Dangerous Animals (2025) Film Review

A shark-obsessed serial killer holds Zephyr, a rebellious surfer, captive on his boat. Racing against time, she must figure out a way to escape before he carries out a ritualistic feeding to the sharks below.

Dangerous Animals is directed by Sean Byrne director of The Loved Ones (2012) and The Devil’s Candy (2015) 

Dangerous Animals is quite an interesting one, while yes there are sharks in the film it’s sort of a stretch to really call it a shark movie. With that being said the film does take the shark movie element and ends up being quite well executed. 

The performances are all quite fantastic here and help bring this grounded nature to the film, Jai Courtney is both hilarious and quite intimidating here. He channels Nicolas Cage (I mean this in the best way possible) while also giving the viewer this feel of unease. If it’s one major thing that Sean Byrne is incredibly effective at it’s making the villains of his films terrifying in this way that gets under the viewer’s skin. Combine that with Courtney’s performance that he goes all out with and you have yourself a terrifying ride. Courtney’s commitment to the script combined with a buffalo bill like performance makes each and every scene more thrilling than the last.

Hassie Harrison is also quite great here, her character Zephyr is incredibly likable right from the start and the surprisingly decent love story between her and Moses (played by Josh Heuston) really does make you root for her. Much like Courtney, Harrison does a really solid job of giving this raw performance that you can really tell she went all out with. The fear in her voice and eyes, the cries for help and the survival instincts really are striking which really gives her performance that much more power. Harrison’s interactions with Courtney lead to some of the film’s best moments that are filled to the brim with thrills and a dark atmosphere, the two’s acting combined together really make what otherwise be an average horror thriller into something interesting.

The atmosphere is dark as I said before but it is also backed up by Sean Byrne’s direction. Byrne likes to really bring this dark atmosphere into his films to the point where it could be disturbing to some, he does such a great job at doing so with this film. Not only is the atmosphere dark but this time around it’s claustrophobic, a majority of the film is on a boat with very little places to run and hide. There is a ton of suspense going on here that never leaves the viewer, it throws you off with some humor in a good way. It’s just the right amount of humor to not distract or take away from the film, it’s done in this darkly funny type of way that adds to the atmosphere. 

The script from writer Nick Lepard is well done and leads to plenty of terrifying moments that will quickly get under the viewer’s skin, the gore is also quite great there might not be as much as there was in The Loved Ones (2012) but it’s still effectively used and adds to the overall terror of the film. The film does take a bit to get going at the start, some of the earlier scenes are admittedly a bit on the generic side of things, however once the film gets going it only goes up from there. 

Overall Dangerous Animals is a very strong film, it’s a gnarly and thrilling ride that has two incredibly well done performances, a strong script and effective direction. This is one I recommend giving a go! 

Dangerous Animals is available in theaters!

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+

Most Anticipated Films Of June 2025!

May flew by quickly! We got a lot of great films out of May and June seems to keep things up some great looking releases.

In addition to new releases I’m going to do be doing Tribeca Film Festival in person this year, so keep an eye for Tribeca reviews! Anyways here is the list

10. Best Wishes To All – June 13th (Shudder)

9. Ballerina – June 6th (Theaters)

8. Echo Valley – June 13th (Apple TV+)

7. Dangerous Animals – June 6th (Theaters)

6. Materialists – June 13th (Theaters)

5. Predator: Killer Of Killers – June 6th (Hulu)

4. The Phoenician Scheme – June 6th (Theaters)

3. Sorry, Baby – June 27th (Theaters)

2. The Life Of Chuck – June 6th (limited) and June 13th (wide)

1. 28 Years Later – June 20th (Theaters)

Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025) Film Review


Plagued by insomnia, a musician gets pulled into a nightmarish odyssey with a stranger who begins to unravel the very core of his existence.

Hurry Up Tomorrow is directed by Trey Edward Shults director of Krisha (2015), It Comes At Night (2017), and Waves (2019) 

The main reason why it took so long to review Hurry Up Tomorrow is because I kept going back and forth on whether or not I liked this, even currently I’m still not 100% sure what to make of it. This sort of hurts because I do love Trey Edward Shults, all of his previous films are some of the best films of the 2010s and even though Abel (The Weeknd) had The Idol (2023) under his belt there are many cases of many artists coming back with something stronger. Which in some ways this is absolutely stronger than The Idol (2023) but in other ways there really isn’t that much improvement. 

Starting with the performances, Abel is better here than he was In The Idol (2023) that’s mainly due to the script being a lot more toned down. In this film he plays a fictionalized version of himself, while I do get what he was going for and I actually do not think he was terrible. There were a lot of moments of his acting that really needed a lot more power to them, there’s one particular moment I do think Abel nails down decently well but unfortunately that’s not quite enough to really say he gave a great performance. His performance feels very closed off for people who are not very familiar with Abel or his music, which I do think is ultimately the huge problem with the film (that I will get into later.)

