She-Hulk is a huge missed opportunity.

Jennifer Walters has a complicated life as a single, 30-something attorney who also happens to be a green 6-foot-7-inch superpowered hulk.

She-Hulk is the eighth Disney+ and MCU series….and it’s by far the absolute worst one. But before that let’s get the positives out of the way because they are very straightforward, for starters Tatiana Maslany is very solid as She-Hulk, that’s mainly due to her just being a really strong actress who can work with any sort of script. She’s hands down the best part of the entire series it’s just such a shame she wasn’t given a better show or script, episode eight is the highlight by far. While it’s not perfect it’s the only episode where the humor genuinely worked, plus having Charlie Cox back as Daredevil was pretty neat, he also gives a solid performance. The chemistry between Cox and Maslany while short is actually really charming and very entertaining. As for the rest of the show it’s a complete and total mess, if you thought the Marvel humor was terrible in previous shows or movies then you are going to have a dreadful time here, outside of a joke every once in awhile a lot of the humor really comes off as obnoxious. There’s a lot of fourth wall breaking humor that at this point way too many films and TV shows have done, I get that the source material has a lot of fourth wall breaking humor. The problem is the writing doesn’t do it in creative ways, in fact it quite honestly gets progressively worse as the series goes on. Heck the final episode ends up being this whole “this series was meant to be bad!” type of thing which again had the writing actually been investing or knew what it wanted to say that could have worked. Then you have the other characters who are just sort of there Jameela Jamil, Mark Ruffalo, Tim Roth and Ginger Gonzaga are fine enough but they are really not given a whole lot to do outside of unfunny lines. There really isn’t anything else to say here which is unfortunate because a She-Hulk show could have easily work had the writing been a lot more focused and actually attempted with the humor.

She Hulk- is available on Disney+

3/10 D-

Rosaline is surprisingly strong take on Romeo and Juliet.

A comedic retelling of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” told from the point of view of Romeo’s jilted ex, Rosaline, the woman Romeo first claims to love before he falls for Juliet.

When you go by the plot of Rosaline it comes off as yet another tired take of Romeo And Juliet but this time it’s in the perspective of Rosaline who is Romeo’s previous girlfriend before he met Juliet. However the film strangely works really well, it doesn’t take itself too seriously and instead does a pretty humorous and interesting job of retelling the story, with a few changes it ends up being more of a “what if” type scenario which I am a pretty big fan of when it’s done right. And in this case it’s done pretty well, Kaitlyn Dever is fantastic as Rosaline she puts her talent all in the role and gives such a entertaining performance. Sean Teale as Dario is also pretty solid as well, the enemies to lovers element is actually done quite well here which is mainly due to the chemistry of Teale and Dever being so great. Not every single joke lands as there are some eye roll worthy moments, but those really don’t take away from the sharp and clever writing that really gives the story of Romeo and Juliet a breath of fresh air, it’s an entertaining ride from beginning to end that is far better than it has any right being.

Rosaline is available on Hulu!

8/10 B+

To Leslie is a powerful film with a powerful performance from Andrea Riseborough

Leslie, a West Texas single mother, struggles to provide for her son when she wins the lottery and a chance at a good life. But a few short years later the money is gone and Leslie is on her own living hard, she is forced to make a difficult choice.

The story of To Leslie might be familiar in a lot of areas however what really makes the film is the approach and one very important aspect…Andrea Riseborough’s performance. Her performance is truly breathtaking once again like in many of her other performances Riseborough completely disappears into her performance and gives such raw and investing performance that really hits the viewer hard. Speaking of authentic this film makes sure to be just that, from the way the film is shot, to the writing and direction. It’s truly a film that really comes off as being as authentic as possible, which the film itself is based on a true story. Riseborough’s talent is truly shown off here especially with the several quiet moments during the film and the several moments of emotion. Be sure to check this one out!

To Leslie is available on all VOD platforms.

