These are quick impressions of some other newly released films that I watched over the past month that I wasn’t able to write more in-depth reviews for. Please note that these are just some of the many movies I will have watched each year, and my initial grade for 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 this one, follow me on Letterboxd.
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GREENLAND 2: MIGRATION
Plot, Via Letterboxd: Having found the safety of the Greenland bunker after the comet Clarke decimated the Earth, the Garrity family must now risk everything to embark on a perilous journey across the wasteland of Europe to find a new home.
Quick Impressions: Unlike its predecessor, Greenland 2: Migration lacks the more grounded approach that made the previous film one of the more pleasant critical surprises of 2020. In comparison, this sequel feels like something that should’ve stayed a straight-to-streaming option - or just shouldn’t have been produced in the first place. Wonky visual effects and a much more boring plot that leans harder into spectacle make this a mediocre experience that only hurts the existence of the previous film.
Initial Grading: C+
PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION
Plot, Via Letterboxd: Poppy’s a free spirit. Alex loves a plan. After years of summer vacations, these polar-opposite pals wonder if they could be a perfect romantic match.
Quick Impressions: I’m a bit taken aback by some of the praise I’ve seen for this. It comes off like any other straight-to-Netflix, Hallmark-style romance flick, with nothing much to offer beyond the usual story beats that always come with these. I came away feeling more apathetic than anything, rather than finding myself actually rooting for either of these two to end up together.
Initial Grading: C+
THE RIP
Plot, Via Letterboxd: Trust frays when a team of Miami cops discovers millions in cash inside a run-down stash house, calling everyone and everything into question.
Quick Impressions: Not one of the top-tier acting collaborations between Affleck and Damon, but you still end up with a decent action flick from The Rip that you can easily recommend and watch with your dad. It’s an action thriller that mixes in mystery and intrigue, and ultimately ends up a pleasant surprise from the early part of the new film year.
Initial Grading: B-
MERCY
Plot, Via Letterboxd: In the near future, a detective stands on trial accused of murdering his wife. He has 90 minutes to prove his innocence to the advanced A.I. Judge he once championed, before it determines his fate.
Quick Impressions: While not as atrocious as some reviews make it out to be, Mercy ultimately trips over itself. It takes its intriguing premise, using AI instead of a jury of one’s peers to judge a human being’s criminal trial, and then throws it in the trash by turning into pro-AI propaganda by the time the credits roll. This feels like a much lesser version of what we got with 2018’s Searching or 2023’s Missing.
Initial Grading: C+
RETURN TO SILENT HILL
Plot, Via Letterboxd: When James receives a mysterious letter from his lost love Mary, he is drawn to Silent Hill, a once-familiar town now consumed by darkness. As he searches for her, James faces monstrous creatures and unravels a terrifying truth that will push him to the edge of his sanity.
Quick Impressions: It’s never a good sign when you’re being compared to a video game film adaptation like 2021’s disastrous Resident Evil: Welcome To Raccoon City, but Return To Silent Hill makes the same mistakes. It’s a loose adaptation of its source material with mediocre acting, a rushed story full of plot holes, and a vibe that feels like it belongs on a future Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode by the time the credits roll. Easily the first early candidate for worst film of the year.
Initial Grading: D+
SEND HELP
Plot, Via Letterboxd: Two colleagues become stranded on a deserted island, the only survivors of a plane crash. On the island, they must overcome past grievances and work together to survive, but ultimately, it’s a battle of wills and wits to make it out alive.
Quick Impressions: I must confess that I was severely let down by Send Help, which has amassed much better critical scores among my colleagues. I honestly feel like I watched a completely different film than they did, because the one I saw was a jumbled mess that couldn’t settle on a consistent tone, filled with awkward, unlikable characters I never connected with, and an overall mean-spirited streak that I just couldn’t vibe with.
Initial Grading: C-
THE WRECKING CREW
Plot, Via Letterboxd: Estranged half-brothers Jonny and James reunite after their father’s mysterious death. As they search for the truth, buried secrets reveal a conspiracy threatening to tear their family apart.
Quick Impressions: Like the aforementioned The Rip, The Wrecking Crew is a straight-to-streaming action flick that’s a big pleasant surprise for the early part of the year, delivering a final product that’s clearly coded as another “dad movie” in a way that makes it accessible to the exact audience it’s aiming for. Dave Bautista and Jason Momoa have solid chemistry as bickering brothers trying to solve the mystery of their father’s murder, and the film even finds time for a few genuine flashes of heart, along with a message about family and community. I’m low-key shocked, especially considering how incredibly mediocre the marketing for this one was.
