Wicker (2026) Film Review

An ostracized fisherwoman commissions the local basketmaker to weave her a husband, but when her wicker creation proves unexpectedly extraordinary, his presence ignites jealousy and upheaval that threatens their quiet village.

Wicker is directed by Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson directors of Save Yourselves (2020).

Very Yorgos Lanthimos like which is a very good thing in my book, Wicker is an incredible strange yet charming and hilarious film about love and acceptance. It’s a film that really does feel like it is in this fairytale world that you are just hearing about and want to explore the world inside of it all.

The performances across the board are fantastic, Olivia Colman delivers yet another excellent performance that showcases her brilliant comedic timing. Her character who simply goes by “Fisherwoman” brings so many hilarious conversations when engaging with the rest of the characters in the village. We see this sense of loneliness from her early on and want to feel loved, it’s something we have all felt and it’s quite effectively shown here.

Alexander Skarsgård as Wicker Husband is incredibly charming as soon as he enters the film, the chemistry between him and Colman is hilarious and brings out the film’s fairytale elements that really capture this bizarre atmosphere that you can’t help but fall into. The dialogue exchanges between Wicker Husband and the rest of the villagers is hilarious and quite effective at capturing this sense of wanting to be accepted.

Peter Dinklage disappears for half the film, but his few scenes are quite entertaining. He delivers two very Shakespeare-esque monologues that are very well performed and really make it feel like we are watching a fairytale stage play.

The film excels at embracing its weirdness, it’s a film about a woman who wants a husband so she goes to a Basket Weaver to make her a husband after all. Yet underneath the film’s absurdity there is this sense of beautiful charm, it truly does make you care for these characters and the world around them. This theme of acceptance and exploration of a world from Wicker Husband is truly fascinating, it’s a wonderful story that keeps upping its charm as we the viewers explore more of the film.

The fairytale like feel is even more effective with the practical effects and custom prosthetics from Weta Workshop who bring so much attention to detail here and truly do make Wicker Husband come to life. We get some close up shots of the character and you can really tell how much passion and love was put into these effects. The cinematography from Lol Crawley is sharp and does a brilliant job of capturing the film’s fairytale like world.

Overall, Wicker is a fascinating film that brings so much charm, humor and absurdity into the experience. It’s one of those film’s where you just want to explore its world for hours.

Wicker is playing in theaters!

9/10 A

Quick Review: Tony (2026)

A 19-year-old Anthony Bourdain travels to Provincetown and stumbles into the chaotic world of a restaurant kitchen, setting off a summer that will shape the course of his life.

Tony is directed by Matt Johnson director of The Dirties (2013), Operation Avalanche (2016), Blackberry (2023) and Nirvana the band the show the movie (2026).

Having two films directed by the same director come out in the same year is not very rare, however two excellent films by the same director coming out in the same year is actually quite rare (that was a mouthful.)

The approach Matt Johnson took here with an Anthony Bourdain biopic is quite fascinating, it’s not one of those biopics that likes to hyper focus on going down the checklist of cliches or the basic retelling of a Wikipedia page. There is so much heart going on in this film and wanting to really sink in this love for cooking.

The performances are what make this such an excellent experience, Dominic Sessa once again delivers such a fantastic performance and captures this coming of age aspect as well as Bourdain in his younger years. There is one particular moment in the film where you feel his love for cooking taking form and it’s quite honestly such a beautiful moment. No talking, the score is absent just love for this kitchen that not only Bourdain feels but you as the viewer do as well. Sessa is fascinating throughout the film and that never changes at all.

The supporting cast are just as great, Antonio Banderas serves as this mentor figure who we slowly get to learn about as the film goes on, he is by far the heart of the film that cuts through Tony’s ego and points him in a direction that is incredibly beneficial. Leo Woodall has some scene stealers that are genuinely surprising. Leo Woodall disappears for a good portion of the second act of the film, but he leaves a lasting impression that is quite strong. The scenes of him and Sessa slowly bonding and talking with one another are some of his most strongest. Even if Emilia Jones’s character is a bit bare bones, she still delivers a strong performance.

I do like the coming of age story elements being used here, we slowly but surely see a 19 year old Anthony Bourdain mature over the course of the film, this is written quite naturally and really helps reflect Tony’s journey. There is truly something remarkable here with how Johnson directs the film, he wants this sense of rawness of maturing and realizing that your ego can be your own worst enemy. This is not earthshaking information, but the way it’s executed and presented is so well done.

