Movies, Films & Flix

They Will Kill You (2026) – Review

Quick Thoughts:

1. Grade – Neat idea
2. Zazie Beetz is legit. She carries the film and I’d love to see in more action movies
3. The film has stuck with me. I smile whenever I think about it
4. Patricia Arquette’s character and Jennifer Jason Leigh (from Fargo S5) need a spinoff movie. The characters exist in completely different worlds, but I love their accents. 
5. I love the opening action scenes. It’s full of surprises. 
6. Writer/Director Kirill Sokolov has had a unique journey

The world needs more movies like They Will Kill You. The $20 million budgeted action comedy horror film is a delightful experience that involves a tough-as-nails character named Asia Reaves (Zazie Beetz) battling a group of Satan worshippers inside a haughty high-rise named The Virgil. The reason the world needs more movies like They Will Kill You is because all it wants to do is entertain and give audiences a blood-soaked carnage fest featuring a performer who put in a lot of work. Zazie Beetz trained for four months to become a badass “prison fighter” and she’s totally believable as she battles the denizens of The Virgil. The hyper-stylized violence, never fully works, and the opening bedroom battle is the action highlight (the rest of the action scenes are fun, but not as thrilling), but it’s neat watching Beetz use a flaming axe to destroy anyone who gets in her way. There are many twists and turns so I don’t want to spoil the film, however, expect hallway battles, rolling eyeballs, air duct chases, and a fun accent from Patricia Arquette.

Apex (2026) – Review

Quick Thoughts:

1. Grade – Fun stuff
2. Never trust homemade jerky sold at gas stations (if you’re in a movie)
3. Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton put in a lot of physical work, and it greatly helps the movie
4. I like the usage of actual locations, they add a lot to the film. 
5. Never trust strangers who tell you about isolated rapids that are far away from the main river runs. 
6. I want to go kayaking now

The best thing that can be said about Apex is that Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton put themselves through hell to make the film. Shot around the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Australia, the survival horror film is unlike many other Netflix films because it feels like it was filmed in the actual wilderness, away from walls of green screens. Visual effects were used, but it’s nice seeing Theron kayaking through rapids and climbing actual rocks. Director Baltasae Kormákur (watch the 2024 film Touch now) is no stranger to survival films as he’s helmed The Deep (2012), Everest (2015), Adrift (2022), Beast (2022), and now Apex. He seems to like putting characters in horrifying situations and seeing how they behave, adapt and struggle to survive. It’s a fun niche, and after pitting characters against nature and beasts, he’s put a character named Sasha (Charlize Theron) up against a shredded serial killer who eats his victims (Taron Egerton). What follows is a fun cat-and-mouse chase film that involves broken legs, rock climbs, and mysterious cave systems. Apex feels like a fun throwback survival film, and that’s pretty great. 

Cold Storage (2026)

Quick Thoughts:

1. Grade – Love it
2. Cold Storage is a likable film
3. Joe Keery and Georgina Campbell are a likable duo
4. Between Cold Storage and Barbarian, Campbell has good luck with “underground” movies. 
5. David Koepp’s amiable script does a fine job combining sci-fi elements with cheeky humor
6. Conveniently placed backpack nukes should be used in more creature features 

In a perfect world, we’d get more creature features like Cold Storage (10 a year sounds nice). Horror action comedies are wonderful, and Cold Storage is akin to Tremors (1990), Alligator (1980), Gremlins (1984), Grabbers (2012), Black Sheep (2006), Slither (2006), and a less-gnarly Cabin in the Woods (2011). It’s not as gnarly or violent as Slither or Cabin in the Woods, but it tells a tidy story involving infectious fungus that can destroy the world. 

The film revolves around a pair of employees (Joe Keery, Georgina Campbell) dealing with a deadly fungus during their night shift at a self storage facility. The storage facility is located above a shuttered underground military cold storage laboratory, which has been long forgotten and not maintained. The fungus was placed in the facility by Robert Quinn (Liam Neeson) and Trini Romano (Lesley Manville) decades prior, and it’s up to them to destroy the fungus when it leaks out of the facility. 

Cold Storage belongs to Georgina Campbell (after Barbarian, The Watchers, and Psycho Killer it’s fun seeing her have fun) and Joe Keey, who plays a character named Travis “Teacake” Meacham. Both Campbell and Keery deliver David Koepp’s dialogue wonderfully (That f**king deer just took the f**king elevator), and seem to be having fun as they battle deadly fungus in neat sets designed by production designer Elena Albanese.

Incredibly Quick Reviews (more to come about them)

Ghost Elephant – Werner Herzog is the best. I love this documentary

Obex – Fun sci-fi film that feels like David Lynch made a Zelda movie. 

