Summer Movie Mondays!!!
2025 Edition
These are my exclusive print reviews of the big (and sometimes smaller) movies coming out!!!
Check back each Monday for the newest release reviews of the weekend from May through Labor Day!!!
Most recent releases at the top!!! Click the poster for the review!!!
Weekend - May 23, 2025-May 26, 2025
Weekend - May 16, 2025-May 18, 2025
Weekend - May 9, 2025-May 11, 2025
Weekend - May 2, 2025-May 4, 2025
Clown in a Cornfield
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
dis. RLJE Films and Shudder
Released Friday, May 9, 2025
Rating: R / Run Time: 96 minutes
Director: Eli Craig
Writer(s): Carter Blanchard and Eli Craig based on the novel by Adam Cesare
Starring: Katie Douglas, Aaron Abrams, Carson MacCormac, Vincent Muller, Cassandra Potenza, Verity Marks, Ayo Solanke, Alexandre Martin Deakin, Kevin Durand and Will Sasso
“I don't wanna run anymore. I just want to be OK.”
After a family tragedy, Quinn (Douglas) and her dad Glenn (Abrams) move to Kettle Springs, Missouri. Quinn's dad has taken the job as the local family doctor and they are trying for a new start. En route to her first day of school, the neighborly Rust (Muller) offers to walk her to school. Not sure what to make of him, Quinn goes along and then heads to her first class. Here, she encounters, let’s say, “them,” Cole (MacCormac), Janet (Potenza), Ronnie (Marks), Tucker (Solanke) and Matt (Deakin). This group, in most films would be known as the “cool crowd,” but here, they are the outcasts because they are internet famous posting a series of horror movies with the famed Frendo the Clown massacring them in different scenarios. Frendo is the mascot of the corn syrup factory in town that recently burned down, and Cole and Co. were blamed for this as just another avenue to make their videos. As a result of the factory burning down, this small middle America town has faced hardships and unemployment rates. Playing a prank on their teacher the group, along with an innocent bystanding Quinn, are all given detention. Glenn, not happy with this, tries to rebuild his relationship with his daughter and get her to be on a more solid path. Even the local sheriff, George (Sasso) warns Quinn and her dad to stay away from that group.
However, Quinn, feeling rebellious continues to hang with this new group, and even befriends and attempts to date Cole, who she learns is the son of Arthur Hill (Durand) the mayor and descendent of the founder of Kettle Springs. Upon showing her one of the videos they have made, it seems that there is another Frendo, one who is not a part of their group, appearing in the videos, and before we know it, Frendo begins to pick away at our group. Leading up to the 100th Founder’s Day town festival, not all of the group is making it. Unsure of what has happened, Cole, Quinn and the so-far survivors, trying to figure out what is going on, head to a party in the middle of the cornfields near the now defunct syrup factory. When out from the cornfields, comes Frendo with his revenge to be had, and as Quinn, Cole and the rest try to escape with their lives in tact, certain secrets and old hurts will come forth.
This film is a lot of fun in that they play on the great horror movie tropes recalling slasher flicks of the 80s. You have all the elements and you will constantly be screaming, “No,” as we see characters go right to their deaths. I even appreciated a slick joke with millennials and a rotary phone (remember those?) The film sets up lots of great red herrings and when the actual killer’s motivation is revealed, it isn’t complicated either. Similar to Eli Roth’s recent thrillfest Thanksgiving (which would make a nice double feature with this film), there is a simple set up and explanation for why the murders are happening and while the reveal isn’t quite as direct, it doesn’t get mired down in a lot of lore or required backstory. We get the explanation, accept it, and move on. Douglas does a fair job as our potential Final Girl in question, and proves to be a standout performance. Also, Abrams as her dad gets to shine in ways that characters such as his don’t often get to in films of this genre.
All in all, if you like your horror films gory, funny and not requiring a lot of thought other than to be entertained, there will be a lot of enjoyment for you in this cornfield.
Review by Cinephile Mike
Fight or Flight
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
dis. Vertical
Released Friday, May 9, 2025
Rating: R / Run Time: 97 minutes
Director: James Madigan
Writer(s): Brooks McLaren and D.J. Cotrona
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Charithra Chandran, Julian Kostov, Danny Ashok and Katee Sackhoff
“Are you telling me that plane is full of killers?”
Lucas Reyes (a welcome Hartnett) a former Secret Service agent now living in a potential banishment in Bangkok is called up to the mains again by former flame and partner, turned head agent, Katherine Brunt (Sackhoff), who needs his help. Promising to clear his name if he aids them, he reluctantly agrees. Brunt and her team, including her number two, Agent Aaron Hunter (Kostov) have been tracking an evasive hacker, simply known as the Ghost. Through a break, there is an attack and the Ghost was shot allowing them to track that the Ghost is boarding a flight from Bangkok to San Francisco. If Reyes can get on the plane, detain and arrest the Ghost, and deliver them to Brunt and Co., he gets his life back. With only that clue as to who the Ghost is, off he goes.
As he boards the plan, he quickly learns that not only is he tracking the Ghost, but, the plane is full of assassins, each with a score to settle and a desire to kill the Ghost. Reyes, needing them alive, reluctantly teams up with two of the flight attendants, Isha (Chandran) and Royce (Ashok) to help him figure out who the Ghost is and keep them safe. No sooner than these three team up, everything goes haywire and before he knows it, Reyes is fighting assassins left and right. As we will see, not only are all these killers out for the Ghost, but through a dropped phone, there is a bounty on Reyes’ head as well. Now Reyes is trapped thousands of feet in the air with a plane full of people looking to shoot first and ask questions later. Meanwhile, once he learns who the Ghost is, they will also have to begrudgingly work together to get down to the ground before they are both dead.
