The Christophers (2026) Film Review

A once-celebrated artist’s children enlist a forger to access his unfinished canvases in a deceptive bid to secure their inheritance.

The Christophers is directed by Steven Soderbergh director of Ocean’s Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen, Magic Mike (2012) Logan Lucky (2017), Unsane (2018), Kimi (2022), Presence (2025), Black Bag (2025) and so many others.

The Christophers is a much smaller scale film from Steven Soderbergh, even smaller than films such as Presence (2025). What we have here is mainly two people talking about art and the artistic creation and legacy of it all. Combined together, the film ends up being a quite interesting ride with a nice little mystery thrown in.

The performances from the cast are incredibly strong here. Ian McKellen plays Julian Sklar an aging artist whose children are trying to gain access to his unfinished canvases so they can secure their inheritance. While Julian is boastful and unapologetic, McKellen infuses him with sadness wistfulness and vulnerability. There is points where the artist has to confront his legacy and its truly some of the film’s strong moments. McKellen also goes for this more theatrical performance like you would expect in a play, with monologues that capture the film’s focused atmosphere and his interactions with the rest of the cast truly do make this yet another fascinating performance from McKellen.

Michaela Coel is the other half of what makes the film so great, she does a splendid job, her interactions with McKellen are investing. But I think what really pushes her to greatness is this silent performance, there are times where she spends sizing up the situation or listening. Those moments do all the talking and are able to convey what she is thinking or feeling without uttering a word, her character Lori Butler is calculated and waits to see how certain situations play out. Or how Julian is going to react. It’s this silent powerhouse performance that truly sticks to the viewer the whole way through the film.

James Corden and Jessica Gunning provide for strong supporting roles, they don’t have much in the way of character moments. But they do give solid performances that help build the mystery of the film and have great interactions with McKellen and Coel.

The writing is quite strong, there is this whole theme of art ownership whether certain paintings were made by the author or the person who forged them. This question is asked quite a lot throughout the film and the film keeps the question going even after the credits role. Julian throughout the film talks about how the art world has reduced his body of work and all of the power he put into his work into a price, during these moments we can hear the pain in his voice and how much it’s deeply affected him.

Overall The Christophers is a very interesting film, the pacing can definitely drag at times but I do think the rest of the film especially the performances make up for it almost immediately.

The Christophers is available on all VOD platforms.

7/10 B

Lightning Round: You, Me and Tuscany and Fuze (2026)

When a woman crashes at an empty Italian villa, posing as the owner’s fiancée, she discovers an unexpected romance that could transform her life.

You, Me & Tuscany is directed by Kat Coiro director of Life Happens (2011), And While We Were Here (2012), A Case Of You (2013) and Marry Me (2022).

You, Me & Tuscany does not have a whole lot going on here, with that being said it is a decently fun romantic comedy that has its charm.

The movie mainly works due to Halle Bailey, she’s charming and does a fantastic job at bringing the viewer into the film. The character moments have just the right amount of appearances to help build Anna as a character, the rest of the characters are easy to love as well. It’s a very fluffy movie that knows exactly what its audience wants and gives it to them proudly.

The movie can be a bit too familiar for its own good, if you have seen any romantic comedy within the last 5-10 years you can probably make a pretty strong guess as to what is going to happen. You have the setup, the miscommunication and the third act declaration of love. It’s all there and despite being predictable the movie has just the right amount of fun, solid acting and atmosphere to push this one to the finish line.

Not much else to say here, if you are a fan of romcoms this one will do the job.

You, Me & Tuscany is available on all VOD platforms.

6/10 C+

An unexploded WWII bomb is discovered on a busy construction site in the centre of London. Chaos ensues as the military and police begin a mass evacuation against a ticking clock.

Fuze is directed by David Mackenzie director of Hell Or High Water (2016), Outlaw King (2018), Relay (2024) and a lot of others.

Fuze suffers from the exact same problem as Mackenzie’s last film Relay did and it’s that the third act throws a wrench into the movie and not in an interesting or good way. The twist could be seen coming a mile away but it still does break the movie.

