Holland (2025) Film Review

Teacher and homemaker Nancy Vandergroot’s picture-perfect life with her husband and son in Holland tumbles into a twisted tale. Nancy and her colleague become suspicious of a secret, only to discover nothing in their lives is what it seems.

Holland is directed by Mimi Cave director of Fresh (2022). 

Holland is one of those movies where you just have to ask yourself “what on earth happened here?” I loved Mimi Cave’s directorial debut Fresh (2022) it was disturbing, had some strong dark humor and the acting was top notch as well. So I was excited to see what Cave would do next, I had a lot of hope for this one due to Cave in the director’s chair as well as the cast. Unfortunately this movie is a major step down from Fresh (2022) and is just a complete and total mess in every way possible. 

The best part of this is the acting, while none of these performances are anything groundbreaking. Nicole Kidman, Jude Hill and Gael García Bernal turn in decent enough performances that at least make some parts of the movie tolerable. Kidman does a lot of heavy lifting with a lot of scenes, it’s a shame the script is such a mess because Kidman fits in a movie like this and would deliver such a better performance had the script actually been coherent. It’s worth noting that Rachel Sennott appears for 2 minutes of the movie at the beginning of this mess and is never seen again.

Everything else about this movie is as I said before a complete and total mess and that mainly comes from the writing, the story is jumbled together like a Frankenstein’s monster type of mess. The twist is something you could predict within the first 15 minutes, the story leads to a thoroughly dull investigation that has absolutely no sense of tension or thrills. It’s the most bland route this movie could have gone and it unfortunately turned to that route. 

The movie attempts to explore this theme of revealing darkness hiding beneath the exterior of a suburban paradise, which is a fun concept but it’s been done so much better before there’s absolutely nothing different here that’s done with the idea. Some of the shots of the film and music try to create some sort of atmosphere to complement the darkness, but it just does not work at all due to the movie’s pacing being a slog which in turn takes away the viewer’s focus as well as the supposed darkness. 

It’s unfortunate because Holland could have been a really great film, but unfortunately the writing severely holds this one back from greatness and gives these talented actors very little to work with. This is by far the most disappointing movie of 2025 so far.

Holland is available on Amazon Prime Video.

3/10 D-

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip (2025) Film Review

Young Alexander Garcia thinks he has the worst luck in the world. When his multigenerational Mexican-American family sets off on a road trip to California, he’s pretty sure disaster lurks around every corner.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip is directed by Marvin Lemus which is his directorial debut. The film is a standalone sequel to the 2014 film Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

This movie is a prime example of the classic streaming movie strategy, take a movie that was decently popular when it first came out but over the years has been mostly forgotten about and give it a sequel. I’m not going to sit here and say that Very Bad Day was a great film, it was a very typical family comedy movie but at the very least it had it’s charm mainly from Steve Carrell and the rest of the cast. 

Very Bad Road Trip however does not have a whole lot going on here, it’s a movie that tries to recapture some of the fun beats from the previous movie. I will say that this movie at times has some cultural exploration that I do have to give the movie some credit for at least trying (even if it’s very bare bones.) But that’s not quite enough to really justify the end result of the movie and ultimately will leave audiences flipping through the Disney+ catalog on what to watch next making this one forgettable. 

The acting here is fine, it gets the job done Cheech Martin I guess is the standout here. But the acting and delivery is more of the fault of the script than anything else, the humor outside of a few chuckle worthy scenes really falls flat. There’s just not a whole lot of material here that’s very interesting or even that funny to really move the story along, it’s not that anything here is necessarily terrible it’s that the movie has the feel of a family comedy streaming movie that has little going for it. 

I can see what they were trying to do with the cultural exploration, heck when the movie focuses on that it’s a bit more of an interesting movie and a little more than just a family road trip comedy movie. But unfortunately those moments are not quite strong enough due to the movie’s humor and lack of real meat to the theme, I’m not asking for a full in depth exploration. But something with a little more substance would have been a bit more investing for the viewer. 

Overall there really is not a whole lot to comment on with Very Bad Road Trip you could have done so much worse, but this honestly just feels like the bare minimum and nothing more than release date fodder. Kids may like this one, but everyone else will forget it in less than 10 minutes after watching.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip is available on Disney+

4/10 D+

The Rule Of Jenny Pen (2025) Film Review

Recovering from a stroke at an assisted living facility, a judge encounters a psychopathic patient who uses a hand puppet to abuse fellow residents.

The Rule Of Jenny Pen is directed by James Ashcroft director of Coming Home In The Dark (2021).

