The Mandalorian and Grogu (2026) Film Review

Din Djarin and Grogu work for the New Republic to track down scattered Imperial warlords, taking on a mission to rescue Rotta the Hutt.

The Mandalorian and Grogu is directed by Jon Favreau director of Elf (2003), Iron Man (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), Chef (2014), The Jungle Book (2016), The Lion King (2019) and a few others. The film serves as a continuation of the Disney+ television series The Mandalorian (2019-2023).

What happens when you take a television series and desperately try to adapt it into a film? You get something like The Mandalorian and Grogu a movie that is quite bafflingly bad. Which is a huge shame because the show (for the most part) is pretty great, the first season is quite excellent, the second season definitely has its flaws (the endless amount of cameos got really ridiculous) but for the most part retains what made the first season so great. Then you have the third season where it’s nothing but a bunch of side missions squished together in a limited amount of episodes.

Originally a fourth season was going to be made but Lucasfilm decided to prioritize a film which is what we now have. That clearly shows here because between the whole “and then this happened” storytelling, the nonexistent character writing and the incredibly small scale that does not benefit the movie at all. The whole experience devolves into a gigantic mess that nobody figured to clean up.

The acting here is really nothing special at all, Pedro Pascal as usual does a solid job as Din Djarin/The Mandalorian, Steve Blum voices Zeb (a character from Star Wars Rebels) what is kind of neat is he is reprising his role, for the limited amount of screen time he gets he does a decent job. Martin Scorsese makes a brief appearance (weird how this is the third movie released this year where this happened) he is one of the movie’s better parts but once again only appears briefly. Finally there is Jeremy Allen White as Rotta the Hutt, the son of Jabba the Hutt. Which I will say he does not give a bad performance it’s just a very cursed and jarring one that you wouldn’t be blamed if you thought it was terrible.

The only other positive I can really give this movie is the score from Ludwig Göransson, this might be his weakest work, however it’s still decently effective and is the only thing here that even attempts to try and bring back the glorious scale we are all used to in Star Wars films.

The main problem here that kills this movie on arrival is the storytelling, the style of storytelling here is the exact same that was done with the third season which as I said earlier was the whole “and then this happened” style. You could maybe make an argument that should get a pass for a television series (even though I would disagree because again limited amount of episodes) but for a theatrical released movie? Absolutely not, due to this it’s dreadfully paced and truly does feel like they had next to no idea what they wanted to do here so they just threw a bunch of ideas at the wall to see what sticks.

The action scenes are bland and don’t give the movie this large in scale feel like the rest of the Star Wars movies, I’m not saying small scale is bad (far from it) but when it’s painfully obvious that this is something that should have been put on streaming as some sort of special that’s when you cross a line. The action scenes just have very little power to them and not the fun or thrilling excitement, Attack Of The Clones (2002) for all its faults at least had strong action scenes that brought the viewer into the experience. None of the action scenes in The Mandalorian and Grogu even attempt to engage with the viewer, it all feels soulless and has this very “rushed out the door” type of feel.

I really don’t know what else to really say here, The Mandalorian and Grogu should not have been a theatrical release, if this were just a special they put on Disney+ then that would have probably been fine. It still would have been bad, but at the very least it would be understandable of why it’s presented the way it is. This is hands down the worst Star Wars movie to date, at least the previously mentioned Attack Of The Clones (2002) had good action scenes and The Rise Of Skywalker (2019) had decent enough acting. This is just a complete and total mess that never recovers.

The Mandalorian and Grogu is available on all VOD platforms.

3/10 D-

Mortal Kombat II (2026) Film Review

The fan favorite champions — now joined by Johnny Cage himself — are pitted against one another in the ultimate battle to defeat the dark rule of Shao Kahn that threatens the very existence of the Earthrealm and its defenders.

Mortal Kombat II is directed by Simon McQuoid director of Mortal Kombat (2021). The film serves as a sequel to Mortal Kombat (2021) and is the fourth installment in the Mortal Kombat film series.

Mortal Kombat (2021) is one of those movies where I really liked it at the time it was released, but slowly it got worse and worse for me. I can definitely still say that I enjoy it, but there were definitely glaring issues that could easily be fixed. Luckily Mortal Kombat II gives some answers to those issues, while it is not perfect and definitely has room for improvement. I do think Mortal Kombat II sets out to capture a lot of the spirit of the video game franchise and does quite a great job at doing so, which leads to a pretty fun time that any fan will be satisfied with.

