Welcome back to What The Hell Should I Watch. This week’s lineup spans dystopian violence, magic-heist fatigue, creeping psychological terror, neon-lit sci-fi, small-town paranoia, and a Western misfire that did not land for me. Let’s get into it.
We kick things off with The Running Man, Edgar Wright’s adaptation of the original Stephen King/Richard Bachman novel. I was ready to love this one — Glen Powell is great and the film has real visual bite — but the back half leans on a couple of narrative shortcuts that undercut its emotional impact. There’s strong craft here, but this ultimately lands as my least favourite Wright film, which genuinely surprised me.
Next up is Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, the third outing for a franchise that didn’t need another chapter. There are a few fun performances, but the plot is thin, the twists are loud instead of clever, and the movie never justifies its existence. Unless you’re already deeply invested, this one is a skip.
Then we head into Keeper, Osgood Perkins’ second film of the year and an unsettling, insidious slow-burn anchored by an incredible performance from Tatiana Maslany. Perkins leans into eerie visual experimentation and suffocating atmosphere, and there’s one moment here that hit me with genuine full-body revulsion — easily one of the most disturbing shots of the year. Despite mixed chatter online, I came out solidly positive on this one.
From there, it’s Tron: Ares, and while the internet seems determined to bury this movie, I genuinely didn’t hate it. Yes, it’s the dumbest Tron film — absolutely — but it’s fun, stylish, full of bold design work, and driven by a great Atticus Ross & Trent Reznor score. The Depeche Mode “humanity lesson” is hilariously on-the-nose, but the movie never pretends it’s deeper than it is. Chloe and I caught the press screening together, and overall, we had a good time with it.
On disc this week, I took a look at The Unholy Trinity, and according to the transcript, this one really didn’t work for me. Despite a stacked cast — Pierce Brosnan, Samuel L. Jackson, Brandon Lessard, Q’orianka Kilcher, Veronica Ferres — the pacing drags, the character work doesn’t land, and the whole thing just never comes together. A disappointing Western, especially for a genre that deserves stronger entries.
For TV, I checked out Wayward on Netflix, a dark, eerie limited series set in 2003 Vermont and circling a troubled teen academy with cult-like secrets simmering beneath the surface. Mae Martin leads and co-created the show, Toni Collette is perfectly unpredictable, and the whole thing plays like a slow-burn mystery soaked in paranoia. If you’re in the mood for something moody and unsettling, it’s worth your time.
And returning to Godolkin University, Gen V: Season 2 comes in sharper, darker, and more politically charged. With a new authoritarian dean tightening control and Homelander’s influence creeping into everything, the stakes feel bigger than ever. The season digs into indoctrination, institutional rot, and the cost of power — and the way it honours the late Chance Perdomo adds real emotional resonance. If you’re invested in The Boys universe, this season is absolutely worth watching.
In New to the Library, I’m adding:
• St. Denis Medical
• Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Complete Series
• Cheyenne: The Complete Series
• CODA (4K UHD)
• The Curse of Frankenstein (4K UHD)
Next week, I’m taking on Wicked: For Good and Sisu: Road to Revenge.
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Steve Stebbing 