**Note: The following content has both controversial and upsetting wording. Discretion is advised
Given that this is Volume 213, I’m surprised that I didn’t save the content of Volume 212 for this entry. However, there is still a bit of unconventionality in this entry, thus I couldn’t allow it to be devoid of such.
Let’s begin.
First up, looking through the Mercari storefront in which I eventually purchased the DVD of “Stepmom” earlier this week, I noticed two courageous period-piece movies, as they reminded me of “White Fang”, and noticed them in that particular storefront. And as to what those two movies were, well they were “Sounder” and “Return To Snowy River”. Of course, I was tempted to purchase them in that storefront’s bundle deal of three physical media items in one order, only to instead opt for fully guaranteed Flickuum movies in “Adventureland” and “Invictus”. Still, they’ve been added to the assessment/re-assessment roster and the former of the two could be purchased from that same storefront, as it’s not available via any streaming service. But I’ll wait until those three items arrive to take a physical media flier on it, so stay tuned.
Next up, noticing movies via that particular Mercari storefront continues, as I saw “The Current War” also among its available items, thus the assumption that that movie was the Nikola Tesla movie (starring Benedict Cumberbatch) that I wanted/intended to see instead of that half-baked one, in which Ethan Hawke(as Tesla) sings “Everyone Wants To Rule The World”. And of course, assumption led to confirmation as the former was indeed the one that I wanted/intended to see, therefore it has been memorized, now mentioned and subsequently added it to the roster.
Staying in that particular Mercari storefront, I noticed a movie that kept slipping through the cracks, due in all likelihood to the dog lover in me being concerned that an innocent dog would meet an undeserved end. But of course, that was “pre-John Wick”, so I now just automatically think of that movie in scenarios that don’t even relate to it at all. Anyways, the movie is “Small Engine Repair”, which boasts a very well-rounded cast, led by Jon Bernthal. Furthermore, that movie was/is giving vibes that are a smidge similar to “The Ice Harvest”, the latter of which is up for a third re-assessment and the 2021 movie has what it takes to outrank the second John Cusack-Billy Bob Thornton collaboration, therefore it has been added to the roster.
Surfing through the movies section of iTunes, I noticed three movies that are currently early/new releases or available for pre-order, to the point that they jumped out at me, and they did so for various reasons. And as to what those three movies are, well they are A] Chainsaw Man, because an R-Rated 2D-animated movie that’s Japanese sounds cool as fuck, B] Muzzle 2: City Of Wolves, because a movie with Aaron Eckhart teaming up with a police dog again is a hell fucking yeah movie, and C] Hunting Season, because Mel Gibson gets to go John Wick again (see Fatman) and I’m all for it. Oh yes, and while I’m at it, the first “Muzzle” movie will get added to the roster since one of my usual rules is see the first installment before the second installment. Now I need to find time to assess these four movies since I have nearly 2,000 other Flickuum-related decisions to make.
Well, I amassed a 24th hate-watch of “Green Lantern” in my future, as I found seven movies worthy of either a pardon or an exemption and each movie has a reason why. And of course, to find out the names of those movies and the reasons why, well you can do so via the chart below:
| Movie | Why it has been pardoned or exempted |
| The Boy And The Heron | I evaluated a Studio Ghibli movie (Ponyo) after evaluating “Desperado”, and I need a Studio Ghibli movie to watch after being on the verge of celebrating the 30-year anniversary for my favorite Antonio Banderas movie. |
| Wicked Blood | If an Abigail Breslin movie with Ryan Reynolds (Definitely, Maybe) can be in The Project, then an Abigail Breslin movie that has Alexa PenaVega deserves to be re-assessed. |
| A Greyhound Of A Girl | Afterburn has no business being ranked ahead of this movie in Tier 12, therefore it deserves a re-assessment. |
| The Lord Of The Rings | This 1978 movie has a vibe that is similar to “The Black Cauldron”, and it has the distinction of being one of two 1978 2D-animated movies in the career of the late John Hurt. |
| Dog Gone | A movie about a father-son relationship being repaired, on the basis of trying to find their dog, and it being based on a true story is totally worthy of a re-assessment. |
| Darling Companion | The missing dog aspect of this movie is far less upsetting, compared to the one in “Down And Out In Beverly Hills”. |
| Wimbledon | This movie is conjoined with the one that’s listed directly above it. |
In a wild turn of events for Tier 13, “Larry Crowne” and “My Family” are legitimate fringe Flickuum movies, with the former having Tom Hanks playing a character that positively impacts many walks of life and the latter being saved by Jimmy Smits in its late stages. And of course, these two fringe rulings add twists to the aforementioned Tier 13, with them being that 1] Midnight Cowboy has become the 31st movie with a 9522R protection in Tier 7 via one of the viewers voting in favor of that movie last weekend, and 2] The other 14 fringe Flickuum movies (mentioned in Volume 212) will compete against the two new fringe Flickuum movies, in a single-elimination tournament, for the 32nd 9522R-protected spot, sometime in either May 2026 or June 2026. Oh yes, and before this paragraph wraps up, you can leave your thoughts of the decisions made about the three movies (Midnight Cowboy, Larry Crowne, My Family) via the comments section below.