For starters a main criticism with the previous movie was the very odd choice to make the focus on Cole Young, a character who was made entirely from the movie. Well this movie fixes that by not having him as the focus (he’s still in the movie but now as a side character), the focus now is Johnny Cage played by Karl Urban who really knocks it out of the park. The moment Urban appears on screen you can just feel how much he captures Johnny Cage as a character, his reactions to the ridiculous nonsense that is going on actually got a few laughs out of me. Plus I think making Cage the focus was a very clever move, he’s basically an audience surrogate which means we basically go on this journey with him. It adds a little bit more of a connection between the viewer and the film, I know that might sound a bit silly to say about a Mortal Kombat movie but it strangely works.

The rest of the characters are quite great here as well, Kitana, Sonya Blade, Kano, Liu Kang, Jax, Jade, Shang Tsung, Lord Raiden and many others appear. Josh Lawson who was arguably the best part of the previous film returns as Kano and is just as effective and hilarious. Adeline Rudolph as Kitana and Tati Gabrielle as Jade are newcomers who do a great job in their respective roles. I do like the film also focusing on Kitana as well even if the character writing is not absolutely perfect, there is at least understanding of what makes these characters such as Kitana interesting to the viewer. The cast overall does a really solid job here and easily made this such an entertaining ride.

The nonstop action scenes are also quite fantastic, this time around the film is very self aware as it does make little references to modern action films and the things that fans expect mainly the whole John Wick type of action (stabbing so many people brutally with a pencil.) Which the film actually delivers on these references and manages to make them funny. The film is luckily not so self aware to the point where it becomes obnoxious and where it refuses to have fun with itself, it’s just the right amount to really draw in the viewer due to the thought of “where is it going with this?”

As far as story goes, this is very standard Mortal Kombat and that’s no where near a bad thing. If anything the film benefits from this, the film knows exactly what it wants to be and does not pretend it’s something else. It’s a film that wants to entertain the viewer throughout the experience and it mostly succeeds in the end due to just how fast paced it really is along with the cast and atmosphere.

Overall Mortal Kombat II is a much needed improvement from the previous film, there was definitely a lot more determination to really capture the spirit of the video game franchise and the end result is quite a fun time!

Mortal Kombat II is available on all VOD platforms.

7/10 B

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026) Film Review

Mario ventures into space, exploring cosmic worlds and tackling galactic challenges far from the familiar Mushroom Kingdom.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic both of which previously directed The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) and the former also directing Teen Titans Go! To The Movies (2018). The Super Mario Galaxy Movie serves as a sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023).

After The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) was a quick and easy success it was almost immediately announced that a sequel was being made and it would be based around Super Mario Galaxy an incredibly beloved video game for the Wii that I have plenty of fond memories of playing when the Nintendo Wii first came out. It’s a fantastic game that still holds up incredibly well to this day. Luckily the film isn’t all bad, but there are some very glaring flaws and a few parts that are on the very disappointing side of things.

The voice cast does a pretty great job, particularly Donald Glover as Yoshi and Glen Powell as Fox McCloud. While yes Glover only ever says Yoshi or the typical Yoshi noises, I do think he brings the charm from the games to the big screen, this is one of those things where it’s sort of hard to really pin down. But if you watch the film and have played the games you will know exactly what I mean. Glen Powell’s voice just fits like a glove for Fox McCloud, he has the charisma and charm to back it up. He’s going for a Han Solo type of angle here and due to Powell’s smooth and strong delivery it works here.

Chris Pratt notably does a better job as Mario, It does feel like he’s getting a lot more familiar with the role so he is slowly but surely growing into it. There are some hiccups here and there but for the most part he does great, Charlie Day as Luigi is great, Jack Black as Bowser is just as entertaining and Anya Taylor-Joy as Peach is solid. Benny Safdie as Bowser Jr. however is incredibly unfitting and does not work. I get what they were trying to go for here with this older sounding version of the character. But the dialogue and tone of the movie just doesn’t match here at all with Safdie’s voice.

The animation is pretty solid here, if there is one thing this film does a very good job with it’s making it seem like you the viewer jumped into a video game and going on the adventure with Mario, Luigi and Yoshi. It’s much larger in scale than the previous film and that’s partly due to how detailed the animation really is, it’s a very well done recreation of a Super Mario video game. Everywhere you go there’s little sound effects, music bits or characters from this franchise’s history, it’s a huge celebration in that regard.