On the plus side you do get decent performances from Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Theo James, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and even Sam Worthington. They all really try the best with the script that’s given to them, there are some decently thrilling moments plus it has this atmosphere such as this whole “when is the bomb going to go off” type of one.

The main problem here really comes down to the movie’s script, the characters are incredibly paper thin in terms of both development and personality. Sure there are moments of somewhat interesting dialogue between the characters. But unfortunately those are very far and few in between, the story is very typical heist movie affairs which would be fine enough if the third act was not a complete and total mess with a very unsatisfying conclusion.

There really isn’t much else to be said here, Fuze luckily never leans into “bad” territory but this is certainly one that I really can’t give a recommendation.

Fuze is available on all VOD platforms.

5/10 C

Project Hail Mary (2026) Film Review

A science teacher wakes up alone on a spaceship. As his memory returns, he uncovers a mission to stop a mysterious substance killing Earth’s sun, and realizes that an unexpected friendship may be the key.

Project Hail Mary is directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller directors of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009), 21 Jump Street (2012), The Lego Movie (2014) and 22 Jump Street (2014).

Project Hail Mary is an absolute beauty of a film, everything that should come together does. Whether it’s the powerful and raw performances, the atmosphere capturing both this sense of loneliness and togetherness or the film’s investing dialogue that brings the viewer along for the experience.

Ryan Gosling as Ryland Grace is one of the best performances so far this year, he captures the film’s atmosphere of loneliness and togetherness when the film requires it. Gosling’s charm undoubtedly brings the film together, especially during Ryland Grace’s interactions with Rocky. There’s this beautiful bond that is truly touching and filled to the brim with care, Gosling has shown time and time again how strong of an actor he really is and this time around he really reinforces that and truly goes all out. He’s able to balance the emotional heartbreak and the comedic moments expertly that brings this very human performance that almost anyone can latch onto.

Sandra Hüller once again hits it out of the park, if there is one thing I did not expect going into this film it was Hüller singing Harry Styles’ “Sign of the Times” it is a unexpected yet powerful scene that is only made stronger due to Hüller’s beautiful singing voice. Outside of that, Hüller delivers this grounded cold government official that has this vulnerability attached.

Finally there is James Oritz who voices Rocky who is basically a rock with legs, but do not let that fool you. The amount of character moments he gets is truly fascinating and each one of them only helps build the character, as I previously mentioned earlier, the moments between Ryland Grace and Rocky are truly some of the film’s best, it shows the abilities of both actors and builds their character’s bonds. Oritz much like Gosling is able to balance the emotional and comedic moments, Rocky is definitely a bit more on the comedic side than Ryland Grace is. But that does not stop him from being quite an effective character.

The film’s writing is quite fantastic, the mixture of both loneliness and togetherness is what truly brings this film together for me. The loneliness is the ultimate catalyst of the mission but togetherness is what is needed to survive. We see this with Ryland Grace before going into space this sense of loneliness in the air, sure we see him talking to people but the atmosphere makes sure to highlight the loneliness in the air. The togetherness comes in with Rocky, both Grace and Rocky help each other survive and reach the end of the mission, there is also some flashbacks to when Grace was on earth where there were a few moments of togetherness despite the danger Earth is facing.

Finally there is the film’s technical aspects, when you combine the film’s beautiful and effective score from Daniel Pemberton and the jaw dropping cinematography from cinematographer Greg Fraser who gives some of the best shots from a film so far this year. You get a truly wonderful experience that the film is sure to highlight incredibly well.

Overall Project Hail Mary is a fantastic film that is truly worth the experience. While the film can go on for a bit too long in some areas, that is not nearly enough to stop the film from being quite excellent.

Project Hail Mary is available on all VOD platforms.

9/10 A

Nirvanna the band the show the Movie (2026) Film Review

When a convoluted, frantic plan to book a gig at Toronto’s Rivoli goes terribly wrong, creators Matthew Johnson and Jay McCarrol accidentally travel back in time to the year 2008.

