Pedro (Hendler) is asked to look after his ex’s senile mother, Alicia (Maura), but she traps him in her home, turning a simple favor into a fight for survival
Crazy Old Lady is directed by Martín Mauregui director of Love (Part One) (2005).
Crazy Old Lady automatically hits you with this claustrophobic atmosphere as soon as it begins which is mainly thanks to cinematographer Julián Apezteguía’s camerawork. It’s a film that does meander a bit but it ultimately does reach the finish line with a solid conclusion.
The performances from Daniel Handler and Carmen Maura are what really make the film. Especially Maura who gives a genuinely intimidating performance, she’s able to capture this sense of dread in each scene. She effortlessly switches between personalities that really does make you wonder which one is going to take the front seat in the scenes of Alicia (played by Carmen Maura) and Pedro (played by Daniel Handler) exchanging dialogue. Maura captures the film’s claustrophobic atmosphere immediately when she enters the film and keeps it that way throughout the experience. Daniel Handler does a great job of displaying fear and realizing how insane the situation really is. He compliments Carmen Maura’s performance incredibly well and serves as this stone to build the movie’s haunting atmosphere.
The writing might not exactly be fantastic and there are cases where the movie is lacking a bit of depth, however the performances from Maura and Handler are able to elevate the material and make it a bit more interesting. With that being said the movie does meander a bit which does end up hurting the pacing at times, the pacing can feel breezy or it can feel rough it’s a very strange case of the movie using both.
Finally there are some backstory elements that are introduced but are not fully explored, the movie does make up for it with some symbolic elements such as the decaying house. The house actually does get development when it comes to the cinematography being so well detailed and with the lighting.
Overall Crazy Old Lady is a decent little film that does hold back at times, but it delivers when it comes to performances, cinematography and atmosphere.
After a video of his music goes viral, he starts selling drugs to earn money for his music, leading him into a world of danger and conflict.
Clika is directed by Michael Greene director of Live (2018).
There is not a whole lot to comment on here with Clika it’s a movie that means well, but ultimately ends up becoming such a huge mess when it blends so many genres together and isn’t able to nail any of them down.
The acting in particular is incredibly rough, it’s hard to really blame the actors as they are given such a shoddy script to work with. However a major problem comes in when singing is involved, the problem being that Jay-Dee can’t sing all that well. You could do far worse, but it is all over the place and does take the viewer out of the movie almost immediately. Eric Roberts has his few moments but even then it feels like he just came on set to collect a paycheck and book it out of there.
The over reliance on voice overs that are delivered poorly certainly hurt the movie, however what really breaks this movie is the constant jumping between genres. You have a music biopic, drama and a thriller none of which are done particularly well. The music biopic part is filled to the brim with cliches that it’s almost impressive how many they squeezed in. The dramatic moments aren’t enough to really bring the viewer’s attention, the only thing that’s really keeping the viewer is the lower budget filmmaking having some sort of charm (but even then that can only work for so long.) Finally there is the thriller portion which ends up being a crime plot that does end up being the movie’s strongest part but unfortunately still lacks a ton of development.
I get Clika was loosely based on the true life story of Jay Dee (Jesus Diego), but the way this movie goes about telling this story in this poorly constructed mess is very baffling. It’s frustrating because stories like this deserve to be told properly, it’s ultimately one of those bad movies that are harmless but really makes you leave the movie feeling like there was a missed opportunity here.
A father trains his daughter to survive monsters from an alternate dimension that have invaded Earth, but they are eventually found, forcing them to fight for survival.
Worldbreaker is directed by Brad Anderson director of Session 9 (2001), The Machinist (2004), TransSiberian (2008), The Call (2013), Fractured (2019) and many others.
Not a whole lot to discuss here which is why this one is not getting a full review. The main notes I took during this movie were.
It’s an incredibly formulaic post apocalyptic movie, at times there is decent world building but not nearly enough to save this movie or make it interesting.
