Tribeca Review: Tow (2025)

The true story of Amanda Ogle (Byrne), a homeless Seattle woman who fought her way out of tow-company hell to reclaim her life and car after receiving a tow bill for $21,634.

Tow is directed by Stephanie Laing director of Irreplaceable You (2018) and Family Squares (2022).

This was the first film I saw at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival and it was by far the best. While there are some writing bits that are a miss, Tow tells the true story of Amanda Ogle a homeless Seattle woman and tells it quite well. I knew absolutely nothing about the true story and after watching the film I’m quite glad it was told.

The performances are really the main sell here, Rose Byrne as Amanda Ogle is a very well done performance that has the balance of comedy and the much more serious moments. It helps quite a lot that Rose Byrne is already an incredibly talented actress as well as a very humorous one, so she fits like a glove here, she captures Amanda Ogle’s actions of never giving up and not letting societal systems take her down. That’s where a lot of the inspiring feel of the film comes from and remains that way throughout the film, Byrne’s interactions with the rest of the cast quite great as well.

Dominic Sessa is also quite fantastic here, he’s much more comedic but that does not stop him from giving a genuinely great performance. His banter with Rose Byrne is genuinely entertaining, even when the dialogue is a bit bumpy at times he manages to make it into a hilarious moment. Octavia Spencer is being the powerhouse actress she is also gives a solid performance and much like Sessa has some great moments with Byrne. Demi Lovato is a bit on the miscast side of things but she’s not bad.

The film is very much an underdog story and it’s a quite beautifully told one, the theme of not letting societal systems take you down when you are fighting is quite inspiring and it’s very well told here. The writing mixes this theme with some comedy as well, some of the comedy is a bit of a miss at times with some moments feeling a bit forced. However for the most part the humor works and is able to balance itself with the dramatic moments, plus I do think the talented cast are able to take some moments that would otherwise not be so great and turn them into something solid.

It helps the film that Amanda Ogle is incredibly fleshed out as a character which makes her story all the more impactful and devastating to the viewer, there are some feel good cliches here but there are not enough to completely take away from this film. There are several moments where you are rooting for Amanda and want to see her get justice, people may scoff at $273 towing fee but to Amanda her car is her home which she fights for and never gives up.

Overall Tow is a really solid film that’s quite inspiring, between great performances, strong direction and a mostly solid balance of comedy and drama there’s a lot to really appreciate about the film. This is definitely one to look out for when it releases.

Tow currently has no release date.

8/10 B+

The Wedding Banquet (2025) Film Review

Hoping to stay in the country, a gay man proposes a green card marriage to a female friend in exchange for paying for her IVF treatment. However, things soon get complicated when his grandmother surprises them with plans for an extravagant Korean wedding banquet.

The Wedding Banquet is directed by Andrew Ahn director of Spy Night (2016), Driveways (2019) and Fire Island (2022). The film serves as a remake of the 1993 film of the same name which was directed by Ang Lee.

The Wedding Banquet is a remake that could have easily went in a terrible direction, but luckily there was incredibly talented people involved who all do a fantastic job here. The film obviously does not come anywhere close to Ang Lee’s film, but that what we have here is nowhere near bad. In fact this just adds to Ahn’s impressive directing work.

The cast is what really makes the film here, The Wedding Banquet is one of those films that actually gives most of the main cast time to shine. While some get bigger moments, the ones who are not present as much or have smaller moments make the most of it which ends up giving some genuinely heartwarming parts of the film. As a whole the cast really does a fantastic job connecting with one another and the chemistry between one another feels quite raw.

Lily Gladstone is really great although a bit under utilized, but the moments we do get with her show her talent off quite well. It’s also quite a different performance from what we have seen. Kelly Marie Tran really hits it out of the park and is the standout, her ability to switch from being comedic and more dramatic is truly phenomenal. Joan Chen and Youn Yuh-jung are also solid here as well, both contribute great performances that are given substantial roles so they have a decent amount to work with.

Something I do love about this film is it’s not trying to be the original, it goes in the direction of how this situation could feel for a different generation of audiences. It’s a very interesting way of going about it but it actually works in the film’s favor, the writing compliments this further as well which leads to some quite beautiful moments.

The direction from Andrew Ahn is really strong here, much like in his previous work Ahn’s main priority is making sure the viewer connects well with the cast and he does that once again with this film. It might not be on a grander scale of his previous work (Bowen Yang does struggle a bit with the more dramatic moments), but due to the sheer likability and the cast connecting so well together Ahn’s direction fits like a glove for this film.