Nirvanna the band the show the movie is directed by Matt Johnson director of The Dirties (2013), Operation Avalanche (2016) and Blackberry (2023). The film is based on the 2007-2009 web series and its 2017-2018 television adaption.

A director who has quickly become an absolute force in Indie filmmaking is Matt Johnson, with every film he attempts something completely different and always brings something truly special to the table. That’s no exception here with Nirvanna the band the show the movie, this is a film that not only celebrates the fun of making a film. But it’s also a film that is genuinely hilarious, charming and just an absolute joy of a film. It is worth noting that I have not seen the web series or the television adaption but after watching this film, that is very likely to change.

First and foremost, the reason why this film works is of course because of Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol. The two play fictionalized versions of themselves and they truly do such a fantastic job here, every single moment they are firing several jokes with some of the most cleanest and best comedic timing you could really ask for. The two’s chemistry is nothing short of fantastic, as I said before I haven’t seen the series the film is based on but this is just one of those moments you can just tell how excellent they are together. The two do such a fantastic job of bringing this film to life, whether it’s several 2008 references or Back To The Future (1985) references the humor always lands as well as their performances.

The film’s writing is sharp and filled to the brim with clever references that really capture this time capsule like approach that truly feels special, incorporating a lot of ideas from Back To The Future (1985) made for some genuinely hilarious laughs as well as tying the film’s themes together. Usually throwing as many references as you can is a very risky move, however what Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol do here is excellent. There are moments of the film where you genuinely wonder “how on earth did this get made?” I won’t spoil anything here, but it is truly just a fun experience just to see what these two end up doing.

Lastly there’s the films themes, the friendship between Johnson and McCarrol is truly beautiful and is the heart of the film. Two friends doing crazy and ridiculous things together, making a film that captures your friendship and this journey you share with the ones you truly love. The film executes this in such a hilarious and touching way that truly invests the viewer into it all.

Overall Nirvanna the band the show the movie is one of the best films of the year, it’s a wonderful film that even if you are not familiar with the source material I still do recommend giving this one a go!

Nirvanna the band the show the movie is available on all VOD platforms.

10/10 A+

Send Help (2026) Film Review

An overworked analyst and her arrogant nepo-baby boss survive a plane crash near Thailand and must cooperate to survive on a remote jungle island while their workplace power dynamic collapses around them.

Send Help is directed by Sam Rami director of Evil Dead (1981), Evil Dead II (1987), Army Of Darkness (1992), Spider-Man and its two sequels (2002-2007), Drag Me To Hell (2009), Oz the Great and Powerful (2013), Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) and a few others.

After a few franchise films, Sam Rami returns with an original film that brings him back to his roots and what he’s best at. Send Help is everything you can really ask for from a Sam Rami horror project. Excellent act, the perfect blend of horror and comedy and creative writing that puts a spotlight on several different themes that all mesh well together.

The performances from Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien are some of 2026’s best so far. Rachel McAdams goes from being calm and collected to insanity in a snap, it’s an unhinged performance that perfectly captures the atmosphere Rami creates with this film. There’s almost this strategic element in McAdams’s performance that the viewer slowly but surely starts to dive into as the film goes on, McAdams has always been a fantastic actress, but here she really kicks it up a notch. From the moment her character Linda Liddle is introduced you immediately get into her character, we as the viewer slowly watch her slowly change over the course of the film and it’s just a huge blast to see.

Dylan O’Brien is also quite fantastic as well, he plays a complete and total asshole and does quite a great job at doing so. The scenes of him trying to stand against an unhinged Rachel McAdams is some of his best moments, the fear in his eyes and the suspense is the perfect combination. The best however is the dynamic between the two, they work effortlessly together, whether it’s the film’s opening moments of O’Brien’s character Bradley Preston being a complete and total asshole to Linda, or when Linda has Bradley at a brutal point where he has no choice but to listen to her. Everything about McAdams and O’Brien working together in the film just makes a lot of sense.