Luke Evans gave a solid performance, most of the movie it’s him training a teenage girl how to swing a sword. Yet he somehow squeezes a good performance out of it (whatever it takes to get a good performance I guess.) It might be because Evans is just naturally a great actor but there are some parts of his dialogue that are interesting enough.
Mila Jovovich is barely in this movie, if you are going into this movie as a Jovovich fan you are going to leave incredibly disappointed. Despite the poster making it seem like she’s a huge part of the movie she barely shows up, it’s kind of hilarious but at the same time it’s an incredibly odd choice.
My final note was simply “how did they get Brad Anderson to direct this movie?” Not every single one of Anderson’s films have been great, but Worldbreaker in particular feels very phoned in. At least with some of Anderson’s weaker films you can tell there was some sort of attempt to bring some charm, you simply don’t get that with Worldbreaker. The ending in particular is especially laughably bad, it really does feel like we watched a prologue scene from a bad video game and as soon as you get into the actual game it just ends.
Macy, a young woman, is abducted by a monstrous figure intent on raising her as their own child.
Dolly is directed by Rod Blackhurst director of Here Alone (2016) and Blood For Dust (2023).
Depending on your familiarity with 60s and 70s exploitation films, Dolly could come off as disturbing for some people. It’s very gory, it has a very empty atmosphere that the film automatically throws the viewer in and the film being shot on 16mm only adds to the effect of the film. With all of that being said, there are some very heavy missteps here that while does not make the film bad. It does leave you wanting a lot more and the film being too simple for its own good nearly costs it.
The performances are not bad here, they have this sort of aggressive and rawness to them that really brings the viewer up close to the action. Fabianne Therese is by far the stand out here, she gives a very raw performance that really captures the feel of the viewer during each scene, there is some pretty gross moments that Therese’s character Macy has the look of complete and utter disgust that really do a fantastic job of explaining scene with just facial expressions. Max the Impaler is intimidating as Dolly and does a great job of showing how the character is feeling without saying a word or the need to see Dolly’s face. It’s effective work that is shown throughout the film.
The film has this grimy feel that blends incredibly well with the beautiful 16mm camera, a majority of the film takes place in a single house and that in turn leads to the filming to create tons of claustrophobic moments. Cinematographer Justin Derry does such a fascinating job of creating this “up in your face” sort of style that is quite effective, when you combine that with the film’s genuinely creepy atmosphere you really have yourself a genuinely terrifying film on a technical level.
The gore is quite gnarly and when combined with practical effects really turns things up a notch, the kills are quite brutal and do have the classic grindhouse movie feel. It’s clear the film also takes a lot of inspiration from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) especially when it comes to the kills, grimy feel and the overall look of the film. It’s a nice little love letter to the film mainly atmospherically.
The main flaws of Dolly mainly stem from being way too simple for its own good and running out of steam towards the end. Story wise there is just not a whole lot going on here, there are some hints at character stuff during the film’s final moments but by then the film is wrapping up and it feels very tacked on. The basic plot description is just about what you get story wise, seeing these events unfold are indeed haunting. But there’s no developments or any meat to build these characters.
With that being said, I had a blast with Dolly. If you are a fan of 60s and 70s exploitation films you are definitely going to like this. It’s very well made, has some genuinely solid acting and has the right atmosphere to make for an effective film.
When a highly dangerous fungus escapes from a secret laboratory, a former bioterrorism agent is called back into action. Alongside two young employees, he must confront an invisible and out-of-control threat.
Cold Storage is directed by Jonny Campbell director of Alien Autopsy (2006).
Cold Storage is a classic case of stumbling upon a late night B sci-fi horror movie and having a decent time with it. There is plenty of flaws here that you would think would bring the movie down, however there is a lot of charm here that helps keep the movie rolling along at a decent pace and ends up finishing with an expected yet fun outcome.