Overall there is not anything groundbreaking going on here with The Wedding Banquet but it is undeniably a charming little film that gets the job done!

The Wedding Banquet is available on all VOD platforms.

7/10 B

Mountainhead (2025) Film Review

A group of billionaire friends get together against the backdrop of a rolling international crisis.

Mountainhead is directed by Jesse Armstrong which is directorial debut.

Jesse Armstrong tries to recapture the energy and power he put into Succession but completely misses here for a number of reasons that quickly pile up as the movie goes on. Combine that with the movie really not saying all that much with what it’s trying to be a satire of (billionaires) and you have yourself a very forgettable and dull ride.

The performances are fine enough here, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman, Cory Michael Smith and Ramy Youssef have some fun chemistry between one another and even manage to stick a few jokes in here that are decently funny. With that being said they can only do so much, the characters are just not that interesting, they are very unlikable which I get is the point. But they are unlikable to the degree where it’s not investing mainly due to everything surrounding the movie being completely empty.

The writing has its moments of humor but that is where it really ends, when it comes to actually tackling themes the movie either does not say anything new or completely drops the ball. It meanders for way too long and ultimately does not have a main point, it kind of just wastes the viewer time by making them think it’s going to say something towards the end and shoehorns half a dozen empty ideas into the movie.

The third act really plays out like Armstrong ran out of concepts to explore so he threw in a bunch of fluff that ultimately does not serve any point to the story. It’s quite honestly the most bare bones way you could satirize billionaires, everything that is said here has either been done before or is incredibly common knowledge that does not need to be repeated for the thirtieth time.

Overall Mountainhead is incredibly forgettable, the cast is by far the main appeal which in fairness they all do a great job. It’s just a shame the movie surrounding them wasn’t the same quality.

Mountainhead is available on HBO Max.

4/10 D+

Bob Trevino Likes It (2025) Film Review

Lily Trevino unexpectedly befriends an online stranger, sharing her self-centered father’s name. This new Bob Trevino’s support could transform her life.

Bob Trevino Likes It is directed by Tracie Laymon which is her directorial debut!

Bob Trevino Likes It is one of those films where you can really tell that right from the beginning there was heart poured into it, considering the film’s themes and that it is actually based off of a true story that might not be exactly shocking to hear (especially if you read the true story) but it’s still quite impressive and beautiful how well this film connects with the viewer.

The performances are absolutely beautiful, Barbie Ferreira is absolutely incredible here and really shows her power as an actress. The quiet moments involving her in this film broke me at times, her character Lily Trevino is someone who just wants to belong after her biological father Robert Trevino (played by French Stewart) shows how irredeemable and evil he really is. The theme of belonging is played so well especially with Ferreira’s performance she really captures this sense of wanting to belong and trying to make sense of it all, Ferreira’s facial expressions and body language really do a lot of the talking and completely give her this powerhouse performance.

John Leguizamo gives such a beautiful performance here as well, his connection with Barbie Ferreira is genuinely beautiful and at times a real tearjerker. Over the course of the film we see two get closer and it’s something that the viewer constantly roots for, Leguizamo also fits like a glove as this father figure his performance as Bob Trevino shows a lot of personality, confusion at first but willing to help and strikes this beautiful cord earnestness. There’s so many beautiful moments here that the viewer can relate to and it’s all due to the bond between Ferreira and Leguizamo that hit all the emotional beats needed.

The script from Tracie Laymon does a spectacular job of really telling this incredible story, as I mentioned earlier there is this theme of wanting to belong but there is also a theme of healing through unexpected places or connections. We see that through the bond of Lily and Bob as the film progresses, we also get to see Lily go on this journey of healing from trauma and abandonment. The theme of small acts of kindness is also present here, Bob displaying these what would be considered by some people to be just small acts of kindness could mean so much more to someone else. In this case these small acts of kindness means so much to Lily and impacts her healing journey. The film really shows how simple acts of kindness can really help someone especially if they are not use to receive those acts.

Something that I have purposely left out up until now is what really helps Bob Trevino Likes It is Tracie Laymon is basing it off the life of herself and how she made a friendship she strikes up while looking for her father. So we get to have this personal feel to the film like Laymon invited us over to tell us her story and it’s beautifully told in this way that it feels like a friend is telling you a story. It has this charm that is incredibly raw especially with the performances and how striking they really are. It’s such a beautiful way of telling this story that it brings the viewer to tears (i definitely cried at times.)

Overall Bob Trevino Likes It is one of the best films of the year, I’m very excited to see what’s in store for Tracie Laymon as a director because this was quite impressive. It’s a powerful story about healing, belonging and acts of kindness that really delivers in every single way possible.