The writing is quite clever, it ties in themes like generated power dynamics, hierarchy, nepotism and toxic workplace politics in both a humorous and serious way. The film is not saying anything particularly new about these topics, however the way the film manages to tie in these topics into the story (you slowly start to see them come into play as the film goes on) is very interesting and what makes the writing so investing.

As I said before Sam Rami returns to his roots and that means we get some fantastic gore, some well done shots (with the help of cinematographer Bill Pope) and creatively built atmosphere. What makes Rami such a compelling and fascinating director is the atmosphere he builds for his films and that’s no exception here. McAdams and O’Brien are quite easily able to capture the atmosphere the film requires, it’s feel of a film that balances its humor and horror perfectly. The film is able to both make the viewer cackle at a simple joke and make you feel somewhat disturbed by some of the gore. It’s the perfect blend that really hits the ball out of the park.

Overall Send Help is a fantastic film, In a year that has been excellent for horror so far. This is definitely one of the best of the pack.

Send Help is available on all VOD platforms.

10/10 A+

Tribeca Review: In Memoriam (2026)

A terminally ill actor becomes obsessed with being featured in the Oscars’ “In Memoriam” segment, exploring ego, humility, and legacy.

In Memoriam is directed by Rob Burnett director of We Made This Movie (2012) and The Fundamentals Of Caregiving (2016).

In Memoriam perhaps has one of the most unique premises I’ve heard of so far this year. The whole idea here is an aging actor is faced with terminal cancer but then wants to make it on the In Memoriam section of the Oscars ceremony, it’s a very eye catching idea that works quite well. While there are a few hiccups along the road, the film does a great job of executing its ideas and helps build its characters around it.

Marc Maron gives one of the best performances of his career, he’s able to balance the film’s dramatic and comedic moments expertly which leads to some genuinely hilarious and impactful dialogue exchanges. He plays off the supporting cast incredibly well, his most hilarious moments come in when he’s on screen with Michael McKean and his best dramatic moments come in when he’s on screen with Talia Ryder.

Speaking of which, Talia Ryder continues to show that she is incredibly underrated. The little moments of Maura (played by Talia Ryder) wanting her father Langston (played by Marc Maron) to teach her about acting have this raw atmosphere to them that you really can’t help but love. The father and daughter bond the two display throughout the film is the heart of it all, it leads to an admittedly predictable yet beautiful ending that will absolutely make you shed a tear or two.

The rest of the cast is great, as mentioned earlier Michael McKean is quite hilarious. Megalyn Echikunwoke makes for a fun addition during the film’s second half and Lily Gladstone although not having a large presence in the film, still goes all out with her performance. The dialogue exchanges between her and Maron are some of the film’s highlights.

As far as writing goes In Memoriam is quite strong, it goes for this dramady type of feel that really works. It’s definitely understandable if some moments could feel like a whiplash for some viewers, but luckily the film does a great job of mostly preventing that by having plenty of down to earth serious moments yet strangely funny. The theme of the time someone has left when faced with a situation like cancer is truly well done and has this sense of care that’s put into it.

The film is admittedly very predictable especially during the second half as it does have a ton of genre cliches. However I don’t think that ruins the movie, the performances, the beautiful moments and the premise itself keep this one afloat. It’s the type of film that you root for due to it just being so charming and in the end the film reaches that finish line.

Overall In Memoriam is a very charming and caring film that has some great performances and is quite hilarious. At times it can feel familiar but one thing is for sure that the film will leave you with a great impression.

In Memoriam currently has no release date.

8/10 B+

Scary Movie (2026)

Cindy and her friends as they are forced to reunite when the original masked killer returns 26 years later.

Scary Movie or Scary Movie 6 (2026) is directed by Michael Tiddes director of A Haunted House (2013), A Haunted House (2014), Fifty Shades Of Black (2016), Naked (2017), Sextuplets (2019)and Half Baked: Totally High (2024). The film is the sixth installment in the Scary Movie series. It’s a spiritual sequel the first two films.