While Barry Keoghan (who plays Lee, Abel’s fictional manager) is not in the film all that much, he does land a solid performance. The thing about Keoghan is that he thrives when playing absurd characters, there’s one ridiculous scene where in most cases you would mark it as terrible. But Barry makes it work, there’s one scene of him with Jenna Ortega that’s also quite solid as well, it’s clear that he has having a blast with the performance and using the time he has on screen as much as possible. 

Finally there’s Jenna Ortega who is far and away the best part of the film, she really goes all out in this performance that portrays Anima a disturbed character who can snap at any moment. She channels Patrick Bateman from American Psycho (2000) masterfully, she’s intimidating in this unusual sense that creates a lot of the film’s atmosphere. She is given such an interesting character that while the film could have explored a lot more, Ortega manages to make work due to her facial acting, body language and some of her silent moments that can make the viewer uneasy. Her character is also by far the most interesting part about this, she gives the viewer several questions throughout the film such as who is she? What’s her story? Why is she running? Among many other questions. This is by far one of Ortega’s best performances and really shows how committed she really is to her work, without Ortega Hurry Up Tomorrow would fall flat immediately.

The cinematography from Chayse Irvin is incredibly strong here, the film has this cross between a dream and nightmare like look that adds to the film’s atmosphere. It’s quite effective during the later half of the film where the film’s horror elements kick in, the beginning portions also have some quite beautiful shots that really paint this beautiful yet haunting picture of what’s to come. The first half resembling a dream while the second half resembling a nightmare, it’s a quite clever contrast that while the film captures well has one huge misstep. 

The main problem here is the script, some of it comes from a problem I hinted at earlier. Which was if you are not familiar with Abel or his music you are out of luck, it’s fine to throw references but mainly focusing on references in the sake of sacrificing the script is always going to hurt your film. The story itself does not go deep enough unfortunately, we are left with a lot of questions and throughout the film we are almost told nothing. I talk about wanting to invest the audiences as much as possible in my reviews, cases like this are why it’s important Hurry Up Tomorrow really fails in that department. Unless you are a fan of Abel you are going to be confused and lost, the story itself is unfortunately not large enough to keep the viewer hooked for very long. 

Despite my issues with Hurry Up Tomorrow I did have a solid time with it, I don’t think it’s as bad as some have made it out to be. But I can absolutely understand where people are coming from, it’s a film that could have been so much more had the writing been improved I think there could have been something really great here. 

Hurry Up Tomorrow is currently in theaters and releases on all VOD platforms June 6th. 

6/10 C+

The Legend Of Ochi (2025) Film Review

A young girl learns to never go outside after dark because of reclusive forest creatures known as the ochi. However, when a baby ochi is left behind by its pack, she embarks on the adventure of a lifetime to reunite it with its family.

The Legend Of Ochi is directed by Isaiah Saxon which is his directorial debut.

The Legend Of Ochi is one of those E.T. (1982) movies, you know the ones where a child discovers a creature and has to protect it and help it return home? You have probably seen at least one of these films before, while this one does not do a whole lot differently there is still a lot of charm here especially when it comes to the visual style. 

The performances are solid, Helena Zengal who plays Yuri gives a lovely and charming performance. Her performance is not that much different than what you would expect from these types of movies, however there is heart here she clearly pours so it ends up working in the long run. Willem Dafoe and Emily Watson are both great here as well, their performances might not be some of the most memorable they have ever done but they are clearly having a blast and are committed to the roles. 

The visual style of the film is what stands out here and quite honestly makes the film worth a watch. It takes on this dreamlike children’s book style that you almost feel like you are being transported into the film’s world. Saxton is primarily a music video director so it is no surprise that the visual style is the main priority here, a lot of the visuals do so much of the talking when it comes to world building mainly due to the script just not being that investing (we will get to that in a second.) So when you have some large in scale scenes that show off the visuals you get a bit more of a description of the world, the Ochi as creatures are also cute and while they may not be the most developed creature ever put to film. The bond between Yuri and the baby Ochi is admittedly very cute and filled to the brim with charm. 

What holds this film back from being great mainly comes down to the script, it is a very basic E.T. (1982) like film at the end of the day. There’s not a whole lot going on here character wise, while the performances have charm the characters unfortunately do not get a lot of development and very much fit the character types you would expect from a film like this. Finn Wolfhard’s character Petro for example just feels there, the movie does not do all that much with his character. The only element that’s really keeping the viewer invested is the charming bond between Yuri and the baby Ochi, if you take that away you are left with some incredibly neat visuals but that can only keep the viewer invested for so long. 

