Quick Reviews: The Djinn and I Am All Girls (2021)


A mute boy is trapped in his apartment with a sinister monster when he makes a wish to fulfill his heart’s greatest desire.

The Djinn is another one of those “careful what you wish for” movies, what’s interesting about this one is it does try to at least do something a bit different, having it all in one location is definitely interesting and worked for the most part. The acting and writing were both solid enough and had some genuine creepy moments as well, what holds this movie back however is the ending. The ending really felt like the movie ran out of steam and went with something far weaker than the rest of the movie, I also do wish the main character Dylan Jacobs had some more actual development. But what for The Djinn is it’s not bad at all, it’s a decent horror movie if you can get past the ending.

The Djinn is now available on VOD!

6/10 C+


A special crimes investigator forms an unlikely bond with a serial killer to bring down a global child sex trafficking syndicate.

I appreciate what I am All Girls is doing (bringing attention to a real life child trafficking case) however the movie itself is just not that good. It starts out as a very run of the mill thriller but then gets better as it goes on which is nice but it’s too little too late by the time it starts getting good. There really isn’t anything noteworthy here in terms of acting and writing it’s all just simple average, I will say this is definitely better than Marsh’s previous movie “Hunter Killer” I suggest looking up the real story and skipping this movie.

I Am All Girls is now available on Netflix!

5/10 C

Oxygen (2021) Movie Review!


A woman wakes in a cryogenic chamber with no recollection of how she got there. As she’s running out of oxygen, she must rebuild her memory to find a way out of her nightmare.

Alexandre Aja has seriously been making a comeback and it’s absolutely glorious to see! While he did direct High Tension and the Hills Have Eyes remake (both of which I love) he did direct some not so great movies Mirrors, Piranha 3D, Horns and The 9th Life Of Louis Drax. He then came back in 2019 with Crawl which was quite fantastic and definitely one of the far batter killer alligator flicks. Oxygen is quite fantastic in several different ways, for starters Mélanie Laurent is absolutely fantastic in the leading role, her performance is incredibly raw and does sound like someone who is stuck in a small space who’s running out of time. Her performance really does bring chills down your spine, the writing from Christie LeBlanc is quite great as well although it’s a Sci-Fi movie LeBlanc’s writing keeps things surprisingly well grounded and makes a Sci-Fi scenario into something that feels very real. The direction is quite fantastic Aja really hit it out of the park when it comes to diving into Laurent’s character making the audience try and figure out what’s going on. The movie is very claustrophobic which really makes Oxygen all the more of a nightmare that you certainly do not want to find yourself in, it’s really effective when it makes the viewer feel what Laurent’s character feels mainly with different camera angles to add the claustrophobia effect. Overall Oxygen is a fantastic film that I highly recommend, it’s one of my favorite films so far this year and truly a Sci-Fi nightmare worth experiencing!

Oxygen is now available on Netflix!

9/10 A

Together Together (2021) Movie Review!


When a young loner becomes the gestational surrogate for a single man in his 40s, the two strangers come to realize this unexpected relationship will challenge their perceptions of connection, boundaries and the particulars of love.

Together Together was one of the movies I originally was going to see at Sundance but had to cut it out of my schedule due to being way too cramped. So I was pretty excited to see it and it’s pretty solid! Easily the best thing about this movie is the chemistry between Patti Harrison and Ed Helms, without them I don’t think this movie would have worked nearly as well. Both of them just share so much while on screen together, your invested in both their characters and care what they do and how they act. There’s some genuine great humor in here as well (sometimes it can go a little too overboard) the writing is really sweet and has this certain charm to it that’s really nice to listen to. The movie does have a very abrupt ending that I do feel does take a bit away from the movie when it comes to potential areas the movie could have explored, but the rest of the movie is incredibly solid and very well put together! I definitely recommend giving this one a watch!

Together Together is now available on VOD!

7/10 B

Benny Loves You (2021) Movie Review!


Jack, a man desperate to improve his life throws away his beloved childhood plush, Benny. It’s a move that has disastrous consequences when Benny springs to life with deadly intentions.


