Predator: Badlands (theatre) – Rather than perpetuating tired cliches and tropes and rehashing previously done narrative beats, 2022’s Predator sequel/prequel Prey reinvented and reinvigorated the franchise. Earlier this year, Prey director Dan Trachtenberg followed it up with the excellent animated anthology Predator: Killer of Killers. And now, with the just-released Predator: Badlands, he’s gone and done it again. Like his previous entries, he takes every opportunity to do something cool and fun and unexpected, starting with the decision to make the Predator the protagonist.

The Count of Monte Cristo (Kanopy) – This story’s been adapted countless times previously, both directly and indirectly, but given how inherently compelling it is – a man is betrayed by his best friend, sentenced to life in prison, escapes, then enacts his methodical revenge – I’m sure it’ll be made countless more times in the future. And if these adaptations are anywhere close to being as good as this three-hour, 2024 French adaptation is, then I’ll happily watch them all.

Nobody Wants This, season two (Netflix) – While the entire second season of this rom-com sitcom is basically treading water story-wise (i.e., it doesn’t really advance the central Kristen Bell-Adam Brody relationship beyond where it got to in the season-one finale), its pleasant leads, less-than-thirty-minute running time per episode, and great supporting character roster all combine for an easy-to-digest viewing experience.

Boots (Netflix) – I don’t understand why anyone would voluntarily allow themselves to be harassed and berated like the characters in Boots are, nor do I understand how this could possibly be the most efficacious way to train someone to do anything, let alone become a marine, but as this excellent, 1990s-set series, which is based upon a memoir called The Pink Marine (about a semi-closeted gay recruit), aptly demonstrate, it does make for very compelling TV show material.

Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky (Criterion) – I’ve seen my share of crazy movies, but this Hong Kong-actioner from 1991 is on another level. If the idea of one dude punching another dude so hard he puts his first into the punchee’s stomach then pulls out his intestines, then the punchee proceeds to try and strangle the puncher with said intestines, sounds appealing (as it did to me), then this is absolutely the movie for you.

Halloween/Halloween Kills/Halloween Ends (Blu-ray) – When I originally saw David Gordon Green and Danny McBride’s legacy Halloween sequel in the theatre, I hated it. Because of this, it took me a while to watch the next two in the series, but when I eventually did, I really liked them. So, this past Halloween, I decided to re-watch the whole legacy trilogy, starting with the previously loathed first instalment. … Well, I don’t know what my problem was back in 2018, but this time around I thought it was great. It’s vicious and sinister and a worthy follow-up to the original (which I also re-watched, and which also remains my absolute favourite horror movie). As I had before, I appreciated the extended flashback and the exploration of mob-mentality in Halloween Kills, and thought Halloween Ends’s exploration of infectious evil was an inspired idea. I also liked that the latter gave Michael a friend.