8/10 B+

The School Of Good And Evil is another bland Young Adult adaption.

Best friends Sophie and Agatha find themselves on opposing sides of an epic battle when they’re swept away into an enchanted school where aspiring heroes and villains are trained to protect the balance between good and evil.

I like that Paul Feig is continuing to try and tackle different genres instead of sticking with comedy, because he did a surprisingly excellent job with A Simple Favor, so I was a bit curious what he was going to do with The School for Good and Evil, long story short this movie is complete and total mess, this is what you would get if you took every young adult adaption movie from the early 2010s and blended them together. You would get this directionless Frankenstein monster of a movie that has no idea what it’s trying to do, Michelle Yeoh is the standout here and she’s pretty much shelved throughout the movie. Getting very little screentime compared to everyone else, speaking of which everyone else does an okay job. There aren’t any flat out bad performances but there aren’t any good ones either, a lot of them are just there and I guess get the job done. The writing is filled to the brim of melodrama, typical young adult movie cliches and very weak world building. Lastly there’s Paul Feig’s directing style that really doesn’t do anything for the movie, there’s attempts to throw in some comedy but it’s more of that young adult movie adaption humor that is often dull. Lastly what really seals the movie’s fate is the pacing combined with the running time why this movie was 2 hours and 27 minutes I will never know. But it did not do the movie any favors at all, the pacing was truly dreadful and the build up was just not worth the end result.

The School Of Good And Evil is available on Netflix.

4/10 D+

Raymond & Ray doesn’t have a lot of substance.

Half-brothers Raymond and Ray reunite when their estranged father dies — and discover that his final wish was for them to dig his grave. Together, the process who they’ve become as men, both because of their father and in spite of him.

Raymond & Ray is definitely a step down from Rodrigo García who previously directed For Good Days. The major issue with the movie is it really doesn’t say or do anything special outside of a few solid performances, Ethan Hawke is pretty solid, Ewan McGregor has his moments mostly when Raymond (McGregor) and Ray (Hawke) have to come to terms about their abusive father passing away and having conversations about it. The problem is those sort of scenes are not as common as you would think, Sophie Okonedo brings some life into the movie which is somewhat enjoyable. But the movie never goes beyond a few scenes that talk about the abuse, a lot of it tries to play off as a comedy which really doesn’t work especially when the tone of the movie completely doesn’t match it.

Raymond & Ray is available on Apple TV+

5/10 C

Terror Train (2022) an unnecessary remake.

A group of college seniors board a party train for a Halloween-themed bash, but their fun spirals into fear as attendees are killed off one-by-one. Concealed by costumes and plagued with chaos, everyone is a suspect. As the party train continues full steam ahead, Alana must race to find the killer before she becomes the next victim.

Terror Train is a remake of the 1980 film of the same name, there truly is not a whole lot to say here. This movie really isn’t that much different from the original movie, the only main difference is that it feels a lot cheaper and has this huge made for TV feel for it. Surprisingly enough it does have some decent kills especially when you consider how cheap this movie looks and feels, what made the original movie standout was Jamie Lee Curtis, Ben Johnson and Hart Bochner and David Copperfield if you took them away it would fall directly with the other 80s slasher films. This movie doesn’t have any of the main cast from the original so it’s really just another terrible slasher that happens to be a remake, the cast in this movie aren’t terrible but they are really nothing special at all. The only time the movie tries to do something a bit different from the original is the final moments of the movie, but at that point it’s too little too late. Overall there just isn’t enough here to warrant a remake, Terror Train (2022) isn’t the absolute worst remake out there but it is one of the biggest “why?” moments.

Terror Train (2022) is available on Tubi.

3/10 D-

The Stranger (2022) Film review

Mark, an undercover cop, forms an intense, intimate relationship with Henry, a murder suspect, in an attempt to earn his trust and get a confession, risking both of their lives in the process.

