Straw

“Straw” is 2025 Netflix original thriller/drama directed by Tyler Perry. It stars Taraji P. Henson (Hidden Figures), Sherri Sheperd (One for the Money), Teyana Taylor (Coming 2 America), and Sinbad (Jingle All the Way).

A struggling single mom (Henson) is doing her best to get through life for her and her daughter. She ends up losing her job, her daughter, her home, and getting her car impounded all in the same day. With the stress becoming too much, she unwillingly gets caught up in a bank robbery, where the cops and the FBI thinks she’s the one who’s doing it.

Henson’s acting in this is terrific. She absolutely nails the role and makes the whole movie. Sheperd also does a great job but, outside of their chemistry, a lot of the acting and dialogue is on the cheesy side, but theirs is enough to make this a great movie. It has a twist that you don’t see coming that absolutely punches you in the gut, especially if you’re a parent. It is on the sad side, and heart wrenching, but it’s a fast-paced ride that’s worth it. I give it a 7/10.

NONNAS

“NONNAS” is a 2025 Netflix original comedy/drama starring Vince Vaughn (Freaky), Lorraine Bracco (The Sopranos), Talia Shire (Rocky), Brenda Vaccaro (Midnight Cowboy), Drea de Matteo (The Sopranos), Susan Sarandon (Thelma & Louise), and Linda Cardellini (Freaks and Geeks).

An Italian man (Vaughn) loses his mom and with her life insurance money he opens up a restaurant on Staten Island. He hires a group of nonnas (Italian grandmas) to serve as his cooks. He wants to bring the world the same type of homemade meals he grew up with to honor his mother.

I’ll watch anything with Vince Vaughn in it, he’s a loveable big guy that you can’t help but love. The cool thing about this movie is it’s based on a true story. The restaurant is still going strong to this day. The acting is great, it’s hilarious and heartfelt. The bickering between the nonna’s will have you cracking up. We all know someone like them in our own lives. It will have you in your feels several times to the verge of tearing up. It’s a great heartfelt movie that the whole family can enjoy. I give it a 9/10.

Sinners

“Sinners” is a 2025 horror/thriller starring Michael B. Jordan (Just Mercy), Miles Caton, Jack O’Connell (Eden Lake), Delroy Lindo (Get Shorty), Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit), and Omar Benson Miller (8 Mile).

Two black gangsters (Michael B. Jordan) who work for Al Capone return to their home in Mississippi where racism is still thriving to open up their own Juke Joint. When a strange man shows up trying to get into their joint, it soon ends up being a fight for their lives against a supernatural entity that’s taking over their hometown.

When I first saw the preview to this, I knew I had to see it. Michael B. Jordan is one of the best actors today with an amazing reach, and this movie is no different. He plays both rolls of identical twins’ smoke and stack. It’s hard to tell exactly what this movie is about in the previews outside of it having something to do with vampires. It’s a slow burn to start with setting up the club etc., but once the vampires show up its nonstop till the end. It’s also heartfelt getting in your feels a couple of spots. It’s well done and will go down as a vampire classic. I give it 8/10.

The Amateur

“The Amateur” is a 2025 Action/Thriller starring Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody), Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead), Holt McCallany (Mind Hunter), Julianne Nicholson (I, Tonya), and Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix).

Charlie (Malek) is a CIA cryptographer and when his wife is killed during an attack in London, he uses his skills to find out who is responsible. He takes his info to his superiors, when they refuse to help. He uses his technology skills to track down and kill the men responsible for killing his wife. At first the CIA takes is as a joke but once Charlie starts to become successful, they send one of their own men (Fishburne) to bring Charlie down before he exposes something he shouldn’t.

When I first saw the preview to this one, I knew I had to go and see it. Malek is such a great actor and no surprise he nails this role. The action scenes are really good with high pace action, but there is more lull than I was anticipating in between the action scenes. Making it a little bit of slower movie than expected. It’s still a good action thriller that is worth the watch. I give it a 7.5/10

DROP

“DROP” is a 2025 thriller starring Meghann Fahy (The White Lotus), Brandon Sklenar (It Ends With Us), Violett Beane (The Flash), and Reed Diamond (Moneyball).

A widowed mother who is a survivor of domestic abuse goes on a date for the first time in years with a guy she met on a dating app. He takes her to fancy restaurant overlooking the city skyline. Her night soon gets turned upside down when she starts getting anonymous messages from a stranger in the restaurant telling her she has to kill her date or her child dies. She isn’t able to tell anyone, call for help, leave the restaurant or her child dies. She must now find a solution before it’s too late.

I’ve been excited to see this one since I first saw the trailer. I went in with high hopes for this movie. It takes place in only two locations, obviously the main one is the restaurant, while the other is what is going on at her house with her son. The majority of the movie is her freaking out trying to find a way to save her son without having to kill her date. It works, it’s a great movie. It’s a great thriller from start to finish that has you guessing who in the restaurant is behind it. Which I have to admit, I didn’t see it coming. The acting is great all the way around, and it surpassed my expectations. I give it a 9/10. It’s a must see.