Next up, I’m just as shocked as anyone else about what happened to Rob Reiner and his wife nearly two weeks ago, to the point that I want to pay tribute to them in mid-February via the evaluation of “Stand By Me”. And of course, this next part in this paragraph will be almost impossible to transition to, as the movie (Being Charlie) that was both directed by him and co-written by his son, Nick, has been mentioned via YouTube channels/podcasts, such as Popcorned Planet and Flaawsome Talk, and it was almost impossible for me to transition to mentioning the latter movie since 1] The topic of addiction is what this movie is about, and 2] The facts from Nick’s past and the allegations involving him now all had me tempted to put this movie on the Movies That Mega Tat Refuses To See page. However, I like the people that appeared in the 2016 movie and assessing this movie is with the late director in mind, therefore it has been added to the roster.
In another item pertaining to new/upcoming movies, I almost forgot the fact that I had both “David” and “Grow” written down on my reminders for this entry, with the former reminding me of both “The Star” and “The King Of Kings”, while the latter is an Angel Studios release and that studio actually brought forth “The King Of Kings”, as well as “Sketch”. And those two movies aren’t the only new/upcoming ones being somewhat shoe-horned into this entry, because in addition, Emily Blunt returns to the big screen with “Disclosure Day” this coming June 12, followed by Tom Cruise’s next big project (Digger) launching this coming October 2, and both movies are serious candidates for my 2026 theatrical tour. Another year of more theatrical logistics.
Movies about cute animals almost always jump out at me, whether it’s the “Shiloh” franchise or “Flow”. And now you can add “The Christmas Bunny” to that category, as the cover art just screams assessment, on the basis of its cuteness. Yes, I’m not really a judge a book by its cover type of person, but the Florence Henderson-led movie says otherwise and that judgment is of the positive kind. Now I just need to find out when it will leave Vudu or check to see if it’s available via another platform. Stay tuned.
And finally, this is going to be both the last Flickasbord entry in 2025 and the last blog entry overall in 2025, as A] I have some creative scheduling for assessments/re-assessments to incorporate into my fun viewings of “Desperado”, “Death Race”, “Houseguest”, “GoldenEye”, “Money Train” and “Babe”, and B] The final days of this year will all be geared towards updating both Twitter Tuesday pages. So, with all of that being said, let’s have this final blog entry item be a preview of five things that could happen in 2026, starting with the fact that Pedro Pascal still doesn’t have an enshrined Flickuum movie, yet “The Equalizer 2” has been available for evaluation since 2019. Two, it’s been 312 evaluations since a Melissa Barrera movie (Carmen) was enshrined in the rankings and that was actually the last movie of hers to become fully guaranteed, yet two movies of hers in “Your Monster” and “Two Times You” are both well-positioned to become fully guaranteed in 2026. Three, it’s been 292 evaluations since Nadine Velazquez had a movie of hers (Biker Boyz) enshrined in the rankings, but “Chasing Papi” is also well-positioned to become fully guaranteed in 2026. Four, it was 10 days ago that a 2025 movie (M3GAN 2.0) was enshrined in the rankings and two weeks from now, a 2024 movie (The Fall Guy) will be enshrined in the rankings, and more movies for both of those years could be among the 288 total evaluations that will occur in 2026. And finally, fifth, I failed to mention in Volume 204 that I did not see “Stitch Head” theatrically, but it will be available for rent at an affordable price in 2026 and could ease its way into my favorable evaluation schedule of next year. Yes, those five things could happen in 2026 and you, the viewers, get to vote on which of those five things is most likely to happen next year, and you also have the option to mention the reason behind your vote via the aforementioned comments section below.
Well, 2025 has been another year of more Flickuum fun. Five movies that either had or inherited the distinction of longest active evaluation wait were all enshrined this year, 2025 evaluations both began and ended with Blumhouse movies, I had fun assessing two movies back-to-back via Vudu in “Counterpunch” and “Oink (Knor)”, the 2022 movie “Barbarian” really grew on me, I celebrated the 30-year anniversaries for both “Casino” and “Batman Forever”, I think I found my top 2025 movie in “Wicked: For Good”, the distinction of longest active evaluation wait now goes to “No Strings Attached” (and is a last minute addition to the poll below) and I recreated my August 2015 weekend by evaluating “Straight Outta Compton”, “Into The Woods” and “Paddington” with no other movies encroaching upon that trio. Of course, there are plenty more 2005 Flickuum memories that I can mention in this entry, but I think I’ll mention those down the road or else this paragraph might go another 100 lines. LOL. Yes, more awesome memories, both Flickuum-related and non-Flickuum-related, occurred in 2025 and I look for more of them to happen in 2026.
Blog to you all again next year.