Warfare (2025) Film Review

A surveillance mission goes wrong for a platoon of American Navy SEALs in insurgent territory in Iraq.

Warfare is directed by Ray Mendoza (which in his directorial debut) and Alex Garland director of Ex Machina (2014), Annihilation (2018), Men (2022) and Civil War (2024) the film is based Mendoza’s experiences during the Iraq War as a U.S. Navy Seal. In particular the film depicts an encounter he and his platoon experienced on November 19th 2006 which was in the wake of the Battle of Ramadi.

Warfare is a beast of a film, not only is it incredibly well directed, incredibly raw and very well made. But it has this anti-war sentiment throughout the film that shows the brutality of war and how disturbing it can really be.

The start with the acting is incredibly raw, everyone here gives phenomenal performances and really captures the brutal and thrilling atmosphere that is taking place. But the two that really take this film home are Joseph Quinn and Cosmo Jarvis, these two are part of what makes this film so brutal and really help the film get its point across. A lot of war films tend to really gloss over injuries or the reactions of being shot, 90 percent of the time it’s a basic you are shot and dead or you are shot and there really isn’t this huge reaction. What Warfare does is very different, when Quinn and Jarvis are seriously injured from a bomb the two scream in agony and their performances are truly haunting. Especially Quinn who almost immediately sends chills down the viewer’s signs, combine that with the gore and the atmosphere reflecting how disturbing the situation is, you have yourself some very terrifying moments that stay throughout the rest of the film.

Part of what makes Warfare work as well as it does is the sound, the screams of Quinn and Jarvis are so effective here as well the gunshots, explosions, rumblings ect. Ray Mendoza has said that for Warfare sound matters saying “Every Round Has A Purpose” and he’s absolutely right here, every single moment with the sound is intimidating simply because you have no idea what you are going to hear next. It’s the type of sound that immediately gets to the viewer and brings you in, you can feel the pain, screams, gunfire and such every single second. This is truly some of the best use of sound I’ve seen in a film in a while.

The cinematography combined with the atmosphere is also thrilling as well as incredibly haunting. The cinematography from David J. Thompson manages to create this big in scale yet claustrophobic feel to the filming, the outside portions of the fight are bigger in scale with wider shots while the portions that take place inside are up close, personal and chaotic. This makes sense as to why they are up close since it is Mendoza’s experience after all, these close shots really depict a disturbing picture that has a lot of panic, desperation and rawness a lot of the time it’s jaw dropping simply due to how well edited and filmed these scenes really are.

Finally the anti-war theme of Warfare is saying how the United States feeds these people into the meat grinder for absolutely no reason at all. It shows just how much life was lost, there’s a few scenes of this terrified Iraqi family whose home Mendoza and his men are in throughout most of the film and just seeing their horrified reactions is devastating because they know what’s about to happen, their reactions alone basically sums up this film. It’s terrifying and unlike some other war films where they try to make war look like this big spectacle that absolutely couldn’t be further from the truth. Warfare tells the viewer that so many people pointlessly died for no reason and this is the legacy that was left, so much death, trauma and pain that everyone goes looks back at and asks the simple one worded question “why?”

Warfare is currently in theaters.

9/10 A

My Dead Friend Zoe (2025) Film Review

Merit is a U.S. veteran who keeps seeing the presence of Zoe, her best friend who died in combat. When her estranged grandfather is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, she decides to become his caretaker while also trying to heal herself.

My Dead Friend Zoe is directed by Kyle Hausmann-Stokes which is his directorial debut.

I knew very little about My Dead Friend Zoe going in and it’s definitely one of the more surprising films so far this year. There’s definitely some writing issues here and there but wow did this film stick the landing with its heart shattering ending especially when combined with the heartfelt performances that really bring the whole film together.

Sonequa Martin-Green does such an incredible job as the lead, portraying Merit someone who is trying to move on but constantly blaming herself for the death of her best friend Zoe (played by Natalie Morales), throughout the film she constantly battles with her mind and sees visions of Zoe. Everywhere she goes she’s constantly reminded of her which in turn brings her back to stage one, it’s very upsetting and gut punching to watch mainly due to just how strong of a performance Martin-Green gives. It’s a very real performance that captures PTSD very well and done in a respectful way that does not feel over the top.

