July 25th, 2025 // Vol. XLVII // Christmas in July

Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas (kind of)! With all of this heat, I could definitely use a little festiveness in my life. Let’s embrace the holiday spirit and celebrate. Happy:

• National Get Gnarly Day (Gnarly is such an underrated word)

• National Talk in an Elevator Day (I wonder if this is a secret ploy to capitalize on people’s social anxiety and encourage stair usage. You don’t have to talk to anyone there, in part because you might be too out of breath)

• National Merry-Go-Round Day (I can’t tell you the last time I rode a merry-go-around, and I sure as hell can’t tell you the next time I will. What I can tell you is that they’d definitely be more fun if they were faster)

• National Thread The Needle Day (Lots of meanings to this phrase, but I’m pretty sure the day is honoring the literal act of threading a needle to sew. I have decided to celebrate, however, by driving through residential Houston streets with cars on both sides.)

• National Wine and Cheese Day (I don’t really like wine, so I wasn’t going to include this, but I figured that some of y’all might find this supremely important. You’re welcome.)

No time to waste, there are presents to open. Let’s have a day:

New Release in:

Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)

Let me start this by saying I love The Fantastic Four. It all started with the Human Torch, I think, but that’s beside the point. As I grew up, avidly following the MCU and growing a love for comic book movies, I waited and waited for a faithful depiction of Marvel’s First Family in the new era (2015 doesn’t even begin to count, but you’ll never hear me talk badly about 2005). I’m happy to report that it has arrived.

Was it perfect? No, but given past iterations, I think that is too high of a bar. It was real, genuine and charming while remaining surprisingly grounded. The team’s problem-solving was on full display, with their familial relationship coming through with outstanding authenticity. All four heroes had their individual moments, but the group chemistry is what I appreciated most. I was slightly skeptical of some of the casting decisions, particularly Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, but left feeling very confident in this crew for the foreseeable future.

While this was definitely a character story disguised as a superhero story, I’d be remiss to ignore the incredible world building on this alternate Earth. Everything from the costumes to the set design transported you to an Earth that was clearly different, but fascinating. Just beautiful aesthetics all around.

I’m sure some will have complaints, but I’m honestly just happy to have a legitimately good Fantastic Four to watch.

Flame On/5

QOTD 47: Who’s your favorite superhero?

The Human Torch is definitely up there for me, but let me know yours on Instagram

Yesterday’s Results

A few of y’all gave some guilty pleasures, like Gushers, which I would simply classify as a pleasure, and Gracie Abrams music, which sounds about right. The rest of y’all were just too guilty, I guess, to even share. Oh well.