Right off, this film is a lot of fun. It almost seems like Tarantino wanted to remake Bullet Train and set in on a plane. There are comical, gory deaths of varied characters as we follow Reyes and Co. to surviving the flight. Also, this includes one of the more interesting uses of a chainsaw captured in a film in a while. The death count is high and as more and more characters are introduced, the absurdity is ramped up, and yet, you follow it because of how disjointed and entertaining it is. This is a film that doesn’t try to anchor itself in realism, but exaggeration. Madigan isn’t afraid to shy away from the humor either and keeps coming up with new ways to have the next assassin picked off.
Hartnett, in a resurgence thanks to Oppenheimer and Trap is absolutely delightful and again reminds us of his star power and charisma which exudes off the screen. At first, you wouldn’t think he is the mercenary type, but he leans into the joy of it, and the bonkers smile to go with it. It is in fact his charm and chemistry he has with Chandran and Ashok that makes the movie flow. The subplot with a previous romance with Sackhoff’s Brunt is not really a necessary story, but is serves as the catalyst, but doesn’t get explored much beyond that. Chandran, relatively early in her career, has some credits to her name including a stint on Bridgerton and Dune: Prophecy, and here she shows that she has the chops to help carry a film alongside Hartnett.
Capturing this action is such a confined space is a testament to solid work by cinematographer Matt Flannery. He keeps the camera movements fluid and gives some interesting shots that make some of the more extreme battle sequences move like a dance, and this makes the continued argument, and thankfully, the Academy is beginning to recognize stunt work. The violence is so gratuitous, as I previously said, it seems like the sort of action we get in any or Tarantino’s films and yet, it is so stylized, it doesn’t shock.
All in all, this is a delightful action comedy that deserves to be seen on the big screen, and should we get the continued journeys of Lucas Reyes, I would be right in the theatre to see it.
Review by Cinephile Mike
Final Destination: Bloodlines
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
dis. New Line Cinema
Released Friday, May 16, 2025
Rating: R / Run Time: 110 minutes
Director(s): Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein
Writer(s): Guy Busick and Lori Evans Taylor from a story by them and Jon Watts
Starring: Kaitlyn Santa Juana, Teo Briones, Rya Kihlstedt, Richard Harmon, Owen Patrick Joyner, Anna Lore, Alex Zahara, April Telek, Tinpo Lee, Brec Bassinger, Max Lloyd-Jones, Gabrielle Rose and Tony Todd
“Death is coming for us because we were never supposed to exist.”
In 1968, Iris (Bassinger) and her boyfriend Paul (Lloyd-Jones) are attending the opening night of one of the newest restaurants, Skyview, a tower that is over 400 feet high, accessible by a vertigo inducing glass elevator. As is tradition in these films, mini-spoiler if you are brand new to the franchise, Iris has a vision that the glass floor will break leading to a series of events that will kill everyone in the restaurant. Before this happens, Iris is able to stop all the causes of the deaths and everyone is saved from this potential catastrophe. Jump forward to present day, Stefani (Santa Juana) begins to have nightmares that are akin to her maternal grandmother Iris’ premonition. She needs answers. She returns home to confront her father, Marty (Lee) and is reunited with her brother Charlie (Briones) who she has lost contact with. Her mother, Darlene (Kihlstedt) has been out of their lives for years for reasons that will be made known, but for her to continue her search for answers, despite her father’s wishes, she seeks out her mother’s brother, Howard (Zahara) to get answers. Upset at this conversation, Howard is not helpful, but his wife Brenda (Telek) gives her the key to find her grandmother.
Stefani goes to the abandoned cabin in the woods where her grandmother Iris (as an older woman played by Rose) is living and as she explains to Stefani, to save the lives of their family. As she explains, she saved the lives of everyone that night at the Skyview, and as a result, messed with Death’s plans. Now, Death has been seeking to fix this and has for years been settling accounts with the varied individuals who were never meant to be born as a result of her intervening. She knows that as long as she is alive, her family is safe. However, she now has cancer and when she passes, the lives of the family will be at risk. Upon giving Stefani the book she has put together over the years explaining everything, Death steps in, and finally takes Iris, right in front of Stefani. Rushing home, to prevent Death from accomplishing his goal, she is too late to save one family member (for want of spoiler, I will refrain, but there is a clever set-up as we try to determine who it will be). She then delves into the book and discovers that someone named JB knows information that can help. Upon investigation, we learn that JB is, well, that’s a fun reveal I don’t want to ruin, who keys Stefani in to certain information regarding Death’s plan. Through review, Stefani learns that Death plans to move through the family in the order of birth and they have to break the plan either by taking a life and gaining those years, or, dying and being brought back to life. This will send her, Charlie and the remaining family on a quest to see if they can stop the plan.
It has been about 15 years since the last entry into this franchise, and this new chapter, instead of dredging up the same old, actually subverts some of the franchise’s formulaic elements and actually breathes new life, pardon the pun, into the franchise. Given that the “premonition” is not what we are solving, but used as a catalyst to drive the action is a refreshing change of pace. Also, the deaths come fast and furious, almost to the point where I was almost wishing this chapter had been done in 3D as the last two installments were, because they were quite stunning, especially on a large IMAX screen, which is optimal viewing for this film. The film provides interesting Easter eggs to all the previous entries, but, if this is your introduction to the franchise, save one reference to Final Destination 2 in a scene with longtime franchise performer Tony Todd, you will be fine and if nothing else, this provides a fun entrance. To that point, it was bittersweet to see Todd on the screen again after his untimely passing. That said, when his connection is revealed, you may, like me and the folks sitting behind me, start applauding.
