These are mini reviews of a collection of newly released films from the last two months. Please note that these are just a few of the many movies I will have watched each year, and my initial grade for any one of these films may change over time, for better or worse. To stay up to date on my thoughts about other movies and any potential changes in my opinion on these, follow me on Letterboxd.
If you enjoy these reviews, I’d greatly appreciate it if you could share this newsletter with family and friends who might love receiving film reviews, classic movie lists, and Oscars projections straight to their inbox.
THE GORGE
Plot, Via Letterboxd: Two highly trained operatives grow close from a distance after being sent to guard opposite sides of a mysterious gorge. When an evil below emerges, they must work together to survive what lies within.
Mini Review: It’s not reinventing the wheel by any means, the action-horror beats are pretty much standard straight-to-streamer fare, but there’s enough going on to make it worth the runtime. The romance angle adds a surprising bit of heart and I wanted to see more of it; and the soundtrack hits the right notes. It’s the kind of movie that knows exactly what it is - a solid, self-contained watch that doesn’t overstay its welcome. Not bad for a lazy morning viewing.
Initial Grading: B-
THE MONKEY
Plot, Via Letterboxd: When twin brothers find a mysterious wind-up monkey, a series of outrageous deaths tear their family apart. Twenty-five years later, the monkey begins a new killing spree forcing the estranged brothers to confront the cursed toy.
Mini Review: Kinda low-key hated this. Gave it a fair shot, really tried to get on its wavelength, but it just never clicked for me. The constant tonal clashes and awkward stabs at humor kept pulling me out of it, and by the half-way mark I was mostly just waiting for it to wrap up. I’ll give it this much, it didn’t completely bore me. But that's about as generous as I can be.
Initial Grading: C+
MICKEY 17
Plot, Via Letterboxd: Unlikely hero Mickey Barnes finds himself in the extraordinary circumstance of working for an employer who demands the ultimate commitment to the job - to die, for a living.
Mini Review: Bong takes a pretty noticeable step down with the messy mixed bag that is this film. The first half had me rolling my eyes and quietly begging for it to find some kind of rhythm or, honestly, just to end. It’s all over the place tonally and feels weirdly aimless for such a high-concept setup. But to its credit, the second half actually finds a plot worth following, and things start to click a bit more. Still, even with the late-game improvement, this is easily my least favorite film from him. Disappointing, but not a total wash.
Initial Grading: B-
THE ELECTRIC STATE
Plot, Via Letterboxd: An orphaned teen hits the road with a mysterious robot to find her long-lost brother, teaming up with a smuggler and his wisecracking sidekick.
Mini Review: At worst, more middling than outright bad. Honestly, it's probably the best-looking Russo Brothers movie in a while - great VFX, solid production design, and a soundtrack that fits the mood for the scenes its used in. Sure, the dialogue is pretty standard, the pacing drags in spots, and the score leans heavily on the overly conventional, but I still found it entertaining enough. It held my attention, which is more than I can say for a lot of Netflix action flicks. It’s definitely getting more hate than it deserves, but it’s not exactly unforgettable either.
Initial Grading: B-
BLACK BAG
Plot, Via Letterboxd: When his beloved wife is suspected of betraying the nation, an intelligence agent faces the ultimate test - loyalty to his marriage or his country.
Mini Review: I genuinely thought I’d made peace with never seeing top-tier Soderbergh again, but this proves he’s still got the goods. This is one of his absolute best - a talky, tightly-wound spy thriller that’s just as much about personal human relationship dynamics as it is about espionage. At the center is maybe the most compelling onscreen marriage since The Thin Man films; sharp, layered, and endlessly watchable. Add in a handful of excellent performances and what’s shaping up to be an early contender for my personal best score of the year, and you’ve got something special.
Initial Grading: A+
NOVOCAINE
Plot, Via Letterboxd: When the girl of his dreams is kidnapped, everyman Nate turns his inability to feel pain into an unexpected strength in his fight to get her back.
Mini Review: A real fun flick. Like with The Gorge, I would've loved a bit more focus on the romantic angle; it’s there, but it feels like it gets sidelined just when it’s getting interesting. That said, the action scenes more than make up for it. They're sharper, more inventive, and had me wincing in the best way more than a few times. It's got that scrappy, slightly unhinged energy that keeps things moving and makes the whole experience way more entertaining than expected.
