Pillion

Movie Name: Pillion
Year of Release: 2025
Director: Harry Lighton
Starring: Harry Melling, Alexander Skarsgard, Douglas Hodge, Lesley Sharp, Jake Shears, Mat Hill, Nick Figgis, Zoe Engerer, Jake Sharp, Jacob Carter, Anthony Welsh
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
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Synopsis and Review

Harry Lighton's "Pillion" had its debut at the Cannes Film Festival of 2025, where it won the screenplay prize in the "Un Certain Regard" section of the festival. Since then it has collected a plethora of awards across a variety of film festivals, and it was nominated for three Bafta awards, including Outstanding British Film of the Year. A well deserving collection of awards for what is Harry Lighton's feature directorial debut. The narrative follows the story of Colin, a meek and shy gay man who lives with is parents in the London area. His mom is battling a terminal illness, he works a rather dead-end job, and takes some joy in singing with his dad in a barbershop quartet. During one of his performances at a local pub, he gets a note from Ray, a tall and handsome biker. The two hook up during Christmas, and while Colin eagerly wants to reconnect, Ray simply states he is not around much. They eventually reconnect, and Colin enters into a master/servant type of relationship with Ray, which includes him cooking, cleaning, shopping, and sleeping on the floor, at the foot of the bed. They have a controlled sexual relationship, which also does not include kissing, or any intimacy afterwards. Colin settles into Ray's universe and becomes familiar with his lifestyle, including the group he usually hangs out with. Colin's parents become worried about this new direction in his life, and want to know more about Ray. Ray eventually agrees to have lunch with his parents, which turns awkward very quickly, as they don't understand the dynamics of the relationship between the two men. A few weeks go by, and Colin's mother dies. The unravel he experiences following this event sends him on a path to challenge the dynamics of the relationship, which leaves Ray increasingly uncomfortable.

While the relationship dynamics this film illustrates may not be to everyone's taste, the most remarkable thing about this film is the disarming way in which Harry Lighton illustrates how these two individuals connect, and make a relationship work (without judgement). At least for a while. At the core of this film is also the realization that behind the artifice there has to be something emotionally real and tangible, which ties people together. Otherwise, it's just an empty game that soon runs out of novelty and meaning. While Colin quickly realizes this and wants to progress to something more meaningful in the relationship, Ray avoids exposing himself in any way that will present something more emotionally vulnerable and unfiltered from the rigid rules he has set up in his life. The film traces this path in the relationship between these two people, how something evolves, and how these paths force people to make decisions in which way they want to go and be. For some, it's a question of learning more about who they are, for others is about preserving an illusion of control and detachment. This film smartly asks all the right questions of what we want from a partner, even if it presents them in a master/servant environment, with sex excursions thrown in to spice things up a bit more. There are certainly aspects to these characters that could have been more expanded, but as is, they still come across quite vividly. Harry Melling and Alexander Skarsgard are fantastic, and get solid support from Douglas Hodge and the always fantastic Lesley Sharp. The production team is equally solid, including the formidable score from Oliver Coates, Nick Morris' cinematography, and Grace Snell's costume design. Move past the judgment, and enjoy this relationship tale from Harry Lighton, one that is grounded, pertinent, and asks all the right questions. Worth watching. 

Keeper

Movie Name: Keeper
Year of Release: 2025
Director: Osgood Perkins
Starring: Tatiana Maslany, Rossif Sutherland, Birkett Turton, Eden Weiss
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 5
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Synopsis and Review

These last few years have been particularly busy and prolific for writer/producer/director Osgood Perkins. Following the breakout hit which was "Longlegs", the multi-hyphenate has subsequently released "The Monkey", which was another modest and well reviewed hit, and "Keeper" which largely flew under the radar. And he currently is in post-production for another film to be released this year. "Keeper" follows the narrative of a recent couple consisting of Liz and Malcolm, who go to a cabin in the woods during a weekend to celebrate their one-year anniversary. They're getting close to making it official. Liz is far more cosmopolitan than Malcolm, and one of her closest friends bluntly asks why is she going to a remote cabin with a man she's known for little over a year. When they get to the cabin they encounter a cake left by the caretaker on the kitchen table. They're soon interrupted by Malcolm's loud cousin Darren, who has a model girlfriend in tow, Minka. While the two men go off to briefly chat, Minka tells Liz the cake tastes awful. Even though Liz doesn't like chocolate cake, Malcolm insists she has some. She caves in, and during the night while Malcolm is sleeping, she has haunting visions. She is also drawn to the cake, which she finishes in one sitting, even though she encounters severed fingers inside. Malcolm who is a doctor is called into town due to an emergency with one of his patients. Liz stays behind and strange occurrences start happening. She encounters a ghostly presence of Minka, alongside a woman wearing a plastic bag over her head. Darren shows up again, demanding to be let it in the cabin. While reticent, Liz agrees and following a brief chat, goes and hides in the bathroom. Darren is attacked, but Liz is unaware of the situation, but asks her friend Maggie to come get her. 

