A woman seeking isolation in the Australian wilderness becomes the target of a ritualistic killer, forcing her into a brutal fight for survival.
Apex is directed by Baltasar Kormákur director of 2 Guns (2013), Everest (2015), Adrift (2018), Beast (2022) and many others.
Apex is your very typical cat and mouse thriller, the material is elevated a tiny bit due to the talent of Taron Egerton and Charlize Theron being involved. But outside of that, this is a quite forgettable thriller that doesn’t quite stick the landing.
Charlize Theron gives a solid performance here, it’s not going to go down as one of her greatest but she still has her natural charm here that works effectively. Taron Egerton plays an unhinged maniac and it works perfectly, Egerton is able to take the movie’s more over the top moments and turn them into something genuinely creepy. Plus he captures the atmosphere the movie requires so that’s always a bonus.
What the movie struggles here with the most is just not having a whole lot of meat on the bone. The exploration of grief is very hollow and really is nothing more than a jumping pad to get Sasha (played by Charlize Theron) into the woods, when you take away the movie’s surprisingly decent production value it is just another Netflix thriller that really doesn’t go anywhere that interesting.
Overall Apex is not terrible, you could easily do a whole lot worse and if you are looking for a late night watch or something quick to put on the movie gets the job done. However if you are looking for something with a lot more substance, you are going to be disappointed with this one. Hadn’t been for Theron and Egerton, Apex would have sank far sooner.
During a grueling Army Ranger training exercise, recruits encounter a deadly, otherworldly machine, turning their mission into a fight for survival against an alien threat.
War Machine is directed by Patrick Hughes director of Red Hill (2010), The Expendables 3 (2014), The Hitman’s Bodyguard (2017), Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard (2021) and The Man from Toronto (2022).
War Machine is a very odd duck of a movie and not in an interesting way, the movie tries to take elements from so many other action and sci-fi films such as Predator (1987), The Terminator (1984), Aliens (1986) and Independence Day (1996) all of which it fails to recapture. Also fun fact, this is the second movie to be released by Netflix called War Machine. The two films obviously have nothing to do with another as War Machine (2017) is a satirical film that’s based on real events (although fictionalized), this one however is just a very forgettable action movie.
Unfortunately this movie has its problems from the very beginning…it’s characters. A lot of the characters here are nothing but cannon fodder who get almost no time to get moments to shine. Alan Ritchson is admittedly not bad here and plays his role well enough, but without any sort of great character moments the movie struggles with making any of these characters at least memorable.
The stuntwork here is at the very least decent and somewhat makes up for the dodgy CG work, there’s a few moments that have this decent scale to them where it does feel like you are in this movie’s world. But then there are others where the CG takes you out of the experience simply due to how bad they look.
The biggest problem with War Machine is the lack of originality and director Patrick Hughes not having a distinct directorial voice. As I mentioned earlier, War Machine takes from a lot of different movies within the genre but rather than making the elements its own. It feels like the movie is lifting rather than being inspired, it becomes very apparent during the movie’s action scenes. Which leads into Hughes not having a distinct voice, I did not go into War Machine expecting anything fantastic given Hughes’s previous work, however I do think it is still incredibly lazy to not even attempt to try and find a way to make these elements your own.
Even if you took away the genre cliches, you are still left with incredibly corny dialogue and very strained attempts at emotional depth that by then the viewer has already caught on about how poorly written these characters really are.
Overall War Machine is incredibly forgettable, you could absolutely do a lot worse. If you want to just put something on in the background this gets the job done, but if you are looking for an actual great sci-fi action film you are better off looking elsewhere
Five ballerinas find themselves in a fight for their lives when they seek shelter at a mysterious roadside inn that’s run by a former ballet prodigy.
Pretty Lethal is directed by Vickey Jewson director of Lady Godiva (2008), Born Of War (2014) and Close (2019).
Pretty Lethal is basically if you took the John Wick franchise and put in five ballerinas, the movie has its flaws the major one being the character writing. However the final result is admittedly quite fun due to the action, kills, fight choreography and the chemistry between the cast.
