After a therapist's patient disappears into a dimension beyond reality, she must venture into the unknown to save him. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HjdiohVOik I went into Backrooms with the kind of skepticism usually reserved for diet cheese and government efficiency. A movie based on an internet horror meme about weird yellow rooms? Sure. And maybe next week somebody will adapt a malfunctioning printer into a prestige miniseries. But here we are. A24 put real muscle behi

Once a lone bounty hunter, Mandalorian Din Djarin and his apprentice Grogu embark on an exciting new Star Wars adventure. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHWlvwu8t1w I walked into Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu with the kind of cautious optimism normally reserved for used pickup trucks and campaign promises. This was the first Star Wars movie in theaters in seven years, a PG-13 Jon Favreau swing at getting the franchise back on a giant screen, and it arrived with all th

Follows Jack Ryan who reunites with CIA operatives to navigate a treacherous web of betrayal against an enemy who knows their every move, facing a past they thought was long put to rest. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4ZVFspRn3M I sat down with Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War expecting exactly what Amazon has been selling: a brisk, feature-length return to the Prime Video version of Jack Ryan, with John Krasinski back in the saddle, Wendell Pierce back to glower with purp

Follows Frank Castle, a PTSD-addled veteran who returns to action when Ma Gnucci, a wheelchair-bound crime matriarch, seeks revenge after he killed her son, forcing him to fight off the city's criminals descending upon him. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSeqs_xeqv4 Every now and then Marvel peeks over the cubicle wall, notices the grown-ups in the room, and says, “Fine, here’s one for the adults. Try not to scare the merchandise team.” The Punisher: One Last Kill is not a b

The fan favorite champions -- now joined by Johnny Cage himself -- are pitted against one another in the ultimate battle to defeat the dark rule of Shao Kahn that threatens the very existence of the Earthrealm and its defenders. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b24oG7qCwp4 There are movies that want awards, movies that want your tears, and movies that want to see if a rib cage can be folded like lawn furniture. Mortal Kombat II knows exactly which aisle it shops in. Sometimes

The early life of the famous musician Michael Jackson, known as the King of Pop. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbtgEE6rkxw I walked into Michael with my guard up, because music biopics have a bad habit of showing up dressed like prestige and acting like karaoke. They promise revelation and usually deliver a gift-shop timeline with better cheekbones. This one, though, came in with actual juice. Antoine Fuqua keeps the story parked in the rise years of Michael Jackson, and Ja

Former war hero Nikki's peaceful life is shattered when her daughter is kidnapped. Thrust into the criminal underworld while hunted by cops and military, she must fight to rescue her child. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hyEvH0JPpo Every so often I want an action movie that does not arrive carrying a three-ring binder full of mythology, twelve side plots, and a prayer circle for its own seriousness. I want a movie that walks in, cracks its knuckles, and gets on with the bus

Captain Jordan Wright's squadron on leave for a wedding in Mexico encounters a murderous cartel. As Jordan tries to lead survivors to safety, war erupts between his squad and the cartel, forcing him into a battle to save his men. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pdpy4vb0O0 I went into Brothers Under Fire the way a man walks into a roadside diner at 11:47 p.m.: not expecting transcendence, just hoping the grill is still hot and nobody has given up on standards entirely. This t

A struggling family farmer wagers everything on a high-stakes Championship bet, while his granddaughter's musical ambitions could be their ticket to a new beginning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIYZ5rWQNtg Every once in a while, a movie comes along that feels like it wandered in from another era, wiped the snow off its boots, and asked if there was still room on the couch for a plain old story about family, land, sacrifice, and people who do not speak in Marvel quips ever

Science teacher Ryland Grace wakes up alone on a spaceship light-years from Earth. As his memory returns, he uncovers a mission to stop a mysterious substance killing the sun, and save Earth. An unexpected friendship may be the key. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m08TxIsFTRI I walked into Project Hail Mary expecting the usual modern sci‑fi handshake: flashy cold open, a few solemn speeches about “humanity,” and then 118 minutes of people whisper‑arguing into headsets like th