The main problem comes in with the movie’s take on Super Mario Galaxy…it just does not really feel like a Galaxy movie. Sure the movie takes place largely in space, it has some of the very recognizable songs from the game and even has some of the characters. But Rosalina (played by Brie Larson) for example gets a very limited amount of screen time and is basically a damsel in destress for a majority of the movie. I understand that even in the source material Rosalina did not do a whole lot during Mario’s adventure, however the advertising and the way this movie was being presented would have you believe Rosalina would be given a whole lot more to do. It kind of just seems like a very odd choice to keep one of the source material’s most memorable parts on the bench, it’s a shame to because Brie Larson gives a great performance.

Outside of Rosalina, the rest of the movie does have the DNA of the source material there. But never goes far enough with it, there is a lot of jumping around that is never fully able to have a strong grip on the atmosphere that Galaxy had. I do think the writing has its strong moments, but ultimately it is just very one note. It goes through way too many ideas in a short amount of time, there absolutely needed to be some breathing room for the movie.

Overall The Super Mario Galaxy Movie isn’t bad, it’s a heavily flawed movie yet still a decent amount of fun. It is certainly a step down from its predecessor but I do think fans will get enough out of this one.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is available on all VOD platforms.

6/10 C+

Greenland 2: Migration (2026) Film Review

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.

4/10 D+

Predator: Badlands (2025) Film Review

Cast out from its clan, an alien hunter and an unlikely ally embark on a treacherous journey in search of the ultimate adversary.

Predator: Badlands is directed by Dan Trachtenberg director of 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016), Prey (2022) and Predator: Killer Of Killers (2025). The film serves as the seventh installment in the Predator franchise.

When Prey (2022) revived interest in the Predator films I was very excited to see what he had in store next. To everyone’s surprised he had not one but TWO films planned out. Earlier this year Predator: Killer Of Killers released and as I said in my review it was excellent and that trend continues with Predator: Badlands, watching all three of these films it’s very clear that Trachtenberg loves the Predator franchise and that is especially clear here. Badlands has excellent performances, satisfying action scenes, this large in scale exploration and beautiful yet simple character writing that really goes a long way.

The performances are excellent, the center focus is Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi and Elle Fanning both of who give some of the best performances of the year. The two also dive quite deep into their characters and really bring out some truly fun and beautiful moments. Koloamatangi plays Dek a young Yautja outcast, while his character may seem like the typical warrior who needs to prove himself. The film goes a lot further than that, as he goes on his journey we get to see his character slowly but surely build over time, Koloamatangi’s performance really puts in the work as well. We can hear tons of emotion even through the Yautja speech, it gets to the point where you want to root for him and hope he accomplishes his mission. There’s a surprising amount of depth here that you do not see very often with these films, it might be a bit simple yes but it’s there and it helps build Dek into this quite interesting character we follow.

Elle Fanning plays a dual performance, Thia a damaged Weyland-Yutani Corporation synthetic who travels with Dek and Tessa a Weyland-Yutani synthetic and Thia’s sister, she serves as the antagonist of the film. What Elle Fanning captures the excellent balance of good and evil masterfully here, in one corner you have Thia who is hilarious, fun and a person who just wants to see the good in people. Then you have Tessa the cold, evil and whose only goal is to complete her mission. She puts up this fake act of caring for Thia all for taking advantage of her to get what she wants. Elle Fanning does such a brilliant job of bringing depth to both these characters, she’s able to show off just how wonderful she is as an actress while having so much fun with the performances. The trope of clone/evil versions of characters can be a bit on the lame side, however it absolutely works here due to just how much personality and power Fanning puts into both her performances.

The world building is quite fantastic, it’s definitely one of those films where the visuals of the film’s world as well as the large in scale nature does all of the talking. The film feels like an open world video game, that you lose yourself in and never want to leave. This large in scale nature lets the viewer explore all the different landscapes and creatures on the planet, even if some of the creatures are on screen for a few minutes it still feels like we know a lot about them simply due to the detail and how large in scale the film really is.

