Backrooms

When a failed architect and struggling furniture store owner, Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor), discovers a mysterious portal in the basement of his strip mall warehouse, he stumbles into a sprawling, maze-like dimension of drab, yellow-wallpapered rooms known as the "Complex". After one of his patients vanishes into this otherworldly limbo, his therapist, Dr. Mary Kline (Renate Reinsve), is forced to venture into the dangerous, uncanny wasteland to save him. Soon, she and a group of others are dragged into a terrifying cosmic horror realm where they must navigate endless liminal labyrinths and confront both unseen forces and their own frayed minds.

This is one of those tension/scary movies that kill me.  The premise was interesting as hell.   The build up for the first 3/4 of the movie was great.   I was honestly enjoying it a lot even though I had no idea where it was going.   It was very well done . . . . . . to that point.   Then the movie completely went off the rails for the last 1/4 of it.   Like completely off the rails where I was watching the rest of it with the WTF look on my face.   And that sucks because I don't want to tank the movie review wise because again I was very much digging it but it really falls off the deep end.

I would somewhat recommend people checking out the movie for the premise and the first 3/4 but you have to know that it doesn't end well.

The Mandalorian And Gorge

The evil Empire has fallen, and Imperial warlords remain scattered throughout the galaxy. As the fledgling New Republic works to protect everything the Rebellion fought for, they enlist the help of legendary Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin and his young apprentice, Grogu. Spinning out of the events of the hit streaming series, the duo takes on a daring assignment to rescue Rotta, the only surviving heir to Crime Lord Jabba the Hutt, who has been kidnapped by a rival syndicate on the Outer Rim. This dangerous quest plunges them into the galaxy's seediest corners, forcing Din and Grogu to face off against dangerous criminals while uncovering the lingering shadows of a mysterious Imperial plot.

This movie is 1000000000% about expectations.  If you were looking for a Star Wars cinematic masterpiece comeback then you will undoubtedly be disappointed.   If you are cool with watching what was basically the new season of The Mandalorian on the big screen then you will be very happy with the outcome.   They didn't try to reinvent anything or make it bigger.  This straight up felt like a 6 episode season all put together into a movie and I was completely fine with it.

Any fans of The Mandalorian series should love this as should any not too over analytical Star Wars fans as a whole.  It was very entertaining throughout.

Passenger

After a young couple, Tyler and Maddie, leave New York City behind to embrace a nomadic "van life" adventure, their romantic road trip quickly derails. A few weeks into their travels, they witness a gruesome and horrific accident on a desolate highway. They stop to check on the victims and help at the scene, but they soon realize they did not leave the crash alone.

This movie was good for what it was meant to be.  It has some really good jump scares.   There was enough creepy tension building scenes.  And most importantly it didn't run too long.   Still could have been shorter but it stayed in that necessary run time window for it to not drag.

I would definitely recommend this for jump scare movie fans.   It was simple and not oversaturated like a lot of this movies can get.

The Sheep Detectives

After their shepherd is found mysteriously murdered, an extraordinarily clever flock of sheep takes matters into their own hooves. Raised on a nightly diet of classic whodunit novels, these sleuthing sheep team up with an incompetent local police officer to uncover clues, interview human suspects, and solve the crime.

This movie was exactly what it was supposed to do.  Great voice casting for the sheep with all different personalities and them trying to figure out what happened to their owner and adjust to life without him.   It was maybe a little longer than it had to be in an effort to pull some extra heartstrings/emotions but it was definitely a cute watch.

I would sort of recommend this to people - especially families/kids.  It's not a must see by any means but it was a decent watch.   

Is God Is

After surviving a traumatic childhood fire that left them with disfiguring burn scars, twin sisters Racine and Anaia discover their long-lost mother is still alive. Summonsed to her deathbed, they are given one chilling, final directive: hunt down and kill their estranged father, the man responsible for destroying their family. The sisters embark on a violent, mythic journey across the American South, confronting a brutal family history and stopping at nothing to enact their revenge.

I am feeling like this movie was falsely advertised.   I completely expected a horror/scary movie with some kind of witch like activity maybe.   This was a road trip movie with most of the violence happening off screen until the very end.   Like it was watchable but honestly incredibly pointless.   The trailer gave weird vibes and there was like zero weirdness in this movie.   Very straight forward and just kind of there.

I wouldn't recommend anyone checking this out.  It's watchable but not a must see by any means.

In The Grey

In the Grey follows a covert team of elite operatives who live in the shadows of global power. When a ruthless despot and criminal gang steal a billion-dollar fortune, the crew is dispatched to steal it back in what is effectively a suicide mission.