The cast is mainly what holds the movie together. Georgina Campbell and Joe Keery work very well together, the two’s chemistry is the heart of the film and why everything meshes decently well together. Georgina Campbell’s execution with her dialogue has some great humor and Joe Keery’s charming screen presence works wonders here. Liam Neeson is also quite solid here, while this can feel like he’s doing the same sort of deal with a lot of his action movie roles. There is some more heart put into this performance which I’m still not exactly sure why that is, maybe it’s due to part of Cold Storage being a comedy and Neeson does incredibly well with the genre. Whatever the case may be, Neeson turns in a great performance and works well with Campbell and Keery.
The writing is decent overall, there is some character moments here that are shockingly decently written. There isn’t any groundbreaking character work going on here, but it is nice to see these characters not feel like an afterthought. The self-aware humor can be a little grating at times but a majority of the time it’s used sparingly and the movie mixes it in with some gross out humor that is actually quite fun!
As far as atmosphere goes the film nails it well enough, Cold Storage is going for a much more comedic tone and throws in some sick looking mutations with slime, fungus and such to create some neat creature designs. It’s zombie adjacent but goes about it in its own way. The CG can be questionable but considering this is (assumably) on the lower budget side of things, this isn’t very surprising.
Overall Cold Storage is decent for what it is, it’s a very quick 99 minutes that isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel in the horror genre. It’s a fun little movie that has a good cast, some neat action and makes great use of its location. Give this one a look!
Two brothers embark on a cross-country road trip that quickly goes off the rails when they get mixed up in a global conspiracy.
Operation Taco Gary’s is directed by Michael Kvamme which is his directorial debut.
Operation Taco Gary’s is a very odd duck, what seemingly is a very straightforward getting to point A to point B sort of plot ends up having a ton of absurdist comedy with tons of bizarre moments. This is absolutely not going to be for everyone, however I do think the whole package comes together in the end.
The performances are solid here, the dialogue from Simon Rex and Dustin Milligan bring the hilarious nature of the film from and center. Simon Rex plays Danny a conspiracy theorist who drags several people on this bizarre road trip, Simon Rex dos such a great job of playing a crazed conspiracy theorist who is the butt of the joke during the film’s runtime. Dustin Milligan plays Luke the rightfully skeptical brother of Danny, the arguments between the two alone make the film a worthy watch simply due to it having this internet arguments with conspiracy theorists come to life sort of feel that you can’t help but laugh at.
The supporting cast consisting of Brenda Song, Jason Biggs, Doug Jones and a few others is also a lot of fun as well. Although there characters don’t get a whole lot of development, they serve their purpose and do get to squeeze in some genuinely funny lines here and there.
The film clearly has this early 2000s road trip movie inspiration to it and I would say the film does it quite well. Even if you aren’t really a fan of the genre, the film manages to do its own thing by throwing in some absurdist humor that helps it standout a bit more.
The film’s humor is genuinely great mainly due to its charm, there has definitely been funnier road trip movies in the past. But I do think with what the film was able to come up with and throw the viewer into this bizarre world, there is just a whole lot of charm here that does end up making it genuinely hilarious.
Operation Taco Gary’s is one you should definitely go into knowing as little as possible, it’s solid film that does fall off a bit towards the end due to a bit of repetition. However that isn’t enough to stop the film from being a whole lot of fun.
A woman’s hope for a miracle cure turns into a nightmare when she confronts the vengeful spirit of a cursed witch, determined to claim her as a vessel for her evil power.
Diabolic is directed by Daniel J. Phillips director of Awoken (2019).
What you see is what you get with Diabolic, it is about what you expect from a religion based horror movie. The idea here is interesting enough and actually did have some potential to be great, but unfortunately the film’s very undercooked writing really stops it in its tracks.
The characters are very underwritten which leads to no depth and no connection for the audience. It’s a shame because the performances here are quite honestly not bad, Elizabeth Cullen gives a decent performance as the leading role, there is a few moments here where she really blends in well with the film’s atmosphere which does lead into a few standout moments of the whole film.