The film’s writing has this depth to it that really adds on as the film progresses, the underdog story that may have started as something simple evolves into a bigger beast. The film’s depth also has plenty of fun moments of dialogue, the humor works surprisingly well which is mainly due to the bond of Dek and Thia. The two characters have this fun and surprisingly wholesome bond that we slowly get to see form throughout the film. Which makes later scenes a bit more devastating when future events unfold.

Overall Predator: Badlands is yet another fantastic installment to the Predator franchise. It’s not known yet if Trachtenberg will be directing another Predator film, but I sure do hope we get to see even more of his love for this franchise.

Predator: Badlands is available in Theaters!

10/10 A+

Elio (2025) Film Review

Elio, an underdog with an active imagination, finds himself inadvertently beamed up to the Communiverse, an interplanetary organization with representatives from galaxies far and wide. Mistakenly identified as Earth’s ambassador to the rest of the universe, he starts to form new bonds with eccentric aliens while discovering who he’s truly meant to be.

Elio is directed by Madeline Sharafian and Domee Shi which is the former’s directorial debut with the latter previously directing Turning Red (2022).

Elio is a pretty solid addition to the Pixar library, while there might not be anything new thematically or even story wise going on here, the huge amount of charm is undeniable and it all adds up to make an incredibly fun and adventurous experience for the viewer.

First and foremost the voice cast does a pretty solid job here, Yonas Kibreab plays Elio a character that the viewer can quickly relate to as soon as the film starts. Losing both his parents at a very young age, Elio’s imagination roams free which leads to some genuinely raw moments that, he’s obsessed with communicating with the outside world. Something a lot of kids did when I was growing up and I’m sure the viewer will have the same sort of feeling. The film portrays all of this in such a beautiful way that makes Elio feel like a very real character, yes the film does take liberties in throwing in fantasy elements when it gets to the aliens. But throughout the film the raw feeling of Elio as a character never goes away.

Zoe Saldaña as Olga Solís (Elio’s aunt) is a very important part in this story, there’s sort of an emotional separation between Olga and Elio. Olga gave up on her dreams of becoming an astronaut so she can raise her nephew. Elio’s obsession nearly costs Olga’s job which causes a distance between them. The film explores the pain of both sides incredibly well, it’s done in this thoughtful and genuinely touching way that really makes the viewer immediately care for Elio and Olga.

The animation is stunning, the use of color is very top notch, when the film reaches the space portion of the film it really does feel like you are in another world. While yes the space theme does feel a bit familiar in a lot of ways, what Sharafian and Shi are able to do with it is what makes it so fun, they are able to bring this fun aesthetic and a silly atmosphere that it’s enjoyable. You have your heartwarming moments as well to even things out. It’s some nice world building that while may not going into very deep territory, is still solid enough to capture the main mood of the film’s world.

The writing has many themes going on here such as feeling out of place, loss and loneliness all of which the film does a pretty solid job of exploring. The theme of feeling out of place in particular is beautifully done, combining it with the whole space theme is a smart move as well. Elio is in this spot where he doesn’t know where he belongs due to the loss of his parents, his connection to the outside world can only help him so much. This all leads to beautiful moments that are captured quite well and really are striking in their own ways.

The main criticism here comes from most of the aliens, outside of Gordon who does get quite a bit of development. The rest of the aliens don’t really get a huge amount of development, sure they have a few key differences from on another but there really is not anything that stands out. The antagonist Lord Grigon is just kind of there, he’s fine and he gets the job done but that’s really about it. I do find it interesting that the world itself has a lot more personality and gets more development than most of its inhabitants.

But as it stands Elio is a very strong addition to Pixar’s library, it’s touching, heartwarming and such a sweet film that you can’t help but smile after watching.

Elio is available on all VOD platforms.

8/10 B+

Lilo & Stitch (2025) Film Review

Stitch, an extraterrestrial entity, comes to Earth after escaping prison, where he tries to impersonate a dog. Things take a turn when a lonely Hawaiian girl, Lilo, adopts him from an animal shelter and he helps mend her broken family.

Lilo & Stitch is directed by Dean Fleischer Camp who previously directed Marcel The Shell With Shoes On (2021). The film serves as a remake to the 2002 film of the same name.

Lilo & Stitch might be the better than Snow White when it comes to Disney live action remakes that came out this year, but is that really worth celebrating? I will admit that there’s parts of Lilo & Stitch that work well enough, but much like a lot of these other live action remakes the end result is complete inferior versions of the original.