The effects are as sharp as any entry and the performances are fine. There is no outstanding performer here, and the ensemble works well together. All in all, fans of the franchise will be happy with this latest outing which, if Death is finally done with us, will provide a nice closing chapter.
Review by Cinephile Mike
Jane Austen Wrecked My Life
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
dis. Sony Pictures Classics
Released Friday, May 23, 2025
Rating: R / Run Time: 98 minutes
Director: Laura Piani
Writer: Laura Piani
Starring: Camille Rutherford, Pablo Pauly, Charlie Anson, Annabelle Lengronne, Liz Crowther, Alan Fairbairn, Lola Peploe, Alice Butaud and Roman Angel
“I believe that some books become part of our lives because they reveal to us our true nature.”
In the grand pantheon of British writers who have had their words forever immortalized on screen, after William Shakespeare, it would have to be Jane Austen. Not just this, but films that are based on the works of the writer herself. For example, Robin Swicord’s 2007 romantic comedy The Jane Austen Book Club which shows a group of women getting lost in the words of the romantic writer, or Jerusha Hess’ 2013 romantic comedy Austenland which puts a group of characters looking for love in a theme park named for the writer, and now we have Laura Piani’s Jane Austen Wrecked My Life, a comedy with some romance about the impact of the writer on another writer.
Meet Agathe Robinson (Rutherford) a blocked writer who spends her days working at a clerk in Paris’ famed bookshop, Shakespeare & Co. and nights trying to figure out her next book while living with her sister, Mona (Butaud) and her nephew Tom (Angel). At first meeting, as she dances around the bookstore to pop music, we quickly learn there is a deeper core that is looking for something. Believing she was born in the wrong century, Agathe playfully compares herself to Anne Elliot from Austen’s Persuasion. Ever the lonely self-professed spinster, she has no interest in dating apps or having to “like” things, she just wants an Austen-like existence. Keeping Agathe company at Shakespeare & Co. is her faithful friend, and potential love interest Felix (Pauly). Felix and Agathe playfully jibe one another, and Felix is no stranger to the rest of Agathe’s family, being a frequent overnight guest on the couch, though he wants more. Felix is interesting because he seems to be the one conscience in Agathe’s head calling out her fear of living and loving. She hides as best as she can save the brief public persona we get. One day, Felix submits the opening chapters of a book Agathe is working on to the Jane Austen Writer’s Residency, a two week opportunity across the English Channel, and she is accepted. Scared to go as we learn that there is a fear of cars and transport as a result of a past accident, she reluctantly agrees and goes off for two weeks to see if this can assist her writing, and maybe bring her out of her shell.
Upon arrival, she meets Oliver (Anson), the great great great great nephew of Austen herself, (and Mr. Darcy variant) and assistant to his family with the residency. When asked about his views on his familial lines writing, he is less than enthused stating it is a bit too glorified, and he prefers more modern literature, akin to what he teaches at Kings in England. Their clear opposite view of romance and idealism is one that is not foreign to lovers of Austen, or even to romantic literature as a whole. Upon arrival Agathe meets several other writers all striving to be their best, and Agathe just hopes to find what she needs to get past the block that is keeping her trapped. As she enjoys her new surroundings, in true Austen fashion, there is a party, one that brings the classic feel to the contemporary, and this will put Agathe in the mix of her two potential suitors.
Smartly, Piani’s script eschews the tradition in following a large cast of characters around the residency. Her focus is solely on Agathe and the choices she makes, and Robinson has a quiet strength that plays nicely for our protagonist. While lost, she is not clueless and moves through circumstances in a way that best can assist her and while she will have choices to make, they are hers. While she is the tip of a love triangle, there is more to her than just that. She is a rounded character with a feel of failure not just in love but in life, given her frustrations to complete her book. She is an excellent Elizabeth Bennett variant for the 21st century and is able to grasp the audience with her performance. Pauly and Anson both prove to be interesting love interests for her and it is interesting to see how Agathe’s heart will play out.
All in all, Austen fans will delight in this whimsical tale of love and finding oneself.
Review by Cinephile Mike
Juliet & Romeo
⭐️
dis. Briarcliff Entertainment
Released Friday, May 9, 2025
Rating: PG-13 / Run Time: 122 minutes
Director: Timothy Scott Bogart
Writer: Timothy Scott Bogart based on the play by William Shakespeare
Starring: Clara Rugaard, Jamie Ward, Jason Isaacs, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Nicholas Podany, Rebel Wilson and Rupert Everett
“I knew that my heart would never beat the same.”
We know this story, and we've seen it dozens of ways, so now we get the original pop music version. Set in the 1300s, towards the end of the Medieval times, Italy is not yet the Italy we know, but an idea, and they are at war with the church, and both Rome and the church want the city of Verona. The Montagues support Rome while the Capulets support the church. Their tenuous peace treaty is at odds. To solidify their cause, Lord and Lady Capulet, a criminally misused Rupert Everett and Rebel Wilson respectively, have arranged to marry their daughter Juliet, played by Clara Rugaard, to marry Paris, Dennis Andres, to strengthen their forces. Upon return from France where she has been studying, Juliet, before she fully knows her parents’ plan, meets the roguish Romeo, played by Jamie Ward, giving his best boy band performance. Romeo is a disappointment to his father, Lord Montague, played by Jason Isaacs, because he refuses to get with the cause, something his adopted brother Mercutio, a standout Nicholas Podany, has fully invested in. Well, we know what happens from here.
