderas) and his daughter Gina (Carla Tous) to take them on the trek down river. Since it’s a Paddinton film, things go horribly awry as it turns out that Captain Cabot belongs to a cursed family of treasure hunters who all perished (and haunt Hunter) in their quest to find gold. This leads to a series of events that split up the Browns deep in a jungle loaded with dangerous rapids, spiky plants, and gold hungry captains.
Paddington in Peru hits on all cylinders when Antonion Banderas and Olivia Colman go for broke and fully embrace the insanity of the Paddinton world. Like Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant before them, Banderas and Colman have lots of fun as they either attempt to help or hurt the Brown family. The funniest moments of the movie features Colman and Julie Waters arguing about hidden lairs and flying together in an old airplane that needs a miracle to stay in the air. Toss in Buster Keaton inspired gags and bits inspired by Raiders of the Lost of the Ark, Aguirre, Wrath of God and Fitzcarraldo, and Paddington in Peru is a welcome delight for kids and cinephiles. Also, things don’t get much better than watching Antonio Banderas turn things up to 11 as he argues with ghosts and chases Paddington around Peruvian mountains.
Final Thoughts – Paddington in Peru doesn’t reach the comedic or heartfelt heights of its two predecessors, but that’s a hard task considering they are two of the most beloved films of recent memory. However, it’s a delightful movie that does nothing but help the legacy of this popular franchise.
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Captain America: Brave New World (2025) – Review
Grade – C
When it was announced that Julius Onah (watch Luce – it’s wonderful) was hired to direct Captain America: New World Order (original title) I was filled with hope because he’s a solid director and I wanted to see him work with Anthony Mackie and Harrison Ford. Also, after Deadpool & Wolverine, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3, and The Marvels, I was excited to watch a more grounded superhero film like Captain America: Winter Soldier or Ant-Man, that don’t feature world-killing mayhem. However, after multiple reshoots and rewrites by the five credited writers, Captain America: Brave New World is a bit of a jumbled mess with a comical amount of actors delivering rewritten dialogue in front of green screens. This is possibly because of the 2023 writer’s strike which forced the folks at Marvel to shoot what they could, and then reshoot the movie when the writer’s strike ended. However, their plan to stitch the movie together during multiple shoots didn’t work and the end result lacks cohesion. This is a shame because Anthony Mackie, Harrison Ford and Isaiah Bradley are excellent, and deserve something better than a cobbled together MCU film.
The film kicks off with Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) in full Captain America mode, retrieving a mysterious canister from a group of well-armed mercenaries led by Seth Voelker (Giancarlo Esposito). After some fun fisticuffs that showcase Cap’s new vibranium technology and the fighting skills he learned from Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly – returning from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), Sam and Joaquin “New Falcon” Torres (Danny Ramirez) return the canister to Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford), the newly elected president of the United States. The contents of the canister turns out to be adamantium metal pulled from the dead celestial located in the Indian Ocean (from The Eternals). During a summit to create a worldwide peace treaty that will equally distribute the adamantium metal around the world (with no country getting it all), several Secret Service agents and Bradley are mysteriously activated (like Bucky in Civil War) and they attempt to assassinate Ross. The assassination attempt is thwarted by Sam and Joaquin, but the violent attack results in Bradley being put back in prison with the threat of a death sentence looming over his head. This forces Sam to go rogue so he can clear Isaiah’s name by finding out who activated the assailants. What begins as a refreshingly simple story soon gets muddled as we’re introduced to a former Black Widow named Sabra (Shira Haas), several secret prisons, a Red Hulk, angry mercenaries, and world leaders from France, Japan and India. Also, the movie pretty much requires a rewatch of The Incredible Hulk (2008), Captain America: Civil War (2016), The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021), and The Eternals (2021), so you understand why multiple countries want control of a dead celestial and why Tim Blake Nelson is so pissed at President Ross.
There are some fun bits that feature Harrison Ford on a Peloton, and the final 10 minutes feature solid jokes and comradery between Mackie, Ramirez and Lumbly. However, it never feels like the well-produced MCU products of the first few phases. It’s obvious to say, but the best MCU films work when the script is tight and doesn’t need reshoots to put it together like an ill-fitting jigsaw puzzle. This is why the James Gunn scripted Guardians of the Galaxy movies look amazing and feel cohesive. The GOtG films go into production with a completed script which allows for plenty of coverage (which editors love) and time for the visual effects artists to make everything look great. With Captain America: Brave New World, the MCU higher ups rushed the production and the end product suffered because of all the changes made during production. I hope this film makes a lot of money so Anthony Mackie can have another crack at playing Captain America because Brave New World is at its best when Mackie flexes his acting chops during intimate moments with Carl Lumbly (they are great together), in which he wonders if he can be a successful Captain America without the aid of the super serum that made Steve Rogers a world-saving powerhouse. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (the pandemic shut down several of its shooting locations) and Captain America: Brave New World (writer’s strike forced an odd production) had less-than-ideal productions, so it would be cool to see a Mackie-led Captain America movie that doesn’t go through wholesale changes.