Initial Grading: B+
OPUS
Plot, Via Letterboxd: A young writer is invited to the remote compound of a legendary pop star who mysteriously disappeared thirty years ago. Surrounded by the star’s cult of sycophants and intoxicated journalists, she finds herself in the middle of his twisted plan.
Mini Review: Feels like a film built on an intriguing concept, but ultimately let down by a screenplay that doesn’t quite know what to do with it. There’s a real lack of direction here; promising setup, but no real follow-through. The cast is stacked, but mostly wasted, and the horror elements drift in-and-out without much impact. It’s the kind of movie that comes and goes without leaving a mark. By the end of the year, chances are most people won’t even remember it dropped.
Initial Grading: C-
SNOW WHITE
Plot, Via Letterboxd: A princess joins forces with seven dwarfs to liberate her kingdom from her cruel stepmother, the Evil Queen.
Mini Review: A frustrating watch from start-to-finish. The changes to the source material are baffling at times, I was rolling my eyes so hard during that finale it’s a miracle I didn’t strain something. The CGI ranges from distractingly wonky to flat-out repulsive (the dwarves are a particular low point), and Gal Gadot’s performance feels like a parody, comically bad in all the wrong ways. The one saving grace here is actually Rachel Zegler, who does her best to carry the film with charm and presence, but even she can’t fully salvage it. This has serious Dumbo remake energy - hollow, awkward, overly tinkered with, and destined to be mostly forgotten.
Initial Grading: C+
THE ALTO KNIGHTS
Plot, Via Letterboxd: Two of New York’s most notorious organized crime bosses, Frank Costello and Vito Genovese, vie for control of the city’s streets. Once the best of friends, petty jealousies and a series of betrayals place them on a deadly collision course that will reshape the Mafia (and America) forever.
Mini Review: A frustrating watch; mostly because you can see the A-tier crime biopic it’s trying to be buried somewhere beneath the surface. The ingredients are all there, but the execution feels like a Temu-version of a Scorsese film - cheap, unfocused, and oddly lifeless coming from a director who should absolutely know better. That said, De Niro is the glue holding it all together. His dual performance is surprisingly solid and easily the most compelling thing on screen. He’s the reason I stayed engaged, even as everything else stumbled around him. Entertaining enough for me personally, but it could’ve (and should’ve) been more.
Initial Grading: B-
A WORKING MAN
Plot, Via Letterboxd: Levon Cade left behind a decorated military career in the black ops to live a simple life working construction. But when his boss’s daughter, who is like family to him, is taken by human traffickers, his search to bring her home uncovers a world of corruption far greater than he ever could have imagined.
Mini Review: Doesn’t have the over-the-top, silly fun of The Beekeeper, and I totally get why it’s landing as forgettable for a lot of people. But honestly? I found it entertaining enough in a lower-stakes, come-and-go action flick kind of way. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but it moves well, delivers just enough punch, and knows what lane it’s in. Feels like the kind of movie you throw on with your boomer dad on a lazy weekend; both of you mildly entertained, nobody mad about it.
Initial Grading: B-
DEATH OF A UNICORN
Plot, Via Letterboxd: A father and daughter accidentally hit and kill a unicorn while en route to a weekend retreat, where his billionaire boss seeks to exploit the creature’s miraculous curative properties.
Mini Review: Both entertained and frustrated me. There’s a lot of good potential here, and I genuinely laughed-out-loud a couple of times at some witty moments that landed perfectly. But for all the humor, it stumbles with directionless writing and some tonal inconsistencies. The gore, in particular, feels jarring; it doesn’t quite match the film’s vibe and ends up throwing things off. It’s a movie that could’ve been great if it had found a tighter balance, but as it stands, it feels a little messy.
Initial Grading: B-
THE WOMAN IN THE YARD
Plot, Via Letterboxd: In the aftermath of her husband’s death, widow Ramona’s struggle to raise her two kids is hindered by the arrival of a mysterious woman with supernatural abilities.
Mini Review: I really dug what this was going for with its exploration of trauma, grief, depression, and mortality. It taps into some powerful themes, and there’s a real rawness to how it handles these heavy topics. But as much as I appreciate its ambition, it ultimately felt like it would’ve been more effective as a short rather than stretching it into a feature. The pacing drags at times, and some of the emotional beats feel repetitive, making it hard to stay fully invested for the entire runtime.
Initial Grading: B-
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Plot, Via Letterboxd: Four misfits find themselves struggling with ordinary problems when they are suddenly pulled through a mysterious portal into the Overworld - a bizarre, cubic wonderland that thrives on imagination. To get back home, they’ll have to master this world while embarking on a magical quest with an unexpected, expert crafter, Steve.