Slightly subverting from the original text, before we get to the famed costume ball, Romeo and Juliet fall for one another and rush to Friar Lawrence, played by Derek Jacobi, asking him to marry them, and the Friar, believing this can be the best thing for the families, relents. We know the rest. Through slight alterations, Juliet’s cousin Tybalt, played by Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, comes along and will fight and kill Mercutio, Romeo will kill him, Juliet will feel strained, run to the Friar for help, and all will also turn to the apothecary, played by Dan Fogler, to provide the necessary items to fake her death so Romeo can come back save her, and they can run off and live happily ever after. However, through misadventures, this is not as direct and both the star-crossed lovers are gone by the end. Or, are they…and this is where the film slip sinto the absurd.
I won’t say anymore there, but I will say that writer/director Timothy Scott Bogart in his third feature film as director had lofty goals set for this re-imagining and they sadly fall flat. The script is filled with tweaks to the original text, “Romeo, where the hell art thou,” and unmemorable songs that attempt to move the plot along. Known for writing such memorable songs for such artists as Beyonce, Madonna, Rihanna, Adam Lambert and Donna Summer, there is an expectation for E. Kidd Bogart’s contribution to this film, but none of his more than a dozen songs hits the right notes. They are fillers to distract from the weak text translation.
The performances are a mixed bag. When you see names such as Everett, Isaacs and Jacobi, there is a certain expectation, but their characters are done with such disservice that they are almost superfluous characters. Wilson had a chance to create a formidable Lady Capulet, but her scenes are so misplaced and redacted that she only has a quick moment to be stern with her daughter before she too is a superfluous character. Rugaard and Ward don’t add anything to the mixture here and theirs is a Juliet and Romeo that can’t captivate the audience. They lean a bit too much into the melodrama that their love story feels false. Again, as I referenced, the one performance that was somewhat memorable was Podany as Mercutio. Although we don’t get the impactful Queen Mab speech, we get a fair subplot with more stakes for his character so when his death comes, his absence is felt in the film.
The one thing that works for the film, is the design concepts. Period films could learn much from the lush costumes by Luciano Capozzi, and absolutely stunning production design by Dante Ferretti. Visually, the film has everything working for it, it is just a shame that there isn’t a better story to see. Perhaps in the teased sequel we are going to get, we can see if this plot deepens, though, I can’t see how. All in all, this is a forgettable film with missed opportunities and if you want a more stylized version of the Bard’s classic tale, revisit the equally if not better stylized version Baz Luhrmann gave us almost 30 years ago.
Review by Cinephile Mike
Lilo & Stitch (2025)
⭐️⭐️⭐️
dis. Walt Disney Pictures
Released Friday, May 23, 2025
Rating: PG / Run Time: 108 minutes
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Writer(s): Chris Kekaniokalani Bright and Mike Van Waes based on the 2002 screenplay by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois
Starring: Maia Kealoha, Sydney Agudong, Chris Sanders, Amy Hill, Tia Carrere, Kaipo Budoit, Hannah Waddingham, Jason Scott Mee, Billy Magnussen, Zach Galifianakis, and Courtney B. Vance
“Sometimes family isn’t perfect.”
Disney returns with yet another live action remake of their animated canon. More than 20 years after the little blue experiment - 626 - found his ways into the hearts of youngsters, and never really left thanks to TV series and direct to DVD sequels, he is back, voiced again by Chris Sanders to capture the hearts of another generation. Along with him this time brings voice performers from the first into the film as human characters and brings a new slew of actors to bring the characters to life.
The story has not changed much. Lilo (an adorably cute Kealoha) is just trying to find a friend. Bullied by her peers and struggling to live life with her sister, and adoptive caregiver, Nani (Agudong) after losing their parents in a car accident, life is hard. Nani struggles to maintain a job and keep the roof over their heads while contemplating what she lost in her full ride to college to study marine biology (a new twist on the story) and also put off the growing concerns of Mrs. Kekoa, the social worker (played by original Nani voice performer Carrere). To do what she can to make it work, she relies on support from her neighbor Ms. Tutu (Hill) and longtime crush David (Dudoit).
Meanwhile, out in space, Stitch, or Experiment-626, is deemed too dangerous and imprisoned on the order of the Grand Councilwoman (voiced by Waddingham) despite the arguments of Stitch’s creator Jumba (both voiced by and played by Galifianakis). Escaping in a ship bound for Earth, Stitch ultimately gets caught and sent to the animal adoption center. Jumba will be sent to recapture him to save Earth and be guided by Pleakley (voiced by and played by a delightful Magnussen leaning into Game Night absurdity). Jumba and Pleakley arrive on Earth, and through the use of cloning technology, take the form of two humans (thereby playing themselves and saving Disney more CGI budgeting).
Through a series of events, Lilo will adopt Stitch and become her new friend and as the two discover the meaning of Ohana, family, as they try to circumnavigate a life together that will have some challenges as Nani tries to make a future possible before social services separates them, a concept made all the more problematic when the supervisor, Cobra Bubbles (Vance) arrives on the scene. Meanwhile, there will be repeated attempts by Jumba and Pleakley to catch Stitch and return him to his rightful home.
Lilo & Stitch works fine as fluffy entertainment with a message about family, but the subplots are very simple and not thoroughly engaging, much in how the original landed for me in 2002. I may be in the minority here, and while I appreciate Disney putting more diversity in their primary characters, I feel that there isn’t enough to ground the story. In this new interpretation, select characters are eliminated, possible for budgetary reasons (this film was originally set for Disney+ release) and the use of the alien characters being personified as humans allows a few moments of levity, but ultimately proves cheap schtick. The one element that works is Kealoha as Lilo. In her performance, there is an innocence and wide eyed need that wasn’t sufficiently captured in the animated film, same said for the angst and struggle in a solid performance by Agudong. Sanders is still providing delight in his vocal performance and the CGI on Stitch is a much improved take than the awful Snow White we were given just a couple of months ago. Fleischer Camp, co-writer and director of the Oscar nominated Marcel the Shell with Shoes On captures a sweetness, but the script is so full of bizarre plots that we lose moments of that sweetness for the next action sequence, and those leave much to be desired.
