Masters Of The Universe (2026) Film Review

Prince Adam discovers that the strange memories shaping his life are real when the lost Sword of Power resurfaces, forcing him to return to Eternia and challenge the tyrant who shattered his family and kingdom.

Masters Of The Universe is directed by Travis Knight director of Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) and Bumblebee (2018).

Masters Of The Universe is one of the biggest surprises of the year, it is quite refreshing to see a blockbuster based on an IP not take itself incredibly seriously. While there are some writing flaws, I do think the film succeeds at capturing its source material and is the closest we are ever going to get to a genuinely really good Masters Of The Universe movie.

For starters the cast is quite great, they all do a splendid job of capturing the spirit of their respective characters. Nicholas Galitzine was a lot of fun and genuinely great as Prince Adam/He-Man, if there is one thing I took away from this film it’s that it sold me on Galitzine as an actor. Galitzine is able to really go all in on the humor while complimenting the serious moments the atmosphere asks for, his chemistry with the rest of the cast is quite great and he is overall quite charming. I also really do love Galizine’s take on the whole “Hero’s Journey” element, you as the viewer genuinely root for him and feel like you are exploring the world with him.

Idris Elba as Duncan/Man-At-Arms and Camila Mendes as Teela are both quite great, while not getting a whole lot in the character writing department. They do have plenty of really strong moments that give their characters something to do, the two also work incredibly well with Galizine making the trio quite fun throughout the film. Alison Brie goes all in as Evil-Lyn, she nails Evil Lyn’s voice to the point where it’s truly mind blowing. She sounds exactly like her and has the same sort of mannerisms, some of the film’s best moments are whenever Brie is on screen. Again not a whole lot in the way of character writing, but still a quite impressive performance.

Jared Leto perhaps gives his best performance in years as Skeletor, not only does the performance capture the source material. But there is strong balance of humor and seriousness, it does help that the design of Skeletor is quite fantastic and makes him pop out a lot more. Some moments towards the end do get on the incredibly goofy side of things, however Leto’s delivery is able to match the atmosphere and make said goofy moments genuinely entertaining.

What mainly helps the film is it knows exactly what it is and does not pretend to be anything else, although the film does have serious moments. The film never reaches to the point where it is taking itself so seriously that it takes the viewer out of the film. The writing remains quite consistent throughout and even some of the jokes that don’t always land still have a bit of charm to them.

The costume design from Richard Sale is absolutely well done, from Man-At-Arms to Evil Lyn to He-Man and so on they are all so well done and capture the spirit of the source material so wonderfully. The attention to detail is front and center here with the costumes and pops out almost immediately as soon as the film begins, it remains that way throughout the experience and truly elevates the film.

Finally there is the score from Daniel Pemberton which is one of my favorite scores from a film so far this year. Right from the beginning we are treated to “Eternia” a song that pretty much sums up the energy, power and fun of the film, the score does so much of the talking throughout the film in this such coolish atmosphere that it brings along with it. The first scene of Adam turning into He-Man is one of the film’s best scenes, the song “The Power Of Grayskull” plays which is yet another example of just how excellent the score really is.

Overall, Masters Of The Universe is a fun and genuinely fantastic film that captures the spirit of the source material while adding its own style into the mix. Hands down one of the most surprising films of the year thus far.

Masters Of The Universe is available on all VOD platforms.

9/10 A

Onslaught (2026) Film Review

When a rogue squad of genetically engineered super soldiers break loose in the desert, an Army sniper must unleash hell to protect her young daughter.

Onslaught is directed by Adam Wingard director of You’re Next (2011), The Guest (2014), Blair Witch (2016), Death Note (2017), Godzilla vs. Kong (2021), Godzilla vs. Kong: The New Empire (2024) and a few others.

Onslaught is quite a fun one even if it has a lot of issues, there is a lot to appreciate here and one moment in particular that is quite shocking. But the overall experience does feel a bit empty by the end with a lot of ideas that are just abandoned and the ending being very cobbled together.

