Fan Expo Portland 2026 Recap

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple review

28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE: 

NIA DACOSTA CRAFTS A DAMN GOOD ENTRY IN DANNY BOYLE’S ZOMBIE FRANCHISE! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: **** out of 4

COLUMBIA PICTURES

Ralph Fiennes in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

 

            Ralph Fiennes (The English Patient, Harry Potter franchise, Conclave) returns to the fabled Bone Temple in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, the latest film from director Nia DaCosta (Candyman (2021), The Marvels, Hedda) and the fourth installment of Danny Boyle (Trainspotting 1 and 2, Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours)’s 28 Days Later film series. I already went into my thoughts on the 2002 28 Days Later and its 2007 sequel, 28 Weeks Later in last year’s review of 28 Years Later so, I won’t be recapping those here. 

            I thought 28 Years Later was a very solid installment in Boyle’s franchise which further expanded upon the world and explored new ideas within the series, most notably the Bone Temple and Fiennes’ Dr. Ian Kelson character. Needless to say, I was definitely intrigued by what they would do with a follow-up given how the last film ended and I have to say as much as I love Boyle as a filmmaker, DaCosta knocked this film out of the park. 

            28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is a really damn good movie that not only do I enjoy as much as its predecessor, but I thought it was even better than 28 Years Later and the best in the series since the original over 20 years ago. Yes, a January horror movie with actual effort can happen once in a blue moon and this is one of them. 

            The film is set immediately after the events of 28 Years Later and follows former GP turned Rage virus memorialist Dr. Ian Kelson (Fiennes) continuing his maintenance on the Bone Temple, an ossuary memorial to those who were killed during the initial outbreak who makes an extraordinary discovery when an infected person begins to speak and regains consciousness. Meanwhile, Spike (Alfie Williams-His Dark Materials; reprising his role from 28 Years Later) has an encounter with the charismatic yet sadistic Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell-300: Rise of an Empire, Ferrari, Sinners) and his gang (who initially rescued him at the end of the last movie) which quickly becomes a nightmare as the infected is no longer the only threat in the world, it’s the survivors too.

            The film also stars Erin Kellyman (The Green Knight, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Willow (2022)) as Jimmy Ink, Emma Laird (Mayor of Kingstown, A Haunting in Venice, The Brutalist) as Jimmima, Sam Locke (The Way, Itopia) as Jimmy Fox, Louis Ashbourne Serkis (Alice Through the Looking Glass, Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, The Kid Who Would Be King) as Tom, Mirren Mack (Sex Education, The Witcher: Blood Origin, Hedda) as Cathy, and David Sterne (The Wolfman (2010), Sister: Boniface Mysteries, EastEnders) as George. 

            Overall, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is an unexpected horror sequel that almost completely outshines its predecessor (And keep in mind, I really liked 28 Years Later) and delivers a consistently entertaining zombie flick that doesn’t let the zombie carnage interfere with its stellar performances. I thought Ralph Fiennes’ Dr. Kelson was a huge standout in 28 Years Later and wanted him and the Bone Temple to be explored further in a future movie, this is that film and he is absolutely magnificent here with some of the best acting I’ve ever seen from him which is saying a lot given his credentials. 

            Fiennes commands the screen with easily his biggest scene-stealing moment being in the last act that I dare not ruin here. But he’s great throughout the film with some of my favorite moments being his interactions with an infected person that he’s trying to tame and rehabilitate. 

            Jack O’Connell is an absolute treasure in this because he is hamming it up and enjoying every minute of it as a sadistic gang member and cult leader that Alfie Williams’ Spike gets tangled up with. I was both laughing and fucking terrified of his character at the same time because he is doing these horrific things and having his gang do equally horrific things, but he is having such a ball and relishing in every awful action he does, it’s hard not to laugh at how over-the-top he gets. 

            Alife Williams as Spike is once again great who like Fiennes’ character, I thought left a huge impression in the last movie and I loved seeing his journey continue and how his character grew within the past two films. Though in this film, he’s more of the B-plot, but he is still a crucial part of the story and it was great to have him back. 

