28 Years Later

“28 Years Later” is a 2025 horror movie and sequel to the 2002 horror movie “28 Days Later.” This one stars Jodie Comer (Free Guy), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Bullet Train), Ralph Fiennes (The Menu), and Alfie Williams (A New Breed of Criminal).

It’s been 28 years since the breakout of the virus in the UK that turns people into zombies. The UK is quarantined off from the rest of the world, and the survivors have set up a village blocking out the infected. Spike (Williams), a 12 year old boy, ventures out into the zombie filled wilderness with his sick mother (Comer) in search of an old-world doctor (Fiennes), in hopes he can cure his mom. Now in the wild with his mother who slips in and out of reality, surviving may be tougher than he originally planned.

I didn’t get a chance to catch this one in theaters, but it is currently on Netflix. I haven’t seen the first one since close to when it came out, so I don’t remember a lot about it. I’ve heard mixed things about this one. Mainly the zombies, and the ending, but I figured I would give it a shot. It’s a good watch with a solid story. A boy’s fight for survival with his sick mother, it pulls you in. I wouldn’t describe it as a horror though, it’s not scary, it’s more like an adventure/ Sci-Fi. The things that knock this movie are the two main complaints I kept hearing that I mentioned earlier. The zombies, and the ending. The zombies aren’t scary, they look like naked cavemen wandering around, then there’s weird flash scenes where it’s infrared and you just see their glowing eyes. The ending seems like they didn’t know how to end it and threw in a random scene. It’s not the worst ending I’ve seen, but it’s up there. Overall, it’s still worth watching. I give it a 7/10.

Weapons

“Weapons” is a 2025 horror/mystery that everyone has been talking about. It stars Julia Garner (The Fantastic Four: First Steps), Josh Brolin (Avengers: Endgame), Cary Christopher (Days of Our Lives), Benedict Wong (Doctor Strange), and Amy Madigan (Field of Dreams).

All the kids from the same elementary class, minus one, mysteriously vanish at the exact same time in the middle of the night. Now the whole town is one edge without knowing what happened to the kids.

I originally didn’t want to see this one as I thought it looked a little weird, but I kept hearing from people how great of a movie it was, so I had to check it out. It’s cool how the movie is set up, it follows six different people’s perspectives before and after the event of the missing kids. You get a little from each person until it all comes together at the end to create the whole story. It isn’t scary but it’s a good watch and has a few good gory scenes. I wish it went a little more in depth overall, you find out what happened and why it happened, but it felt a little shallow. It does do a good job of keeping you guessing until it’s revealed what happened. I found the ending hilarious, and it was perfect poetic justice. Even though it isn’t exactly scary, it’s a fun movie though and worth checking out. I give it a 7/10,

The Naked Gun (2025)

“The Naked Gun” is a 2025 comedy/action movie that’s a reboot of the classic ” The Naked Gun” series that stared Leslie Nielsen. The reboot stars Liam Neeson (Taken), Pamela Anderson (Baywatch), Paul Walter Hauser (Cobra Kai), and Danny Huston (American Horror Story).

Frank Drebin Jr. (Neeson) is investigating a crash that’s ruled a suicide, which he believes to be a murder. While investigating, he soon uncovers a plot to destroy the world. Now with his new love interest (Anderson) they must find a way to save the world before it’s too late.

I’m not a big fan of this type of comedy, I think it’s too much in your face, and I’m not really a fan of Liam Neeson either. However, I heard good things about this film and decided to check it out. To my surprise, it’s a good movie. Yes, parts of it are stupid, it’s that type of comedy, but there are several parts that are genuinely laugh at loud funny. It also has a good mix of action, with plenty of fight scenes. The acting is solid across the board, including Pamela Anderson, who I wasn’t expecting much from, but she did a very good job. Overall, it’s a fun watch that the majority of the family will love. It’s more than just a spoof movie. I give it a 7/10.

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.

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

Jackpot! (2024)

“Jackpot” is a 2024 Amazon Prime Original Action/Comedy movie starring John Cena (Blockers), Awkwafina (Crazy Rich Asians), Simu Liu (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), Ayden Mayeri (I Love That for You), and Donald Elise Watkins (Emergency).

It’s the not-so-distant future, and California has created a new law where whoever has won the state lottery has to survive till sundown without being killed. Whoever kills the winner gets to keep the billion plus dollar winnings for themselves. Struggling actress Katie Kim (Awkwafina) unknowingly wins the 3 plus billion-dollar lottery, now she has all of California coming after her. She hires a freelance mercenary (John Cena) to help keep her alive.