Adria Arjona is what is mainly holding this movie together, she gives a strong enough performance with her character Celeste a mother who does anything to protect her daughter. Celeste is not the most deeply written protagonist, but there are some moments here that do help compliment her as a character. Reginald VelJohnson who plays Josiah an army veteran, isn’t bad here and his dialogue exchanges with Arjona are decently charming. Josiah just does not have a whole lot going for him in the character writing department.

Dan Stevens and Drew Starkey both give great performances but unfortunately their characters are not exactly that investing. Stevens is not in the film for very long, which I do understand that this is the classic “creation betrays its creator” type of story and it works well enough. But it is a bit of a shame to see Stevens go out so early. The film seems like it had a lot planned for Starkey’s character Cyrus but it never got around to him being incredibly involved, Cyrus is a fun character whenever he is on screen but the end result is very incomplete.

The film is quite brutal, there is quite a lot of gore and one scene in particular that feels all too real. The scene in question is quite shocking and genuinely disturbing, it succeeds at really showing the viewer how brutal the film’s antagonists really are. Which are these soldiers named The Butcher, The Cockroach and The Crybaby. None of them have any dialogue and only communicate through their body language and mainly hand signals. They are essentially just very standard slasher movie villains, but the atmosphere and the brutality of the three gives them these extra layers to stand out a bit more.

The main issue with Onslaught is the movie’s third act, while it is quite fun, gory and at times satisfying. There is a whole lot here that feels very incomplete, the story is very rushed and the final battle with The Butcher is cut incredibly short (after having a lot of build up throughout the movie.) Plus the opening credits of the movie with speeches from past U.S. presidents talking about the country being involved with wars never really goes anywhere.

Overall Onslaught is pretty bare bones and really does not have a whole lot going on here. It’s decently fun and the acting is quite good, but that’s really about where it ends.

Onslaught is currently in theaters.

5/10 C

Insidious: Out of the Further (2026) Film Review

Gemma, a young mother raising her daughter in the house she grew up in, discovers she can travel into The Further, where she possesses an ability to bring what lives there back to the real world.

Insidious: Out of the Further is directed by Jacob Chase director of The Four-Faced Liar (2010) and Come Play (2020). The film serves as the sixth installment in the Insidious franchise.

After the very different yet disappointing previous installment Insidious: The Red Door, Insidious: Out The Further drops the indie drama like elements from the last movie and fully goes in with the horror elements from the previous films. Which actually does end up leading into some sequences that are genuinely effective especially for a franchise studio horror film that’s on its sixth entry.

Most of the performances are fine enough but Amelia Eve and of course series veteran Lin Shaye are quite strong here. Amelia Eve plays Gemma Hall who’s this film’s main protagonist and she’s quite decent one, her backstory is explored just enough for the viewer to care about her as a character. The bond between Gemma and her daughter Maya is genuinely great and does make you care for their bond which especially comes into play later on. The exploration of generational trauma while not anything new is decently done and gives Gemma so pretty solid character writing. She does not want to repeat her mother’s mistakes, which this in turn makes the third act a lot more effective.

Lin Shaye returns as Elise Rainier and she’s still quite great, her entrance into the movie is admittedly very exciting even if it is trying to bait claps and cheers (I give the moment some leeway because I do think the movie is aware of it.) Her character is not that much different from the other films, but by this point you know what to expect from Elise as a character and she delivers all of that here.

What sets this movie apart from the sequels is mainly a few of the sequences, there’s two in particular that are quite effective. One is the dental scene (partly shown in the trailer) it’s shockingly nasty and completely grosses the viewer out. On its own, it might not be THAT shocking or gross. But for a mainstream studio horror movie the inclusion of it is quite interesting and can be appreciated for doing something completely unexpected. The other sequence is the pillow fort scene, a scene that effectively uses the camera (cinematographer Dave Garnett does a wonderful job) and captures this atmosphere where you feel like anything can appear from around the corner. It kind of plays into this whole “taking a fun activity you did as a kid and putting a creepy twist on it” sort of thing and it works quite effectively.