Mini Review: A film that has some seriously impressive visuals that do a great job of immersing you into its world. The animation and design really bring the game’s universe to life, and Jason Momoa’s character is an absolute laugh riot; he’s the most fun thing in the movie by far. But, unfortunately, that’s where the positives end for me. The humor can be downright cringe at times, with jokes that don’t land and feel forced. The editing and pacing are a mess, leaving everything feeling disjointed and rushed. On top of that, the characters are one-dimensional, and the movie can’t seem to resist dumping excessive exposition, making everything feel heavy-handed and lacking in nuance.
Initial Grading: C+
DROP
Plot, Via Letterboxd: Violet, a widowed mother on her first date in years, arrives at an upscale restaurant where she is relieved that her date, Henry, is more charming and handsome than she expected. But their chemistry begins to curdle as Violet begins being irritated and then terrorized by a series of anonymous drops to her phone.
Mini Review: It falls into that familiar trap of repetitiveness that you’re bound to get with a plot like this. Once things start rolling, you can kind of predict where it’s going, and it does begin to feel a little like a rinse-and-repeat situation. That said, I was still on the edge of my seat more than a couple of times; there are moments that manage to pull you in despite the predictability. I also really appreciated how they tried to weave in a bit of romance, which added an unexpected layer to the story and kept it from feeling like just another by-the-book thriller.
Initial Grading: B+
THE AMATEUR
Plot, Via Letterboxd: After his life is turned upside down when his wife is killed in a London terrorist attack, a brilliant, but introverted, CIA decoder takes matters into his own hands when his supervisors refuse to take action.
Mini Review: I was pretty entertained by this one. I really liked how the protagonist wasn’t your typical John Wick-type; this character had more depth and wasn’t just a one-dimensional revenge machine, which was a nice twist on the usual action revenge trope. It made the story feel a little fresher. That said, the script definitely bit off more than it could chew when it came to the subplots causing it be a bit overlong. It tried to juggle too many storylines, and while some had potential, they ended up feeling a bit underdeveloped or distracting from the main plot.
Initial Grading: B-
THE KING OF KINGS
Plot, Via Letterboxd: A father tells his son the greatest story ever told, and what begins as a bedtime tale becomes a life-changing journey. Through vivid imagination, the boy walks alongside Jesus, witnessing His miracles, facing His trials, and understanding His ultimate sacrifice.
Mini Review: I liked the concept of Charles Dickens telling the story, it had potential to bring a unique spin. However, the animation was as bad as the marketing suggested, and I kept seeing bobbleheads in my mind every time a character moved. As for the story itself, it’s pretty by-the-numbers when it comes to the portrayal of Christ, leaning heavily into overt reverence without offering much new or interesting. Ultimately, it felt more like a straight-to-streamer release than something that belonged in theaters; lacking the polish and depth you'd expect from a theatrical experience. It’s a shame too, because the voice cast in this is absolutely stellar and they go to waste.
Initial Grading: C+
WARFARE
Plot, Via Letterboxd: A platoon of American Navy SEALs on a surveillance mission gone wrong in insurgent territory. A boots-on-the-ground story of modern warfare and brotherhood, told in real time and based on the memory of the people who lived it.
Mini Review: On a technical level, this film is really top-notch. It’s easily an early contender for my personal ballot for Best Sound. Solid performances all around, and the level of immersion it creates is impressive. It really pulls you in. But despite all that, it ultimately feels more like an experience than a film with actual story arcs. The narrative takes a backseat to the sensory journey, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it left me wishing for more structure and depth in the storytelling.
Initial Grading: B-
SINNERS
Plot, Via Letterboxd: Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.
Mini Review: I’m still trying to sort out my full thoughts on this one - definitely feels like it’ll need a re-watch to fully unpack. That said, I do think it’s a tad overlong, and the grand finale, while intense, felt a bit like one of Tarantino’s rushed gore fests. That being said, it really is a great time at the movies. The way it blends vampire horror with Black and Irish culture, the blues, and even a little heavy metal is something I didn’t know I needed but definitely enjoyed. The cinematography is stunning, and the score? Easily one of the best of the year. The performances across the board are all incredible, and there’s one scene in particular that might just be the best of the year. All things considered, it’s a new horror classic in the making and absolutely one of the best films of the year. It’s slightly flawed, but it’s a hell of a ride and a must-watch for genre fans.