Buffet Infinity – Neat movie. I can’t wait to research the production.

Quick Thoughts:

• Inde Navarrette is incredible. I hope her performance is remembered when awards season rolls around.
• Curry Baker has crafted a funny, scary and intense film.
• Michael Johnston does some great work.
• The lore is wonderful. 
• This is the type of horror film that Blumhouse should be releasing. Fresh, new and cheap.
• Production designer Vivian Gray does some legit work.
• Watch it in a theater.
• Give Inde Navarrette awards.
• It’s fun that the film was partly inspired by an episode of The Simpsons.

The best thing about watching a lot of movies is when a film comes out of nowhere (or somewhere if you’ve been following the director) and provides a refreshing and exhilarating experience. The Curry Baker-written/directed movie Obsession is a thrilling horror comedy that has something to say and features an awards-worthy performance from Inde Navarrette. Most importantly, if this film succeeds, it will inspire aspiring filmmakers to take chances and not be afraid to put their work on YouTube or other streaming sites so it can be seen. 

From someone who has gotten all their paid writing assignments (Rotten Tomatoes, The Ringer, Cracked, Film Theory, Fandom) from dropping dumb movie data articles on Reddit since 2015, it was cool seeing Baker release his well-reviewed found footage film Milk & Serial on YouTube. The 72-minute horror film currently has 2.4 million views and opened doors for Baker to make Obsession. YouTube staples such as the Philippou Brothers (Talk to Me, Bring Her Back), Kane Parsons (Backrooms), Markiplier (Iron Lung), Michael Shanks (Together), Chris Stuckmann (Shelby Oaks), and Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane, Prey, Predator: Badlands), all made their name on YouTube and are currently making hit films. Watching creators taking non-traditional routes to filmmaking is inspiring, and the results speak for themselves. 

Obsession revolves around a twentysomething named Bear (Michael Johnston – great), who wants to express love for his coworker Nikki (Inde Navarrette). The problem is that the flawed kid can’t muster the courage to tell her and chickens out when he has the chance. After failing to express his love for Nikki, he cracks a One Wish Willow stick he bought at a crystal shop earlier in the day, and wishes Nikki would love him more than anything in the world. This wish takes away all her agency and plunges the duo into a horrible ordeal that involves duct tape, gross sandwiches, food criticism, face stabbings, terrible dreams, explosive violence that had to be trimmed for the film to receive an R-rating. The most interesting thing about the wish is that Bear isn’t wishing for a healthy relationship or happiness. Bear wants a woman to be totally devoted to him, and when she becomes wildly (and violently) devoted, he collapses under his selfishness. In another welcome touch, his friend group made up of coworkers Sarah (Megan Lawless) and Ian (Cooper Tomlinson) are skeptical of the new relationship because something is clearly wrong with Nikki, and it seems like Bear is exploiting her frazzled mental state. 

In the press notes, Baker explains that he wanted to explore concepts of love and wish-fullfilment, and his end goal was for audiences to consider what they would do in similar situations (which would say a lot about the person). The casting of Michael Johnston was smart because he comes across as a supremely naive sad sack whose selfishness is masked by his innocence. Baker’s script goes hard on making sure that he’s an ineffectual “nice guy” whose beloved cat dies after it eats pills left lying around his kitchen (things die because the lame guy can’t clean up after himself). Bear lives in his deceased grandmother’s home, and aside from setting up a gaming system, he’s changed nothing around the house because he has no ambition and can’t make decisions. By all accounts, Bear is the worst, and it’s nice that he isn’t treated like a teenage rom-com hero from the 1980s or 1990s. 

The MVP of Obsession is Inde Navarrette, who landed an audition after working with Obsession producer Christian Mercuri on the 2025 film Trap House (a bad movie with an excellent cast). His instincts were correct because Navarrette owns the screen with her physicality, humor, and ability to hold a creepy smile for minutes at a time. Due to the cursed nature of her character, Navarrette bounces between about 43 emotions as her character is forced to deal with an avalanche of supernatural shenanigans. It’s easily the most impressive and physically imposing performance since Naomi Scott in Smile 2. 

It’s wild that the film was shot in 20 days, and it’s a testament to the crew who put it together. Baker likes to live in his scenes, and it meant less coverage for the edit because he pushed for long takes which will allow audiences to settle into the scene. In the press notes, he admits that  long takes aren’t always ideal for the edit, but it’s neat that he pushed for them because he wanted the film to feel settled and oppressive. The lack of coverage, inserts, and over-editing help the movie because audiences need to live with the character to feel the danger of the situation. The final product is a handsome low-budget film that punches above its weight and will create interesting discussions. 