All in all, fans of the original film, or those looking for wholesome family entertainment won’t be disappointed, but, the film may become yet another forgettable Disney remake after the hype is gone.
Review by Cinephile Mike
Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning
⭐️⭐️⭐️
dis. Paramount Pictures
Released Friday, May 23, 2025
Rating: PG-13 / Run Time: 169 minutes
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Writer(s): Erik Jendresen and Christopher McQuarrie based on the TV series created by Bruce Geller
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Henry Czerny, Holt McCallany, Janet McTeer, Nick Offerman, Hannah Waddingham, Greg Tarzan Davis, Shea Whigham, Rolf Saxon and Angela Bassett
“Everything you were, everything you’ve done, has come to this.”
*includes minor spoilers from Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning*
When we last left Hunt (Cruise) and Co., he and new IMF recruit Grace (Atwell) with an assist from foe turned ally Paris (Klementieff) were able to escape a runaway Orient Express with a cruciform key that would allow them to open and take control of the Entity, a massive AI force that has threatened to take over the world by creeping into the entirety of the worldwide web. Temporarily besting the Entity’s #1 man Gabriel (Morales) Hunt needs his team in the form of long time franchise members Luther (Rhames) and Benji (Pegg) to figure out how to save the world, in a mission that they choose to accept. Two months after these events, Hunt is trying to figure out his next move, while President Erika Sloane (Bassett) begs him via decoded message to return back to the states to help quash the worldwide fear spread by a group of extremists who believe that the Entity will clear the world of all those who don’t believe and create a new world order (similar to the actions of the Syndicate, the main players of entries 5 and 6, M:I5 - Rogue Nation and M:I6 - Fallout). Not one to follow orders, Hunt will continue to find a way to destroy the Entity, as he vowed at the end of franchise entry 7, M:I7 - Dead Reckoning.
As Hunt determines his next moves, his plan will take him to the depths of the Baring Sea where he will enter the wreckage of the Sevastopol, the Russian submarine sunk at the start of the last film, running across the streets of London and high into the sky as he jumps from plane to plane soaring over the South African countryside. Each member of his team will play their part. Hunt will attempt to find the Podkova (the main source code of the Entity), Luther will craft a “poison pill” that will infect the Entity, and Benji will lead the remaining members, which includes Grace, Paris, Tegas (Davis - the CIA agent that was chasing them in the last film) and through a twist, another character we haven’t seen since the first film, to a rendezvous where Hunt’s plan can play out. All the while, we will see them go up against not only Gabriel, but constantly have their mission undermined by President Sloane’s advisors. As we go, and to emphasize the film’s title, not all members may make it to see the mission accomplished.
Here’s the thing. Visually, the film is stunning. Hats off to cinematographer Fraser Taggart for capturing all the action. Whether it is the painful underwater sequence to the plane jumping in the climactic moments we all saw in the trailer, the view is a delight, especially on a large IMAX screen (which is how this film should be viewed). The stunt team, I will say, is probably going to be the most deserving in early 2026 when the Academy finally recognizes achievements in stunt work. However, one can’t help but feel a bit, we’ve been here before. Not to downplay what Cruise and team accomplished, but there wasn’t too much to add to the discussion. At a runtime of almost three hours, one might wonder if this whole film, which is a little convoluted in terms of plot and exposition, wouldn’t have been better served to take the almost 6 hours of the last film and this one and condense it to a solid three or three and a half hour film, which would have delivered the same, but more focused story. Also, while the Easter eggs are clever in how they find ways to link all previous films into the main storyline, some are genuinely appreciated, like the character I referenced from the first entry, but others seem to be a bit shoehorned in for shock value that isn’t really accomplished. The one thing this film does attempt is to give some of the supporting players more to do in terms of the action, which may suggest that while this is the final reckoning for Hunt, could it be the final reckoning for the IMF. That still remains to be seen.
All in all, the film is a fine sendoff to the franchise that has gripped us for the last three decades, and while overcomplicated in plot, the attempt to grip with a political thriller that suggests a possible future, well, there’s worse ways it could be done.
Review by Cinephile Mike
Rosario
⭐️⭐️
dis. Mucho Mas Releasing
Released Friday, May 2, 2025
Rating: R / Run Time: 88 minutes
Director: Felipe Vargas
Writer: Alan Trezza
Starring: Emeraude Toubia, David Dastmalchian, José Zúñiga, Diana Lein, Paul Ben-Victor and Constanza Gutierrez
“In the end, we all become dirt and bones.”
In his feature directorial debut, Felipe Vargas attempts to fuse together the worlds of Palo Mayombe, a religion based in Afro-Caribbean and Latin American faiths and your run of the mill family curse possession horror film into one. To do this, we are introduced to Rosario (Toubia), a successful stock broker who lives in Manhattan and has a life to die for. Drivers, gorgeous apartment, unexplained success even when it looks like things won’t work, there is no stopping her. On this day, she keeps getting calls from her grandmother, Griselda (Gutierrez), but she keeps avoiding them. This seems to be different from the relationship we glean in flashback at the start of the film. Upon finally answering, it is not Griselda, but in fact Marty (Ben-Victor), the super in her grandmother’s building and he informs her that Griselda has passed, and that while they have contacted an ambulance, they need a family member present. Speaking with her father Oscar (Zúñiga), who doesn’t want her to go to her grandmother’s, Rosario heads out in the middle of a bad winter storm to her grandmother’s place in Brooklyn.