The writing has a nice setup but falls short in execution mainly due to how predictable it all is and goes into several sub-genre cliches. There is definitely some Evil Dead (1981) DNA here, but the film never takes advantage of it and instead goes on a very dull route that the viewer immediately forgets about after viewing.
It’s frustrating because a lot of the technical elements are there, the atmosphere is genuinely creepy at times and the camera does have some well done shots that capture the film’s creepy atmosphere. The makeup is actually quite solid as well and shows some great detail on the witches. There’s just not a whole lot going on here writing wise which ultimately really sets this movie back.
There is just not a whole lot to comment on here, Diabolic fails to standout in a very crowded sub-genre. The filmmakers clearly know how to create a haunting atmosphere but unfortunately the writing fails to compliment it.
February flew by and we are already in March. Plenty of excellent looking releases this month, I have a lot of reviews coming this month so be ready for that! Let’s get into the list.
After losing their son Hamnet to plague, Agnes and William Shakespeare grapple with grief in 16th-century England. A healer, Agnes must find strength to care for her surviving children while processing her devastating loss.
Hamnet is a powerhouse of a film. it’s a journey of heartbreaking, healing and eventually trying to move on from a devastating loss in this case it’s William Shakespeare (played by Paul Mescal) and his wife Anne Hathaway (played by Jessie Buckley) who lost their 11-year-old son Hamnet. We mainly follow Hathaway’s journey of healing but we also do get to see powerful moments of Shakespeare trying to move on.
Jessie Buckley delivers one of the best performances of the decade so far, she completely captures the pain of loss and trying so hard to move on. Finding that path where you can finally tell yourself that “it’s okay to move on and feel at peace” it’s a road that I’m sure everyone has gone through at some point in their lives. We see from the very start to the end of how masterfully Buckley portrays this, it’s done in this beautiful yet devastating way that brings the viewer to tears during certain moments of the film.
Paul Mescal is wonderful as Shakespeare and connects well with Jessie Buckley. Jacobi Jupe as Hamnet is a heartbreaking performance that shows an incredible amount of talent from Jupe who I’m sure is going to go on to have an incredible career. Noah Jupe (Jacobi Jupe’a brother) is only briefly in the film but the scene he’s given in the film’s climax is incredibly powerful and breathtaking.
The film’s ending is one of the best of 2025, while yes On The Nature Of Daylight by Max Richter can be overused in film, it is effectively used here and really captures the film’s theme of loss, healing and moving on. The final scene itself is also just one of the most beautiful portrayals of someone healing and getting the okay from themself to finally move on. It’s a scene that will not doubt make you cry.
Chloe Zhao once brings such a raw experience to the viewer that leaves you mesmerized and will keep you thinking about Hamnet for a very long time.
Hamnet is available on all VOD platforms.
10/10 A+
Die My Love
Grace, a writer and young mother, is suffering from post partum depression and slowly spiralling into madness. Moving into an old house with her husband, Jackson, her mind begins to unravel as she becomes increasingly agitated and erratic
As I said before, Die My Love and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You can absolutely be considered sister films. If I Had Legs I’d Kick You had the more clear vision inside someone’s head, Die My Love is if you took that same person’s mind and continued to bury with darkness or this void like feel. Which works masterfully with the atmosphere attached to the film.
Jennifer Lawrence’s performance as Grace is exactly why a lot of people consider Lawrence to be one of the best of her generation. Every single moment it feels like you are inside the mind of someone going through major depression and so many different thoughts at once. It eventually starts to affect Grace’s life which gives the viewer several moments of breakdowns and a lot of mood switching. The film also tackles the topic of motherhood along with the intensity and wanting an escape, it’s all portrayed brilliantly by Jennifer Lawrence who gives a next level performance. A performance that is going to be talked about heavily as the years go on.
Robert Pattinson is also quite fantastic here, his chemistry with Jennifer Lawrence works wonderfully and shares so many powerful moments, his character Jackson adds depth to the film along with feeling complex. The relationship between Grace and Jackson feel all too real as we get to see the two’s completely different personalities and actions throughout the film.