            There is also one particular cameo towards the end that made me do the Leonardo DiCaprio point from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood in the theater as I was watching it and anyone who has a nostalgic connection for the original 28 Days Later will be very happy by this person’s appearance. 

            Like the last film, this movie has incredible cinematography and looks fantastic on the big screen with large shots of forests and landscapes that make it big and epic. Sure, it doesn’t have that independent movie feel the first film had which gets significantly lesser with each sequel, but I don’t care, I was marveling at what was being shown on the screen. 

            One thing that really surprised me was how amazing the soundtrack which often came from Fiennes’ Dr. Kelson playing records on a turntable such as a few Duran Duran songs, Radiohead’s Everything in its Right Place, and a climax involving fucking Iron Maiden songs which was simply awesome. Iron Maiden and zombies killing people go extremely well together! 

            The scares are effective and the zombie violence is nice and gory as early as the opening scene where a zombie does a straight-up Predator or Mortal Kombat kill by ripping someone’s skull and spinal cord out. Unlike those sanitized PG-13 attempts at zombie films like with World War Z and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, leave it to Nia DaCosta, Danny Boyle, and writer Alex Garland (Ex-Machina, Annihilation, Warfare) to remind audiences what a zombie movie should feel like and deliver the R-rated, bloody goodness. 

            28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is a follow-up that surpasses its predecessor in just about every way and brings the best installment of the series since the original 28 Days Later. It’s scary, at times funny, and takes the franchise in new and exciting directions that I eagerly await further expansions on in future entries. 

            Also, what is up with these movies and referencing Teletubbies all of a sudden? I swear if the next movie doesn’t involve people fighting infected zombies wearing Teletubby costumes, I’m going to be very upset. 

Is This Thing On? review

IS THIS THING ON?: 

WILL ARNETT AND LAURA DERN DRAMEDY IS FILLED WITH LAUGHS AND FEELS! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES

Will Arnett and Laura Dern in Is This Thing On?

 

            Will Arnett (Arrested Development, Blades of Glory, BoJack Horseman) plays a stand-up comedian in an awkward stage in his divorce to Laura Dern (Jurassic Park franchise, Little Women (2019), Jay Kelly) in Is This Thing On?, a new comedy-drama film directed by Bradley Cooper (The Hangover trilogy, A Star is Born (2018), Maestro) loosely based on the life of real-life comedian John Bishop. Yeah, I was onboard for this movie as I love both Arnett and Dern as well as Cooper whether he’s acting, directing, or both though it wasn’t something I absolutely needed to see immediately, but I was going to see it regardless. 

            Well, now that it’s been released widely, it was time to finally watch the Will Arnett and Laura Dern dramedy and…it’s very good! Do I consider one of the absolute best films from 2025? No, but I found it to be a very funny and touching movie and a lot of that comes down to Arnett and Dern’s chemistry, both of which are fantastic BTW. 

            The film follows Alex (Arnett) and Tess Novak (Dern), whose marriage quietly unravels with Alex facing middle age and an impending divorce from Tess thus seeking new purpose in the New York comedy scene. Meanwhile Tess confronts the sacrifices she made for her family which forces them to navigate co-parenting, identity, and whether love can take a new form. 

             The film also stars Cooper as Alex’s best friend Balls, Andra Day (Cars 3, The United States VS Billie Holiday,Percy Jackson and the Olympians) as Balls’ wife Christine, Amy Sedaris (Strangers with Candy, Jennifer’s Body, Clerks III) as Kemp, Sean Hayes (Cats & Dogs 1 and 2, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!, The Running Man (2025)) as Stephen, Christine Ebersole (Tootsie, Black Sheep, Licorice Pizza) as Alex’s mother Marilyn, Ciarán Hinds (Road to Perdition, Munich, There Will Be Blood) as Alex’s father Jan, Chloe Radcliffe as Nina, Peyton Manning as Laird, and James Tom (Our Flag Means Death) as Rolo. 