The Stranger is an interesting little film about violence, it’s a dark film that tackles the several themes of violence but doesn’t show it. Which that in itself is a pretty interesting approach to take, which I do think the film does quite well, combine that with some really strong performances and some well put together music as well and you have yourself a suspenseful film that really has an interesting approach on violence. It’s slow burn element is also quite great especially when combined with the cinematography that adds so much to the film, the writing could have definitely been a bit stronger in some areas as it does lose some footing during the third act. But this is some really interesting stuff that I recommend.

The Stranger is available on Netflix.

7/10 B

God’s Country is a thrilling character driven film.

A college professor gets drawn into an escalating battle of wills after she catches two hunters trespassing on her property in the remote mountains of the American West.

God’s Country mainly works due to Thandiwe Newton’s performance that is very raw and really keeps the interest of the viewer, the photography of the setting is truly beautiful especially when combined with the atmosphere. Speaking of which the film absolutely nails the atmosphere on so many levels, the film does take it’s time to get going but once it does it actually explores a few themes such as racism. Which the film does a pretty solid job in despite feeling a bit unexplored at times, which the movie makes up for with very engaging writing that really builds the characters with a lot of personal moments between one another. There’s a lot here that is very striking and really adds to the film’s overall atmosphere that eventually leads to a very strong third act. Once again Newton is truly what makes the film shine, just watching her character interact with everyone else is really investing and gives the film it’s personality that is very memorable after watching.

God’s Country is available on all VOD platforms.

8/10 B+

Vesper is an interesting Sci-fi film even if it’s familiar.

Struggling to survive with her father after the collapse of Earth’s ecosystem, 13-year-old Vesper must use her wits, strength and bio-hacking abilities to fight for the future.

Vesper is definitely an interesting little Sci-Fi film that really expands itself as it goes on, the film does start out a bit rough with a lot of slow burn elements that don’t exactly work all that well here. Mainly due to the story itself actually being a bit more straightforward than you would think, but once it gets going the film becomes quite an Interesting exploration. The characters are quite intriguing particularly Raffiella Chapman’s character Vesper who gets a really solid backstory and several character moments as the film goes on, there’s some world exploration here that definitely could have been used a lot more, but for what’s presented it’s a quite decent look at a post apocalyptic world that introduces some ideas that are pretty investing. The film does follow a few familiar Sci-Fi film tropes but at the very least the film does things a bit different, as I said before the slow burn elements are kind of just there. They are very unnecessary especially with the story being told where it’s actually straightforward and really doesn’t need these long moments of silence to digest what’s happening on screen. If you can get through that you are in for a very investing ride.

Vesper is available on all VOD platforms.

7/10 B

Catherine Called Birdy is decent enough thanks to Bella Ramsey.

In medieval England, the daughter of a financially destitute Lord thwarts her father’s plans to marry her off to a wealthy suitor. When the most vile suitor arrives, her parent’s love for her is tested.

After the complete mess that was Sharp Stick I had very low expectations for Lena Dunham’s second film this year Catherine Called Birdy, life is full of surprises I guess because this wasn’t terrible. For starters the main reason why the movie works is because of Bella Ramsey, without her this movie would have fallen flat quite easily. Bella Ramsey really makes the script that would otherwise be way too simple and very bare bones into something surprisingly energetic and interesting, it’s essentially criticizing the patriarchy but in medieval times which the movie does pretty fine enough at. The other side of it is a coming age film but set in medieval times, which there are some fresh ideas with the character development mainly having to do with Bella Ramsey’s character Birdy calling out the bullcrap of the patriarchy in a few humorous ways while also having serious discussions about it as well. There are times where the movie does go a bit overboard with sarcastic humor and sort of takes away from the more serious moments, but for the most part the movie does a solid job at what it’s trying to say. It’s definitely not anything groundbreaking plus there are films that are far stronger that tackle the exact same subjects as this one, but this is certainly not a bad choice if you decide to give it a look.

Catherine Called Birdy is available on Amazon Prime Video.

6/10 C+