Natalie Morales is fantastic here as well, there’s some humor put into her performance that oddly enough works, it’s definitely more of a “it’s funny until it’s not” moment. The switch in tone is done maturely and in a way where you can feel it hit you in the face with what’s to come, just when you feel more comfortable that film reminds you that this is a very heartbreaking story. Morales and Martin-Green really work well together and have some incredibly powerful moments of exchanging dialogue especially towards the end.

The film does not reveal to the viewer how Zoe died until the very last moments of the film, which is effectively done. It hits the viewer so much harder and in this much more grounded way, there’s some hints as to what happened to Zoe throughout the film but not enough to completely give it away. The reveal is so well done here and soul crushing that it really sticks the viewer as the credits roll.

The film tackling PTSD and how it affects army veterans is incredibly well done here especially given that the director Kyle Hausmann-Stokes himself is an army veteran and the inclusion of some veterans as some of the side characters. It feels much more real and almost like Hausmann-Stokes is sharing something personal with the viewer, it’s interesting to hear someone who did serve in the army give their take on how much guilt and PTSD can really hurt someone as well showing this beautiful but crushing depiction of trying to move on.

Overall My Dead Friend Zoe is a surprisingly genuine film that is very much a crowd pleaser, the writing does have its bumps in the road with a few cliches popping up here and there plus it can be on the nose at times. But the film has this strong heart that keeps it shining through, I say give this one a look!

My Dead Friend Zoe is available on all VOD platforms.

7/10 B

The Six Triple Eight (2024) Film Review!

Eight hundred and fifty-five join the war effort to address a three-year mail backlog. Despite discrimination and war-torn conditions, they sort over seventeen million pieces of mail ahead of schedule.

The Six Triple Eight is directed by Tyler Perry director of the Madea franchise, A Jazzman’s Blues (2022), Divorce in the Black (2024), Mea Culpa (2024) and many others. The film is about the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion an all Black and all-female battalion in World War II.

One of the most frustrating types of movies are the ones that are about a very interesting true story that is not told very often and tells that story not very well. Perhaps you did not need me to tell you that Tyler Perry has yet again made another terrible movie, in comparison to a majority of his filmography The Six Triple Eight is a masterpiece. But that really is not saying much if you know anything about Tyler Perry.

There’s moments of decent acting here but a majority of the time it’s very over dramatic and really hurts the storytelling as a result, Kerry Washington is the standout here but even she struggles to work with such a shoddy script. It’s sad because the actual true story is quite interesting and is a story that deserves to be told in a far better way than how Tyler Perry decides to tell it.

The acting during the movie’s first act really presents itself like a bad high school play, it’s painfully noticeable and takes away from what could be touching moments between the actors and actresses. Even when the movie is well intentioned and wants to pay tribute to these women the movie tackles the story and background of these women in such a surface level way, which considering the movie is 2 hours long is incredibly baffling.

There are plenty of moments here that should have easily been hard hitting, but due to the script and Perry’s direction it robs the movie of these moments. You don’t get to learn a whole lot about these women, it’s more focused on telling a very abridged version of this story with so many details missing.

Overall The Six Triple Eight is a huge missed opportunity to tell a story that deserves to be told in a passionate way, this is just terrible Oscar bait that doesn’t tell this story as well as it should have.

The Six Triple Eight is available on Netflix.

3/10 D-

Blitz (2024) Film Review!

In World War II London, nine-year-old George is evacuated to the countryside by his mother, Rita, to escape the bombings. Defiant and determined to return to his family, George embarks on a journey back home as Rita searches for him.

Blitz is directed by Steve McQueen director of Hunger (2008), Shame (2011), 12 Years a Slave (2013) and Widows (2018). Blitz is a fictionalized war film about the real “the Blitz” which was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom from September 7th 1940 to May 11th 1941 during World War II.

Blitz is a pretty interesting one, while it’s not one of Steve McQueen’s absolute best films as it is flawed. The positives definitely outweigh the negatives, there’s so much to love about this film and although fictionalized the film captures the horrifying real event incredibly well.

The performances are excellent here, Saoirse Ronan once again shows why she’s one of the best actresses currently working today. She plays Rita a mother who adores her son George (played by Elliott Heffernan) the mother and son bond between the two is very captivating and the heart of the film, this only becomes heartbreaking when the two are separated and have to find each other. Ronan shows so much emotion and you can easily see the fear and pain in her eyes as she looks for her son, one particular moment before the chaos is Ronan actually singing which she has a beautiful singing voice. It really captures the beauty of her acting and is easily a very memorable moment from the film. Her performance should definitely earn her a best supporting actress nomination when it comes time for the Oscars.