Final thoughts – I can’t wait to see what Baker does next. 

Quick Thoughts:

1. Anne Hathaway is wildly charming. 
2. As always, Meryl Streep owns the screen. She does some excellent work
3. The tacked-on love story is handled maturely, but it’s not necessary. 
4. As a legacy sequel/victory lap, it’s successful
5. Stanley Tucci, Emily Blunt, Simone Ashley, B.J. Novak, and Justin Theroux put in a good shift.
6. Everyone looks great. 
7. Justin Theroux is a maniac. He needs to play more characters who are on water deficits.
8. I love that writer Aline Brosh McKenna brought in Rachel Bloom for a small role. The Crazy Ex-Girlfriend reunion made me happy. 

Crafting a legacy sequel to the 2006 blockbuster The Devil Wears Prada (2006) must have been a daunting challenge for director David Frankel and writer Aline Brosh McKenna. The 2006 film grossed $326 million at the worldwide box office and it received a multitude of Oscar, BAFTA, and Golden Globe nominations. Meryl Streep won her eighth Golden Globe (a Guiness World Record), Emily Blunt’s career skyrocketed, and Anne Hathaway became the newest member of the A-list. All of the actors wanted to reunite, but didn’t want the sequel to feel like a nostalgic cash grab. It wasn’t until writer Aline Brosh McKenna decided to focus the film on the state of journalism and how the written word is consumed in 2026, that all the key players returned. The sequel won’t recapture the lightning-in-a-bottle quality of the original, but it is a welcome victory lap and worthy sequel.

The sequel brings back the main players (and a lot of fan service) and focuses on the evolving world of fashion magazines, journalism, and social media. The film opens with Andrea “Andy” Sachs (Anne Hathaway) being laid off from her magazine job moments before she and her coworkers win a prestigious writer’s award. Simultaneously, a fast fashion faux pas made by Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) threatens the existence of the floundering Runway Magazine, which has suffered in the online age. Andy’s acceptance speech goes viral (Journalism is important!), and it leads to Miranda’s boss Irv Ravitz (Tibor Feldman), hiring Andy to gain back the journalistic respect that Runway Magazine once had. This brings Andy, Miranda, and Nigel Kipling (Stanley Tucci) back together, and they’re forced to find a way to survive in a world that’s shifting away from traditional media. 

Things get dicey when Irv dies suddenly, and his athleisure-loving son Jay (B.J. Novak) is handed the business. This leads to budget cuts (people have to fly coach – in the film’s worst scene), restructuring, and a whole lot of panic within the walls of Runway Magazine. It all builds to a fashion show in Milan, Italy, that involves secret meetings, an annoyed Lady Gaga, and fabulous people looking fabulous whilst riding in a speed boat. It’s a bunch of nonsense, and there’s way too much plot, but director David Frankel is fully committed to the proceedings.

It’s a random comparison, but Anne Hathaway’s performance in The Devil Wears Prada 2 reminds me of Brad Pitt’s wildly charming performance in F1: The Movie (2025). The Oscar-winning actors effortlessly channeled every ounce of their charm into the roles and legitimately own the screen. Also, since the film features Meryl Streep, her presence adds pathos and weight to the proceedings. Her character Miranda is a maniac, but Streep finds ways to make the audience love her. Whether it’s the way she sits in a chair (you’ll know) or the way she observes her surroundings, Streep brings her A-game while playing the fashion icon. The most welcome new addition is Simone Ashley, who plays Miranda’s new first assistant. She isn’t as sassy as Emily (who is?), but she looks great and fits in nicely. It’s also nice seeing Emily Blunt reprise her role as Emily Charlton, who is now a senior executive at Dior and plays an important role in saving Runway Magazine. Blunt has some fun scenes with Justin Theroux, who goes all-in playing a billionaire Jeff Bezos-type who loves AI and dehydration. 

If you’re looking for hard-hitting journalism or a takedown of the rich, you’ve come to the wrong place. The Devil Wears Prada 2 belongs in a cinematic fluffy pocket universe that leans into tropes and exists to look great. That being said, current topics are covered as the film explores journalism, AI, and an evolving world that is less reliant on print coverage and art. I’ve witnessed the changes myself as a writer with various companies, so some of the explored topics hit home.

Hathaway, Streep, Ashley, Tucci, Blunt, Lucy Liu, Kennth Branagh (and his indoor scarf) look amazing in costumes created by costume designer Molly Rogers, with the highlight being a gratuitous montage in Milan in which everyone looks glamorous. The return of cinematographer Florian Ballhaus (who shot the 2006 film) helps keep the two movies visually similar and focused on what is important (people looking great).