Upon her arrival, she meets Marty and Griselda’s neighbor, Joe (Dastmalchian), a slightly odd man. When she sees her grandmother, she appears almost petrified, covered in scars all over the parts of the body that are visible. The apartment is in shambles, maggots growing out of the food, roaches in the sink and the paint is chipping from the walls. She then sees a maggot-like creature crawl out of her grandmother’s nose, and when removing it, appears to burrow into Rosario’s hand. Is this really happening? Is this a dream? All of a sudden, she sees a similar scar as on her grandmother appear on her hand. Other visions begin to appear and Rosario is not sure what to believe. She investigates more, finding a key wrapped around her grandmother’s neck which unlocks a door leading to a black magic temple within the walls of her grandmother’s apartment. As she continues to investigate, she will travel down a dark rabbit hole that will have permanent alterations to her world as she uncovers certain layers within her family and her grandmother’s beliefs. For what this all seems to be telling her, is that her grandmother cursed her for abandoning that part of her family as the family story is laid out, and a happy one it is not.
This film unfortunately misses out on actually being a deep film about the importance of family, culture and faith choosing instead to be a mildly scary horror movie. Trezza’s script wants you to feel for his protagonist, a woman who has mostly eschewed her Mexican heritage choosing to go by the name Rose and live the live of a modern woman in her high-rise apartment full of black, white and gray furniture (and wearing the same colored clothes as well) versus the juxtaposition we see within her grandmother’s apartment. As she delves into the religious lore that was so important to her grandmother, as a catalyst for the actions taken by some in the film, it is sidelined as a plot device which does the material a disservice. Trezza’s script gets a bit too bogged down in the horror cliches we are all expecting, the jump scares are aplenty, but not that impactful. Toubia, also an Executive Producer on the film, does what she can, and she presents as a talented actress, but she is undercut by the script. Dastmalchian, usually a powerhouse of creep factor when employed properly, is underused, similar to Zúñiga.
All in all, the film will be enjoyed by those who like a good cheap thrill, and perhaps some are present, but as a piece of substance, this one is a little light. One hopes with more solid material thrown his way, Vargas will have a chance to shine with his sophomoric effort.
Review by Cinephile Mike
Shadow Force
⭐️⭐️
dis. Lionsgate
Released Friday, May 9, 2025
Rating: R / Run Time: 104 minutes
Director: Joe Carnahan
Writer(s): Joe Carnahan and Leon Chills
Starring: Kerry Washinton, Omar Sy, Jahleel Kamara, Cliff “Method Man” Smith, Mark Strong and Da’Vine Joy Randolph
“Do you want to keep running all your life? A life that is getting shorter by the second.”
Isaac (Sy) and his son Ky (Kamara) are living a peaceful existence in Miami, hoping for the day when the matriarch of the family, Kyrah (Washington), can come home. All Ky knows is that she is off fighting bad guys in order to keep him safe. One day, when running an errand to the bank, the bank is overrun with bank robbers, and upon threat to his son, Isaac jumps into action attacking all the robbers showing there is more to him than his single dad persona. Unfortunately, all of this activity, caught on camera, brings his past back to his present. This includes Kyrah, upset that he has blown his cover and exposed their son, and the rest of the organization they once fled, Shadow Force.
Shadow Force, a secret operation run by Jack Cinder (Strong), also a governmental agent, is out for Kyrah and Isaac because they broke the one rule of being part of the organization, you are in for life, and they went AWOL. Cinder knew they had fallen in love, and now he also knows it was because they had Ky. This rubs Cinder the wrong way for other reasons that will out as we see this trio brought back together. Now, five years after their desertion, and learning that Keyrah has been the one who had been waging her war on Shadow Force, Cinder sends the rest of the force after them. He needs to clean up these loose ends. Isaac and Kyrah, reunited after several years, realize the challenges they are up against and need to get a little help. With few options, they reach out to Auntie Clanter (Randolph) and Marcus “Unc” Owens (Smith). Working with them, they turn from being the hunted into the hunters, and seek out opportunities to get their lives back. However, this will not be as easy as they believe. In the midst of double agents, killer operatives and past hurts, Kyrah and Isaac will have their hands full.
Carnahan, no stranger to the action film unfortunately can’t make this very generic, we’ve been there before, plot work. In fact, I remember Kerry Washington having her brief moments in the far superior Mr. and Mrs. Smith, playing an agent in Angelina Jolie’s camp, and Shadow Force is almost like the direct-to-video sequel with Washington’s character there grown up, but not in a better film. This is not to discount her as an action star, in fact I think this is a lane that she would thrive in with a better script. Her chemistry with Sy leaves something to be desired. As separate operatives when engaging with the enemy, they step to the challenge, but when banal exchanges like who is the better shot or who has a stronger skill, these seem forced. Strong, always a welcome villain, he truly has anchored his career in this, cannot even find enough swagger or charm in the stilted writing, and when we learn the history of his involvement with these AWOL soldiers, it is hard to find the motivation to fully care. The one quasi bright spot, which makes me wonder if some improv was happening, Randolph and Method Man have a few fun moments delivering some dry quips back and forth, but they are both severely underused that their few appearances are welcome.
All in all this is a been there, done that film with action sequences that will make you crave the upcoming Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning where there will be stakes attached, and honestly, tune into Mr. and Mrs. Smith again.