The Scary Movie series were without a doubt the most popular set of films that came from the parody movie era of the 2000s and the early 2010s. The first two films I still think are fun comedies that really nail down the whole idea of parody, there is still quite a bit of charm there that works well. The third and fourth movies have their moments, not everything works with the two but you do get some quite memorable moments. The fifth movie is quite horrendous and came out at a time when the parody genre was reaching its fall off.

Scary Movie is luckily FAR better than Scary Movie 5 (2013). Although that is not exactly saying much and I can’t necessarily say that this is a good movie, when it comes to a parody movie not being as bad as ones like Scary Movie 5 (2013), Disaster Movie (2008), Epic Movie (2007) and a few others that is absolutely considered a win.

First and foremost Anna Faris and Regina Hall once again do a really great job as Cindy Campbell and Brenda Meeks respectively. They both still have the comedic timing that they pull off incredibly well even with the movie’s more lame jokes, it’s great seeing the two together again and really showcases that without the two, the Scary Movie series just does not work nearly as well. Other characters that return are Doofy (played by Dave Sheridan), Shorty (played by Marlon Waynes) Ray (played by Shawn Waynes), Greg Phillippe (played by Lochlyn Munro) and Bobby Prinze (played by Jon Abrahams (although the latter two have very small roles.) The cast works well together and have the same level of charm they had in previous entries of the series.

The introduction of the new characters is very mixed, their inclusion makes a lot of sense. After all the main story the movie is parodying is Scream 5 & 6, a majority of them however do feel underutilized. Credit where credit is due I do think the movie’s ending is a nice spin on the whole new characters in horror franchises sort of thing.

As far as cameos go, I do think the movie does a pretty great job. There is shockingly not a whole lot of them and the ones that do appear got laughs out of me, definitely a breath of fresh air when you compare this to other parody movies that focused more on shoving as many cameos as possible.

The first half of the movie is definitely the strongest, the movie comes out swinging with a quite strong and clever intro scene that while does capture the familiarity feel of these movies. It also has this nostalgic welcome back feel that you can’t help but appreciate, what follows is a steady string of good bits that you can tell the cast was having a blast with. While not every single one of these jokes lands as you do have a few that feel either forced, overly explained or stretched for way too long, for the most part the first half of the movie manages to stick the landing.

Unfortunately that’s when things go downhill, the second half of the movie really reflects as to why the parody movie genre died. Most of the jokes in the second half feel like they are stretched for way too long, the movie does not let its own jokes breathe, when you combine that with shockingly slow pacing (how is this even an issue?) and you have yourself a very rough second half to get through. It’s frustrating because there are some decently clever set ups for jokes, but unfortunately the delivery and timing is incredibly messy.

The movie also very clearly has a lot of scenes missing, there were points where it felt like this very messy project that was due the night before. There is a whole lot of jumping around from parody to parody that almost felt reminiscent of Family Guy cutaway gags. While a few of these jokes offer some great laughs, others feel like a complete waste of the movie’s time.

Overall Scary Movie is really about what you expect, I think the main problem here with this one is it does not go far enough with its humor and does not do a whole lot to stand out. It ultimately does feel like just another parody movie that has a few memorable scenes attached to it. As I said before, this is far better than Scary Movie 5 (2013) and if you are a fan of these movies you will get some entertainment out of it. Just don’t go in expecting this to be up there with the earlier installments.

Scary Movie is currently in theaters.

4/10 D+

Forbidden Fruits (2026) Film Review

At a mall store, Apple leads a secret witch cult with coworkers Cherry and Fig. New hire Pumpkin questions their sisterhood, forcing them to confront inner darkness or meet violent ends.

Forbidden Fruits is directed by Meredith Alloway which is her directorial debut.

Forbidden Fruits is one of the biggest surprises so far this year, what could have easily been another The Craft (1996) meets Mean Girls (2004) type of deal. Ends up going the extra mile and manages to be cleverly written and quite a whole lot of fun as well. Especially when you combine that with some really strong performances that truly make the film its identity.

The film’s firepower comes from its performances, you would be forgiven if you went into the film thinking that the performances are not going to be anything special. However that’s not the case here because everyone here is giving it their all which really helps the film in the long run.

