Tag Archives: American Cinema

Scary Movie (2026) – Movie Review

Posted on by
Reply

TL;DR – It is a perfectly okay entry into the series, where some of the jokes still land, but it struggles to find its voice

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There are mid-credit scenes.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

Ghostface drinking tea.

Scary Movie Review Introduction

Now, before we jump in, I do have something to confess, and on the off chance one of my parents is reading this, maybe skip to the next paragraph. I kind of have a soft spot for Scary Movie as it was the first MA15+ film I saw in cinemas. In that rebellious phase where you realised you didn’t need parental approval to get into the cinemas. As far as parodies go, it was and still is streets ahead of many of its contemporaries and most of the followers that were spawned in the years after its success. But as time went on, the series had diminishing returns as it devolved into a funhouse mirror clip-show of pop culture. However, not only is this latest instalment coming at a time when Horror films are in ascendance, I mean Obsession and Backrooms just killed a Star Wars at the box office. But also, the original creators are back, and I am interested to see if they can bring the same intensity to the franchise twenty-six years later.

So, to set the scene, it has been many years since Ghostface struck, and many think he is a fable, or just a bad horror movie holdover, that is, until he turns up at Tuesday’s (Savannah Lee Nassif) house, brandishing his knife. Tuesday’s stabbing causes her sister Sara (Olivia Rose Keegan) and her not-at-all-suspicious boyfriend Jack (Cameron Scott Roberts) to return home and visit Sara’s mother, Cindy Campbell (Anna Faris), who has been preparing for this day for years. There is a killer on the loose, so it is time to bring the gang back together, including Brenda Meeks (Regina Hall), Ray Wilkins (Shawn Wayans), and Shorty Meeks (Marlon Wayans), before Ghostface kills them off one by one in elaborate referential deaths.       

Continue reading →

Masters of the Universe (He-Man and the Masters of the Universe) (2026) – Movie Review

Posted on by
1

TL;DR – Well, never have I been so happy to be wrong. This film was a blast from beginning to end.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There are post-credit scenes.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

He-Man finds his power.

Masters of the Universe Review Introduction

Before we dive into the review proper, I think it is right to be a bit honest up front. I did not have high hopes for this film. It had been in production hell for an age and a half, the casting felt like a mess, it was hitting at a nostalgia that didn’t feel like it really existed, and it had a multitude of writing credits that made anyone concerned. Then there was the Jared Leto-sized elephant in the room. I was expecting a complete and utter disaster. Well, I need to go eat some humble pie, not because I like pie, I do, but because this was the most fun I have had in a cinema in an age.


So, to set the scene, Adam Glenn (Nicholas Galitzine) struggles a lot in Oklahoma City because people can never quite get close to him. Because sooner or later, he needs to tell them that when he was a child (Artie Wilkinson-Hunt), he was the Prince of Eternia, surrounded by magic, wonders, history, and the love of the people. But all of that changed one day when Skeletor (Jared Leto) attacked with his goons and captured his parents, King Randor (James Purefoy) and Queen Marlena (Charlotte Riley). They would have taken the young Adam to, in their search for the Sword of Power. However, the Sorceress (Morena Baccarin) saved him by sending him to Earth to keep the sword safe, but he lost it in transit. As you can imagine, that kind of story does not get you a second date and probably get you an awkward phone call cutting the night short. But things change when one day he gets a message that someone has finally found his sword, and Adam has a chance to return home.

Continue reading →

Obsession – Movie Review

Posted on by
1

TL;DR – Ew, ew, ew, ew, my dude, what the actual #$%@

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Warning – Contains scenes which may cause distress.

One Wish Willows.

Obsession Review Introduction

It has been a gangbuster year for the YouTube creative to big screen director, starting with Markiplier in Iron Lung, then Kane Parsons in Backrooms, and now we get to finish off the trifecta with Curry Barker’s Obsession. However, now that I’ve seen it, I’m not sure I would have chosen to, knowing what I know now.

So, to set the scene, Bear (Michael Johnston) is a bit of a nervous person who has worked with Nikki (Inde Navarrette) and has a major crush on her. He has been coached by his friends Ian (Cooper Tomlinson) and Sarah (Megan Lawless), but he can’t bring himself to take the next step. When walking through a crystal store one day, he comes across a One Wish Willows that gives you one wish, and one wish only. After a truly embarrassing exchange, Bear decides to give the stupid wish a chance, because it is not like it really works …….  