"Keeper" is a smaller scale film for Osgood Perkins, particularly when compared with "Longlegs" and "The Monkey". The script written by Nick Lepard, largely takes place in the cabin and its nearby woods. Mr. Perkins is successful at quickly establishing the dynamics between the couple, and their personality traits: the cosmopolitan yet not entirely self assured Liz, and the quieter, sensible, and devoted Malcolm. He also manages to illustrate the environment quite successfully, with the cabin having a retro look to it, which also brings back to mind some horror films of the 1980s. The supernatural elements are added progressively, like preparing a concoction where the unsettling ingredient shows progressively, and not all at once. The sentiments of unease grow for Liz, who feels somewhat trapped in a strange environment, and the more she uncovers, the more unsettled she is, while Malcolm never loses his mild mannered behavior. While all the ingredients for this film are there, and the cooking is done impeccably, the problem lies with the recipe itself. When the final chapter comes along, and the revelation behind all the supernatural events occur, there isn't much substance to it: these events feel underdeveloped, which poses a higher challenge for the creature and visual effects to do the additional work for a story that is poorly put together. Mr. Perkins manages to craft a visually compelling film, with a very talented cast, particularly the always underrated Tatiana Maslany, who has great support from Rossif Sutherland, but try as they might, the narrative just doesn't sustain their talent, nor the horror factor they're trying to convey. Sadly, and unlike "The Monkey", this film also doesn't have much humor to it, which also makes it less palatable. The production team is great, with Edo Van Breemen's score, Jeremy Cox's cinematography, and Danny Vermette's production design, shining through. Mr. Perkins is a solid storyteller, but this script just didn't do his talents enough justice. Watchable, but forgettable.

Lee Cronin's The Mummy

Movie Name: Lee Cronin's The Mummy
Year of Release: 2026
Director: Lee Cronin
Starring: Jack Reynor, Laia Costa, May Calamawy, Natalie Grace, Shylo Molina, Billie Roy, Veronica Falcon, Hayat Kamille, May Elghety, Emily Mitchell, Husam Chadat
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 5
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Synopsis and Review

After establishing himself with his bloody take on the"Evil Dead" franchise, writer/director Lee Cronin is back, this time around tackling a different mythological character from another well known horror/adventure franchise, "The Mummy". The narrative follows the story of the Cannon family, comprised of father Charlie, mother Larissa, and two young kids, Katie and Sebastian. They're stationed in Egypt, as Charlie is an investigative reporter. Katie is taken by a woman known as the Magician, and while the family desperately looks for her, she is never found. The family moves back to New Mexico, and eight years go by, during which time Larissa has gives birth to another girl, though the family never loses faith of Katie being discovered. A cargo plane in Egypt in the meantime crashes, and inside its remains a sarcophagus is uncovered. When archeologists open the sarcophagus, they're horrified to find Katie, wrapped in parchment inscribed with an ancient language. Charlie and Larissa are informed of the development, and they quickly get to Egypt to retrieve her. However they're informed the person that has been uncovered, is not the same girl they once knew. She is in a catatonic state and isn't able to communicate. They bring Katie back to New Mexico, where they have the assistance of Larissa's devout catholic mother, Carmen. Charlie wants to learn more about what has happened to his daughter, as does one of the police officers who investigated the case in Egypt. Charlie eventually discovers that the inscriptions on Katie's skin and on the bandages, are about a Nasmaranian, a demon that destroys and communities. The mummification ritual and the scriptures on the skin manage to contain it. While he is uncovering all this, Katie's behavior becomes more violent, as the entity manifests itself more strongly.