Overall, Tony is a fascinating film that is not your usual biopic. Between the performances, direction and the script there is so much to really love here.

Tony is available on all VOD platforms.

9/10 A

Ice Cream Man (2026) Film Review

An idyllic summer town descends into madness when an ice cream man serves kids sweet delights with horrifying results.

Ice Cream Man is directed by Eli Roth director of Cabin Fever (2002), Hostel (2005), The Green Inferno (2013), Knock Knock (2016), Thanksgiving (2023), Borderlands (2024) and a few others.

I really do not think you needed me to tell you that Eli Roth’s Ice Cream Man is hands down the worst movie of the year, Eli Roth had a slight comeback with Thanksgiving (2023) but that was mainly due to how solid the cast was. Borderlands (2024) had a ton of production issues so if you wanted to give Roth the benefit of the doubt you could. But with Ice Cream Man it is quite clear that Roth is stuck in this edgy phase that has long since died out.

First and foremost the acting is terrible there’s no other way to describe it. Dylan Hawco and Ari Millen are the closest you get to tolerable performances, but even they struggle to make the script worthwhile. The development the characters do get is a complete and total mess with moments that take themselves way too seriously (especially towards the end), it’s almost baffling to see the “twist” this movie went for because it adds almost nothing to the plot.

The movie also feels like it’s straight out of a bubble gum commercial and not in a good way, maybe that was the intention of taking this sort of style and putting killer kids over it. But from the way it’s presented it feels incredibly cheap, lifeless and the use of AI during the villains entire back story is nothing short of pathetic and worthless.

Lastly, Ice Cream Man is basically if you took Cooties (2014) and made it one of the worst movies of the year. I’m not going to sit here and say Cooties (2014) was some sort of masterpiece, but at the very least it was fun, had personality and it was actually quite decent. Ice Cream Man does not offer that at all, the most you can say is that the gore might be fun but even it does not add anything to this movie’s world.

Overall, Ice Cream Man is horrendous, especially in a year where the horror genre has been quite fantastic this one sticks out like a sore thumb.

Ice Cream Man is available on all VOD platforms.

No Redeeming Qualities…Just Garbage F

Finding Emily (2026) Film Review

When a lovesick musician is given the wrong number for his dream girl, he teams up with a driven psychology student to find her. Together, they spark a hilarious campus-wide frenzy that tests their own hearts and ambitions along the way.

Finding Emily is directed by Alicia MacDonald which is her directorial debut.

I have said before that I do not typically cry when watching romantic comedies, but something about Finding Emily really clicked for me and I’m still not 100% sure what exactly that was but It left me truly impressed. Perhaps it’s the beautiful performances, the direction or the strong balance of the film’s grounded and more crazier moments.

The performances from Angourie Rice and Spike Fearn are truly magnificent, the film’s best moments are when the two get to play off of each other in this natural and focused way that really brings the viewer along for the ride. You directly feel the two’s chemistry fly off the screen and invest the viewer, their personalities are wonderful and their characters Emily Raine (played by Rice) and Owen Brompton (played by Fearn) are charming and have this grounded nature to them. The supporting cast such as Cora Kirk, Kat Rooney, Nadia Parkes and many others are all great here and give memorable performances that contribute to the plot.

The writing is quite well done, not only does the film have its grounded moments which are mainly from the conversations between Rice and Fearn. But the film also has it’s more crazier moments that take some liberties of not being grounded but are still quite a lot of fun. The film understands that not every single moment needs to be grounded and that is perhaps it’s secret weapon, it has this beautiful balance of grounded and more crazier elements that mix surprisingly well together.

In a lot of ways Finding Emily does feel like a throwback to the 2000s romantic comedy era, one way being the soundtrack that really does capture the atmosphere and spirit of the film. It’s very clear that Alicia MacDonald really cares for the genre so she goes all in here and makes the best experience a fan of the genre could have.

Overall Finding Emily is genuinely fantastic, it’s a whole lot of fun with a strong story and cast. It’s one of the best films of the year and arguably one of the best romantic comedies of the 2020s so far.

Finding Emily is available on all VOD platforms.

