Movies, Films & Flix

Quick thoughts:

1. The Hard Boiled nod is wonderful
2. I love aquatic monsters
3. It’s a good time. Between the James Bond-esque cold open and Grogu eating things, it’s a pleasant low-stakes summer popcorn movie.
4. It’s too long, and the story doesn’t have much momentum, but the pacing flaws are outweighed by the adorable Anzellans.
5. The stop-motion animation and motion-control miniatures are refreshing.
6. Grade – 6.5 out of 10 Bounty Hunters

There’s a moment in The Mandalorian and Grogu, when Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu enter a salt restaurant and come across a demon-looking henchman who instigates a brawl between the bounty hunter and a plethora of hired goons. The scene pays homage to the epic tea room shootout in the John Woo-directed Hard Boiled. It’s not nearly as iconic and lacks the ambition to match the dual pistol-wielding greatness of the scene, but it perfectly encapsulates the film. The Mandalorian and Grogu has zero interest in creating new worlds or expanding the lore; instead it plays like a pulpy action yarn that features a James Bond-esque cold open, gladiator fights, and Grogu eating many different food items. Some will say it’s a mediocre experience when compared to The Empire Strikes Back (please don’t do this), while others will enjoy the shenanigans and appreciate how good it looks on an IMAX screen.

The Mandalorian and Grogu opens up with the pair working for the New Republic as they hunt imperial warlords who operate in the shadows across the galaxy. Their first assignment sees them traveling to an ice planet where they kill copious stormtroopers, run down ice-covered mountains, destroy several AT-ATs, and blow up a warlord before they can get useful information out of him. Overall, the mission is a success, but Djarin’s method of killing first and asking questions later hasn’t helped the New Republic hunt down an infamous warlord known as Commander Coin. So, a New Republic leader named Ward (Sigourney Weaver) tasks him with working a job for the infamous Hutt Twins. The crimelord twins claim they have knowledge about Coin’s whereabouts; however, before they share the information, Djarin and Grogu have to travel to a planet called Shkari, where they have to rescue the Hutt’s nephew Rotta the Hutt (voiced by Jeremy Allen White) from a guy named Lord Janu (Jonathan Coyne). Surprisingly, Rotta is a comically muscular (and very sensitive) brawler who fights in the planet’s gladiator pits. When Djarin finds him, Rotta declines the rescue offer because he has one fight left on his contract and is promised freedom if he survives his final gladiatorial fight. From there, things go sideways as Djarin is forced into a rigged Dejarik battle and eventually comes across massive water monsters, tiny spaceships, and the greatest improvised shelter ever constructed in a Star Wars film. 

It’s the classic “Hey, you go do this, so I’ll tell you this,” type of story that involves double crosses, twists, and character reveals. By keeping the story simple, director/co-writer Jon Favreau was able to focus on the important stuff involving Grogu being adorable and Djarin killing henchmen. Djarin gets knocked out or captured multiple times (his skill levels fluctuate throughout), which allows Grogu and his Anzellan buddies to come to the rescue. It’s fun stuff, and never takes itself seriously. Writers Favreau, Dave Filoni, and Noah Kloor made sure to create an “understandable standalone experience” that doesn’t need a rewatch of The Mandalorian, which was smart considering many people don’t want to revisit the third season of the show. 

The Mandalorian and Grogu is nothing more than summer popcorn entertainment, and that makes it simultaneously enjoyable and a bit disappointing. As a casual fan of the franchise who enjoys the ups and downs of blockbuster filmmaking, it’s a worthy addition to the franchise because it’s a good time and won’t create legions of angry fans. The 132-minute running time stretches the material thin, but if you enjoy being immersed in the Star Wars world, the padded running time won’t be a bother. Fans of the original trilogy will appreciate the stop-motion animation and motion-control miniatures created by Phil Tippett (watch Mad God, it’s incredible). It’s cool that Favreau brought Tippett back to help, and watching Grogu, the Anzellans, and several large robots move around is delightful.

Filmed for IMAX, the movie looks gorgeous as cinematographer and Star Wars veteran David Klein (The Mandalorian, Skeleton Crew, The Book of Boba Fett) understands the universe and has a shorthand relationship with Favreau. According to the press notes, Klein used anamorphic lenses with high-resolution sensors to keep the film “looking like Star Wars” while working within the IMAX frame. The end result is a crisp and clean experience that looks great on a giant screen.

Final thoughts – Head to a theater, buy some popcorn, and enjoy watching Grogu eat things.

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.