Audiences expecting this film to be an expansion of the universe created by Stephen Sommers' "The Mummy", are in for a radical experience (and departure), since this film is more firmly planted in the "Evil Dead" type of genre, more so than the action/adventure stylings that brought fame to Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, and John Hannah in the aforementioned series. Lee Cronin takes his time establishing the backdrop to the events that start occurring with this family, though once again, not much attention is granted to these characters, beyond the fact that they're parents and hold a job (well loosely hold a job). The traumatic disappearance of the young Katie could have been a situation that would have driven these individuals apart, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Mr. Cronin, much like he did with his version of "Evil Dead", brings the disruptor force into a confined space, with this demonic entity preying on this vulnerable family. The confinement gives the narrative a sense of dread and inescapability, with the progressive violent attacks being heightened by the gore of the situations. The extreme gore and grotesqueness of certain scenes is where the film also falls prey to some sensationalism - at times restraint, suggestion, is far more interesting than going for shock value for the audiences. The film feels unbalanced, as if the director is trying to be analytical and create a thriller about a young girl gone missing, while simultaneously dialing up the grotesque and horrifying elements. These two aspects don't necessarily co-exist very harmoniously, making in the process most of the characters rather bland and forgettable. The cast tries their best with the material they have, with Veronica Falcon and Natalie Grace coming across with the stronger performances. The production team is solid, particularly David Garbett's cinematography, Nick Bassett's production design, and the visual & makeup effects. It's an interesting take on a classical and iconic figure, one that could have benefited from a more integrated storyline. 

They Will Kill You

Movie Name: They Will Kill You
Year of Release: 2026
Director: Kirill Sokolov 
Starring: Zazie Beetz, Patricia Arquette, Paterson Joseph, Heather Graham, Tom Felton, Willie Ludik, Myha'la, David Viviers, Gabe Gabriel, James Remar, Viktoria Korotkova
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 2
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Synopsis and Review

"They Will Kill You" is a production from the Muschietti siblings, who have been responsible for "It" and "The Flash", all under the Warner Bros. banner. The film follows the story of Asia Reaves, whom we first encounter trying to escape her abusive father with her young sister in tow. He soon catches up with them, and following a heated situation, Asia ends up in prison, and her young sister back in the claws of the abuser. 10 years go by, and Asia gets released from prison. She goes after her sister, who is now working at a place by the name of Virgil, an exclusive high-rise in NY. She introduces herself as someone else, a cleaning woman who was supposed to come for a job, and Lily Woodhouse, the manager of the building, explains a bit of the history of the building and its occupants. Everything seems fine, until during the night while Asia is asleep, she's attacked by a slew of individuals. She wards them off, and kills a few in the process, much to their surprise, who were expecting a docile and powerless woman. Lily is furious at the outcome of the situation, and warns Asia there's no escape. Asia in the meantime explains she's there for her sister, and won't leave without her. Much to Asia's surprise and shock, all her attackers come back to life: she hides in the vents of the building while she tries to figure out a strategy to get Maria and escape these killers. Ray, Lily's husband, comes to her rescue, and explains the truth behind the building, his wife, and the attackers. 

These days not many people remember the name Timur Bekmambetov, but twenty something years ago he made a splash stateside with the films "Night Watch" and "Day Watch", which were huge hits in Russia. Those films opened the doors for him to direct "Wanted" which turned out to be his biggest hit so far. He followed "Wanted" with "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" and the remake of "Ben Hur", films that landed with poor reviews and meager audience attendance. Why am I bringing this name into this review? Kirill Sokolov also hails from Russia, and prior to this film he has tackled a few shorts and two feature films, which apparently granted him the keys to this film with a solid cast and great production values. Sadly that's where this film ends. The film has more than obvious references to Quentin Tarantino, Walter Hill, and even Michael Davis' "Shoot 'Em Up", sadly without much of the humor, or point of view these film makers have displayed in their films (well at least Mr. Tarantino and Mr. Hill). There are no characters in this film, just disposable puppets who meet their end in various situations of carnage, which in premise may seem fun, but in reality is not. And it's not funny, because this film doesn't have enough smarts to play with concepts of entitlement, economic disparity, or even racial profiling, instead using violence as a slapstick moment that grows old very quickly. Turns out, exuberant death scenes only mean anything when there's a bit of character development to illustrate why they deserve some of the fate they're (repeatedly) experiencing. What's left after all this is said and done: Zazie Beetz and Patricia Arquette are solid actresses who deserve better material, but who at least get a lion share of attention, while Tom Felton and the underused Heather Graham are just fodder for the killing grinding that occurs during the film. The production team is solid, giving the film enough of a stylized look to make it watchable. That includes Carlos Rafael Rivera's score, Isaac Bauman's cinematography, and Jeremy Reed's production design. This is a formula driven film that doesn't live up to the pretension it has or the films that is inspired by. It's a pass.

