Happy Wednesday, Geekly Gang! Today’s Whatcha post will be what our writers have been watching, movies and television, over the past month. We won’t be including Fantastic Four: First Steps because we have a full review of the movie. Feel free to share what you’ve been watching this past month, because we’re all part of the Geekly Gang.
Kyra’s Movies
I didn’t know what a vivarium was before watching the Vivarium film. A vivarium is a glass enclosure where someone can examine a living being. This object is a fitting name for this film. The first two films I’m including in this month’s whatcha watching have a common theme: horror films that use liminal space. Vivarium is trippy. It puts protagonists Imogen Poots (Gemma) and Jesse Eisenberg (Tom) in a suburb functioning like a vivarium, but this suburb is more sinister than an observation bowl.
The human-like otherworldly being (behind the odd suburb the humans can’t escape) drops off one of its babies and commands the pair to care for it. During a classroom scene with Gemma during the film’s opening, Vivarium establishes an analogy of a cuckoo bird, a bird that replaces a baby bird with one of its own, tricking the mother bird to care for the cuckoo’s young. The cuckoo bird analogy fits. Vivarium also serves as a cynical version of The Giving Tree, with humans replacing the tree. Quick spoiler: When Gemma asks who she is in relation to the cuckoo humanoid, the cuckoo humanoid answers, You’re here to die. Yeah. Vivarium may be more of a pessimistic version of The Giving Tree.
Overall, Vivarium was a disturbing but enjoyable watch if you’re into films with an uncanny valley aesthetic. And thank you for the nightmares of an odd child screaming at the foot of my bed. I needed that, Vivarium.
I watched Vivarium on YouTube. There’s no telling if Vivarium is still available on YT as you’re reading this. Fingers crossed.
The above image sums up Skinamarink. This horror film follows two young children in the middle of the night. Their parents aren’t at home, the house loses its doors and windows, and an other-worldly presence is in the house with them. The film uses limited lighting. In fact, there are multiple scenes where the only source of light is a television or flashlight flickering on and off. That’s Skinamarink’s premise, but I don’t think the movie upholds this premise.
The doors and windows disappear and then reappear for “reasons.” I don’t know who or what the entity is. The entity has the power to erase the older sister’s mouth and does so because she calls out for her parents, but the same entity does nothing when the four-year-old boy calls 911. While Vivarium has a tight narrative, Skinamarink is all about the vibes.
Skinamarink gave me the impression of Community’s Abed making an atmospheric horror film. The shots lingered on images for too long. The images were often nonsensical. But hey, if you want to get creeped out by some bizarre imagery for an hour and a half, Skinamarink can scratch that itch.
I watched Skinamarink on Hulu. Hopefully, it can still be found on that service.
Nimona is a Netflix original film. I won’t go into too much detail. I’m writing a transgender representation deep dive for Nimona set for a December 2025 release. Yeah. Nimona offers some fantastic gender non-conforming representation, and I can’t wait to share that deep dive with you later this year.
Nimona gives me Shrek vibes, as in I haven’t watched an animated feature as refreshing as Nimona since Shrek. Nimona exhibits great storytelling. Its characters go on a roller coaster of personal growth. Good thing it’s infinitely rewatchable because I had to rewatch Nimona a lot for the deep dive. I highly recommend Nimona. In fact, one of the things my family did for Mapa Day (July 27, 2025: Parents Day, which is also for gender non-conforming parents) was watch Nimona. It was metal.
I don’t remember too many of the shows I watched over the past month. I’m certain I watched at least a few. Oh, well. I’m sure I’ll have shows for next month. Until then, let’s see what Season and Skye have been watching.
Season’s Movies
I haven’t been watching as much anime lately, but I had the itch. The Stranger by the Shore (or L’étranger de la Plage) is a short love story about Shun Hashimoto, a gay novelist ostracized by his family, and Mio Chibana, who lost his family at a young age. Both of them struggle to connect with people, which draws them to one another. They end up separated for a few years when Mio moves to Tokyo.
I won’t go into too much detail, but as a romance, The Stranger by the Shore was grounded in reality. Shun has moments of internalized homophobia. He rejects Mio’s advances for most of the movie before accepting himself and Mio. A lot of BL (Boys’ Love) manga and anime tend to shy away from real-world struggles people of the LGBTQ+ community face (outside of trying to not get caught). I found The Stranger by the Shore to be refreshing. And super cute.
The only reason I watched Jurassic World: Rebirth is that I love dinosaurs, and I wanted to see them on the big screen. I don’t care for the hybrids, even though they’re supposed to be the big bads of the movie. Jurassic World: Rebirth followed a similar formula to the original Jurassic Park, even down to the timing of the main theme song. The theme song played when we saw the Titanosaurs in Jurassic World: Rebirth. In the original Jurassic Park, the theme song played when we saw Brachiosaurus. They’re both sauropods. Coincidence?
We also had an evil dude (I forgot his name) run away with the blood samples and got eaten (just like Dennis Nedry). Jurassic World: Rebirth played it safe with the plot. It wasn’t a bad movie. But it wasn’t amazing, either.
Jurassic World: Rebirth claims Quetzalcoatlus was the biggest pterosaur to ever live. Geekly Gang, of these two giant pterosaurs, do you believe Quetzalcoatlus was bigger than Hatzegopteryx? I’d love to read your answers. 😀
Let’s see what Skye has been watching.
Skye’s Movies
In light of the recently released remake (alliteration; you’re welcome), I felt the need to revisit the original The Naked Gun. Simply put, The Naked Gun is still funny all these years later. I can understand why you wouldn’t want to rewatch it. O.J. Simpson’s inclusion in the film as a side character, Officer Nordberg, is off-putting. I tugged at my shirt collar when I saw him on screen. However, Nordberg’s scenes involved him getting injured in a ridiculously over-the-top way. That makes those scenes go down easier.
Chungking Express plays like a slice-of-life film that highlights the complex lives of people we pass by on the street. We don’t know them, we never will, but here’s a movie about them. That may go against the director’s intention, but that was my takeaway. The most notable thing I got from Chungking Express was the fantastic cinematography, namely the masterful one-takes, which made Chungking Express feel so much more like a glimpse into people’s lives.
I hadn’t heard of Night Moves until a couple of months ago. I thought watching Night Moves would be fitting since the recent passing of Gene Hackman. Rest in peace. Put simply, Night Moves was a roller coaster mystery. Most of the film is slow-paced and low-key, but once you get to the final half hour, boy, does Night Moves deliver. Hackman’s Harry Moseby is a private investigator tasked with locating a has-been movie star’s daughter. He’s not John Shaft, but he’s got drive. What will he discover…?
I had never seen Titanic up until this past month. I figured it was about time. Titanic’s focus is the romance between its two leads, but I got more from the side characters. The string quartet that was playing as the ship sank to lift the people’s spirits. The captain and designer of the ship being distraught and mortified at what became of their pride and joy. The heart-breaking moment when the naval officer shot himself after realizing the error of his ways. Those were Titanic’s real emotions.
Hey, hey, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle again. That’s all our writers have for this month’s Whatcha Watching. Feel free to share what you’ve been watching; you’re part of the Geekly Gang, too. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
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