Bob Trevino Likes It is available on all VOD platforms.

9/10 A

The Ballad Of Wallis Island (2025) Film Review

Old tensions resurface when former bandmates who were former lovers reunite for a private show at the island home of an eccentric millionaire.

The Ballad Of Wallis Island is directed by James Griffiths who previously directed Cuban Fury (2014). The film is based on the 2007 short film The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island.

The Ballad Of Wallis Island is a pretty straightforward story about the relationships with art we both make and admire, the film does have its hiccups particularly in the character writing department but there is so much passion felt here especially through the acting and flow of the film.

The acting all around is quite great, Tim Key, Tom Basden and Carey Mulligan all give beautiful performances that are genuinely meaningful especially as the film goes on. While the character writing is a bit lacking as we don’t really get some critical answers to some of these characters and are kind of left in this unknown area, what makes them work is the acting. It’s raw, beautiful and striking which is more than enough to bring the viewer along for the ride.

The direction from James Griffiths is earnest and gives this beautiful look at Charles (played by Tim Key) looking up to Herb McGwyer (played by Tom Basden) and Nell Mortimer (played by Carey Mulligan) and inspiration for music, it’s genuinely touching and displays tons of beautifully done moments that you can really feel their bond growing through the screen.

The cinematography combined with the music is beautiful as well, the mountain town and folk music aesthetics really add a lot of flavor to the film and build the atmosphere it needs to really deliver. The cinematography from G. Magni Ágústsson really brings the whole beauty of the film together in the end with tons of shots that stay with you until the credits.

Overall The Ballad Of Wallis Island is a beautifully acted and done film that really inspires you especially when it comes to its theming.

The Ballad Of Wallis Island is available on all VOD platforms.

7/10 B

Nonnas (2025) Film Review

After losing his beloved mother, a man risks everything to honor her by opening an Italian restaurant with actual nonnas — grandmothers, as the chefs.

Nonnas is directed by Stephen Chbosky director of The Four Corners Of Nowhere (1995), The Perks Of Being a Wallflower (2012), Wonder (2017) and Dear Evan Hansen (2021). Nonnas is based on the life of Joe Scaravella the owner of Staten Island restaurant Enoteca Maria who risks everything to honor his late mother by opening a restaurant with grandmothers as chefs.

Nonnas is exactly what you expect it to be, a heartwarming film that really touches your heart incredibly quickly. The cast is incredibly likable and even at times manages to elevate the material into delivering some great performances, there’s even some themes of love, grief and healing going on here (even if they aren’t executed in a very deep way.)

The performances are the best part of the movie, Vince Vaughn actually gives one of his better performances here. It’s not anything groundbreaking but this is one of the rare occasions where you can feel the passion is there, it helps that the script from Liz Maccie while not anything incredible still gives Vaughn something to work with. In the end he comes off as incredibly charming and really does a solid job with bouncing off of the rest of the cast.

Susan Sarandon, Lorraine Branco, Talia Shire and Brenda Vaccaro are all just fantastic, each of them brings this certain level of charm to the movie that really brings the viewer along for the ride. The disagreements and remarks they throw at each other gives the movie some decent laughs and the performances from all of them in general is really solid. It helps that they all are fully committed to their performances, which is mainly what keeps the movie afloat.

The rest of the movie is decent, the true story is told in this straightforward way that does not harm or really benefit the movie. The writing is filled to the brim with charm, there’s some moments of tackling grief with Joe Scaravella (played by Vince Vaughn) trying to move on from his recently deceased mother, even if these moments are not anything incredibly deep it’s nice that they are here in the first place.

Overall Nonnas is a movie that’s pretty straightforward and is incredibly charming, there might not be a whole lot going on here theme or writing wise. But it is undeniably a cute and heartwarming story that the cast manages to make work.

Nonnas is available on Netflix.

6/10 C+

A Minecraft Movie (2025) Film Review

A mysterious portal pulls four misfits into the Overworld, a bizarre, cubic wonderland that thrives on imagination. To get back home, they’ll have to master the terrain while embarking on a magical quest with an unexpected crafter named Steve.

Minecraft is directed by Jared Hess director of Napoleon Dynamite (2004), Nacho Libre (2006), Gentlemen Broncos (2009), Don Verdean (2015), Masterminds (2016) and Thelma The Unicorn (2024). Minecraft is based on the 2011 video game of the same name.