9/10 A

Lightning Round Review: The Wrong Girls (2026)

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Wrong Girls is available on all VOD platforms.

7/10 B

Buddy (2026) Film Review

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Buddy releases in theaters Friday!

9/10 A

Nimrods (2026) Film Review

Three buddies drive cross-country in a van, causing mayhem and mischief while racing to LA for their big break: opening for Green Day on New Year’s Eve.

Nimrods is directed by Lee Kirk director of The Giant Mechanical Man (2012) and Ordinary World (2016). The film is inspired by the early touring days of Green Day.

Green Day is a band that I’ve loved since I was a teenager, I’ve seen them twice in concert and both times were truly magnificent. My first exposure to them was random top 10 videos on YouTube (remember when those were popular?) I remember “Holiday” being used and from there I became a fan.

Nimrods might just be a coming of age story with Green Day coating but that is most certainly not a bad thing at all. The film is a celebration of the band as well bringing in the most charming and beautiful parts of a coming of age film front and center. This is truly some of the most fun I’ve had with a film so far this year.

The performances are all quite great, Mason Thames, Kylr Coffman and Ryan Foust all have wonderful chemistry between one another. They really do feel like a group of friends who care for one another, Thames in particular is quite strong and shows he can tackle more dramatic moments. Jenna Fischer has a small role here but leaves such a charming impression on the viewer, then there is McKenna Grace who although has limited screen time is quite great here. Thames and Grace have excellent chemistry (I mean they are actually dating so that makes a lot of sense), plus Grace’s performance makes an impression on the viewer and remains that way throughout the rest of the film.

Underneath the film’s chaos is this genuinely sweet story about growing up, we see that with Tommy (played by Thames), Fred (played by Coffman) and Chad (played by Foust) they want to spend as much time together as they can before going off on their separate paths to adulthood, it’s something almost everyone has went through with their friends and it’s just explored and told in such a earnestly way here. Between all of this we get chaotic moments as well as hilarious ones that only add to the film’s fun nature.

The use of Green Day’s music is phenomenally done, there’s a few standout moments in particular that I won’t spoil here. But I will say that these moments really build such a beautiful atmosphere that just screams “coming of age story” this could have easily been a very basic advertisement for Green Day and their music, but that is not the case here. They went the extra mile to make sure that these moments are full of triumph, they might not be large in scale moments. But they do leave such a huge impact on the viewer.

Charm is most definitely the right term to use here when describing this film, even if you are not a fan of Green Day you can still feel the charm coming from this film. The film embraces this youthful and immature nature of the characters which gives them a lot more depth and in turn gives this film a lot more strength.

Overall, Nimrods is quite fantastic and whether you are a Green Day fan, coming of age films, both, or neither there is something here for everyone with this film.

Nimrods releases tomorrow in theaters.

9/10 A

The Sheep Detectives (2026) Film Review

Every night a shepherd reads aloud a murder mystery, pretending his sheep can understand. When he is found dead, the sheep realize at once that it was a murder and think they know everything about how to go about solving it.

The Sheep Detectives is directed by Kyle Balda director of Minions (2015), Despicable Me 3 (2017) and Minions: The Rise Of Gru (2022).

When you first look at The Sheep Detectives you might be thinking that this is just going to be a cute CGI talking animal movie made for kids, but shockingly enough the film actually ends up being far more than that. There is some genuinely strong writing here mixed with exploring the themes of death and grief in this beautiful way that ultimately brings the film together.

The cast does such a fantastic job here, Hugh Jackman, Nicholas Galitzine and Molly Gordon do a solid job as the live action cast. While the voice work from Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston, and Chris O’Dowd are excellent and give these sheep personality and actually make the viewer feel connected to their characters. As a whole the cast works wonders together and really builds on the film’s world which makes it feel more complete, even the characters who aren’t given a whole lot to do end up being incredibly charming.

The main weapon in The Sheep Detectives arsenal is how it goes about exploring its themes, the exploration of grief, death and the complexities of life is nothing new at all especially in film. However the way this film goes about exploring these themes has this passion behind it, there is this compare and contrast of the old sheep and the younger sheep. The way they communicate with one another and talk about these subjects that might be a bit heavier for younger audiences, but they do this in such a way that is very reminiscent of Pixar’s older films, the film feels like that one family member who first told you about the concept of death. It’s a powerful and devastating feeling but at the end of it all you can’t help but have some closure, sure the film’s exploration of these themes might not exactly be anything brand new. But I think in this sort of entry-level way it’s incredibly effective.

