A Sprinkle of Christmas

“A Sprinkle of Christmas” is a 2025 Netflix original Christmas rom/com starring Hayley Sales (Deadpool 2), Marshall Williams (Glee), and Ajay Bharti (Death in the Cul-De-Sac).

An up-and-coming baker (Sales) opens up a bakery just in time for Christmas. She receives a scathing review from an anonymous customer. She creates a fake name and responds to the review creating a heated exchange that ends up helping her business. An A list movie star (Williams) hires her for a catering event. As they start to fall for each other, neither one realizes they’ve been arguing with each other under fake names on the restaurant review.

It’s December, so it’s time for Christmas movies. First one for the season I’ve watched is this one. I like the unique story. It ends up being very cheesy and extremely Hallmark-esque with the bad acting. I mean the acting is atrocious outside the two main characters, their acting isn’t the best either but a whole lot better than the supporting actors. The bad dialogue is right in line with the Hallmark movies as well. It’s pretty simplistic. This isn’t to say it doesn’t have its funny parts though. If Hallmark movies are your thing, then this movie is right up your alley. You go in knowing it’s cheesy and the acting isn’t the best, you’ll enjoy this movie. It’s worth the watch going in knowing what to expect. I give it a 6/10.

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.

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.

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.

Under Paris

“Under Paris” is a 2024 original Netflix French horror/action film starring Berenice Bejo (The Artist), Nassim Lyes (Mayhem!), and Aurelia Petit (The Science of Sleep).

A grieving scientist who lost her husband and team due to a shark attack from a giant shark they were studying finds the same shark years later on a radar signal she thought to be lost. The shark has swum up the Seine River in Paris and it proves to be the perfect breeding place for it. A massive triathlon is about to be held using the Seine River, the scientist must now try to stop the shark at all costs before it’s too late.

What better movie to watch than one taking place in Paris as the 2024 Olympics finish up? It’s perfect timing. Now most monster/creature films are cheesy, we know this. This one isn’t any different. It’s a shark trapped in the waters of Paris, very “Anaconda” vibes. However, the story in this one is pretty good, and does a good job getting you invested in it, even if it is on the cheesy side. Downfall is the shark scenes look bad, really bad. Terrible CGI where it is laughable. Overall, it’s worth the watch. Just have it to take it at face value. I give it a 6.5/10

Nowhere

“Nowhere” is a 2023 original Netflix thriller starring Anna Castillo (Wild Flowers), and Tamar Novas (The Sea Inside).

A pregnant woman and her husband flee a worn torn country that is killing women and children by hiding in a shipping container with others who are also fleeing. The Shipping container is stopped and searched which results in her husband being separated from her. She manages to hide while everyone is on the shipping container is gunned down and killed. She thinks the ordeal is over and she is off to safety once the shipping container is placed aboard a cargo ship. That is until, a storm hits, and her container and several others are dumped in the ocean by the storm. She is now floating along, pregnant and alone, waiting for certain death.

I’m not a big fan of foreign movies just because of the lips never matching up with the dubs, but this one isn’t bad since ninety percent of the movie is her by herself in a shipping container. This movie is insane. It is the definition of Murphy’s law. Every time you think it can’t possibly get any worse it does. It has you on your edge of your seat the entire time, and you literally have no idea what to expect next. There are very few movies that I can say accomplish this, and this is one. It’s a perfect thriller for spooky season. I give it an 8.5/10.

The Out-Laws

“The Out-Laws” is a 2023 original Netflix comedy starring Adam Devine (Workaholics), Pierce Brosnan (Tomorrow Never Dies), Ellen Barkin (The Cobbler), Nina Dobrev (Love Hard), Michael Rooker (Guardians of the Galaxy), Richard Kind (Spin City), Lauren Lapkus (The Wrong Missy), and Lil Rel Howery (Uncle Drew).

A strait-laced bank manager (Devine) is excited when he finally gets the chance to meet his fiancé’s parents before their wedding. When his bank gets robbed, he has reason to believe his in-laws are the robbers. After his fiancé gets kidnapped due to old debts, he must now help his in-laws rob the top state of the art bank in order to get enough money to get his fiancé back.

The plot is outlandish with a lot of loopholes, and the comedy is dumb. Which the comedy part is to be expected with Devine. The juvenile dumb comedy is his thing, and he’s good at it. With all that said the movie accomplishes its job by being entertaining. It has several laugh out loud moments. Just don’t look too much into it and take the movie at face value. It’s just a lighthearted, funny movie. I give it a 7.5/10

Cadaver

“Cadaver” is a 2020 original Norwegian Netflix horror movie starring Thorbjorn Harr (Vikings), Thomas Gullestad (The 12th Man), and Gitte Witt (The Sleepwalker).

It’s a post-apocalyptic world. Death, famine, and poverty run rampant in the streets. A mysterious show comes to town promising a free meal with every show for every attendee. A young couple and their daughter go to the hotel where the show is being held for the free meal. They soon find out something much more sinister than a mere show is taking place.

I’m typically not a fan of foreign movies just because of the fact the dubs rarely match up, and the subs never match with the dubs. It just tends to irritate me. This one’s not bad at all and you forget for the most part that it is dubbed. There’s not much out on the horror front so I decided to check this one out. I remember when Netflix first dropped it, it didn’t look appealing to me though. Let’s go ahead and dive into this one.

It starts out looking like one of those weird horror movies that you have no clue what is what like “Mother” or “Infinity Pool.” This one does right its course though and is more straight forward than the artsy weird ones. It is pretty dark and heavy movie, so keep that in mind. The writing is really solid as well as the acting. Its fast paced and keeps your attention throughout the movie as well as keeps you guessing with what is really going on. Overall, it’s a pretty solid movie and worth the watch for any horror fan. I give it an 8/10.

Luther: The Fallen Sun

“Luther: The Fallen Sun” is a 2023 Netflix original crime/drama/thriller currently sitting at number one on Netflix. It stars Idris Elba (Beast), Cynthia Erivo (Harriet), Andy Serkis (Rise of the Planet of the Apes), and Dermot Crowley (Luther).

Luther is on the case of young man who was murdered, the killer feels Luther is getting close and brings some of Luther’s tactics to light sending Luther to prison. Now with more murders coming to light, Luther must escape prison and stop the killer before it’s too late.

Fans of the show “Luther” can rejoice. Everyone’s favorite detective is back. Great thing about this movie is that it’s also a great standalone film as well. If you haven’t seen the show, no problem, it’s the same characters but it doesn’t tie directly into the show. So, you’ll love it if you haven’t seen the show and you’ll love it if you have. I’m personally a fan of the show and was pumped when this movie was first released. It’s fast paced, action packed, and can only deliver the way Luther can. It also teases there may be a sequel, only time will tell. If you are a fan of the show, Alice unfortunately doesn’t make an appearance in this one, maybe the next one. I give it an 8/10.