Review by Cinephile Mike
The Surfer
⭐️⭐️⭐️
dis. Madman Films
Released Friday, May 2, 2025
Rating: R / Run Time: 100 minutes
Director: Lorcan Finnegan
Writer: Thomas Martin
Starring: Nicholas Cage, Finn Little, Nicholas Cassim and Julian McMahon
“Don't live here, don't surf here.”
Having been sent to live in America decades prior due to a family tragedy, our unnamed Surfer (Cage) has returned home to his native Australia. His one goal, is to take his son, named solely, The Kid (Little), to surf the beaches he did as a kid. The Surfer is getting ready to move back to Australia, and purchase his childhood home to rebuild his family as he is separated from his wife, and will do whatever it takes to do so. Upon arriving at the beach, content to enjoy the day, they are quickly greeted by the affectionately named Bay Boys, led by their cultish leader in a red half caftan, Scally (McMahon in a truly scenery chewing role), who more than forcefully inform them, as I quoted, “Don’t live here, don’t surf here.” Not wanting to take this sitting down, the Surfer takes his son home and returns to the beach to assess the situation. While there, he is trying to get his real estate agent on the phone, but he seems less than interested in helping him accomplish what he needs to do. He also meets, and this is how he is credited, The Bum (Cassim) who tells the Surfer to beware of Scally and the Bay Boys because it was them that killed both his son and his dog.
While spying on Scally and the Bay Boys one night, while using the restroom, they steal the Surfer’s board and vandalize his car. Calling the police, he waits for them to arrive, but quickly learns that they are just another part of Scally’s local gang. Unable to leave because his car battery dies, the Surfer remains in the parking lot watching the Bay Boys and trying his best to get in touch with his real estate agent. However, through a series of events, things will just continue to get more and more dismal for the Surfer, and he slowly begins to slip into a state of psychosis, one that Cage is no stranger to playing. As he begins to lose more and more, he begins to align with the Bum, and one has to wonder, is the Bum really a Bum, or is he the Bum? Once his phone dies and he has no money to buy food, and no means to charge his phone, the Surfer will resort to extremes and all will come to a head when he finally confronts the Bay Boys again.
While viewing, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of this. For the first half, I was content to watch Cage almost underplay the “crazy” he has gotten to be known for as of late, and yet, the journey he goes on is quite extraordinary and he provides a fascinating subject to follow. His performance is absolutely captivating as we see him slowly descend to madness under the Australian sun. The film is a unique exploration of toxic masculinity in how we see all the interactions with the Surfer, the Bum, Scally and the Bay Boys with nary a female character in sight. While there are a few, they are unaffected by the show we are given, which is refreshing because that is the last thing we need. Here, the men are just awful to one another. McMahon is a standout in his cult-like leader role, and as certain elements of the plot unroll, he provides both humor and terror as needed. If for nothing else, Martin has crafted a unique psychological thriller that plays on what happens when we are reduced to almost nothing and have nothing left. At what point do we give up or fight back? Things may wrap up a little too quickly towards the end, and the ending is a bit unsatisfying, but in all, this was a wave worth riding.
Nicholas Cage fans will be delighted to see him a bit more restrained, and this slow burn psychological thriller has enough to engage for 100 minutes.
Review by Cinephile Mike
Things Like This
⭐️⭐️
dis. MPX Releasing
Released Friday, May 16, 2025 (limited release)
Rating: NR / Run Time: 98 minutes
Director: Max Talisman
Writer: Max Talisman
Starring: Joey Pollari, Max Talisman, Jackie Cruz, Charlie Tahan, Cara Buono, Taylor Trensch, Margaret Berkowitz, Danny Chavarriaga and Eric Roberts
“That’s what liking someone is like. It’s terrifying. All you wanna do is run.”
Meet Zack Mandel (Pollari), an assistant at a talent agency working for the awful Margie (Buono) who never seems to want to work properly with him and he hates almost everything about his job except for Ava (Cruz), his work wife and self-proclaimed best friend. He is unhappy in his long term relationship with “safe” Eric (Trensch), a man who enjoys watching DVDs of hawks flying, and at odds with his disapproving father Paul (Roberts).
Meet Zack Anthony (writer/director Talisman), a struggling writer who needs to keep posting to his over 100 followers and hoping to get his vampire novel published because it is THE vampire book everyone needs. He relies on his half-brother Kenny (Tahan) to pay his rent and his BFFs, couple Chloe (Berkowitz) and Peter (Chavarriaga) to keep him entertained as he believes his plus sized status keeps him from being in a happy relationship.
We see where this is going, right? Well, fate will step in and one night, in true New York City fashion, bring the Zacks, who for the purpose of this review I will now refer to by last name to delineate, face to face at a talent showcase. Margie has sent Mandel in her stead to see the talent on display, and Anthony is there because Kenny is dating a girl in the showcase. After a meet cute of sorts at the bar, where Mandel buys Anthony a drink because he has no money, Anthony asks him on a date. Mandel, despite being at the show with his boyfriend, agrees and meets Anthony the next night at a bar, where Anthony manages to accidentally nail Mandel in the nose with a door, leading to their first date being in a hospital. They agree to do this again. In between this, Mandel breaks up with Eric realizing he wants more, and continues to date Anthony. One night, through the conversation, the two Zacks realize that this is not the first time they have met, and learn that they were at camp together when they were in middle school. Through a series of events, they spend the night together, and the next morning, Mandel wakes up realizing that this is not right. Even though his ex has moved on, he realizes that he is broken and not in shape for a relationship. Anthony, is some ways is just as damaged tries to convince Mandel they belong together, but to no avail.
Mandel ends up losing his job and has to move home to his father’s house in New Jersey as he has no job and no home after breaking up with Eric. His only solace is hanging with his high school aged sister Hannah (played by Romy Reiner). Meanwhile, some things start panning out professionally for Anthony, but, he feels something is missing without Mandel in his life.