Continue reading →

Backrooms (2026) – Movie Review

Posted on by
2

TL;DR – This is a film built almost entirely on its vibe, and that is exactly why it works. Every small detail has been crafted to leave the hairs standing up on the back of your neck for the entire runtime.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Cap’n Clark’s Ottoman Empire.

Backrooms Review Introduction

If you have ever dabbled in the online spaces, then you have probably come across the internet phenomenon that is the Backrooms. A slightly too illuminated or not illuminated enough office block that goes on for eternity, where things are just not quite right. It has the distinct visual style of being both familiar and also profoundly off-putting. Well, this has been bouncing around the World Wide Web for a decade or so, and one of the creators in the space has taken the jump to the big screen, so let’s take a look.   

So, to set the scene, in the 1990s, Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is a generally frustrated seller of tired house furniture. He wanted to be an architect, but for many reasons, he could never make that work. The Cap’n Clark’s Ottoman Empire is bleeding him dry with all these electricity bills, which Clark knows are wrong because he might be currently living in the store after his wife kicked him out. He has been working through this with his therapist, Dr Mary Kline (Renate Reinsve), but nothing seems to stick. But then, one night, when he was sleeping in the store, he heard some odd electric noises from the basement. Going to investigate, nothing seems out of the ordinary until something caught the corner of his eye. An echo, a strip, a remembrance of a door that should not be there. It is an odd office-like space with yellow carpets and inconsistent fluorescent lighting. However, the deeper Clark goes, the weirder it gets.       

Continue reading →

The Mandalorian and Grogu (Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu) – Movie Review

Posted on by
1

TL;DR – A generally solid, if only occasionally ambitious Star Wars film, but can’t quite escape the feeling that they took a season of television and smashed it into a film.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

Grogu and The Mandalorian look over a sand dune.

The Mandalorian and Grogu Review Introduction

Today, we have an interesting film, as it has so many competing factors needed for it to work as a film. The Mandalorian and Grogu have to be a conclusion to a whole range of Disney+ television series, it has to be a tent-pole production bringing the cinematic glam back to the Star Wars Universe, and it has to be a good film in its own right. That is a lot of different tasks, all with their own baggage being brought to the table. Add to this a rapidly changing cinematic landscape in general, Disney+’s hit-and-miss aspect to its stories, and their profound inability to confront the toxic aspect of their own community. So yes, I’m concerned. But let’s see if they’ve managed to stick the landing.
 
So, to set the scene, since retiring from pulling bounties for more despicable people, The Mandalorian Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal/Brendan Wayne/Lateef Crowder) and his apprentice Grogu (Himself) have begun working bounties for the New Republic. Capturing those of the Imperial Remnant before they can cause more harm. But Colonel Ward gives Din Djarin a new mission deep in the territory of the Hutts. He needs to rescue Rotta the Hutt (Jeremy Allen White), but that might mean making deals with the exact people he has tried to stop working for.

Continue reading →

Mortal Kombat II (2026) – Movie Review

Posted on by
Reply

TL;DR – A bloody fun time, if you don’t think about the plot at any point during the runtime.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

Johnny Cage at a con booth.

Mortal Kombat II Review Introduction

I think it is safe to say that video game adaptations can be fraught. Indeed, even when we get a solid first entry, the follow-up can often flounder. Back during the height of COVID, we got this bombastic first entry in the Mortal Kombat series. However, it was missing something very important to the game: A Tournament. Well, they are back for round two, and they are ready to fix that omission.   

So, to set the scene, in the days since the first film, everyone realised that they are down one champion after Shao Kahn’s (Martyn Ford) pre-emptive strike. This somehow did not break the rules of the tournament. There are 8 billion humans in Earthrealm, and for some reason, the Gods chose washed-up Hollywood actor Johnny Cage (Karl Urban). He thinks he’s having an aneurysm, but reality hits hard when Johnny is zapped off Earth to face Kitana (Adeline Rudolph), Shao Kahn’s adopted daughter, whose blades cut deep.

Continue reading →

Touch Me – Movie Review

Posted on by
Reply

TL;DR – While this is a profoundly weird and visually interesting film, the subject matter almost became a walking red flag, undercutting any progress the film could make.

Rating: 1.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was sent a screener of this film.

Warning – Contains scenes which may cause distress.