While the performances here aren’t going to hit the ball out of the park, they are far from bad. Maddie Ziegler, Iris Apatow, Lana Condor, Millicent Simmonds and Avantika all work together quite nicely especially during the action scenes where they use some team up techniques. You can really feel the passion and fun through these scenes, as I said before the character writing has its issues. We really do not get a whole lot of information about the girls outside of Bones (played by Maddie Ziegler) and Princess (played by Lana Condor), even then it is very surface level at best. Despite that however the girls are able to make it work and deliver satisfying enough performances. Uma Thurman gives an incredibly campy performance that is entertaining enough to stand (although the dialogue really does not help in some cases.)
The fight choreography combined with the kills are the movie’s best parts, the kills are surprisingly brutal and match the thrilling atmosphere the movie is going for. The fight choreography is especially impressive when the previously mentioned team up techniques are shown off, it feels like the cast is in sync with one another which actually tells a lot more about their bond than the script ever does.
The main problem here as I said before is the character writing, it ranges from not being really present to surface level and that becomes apparent later on when the movie tries to bring in the emotional moments which sadly do not really work. They feel very tacked on and while the acting works decently enough, the corny dialogue that rears its head is not doing the movie any favors.
Overall Pretty Lethal is decently fun, it’s not a great movie and it’s completely understandable if someone checks out of this movie early on. However I would be lying if I said I did not have fun with it, the movie does just enough to satisfy the viewer if they are looking for great kills and excellent choreography.
Michael Mason is a recluse on a remote Scottish island who rescues a girl from the sea, unleashing a perilous sequence of events that culminate in an attack on his home, compelling him to face his turbulent history.
Shelter is directed by Ric Roman Waugh director of Snitch (2013), Angel Has Fallen (2019), Greenland (2020), Kandahar (2023), Greenland 2: Migration (2026) and a few others.
There is only so much you can say about these Jason Statham action thriller movies at this point, some of them such as The Beekeeper (2024) have a lot more going on than others. If you go into Shelter wanting more you are going to be disappointed, with that being said the movie is ultimately very forgettable.
Jason Statham does a decent job once again, there is a classic saying “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” and that absolutely applies to Statham and his performances. He’s good at what he does and he undeniably has the charisma to back it up, although I will say that finding out Michael Mason (played by Statham) was a former government assassin could be seen coming from a mile way especially if you have seen other Statham films. Bodhi Rae Breathnach as Jessie is great here as well, there’s times where it almost feels way too good of a performance for this movie, luckily the movie does take advantage of this and ends up making Jessie somewhat of an interesting character.
The action is pretty standard, there isn’t anything truly exciting going on here. However when you combine it with some of the set pieces (the club scene in particular) you do get something pretty neat every now and then. The cinematography from cinematographer Martin Ahlgren is solid and he manages to capture the movie’s atmosphere and suspense that it’s going for, even said suspense does not always land.
Overall Shelter isn’t terrible, it’s ultimately just another Jason Statham movie that is forgettable but does have a handful of good elements about it.
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.
The surviving Garrity family must leave the safety of the Greenland bunker and embark on a perilous journey across the decimated frozen wasteland of Europe to find a new home.
Greenland 2: Migration is directed by Ric Roman Waugh director of Snitch (2013), Shot Caller (2017), Angel Has Fallen (2019), Greenland (2020), Kandahar (2023) and a few others.
Greenland (2020) was a surprise for a lot of people myself included, it took the disaster movie genre and brought a ton of emotional moments for its characters. Was it groundbreaking? Absolutely not, it was a flawed yet satisfying movie and a breath of fresh air from the genre. Unfortunately Greenland 2: Migration does the direct opposite and ends up being another case of someone asking the question “was this sequel really needed?”
The acting for the most part is fine enough, Gerard Butler and Morena Baccarin are by far the best of the pack. Each of them are able to give a few decent moments and the charm of Butler and Baccarin from the first movie is mostly still intact. The rest of the performances unfortunately are a mix of bad and below average, that’s mainly due to the writing just not doing anyone any favors at all.
Speaking of which the writing this time around throws out a ton of the emotional moments from the first movie and opts for lazy conveniences as well as a very dull journey. It’s quite clear that Greenland (2020) was not made with a sequel in mind so this movie has the feel of making something up as it goes along. The character writing does not fill the screen at all, I guess the final moments of the movie do somewhat of a decent job closing John Garrity’s story, but admittedly it’s something you could see coming during the movie’s final moments.