As far as the cast goes seeing Chris Sanders return as the voice for Stitch is great, he does a great job here and his connection with Maia Kealoha is easily some of the movie’s best moments. Speaking of which Maia Kealoha absolutely carries this movie, she captures the spirit of Lilo from the original and has a lot of sweet moments. You can easily tell there was so much charm that went into her performance and she was able to bring that to the viewer front and center, if it hadn’t been for Kealoha and Sanders this remake would fall flat almost immediately at the start. The rest of the cast are fine enough, Billy Magnussen as Pleakley has some good moments but that’s really about it, a lot of the other characters such as Jumba just don’t have the charm or energy of what made them so great in the original. A lot of the character writing here felt very half baked and severe lack of passion, which is incredibly unfortunate.

The writing is strange to say the least, this is an instance where the movie is at its best when it follows the original not when it brings new things into the mix. The character writing is especially noticeably dipped in quality the main offender being the choice to make Jumba a villain, it’s an out of nowhere decision that hurts the movie in the long run. Jumba being a villain takes away a lot of what made his character so great in the original, he doesn’t have that same connection with Stitch, while yes he was technically a “mad scientist” in the original but he was ultimately a goofy guy, the destruction he made was accidental because he was mostly insensitive and mean in this goofy way. Think about it this way, imagine if someone tried to make Dr. Doofenshmirtz from Phineas and Ferb into a very serious villain. That’s the equivalent of what this movie did here with Jumba. In this movie Jumba is evil for the sake of being evil, he hates everyone, takes away a lot of what made him such a great character.

As far as the ending is concerned it’s a very puzzling decision and really defeats the purpose of the original, not only that but it’s incredibly out of character for Nani. The original had this message of being Ohana which means no one gets left behind, to see a complete whiplash from this movie is bizarre to say the least.

Overall there really isn’t not much else to be said about the live action remake of Lilo & Stitch. It has its moments that capture the original decently well but then you have moments that completely miss what made the original so fun, adventurous and why people love it so much.

Lilo & Stitch is available on all VOD platforms.

4/10 D+

Superman (2025) Film Review

Superman must reconcile his alien Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as reporter Clark Kent. As the embodiment of truth, justice and the human way he soon finds himself in a world that views these as old-fashioned.

Superman is directed by James Gunn director of Slither (2006), Super (2010), The Guardians Of The Galaxy Trilogy and The Suicide Squad (2021). Superman serves as the first film in the new DC Universe and as a reboot of the Superman franchise

I’ve said before in the past (at least I think I did) that I was never personally a Superman fan, outside of the first two Christopher Reeves films and the Superman animated series that came out in the 90s (which you should absolutely watch if you haven’t it’s such a fun series.) I was never that invested into Superman…with that being said I am absolutely amazed by Superman (2025).

It’s absolutely no surprise that Superman is high in quality given that this is yet again James Gunn showing he knows his talent for directing incredibly well done comic book films, much like he did with The Guardians Of The Galaxy movies (2014-2023) and The Suicide Squad (2021) not only does he put excellent action in the film but he captures so many important themes of Superman that has been missing from a lot of these other films for quite a while now.

The major part of what makes Superman so excellent is the cast, whether they play a major role or a small role they all feel like a natural fit into the film’s world. For starters David Corenswet embodies the role of Superman, whether he’s fighting the villains of the film or in more quiet scenes with the many characters of the film. There’s always this kind, empathetic and vulnerable person we see when we look at Superman or Clark Kent, this debunks the idea of Superman being this perfect and unstoppable person. There’s so much heart that Corenswet gives to his portrayal to the character that it even captures a lot of what made Christopher Reeves’s Superman so iconic, his chemistry with Rachel Brosnahan (who plays Lois Lane) is some of the best moments of the film, the conversations they have with another feel surprisingly grounded and we see Clark Kent open up about how he feels about being Superman, what it takes and how much it affects him. Corenswet masterfully captures all of these moments so well and so earnestly that this ends up being one of the best performances in a comic book film in recent memory.