Overall The Legend Of Ochi is flawed but it has just the right amount of charm to give this one a look, the visuals are fun and the acting is decent. This is one that I’m probably never going to come back to, but despite my issues I do recommend giving this one a look if these are your types of movies.

The Legend Of Ochi is available on all VOD platforms.

6/10 C+

Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025) Film Review

Plagued by a violent and recurring nightmare, a college student heads home to track down the one person who might be able to break the cycle of death and save her family from the grisly demise that inevitably awaits them all.

Final Destination: Bloodlines is directed by Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein both of which directed Freaks (2018) and Kim Possible (2019) while Lipovsky independently directed Tasmanian Devils (2013), Leprechaun: Origins (2014) and Dead Rising: Watchtower (2015). Final Destination: Bloodlines is the sixth installment in the Final Destination series, the film serves as a sequel to Final Destination 5 (2011). 

The Final Destination series is back after 14 years and what a way to make a return, Bloodlines takes the formula of the previous films and tweaks it a bit in it’s own way without completely losing the idea of the franchise. Combine that with some surprisingly great character writing, direction and of course some memorable plus well done kills and you have yourself a wonderful addition to the series. 

The performances are quite great, I would go as far to say that Bloodlines has some of the best acting of the franchise. Kaitlyn Santa Juana does a pretty solid job as the lead, while her character Stefani Reyes might not be my favorite main character of the series I do appreciate what she added to the franchise and I do think the script complimented that quite well. The idea of the film being about family bloodlines and death going after the family tree is such a neat idea that was executed so well especially when you look at the bond Santa Juana shares with the rest of the cast. It’s strong and does get the viewer to feel for her and wanting her to make it out of this alive, her acting has a few hiccups but for the most part she nails this down quite well. 

The performances that surprised me the most were Richard Harmon as Erik Campbell and Owen Patrick Joyner as Bobby Campbell, at first they come off as very traditional horror movie characters. Erik coming off as the typical jerk and Bobby just sort of being there but slowly over the course of the film the writing actually develops these characters into something more. The family bond between Erik and Owen is genuinely sweet and often times kind of humorous, the writing really makes these two come off as people you might know in your family. This was surprising given that Final Destination as a franchise is not particularly known for its character writing, while it’s not anything very deep the fact that it’s here at all is worth something. The performances from the two are also quite genuine and a lot of fun which helps add to the film.

The late Tony Todd gives his final performance in the franchise (in general he has 6 more projects according to IMDb) and the way the film sends him off is quite powerful, Tony Todd appears only in one scene but it’s perhaps one of the best moments of the franchise. We also do get to learn about William John Bludworth’s backstory which is quite effectively done. The way they tied Bludworth into the story was clever and meaningful, this is something that could have easily went down the whole “let’s shove as many references from the franchise as possible” route but instead they focused on giving Bludworth proper character moments and a very strong send off that admittedly made me emotional. 

The writing in particular was quite strong this time around, as I said before the character writing was surprisingly well written. It allowed the characters to have some complexity rather than just be there for the sole reason of being killed off, the movie actually gets you to feel for these characters and root for them to make it out alive. It’s a surprising yet welcome change that gives the film a bit more to stand on when it comes to standing out from the series. 

The kills manage to capture the craziness and fun of the previous films, they are not that much different from what they were in the past. However that’s not a bad thing (far from it) if anything it shows that the franchise fits like a glove in the modern day and can be just as fun now as it was years ago, the film captures the atmosphere of the previous films as well with tons of suspenseful moments and actually makes the viewer look at the negative space of certain shots to see how Death could strike. There’s one particular kill in this film that is absolutely insane in all the best ways, I won’t spoil it here but it just screams the spirit of the franchise.

Overall Final Destination: Bloodlines is a fantastic addition to the series, it’s a sequel that in a lot of ways surpasses a lot of it’s predecessors thanks to some strong writing, great characters and bringing something new to the table while also complimenting it’s predecessors.

Final Destination: Bloodlines is playing in theaters.

8/10 B+

Until Dawn (2025) Film Review

One year after her sister disappeared, Clover and her friends head to the remote valley where she vanished to search for answers. Exploring an abandoned visitor center, they soon encounter a masked killer who murders them one by one. However, when they mysteriously wake up at the beginning of the same night, they’re forced to relive the terror over and over again.