We can end there because if you have seen any romantic comedy, you can see where this goes. That being said, while formulaic, this film is trapped in cliches and plot holes that make it a bit surface area. Talisman pulling multiple jobs from writing, directing, acting and producing seems he got in over his head and was trying to juggle too many balls at the same time. As a result, each character presents as an archetype and the journey for the two leads doesn’t feel earned. There is an attempt to introduce one’s self-esteem as the villain in the threesome traditional in romcoms, but, the fact that is afflicts both leads is not revelatory nor interesting. Both characters have multiple opportunities to better themselves, but it takes too long to get there, sad in a roughly 90 minute movie. The supporting players are unrecognizable from one another, and others seem like they will be significant to the plot, but they are sidelined. Of the two leads, Pollari has some decent moments, but his character is so self-destructive, it is hard to find sympathy. Talisman is a bit self-indulgent in this project, but I applaud what he attempted, although this film may go the way of other forgettable films in the genre.
All in all, this is a forgettable comedy that will not further the conversation.
Review by Cinephile Mike
Thunderbolts*
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
dis. Marvel Studios
Released Friday, May 2, 2025
Rating: PG-13 / Run Time: 126 minutes
Director: Jake Schreier
Writers: Eric Pearson and Joanna Calo
Starring: Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, David Harbour, Lewis Pullman, Wyatt Russell, Hannah John-Kamen, Olga Kurylenko and Julia Louis-Dreyfus
“Being a hero, there is no higher calling.”
We first start out seeing Yelena (a standout Pugh, last seen in Hawkeye) working as a secret operative for CIA Director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Louis-Dreyfus, last seen in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier). She has destroyed a lab that was part of Fontaine, er, de Fontaine’s (quality joke) Sentry project that she shut down as it failed and risks her being impeached from her top job. While successful, Yelena feels lost, and even despite trying to talk it out with her adoptive father, Alexi Shostakov, the famed Red Guardian (a delightful Harbour, last seen in Black Widow), she doesn’t know if a life in secret is for her. She misses her sister Natasha, and she has lost everything. Agreeing to one last covert mission for de Fontaine, Yelena is ready to have a more public-facing job. So off she goes to destroy one more set of evidence, which when she does, puts her in a stalemate with U.S. Agent John Walker (Russell, last seen in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), Taskmaster (Kurylenko, last seen in Black Widow) and Ghost (John-Kamen, last seen in Ant-Man and the Wasp). As these four fight it out, each with a different mission, they soon realize that de Fontaine intends to kill all of them, including the mysterious Bob (Pullman, MCU newbie), who appears out of nowhere. Working together, they escape de Fontaine’s trap, but not before Bob sacrifices himself to allow the others to get away, and we see this is just the beginning of Bob’s journey.
Meanwhile, recently elected official James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes, our Winter Soldier (an always welcome Stan, last seen in Captain America: Brave New World) is doing his best to work alongside Congressman Gary (played by Wendell Pierce) to have de Fontaine impeached. He will go and collect this group of operatives as key witnesses to bring de Fontaine down in the impeachment hearings. Once he gets a hold of our crew they set off, but this will not be easy. As they quickly learn, there was more to Bob than just a simple mannered man, but he was one of the survivors of de Fontaine’s Sentry project, her ideal to create the perfect hero to protect the world now that the Avengers are no longer around. However, there is a lot going on behind Bob's intense eyes that not even de Fontaine can control. This will now put our team, who thanks to Red Guardian, adopt the name the Thunderbolts after a conversation with Yelena about her childhood soccer team, and they will need to fight Bob, albeit Sentry, to save New York.
It’s no secret that Marvel Studios has had a very challenging time bouncing back from the superiority that was Avengers: Endgame. Since then, there have been some high points, WandaVision, Loki (and while I am in the minority, I thoroughly enjoyed Eternals and The Marvels) and there have been more than its fair share of lows, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Captain America: Brave New World, but here, with Thunderbolts*, it truly feels like Marvel has hit the reset button and is finding the joy and passion with which Iron Man flew into our hearts almost 20 years ago. The script does not get bogged down in multiple plots, or setting up a weak villain, but instead gives us a group of anti-heroes who are their own worst enemies. Each of them has a dark past, and now they are pushed into the hero spotlight, and to do this, they will need to overcome the biggest villain, themselves. In previous MCU entries, we have seen or heard about the tormented pasts of some of these characters, and those who we don’t know, we are given a bit more here through an interesting use of flashbacks. Surprisingly, Pearson and Calo’s script gives us a group of characters where you will care for all of them. The plot is simple and as a result, gives the characters a chance to shine. Maybe that was the magic formula Marvel needed, the anti-Marvel movie, which is what we get here. For each action sequence, we get to see a fleshed out character and the set-up for where we are going is actually the first time I have gotten excited for the MCU in a while.
Without question, anchoring the film around Pugh is an excellent choice. She has the gravitas of an actress beyond her years which she has shown in various roles and takes what could have been a one-note character, and gives us a fully realized young woman with a tragic past. When she cries, you feel it, when she laughs, you feel it, when she verbally cuts you down, yes, you will laugh. The team around her works well and we start to get a real team-up in the vein of Guardians without as much humor, and that is OK. The cast here knew what film they were making, and Schreier, in only his third feature film, truly delivers a homerun that takes us back to the basics of Phase 1 MCU films that we all know and love.
All in all, MCU fans will be excited to see this ragtag group come together and form this new team, even if that name may not last as long as we think.
Review by Cinephile Mike