For starters we have Lili Reinhart who plays Apple the leader of the trio, Reinhart gives such a fantastic performance here that it becomes crazy on how good she is. She nails the film’s campy, comedic and dramatic moments that all add up to such an investing performance. Reinhart also has the charisma to back herself up, you can feel that she fits like a glove for a film like Forbidden Fruits. Her conversations with the rest of the cast feel natural and the body language she uses here are both hilarious and kind of intimidating at times. Reinhart gives one of the best performances so far this year, without her I don’t think the film would have worked nearly as well.

Victoria Pedretti is also quite fantastic here as well, she plays Cherry who is far more on the comedic side of things than Apple. But still manages to stand out quite well and that’s all due to Pedretti’s delivery, she really leans into the film’s more campy and comedic moments but manages to bring them to the viewer in a way that’s both fun and charming. These moments don’t feel forced or lame, it’s part of who Cherry is as a character and it truly works in the film’s favor.

Lola Tung who plays Pumpkin and Alexandra Shipp who plays Fig are also great here as well, Tung is able to anchor the whole campy horror comedy element with this nuanced intriguing take of a performance. We get to see her explore the world around her as she goes from a mall worker to being a coven of witches. Finally Alexandra Shipp gives this stylish and magnetic energy that really boosts her performance, she might not get a whole lot of character moments. But that is made up by easily connecting with the rest of the cast.

The writing is surprisingly cleverly written, there’s a lot of character moments particularly for Apple and Pumpkin that really bring this story together. There are elements of The Craft and Mean Girls but they are not the front and center, the film is more focused on giving the viewer a new experience while also putting elements of the previously two mentioned films in the mix. Especially during the film’s third act where things get very wild really quickly.

The overall atmosphere is just what this film needed, it’s chaotic and mixes well with the location which is CF Sherway Garden which is a mall in Canada. The atmosphere and location combined together really paint this fun and investing picture that you can’t help but want to explore even when all of the chaos is going on.

Overall Forbidden Fruits is a whole lot of fun from beginning to end, thematically there might not be a whole lot going on here. But the film makes up for it by not taking itself too seriously while also focusing on being a genuinely excellent film.

Forbidden Fruits is available on all VOD platforms.

9/10 A

Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come (2026)

After surviving one deadly game, Grace and her sister Faith must now outrun four rival families competing for a powerful throne – winner takes all.

Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come is directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillet directors of Devil’s Due (2014), Ready Or Not (2019), Scream (2021) Scream VI (2023) and Abigail (2024). The film serves as a sequel to Ready Or Not (2019).

Ready Or Not (2019) is a modern classic at this point, whenever someone brings up the conversation about their favorite horror films from the 2010s. Ready Or Not (2019) is going to be mentioned at least 10 times and rightfully so, it was an incredibly fun film that was genuinely really good. Samara Weaving and the rest of the cast were fantastic, the film’s gore, atmosphere, direction and humor were all incredibly effective as well. Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come does everything a sequel should do and even makes the argument of being better than its predecessor.

First and foremost the cast give fantastic performances across the board, Samara Weaving returns as Grace and she is just as great here as she was in the previous film. I would even argue with the film’s bigger scale, Weaving gives a much grander performance that ends up being quite effective. Weaving has only grown as an actress since the previous film and we really see that here in this film, it’s truly a wonderful sight to behold plus with the added bonus of learning a lot more about Grace as a character.

Kathryn Newton as Faith (Grace’s sister) is such a strong addition to the story, Newton works incredibly well with Weaving and has this natural chemistry that you feel almost immediately when she enters the film. She balances the humor with the more dramatic moments, the sisterhood element is genuinely charming and actually does have a few heartfelt moments at times. Newton has this charm that fits like a glove here, whether it’s the natural chemistry with Weaving or the chaotic energy she brings at times. There’s so much she delivers constantly throughout the film.

The rest of the cast are quite fantastic as well. Elijah Wood has a bunch of great moments here that are genuinely hilarious, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Shawn Hatosy are both really strong here especially the latter who delivers a quite brutal scene involving Kathryn Newton. Gellar and Hatosy work well together and have plenty of scene stealing moments.