This was a decently fun watch.   It had a simple story, a nice short run time and felt like working your way through a mission based video game.  They planned it all out and then executed it with some dialogue scenes in-between.   I wish more movies chose this simpler route instead of overcomplicating stuff just because.

I would recommend people checking this out.  There is good chemistry and its a simple/short enough movie to just sit back and enjoy.

Obsession

When shy music store employee Bear (Michael Johnston) fails to win over his childhood friend Nikki (Inde Navarrette), he breaks a "One-Wish Willow" trinket, wishing she would love him "more than anyone in the world". The spell works immediately, but Nikki’s affection quickly mutates into a toxic, violent, and nightmarish fixation that traps Bear in his own dream-come-true. As her behavior spirals into madness, Bear realizes he has forced a grotesque, irreversible reality on them both, turning a romantic fantasy into a fight for survival.

This was one super weird movie.    On one hand it had quite honestly the worst acting I have ever seen.   The lead girl was good but the rest of the cast was like plucked off the street and it massively showed.   However, the goal of building tension and having you watch all scenes on edge about what the girl was going to do was actually really well done.   Like it made you super uncomfortable and made it that pretty much any reaction she had to something made you pull back.   So kudos to that but like the rest of it was very mailed in and made it a not really good movie.   LOL

I would sort of suggest this movie to certain people just because the manipulation of sound and tension with the obsessed girl.  But it is admittedly not a good overall movie by any means.

Mortal Kombat II

Following the events of the 2021 film, the champions of Earthrealm are coerced into battling in the official Mortal Kombat tournament. The villainous Outworld emperor, Shao Kahn, threatens the existence of Earthrealm and its defenders.

This movie was exactly what you thought it would be.   It's more of the same from the reboot a few years back and just adding in Johnny Cage pretty much.   Same kind of fighting and visuals.   I felt it was definitely longer than it needed to be but outside of that it was good for what it was meant to be.

I would recommend this to anyone that was a fan of the original.  It really is just more of the same.  If you have not watched them before why would you start now?  

Deep Water

An eclectic group of international passengers en route from Los Angeles to Shanghai are forced to make a harrowing emergency landing in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The plane, having suffered an explosion in the cargo hold, breaks apart, scattering survivors across the vast, deep water.

What a huge pile of trash this was.  Remember when Renny Harlin was a relevant action director.  Now it's just this.  I mean I didn't expect much from the trailer but this was somehow even lamer than the expectations in all honesty.  Longest plane crash ever.  LOL.  And then trying to deal with starks for 45 minutes.  This would have been lame even as a Netflix movie honestly.  

I would not recommend anyone bothering with this movie ever.   So lame.

The Devil Wears Prada 2

Twenty years after the original film, Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) faces the decline of traditional magazine publishing and shrinking influence at Runway. When a labor scandal threatens to destroy the magazine, an unlikely alliance is formed. Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway), now an established journalist returning to Runway as features editor, must navigate the modern digital landscape alongside a ruthless new executive team.

With all the recent nostalgia reboots or very late sequels it really has come down to hitting or missing on the nostalgia.    This movie stuck the landing perfectly when it came to that.   It reconnected all of those great character connections from the first and you could tell that they had a lot of fun making this movie.  All four of the main characters had great storylines and call backs and the theater was very happy with the movie.

I would definitely recommend people checking this out for a fun character comedy just like the first one was.

Hokum

When reclusive novelist Ohm Bauman (Scott) retreats to a remote Irish inn to scatter his parents’ ashes, the staff’s tales of an ancient witch haunting the honeymoon suite take hold of his mind. Soon, disturbing visions and a shocking disappearance draw him into a nightmarish confrontation with the darkest corners of his past.

This movie was such a snooze fest.  It took forever to get to any sort of spooky stuff that you were already massively disconnected from the movie.   It also very much had a weird aesthetic that made it seem more like a made for tv movie instead of a wide release.

I wouldn't recommend anyone bothering with this.   It's honestly just there and pretty pointless.

Mother Mary

Following a catastrophic on-stage accident, pop icon Mother Mary prepares for a comeback concert but finds herself in a deep crisis. Seeking to reinvent her image, she reconnects with Sam Anselm, an estranged friend and brilliant costume designer who was once her creative force but was dropped from her inner circle without credit.

What the heck was this?   Like it very much had an overly stylish look.  But that was honestly it.  I couldn't tell if it was a "horror" movie or a drama because there really wasn't anything remotely scary even though it clearly wanted to be spooky.   And there was honestly no hook that would have been able to get through the overly stylized look of the movie.

I would honestly not recommend anyone bothering with this.   It's an overly artsy movie without much substance.