Elliott Heffernan is also fantastic, we get to see his perspective of the war. The eyes of a child witnessing people around him lose their lives and overall destruction, it’s bad enough when an adult sees death and chaos now imagine a child’s reaction. That’s what the film really does a good job at, showing different perspectives and George’s is perhaps the most terrifying one. Heffernan gives one of the best child actor performances in a while, this is also his acting debut. I really can’t wait to see how Heffernan’s career is going to go in the future.

Although Blitz does suffer from some characters being a bit undercooked, the perspective from the other characters is still welcomed. The way they try to keep being hopeful and positive even though their homes are being destroyed, the way they support each other and to keep everyone alive. These are all very human moments that truly are beautiful that Steve McQueen captures exceptionally well, not every single of these moments leads into something powerful or interesting, but the fact they are there at all and actually do come off as genuine really helps the film in the long run.

Overall Blitz might be flawed, but I do think between the performances, the different perspectives and the filmmaking there’s so much to love here.

Blitz is available on Apple TV+

8/10 B+

Lee (2024) Film Review

The story of photographer Elizabeth `Lee’ Miller, a fashion model who became an acclaimed war correspondent for Vogue magazine during World War II.

Lee is directed by Ellen Kuras which is directorial debut. Lee is a biopic about Lee Miller a photographer who went on to chronicle the events of World War II for Vogue Magazine.

I have to give respect whenever a passion project is able to be released, this movie took 8 years to make its a film that Kate Winslet had wanted to make for a long time and I’m glad it was able to release. Having that said Lee falls into the trap of being a very middle of the road war biopic.

By far the best part about Lee is Kate Winslet’s performance, it’s undeniable how excellent she really is as Lee Miller. She shows so much talent and really shows why she’s one of the best actresses of her generation, even if the script is on the weaker side of things during the first two acts and plays out like a very traditional war biopic. Winslet is able to turn certain moments into something special due to just how committed she really is to the role, the rest of the performances are very whatever. Andy Sandberg gives somewhat of an interesting performance that you can absolutely make an argument that it’s solid, but Winslet just completely dances circles around everyone else that it doesn’t matter.

The third act is when the movie actually gets quite great, there’s so many hard hitting moments during the final moments of the movie. It’s crushing in a lot of ways that does leave the viewer with an impression and makes you really want to know even more about Lee Miller. When the movie focuses on how these events affected Lee Miller it shines and really brings the viewer closer into Lee’s mind and what she’s thinking.

The first two acts as I said before is very middle of the road war biopic stuff, it’s very textbook like and really doesn’t say anything new about Lee Miller. The only thing really keeping the first two acts from completely collapsing is Winslet’s performance, there isn’t necessarily anything terrible just a lot of very typical biopic elements that kind of show that director Ellen Kuras didn’t know what direction to take Lee Miller’s story until the last act.

Overall there really isn’t much else to say, Lee is a movie that had the potential to be far better told as Lee Miller is a very interesting war photographer and deserves her story to be told in a much more focused and powerful way.

Lee is available on all VOD Platforms.

5/10 C

Civil War (2024) Film Review

In a dystopian future America, a team of military-embedded journalists races against time to reach Washington, D.C., before rebel factions descend upon the White House.

Civil War is directed by Alex Garland who previously directed Ex Machina (2015), Annihilation (2018) and Men (2022).

Part of the reason my review is so late is because I honestly had no idea what to exactly think of Civil War. There is an incredible amount that I really love about the film, even if the politics can get muddy I do get the point the film was making and in some instances it kind of works.

I’ll start with the performances because they are ultimately what really makes the film, starting with Kristen Dunst she gives a phenomenal performance. She plays a war photographer named Lee Smith who mainly focuses on the job and nothing else at all, there are tons of character moments from her. The ones that stood out were her slowly realizing that doing absolutely nothing while chaos is going on other than getting that one excellent shot is not worth it at all. Dunst gives such a raw performance and her interactions with the rest of the cast is truly investing.

Cailee Spaeny is also quite excellent here, she plays Jessie Cullen an aspiring young photographer who kind of just joins in on Lee and Joel’s (played by Wagner Moura) journey. Her depiction of someone being someone who hasn’t been in this much chaos before is absolutely top notch and at times quite scary, the scenes with her Dunst or her and Moura just having conversations are among some of the film’s best moment.