John Cena is one of the funniest guys in Hollywood, I’ll see whatever he’s in. Awkwafina is hilarious as well, so these two teamed up, it must be a must watch, right? Awkwafina plays a struggling actress who doesn’t know about the lottery and when she accidentally wins, she doesn’t understand why everyone is trying to kill her. Lucky for her though, John Cena shows up. It’s a fast-paced John Wick style fight just not as brutal, and with more comedy. Cena plays his typical big nice guy roll while beating up people. There’s not a lot of substance to this movie but it makes an entertaining watch. I give it a 7/10

Hot Frosty

“Hot Frosty” is a Netflix Original 2024 Christmas rom/com movie starring Lacy Chabert (Mean Girls), Dustin Milligan (Schitt’s Creek), Joe Lo Trugilo (Paul), and Craig Robinson (The Office).

This is a fresh take on the classic Christmas movie “Frosty the Snowman.” A single woman (Chabert) who owns a local diner puts a scarf on a snow carving, and like Frosty, this snow carving also comes to life. Unlike Frosty though, this snow carving turns into an attractive, buff, naked man (Milligan) who calls himself Jack. She decides to help Jack because she thinks he is a harmless confused man suffering from some sort of amnesia. The longer she spends with Jack the more she starts to believe him and the more she starts to fall for him.

It’s the time of year for the Christmas movies to start rolling out and the majority of them are awful, it’s hard to make a good one, let alone one to become a classic. Yes, the premise of this one is dumb, and it sounds hallmark-esque. It has a solid cast, who does a good job. It’s lighthearted and fun. It’s pretty much what you see is what you get and it’s not one you want to look too much into. Milligan does a good job as the dumb, loving Frosty come to life that the whole town falls in love with. It’s a fun movie that the whole family can enjoy. I give it a 7/10.

Terrifier 3

“Terrifier 3” is a 2024 horror movie and the third installment of Damien Leone’s “Terrifier” series. This one stars Lauren LaVera (Terrifier 2), David Howard Thornton (Terrifier), Samantha Scaffidi (Terrifier), Daniel Roebuck (River’s Edge), and Clint Howard (Ice Cream Man).

Art the Clown (Thornton) is back to wreak havoc once again and finish what he started by killing Sienna (LaVera).

The Terrifier’s are independent films, but they have been gaining more and more popularity as the series goes on. So much so, that the third one has made it to theaters and Art the Clown has become a household name. I have never found any of the Terrifier’s scary, but they are the goriest movies out there and are very unhinged. The third one is no different, so much so that it can be described as sadistic. Just when you don’t think it can get any gorier than the previous one, it manages to do so. This one has some of the wildest scenes I have seen, and also a small nod to the first film. The story line is better than the second one and the brutal scenes are spaced far enough apart that it works. It’s a solid horror movie, and probably the best one in the series. It hints at a fourth one at the end of this one giving us something to look forward to. I give it a 7/10.

Mr. Crocket

“Mr. Crocket” is a 2024 Hulu exclusive horror movie starring Jerrika Hinton (Grey’s Anatomy), Alex Akpobome (Twenties), and Elvis Nolasco (Godfather of Harlem).

Mr. Crocket is a TV kids show host that is Mr. Roger-esque mixed with the set of Pee Wees Playhouse. He believes he has the best interest of kids at heart, so much so that he crawls through the tv of kids who he believes have bad parents and gruesomely murders their parents. Afterwards he takes the kids back with him to his special world to live with him forever.

I like unique movie ideas, and one dealing with a Mr. Rogers type character coming out of the tv and killing parents he finds unworthy is a brilliant concept. There is a little bad acting, and parts almost seem like a spoof of a horror movie and not a real horror movie itself. It got better as it went on however, and the story itself is pretty good. It reminds me a lot of Joe Hills book “NOS4A2”, which is a great book, and has many parallels with this movie. The main character does a great job, he’s like a character from the Jeffersons mixed with Art the Clown. They tease that there is going to be a second one, and I hope so. I would like to see more of Mr. Crocket in the future. Hopefully he can pull an Art the Clown and make it to the big screen. I give it a 7/10.

Speak No Evil

“Speak No Evil” is a 2024 thriller/horror movie from Blumhouse starring James McAvoy (Split), Mackenzie Davis (Terminator: Dark Fate), Scoot McNairy (Argo), and Aisling Franciosi (The Nightingale).

A family with a young daughter is vacationing in Italy when they meet another family with a young boy vacationing as well. They immediately hit it off and decide to visit the family with a young boy at their secluded farm and stay a while once they’re all back home. Only there is something very sinister and dark going on at the secluded farm, and it has deadly consequences.

James McAvoy is an incredible actor who nails every role he plays, and Blumhouse always puts out good movies. This one looked like it would be incredible as well from the previews. It’s a slower burn than what I was expecting, not a whole lot happens the first hour or so. I began to think the only good parts were the ones shown in the preview. The last 40 min or so are great, it takes off and goes hard. My wife guessed early on what was going on, but even knowing doesn’t ruin it. Overall it’s a great movie, would have been better without all the slow buildup. Just go in knowing it gets a lot better, and James McAvoy once again shows off his incredible range. I give it a 7/10.