Novocaine is a Thrill Ride That Never Goes Numb
★ ★ ★ ★ Novocaine is a bit of a unique approach to the reluctant, everyday “nobody,” who becomes a hero. In this film, Nate (Jack Quaid) is the assistant manager of a bank. He has tennis balls on the corners of his desk, in addition to other safeguards around his home and office. You see, Nate has a rare genetic disorder called congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis. CIPA for short.
Black Bag is Tightly Wound Whodunit Spy Thriller
★ ★ ★ ★ Black Bag is a movie that packs a great amount of story into 90 minutes of runtime. It’s not an action movie – it’s a dramatic thriller. The drama comes wrapped in well-crafted dialogue that builds both story and tension. It’s masterfully shot with simple, beautiful set design that aids the isolation the characters feel. While I highly recommend this movie, it comes with a caveat….
Opus is the Strange Entertainment Only John Malkovich Can Bring
★ ★ ★ ½ Opus begins with the return of fictional pop icon Alfred Moretti (John Malkovich). He disappeared 30 years ago after his last successful tour. Ariel Ecton (Ayo Edebiri) is an aspiring journalist who struggles to get career traction. Stan Sullivan (Murray Bartlett), her boss, likes her ideas but assigns…
The Day the Earth Blew Up is Loony, Zany and a Lot of Fun
★ ★ ★ ½ I didn’t expect to like The Day the Earth Blew Up as much as I did. Don’t get me wrong, I grew up watching Looney Tunes. But there’s a difference between a 5-minute cartoon sketch and a 90-minute movie. Turns out, this film is really a lot of fun. We start off with a scientist (Fred Tatasciore) observing an asteroid through…
Mickey 17 is a Fun Concept that Loses Its Footing
★ ★ Mickey 17 is a futuristic sci-fi film where Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson) signs up for the Expendables Program, because his friend and business partner Timo (Steven Yeun) has gotten them both in trouble with the city mafia. A really big spaceship is about to take a large group of people to colonize an ice planet. The journey through space will take four years.
In the Lost Lands is Over Stylized Wasteland Action that Quickly Overstays its Welcome
★ ½ In the Lost Lands wastes no time breaking the 4th wall. It’s a risky move at any point in any film. Here, it’s done with clunky dialogue and bad acting. It’s an unwanted dance partner with two left feet, bad breath and rancid armpits. The movie starts off on bad footing that over-stylized cinematography…
My Dead Friend Zoe is a Heartfelt Journey Through Trauma and Healing
★ ★ ★ ★ My Dead Friend Zoe is a fantastic film, both poignant and relevant. It’s heartbreaking, heartwarming, haunting, funny and very real. Sometimes, it’s all of these things in one scene. It’s already on my list as one of the best films of 2025. Merit (Sonequa Martin-Green) served in the Army in Afghanistan and…
Riff Raff is a Deviously Funny Family Crime Drama
★ ★ ★ ★ Riff Raff tells the story about an ex-mafia hitman named Vincent (Ed Harris) who just wants to have a normal family life. For the past 18 years, he’s been married to Sandy (Gabrielle Union), and they’re spending a week in their extravagant vacation cabin before their son DJ (Miles J. Harvey) goes off to college. For nearly two decades, they’ve been a moderately normal family…
Last Breath Won’t Leave You Breathless but Tells a Good Story
★ ★ ★ Last Breath is based on a true story of divers who descended 300 feet below the surface of the North Sea on Sept. 19, 2012, to replace old piping on an oil rig. When a fierce storm strikes, the support ship – to which the dive vessel is tethered – loses the automatic controls that keep it…
The Monkey is Deliciously Violent Dark Comedy Horror
★ ★ ★ ½ The Monkey is based on a short story by Stephen King first published in Gallery Magazine in 1980, later revised and published in a collection of short stories in his book Skeleton Crew. It’s a horror story about a cursed mechanical toy monkey that has big scary eyes and a toothy grin before it…
Sponsored by:
Subscribe
To our newsletter