Final thoughts – Watch it for Mackie, but don’t expect a top-tier MCU experience.
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 606: Prometheus, Black Goo, and an Interesting Android
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Mark and Lisa discuss the 2012 science fiction prequel Prometheus. Directed by Ridley Scott, and starring Michael Fassbender, Noomi Rapace, and lots of goo, the popular prequel asks a lot of questions and features a geologist with a rock brain. In this episode, they also talk about black goo, dumb corporations, and the excellence of Michael Fassbender. Enjoy!
If you are a fan of the podcast, make sure to send in some random listener questions (we love random questions). We thank you for listening, and hope you enjoy the episode!
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I’m Still Here (2025) – Review
Quick Thoughts – Grade – A – Based on a true story, I’m Still Here is a deftly directed look into the political instability of Brazil in the 1970s. Anchored by a fantastic performance from Fernanda Torres (who received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress) and an unhurried story adapted from Marcelo Rubens Paiva’s memoir, the Walter Salles directed film is worth a watch.
Between Small Things Like These, The Seed of the Sacred Fig, and I’m Still Here, 2024 was an excellent year for films that tackled political instability and abuse by focusing on a single family navigating the difficult times. In the case, of I’m Still Here, the central character Eunice Paiza (Torres) is forced to juggle the search for her husband Rubens (Selton Mello), who disappeared after being taken to a military prison, and raising her five children during a politically dangerous time. What’s unique about “I’m Still Here is that it doesn’t rely on big speeches or “gotcha” moments to tell the story. Instead, it relies on Adrian Teijido’s sly cinematography and small moments to build to a tear-inducing final shot that will linger in your memory.
The first 40ish minutes of the film showcases the tranquil life for the Paiva family as they spend their time swimming in the Atlantic Ocean, adopting dogs, and hosting parties for their family and friends. They live in a gorgeous home (kudos to production designer Carlos Conti and set decorators Paloma Buquer and Tatiana Stepanenko) across the street from the famous Leblon Beach, and are able to afford super 8 cameras, decent booze and ingredients to make copious soufflés. The family lives a comfortable life as Rubens, a former congressman who went into self-exile during the 1964 Brazilian coup d’état, and returned to Rio de Janeiro in 1970, works as a civil engineer making plenty of money for the family to exist in their comfortable bubble. However, despite knowing the danger, Rubens takes mysterious calls that involve “deliveries” that put him back on the radar of the Brazilian military. The secretive deals come back to haunt him in 1971, when a group of armed men arrest Ruben and take him to an unspecified location to presumably interrogate him about his continued dealings with enemies of the Brazilian government. Eunice and her 15-year old daughter Eliana (Luiza Kosovski) are also arrested and interrogated about Ruben’s dealings which leads to Eunice spending 12 days in a dark prison cell and interrogated each day (Eliana spent one night in custody).
With Rubens missing (and not pronounced dead), Eunice is forced to provide for her children, pay the bills and look for answers about why her husband has disappeared. There is no easy answer for Eunice as she gets nothing from the government, and Rubens’ colleagues are afraid to speak up because they are afraid of suffering a similar fate. When Eunice talks to her children’s teacher, who was also arrested in 1971, the teacher says “We’re all in danger,” and it’s the fear of disappearing off the face of the earth that prevents Eunice from learning about her husband’s fate. For the next 25 years Eunice continues her fight to learn more about the fate of her husband and it leads to a cathartic and heartbreaking finale.
A neat fact is that in 1999, Fernanda’s mom Fernanda Montenegro (who appears at the end of the film) became the first Brazilian woman to be nominated for an Oscar for her work in the Salles’ directed Central Station. With her nomination in 2025, Fernanda Torres is now the second Brazilian woman to be nominated for an Oscar (and sixth mother/daughter combo to be nominated for acting Oscars). The nomination (and Golden Globe win) are deserved as Torres carries the film and goes through just about every emotion possible during the 138-minute running time. Final thoughts – I’m Still Here is a well-crafted and intimate film that features an expertly calibrated performance from Fernanda Torres. Watch it!
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 605: Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Leonard Nimoy, and Odd-Number Star Trek Films
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The Star Trek series continues! Mark and Niall talk about the 1984 science fiction sequel Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. Directed by Leonard Nimoy, and starring William Shatner, Christopher Lloyd and some unstable protomatter, the film focuses on what happens when the Enterprise crew search for Spock. In this episode, they also talk about bad science, invisible ships, and odd-numbered Star Trek films.
If you are a fan of the podcast, make sure to send in some random listener questions (we love random questions). We thank you for listening, and hope you enjoy the episode!
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 604: Drive (1997), Mark Dacascos, and Steve Wang
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Mark and Professor Mike Dillon discuss the 1997 action film Drive. Directed by Steve Wang, and starring Mark Dacascos, Kadeem Hardison, Brittany Murphy and a gigantic karaoke bar, the movie focuses on the action shenanigans that occur after a bionic man goes rogue. In this episode, they also talk about quarry fights, cult classic action films, and “Murphy’s Law.”