I really liked the disturbing and incredibly dark atmosphere of Ashcroft’s previously film Coming Home In The Dark (2021), so I was excited to see what he would do next and luckily The Rule Of Jenny Penn continues to show that Ashcroft is a director to keep an eye on. While there are some writing issues with its characters and the movie goes on for a bit longer than it should, there’s some strong performances and really great atmosphere building that make the rest home setting incredibly chilling. 

John Lithgow and Geoffrey Rush are what really make this film work as well as it does, this is yet another film from this year that has two fantastic actors going all out with their acting. Geoffrey Rush plays Stefan Mortensen a man who’s trying to recover from a stroke he had but John Lithgow who plays Dave Crealy who has a creepy puppet named Jenny Pen terrorizes this man as well as the other residents. 

Geoffrey Rush does such a fantastic job at playing someone who is truly scared, his interactions with John Lithgow are filled with atmosphere and him being confined into a rest home with seemingly no room for escape is truly terrifying and it’s all shown through his body language and speech that gets more and more scared as the film goes on. His performance really does a fascinating job of capturing the atmosphere, I do wish we got a bit more meat character writing wise with Stefan but there is this sense of wanting to get justice against what it takes to protect himself from everything going on in the film.

On the other side you have John Lithgow who is both humorous and terrifying, it’s such a hauntingly well done mix of the two thanks to Lithgow’s talent as an actor. The scenes of him just talking to Jenny Pen as if she is another person in the room starts out as being funny and could be written off as someone being cuckoo, but as we see more of Dave’s actions and to the point where he genuinely believes what he is saying the more haunting it gets. Dave has this god complex that he uses to intimidate the other residents and Stefan, he uses Jenny Pen as some sort of enforcer to make demands some of which makes the viewer squirm. Lithgow paints the portrait of a man who is quite clearly off his rocker as well as a nasty man who has spent too long in one place.

The atmosphere combined with the rest home setting is very well done, much like what we got in Ashcroft’s previous film we get a thrilling and quite unsettling feel as soon as the movie gets going with its plot. The movie isn’t as disturbing as Coming Home In The Dark (2021) was but that’s not necessary here as the film does a great job at moving the story along and just having engaging back-and-forths between Lithgow and Rush, the rest home setting also have the dark feel of no escape something that is constantly felt throughout the film and ultimately builds into the final moments of the end result. 

The main flaw is mostly some of the writing as well as going on for a bit too long, the writing at times does admittedly feel a bit on the generic side of things. Mostly from the side characters who while also turn in some great performances don’t really have many strong moments and are very much overshadowed by Lithgow and Rush, there were also points where the film felt like it was reaching it’s conclusion only to continue going on which did make certain scenes feel more like padding rather than moving the story forward or reaching a natural conclusion. 

With that being said The Rule Of Jenny Pen is still a pretty solid film that I recommend giving a go! If you like one location films you will definitely like this one. I say check this one out for Lithgow and Rush’s performances alone! 

The Rule Of Jenny Pen is currently in theaters and releases on Shudder tomorrow! 

7/10 B

Baby Invasion (2025) Film Review

An ultra-realistic, multiplayer FPS game follows a group of mercenaries using baby faces as avatars. Tasked with entering mansions of the rich and powerful, players must explore every rabbit hole before time runs out.

Baby Invasion is directed by Harmony Korine director of Gummo (1997), Julien Donkey-Boy (1999), Mister Lonely (2007), Trash Humpers (2009), Spring Breakers (2013), The Beach Bum (2019) and Aggro Dr1ft (2024).

I’ve said it before but Harmony Korine has always been one of my favorite directors, I respect him for making what he wants to make which ends up resulting in some of my favorite films (Gummo and Spring Breakers.) Aggro Dr1ft made my top 30 best films list last year mainly due Korine completely committing to the whole infrared photography element and the film being incredibly dumb yet kind of meaningful at the same time. Aggro Dr1ft very much felt like a shitpost of a film in a good way where you can tell there is a story being told. 

I unfortunately did not get that with Baby Invasion, this is feels like more shitposting but a lot of what makes Korine’s films so interesting is very noticeably absent. You have the theme of violence and how society is affected by it that’s in a lot of his films, which is shown through a video game format. Mostly in this style you would expect to see if you went on Twitch or any other platform dedicated to streamers, which is admittedly a pretty neat way of telling the story and at times it does work. 