The rest of the movie is about what you expect from an Insidious film although I will say that The Further itself is explored quite well in this installment, you really do get this creepy atmosphere that does not always rely on jumpscares. There’s moments where the movie just lets the background and camera do all of the talking, there really is not anything groundbreaking going on here, but the movie does make The Further quite a fun and creepy experience to walk through.

Overall Insidious: Out of the Further is a lot of fun and a decent installment to the franchise, I would say it’s definitely one of the better sequels as it is able to differentiate itself just enough to give an interesting experience.

Insidious: Out of the Further is currently in theaters.

6/10 C+

Lightning Round Review: The Wrong Girls (2026)

Two aimless young women inadvertently gain telepathic abilities after ingesting an experimental drug, pitting them against dangerous rivals pursuing the same powerful substance

The Wrong Girls is directed by Dylan Meyer which is her directorial debut.

Not a whole lot to report on here, if you love stoner comedies that you absolutely dig this one. What mainly helps The Wrong Girls is Kristen Stewart and Alia Shawkat going all out with their performances.

The two are genuinely hilarious and have really strong comedic timing that can actually surprise the viewer at times, Seth Rogen and Kumail Nanjiani voicing the two cats are also quite fantastic as well and add to the film’s humor quite well.

I think the best part here is the friendship between Frankie (played by Stewart) and Molly (played by Shawkat) and how natural it feels, this is the type of friendship that feels incredibly real and has this quite charming atmosphere attached to it. It brings the viewer along for the ride from beginning to end and truly never lets you go at all.

Some of the jokes can be a hit or miss and admittedly the plot does get a bit too bizarre for its own good, however it is still an incredibly fun time that is well worth the watch.

The Wrong Girls is available on all VOD platforms.

7/10 B

Quick Review: Batman: Knightfall Part 1: Knightfall (2026)

When the mysterious behemoth known only as Bane frees Batman’s entire rogue’s gallery from Arkham Asylum, the Caped Crusader is pushed to his mental and physical breaking point.

Batman: Knightfall Part 1: Knightfall is directed by Jeff Wamester director of Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths trilogy (2024), Justice League: Warworld (2023), Legion of Super-Heroes (2023) and a few others.

Not a whole lot to say here, but I am quite shocked to see that one of these DC animated films turned out to be decent. Because as of late the quality has definitely dipped. What’s mainly helping Knightfall is the character writing, it’s not anything mind blowing and you could probably figure out where the ending goes. But between the characterization of Bruce, Bane, Azrael and many others there is quite a lot to enjoy here.

Bane is very menacing and is portrayed in both a brutal and calculated way, the sheer brutality and intellect to his character is present here and displays why the character is so interesting in the first place. The film also explores his origin story and upbringing in prison, what drove him to be the way he is and seeing this path of his being created in prison.

Bruce Wayne is well written here, we explore the trauma, tragedy and abandonment of his life that takes a heavy toll on him when it comes to his stability and his interactions with others who want to help. This is not anything particularly new when it comes to Bruce and Batman, but it is still quite interesting and brings a lot more to the table than a lot of other animated Batman films that strictly go all in on the action.

Azrael is the classic case of a character who’s dealing with his past and cannot quite control his powers, throughout the film we explore him as a character and at times almost feel like we are entering his mind. There’s actually a surprising amount of groundedness especially towards the film’s final act.

The animation is quite well done, it compliments Gotham City as a whole and captures the brutal and dark atmosphere that the film seems to be going for. The voice acting from Anson Mount, Michael Mando and Pablo Schreiber are quite strong and really go all in with the film’s world. They capture the many different sides of their characters and keep the viewer invested the whole way through.

Overall Batman: Knightfall Part 1: Knightfall is quite solid and a strong start to the trilogy, it does have some pacing issues here and there. But the film mainly stays on track from beginning to end which gives the viewer a quite dark and mature look at Gotham.

Batman: Knightfall Part 1: Knightfall is available on all VOD platforms.

7/10 B

Most Anticipated Films Of September 2026!

We are officially at the home stretch of 2026! August was a surprisingly strong month for Film. September has plenty of highly anticipated releases, Primetime and Resident Evil immediately come to mind. This month I will also be attending the New York Film Festival, so stay tuned for reviews of all the films I see.