Initial Grading: A-
THE ACCOUNTANT 2
Plot, Via Letterboxd: When an old acquaintance is murdered, Wolff is compelled to solve the case. Realizing more extreme measures are necessary, Wolff recruits his estranged and highly lethal brother, Brax, to help. In partnership with Marybeth Medina, they uncover a deadly conspiracy, becoming targets of a ruthless network of killers who will stop at nothing to keep their secrets buried.
Mini Review: This was my first time watching the first film before diving into this one as well, and I gotta’ say both gave off major “TNT movie on a lazy afternoon” vibes, which is exactly the kind of fast food cinema I’m okay with for a one-and-done watch. It’s not trying to reinvent the wheel, but sometimes that’s all you need. What really stood out for me here was the chemistry between Affleck and Bernthal. Their dynamic added a whole new layer to the film, giving it a different flavor than I was expecting and slightly elevating the whole experience. It’s easy to get lost in their back-and-forth, and it definitely kept things fresh.
Initial Grading: B-
UNTIL DAWN
Plot, Via Letterboxd: One year after her sister Melanie mysteriously disappeared, Clover and her friends head into the remote valley where she vanished in search of answers. Exploring an abandoned visitor center, they find themselves stalked by a masked killer and horrifically murdered one by one - only to wake up and find themselves back at the beginning of the same evening.
Mini Review: Unfortunately, you can go ahead and add this one to the ever-growing catalog of video game-to-film adaptations that land squarely in the mediocre and forgettable pile. The source material is genuinely one of the most intriguing and atmospheric games out there, packed with potential for a rich, compelling story. But the film? It takes the name and core concept, then proceeds to do almost nothing meaningful with them. Instead of leaning into the game's eerie narrative and unique atmosphere, it gives us a batch of less boring characters; and adds on to the disappointment with a more boring, repetitive plot gimmick. On paper, this had all the ingredients for a new horror classic. In execution, it’s just another come-and-go horror flick that’ll be out of mind by the end of the year. One of the great disappointments of the early year in film.
Initial Grading: C+
ANOTHER SIMPLE FAVOR
Plot, Via Letterboxd: Stephanie Smothers and Emily Nelson reunite on the beautiful island of Capri, Italy for Emily’s extravagant wedding to a rich Italian businessman. Along with the glamorous guests, expect murder and betrayal to RSVP for a wedding with more twists and turns than the road from the Marina Grande to the Capri town square.
Mini Review: I LOATHED 2018’s A Simple Favor and was absolutely dreading the idea of a sequel; honestly, I would’ve happily traded a few years off my life if it meant preventing this thing from ever happening. But, alas, a sequel did arrive, and to my horror, it’s just as convoluted, mean-spirited, and eye-roll-inducing as its predecessor. Objectively, it’s kind of wild this went straight to streaming instead of getting a theatrical release, given the cast and production value. But subjectively? I’m so glad I got to watch it from the comfort of my own home, and more importantly, for free. I held out a sliver of hope that this might pull a “magical sequel redemption arc” like some films have managed to do in the past for me. But nope, this one just cemented how much I loathe this budding franchise. As of now, this is the early frontrunner for my least favorite film of the year. Aside from Bridesmaids and his role in Heavyweights, me and Paul Feig are just not connecting.
Initial Grading: D-
THUNDERBOLTS*
Plot, Via Letterboxd: After finding themselves ensnared in a death trap, seven disillusioned castoffs must embark on a dangerous mission that will force them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts.
Mini Review: Over the past few years, my experience with the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been a roller coaster. There have been films I genuinely loved (Spider-Man: No Way Home, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3) alongside others that simply didn’t land for me (The Marvels or Captain America: Brave New World), then there are the more divisive entries (Eternals, Thor: Love and Thunder) that I’ve found myself defending, even as criticism piled up around them. So heading into this new film, I didn’t know what to expect. What I got was a a ragtag ensemble of surprisingly endearing and yet flawed characters and, in the film’s second half, a bold and refreshing tonal shift that tackled themes like depression and existentialism; territory the MCU rarely explores with such earnestness. It felt like something new was finally clicking into place, while also grounding the stakes in a refreshing way. For the first time in a while, I left the theater with a sense of cautious optimism for the longer term future of the franchise. Maybe, just maybe, this is the beginning of the MCU rediscovering its narrative momentum and regaining the consistency in quality that made it such a powerhouse in the first place.