The movie has that vibe of one of those urban legends you might have heard back in the day where some disturbing and super violent video game from the deep web that someone claimed to play is making its way on the clear net (meaning like the websites everyday people use.) this movie is a result of that if the urban legend was true, whether that was the intention or not the movie does a pretty decent job of capturing that feel. There are times when the movie is pretty dark especially with the scenes of implied death basically taking video game like models and shooting them which symbolizes killing actual people, the movie absolutely gets its point across with its theme of violence. 

Much like in Aggro Dr1ft the music is quite solid here, it’s used effectively with the atmosphere and the scenes taking place. Burial (a British electronic producer who created the score) does a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to moving the film along and storytelling. Through the underground DJ like music you really get dragged into certain moments of the movie especially the movie’s more out there moments with its visuals (AI.) The score also at the very least gives the movie some sort of personality even if the rest of the movie does not fully capture the spirit of the music. 

Baby Invasion really does not go for the traditional film narrative layout which is why this review is a bit of a mess. It really comes down to who you really ask with this one, some people are going to love this one while others are going to completely hate it. For me it doesn’t quite capture what Aggro Dr1ft had and is very much commentary over everything else. 

Baby Invasion is available on all VOD platforms.

5/10 C

Opus (2025) Film Review

A young writer travels to the remote compound of a legendary pop star who mysteriously disappeared 30 years ago. Surrounded by a cult of sycophants and intoxicated journalists, she soon finds herself in the middle of his twisted plan.

Opus is directed by Mark Anthony Green which is his directorial debut. 

Look there is absolutely no denying that Opus is a mess writing wise, it has a ton of plot issues and the movie itself very much feels like a weaker Midsommar (2019) and The Menu (2022). Having that said I do think with what was presented this was just weird and fun enough to check out and really enjoy. 

The cast is what keeps the film at least interesting, Ayo Edebiri does really solid job in the leading role and shows that she can make for an incredibly fun final girl. I do like what the film does with her character Ariel as it does explore some quite interesting elements from her mind during the final moments of the film, even if the exploration comes in a bit too late it still manages to grab the viewer’s attention for just a bit longer. It helps that Edebiri as an actress is just great, she works incredibly well with the rest of the cast and she fits into the film’s incredibly odd atmosphere.Her facial acting where she just looks confused throughout keeps some sense of a grounded nature, like we are seeing what’s happening through Ariel. The film unfortunately does take you out of that feel especially towards the second half of the film, but I do appreciate the film’s attempt at even going for a grounded feel at times at all.

John Malkovich is incredibly strong here, there is certain scenes that allow him to be as weird as possible and it really works in both Malkovich and the film’s favor. His character Alfred is the classic cult leader who seems nice at first but then slowly the mask slips and we see more of his true character, there’s one moment in particular that Malkovich goes all out with it’s a scene of him busting out so many dance moves while one of the many great songs in this film 35mm by Moretti, Nile Rodgers and The-Dream is playing. It’s by far the strangest scene in the film and perhaps the best as we get to feel the full weirdness that the film’s atmosphere was hinting towards before the scene occurred. Malkovich isn’t playing a brand new type of character but his balance between a friendly person and a completely crazed cult leader is more than enough to make up for it.

The supporting cast mainly Amber Midthunder who acts unhinged here and is just delightful to see, Murray Bartlett who’s a lot of fun here and Juliette Lewis who is also quite a lot of fun. Lewis and Bartlett don’t really have fully fleshed out characters in fact they are very similar to characters from other films like this, but in terms of good performances they do well here. 

The music as I briefly mentioned before is incredibly fun, it’s energizing and has personality behind it which keeps the film more fun as it goes on. It’s a bit unfortunate that the film does not really use the music in very out there ways outside of the moment I talked about earlier, but at the very least the mysterious atmosphere remains intact throughout the film. 

The second half of the film is where the movie suffers the most, the tone switch is incredibly messy and unfortunately doesn’t translate all that well for what the rest of the film is trying to go for. The whole idea of cults being viewed through the lens of musicians is there and from what’s presented it’s executed fine enough, but it’s incredibly surface level, there’s interesting horror elements and ideas introduced but never fully elaborated on. The film’s overall message is about celebrity cults which leaves the viewer asking “okay what about them?” and the film does not seem to have an answer. 

Despite my problems with Opus however I would be lying if I said that I did not have a good time with this one. It’s a mess writing wise but the incredibly solid acting from the cast, the catchy and addictive nature of the music, the sharp cinematography and the mysterious atmosphere are just enough to make the film worth a watch. This is absolutely not going to be for everyone and is incredibly flawed, but if it sounds like your thing I recommend giving it a go.