            Overall, Is This Thing On? is a solid comedy-drama that’s elevated by Arnett and Dern’s incredible onscreen chemistry and a beautiful albeit honest look at life and love without it ever becoming shmaltzy. As mentioned earlier, Will Arnett and Laura Dern are magnificent and what makes the film work because every scene involving them feels very genuine and natural whether they’re supporting each other, bickering, or falling in love again, I legitimately bought their chemistry here. 

            Will Arnett I’ve been a fan of since Blades of Glory in 2007 and over the years he’s given me several great comedic performances in both film and television, but his performance in this really showcases his dramatic capabilities even though he is telling a lot of stand-up jokes in the movie. Arnett is very believable as this man clearly going through a midlife crisis and trying to maintain a healthy relationship with his family and dealing with his divorce with Dern’s Tess. 

There is one particular scene when he’s doing his stand-up that was both funny and unsettling at the same time and if you’ve seen the film, you know what I’m talking about. He sells the emotional moments surprisingly well and I hope he follows in the footsteps of Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler as a promising comedic turned serious actor. 

            Laura Dern is also great as Tess and gives one of the best performances I’ve ever seen from her as a woman who gave up stardom as a professional volleyball player to raise a family and trying to reconcile who she is. I doubt she’ll be able to top Jessie Buckley’s performance from Hamnet, but I can definitely see her getting awards attention for her role in this. 

            Bradley Cooper’s performance was quite a shock because he’s almost unrecognizable as soon as you hear his Rocket Raccoon from Guardians of the Galaxy voice, but he has some consistently funny moments sprinkled throughout the film. Honestly, his best scene was an exchange between him and Arnett that had me laughing on the floor, not ruining it here because it was f*cking hilarious. 

            For the most part I was invested and captivated, but what keeps this film from being one of my all-time favorites from 2025 is the pacing is pretty slow at times. I’m not sure if the film was trying to be a slow burn and it’s just 2 hours and 4 minutes, but I did feel the length a few times though not to the point of boredom and Arnett and Dern’s performances did keep my interest even during its bumpy pacing. 

            Is This Thing On? is a funny and heartfelt depiction of life and love with stellar performances by Will Arnett and Laura Dern and passionate direction from Bradley Cooper. While I don’t think this film is quite as strong as Cooper’s adaptation of A Star is Born, this movie is certainly On and Running. 

Primate review

PRIMATE: 

THIS MONKEY-THEMED HORROR MOVIE IS APESHIT IN THE MOST ENTERTAINING WAYS! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

PARAMOUNT PICTURES

There’s something wrong with Ben in Primate

 

            A lovable chimp gets rabies and becomes the most violent and relentless serial killer ever in Primate, the new horror film from Johannes Roberts (47 Meters Down, The Strangers: Prey at Night, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City). You bet your ass I was gonna see this after I saw the trailer regardless of how good or bad it would turn out. 

            A horror movie about a monkey going on a violent rampage after getting rabies, this was either going to be really fun or the dumbest fucking shit I’ve ever seen in my life. Either way, I was ready to have a good time with this film and it’s actually pretty solid. 

            Yes, we have a good January horror movie release for 2026 though this actually would have been the rare time where I’d be fine with it being insanely and hilariously bad, but I’m glad it wasn’t. This was an entertaining sit and it’s a film that seems very aware of how absurd its premise is and jumps straight into the blood-soaked madness while also working in a few creepy sequences and decent enough human protagonists. 

            The film follows Lucy (Johnny Sequoyah-Among Ravens, Believe, Dexter: New Blood), a college student returning home to Hawaii to reunite with her friends and deaf novelist father, Adam (Played by actual deaf actor Troy Kotsur-The Number 23, No Ordinary Hero: The SuperDeafy Movie, CODA). However, when the family’s pet Ben the Chimpanzee gets rabies from a mongoose, the once sweet chimp goes feral and turns this reunion into a nightmare. 