Die My Love also has this void like atmosphere. Whether it be from scale of the film, the cinematography from cinematographer Seamus McGarvey or from Lynne Ramsey’s flawless direction. It’s truly a hauntingly beautiful film that is incredibly striking to the eyes.
Die My Love is one of the films here that I absolutely plan on talking more about at great length, so for now go into this one knowing as little as possible.
Die My Love is available on all VOD platforms.
10/10 A+
Sentimental Value
After their mother’s death, sisters Nora and Agnes reconnect with their estranged father, Gustav, a once-famous director. He offers Nora the lead in his comeback film, but she refuses, only to find he’s cast a young Hollywood star instead, complicating their family dynamics.
Sentimental Value is my favorite film of 2025, it’s an incredible film with so much going on here that much like Die My Love I plan on talking about this one at greater length. But for now I’ll talking about the basics as to what makes this one so phenomenal.
It should come to no surprise that the cast is what really makes this one as beautiful as it is. Whereas a lot of film try incredibly hard and fail to get each of the cast to contribute in a meaningful way. Sentimental Value manages to do that quite easily due to Joachim’s direction, his script along with Eskil Vogt and the brilliant performances from Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgard, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas and Elle Fanning.
Renate Reinsve plays Nora one of the daughters of Gustav Borg (played by Stellan Skarsgard) a celebrated film director who wants to give Nora the leading role. The film’s main theme comes in with a path to healing and trying to restart a fractured bond. Reinsve continues to show she’s one of the best actresses currently working, she gives a powerful and emotional performance that she displays perfectly. Her quiet moments with Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas and Stellan Skarsgard especially show how much chemistry and human connection, she has this beautiful ability to navigate vulnerability, humor and pain. When a certain scene demands one of the three she is able to quickly bring it to the table. A beautiful performance that truly is a transcendent role.
Stellan Skarsgard as Gustv is a career best worthy performance, he brings nuance and vulnerability to a character who we see is very complex. Whether at times he can feel difficult or he finally tries to understand where Nora is coming from. It’s a beautiful way of showing the father and daughter bond and its ups and downs, plus what’s needed to repair it. Skarsgard is already a phenomenal actor, so he naturally does a fantastic job here. His scenes with Elle Fanning in particular shine and show the thoughts and powerful yet quiet moments of his character.
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas plays Nora’s sister Agnes, I was unfamiliar with who Lilleaas was but after seeing her performance I truly can’t wait to see what she does next. Lilleaas gets one particularly powerful scene of Agnes and Nora both comforting each other, the two’s eye contact, speech and body language are all top notch and truly deliver one of the film’s most beautiful moments. Lilleaas commands the screen whenever she’s present and truly delivers a lot of heart and care into her performance.
Finally there is Elle Fanning who plays Rachel Kemp a famous American actress who is hired to play the lead in Gustav’s film. Elle Fanning is given the hardest role here, which is to play an actor that wasn’t right for the part. It’s a challenging role that can easily end up coming off as more so playing yourself. That is not the case here for Elle Fanning, the way Fanning goes about playing Rachel is such a beautiful portrayal of an actress who although wasn’t right for Gustav’s film still shows sincerity and tenderness throughout the film. It comes to a breaking point where she tells Gustav that she isn’t right for the part, the buildup to that moment is truly fascinating and with how Elle Fanning delivers that moment is truly remarkable. Rachel Kemp is a character that Elle Fanning truly brings to life and really does feel like the type of powerhouse performance that Fanning’s career has been leading up to. This performance right here perfectly shows why she is one of the best of her generation a true performer that has so much talent and passion.
Sentimental Value is a beautiful film that has the classic human feel around it, how we explore our bonds and what it takes to repair them. It’s a beautiful story that I truly recommend checking out if you haven’t already.
Sentimental Value is available on all VOD platforms.