The writing is quite strong here, there can be the occasional hiccup when it comes to some character moments. However the film still delivers in all fronts, whereas the first one leaned more into the horror side. I definitely think this film leans more into the comedic side of things which quite honestly makes sense and fits the story being told. That’s not to say there aren’t any straight up horror moments because there are plenty of those and they are all quite effective.

Some might see this as a bit of a rehash of the previous film which is fair to say, but I do think the film manages to bring just the right amount of new elements combined with a larger scale to differentiate itself. The gore is back and just as fun as it was in the previous film, we get a lot more action sequences as well that effectively use the larger scale which the film takes advantage of.

Overall Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come is a ton of fun from beginning to end, there might not be anything huge thematically going on here. However between the performances, charm, writing and the large scale it’s next to impossible to come out of this movie thinking you didn’t have fun with it.

Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come is available on all VOD platforms.

9/10 A

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die (2026) Film Review

A man from the future takes hostages in a diner to find a team to help him fight a future AI apocalypse, leading to a chaotic, time-loop-adjacent adventure.

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is directed by Gore Verbinski director of The Ring (2002), the first three films of the Pirates of the Caribbean (2003-2007) series, Rango (2011), The Lone Ranger (2013), A Cure For Wellness (2016) and a few others.

Gore Verbinski is back with quite a very odd film that is perhaps even stranger than A Cure For Wellness (2016), Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is a film that pokes fun at the whole AI landscape that is currently going on, it’s a hilarious ride that does have it’s flaws but overall sticks the landing quite well.

Sam Rockwell gives such a bizarre, hilarious yet charming performance that you can’t help but love in the end. His interactions with the rest of the cast is what really makes his character (who is simply known as man from the future) truly work especially when you combine the amount of fun that Rockwell is clearly having. Rockwell has excellent comedic timing that balances well with the film’s more dramatic moments, jokes that would otherwise not work entirely are elevated thanks to Rockwell’s timing.

Juno Temple who plays Susan a woman who is grieving after her son is killed in a school shooting ends up allowing from him to be cloned into an AI deadbot is quite fantastic. While there is a bit of humor here and it’s very clearly satire, there is some genuinely touching moments we see and that’s thanks to Temple’s performance, she conveys pain and suffering as well as wanting to do anything to bring her son back. Pain and suffering can consume a person over time to the point where you are willing to do almost anything and that is displayed incredibly well here.

Haley Lu Richardson is quite fantastic as Ingrid, we gradually learn more about her as the film goes on and the character writing is quite strong here. We get to see her backstory plus her joy, happiness, sadness and disappointment which all combined together shape her into a quite interesting character that yearns for closeness, Richardson’s performance is touching and has this beautiful balance of humor and dramatic moments that really display Richardson’s talent as an actress. She is definitely the heart of the film and that is especially expressed during the film’s final act.

The writing has this strong balance of humor and sci-fi bizarreness, there is one scene in particular during the film’s final act that does a pretty spectacular job of summing this film and its world up in a nutshell. The character writing isn’t perfect by any means, but it does have extra little details that the film could have easily skipped over, a lot of these characters could have easily been forgettable (some of them still are) but the film does give most of them some sort of backstory that helps fill the interest from the viewer.

The design of the AI and the many robots that show up in the film are bizarre yet incredibly intriguing, very creative ideas that interact with the characters incredibly well. There is this genuine charm that really sticks to the viewer and keeps the design fresh in your mind as you explore this film’s bizarre world.

The film does have its flaws, the ending definitely does feel like they ran out of time so they slapped something together very quickly. Plus I do think the film goes on for a bit too long, with that being said I do think the film is able to overcome its flaws quite easily due to the rest of the film being so creative and fun.

Overall Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is an incredibly fun and creative film that is able to deliver some great performances. It’s definitely not going to be for everyone but I still do recommend giving this one a go!

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is available on all VOD platforms.

8/10 B+