Wagner Moura and Stephen McKinley are both excellent here, they work incredibly well with Spaeny and Dunst the chemistry between the four is top notch. Moura acting as this second in command figure with Dunst who tries to keep the group together is investing to watch. While McKinley’s character doesn’t get a lot of development, McKinley’s performance itself is more than enough to make up for it as it is pretty charming in some areas.

The atmosphere of the film is truly masterful, throughout the whole film and the journey we are sent on with Lee, Joel, Jessie and Sammy the suspenseful atmosphere is felt. Anything could happen at any given moment it’s investing the whole through but there’s one particular moment that really shines. I purposely left out Jesse Plemons’s performance until right now because while he does only get one scene, the scene is a masterclass of suspense. Combine that with his acting, the lines of dialogue that are used and the camera focusing on each of the character’s reactions and you have yourself a wild ride of a scene.

The film’s world itself is quite investing as well, I do like that the film shows the relics of the Civil War taking place. Buildings left abandoned, some completely intact and others completely ruined. Heck sometimes during the journey we encounter towns that flat out pretend the war does not exist. This might be a bit biased since I’ve always had a fascination with abandoned buildings and areas, but I do think the film does a really great job of showing the horrifying feel of these certain areas.

Overall Civil War is a quite fantastic film, it’s filled with suspense, excellent performances and investing dialogue that really grabs the viewer’s attention incredibly quickly!

Civil War is available in Theaters.

9/10 A

One Life (2024) Film Review

London broker Nicholas “Nicky” Winton helps rescue hundreds of predominantly Jewish children from Czechoslovakia in a race against time before the Nazi occupation closes the borders. Fifty years later, he’s still haunted by the fate of those he wasn’t able to bring to safety.

One Life is directed by James Hawes which is directorial debut (not counting TV movies). One Life tells the true story of Sir Nicholas Winton who helped groups of Jewish children in German occupied Czechoslovakia to hide in flee in 1938-1939 just before the beginning of World War II.

It’s a very true fact when they say that World War II created a ton of personal stories from many different people, one of those is Nicholas Winton who was just ordinary man before he decided to put his life on the line and save so many children who were going to be killed.

The film itself switches back and forth between Winton’s early life which includes him saving the children and the present where he is much older and is known as a hero. The film really does a fantastic job of going back and forth between times, it cuts to when Winton is an elder at the best times possible so that the historical moments can hit the viewer harder. When it cuts to Winton’s younger years it allows more information about him to be revealed nice and slowly without being overwhelming for the viewer.

Johnny Flynn plays younger Winton which he does such a fantastic job, he absolutely fits the role and really fits the part as a man who sees pain and hurt then proceeds to put his life on the line to save those in need. Combine his performance with the nice and smooth pacing and you have yourself some really powerful moments throughout the film.

The first two acts are your standard biopic, they are by no means bad in fact there are tons of excellent moments between them. There just isn’t anything mind blowing. What helps the first two acts is the hero’s journey type of element to Nicholas Winton, it’s incredibly inspiring to see and never leaves your head throughout the film.

When the third act comes in that’s where the film’s power comes in, I purposely saved describing Anthony Hopkins performance for last because it’s truly gut punching and absolutely powerful. Anthony Hopkins gives one of my favorite performances so far this year, he plays this honest and heartwarming performance who reflects on the events of Winton’s early life. Every single moment of Hopkins’s performance especially during the third act comes off as honest, it’s absolutely beautiful and will make you cry.

The third act has some of the children (who are now grown up) that Nicholas Winton saved meet with a now elderly Nicholas Winton to meet him. All of this takes place during a tv show called That’s Life. This is some of the film’s most powerful moments and it all comes down to the acting, between Anthony Hopkins’s quiet performance during this scene, to the absolute raw reveal and Hopkins tears. It’s truly some of the most beautiful and powerful moments from a film so far this year.

Overall One Life is a beautiful film, sure the first two acts might not be the absolute strongest but between the third act, performances and the great use of switching in time. It more than makes up for its flaws.

One Life is available in theaters.

8/10 B+

Quick Review: Blood & Gold (2023)

At the bitter end of World War II, a German deserter and a young woman are drawn into bloody battle with a group of Nazis hunting for hidden gold.

I’ve said it before but Netflix has been having a very rough year when it comes to original movies, Blood & Gold is at the very least a decent one there’s just honestly not whole lot to comment on here.