The murder mystery side of the film is also quite a lot of fun, it’s very Knives Out (2019) like when it comes to some of the humor. But it works incredibly well, Craig Mazin’s script really does such a great job of capturing the film’s atmosphere and building the ton of laughs throughout the film. The mystery itself isn’t anything that crazy, but it is just such a fun ride to look around for clues as well as looking at the film’s world.

Overall The Sheep Detectives is definitely one of the biggest surprises of the year, there was clearly a ton of heart and passion poured into this film that truly makes this one such a fun and beautiful experience.

The Sheep Detectives is available on all VOD platforms.

9/10 A

One Night Only (2026) Film Review

Two New Yorkers search for love on the one night of the year when pre-marital sex is legal.

One Night Only is directed by Will Gluck director of Easy A (2010), Friends With Benefits (2011), Peter Rabbit and its sequel (2018 and 2021), Anyone But You (2023) and a few others.

Right off the bat this one has a bizarre premise, it’s been dubbed the “Sex Purge” movie online and yeah there’s parts of it here where that name feels appropriate. One Night Only has just the right amount of decent moments to be quite fun even if the movie bizarrely does not take full advantage of its premise.

Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner are doing a lot of the heavy lifting here, particularly Barbaro who has excellent screen presence and actually has great comedic timing. Her chemistry with Turner is quite great and moves the story along at a nice pace, there’s a few moments here that the two do such a great job of bouncing off of each other from the movie’s script. I don’t think this movie is the best representation of Callum Turner as an actor (I think Emma, Eternity and Rose Of Nevada do a far better job of showing his talent), but he turns in a decent performance here and does what he can with the script.

The cameos are also decently fun, they don’t take away from the movie. In fact a lot of them are the “blink and you miss it” types. The New York City setting also compliments the movie in this sort of sweet away during a few particularly moments, It also does compliment the more bizarre ones as well and really makes it all a fun ride from beginning to end.

What mainly holds this one back just comes down to the movie not really going far enough with its premise. The writing only gives the viewer very vague information about the bizarre world the characters are living in, it almost feels like we are thrown in a conversation that has been going on for 20 plus minutes and instead of catching you up to speed the conversation just keeps going. It’s frustrating because there are moments where the movie is about to elaborate but quickly jumps to another scene or joke.

There really isn’t much else to say here, as it stands One Night Only is fun enough but feels like a missed opportunity in a lot of areas. I still do recommend giving this one a go especially if you have 102 minutes to kill.

One Night Only is currently in theaters.

6/10 C+

Quick Review: Jackass: Best and Last (2026)

Follows the Jackass crew as they perform their final series of dangerous stunts and pranks, marking the end of the franchise

Jackass: Best and Last is directed by Jeff Tremaine director of the Jackass series (2002-2026) and The Dirt (2019).

It’s quite hard to exactly review Jackass: Best and Last simply due to the film being essentially a mix of old and new stunts, you cannot really fault Johnny Knoxville and the rest of the crew for this as they are now in their 50s making what they can do physically limited. But weirdly enough the old footage actually works quite well here, there is some never before seen footage that is quite hilarious and really works as this final goodbye to the Knoxville and his crew.

The new stunts are also quite exciting as well, some of them might not be as grand as stunts from the past. But they still have the entertainment value still in tact as well as the many laughs. As I’ve said in past reviews of the Jackass films it does just feel like a group of friends that are hanging out and having a good time, that’s a main reason why so many people feel connected to Knoxville and his crew and that really shows here.

I also do think the use of old footage does this nice compare and contrast of how far Knoxville and his crew have come and how much the stunts have grown. You go from someone being in a box and pushed down the stairs to being in a buffalo ring.

Lastly Jackass as a whole represents the idea of anyone can pick up a camera and try to make a film, there’s this earnestness in these films to really want to have a lot of fun and represent this group of friends just doing what they love.

Overall Jackass: Best and Last is an incredibly strong send off to the series, I do hope in the near future we get to see Knoxville and his crew again in some sort of project.

Jackass: Best and Last is available on all VOD platforms.

9/10 A