The four main cast illuminated in red light.

Touch Me Review Introduction

I will always prefer a film that takes risks rather than playing it safe, like having one man battle Hundreds of Beavers or piercing the veil of nostalgic memory through old videos in Aftersun. However, when you make a big swing at doing something profoundly odd, sometimes you miss, and I feel that is the sort of film we are looking at today.
 
So, to set the scene, we open with Joey (Olivia Taylor Dudley) engaging in some immersion therapy, recounting the story of the time she met and then ‘met’ an ‘alien’ called Brian (Lou Taylor Pucci). Joey has been trying to move on with her life, but she keeps getting brought back to that night, bringing with it many conflicting memories. But when her and her roommate Craig’s (Jordan Gavaris) house floods from a non-water plumbing issue and becomes uninhabitable, she has only one choice left, to go back to Brian.  

Continue reading →

Michael – Movie Review

Posted on by
1

TL;DR – A complicated film about a complicated person that stops just short of having to draw any lines in the sand by creating an interesting framing device for its narrative.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

Warning – Contains scenes which may cause distress.

Warning – Contains scenes with flashing lights.

The crowd cheers for Michael.

Michael Review Introduction

Ever since the onslaught that was Bohemian Rhapsody, the cinema space has been full of other musical biopics trying to recreate that lightning in a bottle, assuming you rate Bohemian Rhapsody highly in the first place. We had the fascinating Kneecap, the historically revisionist  The Greatest Showman, and the shameless Oscar grab of A Complete Unknown, to name a few. However, there are always new musicians out there ready for their musical biopic, and today’s entry takes us to the complicated world of Michael Jackson. Now, given this is a movie about a real person’s life, someone who lived not that long ago, we won’t be as stringent with spoilers in this review as we would for a fictional work.

So, to set the scene, throughout the history of 20th-century music, few people have had the same reach and popularity as Michael Jackson (Jaafar Jackson). Even as a child, Michael’s (Juliano Krue Valdi) talent was clear to anyone who could see or hear. But talent can be a gift, and it can be a burden. It can lift a family from obscurity into the lounge rooms of every house in America and the world, and it can also rip that family apart.

Continue reading →

Pizza Film – Movie Review

Posted on by
Reply

TL;DR – A charming if debauched window into the world of American colleges.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service to view this film.

Warning – Contains scenes which may cause distress.

Warning – Contains scenes with flashing lights.

A tin of M.I.N.T.S.

Pizza Film Review Introduction

Growing up on the internet at my age meant that at some moment, you came across BriTANicK’s work on YouTube, such as Academy Award Winning Movie Trailer. When you watch someone’s career grow over the years, it is a delight to see when it comes to fruition with their first major feature. Well, that has happened today, and I, of course, have to check it out.  

So, to set the scene, a long time in the past, a delinquent college freshman hid some drugs called M.I.N.T.S. in a slot in their ceiling. Years later, someone new lives in that room, Jack (Gaten Matarazzo), who is hated by the whole college thanks to an incident with the football team, and Montgomery (Sean Giambrone), a quiet, nervous kind of guy, trying to become an alpha. Well, after a particularly awful day, which leads to the drugs getting dislodged from the ceiling, the boys decide to give them a try, not realising you need to have them with food, or six terrible phases will follow. Now, they must make their way down two stories to get the pizza waiting in the lobby before the final phase kicks in, and their lives are destroyed forever. Just hope the RAs don’t pick tonight to start their purge of undesirables.  

Continue reading →

Misdirection – Movie Review

Posted on by
Reply

TL;DR – While it had a strong start, inconsistent dialogue and characterisation eventually led to me disconnecting from the narrative.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was sent a screener of this film.

A scanner log on a screen.

Misdirection Review Introduction

In the world of cinema, there are these character actors who, when you see them pop up in a film, you know you are going to have a good time. Today, we get to look at a film that has not one but two of these gems in Olga Kurylenko and Frank Grillo, and get to see how they roll in a tight thriller.

So, to set the scene, we open as two dubious characters, Sara Black (Olga Kurylenko) & Jason Wright (Oliver Trevena), hack into the security system of philanthropist David Blume (Frank Grillo). This is their last heist, and they want to go out on a high note and finally pay off the debt that hangs over their head. They had the heist scheduled down to the minute, but what they didn’t plan on was their mark coming home early and catching them in the act.

Continue reading →