If you are a fan of the podcast, make sure to send in some random listener questions (we love random questions). We thank you for listening, and hope you enjoy the episode!
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 603: Significant Other (2022), Maika Monroe and Comfy Sweaters
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Mark and Zanandi discuss the 2022 science fiction thriller Significant Other. Directed by Dan Berk and Robert Olsen, and starring Maika Monroe, Jake Lacy and comfy fleece jackets, the movie focuses on a hiking trip that goes horribly awry. In this episode, they also talk about surprise shark attacks, Patagonia sweaters, and aliens experiencing anxiety. Enjoy!
If you are a fan of the podcast, make sure to send in some random listener questions (we love random questions). We thank you for listening, and hope you enjoy the episode!
You can download the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker.
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You can download or stream the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker (or wherever you listen to podcasts…..we’re almost everywhere).
If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome.
Mark and Aaron Neuwirth (@AaronsPS4 on X) talk about their favorite action scenes from Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, One-Percent Warrior, Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In, Life After Fighting, The Roundup: Punishment, The Shadow Strays, Bad Boys: Ride or Die, The Beekeeper, Hundreds of Beavers, Baby Assassins 2, Kill, Civil War, and about 35 other cool movies. Enjoy!Make sure to listen to the Out Now With Aaron and Abe Podcast (@OutNow_Podcast on X).
If you are a fan of the podcast, make sure to send in some random listener questions (we love random questions). We thank you for listening, and hope you enjoy the episode!
You can download the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker.
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 601: The Punisher (1989), Dolph Lundgren and Spin Kicks
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If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome.
Mark and John discuss the 1989 action film The Punisher. Directed by Mark Goldblatt and starring Dolph Lundgren, Louis Gossett Jr., and some motorcycle friendly sewers, the comic book adaptation is a delightfully cheesy experience. On top of talking about Dolph Lundgren’s face stubble, they also discuss random Yakuza, spin kicks, and remote control cars that deliver booze. Enjoy!
If you are a fan of the podcast, make sure to send in some random listener questions (we love random questions). We thank you for listening, and hope you enjoy the episode!
You can download the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker.
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Bad Movie Tuesday: Zeiram (1991), as if a Power Ranger was in less exploitative Tokyo Shock cinema.
MY CALL: If Power Rangers was rated-R, but still just as hokey, you’d end up somewhere in this territory. It doesn’t measure up to most Tokyo Shock entries in terms of exploitative material, gore and effects, and coked-up lunacy. But it’s a good middle ground for those who may find Tokyo Shock to be… a little too much muchness. MORE MOVIES LIKE Zeiram: Probably The Guyver (1991). Maybe Vampire Girl vs Frankenstein Girl (2009) or Tokyo Gore Police (2008).
Bounty hunters Iria (Yûko Moriyama; Zeiram 2, Reborn from Hell: Samurai Armageddon) and her AI partner Bob travel to Earth to capture a bio-engineered monstrosity named Zeiram. Zeiram has big stompy boots and resembles a mechanized member of The Three Storms from Big Trouble in Little China (1986). Zeiram’s headpiece has a woman’s face embedded in it, and she has a retractable prehensile neck. He also has little pods that conjure fleshy squeaking alien monsters to do his bidding… not unlike Rita summoning monsters for the Power Rangers to fight.
At first, this movie feels like a hokey PG action-comedy flick… and your expectations would be low. Iria uses a Power Ranger super suit and some clumsy roundhouse kicks to combat the cyborg and its minions. The fighting is truly kids’ show quality—just two talentless actors flinging their legs at one another. The stunts are wretched and will make you cringe or giggle, depending on how you fancy this movie. What’s more is that this Zeiram doesn’t seem that dangerous. Two buffoons give him a run for his money with their tiny car. Zeiram’s weapons are nothing special and he has very bad aim. I feel like a local SWAT team could handle this mutant alien creature just fine.
Amid this stupidity are some decent-ish creature effects and gooey slimy gross effects. But we sadly must endure a lot of bad to get to these occasionally acceptable scenes. There’s a neat stop-motion metamorphosis into a new, somewhat insectoid form. And while I really love this scene, again, we had to suffer a lot of dumb and boring to get there.
Odd observation… in the new insectoid form, the two-toed knuckle-walking legs were a LOT like what we’d later see in the aliens from Independence Day (1996). The shape of the head is oddly similar, too. So the message here is that Roland Emmerich ripped off a dumb Tokyo Shock movie for his alien design.
Yet another transformation scene occurs and this one is truly spectacular, and batshit crazy. This is like a Lovecraftian tentacle monster covered in spines, insectoid legs and… breasts? Yes. Breasts. This sort of reminds me of the finale from From Beyond (1986).
I’d suggest any of numerous Tokyo Shock films or The Guyver (1991) over this any day. But true to its ever-shifting alien form, this still makes for solid Bad Movie Tuesday fodder.
Movies, Films & Flix 