TV and Movie Reviews to Listen to Around the Yule Log

This week on the podcast, Brian and Darryl talk about a couple movies the saw this week in individual mini-reviews (Avatar: Fire & Ash and The Housemaid). Then breakdown season 2 episode 1 of Fallout. Then give a review of HIM.

Episode Index

Intro: 0:07 Avatar: Fire and Ash: 12:35 The Housemaid: 25:05 Fallout: 34:18 HIM: 49:41

Avatar: FIre and Ash (2025)

Rating Out 10 It’s the Third Movie and It’s Fine… it’s Fine Darryl: 6.2/10

Summary Avatar: Fire and Ash expands the world of Pandora by pushing the story into darker, more volatile territory. This chapter introduces a new Na’vi culture shaped not by water or forest, but by fire, ash, and survival in a brutal volcanic region of the moon. These clans challenge everything Jake Sully and Neytiri believe about what it means to live in balance with Pandora.

As tensions rise between Na’vi factions and the ever-encroaching human presence, the film shifts from a clear-cut nature-vs-invaders narrative into something far more morally complex. Fire and Ash explores how trauma, rage, and vengeance can fracture even the most deeply spiritual societies, forcing characters to confront uncomfortable truths about leadership, legacy, and the cost of endless war.

Visually, the film leans hard into contrast. Lush blues and greens give way to scorched landscapes, molten rock, and smoke-filled skies, creating a harsher, angrier version of Pandora that mirrors the emotional state of its characters. At its core, Fire and Ash is about consequence. Not just for humanity’s actions, but for the choices the Na’vi themselves make when survival demands brutality.

This entry reframes the Avatar saga as less of a mythic adventure and more of a generational reckoning, setting the stage for a future where Pandora’s greatest threat may no longer come from the stars, but from within.

The Housemaid (2025)

Rating Out of 10 The Dad Who Rocks the Cradle Brian: 6.5/10

Summary The Housemaid is a 2025 American psychological thriller directed by Paul Feig, adapted from Freida McFadden’s bestselling 2022 novel. It stars Sydney Sweeney as Millie Calloway, a troubled young woman recently released on probation who desperately needs steady work. When she lands a live-in housemaid job with the wealthy Winchester family on Long Island, things initially seem like a fresh start.

But behind the manicured lawns and spacious rooms, the Winchesters’ life is anything but perfect. Millie soon discovers that Nina Winchester (Amanda Seyfried) is temperamental and volatile, her daughter Cecilia is cold and disrespectful, and unsettling secrets lurk beneath the surface of this elite household. As Millie becomes more entangled in their lives, the film steadily shifts from domestic drama to a gripping, twist-heavy thriller where trust is scarce and danger hides in plain sight.

The tension escalates when Millie realizes that the family dynamics are far darker than she suspected, leading to shocking betrayals and a violent confrontation that upends everything the audience thought they knew. The Housemaid blends suspense, psychological games, and interpersonal manipulation in a holiday season release that delivers both unpredictable twists and intense character play.

Fallout (Amazon Prime)

Season 2 Episode 1 Title: The Innovator Directed by: Frederick E. O. Toye Written by: Geneva Robertson-Dworet & Graham Wagner Date Aired: December 16, 2025 Summary In 2077, before the war, a man supportive of Robert House, CEO of RobCo Industries, implants a control chip in a bar patron, forcing him to murder his companions before the chip detonates. After uncovering Vault-Tec’s secret plans, actor Cooper Howard attempts to flee with his daughter Janey, but Lee Moldaver convinces him to stay and spy on his wife Barb, who is traveling to Las Vegas to meet House. In 2296, Lucy MacLean and the Ghoul kill a group of Great Khans while tracking Lucy’s father, Hank, which leads them to the abandoned Vault 24, where they discover a Vault-Tec experiment using chips for brainwashing; a man with a chip implanted briefly speaks to Lucy before the chip explodes. Trapped in Vault 31, Norm, without food or water, awakens cryogenically preserved Vault-Tec executives. In Vault 32, Overseer Steph struggles with leadership, while in Vault 33, Overseer Betty supervises repairs to the water chip. Meanwhile, Hank arrives at an abandoned Vault-tec facility and leaves a message for an unknown figure that he will finish his project.

Rating Out of 5 Exploding Heads for Everyone Darryl: 3.35/5 Brian: 3.2/5

HIM (2025)

Summary HIM is a psychological horror film that uses the world of elite sports to explore obsession, identity, and the dangerous cost of chasing greatness. The story follows a promising young football player whose talent earns him access to a rare and secretive mentorship under a legendary athlete. What begins as an opportunity of a lifetime slowly reveals itself to be something far more disturbing.

As the mentorship deepens, the film peels back the glossy surface of fame and success, exposing a culture that treats athletes as assets rather than people. Training pushes beyond discipline into control, blurring the line between motivation and manipulation. The closer the protagonist gets to his dream, the more he begins to lose his sense of self.

Rather than relying on jump scares, HIM builds dread through atmosphere and psychological pressure. The horror comes from systems, power dynamics, and the unspoken expectation that personal sacrifice is the price of excellence. The film questions how far someone is willing to go to be “chosen” and what parts of themselves they are expected to surrender along the way.

At its core, HIM is a cautionary tale about hero worship and the myth of meritocracy, wrapped in a slow-burn horror framework. It leaves the audience unsettled not by monsters, but by the realization that the most terrifying forces are often the ones we willingly submit to in the pursuit of success.

Rating Out of 10 QB1 Blood is Waaaaay Better Than WR2 Blood Darryl: 5.2/10 Brian: 5.7/10

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The Infamous Podcast is hosted by Brian Tudor and Darryl Jasper, is recorded in Cincinnati, Ohio. The show is produced and edited by Brian Tudor.

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Episode 502 – Fallout, the Maid, and the Fire are HIM