Robocop

Movie Name: Robocop
Year of Release: 1987
Director: Paul Verhoeven
Starring: Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Kurtwood Smith, Miguel Ferrer, Ronny Cox, Ray Wise, Robert DoQui, Felton Perry, Paul McCrane, Jesse D. Goins, Dan O'Herlihy, Del Zamora
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
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Synopsis and Review

Few films have managed to become imminently associated with a particular decade, but the 1980s has quite a few of them, including Steven Spielberg's "Indiana Jones" series, Joe Dante's "Gremlins", Robert Zemeckis' "Back to the Future", Ivan Reitman's "Ghostbusters", James Cameron's "Aliens", Tim Burton's "Batman", James Ivory's Merchant Ivory adaptation "A Rom with a View", and the list goes on, but one that is unmissable from that list is Paul Verhoeven's "Robocop". Mr. Verhoeven who at the time had just directed "Flesh + Bood", sped up his career into bigger projects thanks to the success of "Robocop", which originated not quite as interesting sequels, animated shows, and the list goes on. The film follows the story of Alex Murphy, an honest police officer with a wife and a kid, living in Detroit, a city that is at the brink of social and financial collapse. The city has set up an arrangement with a private corporation, Omni Consumer Products, to control and assist the Detroit Police Department that is struggling with salaries (and retention of their police officers), and the non stop crime and violence in the city. Omni wants to add more technology to the Police Department, including a concept for a Robocop. The prototypes are not faring quite so well. Murphy and his partner Anne Lewis, are pursuing criminals, in particular Clarence Boddicker, a violent and sadistic individual who leads a gang, and they have their hands involved in everything. Murphy and Lewis manage to locate Boddicker's gang, but they're separated, and Murphy gets violently killed by the gang. Murphy's remains are assigned to the Robocop project, and he is revitalized as a human/cyborg hybrid. He is brought back to Metro West, and while everyone believes his memories of his former self have been erased, he still remains with traits of his Murphy personality, something that Anne Lewis starts noticing. Another thing everyone starts noticing, is how Robocop wastes no time, and stars battling crime with no ambiguity or fear. That is until he uncovers wrongdoing coming from Omni itself.

"Robocop" features something that has become a stalwart of Mr. Verhoeven's films, particularly the futuristic ones: he embeds his films with social-economical view points which illustrate societal unbalances, political allegories on fascism, how crime prevails across a putrid system that thrives on abusing those with few resources while those in positions of power thrive. "Robocop" which could at first glance go in the direction of a reductive comic book type of approach, meaning formulaic and revenge driven, opts instead to bring questions such as the relationship between humans and technology, ambition walking hand in hand with crime, society collapsing due to greedy corporations, all of these topics wrapped up in what is, in a lot of ways, a modernized western with a lone ranger at its core. Mr. Verhoeven manages to create an entertaining and also very palatable allegory, one that illustrates where societies can in fact go when economic power tilts the direction of government, when crime goes unchecked, particularly as it climbs the economic and political ladder, and how frail and expendable human lives can be in these types of situations. Essentially, how human lives become pawns in a game that is solely focused on money and power, and where human lives register very poorly. It's a film where the director knows he has to entertain and bring an aspect of action and excitement to what is happening, but he does so with a very well positioned critical view of society, peppering the narrative with his particular heightened taste in violence and gore, which once again illustrates just how brutal life and individuals can be. The characters could benefit from extra development, particularly Nancy Allen's Anne Lewis and Ronny Cox's Jones, but the film still manages to pack a powerful punch. The cast is uniformly great, with Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Ronny Cox, Miguel Ferrer, Robert DoQui, Kurtwood Smith, and Dan O'Herlihy, creating strong and memorable performances. The production team is equally top notch, including Jost Vacano's cinematography, Basil Poledouris' score, and William Sandell's production design. It's a classic that hasn't lost any of its power or relevance. Worth watching.