September 2nd

Fall 2 – Theaters

September 4th

Onslaught – Theaters

September 9th

Hope – Theaters

September 11th

The Uprising – Theaters

If I Go Will They Miss Me – Limited Theaters

September 18th

Resident Evil – Theaters

If I Go Will They Miss Me – Expand Theaters

Shaun The Sheep: The Beast Of Mossy Bottom – Theaters

Bad Apples – Theaters

Sunny Dancer – Theaters

September 25th

Primetime – Theaters

Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother – Theaters

Charlie Harper – Theaters

September 30th

Linkin Park: Unshatter – Theaters

Buddy (2026) Film Review

A woman comes to realize she has a child no one remembers, including herself, whose disappearance is related to a forgotten 1990s-style children’s television show.

Buddy is directed by Casper Kelly director of Adult Swim Yule Log and its sequel (2022-2024). Kelly has also made the horror short Too Many Cooks (2014) (I bring this up because this is going to be relevant to the review.)

We have seen several takes on the “kids show that is evil” premise before, however Buddy perhaps is the best take on this and that simply comes down to the execution and the film knows it exactly what it wants to be. There are a few hiccups here and there, however for a majority of the film it’s an incredibly bizarre ride from beginning to end that works tremendously.

First and foremost the performances are shockingly really great. Keegan-Michael Key as Buddy is both disturbingly funny and thrilling, what I especially love about Keegan-Michael Key’s performance is you can quite easily tell when Buddy is upset or happy without seeing Key’s facial expressions. How he is able to go from being all happy and child friendly to a sadistic killer is both hilarious and quite intimidating. Buddy himself is a parody of those old kid show mascots such as Barney The Dinosaur, and the film does such a great job of capturing that energy especially during the first 20 minutes or so (which I’ll get to when I talk about the writing.)

The child actor performances really capture the sort of acting you would see on Sesame Street or Barney The Dinosaur, it’s actually quite impressive how identical the sort of acting really is. Delaney Quinn and Caleb Williams are definitely the standouts which is mainly due to them being more plot involved, but the rest of the child actors are excellent as well.

Finally there is Cristin Milioti which while I do wish we got a lot more of her character and went a little further with the dramatic moments involving her. Milioti still lands a quite strong performance, her eyes are incredibly expressive and do a lot of the talking when she isn’t speaking. Milioti’s character Grace’s long pauses when trying to discuss what’s wrong with her or trying to explain her case to Ben (played by Topher Grace) is truly heartbreaking and you genuinely feel for her. So although her character is not explored all that well, it’s still just enough to care for her character.

The writing is quite hilarious and actually ends up being quite thrilling, as I mentioned earlier, the first 20 minutes or so brings you in with the familiar kids show elements and the film does such a fantastic job of bringing them all together. You have the child acting as mentioned previously, Buddy as well as other character mascots like Betty Bunny, Mr. Mailbox, Strappy and so on, you also have the look of it all. It’s this analog type of horror combined with the natural look of a kids show you would have seen when you were a kid.

As the film goes on it moves towards the more bizarre nature of the atmosphere but still retains the kids show type of atmosphere it established early on. This is something a lot of these types of films seem to mess up on, they go all in on the horror but are missing the earlier established kids show atmosphere, so it is quite refreshing to see the tone of the film be consistent and not completely ditch what made it so interesting.

The practical effects, the film’s world and the direction are all fantastic. The practical effects with the gore is a lot of fun and really brings in the bizarreness of the film. The film’s world is truly fascinating, not every piece of lore is explored, however what we got is quite interesting. Director Casper Kelly really does such a great job of really bringing the viewer into it all, the film’s world feels a lot like something you would see on Adult Swim which makes a lot of sense given how Too Many Cooks (2014) was on Adult Swim. If you have seen that one and liked that then you are going to adore Buddy. Casper Kelly’s attention to detail with the film is truly creative and makes your eyes want to search the entire screen for details you may have missed.