Novocaine

“Novocaine” is a 2025 Action/Comedy/Thriller starring Jack Quaid (Companion), Amber Midthunder (Prey), Ray Nicholson (Smile 2), and Jacob Batalon (Spider-Man: Homecoming).

Nate (Quaid) lives a normal, boring life as an assistant manager at a bank, except for one thing. He has a rare genetic disorder where he doesn’t feel pain, and hot or cold temperatures. While on the clock three masked men come in and rob the bank and take a girl (Midthunder) he likes hostage. Now Nate vows to do whatever it takes to get her back, no matter how much damage his body takes.

After seeing the previews for this one, I knew I had to see it. It’s a unique movie that blends the perfect amount of action, comedy, and violence. The acting is great all the way around. Quaid nails the nerdy white guy superhero part. It reminds me a lot of the movie “Kick-Ass.” It’s a fun watch start to finish. I give it a 9/10.

The Devil and the Daylong Brothers

“The Devil and the Daylong Brothers” is a 2025 thriller/action/musical starring Brendan Bradley (Succubus), Nican Robinson (Thunder Road), Jordon Bolden (The Kill Room), and Rainey Qualley (Queen of Manhattan).

Three Brothers from different mothers but the same dad, have their souls sold by their father before their birth. Now in order to get their souls back, they do the devil’s bidding by hunting down the damned and collecting souls that are owed, while also tracking down their father.

This one is unique. It’s extremely violent while also managing to be a musical. I can’t really think of something to compare it to. It’s like the blue grass band “The Dead South” starred in a thriller. It’s weird, its low budget, but it works. The acting is good, the story is good, and it has you glued to see what happens next. It’s a fun violent ride from start to finish. You can catch this one on Tubi. I give it an 8/10.

Mickey 17

“Mickey 17” is a 2025 Sci-Fi/Dark Comedy starring Robert Pattinson (The Batman), Steven Yeun (The Walking Dead), Naomi Ackie (Blink Twice), Toni Collette (Hereditary), and Mark Ruffalo (The Avengers).

Failed politician Kenneth Marshall (Ruffalo) is leading an expedition into space to colonize an icy planet. People of earth are allowed to sign up to try to be selected for the expedition. Two friends on the run (Yeun, and Pattinson) sign up to go, one of the friends, Mickey (Pattinson), signs up to go as an “expendable.” An expendable is what it sounds like, they die or are killed over and over, then their memories are uploaded, and a new version is printed out. When another Mickey is printed before Mickey 17 dies, the two Mickeys are forced to team up to try to save themselves.

As you know, I like unique movie ideas, and this is one, plus it looked really good. I like the premise of this one, but it seemed lacking. It’s close to a two-and-a-half-hour movie and it feels like it in some parts. A lot of it is Mickey wandering around complaining. The worst part of it though is Mark Ruffalo’s accent. It’s like he’s doing a bad Trump. I’m not sure who thought that was a good idea, but it’s more annoying than anything. It does have its good parts, and funny scenes, but overall, it wasn’t as good as I was hoping. I give it a 6/10.

Jungle

“Jungle” is a 2017 thriller/biopic starring Daniel Radcliffe (The Lost City), Thomas Kretschmann (King Kong), Alex Russell (Carrie), and Joel Jackson (Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries).

Three friends backpacking in Bolivia, meet up with a guide who takes them deep into a remote Bolivian Jungle. Promising them rivers filled with gold, and undiscovered Indian tribes. Things quickly go horribly wrong, and it becomes a game of survival.

This movie is based on the book with the same name which is the true story of Yossi Ghinsberg and his friends. Yossi survived three weeks on his own in the Amazon Jungle. That’s what makes this movie so crazy is that it really happened, and the real Yossi went through this. It’s nothing short of a miracle that he survived. I’m a Daniel Radcliffe fan; he’s a great actor. He plays the part really well, especially considering a good chunk of the movie is just him going slowly insane. All the actors play a great roll, and it’s a great watch. I give it a 7/10. You can currently catch it on Tubi

Wolfs

“Wolfs” is a 2024 Apple TV+ Thriller/ Dark Comedy starring George Clooney (Ocean’s Eleven), Brad Pitt (Bullet Train), and Austin Abrams (Euphoria).

Two fixers (Pitt, Clooney) are both called to the same hotel to clean up the death of a young man that occurred in NYC DA’s hotel room. Both men work alone but are now forced to work together. However, not everything is as it appears to be.

This isn’t a fast-paced thriller but it’s really good. It has an excellent mixture of comedy and action. I’d say it leans more on the dark comedy side even though it’s classified as a thriller. Pitt, Clooney, and Abrams all play great roles. It does have a major plot hole at the end when they figure out what’s going on. Still, it’s a great movie, which I would give it higher if it wasn’t for that. I give it an 8.5/10.