The movie serves as a nice little love letter to the Italo western and World War II exploitation movies from the 60s and 70s, if you are a fan of those types of movies you are going to get that here. The movie also does have a similar atmosphere that Sisu had although I would say Sisu is definitely the better movie.

The acting is overall not bad, the filming is actually quite nice to look at and there’s a lot of action scenes that are quite thrilling and atmospheric. Blood & Gold is overall not bad at all just nothing really that special.

Blood & Gold is available on Netflix.

6/10 C+

Sisu is a show don’t tell entertaining ride from beginning to end.

During the last days of World War II, a solitary prospector crosses paths with Nazis on a scorched-Earth retreat in northern Finland. When the soldiers decide to steal his gold, they quickly discover they just tangled with no ordinary miner.

Sisu is if you took Mad Max Fury Road and John Wick and asked the question “what if it took place during near the end of World War II?” You would get Sisu a movie that admittedly shares a lot of the same elements as John Wick but still manages to be a complete blast.

Jorma Tommila plays Aatami Korpi a solider who is now a miner and is feared among many rival soldiers some people calling him “immortal” which is quite accurate because this guy picks apart this group of Nazis one by one. Tommila gives a very intimidating performance and really captures the atmosphere the film is going for quite well, the cinematography when combined with the location are very beautiful and makes for some very interesting action scenes. We get to explore around the many battlefields, it has this eeriness to it that is actually quite effective.

The action scenes are quite fantastic, filled to the brim with gore and lots of pretty strong kills that really make the film a very entertaining ride. The action during the last 10 minutes or so does get a little too silly but I guess it does fit the whole “this man is unbeatable” idea, outside of Aatami Korpi the other characters don’t get much in the way of development. The main villains are Bruno Helldorf played by Aksel Hennie and his subordinate Wolf played by Jack Doolan. The performances from Hennie and Doolan are both very good, the characters however are just ultimately higher ranked Nazis. They aren’t that much different from the ones they are leading, except just lasting much longer in the movie.

Overall Sisu thematically might not have a lot going on as it is very straightforward and honestly tells you from the trailer what you are getting, but it is very fun film that is really solid. It’s not going to reinvent the action genre but it is yet another solid one from this year.

Sisu is available in theaters.

8/10 B+

The Covenant is a solid war thriller with solid performances.

During the war in Afghanistan, a local interpreter risks his own life to carry an injured sergeant across miles of gruelling terrain.

Of the two Guy Richie films that have been released this year The Covenant and Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, The Covenant is by far the better of the two.

While The Covenant is not based on a true story the movie does state that there have been situations where interpreters have put themselves on the line of danger to save injured sergeants. First and foremost the performances from Jake Gyllenhaal who plays John Kinley and Dar Salim who plays Ahemd are both quite fantastic here, the bond between is truly fantastic and while yes it’s a cliched question in movie the whole “how far would you go to save someone who saved your life” thing works here.

The first two acts are very well done especially when it comes to atmosphere that truly is thrilling and I really have to say for a first time directing a war movie Guy Richie does a really good job of nailing down the atmosphere of war, it might not be up there with some of the greats such as Hacksaw Ridge, 1917 or All Quiet On The Western Front. But it honestly doesn’t need to be, Richie made the atmosphere his own and made it quite interesting.

Unfortunately The Covenant does suffer from two major flaws the first being the third act, while it isn’t awful as it does keep some thrilling moments which were previously in the first two acts. It doesn’t have a whole lot of development unfortunately, we are introduced to some characters who get about 7 minutes of screentime and then are pretty much never seen again. The action scenes during the third act are nowhere near as thrilling as they were than the first two acts, it turns into an action scene you would expect from over the top action movies. Which yes I get there’s going to be action scenes but I can’t help but feel like that it takes away from the quietness and atmospheric feeling that was in the other two acts.

Lastly there’s the messaging of the movie, while the movie does have a very good intentioned message that interpreters are important and should be talked about more (which I agree with) when it comes to the War in Afghanistan, it honestly doesn’t explore all that much about the interpreters. Outside of Dar Salim’s character Ahmed we aren’t given a whole lot of information about interpreters and how important they are, it’s only at the end of the movie where some text shows up and then the credits show army soldiers being buddies with interpreters. It’s a shame because I do think the topic of interpreters gets very overshadowed and nowhere near as much attention as it should.

With that said I do think The Covenant is a solid movie with some really strong acting and Guy Richie trying to do something a bit different with the war movie genre. There’s a lot to like about this one.

The Covenant is playing in theaters.

7/10 B