Overall there is just not a whole lot to comment on when it comes to Greenland 2: Migration, it’s a sequel that surely does exist and will be quickly forgotten about due to how dull the whole movie is. It’s not anything offensively bad, however it lacks so much of what made the first movie interesting that it ultimately does not matter.
Greenland 2: Migration is available on all VOD platforms.
A group of Miami cops discovers a stash of millions in cash, leading to distrust as outsiders learn about the seizure, making them question who to rely on.
The Rip is directed by Joe Carnahan director of Smokin’ Aces (2006), The A-Team (2010), The Grey (2011), Stretch (2014), Boss Level (2020), Copshop (2021), Shadow Force (2025) and a few others.
The Rip is yet another January Netflix original film that isn’t bad (the first being People We Meet On Vacation), while that’s not exactly high praise and admittedly is the bare minimum. A lot of Netflix original January films would wish they are at least middle of the road. There’s a decent amount to like about The Rip from the cast to the action scenes which brings a decent enough experience to fans of the genre.
The main reason why The Rip works is mainly due to the cast. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are undeniably a great duo who work incredibly well together, their dialogue bounces off of each other naturally and the two are already great actors which does help make the material of The Rip a bit more interesting. Teyana Taylor and Sasha Calle also get some great moments here, even if they sometimes feel a bit underutilized in certain sections of the film.
The writing for the most part is decent, the first two acts help establish the film’s atmosphere in surprisingly great detail. The atmosphere is thrilling enough due to the writing and gives these characters some sort of alert to check their surroundings, it’s not a case where everything feels like it’s safe. There’s a few moments in particular that are decently tense thanks to this. With that being said, the writing does drop the ball during the film’s final act. The tension that was built up filters away in a very predictable and empty conclusion that really does feel like the writers couldn’t think of way to close the story. It’s unfortunate because there was some genuine intrigue going on here prior to the incredibly empty final act.
The action scenes are solid, they are not anything groundbreaking and won’t change the landscape of the action thriller genre. But due to the film’s atmosphere the scenes work decently enough, especially when you combine them with the settings which the movie does a pretty good job of incorporating them into the mix. The cinematography is also shockingly really solid, cinematographer Juan Miguel Azpiroz captures some beautiful shots here that add to the overall detail of the movie even if they are little moments.
Overall The Rip is a serviceable action thriller that despite having struggles to close out the film, does just enough to stick the landing and give something that fans of the action thriller genre will have a decent time with.
This is something I’m going to experiment with, the “Lightning Round” will be for films that I will give quick reviews due to not having a whole lot to say about them.
Desperate to reclaim her career, once-beloved actress Samantha Lake is drawn into the glamorous world of wellness mogul Zoe Shannon -only to uncover a monstrous truth beneath its flawless surface.
Shell is directed by Max Minghella who previously directed Teen Spirit (2018).
I was considering on giving Shell a full review but then I realized I would just be echoing what the hundreds of other reviews are saying…that it’s a clone of The Substance (2024) and there’s just no way around that.
The positives here mainly come from the performances and the visuals, Kate Hudson is clearly having a blast throughout the movie and Elisabeth Moss as usual delivers a solid performance. The visuals are striking with this retro futuristic style which ends up giving the movie at least some legroom to standout. The cinematography from Drew Daniels compliments this very well with sharp and detailed touches.
Unfortunately the writing is where Shell struggles, halfway through the movie the pacing becomes incredibly uneven, the humor in the writing is a complete hit or miss (with most of it missing), plot threads are either not explored anywhere near enough to leave an impact or are just left dangling. The character motivations are also completely muddled and do not give the movie’s satire-like atmosphere any meaningful strength.
The final act switches gears and becomes a B-grade monster movie that might have worked if the buildup was far stronger and actually matched the tone of the movie. Instead it feels completely out of place and leaves the viewer with a giant question mark over their head.
Shell is a worse version of The Substance (2024) and you can easily spot this within the first 10 minutes of watching.
Shell is available on all VOD platforms.