Rachel Brosnahan is also quite fantastic here, when it comes to portrayals of Lois Lane there’s an argument to be made that she’s the absolute best. I’ve said before that the chemistry between her and Corenswet is absolutely beautiful, but her interactions with the rest of the characters are a lot of fun as well. The film starts with Clark Kent and Lois Lane already dating, for some that might be rushing into things but I think that works here. Mainly due to how it’s talked about and acted during one of the film’s first scenes. We can almost immediately gather that the two really care for each other and the chemistry is just oozing out of the screen. Her portrayal of Lois Lane determined to find the truth is also fantastic and leads to some of her best moments throughout the film.

Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor is quite possibly the best portrayal of the character, he captures the incredibly unhinged parts of what makes Lex Luthor such a fantastic villain. He’s both comically evil and genuinely terrifying mainly because he believes every single word he’s saying and believes every action he is taking is justified, we especially see this towards the end where his determination to destroy Superman goes from already being an obsession to downright psychotic. Hoult captures all of this so wonderfully in this incredible performance that ends up being one of the best takes on a comic book villain in recent memory. His interactions with Superman are filled to the brim with destruction and desire that we see how much more corrupted he really gets.

The rest of the performances are fantastic, The Justice Gang which consists of Michael Holt/Mister Terrific (played by Edi Gathegi), Guy Gardner/Green Lantern played by Nathan Fillion) this is one of the many versions of the Green Lantern this universe is going to have) and finally Kendra Saunders/Hawkgirl (played by Isabela Merced) are all a lot of fun here. Merced does not get a whole lot of scenes but it’s a nice introduction to Hawkgirl as a character and Merced still delivers. Nathan Fillion gets some great moments as well and his interactions with the rest of the group and even Superman have some genuinely funny moments, there’s a moment towards the end while short does a great job of capturing his character. Edi Gathegi gives such a neat performance as Mister Terrific, he’s given the most to do in the group and especially gets one particular moment that is one of the film’s best. It’s very much like some scenes from The Guardians Of The Galaxy trilogy but still manages to be incredibly fun especially combined with the song choice, camerawork and the attention to detail with the action.

Speaking of which the action is quite exciting, it really captures the whole Superman vibe especially with the cinematography from Henry Braham, while there might be a few silly shots they actually do fit with the film’s world and they most certainly do not take away from the world building of the cinematography. While Metropolis is not given straightforward world building development it is through the cinematography and it’s citizens, as the viewer when you look around you realize that the film is large in scale and that’s reflected through the action scenes and cinematography. It’s not closed off or limited the film wants you to explore, it’s incredibly fascinating and even quite beautiful at times.

Finally there’s the writing and the themes of the film that are genuinely beautiful, the character development that goes on with Clark Kent, Lois Lane and many of the other characters really feels natural. There’s a few particular moments here that really highlight this, one of them being the conversation Clark has with his parents Pa Kent (played by Pruitt Taylor Vince) and Ma Kent (played by Neva Howell) it’s such a touching scene that really does capture a lot of the heart of the film and even Superman as a character, it helps that the acting in this particular moment is especially fantastic. Ma and Pa Kent are down to earth, humble and care for their son Clark, they are proud of Clark yet are still worried about him. Even if Clark might be one of the planet’s strongest they see that he still needs to understand that he is loved, this is a very real take on parenthood even if it’s only for this scene it’s still incredibly impactful.

The themes of what makes being a hero and the people believing in Superman even when things are dire is captured so beautifully here. There’s one particular scene where Raising The Flag (one of the film’s many great tracks) is played, it’s the song from the first trailer and it perfectly fits here. From the people chanting Superman, to the booming and quiet moments of the song. It’s a beautiful and powerful representation of who Superman is and why so many people love him both in the film’s world and our world, it’s the theme of a hero determined to help the people because it’s the right thing to do. He does not expect anything in return he just does it because it’s bravery and his actions saves lives.

Overall Superman is one of the best films of the year, this is quite a fantastic way to start off the new DC universe. If this is the quality that a lot of these upcoming projects will showcase then I am very excited to see what happens next.

Superman is currently in theaters.

10/10 A+

The Phoenician Scheme (2025) Film Review

Wealthy businessman, Zsa-zsa Korda appoints his only daughter, a nun, as sole heir to his estate. As Korda embarks on a new enterprise, they soon become the target of scheming tycoons, foreign terrorists, and determined assassins.

The Phoenician Scheme is directed by Wes Anderson director of Bottle Rocket (1996), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), Isle Of Dogs (2018), The French Dispatch (2021), Asteroid City (2023) and many others.