Project Hail Mary

Movie Name: Project Hail Mary
Year of Release: 2026
Director: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Sandra Huller, Lionel Boyce, Milana Vayntrub, Ken Leung, James Ortiz
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
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Synopsis and Review

The directing team of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have been very prolific with the projects they produce, but not so much with the ones they direct themselves. Prior to "Project Hail Mary", their last feature directorial endeavor was "22 Jump Street", which came out in 2014. "Project Hail Mary" is an adaptation of the book with the same title from author Andy Weir (who also wrote "The Martian"), and follows the narrative of a high school teacher by the name of Ryland Grace. We first encounter Ryland waking up from an induced coma inside a spacecraft named Hail Mary. He has no recollection of what has happened and how he's in the middle of space by himself, because the other crew members are dead. As he attempts to get his bearings around the spaceship his memory also starts to return. He remembers he's on a trip intended to reach Tau Ceti, which is 11.9 light-years from Earth. He also recalls that the reason for the trip he's on is a consequence of the discovery of a substance named Astrophage, that is eating away at the Sun's light, and that in 30 years Earth will suffer devastating consequences as a result of a global cooling effect. Ryland was recruited for an international team of scientists because of his work in astrobiology. He is able to uncover that the Astrophage is composed of unicellular organisms that absorb electromagnetic radiation from the sun and expel it for propulsion. While a team is assembled to go on the suicide mission to find a solution for the Astrophage problem, that changes when a few of them die due to an explosion during one of their preparation trials. While Ryland doesn't want to go, he's the only person with the expertise to do something substantial on the expedition, and is placed in a coma against his will. As Ryland recalls all this, he reaches a point on his journey where he encounters an alien spacecraft that eventually makes contact with him, and docks with the Hail Mary. The surviving entity and that whole species is trying to survive the Astrophage dilemma, much like the entire human race. 

When Ridley Scott directed "The Martian" he managed to do something that evades most of his directorial endeavors: he was able to marry a visually compelling narrative, with one that bore just enough character development to entice the viewer to remain focused on the adventures of Matt Damon's character. Andy Weir who wrote "The Martian" and also "Project Hail Mary" places his unlikely heroes in extreme circumstances, and in doing so, finds ways to humanize them, but also reveal their ability for self preservation and to be selfless. His heroes are not martyrs, they're flawed individuals who are attempting to survive, and if possible, save others in the process as well. Both adaptations of Mr. Weir's books are from Drew Goddard, himself a filmmaker (he directed the underrated "The Cabin in the Woods" and "Bad Times at the El Royale"), though this latest adaptation veers off into quasi Disney territory in the way it portrays the alien creature for instance, which Ryland names "Rocky". The film is economical in establishing the context of what is taking place, initially placing Ryland and the viewer in the middle of an enigma - why is he in the middle of space and what is happening. As the narrative unfolds, the picture of who Ryland is becomes clearer, though the supporting characters fare a bit worse, something that had more substance and development in the book. In attempting to compress the details and personality of the book, Mr. Goddard and the film making duo, created what at times feels like a rushed endeavor, in order to get to what they think is the gist of the feature - will they or won't they make it. In the book the getting there, the journey on Earth, reveals more of who these people are, and if also clarifies how this relationship with the alien creature develops. The film introduces a questionable sense of humor, and makes certain situations into rather pedestrian ones, however it does manage to illustrate the challenges and hardship these adventurers are going through, and the bond they develop. At times it borderlines on making the feature into Wall-E meets Ryan Gosling, which isn't necessarily a good thing, but the good taste refrains them from openly going in that direction. The cast is solid, with Ryan Gosling delivering a good central performance, with the fantastic Sandra Huller being fairly underused. The production team is fantastic, including Greig Fraser's cinematography, Daniel Pemberton's score, Charles Wood's production design, and the incredible visual effects from the multiple teams involved in bringing these alien worlds and entities to life. It may not be as compelling as the book that originated it, but it's still a watchable and entertaining film.