            The film also stars Jessica Alexander (Get Even, Glasshouse, The Little Mermaid (2023)) as Hannah, Kae Alexander (The Bad Education Movie, Ready Player One, Black Bag) as Yoko, and Rob Delaney (Catastrophe,Deadpool 2 and 3, Bombshell) as Dr. Lambert. 

            Overall, Primate is a silly, bloody throwback to those animals gone berserk horror movies like Cujo and Monkey Shines mixed with the opening sequence of Jordan Peele’s Nope. It’s not exactly a very story-driven or emotionally deep movie, it just gives you its wild premise and rolls with it, the result for me was a gory fun afternoon at the movies. 

            In this age where most films would probably use CGI for the monkey, it’s refreshing to see this movie actually use a person in a suit to portray Ben which helps make the kills more visceral and the reactions more natural. As amazing as Peter Jackson’s King Kong or the motion-capture apes in the recent Planet of the Apes movies are, I guarantee it wouldn’t be nearly as effective to have computer generated apes smashing the shit out of people, ripping their jaws off, biting them, etc. so mad props to the costume designers and Miguel Torres Umba, the actor playing Ben onscreen. 

            Speaking of which, I am so happy this film was a hard R and not an unfortunate victim to the PG-13 butchering because the kills in Primate are messy. Constant blood splatter at the hands of a rabid monkey as early as the opening scene of this 80-something minute film (Does not waste any time at all) and manages to be both disturbing and hilarious in how gory and gruesome it gets. 

            The movie is legitimately funny at times and not just because of the novelty of watching a monkey essentially be a slasher movie villain, there’s a great bit involving car keys and one of the people trying to escape that gets a genuine laugh right before the kill. There are also these two fucking bros that come in later on in the movie and are completely out of the loop on what’s going on and the film decides to follow them for a short bit leading to hilarity and gore, that’s all I’ll say. 

            With the exception of Troy Kotsur as the deaf father who gives an amazing performance through sign language and facial expressions, everyone else is fine. The actors portray their parts well, but the characters are pretty one-note and stock, I wouldn’t call them one-dimensional though, just nothing spectacular. 

            Not sure what else to say, Primate is a pretty easy film to talk about even in great detail, it’s a fun horror movie with over-the-top and gory kills and a truly “bananas” premise. I had a good time in the theater with this movie and I’m glad to say it’s easily Johannes Roberts’ best film as a director, still less terrifying than Deep Roy in a monkey suit from Going Bananas and not as good as Osgood Perkins’ The Monkey. 

No Other Choice review

NO OTHER CHOICE: 

PARK CHAN-WOOK CRAFTS ONE WILD AND DARKLY FUNNY RIDE! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: **** out of 4

NEON

Lee Byung-hun in No Other Choice

 

            A paper industry expert decides to literally kill the competition in No Other Choice, the new black-comedy film from director Park Chan-Wook (Oldboy, The Handmaiden, Decision to Leave) based on the 1997 horror thriller novel, The Ax by Donald Westlake, which was also adapted into the French thriller film, The Axe in 2005. This movie was certainly causing a lot of buzz at film festivals last year with many people hailing it as one of the best films from 2025 (The film was officially released in the United States in 2026). 

            Needless to say, I was interested after seeing the trailers and hearing about all the film festival buzz it got and yeah, it deserves all the praise it’s been getting. While I’m not sure I enjoyed this film on the same level as Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite, this is a very entertaining and funny movie that had me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end, laughing hard along the way. 

            The film follows paper industry expert, Yoo Man-su (Lee Byung-hun-G.I. Joe 1 and 2, RED 2, KPop Demon Hunters) who is fired from his long-time job at a paper company after a buyout by Americans results in many employees being fired. Desperate to maintain his lifestyle and provide for his family, Man-su decides to kill off his competition in order for him be assured of the job he seeks to keep it the way it is. 