Minecraft is the type of move that truly has to be seen to be believed, it’s a terrible movie yes but there are points where I have to give some credit to Jack Black and Jason Momoa for absolutely not caring and deciding to act completely insane. It reaches “so bad it’s hilarious” territory which did get a few laughs out of me. Having that said this is still a mess of a movie that mostly falls flat on its face.

As I said earlier, Jack Black and Jason Momoa give completely insane performances that really makes you wonder “what on earth are they doing?” I’m not even sure if they know either to be quite honest. It’s going to vary from person to person whether these performances are annoying or they are so bad they are hilarious. Jack Black explaining the basics about Minecraft and announcing it like he made a new discovery is completely unserious it’s almost baffling. Unfortunately everyone else is given very little to do, Emma Myers and Danielle Brooks who don’t actually give terrible performances are given so little to do they may as well have not been in the movie at all. Sebastian Hansen fairs a bit better in the relevant to the script department but his character also does not leave a lasting impression. Jennifer Coolidge is in this for some reason and is mostly regulated to a gag where she likes a Minecraft villager…the less I say about that the better.

The writing is not only terrible but chaotic and not in a good fun way, rather than exploring some creative points of the Minecraft world or trying to explore what makes this world so interesting. We instead get a lot of shouting from Steve (played by Jack Black) explaining very basic rules of the world with none of it being interesting. One moment that has quickly become a meme online is when he says “Chicken Jockey” and you know what? That moment in particular really sums up this whole movie, it’s loud, obnoxious and has no sense of thought. I hate using the term but this is the prime example of brainrot at it’s worse. It’s nothing but easter eggs constantly thrown at the viewer, which might be fine enough for some fans. But for others who are looking for an actual story you are straight out of luck.

The CGI is also unappealing to look at, it takes so much away from what made Minecraft so interesting. It’s supposed to be a world where you feel creative as well as being…well you know fun? Here it all feels very corporate like this was a bunch of business executives idea of what Minecraft looks like, the world looks inconsistent and none of it gives off this creative atmosphere. It’s a complete and total mess that does not result in anything visually appealing, this does not want to make the viewer explore this world at all.

The closest thing we get about creativity in this movie is how creativity defeating evil, it’s a half-hearted message that ultimately does not really mean anything especially when you take a look at the rest of the movie and how lifeless it truly is.

Overall Minecraft is a terrible movie, it might please some younger fans but for everyone else this is an endurance test to sit through.

Minecraft is available on all VOD platforms.

2/10 F

Clown In A Cornfield (2025) Film Review

Looking for a fresh start, Quinn and her father move to the quiet town of Kettle Springs. They soon learn the fractured community has fallen on hard times after losing a treasured factory to a fire. As the locals bicker amongst themselves and tensions boil over, a sinister, grinning clown emerges from the cornfields to cleanse the town of its burdens, one bloody victim at a time.

Clown In A Cornfield is directed by Eli Craig director of Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (2010) and Little Evil (2017)

Clown In A Cornfield is a slasher film that starts out how you would expect the traditional slasher to but then the film takes a turn that makes it standout quite well. Combine that with some fun kills, solid acting and some darkly comedic writing and you have yourself a very fun film.

The performances are all around solid, Katie Douglas is definitely the standout of the main cast. She nails the part of this new girl in a new town, she’s charming and connects well with the rest of the cast. Some of the character development of Quinn (played by Katie Douglas) comes off as genuine and the interactions she has with her father Dr. Glenn Maybrook do end up being meaningful. Kevin Durand is also quite great here, he plays his part well even if he’s not in the film all that much.

The writing is darkly comedic which I was honestly not expecting. There were moments here where I bursted out laughing, I do like that the film did not heavily rely on being meta to be funny. Often times being way too meta can easily backfire, but here it was a nice mix of meta humor and other types of humor to keep things interesting.

The film has this dark yet comedic atmosphere that almost feels like the classic horror comedy feel, there is also some Goosebumps DNA and I mean that in a good way. The film is able to play off a ton of silly moments in this dramatic way which in turn makes said moments even more hilarious, it’s not exactly reinventing the wheel by doing this as other films have done this and admittedly better. However Clown In A Cornfield has the charm to back it up which gives the film the energy it needs to execute its comedic tone well.

As I said before the first bit of the film is a very traditional slasher film which the film does a great job at. The rest of the film turns the story on its head and goes for some pretty neat ideas that are actually executed quite well. There definitely could have been room for a bit more development in some areas however with how the film pushes the story at a nice pace and does not overstay its welcome it mostly works wonderfully.

Overall the charm of Clown In A Cornfield is what pushes it to the finish line, the film is not going reinvent the slasher genre even with its third act. Having that said it’s an incredibly fun film that any fan of the slasher genre will love.