4/10 D+
Alice returns home after her mother’s death to find the house unchanged-and haunted by a dark presence. As fear builds, buried trauma resurfaces, and a terrifying truth is revealed.
I was pretty excited to see that David Moreau who previously directed MadS (2024) had another film releasing this year, sadly this was a misfire that I left more confused and not in the intriguing sort of way.
Other strangely likes to withhold information from the viewer and treats that like it’s crafting a mystery when in reality it’s only making the viewer quickly lose interest. There’s the repeated point of Alice (played by Olga Kurylenko) still dealing with childhood trauma, but the movie never elaborates on that or does not even explore it either, it’s like a pop up that is constantly telling you the same thing over and over again.
Kurylenko’s face is the only we see clearly throughout the movie, which in theory sounds like a neat stylistic choice. However the way the movie goes about with the execution is incredibly dull, the other characters who are supposed to leave this impact on the viewer do not end up doing so. Olga Kurylenko gives a fine enough performance but it’s not enough to make up for the botched execution.
Lastly there’s the writing which does not have any of the creepiness or thrills that MadS had, it’s a very confused mess that is way too cryptic for its own good and has nowhere near the amount of disturbing or engaging material to connect the viewer to the experience.
Other is available on Shudder.
4/10 D+
A woman spends the night fighting for her existence as she slips down a rabbit hole contained inside a gift from a late-night visitor.
Bryan Bertino director of The Strangers (2008), Mockingbird (2014), The Monster (2016) and The Dark and the Wicked (2020) is back with Vicious and the best way to describe this movie is it feels like this horribly put together Frankenstein’s Monster combination of all of his previous films.
First off there’s the nonconsensual premise of Mockingjay (2014) which at first is a bit interesting before Vicious starts to run into a wall with incredibly stupid decision making on Polly’s (played by Dakota Fanning) part. Next we have the claustrophobic feel of The Strangers (2008), there is a few moments here that do capture that feel decently well. But for the most part it comes off as a desperate attempt to aim for something that worked because it felt far more grounded, constantly trying to reach for it throughout the movie takes away from the writing and ultimately makes the movie suffer for it.
There’s also the supernatural violence and dark atmosphere of The Dark and the Wicked (2020), Kathryn Hunter tries her best to bring this sort of energy into the movie but the script flat out refuses to give any meaningful story or interesting developments with the supernatural parts of it to work with. It’s a very basic haunting type of movie that attempts to throw in a bit of Saw (2004) which quickly ends up being more ridiculous than anything else.
Finally there’s the anxieties and the thrills of The Monster (2016) something that once again this movie does not capture at all, there’s one or two jumpscares that are somewhat effective but a large majority of the movie is forgettable and has no investing way to bring the viewer into the movie.
Dakota Fanning and Kathryn Hunter give solid performances but they are nowhere near enough to save this movie from ultimately being forgettable, I can absolutely see why the plans to release this in theaters was changed.
Vicious is available on Paramount+
3/10 D-
A ruthless thief and his expert crew stumble onto the heist of a lifetime.
Play Dirty fails to capture the charm of Shane Black’s earlier crime films. While LaKeith Stanfield and Rosa Salazar do what they can with such a shallow script, the rest of the movie is yet again another terrible straight to streaming action thriller movie that offers very little to the genre.
There’s a few entertaining action scenes that somewhat attempt to bring back what made Shane Black a solid crime film director in the first place, but those are quickly overshadowed by Mark Wahlberg giving yet another phoned in performance that leads no depth to his character. This is yet another case of the supporting characters being more interesting than the protagonist and where you wish the movie was about them.
Whatever Shane Black had with The Nice Guys (2016) is long gone.
A sword-wielding princess embarks on a dangerous quest to avenge the death of her father. She soon meets an idealistic young man who shows her the possibility of a future free of bitterness and rage.
New York Film Festival Review
Scarlet is directed by Mamoru Hosoda director of One Piece: Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island (2005), The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006), Summer Wars (2009), Wolf Children (2012), The Boy and the Beast (2015), Mirai (2018) and Belle (2021)
Mamoru Hosoda is a director who has delivered consistently with tons of great films that lead to some fantastic and mesmerizing experiences, however coming off of Hosoda’s previous film Belle (2021) his newest film Scarlet is quite a big disappointment. The film undeniably has some gorgeous animation that leads to some strong sequences and the final act ends up being a bit better than the movie’s rough middle portion. However Scarlet is ultimately a very watered down version of Willam Shakespeare’s Hamlet that does not add anything new or compelling.
