Stranger Things RANT & Blu-ray HAUL + Your 2026 Watchlist (inc. HAMNET Review!)
Fred Asquith On FilmShow Notes
Welcome back to reality then, my little Christmas hams. On this week’s FoF:
I’m reviewing the finale of Stranger Things. You may know, I think Stranger Things is sheet, but did the finale win me over?
The Traitors has a new “Secret Traitor” twist, but is it ACTUALLY fun not knowing who a traitor is?
I’m sorting 2026 films into categories of “GO AWAY”, “CURIOUS” and “MOST ANTICIPATED”, looking at movies like “The Social Reckoning”, Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey”, “Devil Wears Prada 2”, “Avengers: Doomsday” and “Dune: Part 3”.
And to fight back against January’s bleakness I bought a load of Blu-Rays (HELLO 2009), so I’ll take you through them.
Oh, and I’m reviewing Hamnet, the one where Paul Mescal is Shakespeare, but did he pull it off? Have a watch and find out. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro - STRANGER THINGS FINALE https://boxd.it/cnLN9j 02:26 Overall thoughts and ranting about the 50 minute epilogue 09:12 The Cinema Release and My Prediction for Netflix Cinema Ownership - 14:06 New TRAITORS!! Successes & failures of the Secret Traitor concept - BLU RAY HAUL 16:11 The Haul Begins 17:43 Thoughts on Extended & Directors Cuts (Nosferatu, Amadeus, LOTR) 22:30 Sunshine and how I used to lack Cinema Etiquette in my youth 24:42 My Darling Wife DOESN’T KNOW THE SIXTH SENSE TWIST???? 27:49 Inception 4K, and why I’m not the biggest fan - 29:25 The Godfather REWATCH, and why it is indeed 5 stars https://boxd.it/cmIjMb 34:01 Marty Supreme REWATCH and why it is still 4 stars for me (SPOILERS!) https://boxd.it/cqayNr - LOOKING AHEAD TO 2026 MOVIES 38:28 Intro 39:15 These 2026 movies can GO AWAY 41:25 I’m CURIOUS about these 2026 movies 47:49 My MOST ANTICIPATED 2026 movies - 51:24 HAMNET REVIEW - not strictly spoilers here, but skip if you are gonna see the movie https://boxd.it/bmjVRP - 59:14 NEXT WEEK! Is a big one.
More from Fred Asquith On Film
This week on FoF we mourn (and celebrate) the passing of LFF by doing a nice little debrief of my most overrated, underrated, surprising and disappointing movies at the festival. I also tell the story of the most annoying audience member of the whole 10 days. We then move on to review 2 movies released this week that Premiered at the festival. First there’s Wildwood, which rallies against the ever looming slop. Then there’s Fatherland, a heartfelt vignette about a time and place not often depicted. As always, send in your voice note hot takes which I will hope to get back to next week! Any annoying LFF screenings, thoughts on the Oscar race now we’ve seen some of the contenders? Or any other business…go wild! https://memo.fm/fredasquithonfilm/ Timestamps below.
This week on FoF we dive DEEP into the review of Whalefall, watch out for my spoiler-free section of the review in the timestamps before touching on some minor spoilers later on. I then give a run down of some of my favourite Ocean-based movies and NO, Castaway doesn't count. We finish off with a very thought-provoking voice note hot take about Cruise's Oscar chances, and the nature of "Oscar Bait" performances. Timestamps below.
This week on FoF we reckon with The Social Reckoning, Aaron Sorkin's spiritual follow-up to The Social Network, discussing why I think Aaron Sorkin may not be the best director for his own writing. We also touch on Verity which came out last week (minor spoilers for Verity) where I fiercely defend the erotic-thriller's right to be actually good. We then have a cracking voice note about the best nightclub scenes in movies where I get over excited about Black Swan, before finishing off with a PSA about the upcoming London Film Festival and what common viral condition to be aware of that I'm coining as "Film Festival-itis"! Timestamps below.
This week on FoF I'M NOT HERE!* And yet we STILL dig up Tom Cruise’s new outing DIGGER, one of the toughest movies to review in FoF history... I also give my personal take on Tom Cruise’s filmography and what I see to be 3 clear phases. We then do a Tom Cruise fOfSCARS awarding all your favourite Oscar categories to the Tom Cruise filmography, before finishing off with some really interesting listener voice notes about AI and Objectivity vs Subjectivity. Timestamps below.
This week on FoF we sense a sensible review incoming of the new Jane Austen adaptation Sense & Sensibility. I dive into the performances, cinematography, and whether I felt it landed the emotional plane at the end. I also give a quick nod to Babystar which is a movie I think is worth your acknowledgement. We finally return to the Voice Note Hot Take well and give our favourite listener Thomas some new recommendations - including my favourite film of all time There Will Be Blood. Timestamps below.