Opus is available in theaters.

6/10 C+

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

Revelations (2025) Film Review

A pastor and a detective, driven by their beliefs, pursue a missing person case, with the pastor seeking retribution after a divine revelation identifies the culprit who abducted his son.

Revelations is directed by Yeon Sang-ho director of The King Of Pigs (2011), The Fake (2013), Train To Busan (2016), Seoul Station (2016), Psychokinesis (2018), Peninsula (2020) and Jung_E (2023).

Revelations feels like it’s saying a lot but yet so little at the same time, there’s a mix of narratives going on here with a lot of them failing to stick in any meaningful way. Sang-ho is a great director but a lot of what makes him so great is just not present here at all. 

The performances are at least solid, Ryu Jun-yeol slowly turns more and more insane as the movie goes on and that’s captured decently well from his performance that is at times pretty intimidating. Shin Hyun-been is the standout, he completely takes crushes it whether he’s alone or sharing the screen with someone else in the cast. We get so much power from his performance which leads to some quite solid scenes! 

The first hour of the movie is definitely the most successful, we slowly get to know the characters and what their story is. Theres some genuinely interesting dialogue with some striking imagery that will absolutely standout to the viewer, especially when combined with solid cinematography, beautiful lighting and strong production design. This all paints a very mysterious picture that the viewer is intrigued to explore. 

Unfortunately after the first hour of the movie it starts to slowly collapse, the writing is nowhere near as strong as it was. With the genuinely interesting exploration of religion starting to go the more cliche route and the characters just not having anymore striking moments they need to further their development. Despite the second half not being as good, the final moments of the movie at least give the viewer something to think about, there’s some nice wrap around with the theme of religion that has some sort of power but at the point it’s a bit too late. 

Overall Revelations just does not have a whole lot going on here, it’s not a bad movie in fact I still do recommend checking it out as I do think this is something people would like. This one just did not work for me.

Revelations is available on Netflix.

5/10 C

Cleaner (2025) Film Review

Hoping to expose corruption, radical activists take 300 hostages at an energy company’s annual gala in a high-rise building. Their cause soon gets hijacked by an extremist within their ranks who’s ready to kill everyone. It’s now up to a former soldier who works as a window cleaner to save the hostages trapped inside, including her younger brother.

Cleaner is directed by Martin Campbell director of The Mask Of Zorro (1998), Beyond Borders (2003), The Legend Of Zorro (2005), Casino Royale (2006), Edge Of Darkness (2010), Green Lantern (2011), The Foreigner (2017), Memory (2022) and a lot of others. 

Cutting right to the chase Cleaner is very much a Die Hard (1988) clone not a terrible one mind you but still a clone. It’s mainly thanks to the performances especially from Daisy Ridley and the action scenes that are decent enough that save this movie from not completely sinking.

As mentioned earlier the performances are great here, Daisy Ridley especially who is very committed to her role and is a lot of fun here. Her character Joey’s bond with her older brother Michael (played by Matthew Tuck) is genuinely touching, I do also give credit where credit is due they actually did cast an autistic actor in this case Matthew Tuck to play an autistic character. Tuck gives a solid performance who admittedly does not get a whole lot to do since he’s a hostage but he takes advantage of the time he gets. Ridley is also really solid in the action scenes as well, the role itself is kind of whatever but Ridley in the end makes it work. 

Clive Owen and Taz Skylar are both pretty solid here as well, Owen is a bit wasted here unfortunately since he only gets a handful of scenes. Skylar however plays this sadistic character Noah who messes with Joey throughout the movie, it makes for a great standoff when they eventually do fight and creates some level of atmosphere and tension especially with the action scenes. 

What weighs this one down is the script, Campbell attempts to tackle the theme of corporations and their impact on the environment but it’s tackled in such a bare bones way especially with how the movie goes about executing it. When you combine that with the movie just being yet another Die Hard (1988) clone there really is not any room to do anything completely interesting, it’s a shame to because the actors are really going all out with their performances. But unfortunately there’s just not a whole lot to work with and it ends up being a movie that isn’t necessarily terrible it’s just one of the many clones out there that’s doomed to be forgotten. 

Overall you can do a lot worse than Cleaner but this one is largely forgettable. Great performances, decent moments and action scenes can’t save this movie from its very cliched beats. 

Cleaner is available on all VOD platforms.