The voice cast is all around great, with such a shallow script the cast does what they can a while there are some well done moments and the side characters get some admittedly cute moments. It’s Scarlet herself that just does not have enough character writing to make for an investing character, during the first 30 minutes or so we get some decent character building for her and then afterwards it almost feels like the movie completely stops. So many different themes and characters are thrown at the viewer that the movie loses focus on its main character, Hijiri is a fine enough secondary main character but the whole plot point with him is incredibly predictable and can be seen coming from a mile away.
The writing wants to be more than a watered down Hamlet but fails to do so in any unique or interesting way, there’s a pop song sequence that seemingly comes out of nowhere and takes the viewer completely out of the film. The villains of the story are shallowly written most of them are nothing more but bloodthirsty henchmen and Claudius the big bad of the movie does get a solid introduction but is not seen again until the movie is almost over making any sort of intrigue as a character next to impossible.
The animation is without a doubt the best part of the movie, as I said before it leads to some genuinely stunning moments and fun sequences. The attention to detail is sharp, clear and makes the movie’s world stand out a bit more. But that’s about as far as it goes, the animation can really only do so much when you have such a shallow script that fails to elaborate on any of its characters.
Scarlet is a disappointment, it’s a shame because there was potential for something great here. The right materials are here and the way the movie tackles life and death is genuinely interesting. But unfortunately the middle portion heavily lacks strong writing and is way to forgettable for its own good.
Scarlet releases in theaters December 12th (Limited) and February 6th (Wide)
Ethan Hunt and the IMF team race against time to find the Entity, a rogue artificial intelligence that can destroy mankind.
Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning is directed by Christopher McQuarrie director of Jack Reacher (2012), The Way of the Gun (2000) Mission Impossible – Rogue Nation, Fallout and Dead Reckoning (2015-2023). The film serves as a direct sequel to Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning and is the eighth installment in the Mission Impossible series.
While Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning may not have the absolute highs that the previous film did, it still ends the series (at least with Tom Cruise involved) on a high note and is what any fan of the franchise could really ask for.
The performances are all pretty strong here Tom Cruise is just as great as he has been in these films, he’s particularly strong during the film’s climax that is a rollercoaster ride. His commitment to keep pushing boundaries of stunt work continues to be impressive and that’s shown here in great detail. Hayley Atwell has solid chemistry with Tom Cruise and overall gives a strong performance by herself, Pom Klementieff gets some solid character growth and much like Atwell gives an overall pretty strong performance.
The writing does have its hiccups, for one thing there is a lot of callbacks to the rest of the franchise. That in itself is not necessarily a bad thing, but doing too much of it can start hurting the writing and in some areas it does. I can absolutely see what people mean when they say “the first hour is a slog” although there’s some interesting moments going on here, it is admittedly incredibly slow and does end up hurting the pacing in the long run. I will give some credit that the flashbacks are decently edited and at least build some sense of paranoia for Ethan particularly about his past and future.
Thanks to this paranoia that’s built, the rest of the film is able to shine. The thrilling atmosphere ends up giving the viewer one of the franchise’s most thrilling sequences and the film only keeps going up from there, constantly upping itself filled to the brim of incredibly well done stunt work and an atmosphere that brings the viewer to the edge of their seat.
The stunt work is incredibly well done and as I mentioned before is a prime example of Tom Cruise pushing boundaries of stunt work, he tops a majority (arguably all) of anything he’s done in his career with the climax and ends the film on the highest note possible. You can feel the passion from Tom Cruise through the screen and immediately brings the viewer front and center into the action, it’s by far some of the film’s greatest moments and only feels appropriate to end this series (at least with Tom Cruise this way).
Overall Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning is flawed, but once it gets past the weaker first hour (although as I said before it does have its positives) the film only improves from there. The plot might not exactly have a lot going on here detail wise, however the film remains fun throughout the experience and ends on a high note that most fans will be satisfied with.
Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning is available on all VOD platforms.
Jerome Reviews... 