Benny Loves You is another one of those “killer objects, animals who wouldn’t normally kill or killer holiday icons like Santa Claus (Santa slay)” movies and it’s a pretty humorous one as well. What helps this movie is that it knows what it’s trying to be and doesn’t sugarcoat it, it doesn’t try be anything more or anything less. It’s a killer toy causing mayhem and it’s just so much fun to watch! It does have parts where the movie does have some awful pacing (mostly the first act) but otherwise everything else really works to bring a very entertaining movie. The acting and writing aren’t actually that bad, they aren’t good but I definitely expected a whole lot worse and they could have easily been worse. Very decent movie.

Benny Loves You is now available on VOD!

6/10 C+

Fried Barry (2021) Movie Review!

Aliens take over the body of a drug addict and take it for a joyride through Cape Town.

Fried Barry is definitely a very weird acid trip that’s quite entertaining! There’s so much going on in this movie between some very strange scenes and camera angles that feel incredibly raw it almost weirdly feels like a personal film, the acting was quite great Gary Green does a very solid job as the leading role and actually creeped me out quite a few times. The film itself heavily reminded me of Rolf de Here’s Bad Boy Bubby but Fried Barry is much different I just got the same vibe, there’s some humor that I thought strangely worked in the film. It’s definitely a breath of fresh air to see a recent very solid horror comedy, the direction from Ryan Kruger is really solid as well. He puts a lot of focus on the characters and dives into Barry’s character so that the audience can know more about him. It’s definitely one of the most entertaining movies I’ve seen so far this year definitely check this one out.

Fried Barry is now available on Shudder!

7/10 B

Mainstream (2021) Movie Review!


In this cautionary tale, three people struggle to preserve their identities as they form an eccentric love triangle within the fast-moving internet age.


Mainstream has a interesting concept but good lord the execution is quite awful, look I love Andrew Garfield and Nat Wolff both are very solid actors who do a fine enough job in this movie but the rest of it feels like watching an obnoxiously edited slideshow. The best way to describe Mainstream is this…do you remember in computer class you had that one kid in your class who makes so many flashy effects on to their slideshow they have to present to the class? Well Mainstream would be the result if that kid made a movie, the editing and the style is seriously overdone to the point where it becomes incredibly obnoxious which really takes away from the movie. The whole social media aspect is interesting but as I said is not used at all, a lot of it feels incredibly outdated and doesn’t hold a candle to other films that had social media themes such as Searching, both Unfriended movies, Eighth Grade, The Social Network, Ingrid Goes West, Nerve and a few others all far better films. It doesn’t help that the movie feels like a chore to sit through (seems like a theme I’ve been running into lately), the pacing is way too slow and the direction is very disappointing. Which is a shame because Gia Coppola previously directed Palo Alto which while I thought it wasn’t anything groundbreaking I thought it was at least interesting. But Mainstream is just not interesting, it has nothing to say and as I said it’s obnoxious. Give this one a skip.

2/10 F

Mainstream is now available on VOD!

Monster (2021) Movie Review!


A smart, likeable, 17-year-old film student from Harlem sees his world turned upside down when he’s charged with a murder. We follow his dramatic journey through a complex legal battle.

Monster is a movie that I’m sure had good intentions but there is so much that just bogs it down. Between so many inaccuracies of the justice system, a lot of editing that really makes a lot of other scenes seem like they are missing a ton of context and a few other things which I’ll mention in a second makes the movie seem like it has no idea what it’s talking about. Which in some scenes it does know what it’s talking about, the subject matter is a very real issue that actually does happen and is still currently happening to this day. The problem is how this movie presents itself, I will say that the acting is at least decent enough Kelvin Harrison Jr. is great as the leading role and works the best he can with a script that really isn’t that great. Jeffery Wright I feel gives the best performance although he isn’t given a major role, every time he’s on screen he does such a great job. As I said before the problem with this movie is how it presents itself which can be explained easily by looking at the director. Now I’m sure Anthony Mandler is a great music video director, the problem is directing music videos and directing a movie is far far different. Sometimes some directors manage to do both just fine (heck even sometimes really great) this is not the case for Monster however. The whole movie feels like it’s shot and done in such music video type style that takes so much away from the movie. Monster is not the type of movie you want to try and add in several different music video type styles it would be fine if it were some neon lights drama or something like that but this is a movie about a very heavy subject. As I said before the movie has good intentions but completely misses it’s mark, definitely give this a pass.

Monster is now available on Netflix!