Clown In A Cornfield is currently in theaters.

8/10 B+

A Breed Apart (2025) Film Review

Violet accepts an invitation to a private island with some of the world’s most famous social media influencers. However, she soon becomes part of her own horrific reality show when the guests find themselves in a fight for their lives against the island’s legendary man-eating dogs.

A Breed Apart is directed by Griff Furst and Nathan Furst both of which directed Nightmare Shark (2018) while Griff Furst also directed Lake Placid 3 (2010), Starve (2014), Cold Moon (2016) and a bunch of made for TV Shark movies. A Breed Apart serves as a remake of The Breed (2006)

A Breed Apart is one of those movies where you sit and ask yourself “why? Why does this exist?” A remake of a film that was already not very good and somehow made even worse due to a lack of originality and horrendous execution that wishes it could be a fun movie.

The performances from the cast are terrible but they are about what you expect, so there isn’t exactly a huge surprise. Hayden Panettiere is unfortunately regulated to more of a cameo which is a shame because she’s the one who gives the best performance. The idea of making her into a in universe action actress named Hayden Hurst is goofy yet had potential but unfortunately this movie’s humor is unfunny and comes off more like a dog version of Sharknado (2013)

The writing is about as terrible as you would expect, it very much feels like they are trying to recreate Sharknado (2013) in all of it’s goofiness and capture the “it’s so bad it’s funny” type of feel. Unfortunately for this movie it fails to even do that, the writing is painfully unfunny with some memes thrown in, horribly written characters and painfully uninteresting dialogue that the viewer will check out of within 5 minutes. A lot of the dialogue is if you took poorly voice acted lines from early PlayStation games and put them into a movie.

The CGI dogs are more funny than they are scary, combined that with clear as day fake looking forests and barking soundboards you have yourself at least some entertainment to laugh at. But sitting through a poor attempt of trying to tackle influencer satire and a bare bones Jurassic Park (1993) creature feature copy is just not worth it at all.

Overall A Breed Apart is horrendous and at times feels like an elaborate bit, but instead of a punchline you are left with a terrible movie that has very little going on. Outside of a few moments that are decently funny the rest of the movie is a chore to get through, which in turn makes this movie one to skip.

A Breed Apart releases Friday in theaters and on all VOD platforms.

1/10 F

The Friend (2025) Film Review

New York City writer Iris finds her comfortable, solitary life thrown into disarray after her closest friend and mentor bequeaths her a Great Dane named Apollo. The huge dog immediately creates practical problems for Iris, from furniture destruction to eviction notices, as well as more existential ones. Yet as Iris finds herself unexpectedly bonding with Apollo, she begins to come to terms with her past, and her own creative inner life.

The Friend is directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel directors of Suture (1994), The Deep End (2001), Bee Season (2005), Uncertainty (2008), What Maisie Knew (2012) and Montana Story (2021)

All that I knew about The Friend going in was the dog Bing and well it just so happens that Bing is the best part of this film and I don’t really mean that in a bad way. The way the film goes about tackling grief and companionship in times of loss is genuinely touching and what really brings this together is Apollo the dog (played by Bing.)

The performances are solid, Naomi Watts is really great here without her most of the film would not have worked nearly as well as it did. Her connection with the rest of the cast is genuinely touching, the conversations she has is where you can really feel her pain and frustration. It quickly gets to you and really brings out her incredible talent as an actress, it’s just a bit of a shame that the writing does not go far enough and does not really do anything that really stands out.

Bing is one of the best dog actors I’ve seen in a while, he works incredibly well with Naomi Watts and the rest of the cast and there’s tons of genuine moments where you can really feel that Bing is connecting with the story. Which I know is silly to say since Bing is a dog but that is truly felt here, it helps that he perfectly fits the story being told here and captures this daily life atmosphere the movie goes for. By the end of the movie you will see how much Bing connects with the story.

The script has some elements that are a bit too thin, particularly the supporting characters who we barely learn about, they get introduced, have a few scenes and then never get expanded upon. That seems to be the problem with a lot of the character interactions in this movie, while there are some bright spots a lot of the time there’s just so much missing that really holds this movie back from greatness.

The movie also goes on for far too long, this is an example of a movie that did not need to be 2 hours long. It feels like the movie ends five different times but keeps going for the sake of it, which is incredibly frustrating because there were so many moments that could have been a very nice ending.

Overall The Friend is not a bad movie, it has the right ideas and works for the most part. It’s just the script that completely holds it back from being anything other than “passable” which is a shame.

The Friend is available on all VOD platforms.

6/10 C+