Finally there is the cinematography from cinematographer Zach Kuperstein, who does such a beautiful job. There are some genuinely gorgeous shots here that took me aback simply because I did not expect them at all, the cinematography also adds to the film’s world quite wonderfully and makes the color really pop out.

Overall, Buddy is a disturbingly funny and thrilling film that is a lot of fun, it’s a fun film to explore and really captures the atmosphere it’s going for in such a well done way. This is one I highly recommend giving a go!

Buddy releases in theaters Friday!

9/10 A

The Furious (2026) Film Review

A father fights fiercely against ruthless kidnappers to save his abducted daughter.

The Furious is directed by Kenji Tanigaki director of Legend of Seven Monks (2006) and Enter the Fat Dragon (2020).

There is an argument to be made that The Furious is one of the best action films of the 2020s and that mainly comes down to just how effective it really is plus constantly upping the ante as the film continues on. Sure the plot might be straightforward, but just about everything else in this film pushes towards greatness and this huge sense of “how on earth did they do that?” sort of feel.

The cast are quite excellent, Xie Miao, Joe Taslim, Brian Le, Joe Iwanaga and Yayan Ruhian all do such a great job and each bring something to the film. There’s one scene in particular towards the ending of the film where all five of them work flawlessly together.

Xie Miao plays Wang Wei a mute man who’s daughter gets kidnapped which in turn makes him go on a quest for revenge, the film does such a fantastic job of building his character and making the viewer really care for him as well. It’s a very natural feeling performance that hits all the right notes that it needs to.

Joe Taslim plays Navin a journalist who is looking for his wife, he eventually tags along with Wang Wei. Much like Miao, Taslim gives a very natural feeling performance. Some of the film’s best moments are of the two just planning out what to do next and how to approach certain situations, should they flat out attack or should they take a more stealthy approach? It’s really neat to see and by the end of the film, Navin became my favorite character of the film.

Joey Iwanaga as Paklung, Brian Le as Ho and Yayan Ruhian as Tak are the main villains here and they all do such a wonderful job of really capturing the thrilling atmosphere the film requires, Iwanaga plays the leader who may not seem like much at first but quickly becomes a formidable foe and knows how to fight quite well. Brian Le starts out as just regular henchman who may seem like he really won’t contribute to anything, but during the film’s final act his character Ho is confused (due to events of the film I won’t spoil here) and decides to just fight everyone. It makes for some satisfying scenes that are quite effective to the story being told. Finally there’s Yayan Ruhian as Tak who is this sadistic bow-wielder and is actually quite disturbing as well, sure he might not have a lot of character to him. But the many taunts he hurls out, the aggressive way he attacks and so on really speak for themselves.

The main part that everyone is going to walk out of this film loving is the action scenes which are undeniably impressive. The fight choreography is truly astonishing, there are moments where you just think to yourself “how on earth did they do that?” It also helps that the fight choreography matches the atmosphere incredibly well, there is this brutal nature that is blended in here which matches with the film’s gore. These are the sort of moments where you feel the blow to the characters, when you see Wang or Navin get hurt you as the viewer feel that.

Which leads into the final act which is incredibly explosive, I’m not going to spoil what the action scene in particular is. However I will say that it is truly impressive and not something that can be easily pulled off, it’s made more entertaining due to the camerawork from cinematographer Meteor Cheung. It’s truly one of the most memorable moments from a film I’ve seen so far this year.

Overall, The Furious is a fantastic film that is not only a spectacle in terms of action scenes but it’s also just a flat out fantastic film that really flows together incredibly well. If you are an action movie fan this is something I truly recommend giving a go.

The Furious is available on all VOD platforms.

10/10 A+

The End Of Oak Street (2026) Film Review

The Platt family bands together to navigate their new surroundings after a cosmic event transports their suburban neighborhood to someplace unknown.

The End Of Oak Street is directed by David Robert Mitchell director of The Myth of the American Sleepover (2010), It Follows (2014) and Under The Silver Lake (2018).