Hello again! So you might be wondering what is this? Well I have 6 films from 2025 I just never got around to fully reviewing. So I decided to do something interesting, instead of flat out just not reviewing them I decided to do a wrap up post talking a little bit about each film and moving on to the next one. I’m splitting it into two parts just to keep things a bit more organized, In the future I do plan on talking about some of these films in greater length. But for now I at least want to share my love for these films in brief detail. So let’s start with..
28 Years Later
Set decades after the Rage Virus outbreak, it follows a new group of survivors on an island who venture onto the mainland, discovering mutated infected and new threats.
28 Years Later is quite honestly one of the most hauntingly beautiful horror films of the 2020s. There is a whole lot to be said here about the theme of death and how the film goes about exploring it. Jodie Comer gives a phenomenal performance that has this human connection feel that is constant throughout the film, Alfie Williams is just as fantastic and connects instantly with the people he meets along the way.
Ralph Fiennes as Dr Ian Kelson gives us one of the best written characters of the 2020s, throughout the film we are made to believe that he is this crazy lunatic yet what we get is this calm and balanced man that has this beautiful understanding of life and death. It really brings tears to your eyes due to just how beautiful the dialogue really is here.
Combine that with a beautiful score by Young Fathers (especially their song Remember), stunning cinematography and brutal kills. You have yourself such a wonderful film that you will never forget.
28 Years Later is available on all VOD platforms.
10/10 A+
Marty Supreme
Marty Mauser, a young man with a dream no one respects, goes to hell and back in pursuit of greatness.
Marty Supreme is one of those films that continues to get better and better as it goes on, what starts out as a simple enough film turns into a chaotic film that ups the ante and never falls to the floor.
Timothee Chalamet is not holding back here at all and delivers one of his greatest performances (arguably his best), he fully embodies Marty Mauser (which the film is loosely based on. He balances this likable and unlikable aspect that hits this sweet spot that in turns makes him such a fascinating character.
Odessa A’zion gives such a heartbreaking performance during the second half of the film, it’s a soul crushing yet beautiful performance that sticks with you throughout the experience. Her chemistry with Chalamet is wonderful and even when she isn’t on screen you do feel her presence.
What makes Marty Supreme so fantastic is it has this group of characters who balance this realness and weirdness. They all fit so well together in this perfectly bizarre atmosphere the film has going on here, every single moment there is some perfectly normal interactions going on along with some bizarre ones.
Marty Supreme is a wild ride from beginning to end that truly captures every single moment it throws at the viewer.
Marty Supreme is available on all VOD platforms.
10/10 A+
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
While trying to manage her own life and career, a woman on the verge of a breakdown must cope with her daughter’s illness, an absent husband, a missing person, and an unusual relationship with her therapist.
2025 Wrap Up Review
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You is like entering someone else’s head, seeing the struggles, thoughts and memories that constantly go on inside their head. If I Had Legs I’d Kick You and Die My Love can definitely be considered sister films mainly due to how similar they are thematically however they go about this in much different ways.
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You goes about this in a less deep in a void feel, it’s more clear and we can get a better idea of what is going on inside Linda’s (played by Rose Byrne) head. With that being said it’s still a very navigating experience (in a good way). It’s one of those experiences that ultimately feels very rewarding to go on and once you reach the end it’s genuinely stunning to watch.
So much has been said about how fantastic Rose Byrne’s performance is and the praise is absolutely earned. Rose Byrne gives a career best performance that feels next level, a performance that captures the constant thoughts of motherhood and how crushing it can be. Byrne perfectly matches the surreal atmosphere that demands this spiral and break free type of feel that truly leaves the viewer stunned. It’s an unforgettable performance that I still think about constantly.
I highly recommend going into If I Had Legs I’d Kick You knowing as little as possible, it’s such a powerful film about the stress of motherhood and what constantly goes inside the mind during that period of time.
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You is available on all VOD platforms.
Jerome Reviews... 