As their marriage unravels, Alex faces middle age and divorce, seeking new purpose in the New York comedy scene. Meanwhile, his wife Tess confronts sacrifices made for their family, forcing them to navigate co-parenting and identities. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQTcHza5SOA I started watching" Is This Thing On" thinking I was signing up for a light “divorce-but-cute” movie, the kind you throw on while you reorganize your pantry and pretend your life is together because y

When a highly dangerous fungus escapes from a secret laboratory, a former bioterrorism agent is called back into action. Alongside two young employees, he must confront an invisible and out-of-control threat. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kea7gnh1uYA I went into Cold Storage with the kind of cautious optimism usually reserved for roadside sushi . I’d heard the pitch: deadly fungus, secret government nonsense, a couple of underpaid night-shift heroes, and a seasoned fixer ge

Follow the final recruits of a grueling special ops boot camp who encounter a deadly force from beyond this world. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFuE1LRxm80 I fired up Netflix the other night looking for something relaxing. Maybe a thoughtful drama. Maybe a documentary about whales contemplating their feelings. Instead I landed squarely in War Machine - which is basically what happens when an Army Ranger boot camp collides with a sci-fi convention and nobody calls a timeout

An elusive thief, eyeing his final score, encounters a disillusioned insurance broker at her own crossroads. As their paths intertwine, a relentless detective trails them hoping to thwart the multi-million dollar heist they are planning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5y-cziwmMw I walked into Crime 101 with the kind of hope you only get from two things: a star-stacked cast and the delusional belief that I, too, could pull off a multi-million-dollar jewel heist if I just wat

After a catastrophic military disaster, the dead don't just rise - they hunt. The military insists they are harmless and slow-moving, offering hope to grieving families. But when Ava enters a quarantine zone searching for her missing husband, she uncovers the horrifying truth: the undead are growing more violent, more relentless, and more dangerous with every passing hour. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iE-W-wEJJqw Some zombie movies kick the door in. Others shuffle politely

Estranged half-brothers Jonny and James reunite after their father's mysterious death. As they search for the truth, buried secrets reveal a conspiracy threatening to tear their family apart. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8R0xDczERo Sometimes you don’t want cinema with a thesis statement. You don’t want three timelines, muted color grading, or a closing monologue about the fragility of mankind. Sometimes you just want two extremely large men arguing while loading weapons.

Jake and Neytiri's family grapples with grief, encountering a new, aggressive Na'vi tribe, the Ash People, who are led by the fiery Varang, as the conflict on Pandora escalates and a new moral focus emerges. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nb_fFj_0rq8 There are movies you watch, movies you experience, and movies that grab you by the retinas, spin you around like a carnival ride operated by a guy named Carl who hasn’t slept, and then send you back to the parking lot wondering

A group of friends are going through a mid-life crisis. They decide to remake a favorite movie from their youth but encounter unexpected events when they enter the jungle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09trVaF_j-M There are two kinds of movies in this world. Movies that desperately want your respect. And movies like Anaconda, which show up wearing cargo shorts, holding a warm beer, and saying, “Relax. We’re here to have fun.” Bless this movie for knowing exactly what it is.

Brian has just been fired from his job. He becomes a stay-at-home dad. He accepts a playdate invitation from another stay-at-home dad who turns out to be a loose cannon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGTq0blCPVQ “Playdate” is one of those movies that strolls into your weekend watchlist with the confidence of a film that thinks it knows exactly what it is… right before tripping over its own shoelaces and face-planting on the marble floor. What begins as a straightforward co

When a single, unattributed missile is launched at the United States, a race begins to determine who is responsible and how to respond. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wpw2QHJNco You ever watch a movie and think, “Yep, this is exactly how the world ends: not with a bang, but with an email chain marked URGENT – PLEASE READ that nobody… actually… reads”? Welcome to A House of Dynamite, a thriller so wired with nerves it should come with a complimentary blood pressure cuff. I s