Until Dawn is directed by David F. Sandberg director of Lights Out (2016), Annabelle: Creation (2017), Shazam (2019) and Shazam Fury of the Gods (2023) 

I’ll start out by saying that I have not played the game Until Dawn so maybe that has something to do with how I did not mind this movie as much. The whole thing about this movie is that while it is set in the same universe the story is an original standalone story that expands on the game’s ideas. Whether this move actually worked really varies from person to person, I will say though it’s not as bad as you would think or expect there’s some parts here to really like. 

The performances are fine for what they are, I do think Odessa A’zion is the best out of the bunch simply because she always tends to give a solid performance and that’s no exception here. Peter Stormare reprising his role as Dr. Hill from the video game is quite neat as well, although I haven’t played the game as I said before I still find it quite neat they included him. He also does a pretty solid job here as well, Stormare captures the atmosphere quite well and comes off as pretty intimidating. He’s able to make some scenes that would otherwise be very flat into something at least atmospheric and interesting. 

The kills are surprisingly quite solid, they actually do end up getting gnarly at times which I most certainly was not expecting. It helps that the practical effects really give this extra push to them that really makes the kills all the more nasty. 

The main issue here really comes down to the writing, unfortunately the character writing is incredibly basic with a ton of stock horror movie characters that you come to expect. David F. Sandberg a director who I typically really like when it comes to horror, tries his best with his direction, which at times you do get a few moments between these characters that do feel genuine. But the script from Gary Dauberman and Blair Butler really weighs it all down with very little for the viewer to chew on and finishing on such an anticlimactic ending really makes the movie incredibly forgettable. 

The ideas are there and the atmosphere is what it needs to be, but the script never allows the ideas to get stronger or develop. The tension never builds up outside of the kills which while they are neat can’t really build strong atmosphere on their own. 

Overall I don’t think Until Dawn is horrendous as there was some level of attempt here. But neat kills, fine enough acting and a few solid moments can really only do so much. 

Until Dawn is available on all VOD platforms.

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

Fear Street: Prom Queen (2025) Film Review

Shadyside High’s 1988 prom queen election becomes deadly for underdog Lori as candidates are targeted.

Fear Street: Prom Queen is directed by Matt Palmer who previously directed Calibre (2018). This film serves as the fourth installment in the Fear Street film series! 

The first three Fear Street films were quite fun for what they were, I really liked the different styles each of the films went for tackling different eras of the genre. It all combined together in this neat little package that ended up working in each of the films favor, so I was pretty excited to see another film being in the works. Even when it was announced Leigh Janiak would not be returning and Matt Palmer would be taking over I still had hope, Calibre (2018) was a really solid thriller (definitely one of the better Netflix thrillers that’s for sure) and I was hoping Matt Palmer would hit it out of the park with this one….that is sadly not the case. 

Fear Street: Prom Queen is a complete and total mess and shares a lot of the worst aspects of a terrible slasher film, outside of a few good performances and some decent kills this very much feels like Matt Palmer (who directed and wrote this movie) and Donald McLeary (who also wrote this movie) had next to no idea what they were doing, the movie completely misses the charm and fun of the trilogy and struggles heavily in the character development.

The performances are mostly questionable, aside from Ariana Greenblatt who’s barely in the film and Suzanna Son who is really trying her hardest to get something out of the script. Everyone else is either not given anything to work with or are just terrible, India Fowler makes for a very forgettable lead and her character Lori Granger has very little to keep the viewer interested. Fowler definitely tries to bring something to the table during the movie’s second half with the more quiet moments, but even then just getting a somewhat decent line of dialogue is like pulling teeth.

The kills are decent enough, but they are not enough to really save this movie at all. Especially when you as the viewer end up not caring about a single one of these characters. Which leads me to what completely breaks the movie…the writing, look I was not expecting a slasher movie to have masterclass character writing let alone writing in general. But when you compare this to the previous Fear Street films you can see the difference almost immediately, while the previous three films did have some hiccups writing wise. At the very least the character writing was genuinely interesting and we got to know those characters, it helps that the films ooze with charm. 

Fear Street: Prom Queen gives below the bare minimum character writing with nothing the viewer can chew on, the reveal at the end is laughably bad and feels like they were on a time crunch so they thought of the most ridiculous idea possible. The writing itself is also filled to the brim with terrible horror cliches that any horror fan will roll their eyes at, it’s predictable is a huge step down from the previous three movies as mentioned before. 

I think if Fear Street: Prom Queen was its own thing and did not have the Fear Street name this could have easily just been written off as a terrible yet harmless slasher film. But going by the intention and what it’s presented as, this is a terrible addition to the series and easily the worst of the series. Prom Queen fails to capture the fun character moments, atmosphere, or interest of the rest of the series. 

Fear Street: Prom Queen is available on Netflix.

1/10 F