4/10 D+

The Boy From Medellin (2021) Movie Review.!


Colombian reggaeton singer J Balvin prepares for his 2019 homecoming concert amid intense political turmoil, in Matthew Heineman’s latest documentary.

I was very unfamiliar who J Balvin is , I knew of him and know some of his songs but that’s about it. I feel like the best bits in this movie are when it tackles Balvin’s depression and anxiety it starts to feel somewhat relatable…it’s too bad the rest of the documentary couldn’t do that, look I’m glad J Balvin eventually did use his platform to speak about what was going on in Colombia the problem is for way too long he felt like he “was obligated” to comment and use his platform. Which I get being scared about commenting on politics (look what happened to The Chicks previously known as The Dixie Chicks) but in this case I would argue is a little different, his fans were actually the ones who wanted him to say something. It’s very hard to actually review this movie to be quite honest because nobody really knows what was in J Balvin’s mind, as far as how well made it is? It’s nothing really special but nothing bad either. It’s something that I really don’t think I’m ever going to watch again. If your a fan of J Balvin you will probably like this one.

The Boy From Medellin is now available on Amazon Prime Video!

6/10 C+

The Mitchell’s Vs The Machines (2021) Movie Review!


A quirky, dysfunctional family’s road trip is upended when they find themselves in the middle of the robot apocalypse and suddenly become humanity’s unlikeliest last hope.


Part of the reason it took me a bit to review The Mitchell’s Vs The Machines is because I truly didn’t know what to give it (in the best way possible) it’s such a fantastic film that actually blew my mind. Which myself and many other people were certainly not expecting, Mitchell’s Vs The Machines was stuck in release date limbo for a little bit due to COVID-19 eventually Sony and Netflix decided to partner up and it was released on Netflix! Which I truly think was a very wise decision giving this fantastic film more of an audience, anyway let’s talk about the film! First off the characters are quite incredible, I was really impressed with how fleshed out they were, how relatable they were especially the father and daughter relationship between Katie and Rick. It feels very realistic and truly dives deep into it, the movie makes you feel for them both showing each side and how they feel. It’s truly an incredible breath of fresh air to see this type of family relationship done right, Abbi Jacobson and Danny McBride absolutely nail it with the voice acting they truly bring so much emotion, depth and passion to their roles and show their talent! One thing I didn’t know until after watching was Monchi the pug character was actually voiced by Doug The Pug which I find to be quite great. Speaking of which usually animal sidekicks for the main characters in a lot of animated movies tend to be annoying or just flat out bad. Monchi is one of those rare exceptions, I found myself laughing and actually really liking the character! The animation is absolutely beautiful it has this style to it that feels very unique, it’s incredibly fast paced with a lot of different graphics and color all blended into one beautifully done film. It’s truly a wonderful film that captures the eye really well, the humor is also really great as well! The movie doesn’t heavily rely on pop culture jokes to be funny it’s funny in it’s own way and is just so much fun. Lastly the film does a perfect job of combining the several emotions throughout the film and the character development, the end result is just beautiful and something that truly brings you into the film! Overall The Mitchell’s Vs The Machines is one of the biggest surprises of the year and truly one of the best films so far this year, make sure to watch this one!

The Mitchell’s Vs The Machines is now available on Netflix!

10/10 A+

Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse (2021) Movie Review!


John Clark, a Navy SEAL, goes on a path to avenge his wife’s murder only to find himself inside of a larger conspiracy.


I really don’t have much to comment on about Without Remorse so I’ll just go over a little bit of it. Without Remorse is the latest Tom Clancy movie, I’m not a huge fan of the series like many other people are. But I do always look forward to watching them due to the action and the fun factor, Without Remorse does have some fun scenes with Michael B. Jordan doing a pretty solid job in the leading role as well as a surprisingly great score. Everything else just falls really flat, the writing is very below average with not a whole lot going on, the movie itself feels like the most typical action movie out there. It plays everything way too incredibly safe to the point where it just starts being very noticeable, which is a shame because I do think there is a very fun movie somewhere buried in this movie…it’s just refusing to happen. It’s definitely not a bad movie, I’m sure some fans of the Tom Clancy movies will love it I just prefer some of the other movies!

Without Remorse is now available on Amazon Prime Video!

5/10 C