The End Of Oak Street is one of those blockbusters that does not take itself incredibly seriously, while yes there are dramatic moments these ones in between of the film’s fun nature blend together quite nicely. Plus we finally have a dinosaur blockbuster that isn’t Jurassic Park (even that series is currently struggling to put something great out) that is genuinely great.

The performances are quite great, while I do think Ewan McGregor and Christian Convery give solid performances. I do think Anne Hathaway and Maisy Stella are the ones that leave an impression, Stella’s character Audrey might not get the most development however I do think certain scenes really get to show off Stella’s acting talent quite well. Anne Hathaway has been on a roll this year with Mother Mary, The Devil Wears Prada 2, The Odyssey (I promise the review is coming soon) and now this film, Hathaway is very much the film’s heart and she really does give this confident and fun performance where you quickly grow invested into her character.

The film’s writing is truly a lot of fun, it’s the perfect balance of chaos and the family drama which work well due to the chemistry of the family. As the viewer you want the entire family to make it out alive and are actively rooting for them. While yes there are some definitely over the top moments with the family drama, for the most part it’s shockingly kept quite real and leaves a lasting impact on the viewer. There is also one moment in particular involving two dinosaurs that was truly unexpected and I still don’t exactly know what to make of it, it’s most certainly a hilarious moment that strangely captures the film’s playful atmosphere quite well.

The dinosaurs themselves are quite neat and a whole lot of fun, the visual effects combined with the cinematography from cinematographer Michael Gioulakis make them pop out more and give them this personality that the viewer can easily recognize. We even get to see a Titanoboa that actually leads to one of the film’s best and most thrilling moments.

Lastly the film has this Spielberg feel going on here, from the atmosphere to the scale it’s all there. The film manages to make its own identity in the end, it definitely feels like an 80s epic blockbuster in a lot of ways. Outside of a few moments where I do think the film leans a bit too much into it, the film largely stays on its path and lands quite beautifully.

Overall The End Of Oak Street is quite a lot of fun, while there are some writing issues. That is not nearly enough to stop the film from being a whole lot of fun and being a genuinely strong film.

The End Of Oak Street is currently in theaters.

8/10 B+

Carolina Caroline (2026) Film Review

A young woman joins a charming con man on the run, leaving a trail of crime and passion as they hustle through the Southeast in search of her estranged mother.

Carolina Caroline is directed by Adam Carter Rehmeier director of The Bunny Game (2011), Jonas (2013), Dinner in America (2020) and Snack Shack (2024).

Carolina Caroline is very much a Bonny & Clyde sort of deal, we have seen these types of films before and know what to expect. However I do think Carolina Caroline goes about it in far more interesting and even better ways than a lot of other films. Due to this, we get a quite thrilling and surprisingly charming ride from beginning to end.

What makes this film excellent simply comes down to Samara Weaving and Kyle Gallner, right from the very moment they meet the chemistry between the two flies around the screen, every single second of this film you can feel it everywhere. This leads to a lot of quite beautiful moments of charm and character development that is truly striking, it helps that Gallner and Weaving are both incredibly talented actors and you can especially tell that’s the case here. Samara Weaving does phenomenal accent work here that really shows her range, Gallner continues to turn in incredibly exciting performances here that ooze with charm.

The film has this 70s Americana feel that meshes beautifully with the film’s strong soundtrack, the cinematography from cinematographer Jean-Philippe Bernier really puts the viewer in the film’s world almost immediately, the filming all across Kentucky and the many towns such as Louisville, Frankfort, New Haven and a few others is truly fascinating and truly fits the film’s atmosphere especially early on in the film.

The direction from Adam Carter Rehmeier continues to show that he is quickly becoming one of the most exciting filmmakers working today, his last two films Dinner in America (2020) and Snack Shack (2024) had this focus on American stories and the focus on these certain characters. That’s the case here with Carolina Caroline and it really does such a fascinating job of bringing together this story that is charming, chaotic and thrilling. The dialogue is well written and brings this realness to the characters as well.

Overall Carolina Caroline is fantastic and one of the best films of the year, it all adds up to a quite well done experience that you truly never want to end.

Carolina Caroline is available on all VOD platforms.

10/10 A+