5/10 C

Quick Review: Riff Raff (2025)

A former criminal’s ordinary life turns upside down when his old family shows up for a long-awaited reunion.

Riff Raff is directed by Dito Montiel director of A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006), Fighting (2009), The Son Of No One (2011), Empire State (2013), Boulevard (2014), Man Down (2015), The Clapper (2017) and Critical Thinking (2020). 

I was strongly considering on just not giving this a full review because honestly what is there to really say here? Riff Raff is one of those movies that heavily relies on its stacked cast to do all the heavy lifting, the rest of the movie is entirely nothing special at all. It’s not anything offensively bad but it hits way too many familiar beats and isn’t very funny for a comedy movie that’s mainly due to the tone that ends up being a complete and total mess. 

The acting is probably the best part of this movie, Ed Harris is not bad here and actually does give the movie some of its best moments. Gabrielle Union and Jennifer Coolidge are solid here as well, I do like that the movie slowly introduces new characters and we follow each of them until everyone sort of just comes together we get some new layers of the story. The end result of these characters might have not been great, but at the very least you can tell there was some level of attempt here. 

Writing wise the movie is a mess, the comedic elements have their moments but a large part of it just does not land at all. That’s mainly due to the tone constantly switching (as I said before), at times it feels like this family holiday movie other times it’s a crime movie and other times it’s a comedy. There’s way too much going on here and it all just starts to crumble to the ground when the third act rolls around, combine that with tons of exposition that’s spewed all over and you have yourself a very dull watch. 

I wish I could say more but there just is not a whole lot to comment on, I’m sure there will be some people who may like this one. But this is definitely something I wouldn’t recommend. 

Riff Raff is available on all VOD platforms.

4/10 D+

Locked (2025) Film Review

When Eddie breaks into a luxury SUV, he steps into a deadly trap set by a self-proclaimed vigilante who delivers his own brand of twisted justice. Trapped inside the car, Eddie soon discovers escape is an illusion and survival is a nightmare.

Locked is directed by David Yarovesky director of The Hive (2014) and Brightburn (2019). The film is an English language remake of the Argentinian 2019 film 4×4.

Going into Locked I had very little expectations, from the trailer it honestly gave me flashbacks to Getaway (2013) and if you know anything about that movie well you know what I mean. Luckily that was not the case here, while there isn’t anything groundbreaking going on here and admittedly there is some very shoehorned in social commentary. There is still quite a decent amount to really like here which leads the film to be an overall pretty suspenseful ride. 

Bill Skarsgärd and Anthony Hopkins are what make the film standout, the dialogue between the two is suspenseful and engaging, pretty much the entire film is just two fantastic actors completely hitting it out of the park with the dialogue. Skarsgärd’s character Eddie slowly loses himself as he’s stuck in the car and Skarsgärd just does a fantastic job of portraying that very well. Anthony Hopkins’s character William is on a power trip completely breaking Eddie at times with the back and forth between the two being always on the interesting side of things.

The social commentary bits about the rich and the poor while neat that the movie tried to work it into the film, doesn’t quite land mainly due to feeling incredibly shoehorned in. Calling it social commentary might be a little bit generous to be quite honest, it feels more like it’s something that’s just being said without any theming with not a whole lot of observation going on. Luckily it isn’t enough to hurt the movie as these moments don’t last for very long and even then they aren’t necessarily bad just not as strong. 

The direction from Yarovesky is pretty solid here, you can really tell he’s having fun experiment with some different styles here. The first few minutes of the film that takes place outside of the car being fast paced with a lot of jumping around (also thanks to editors Andrew Buckland and Peter Gvozdas), while the majority of the film taking place in the car has more thrilling and slow pacing. It’s a nice compare and contrast between the two different styles that Yarovesky nails quite well. 

The one location setting (which is inside of a car in this case) is used effectively, at times you do actually feel claustrophobic especially with the cinematography from Michael Dallatorre which uses tons of different camera angles to make this as tense and atmospheric as possible. The camera is doing a lot of the talking when there’s the more quiet moments especially during points where Eddie almost feels defeated, it’s simple yet effective and really does feel like you the viewer are right in one of the seats of the car. It’s classic filmmaking atmosphere building (much like in Last Breath which I reviewed yesterday!)

Overall Locked is an incredibly solid thriller that isn’t going to break any new ground, but between the performances from Skarsgärd and Hopkins plus the filmmaking in general (cinematography, editing, directing and different styles used) this is definitely one I would recommend giving a watch especially if you like these one location setting films! 

Locked releases in theaters Friday! 

7/10 B