Wes Anderson is back again with another incredibly strong film, while in some areas the film very much does feel like what you would expect from a Wes Anderson film at this point. There is a lot of excellent character writing, humorous moments and fun dialogue that ultimately lead into some genuinely touching moments.

The cast like in most Wes Anderson films does a fantastic job here, I would argue that this film highlights that even more than some of his other films. Benicio del Toro, Mia Therapleton and Michael Cera are all hilarious together each in their own way. The father and daughter bond between Benicio del Toro and Mia Therapleton that builds over the course of the film is genuinely touching, what starts as a rough bond quickly evolves into something genuine, there’s some quite beautiful moments towards the film’s final moments that actually does make the viewer shed a tear. There’s this theme of rebuilding and learning to communicate and the film does that incredibly well with del Toro and Therapleton, it depicts this in such a raw way that quickly connects with the viewer.

Michael Cera is hilarious all around, he captures the bizarre atmosphere the film is going for. The build up to what his character is ultimately revealed to be would have never worked if this were almost any other director, but due to how hilarious Cera is combined with being just born to be in a Anderson film the reveal works and makes Cera all the more fantastic. Cera’s chemistry with Therapleton is also charming, fun and is genuinely sweet, it’s something we also get to see build up over the course of the film and ends up being very well developed.

The rest of the cast is fantastic, although we don’t get to see more of them they stick around long enough to have a lasting impact on the viewer. Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Jeffery Wright and Riz Ahmed in particular are a lot of fun here.

The writing this time around is genuinely hilarious, this is perhaps Anderson’s most hilarious film since The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). Which I believe is mainly due to how the film’s premise is presented, going around recruiting people to help you in business dealings while being constantly hunted down is shown in this humorous way that Anderson absolutely hits out of the park. The theme of scaling down ambition is shown here in this striking way, too much ambition can lead to crashing and even dangerous results. This is explored quite well and especially is well executed during the third act of the film.

The films final moments I find to be incredibly sweet, not only do we get the beautiful moments of father and daughter bond we have gotten throughout the film. But the film’s themes are tied together in this nice little bow and shows that starting from scratch and a new life can be welcomed.

The Phoenician Scheme is available on all VOD platforms.

9/10 A

Tornado (2025) Film Review

When her father’s puppet samurai show gets ambushed by a notorious gang, Tornado vows to seek vengeance and forge her own destiny by stealing their ill-gotten gold.

Tornado is directed by John Maclean director of Slow West (2015).

Tornado has this interesting idea going on here where it combines samurai and western films, even if the story being told here does not have the full emotional firepower it needs to. There is still a decent amount to appreciate here that does end up help the film ultimately stand on its own.

The performances are great, Kōki gives a solid performance as Tornado. She absolutely carries the film even when it’s in some rough patches, she balances the action moments along with the quiet moments where she is just bonding with her father very well. The writing may not give her a whole lot to go in depth with, but she’s able to turn certain scenes into decently exciting ones from just being quite talented.

The supporting cast is fine here, the best by far has to be Tim Roth who’s just really great at playing a villain. His character Sugarman might be a very generic villain but Roth as an actor helps elevate the role into something a bit more (I’m being generous when I say that), we really do not get a whole lot of information about Sugarman as a character from the script. So it’s really Roth’s acting that does a lot of the talking.

When it comes to the technical aspects Tornado is quite great. The cinematography from Robbie Ryan has this atmospheric feel that you immediately get from a lot of samurai and western films, the decision to shoot on 35mm gave this film a very gorgeous look that actually helps standout well. It’s a smart creative choice and combined with the locations of the film, we get to see how effective this decision really was and how it benefits it in the long run. We get to see how the filming compliments the woods, trails, fields and such in this beautiful and striking detail.

The script is what is mainly holding this one back from being great, the story is a very typical revenge story that you can almost immediately guess what is going to happen. There’s just not a whole lot going on here with the characters, while the film does give some genuinely great character moments such as Tornado bonding with her father Fujin by doing a puppet show for the children. There’s not nearly enough of these moments to really say that the film gives the viewer a lot of emotional depth for the characters.

Overall I do think Tornado is a decent film, visually it’s quite fantastic. When it comes to the writing it drops the ball but it’s not a complete misfire, there’s just not a whole lot going on here narratively and with some writing adjustments this could have been much better.

Tornado is available on all VOD platforms.

6/10 C+