            The film also stars Son Ye-jin (Spellbound, The Last Princess, The Truth Beneath) as Man-su’s wife Lee Mi-ri, Park Hee-soon (Seven Days, The Scam, 1987: When the Day Comes) as Choi Seon-chul, Lee Sung-min (Golden Time, The Spy Gone North, The Witness) as Goo Beom-mo, Yeom Hye-ran (When the Camellia Blooms, The Glory, Mask Girl) as Beom-mo’s wife and struggling veteran actress Lee A-ra, Cha Seung-won (Ghost House, Blood Rain, One Ordinary Day) as Ko Si-jo, and Yoo Yeon-seok (Oldboy, Re-encounter, Whistle Blower) as dentist and employer of Mi-ri Oh Jin-ho. 

            Overall, No Other Choice probably won’t have the same cultural impact as a film like Parasite (Only time will tell), but this is still an expertly crafted, funny, and thoroughly unpredictable movie that needs to be seen asap. There wasn’t a single low point in this movie for me as I thought everything is perfectly paced, it’s consistently funny and interesting, and even when I think the film is about to go downhill, it reels me back in with either something extremely funny or shocking that happens. 

            I had no idea where this film was going or what the resolution of all this by the end would be like and much of its entertainment value does come from watching this desperate ex-paper company worker dig deeper and deeper into trouble with every action he takes. This is where the majority of the film’s dark humor comes from, seeing Byung-hun get into crazy situations and how he’s going to get out of them for the sake of getting that job to maintain his happy life. 

            There’s one particular sequence where Byung-hun’s character considers murder and loud music is playing while this is happening which leads into a hilariously wild “action” scene where he’s fleeing from the wife of one of the competitors he was about to kill who’s shooting at him with a gun that made me laugh hysterically. The movie throughout has a ton of great, laugh out loud moments that I’d rather not spoil here and wanted to highlight this as an example, just go watch it for yourself. 

The film itself is a social satire on the corporate world and does albeit comedically highlight the struggles people have with job finding, the big fat cats firing veteran employees when new ownerships and mergers happen, or the simple competitive race for that job that will secure a happy life. I don’t think many of us resorted to literally killing the competition in our quests for jobs, but you see where Byung-hun’s character is coming from and understand why he feels the need to do this, job searching can feel like a bloody war sometimes which the film even mentions in a few scenes. 

Lee Byung-hun is magnificent here and gives a truly exceptional performance as Man-su, this desperate man who will go to extreme lengths…just for a mild-mannered job. Byung-hun plays this role incredibly well and goes through various emotional states over the course of the film and despite what he’s doing behind his wife’s back, I found him very endearing and worth rooting for which is something you don’t often say about a character who’s committing murder. 

I don’t know what it is about South Korea, but they manage to shoot movies better than most films made in Hollywood between this and Parasite. Everything from the camera tricks, the lighting, the editing, and interior shots of houses made epic, all of it looks incredible on the big screen and if you can see it in theaters, do so that way you can really bask in what you’re looking at on the screen. 

It’s hard to say if No Other Choice will be built up as the next Parasite considering how stacked 2025 was in terms of movies (Sinners, One Battle After Another, Marty Supreme, etc.), but this is easily one of the best films from that year and had I saw it in 2025, it would have made it in the Top 5. It’s a masterfully crafted, hysterical, and unconventional joy ride with thought-provoking social satire, completely insane scenarios, gorgeous production design and mind-blowing shot composition, and an incredible performance from Lee Byung-hun that stands among Park Chan-Wook’s best work. 

Absolutely go see this in theaters, film enthusiasts everywhere have “No Other Choice”.

Top 10 Worst Films of 2025

Top 10 Worst Films of 2025

1.        War of the Worlds

2.        Five Nights at Freddy’s 2

3.        Smurfs

4.        Flight Risk

5.        The Alto Knights

6.        Eddington

7.        The Old Guard 2

8.        I Know What You Did Last Summer

9.        Love Hurts

10.  Honey Don’t!

Dishonorable Mentions: Snow White, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey