The Death Of Robin Hood (2026) Film Review

Grappling with his past after a life of crime and murder, Robin Hood finds himself gravely injured after a battle he thought would be his last. In the hands of a mysterious woman, he is offered a chance at salvation.

The Death Of Robin Hood is directed by Michael Sarnoski director of Pig (2021) and A Quiet Place: Day One (2024).

The Death Of Robin Hood goes for a much darker yet balanced approach to the story of Robin Hood, Sarnoski does a quite fascinating job of commenting on the light and dark of a figure and the toll it takes on them. The character writing might not be at its full potential, but I do think with what is presented and how well Sarnoski paints this world makes the film all the more worth experiencing.

Right off the bat Hugh Jackman gives yet another strong performance, there are some similar traits to Logan in Logan (2017) a figure who is at their last moments and thinking about everything they have come across in life plus how it affected them. Jackman’s version of Robin Hood is luckily not just him doing a repeat with Logan, we get this picture of a man who carries the scars of violence with him. Jackman does a tremendous job of showcasing this with tons of quiet moments as well as painful ones that reflect in his mind. This isn’t so much as a hero’s journey and more so a path of facing the violence you caused during your last moments of life.

Jodi Comer as Sister Brigid is quite strong here as well, we don’t get that much character writing for her sadly. But what we do get is a grounded and restrained performance that works well with Jackman. Her performance here definitely elevates the material in some areas where the film definitely needed it most.

Murray Bartlett as The Leper is quite an intriguing performance, The Leper is covered in bandages yet from the little we see of his face he instantly draws you in. He compliments the atmosphere incredibly well just by his presence alone, he’s one of those characters where even if we do get basic information about him. We still wonder what his complete story is, Bartlett does a fascinating job with his dialogue and interactions with the rest of the cast as well.

The first 40 or so minutes of the film is quite brutal, it’s clear that for this portion of the film it wants to focus on painting this raw, dirty and quite dangerous world. The violence here is shown in this quite unsettling way, we can also see this from the cinematography from cinematographer Pat Scola who pays extra attention to the detail and makes sure to highlight well. When you combine this with the performances of the film plus its dark atmosphere you do get some quite haunting results.

The film’s greatest weakness is it’s character writing, which is a bit shocking to me since Sarnoski did such an excellent job with his previous two films Pig (2021) and A Quiet Place: Day One (2024) especially in the character writing department. But here a lot is either not really elaborated on or just forgotten, Sister Brigid seems like she was supposed to be far more important but is restricted to rather surface level character writing. I understand that the focus is Robin Hood, but there is a ton of moments here where you wish you were seeing more meat on the character writing from the other characters.

Despite the character writing however, I do think The Death Of Robin Hood sticks the landing. It really comes down to Sarnoski’s more raw and brutal approach along with Hugh Jackman’s excellent performance as Robin Hood. It does a solid job of painting this road of guilt and reflection of violence you caused. Very strong film that I recommend giving a go!

The Death Of Robin Hood is available on all VOD platforms.

8/10 B+

Motor City (2026) Film Review

In 1970s Detroit, John Miller falls for a local gangster’s girl. In retaliation, the gangster enacts a frame job to send the innocent man to prison. Life ruined, Miller plots a revenge campaign against the man who took his girl away.

Motor City is directed by Potsy Ponciroli director of Old Henry (2021) and Greedy People (2024).

Motor City is an interesting one when it comes to its style, the whole idea here is it’s a very 70s pulp style revenge thriller but with very little dialogue. While it might not be anything mind blowing, it does take what normally would be an average action thriller and turns into something decently interesting and a fun time.

Alan Ritchson gives a great performance here, due to having barely any dialogue, Ritchson in most scenes has to use his body language to tell the story and he does that quite well. He’s in his element and his familiarity with the action thriller genre absolutely comes into play here, I have not seen that much of Ritchson’s work but this was genuinely a great showing from him. Ben Fosters plays the slimy antagonist Reynolds who is quite effective, Shailene Woodley is pretty solid here as well although definitely lacking in the character department.

The film heavily relies on its visual language and needle drops to tell the story and while the latter can be a bit to on the nose, I do think combined together they both do a great job of telling the story. Especially when you combine this with cinematographer John Matysiak’s camerawork, there is one scene in particular that is not only well choreographed but it’s shot incredibly well.

The atmosphere of the film is thrilling, brutal and has this very 70s feel that you can’t help but be transported into, the music does such a great job of complimenting everything around it especially the atmosphere and the brutality of the film. While the story is admittedly pretty predictable, everything else really brings the viewer along for the ride and completely makes up for it.

Overall Motor City might not be anything exactly new plot wise, but it’s still a fun time that is elevated by the film’s technical aspects and the performances!

Motor City releases tomorrow in theaters.

7/10 B

Pressure (2026) Film Review

In the tense 72 hours before D-Day, General Dwight D. Eisenhower and Captain James Stagg face an impossible choice–launch the most dangerous seaborne invasion in history or risk losing the war altogether.

Pressure is directed by Anthony Maras director of Hotel Mumbai (2018).

Pressure on the surface may seem like a textbook telling of D-Day, however the film goes for a different approach. It talks about the weather and how to plan the Normandy landings during World War II. Somehow and someway they made this actually quite thrilling which leads to plenty of excellent moments over the course of the film.

Andrew Scott as James Stagg gives a very investing performance, he is the center of the film and luckily Scott is very versatile as an actor. He can go from more quieter moments to more louder ones in an instant, Chris Messina as Irving P. Krick is also just as great here especially during the disagreements between Kirk and Stagg. You have these moments where they are arguing over the weather and it actually becomes quite thrilling, which is mainly due to how committed Scott and Kirk were to their performances.

Brendan Fraser as Dwight D. Eisenhower was quite great, there are definitely criticisms to be made about how Fraser and Eisenhower look quite drastically different. Despite this however, Fraser really nails his performance as he lands tons of explosive moments along with more quiet ones. There’s a few moments in particular towards the end where his performance goes from being great to actually pretty excellent.

What mainly helps Pressure here is the different perspective, we don’t see much of the battle and instead we are placed in meetings regarding the best course of action with the weather. Which is actually quite thrilling due to the film’s strong atmosphere that is thanks to director Anthony Maras’s experience with his previous film Hotel Mumbai (2018). Stagg’s weather forecasts were essential to green light the go ahead for the D-Day Invasion and the film does a great job of capturing these actions incredibly well, at times it can feel like reading out of a textbook. But I think for the most part the film accomplishes what it’s sent out to do and mainly sticks to offering a much different perspective from the usual war movie.

Overall Pressure is a quite solid war movie that offers a different perspective, a lot of what you see is what you get here so there really is not that much to it. Despite that however it’s still a very solid film that I recommend giving a go.

Pressure is available on all VOD platforms.

7/10 B

Quick Reviews: Find Your Friends and Saccharine (2026)

Amber and her friends visit Joshua Tree for a fun girls’ trip but face hostility from locals. As tensions escalate and Amber’s dark past surfaces, their rebellion ignites – turning their desert getaway into a jaw-dropping game of revenge.

Find Your Friends is directed by Izabel Pakzad which is her directorial debut.

Find Your Friends is a movie that explores a quite heavy subject which is the dark side of party culture and how truly dangerous it can be under all of the lights, energy and music. The major problem here is the movie opts for a ton of terrible writing decisions that completely take the viewer out of the movie, it ends up being a very confused mess of what it is exactly trying to lay down to the viewer.

Helena Howard tries her best to hold the movie together, but the rest of the performances are just not great here at all. Bella Thorne, Zión Moreno, Chloe Cherry and Sophia Ali have little to work with for their characters. There’s times where it’s just a screaming match or who can say the most edgiest thing in the room, the character building just does not happen here at all.

While watching Find Your Friends, I could not help but think of a far better film that tackled the exact same subject matter and that’s Molly Manning Walker’s How To Have Sex (2023). A film that takes its time building its characters and goes for a much more grounded approach with exploring the unpleasant side of party culture, it’s a film that was confidently directed and went into detail on the topic.

Find Your Friends makes the mistake of going for a much more unnatural direction when we are introduced to the movie’s antagonists who are incredibly one dimensionally evil. I get there are some people out there that are evil for the sake of it, but the way this is executed combined with the terrible script does not do the movie any sort of favors.

It’s frustrating because there is a good movie here, it’s just piled on by so much bad writing, mediocre acting and a direction that feels very confused.

Find Your Friends is available on Shudder.

3/10 D-

Hana, a lovelorn medical student, becomes terrorized by a sinister force after taking part in an obscure weight loss craze: eating human ashes.

Saccharine is directed by Natalie Erika James director of Relic (2020) and Apartment 7A (2024).

Unfortunately not a whole lot to comment on here, while Saccharine is a step up from Natalie Erika James’s last movie Apartment 7A (2024), it still does not come close to Relic (2020).

The movie starts out strong enough, we see that the movie is attempting to explore diet culture and extremes women go through to be fit as well as a lot of expectations. Midori Francis gives a solid performance that does help convey the struggles of her character Hana.

Unfortunately around the ending of the second act is when this movie’s message gets lost and a lot of different ideas are just lazily thrown at a wall. Supernatural horror elements are thrown in, the script from Natalie Erika James seems to not know where to exactly take itself and the movie’s 113 minute runtime especially kills it due to the slow pacing.

There are definitely some nasty and gross body horror elements that are decently effective, but it unfortunately is not quite enough to save the movie. It’s clear that Saccharine wanted to tackle many different topics regarding diet culture, but it fails to execute these ideas in any meaningful or interesting way that gets the viewer’s attention.

Saccharine is available on all VOD platforms.

5/10 C

Quick Reviews: Enola Holmes 3, The Hand Of Dante and Office Romance (2026)

Detective Enola Holmes heads to Malta, where her aspirations merge in her most complex and dangerous case yet.

Enola Holmes 3 is directed by Philip Barantini director of Villain (2020), Boiling Point (2021) and Accused (2023). The film serves as a sequel to Enola Holmes 2 (2022).

I’m not going to write an extensively long piece about the Enola Holmes series and my experience with it, because honestly the first two movies were cute movies that had their charm and that is really about as deep as it goes. Enola Holmes 3 shows that this series has overstayed its welcome and it might be time to move onto something else.

Millie Bobby Brown does a fine enough job here, but the spark she had in the first two movies is very noticeably absent. The performance just does not land as it did previously, Henry Cavill takes a backseat for a large portion of the movie and much like Brown, his performance has gotten noticeably worse as well. Which this is a bit of a shame because I did find Brown and Cavill decently charming in the previous two movies.

To say I was shocked that Barantini directed this would be an understatement, coming off of last year’s highly successful and acclaimed series Adolescence to this is quite baffling. The direction here is incredibly poor and has no idea what it wants to say or focus on, when you mix this in with the script from Jack Thorne you lead to some very underwhelming results.

The theme this movie attempts to tackle is British colonial history which for a movie series that prides itself on talk about important subjects, the movie does a quite poor job of exploring the subject. It makes surface level observations such as “look guys this was really bad” which is quite honestly embarrassing, it truly does feel like studio executives patting themselves on the back for being performative. It can very well be argued that the previous two movies are just as guilty of this (and I would agree with you), but at the very least they were competent movies that had good things about them. With this movie you do not get that at all and the studio executives feel is a lot more blatant here.

Overall Enola Holmes 3 is quite easily the worst of the series and it’s really not even close. It adds nothing new to the series and only brings the series backwards.

Enola Holmes 3 is available on Netflix.

3/10 D-

A handwritten manuscript of Dante Alighieri’s poem “The Divine Comedy” makes its way from a priest to a mob boss in New York City, where it is taken by Nick Tosches after he’s asked to verify its authenticity.

In The Hand Of Dante is directed by Julian Schnabel director of Basquiat (1996), Before Night Falls (2000), The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007), Miral (2010) and At Eternity’s Gate (2018).

In The Hand Of Dante is a prime example of movie that the only question going through your mind is “how on earth did this happen?” I’m going to keep this short simply because this is one of those terrible movies where it’s not even bad in an interesting way. It is a pretentious mess that thinks so highly of itself yet its saying very little with incredibly poor acting.

Martin Scorsese is the best part about this movie and not even him being dressed up as a Gandalf and Dumbledore hybrid could save this mess (he only has a couple of scenes as well, keep in mind this movie is 2 hours and 33 minutes long.) Scorsese seems to be the only one who is able to give a somewhat decent performance, it’s not terrible and it is almost certainly not something that belongs in the looney bin like some of these other performances.

If you want to hear one of the worst Italian accents ever put to film like no further than Gal Gadot. It’s truly baffling how not a single person on set questioned this, she has no chemistry with Oscar Isaac and the movie trying to build her character does not work at the slightest. Jason Momoa and Gerard Butler feel like cartoon characters trying to copy the behaviors of humans (some of these scenes go on for so long it becomes awkward.) Oscar Isaac does not necessarily give a bad performance it’s just one that is so forgettable and feels like a whole lot of nothing.

Lastly the movie trying to capture the whole Classic Hollywood noir of the 1940s and 1950s is embarrassing. The atmosphere that made those films so great is just not present at all here nor is the thrills. There are some admittedly beautiful locations but that’s where it really ends, the movie’s mystery is confused and does not offer any sort of strong connection with the characters or its themes. It’s a complete and total mess that can only be described as a science fair project that was done the day before it was due.

Overall, In The Hand Of Dante is a disaster of a movie that is truly baffling to watch. This is one of the most bafflingly bad movies I’ve seen in quite some time.

In The Hand Of Dante is available on Netflix.

1/10 F

Jackie, President and CEO of Air Cruz, runs a tight ship in her business, including a rigid anti-fraternization policy for all her employees, which is severely tested when a sexy new lawyer begins working for her.

Office Romance is directed by Ol Parker (or Oliver Parker) director of Imagine Me & You (2005), Now Is Good (2012), Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018) and Ticket to Paradise (2022).

Office Romance does not have a whole lot going on here with the exception of the birthing scene that seemingly comes out of nowhere. It’s clearly only here for shock value and that’s really about as deep as it goes. Everything else about this movie is incredibly bare bones romantic comedy cliches.

Jennifer Lopez, Brett Goldstein and Betty Gilpin give fine enough performances, but none of them are quite enough to save the movie from being a chore to sit through. They each get one or two moments to shine, but really that’s where it ends.

The movie heavily relies on its cast to do all of the heavy lifting and carry the movie to the finish line, but completely forgets that you need a good script to help give the cast something to work with and that is just not present here at all.

Office Romance is available on Netflix.

3/10 D-

Lighting Round Reviews: Passenger, Deep Water and Hungry!

After a young couple witnesses a gruesome highway accident, they soon realize they did not leave the crash scene alone, as a demonic presence called the Passenger won’t stop until it claims them both.

Passenger is directed by André Øvredal director of Trollhunter (2010), The Autopsy Of Jane Doe (2016), Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark (2019), Mortal (2020) and The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023).

I really wish there was more to say about Passenger, I typically love Øvredal’s work and even with some of his weaker films I do appreciate with what was attempted. I cannot say the same about Passenger, this is one of those cases where you ask yourself “what happened here?”

The cast does the best they can, Jacob Scipio and Lou Llobell at least have decent chemistry between one another and they are both given some moments to shine. Joseph Lopez as The Passenger is pretty solid as well, he manages to bring a thrilling atmosphere to the table that the writing failed to bring to the table.

The cinematography is by far the best part of the movie which makes it all the more frustrating when the writing completely does not match the visuals or atmosphere at all. Cinematographer Federico Verardi does a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to what the movie is trying to communicate, his work with the camera is able to blend in with the different locations of the film and capture the whole idea of the eeriness of highways during the night.

What completely destroys this movie is the writing, it starts out decently strong with the opening scene (scene from the trailer) but quickly falls into a forgettable and lackluster mess. There just is not anything that stands out here, which is frustrating because it has the right ingredients to really create something thrilling and engaging for the viewer. But unfortunately the movie opts to go for being more on the cliched side of things. The characters have very little development and the direction from Øvredal feels surprisingly underwhelming, a lot of the heavy and confident feel of his previous work is just not here at all.

Overall Passenger is an incredibly forgettable movie that you basically put in the back of your brain after viewing. I would not say it’s a terrible movie, but in a year that so far has been quite great for the horror genre. This is almost certainly not one of them.

Passenger is available on all VOD platforms.

5/10 C

A group of international passengers en route from Los Angeles to Shanghai are forced to make an emergency landing in shark-infested waters. Now they must work together in hopes to overcome the frenzy of sharks drawn to the wreckage.

Deep Water is directed by Renny Harlin director of The Strangers trilogy (2024-2026), A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988), Deep Blue Sea (1999) and many others.

Renny Harlin is back yet again with another terrible movie, who is surprised? Although to Harlin’s credit, Deep Water is not AS bad as a lot of his more recent movies. However that most certainly does not make it good and there really is just not a whole lot to discuss here in the end.

The acting ranges from terrible to fine enough, out of the cast, Aaron Eckhart, Ben Kingsley and Lucy Barrett are the ones who at the very least squeezed some decent moments out of this movie. Eckhart is actually somewhat trying here which is a bit of surprise given his latest performances and Penny (played by Lucy Barrett) is one of the only likable characters of the movie so it’s a bit of a shame to see her go early on. Ben Kingsley unfortunately isn’t in the movie for very long, he gives by far the best performance of the movie as his scenes with Eckhart are decently fun.

The main issue with this movie is it could have been a fun shark b-movie but it takes itself WAY TOO seriously, the direction the movie goes is focusing way less on the shark and focusing a lot more on the characters who don’t have any sort of strong writing to back them up. A majority of them are incredibly unlikable and not in the interesting kind of way, the “redemption arcs” are incredibly corny the only reason being there is for the viewer to suddenly care these characters who you have only seen for about 10-20 minutes.

It’s a shame because there are parts of this movie that are decent enough, the plane crash was surprisingly decently directed. You could actually feel some sort of tension in the air and ask yourself “who’s going to survive and who isn’t.” Unfortunately all of that goes away the moment the plane crashes and we are stuck with a very bland shark movie that just does not have a whole lot going for it.

Overall Deep Water is incredibly forgettable, there is some fun to be had here with some unintentional hilarious moments and the thrilling plane crash. But that’s really about it.

Deep Water is available on all VOD platforms.

4/10 D+

After becoming lost in the Louisiana swamplands, a group of holidaymakers must fight for their lives against a rampaging hippo on the loose.

Hungry is directed by James Nunn director of Wildcat (2025), One More Shot (2024), Shark Bait (2022), One Shot (2021) and many others.

I appreciate that someone attempted a killer hippopotamus movie (enough with the sharks!), unfortunately Hungry misses the mark on elements that should have been a home run.

Hungry has two halves, the first is a group of people stranded on a boat while the second half is the hippo starting to attack the group. The second half is by far the better portion since after all that’s the main reason the viewer is here, I must give credit where credit is due, the hippo actually looks quite great at times. There’s a some simple shots of the hippo peeking its head out of the water that are genuinely unsettling.

What really holds Hungry back however is mainly the movie taking way too long to get going and how it takes itself a bit too seriously at times. It’s a bit of a whiplash since the movie tries to both play in a silly and serious nature, the PG-13 rating also does not do the movie any favors especially when it comes to limiting the kills. When you combine that with budgetary restraints there are a lot of moments that end up being a mess.

When you combine all of this, Hungry just kind of exists. It’s not a terrible movie as there is some fun to be had and for a low budget movie it does with what it can, but overall there is just not a whole lot going on here at all.

Hungry is available on all VOD platforms.

5/10 C

Mother Mary (2026) Film Review

Long-buried wounds rise to the surface when iconic pop star Mother Mary reunites with her estranged best friend and former costume designer, Sam Anselm, on the eve of her comeback performance.

Mother Mary is directed by David Lowery director of Pete’s Dragon (2016), A Ghost Story (2017), The Old Man & The Gun (2018), The Green Knight (2021), Peter Pan & Wendy (2023) and a few others.

Mother Mary is the very definition of a film that is not going to be for everyone, however everything about this film just comes together in this haunting little present that you can’t help but stay invested in as the film goes on. Between the performances, the use of the one location setting, the haunting atmosphere, the music and the film’s exploration of pain and relationships and where art comes from the film is truly highlight from this year.

The performances from Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel are truly captivating, throughout the whole film it feels like Hathaway right on the edge of collapse and is quite lost on what to do. It’s this grounded mindset that truly brings her character Mother Mary to life and delves into the film’s theme of pain and relationships. Hathaway also nails it with the film’s original songs, they are all sung with power, passion and with the type of atmosphere that the film requires. Coel gives a performance that shows a tremendous amount of confidence and strength, she immerses herself into her character Sam Anselm and brings in this sincerity that truly is captivating.

The film heavily relies on the chemistry between Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel to really do the talking and luckily they do just that. The many conversations the two have are incredibly investing, talking about old memories, or their bond. There is a lot here that just works due to how talented the two really are, they do such a fantastic job of matching the film’s haunting atmosphere. Their long confrontation is intense and built on silence, every moment it feels like you are listening in on a grounded conversation. Due to this, the two give some of the best performances so far this year.

The writing is quite fantastic, the whole exploration of pain and relationships plus where art comes from is incredibly well done and is told in both this artistic and human manner. There are these moments of pain being expressed that are hauntingly beautiful, they truly capture this bond between Mother Mary and Sam Anselm that truly is highlighted quite beautifully. The ending only adds to this in this quite wonderful and well executed closing to the story.

The film’s atmosphere combined with its one location setting are fascinating. The atmosphere almost immediately captures this haunting, thrilling and beautiful feel of a film where you are not sure where it’s going to go just yet but you are fully on board. The one location setting brings the tense nature to the film especially when it comes to the confrontation of Mother Mary and Sam Anselm, it almost feels like a stage production at times which only adds to the film’s power that it displays.

Finally there is the music, Charli xcx, Jack Antonoff and FKA Twigs all worked on the soundtrack and each of the songs brings something different to the table. I do think Burial and Cut Ties are my personal favorites here, but all of the songs are fantastic. They all have their own story to tell, their own atmosphere and Anne Hathaway sings absolutely wonderfully. They all add up to such a fascinating story that really invests you into the film’s atmosphere.

Overall Mother Mary is one of the best films of the year, as I said before, it will most certainly not be for everyone but if it does sound like your thing you will not be disappointed.

Mother Mary is available on all VOD platforms.

10/10 A+

Wasteman (2026) Film Review

Follows parolee Taylor whose fresh start hopes are jeopardized by cellmate Dee’s arrival. As Dee takes Taylor under his wing, a vicious attack tests their bond, forcing Taylor to choose between protecting Dee and his own parole chances.

Wasteman is directed by Cal McMau which is his directorial debut.

Wasteman is a film that I knew very little about going in and walking out of it, this ended up being one of the best films of 2026 so far. From the brilliant performances from David Jonsson and Tom Blyth, to the detailed and disturbing exploration of the UK prison system, finally the thrilling atmosphere that will keep you focused the whole way through. The film has it all in this 90 minute package that is truly a powerhouse.

The performances from David Jonsson and Tom Blyth are what make this film and contribute to just how fantastic it really is. David Jonsson plays his character Taylor with such power and delivers an old soul type of performance, the whole story of Taylor seeking redemption is truly fascinating. Jonsson portrays Taylor as a character who is constantly wrestling with deep sorrow and the huge mental toll of trying to reconnect with his son. It’s a powerful and grounded performance that keeps building up as the film goes on, Jonsson has shown time and time again that he is one of the best actors of his generation and that is especially the case here.

Tom Blyth plays Dee an incredibly unpredictable, chaotic and volatile cellmate who brings this incredibly tense atmosphere into the film. Dee is the direct opposite of Taylor which only leads to several fantastic on screen tension moments, Blyth does such a fascinating job of putting so much chaotic and unpredictable energy into the performance, he does this in a very grounded approach rather than a cartoonish one you might see in other prison dramas. Much like Jonsson, Blyth has shown he’s one of the best of his generation and that continues to show here.

But what makes Jonsson and Blyth so fantastic in the film is them together, the back and forth dialogue, the constant tension in the room it’s all there that builds this incredibly thrilling atmosphere that strikes the viewer when they least expect it. The two are perfectly paired and go all out with their talent, the two’s chemistry is built on mistrust, necessity and this fragile sense of mutual survival. It’s truly some of the most effective chemistry from a film so far this year.

The look into the UK prison system is quite interesting and at times disturbing. Such as the lack of funding for staff which allows the prisoners to run rampant, smuggle, assault or kill. The film’s bleak atmosphere really paints this disturbing picture of focusing less on rehabilitation and more of the system struggling to keep order. The film leans into realism by having the location be the Shepton Mallet Prison, an extra touch is that 50% to 80% of the extras and background actors were actual former prisoners. Which gives the film even more rawness both in its story and the atmosphere.

Overall Wasteman is one of the best films so far this year. It’s a fascinating film from start to finish and truly paints this disturbing picture. The performances from Jonsson and Blyth alone are a reason why you should watch this one!

Wasteman is available on all VOD platforms.

10/10 A+

Exit 8 (2026) Film Review

A man becomes increasingly desperate when he realizes he is trapped in a subway station, needing to complete a mission to get out.

Exit 8 is directed by Genki Kawamura director of A Hundred Flowers (2022). The film is based on the 2023 video game of the same name.

Exit 8 is definitely an interesting one, very rarely do we get a video game adaption film that plays out and feels like a video game but that’s the case here. At times that can hurt the movie, but for a majority of the experience it benefits the film in a lot of ways. It also should be worth noting that I have never played the 2023 video game, I went into this one knowing very little about it.

The performances are quite great our main character who is simply known as “The Lost Man” is played by Kazunari Ninomiya who does quite an excellent job of almost immediately capturing the atmosphere the film requires especially during the film’s first act. The way he interacts with the world around him and navigates through the tunnels is very thrilling and really brings the viewer up close to the action.

I will say however the performance that really stood out to me was Yamato Kochi who plays a character simply known as “The Walking Man”, we see him early on as The Lost Man goes through the tunnels and they end up looping. We also do get a bit of a backstory to The Walking Man, it’s a simple yet effective backstory that does capture the film’s atmosphere. In fact from the moment Kochi enters the film the atmosphere definitely feels like it shifts into something more darker yet has this lonely feel. Kochi does the best job when it comes to capturing the atmosphere and going a little bit further with it, it’s almost like he’s putting this highlighter on it to bring your attention for the rest of the ride.

The film’s themes of choosing fatherhood or the single salaryman lifestyle and how every small decision in life counts is incredibly on the nose, there are points where the film just flat out says its themes. However I do think they still work effectively here and tie into the film’s story decently well, there isn’t anything here that is going to blow your mind as these exact same themes have been done before in far better ways elsewhere. But you do grow to really appreciate these characters and their stories that you find this strange sort of charm.

The technical aspects of Exit 8 is what brings this film together, the editing from Jimmy Liu is nice and sharp, the music from Yasutaka Nakata and Shohei Amimori starts off with a bang with opening theme and closes the film out incredibly well. Plus with the rest of the music throughout the experience matching the haunting atmosphere there truly is a lot to explore within. Finally there is the cinematography from cinematographer Keisuke Imamura who truly makes the experience of the film, every single turn from a corner or other angles brings this level of suspense to the atmosphere. There are some very clear references to The Shining (1980) and Imamura is able to make those his own by putting his own style into it.

Overall Exit 8 might not exactly have a whole lot of depth when it comes to dialogue or a narrative. But I still do think it’s quite a great film that gives the viewer a very interesting and thrilling experience.

Exit 8 is available on all VOD platforms.

8/10 B+

Tribeca Review: Iconoclast (2026)

Follows a reclusive young man whose dangerous obsession with a live-streaming influencer increasingly erodes his grip on reality.

Iconoclast is directed by Gabriel Basso which is his directorial debut.

Iconoclast is the film I knew the least amount about going into the Tribeca Film Festival and I’m glad that was the case. This is a film that slowly but surely sets the viewer into its world and creates this surprisingly disturbing look at how damaging parasocial relationships can be, plus with a twist ending that ties everything together incredibly well.

The performances all across the board are fantastic, Gabriel Besso does such a fantastic job of giving this on the edge of being disturbed type of performance. As the film goes on we see Connor slowly but surely lose himself, just when you think he might be able to be pulled into reality he goes right back into the insanity. Besso does such a fascinating job of showcasing this whether it be through is direction of the film or his performance.

Courtney Eaton is fantastic here as well, she delivers such a tense yet relaxed performance that shows you two sides of her character Nika. Throughout the film when Connor is listening and watching Nika’s streams we only ever hear her voice, however we do get to see Nika when Connor sees her everywhere he goes. It’s a very effective way of showing the viewer two different angles of this story that once you get the full picture in the end is quite disturbing.

Finally there’s Rain Spencer who continues to impress as an actress, while Spencer’s role might seem a little undercooked during the film’s first half. She quickly starts to find a place in the film and ends up being quite effective, her character Morgan is in the dark about the whole situation with Connor and these moments of trying to unknowingly try to bring someone back to normalcy are effective. The dialogue shared between the two is fantastic, Rain Spencer seriously brings her talent front and center here.

As mentioned before, the film takes a look at how damaging parasocial relationships can be. It also does take a look at online radicalization, the film delivers some quite disturbing and raw moments that sharpen the film’s narrative in this careful way that avoids making it come off as disturbing for the sake of being disturbing. Besso’s direction definitely helps here, the slow burn element that Besso includes here works wonders for the film. It helps create this atmosphere that the viewer slowly but surely gets put into, all of this adds up to the film’s ending which does leave quite an impact on the viewer.

Overall Iconoclast is a very well acted, directed and atmospheric ride from beginning to end. The film’s pacing can definitely feel a bit too slow at times, however that is not enough to stop the film from being quite effective.

Iconoclast currently has no release date.

8/10 B+