Movie Review: Obsession

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A solid horror movie that takes a fresh approach to an old concept, but a slow start and some pacing issues near the third act make the movie feel a bit too long. While the basic plot is more-or-less the “love potion gone wrong” trope, there is an often-unsettling supernatural element in this film that really makes the story disturbing. Most of this is kept intentionally vague, which works out fantastically because overly explaining what’s happening would ruin the mystery. (Although there’s a few things that could’ve used a little more clarification.) The acting is solid, with Michael Johnston pulling off a tricky role of being both a likable man in over his head and a predator taking advantage of a messed-up situation. The true standout of the film is Inde Navarette, who must come off as an unpredictable and sometimes terrifying presence while always maintaining the feeling that she’s just an innocent victim. The score is fairly simplistic but does some heavy lifting to induce dread at all the right moments.

*** out of *****

Movie Review: Disclosure Day

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A mostly entertaining sci-fi film that struggles with pacing issues and story that isn’t very compelling outside of all the mystery, but thankfully much of that is balanced out by some strong acting and likable characters. The plot primarily follows two main characters. One feels more grounded and seems to lean into cloak and dagger territory. The other is more of a mystery and what appears to be a supernatural element. While the espionage stuff is fine, the other story is much more interesting and makes returning to the first story a bit of a chore. Once the two stories merge, the film starts to pick up but then stalls out and begins to drag. And after all of that, the payoff that the whole plot was setting up falls surprisingly flat. (There’s also a storyline running in the background about a potential World War III that never feels all that important and doesn’t gets paid off in any meaningful way.) Josh O’Conner and Colman Domingo are both good in their respective roles, but neither really seem to totally justify why they’re so important to the plot. Emily Blunt, however, is phenomenal in her role, and her character is the most interesting one in the film. Unfortunately, Colin Firth’s big bad isn’t quite menacing or interesting enough to be all that engaging. The few action sequences are decent, but fairly short. The CG looks good but is clearly CG, particularity the animals that have major importance to the story. The film also tries to dig into some major philosophical questions, but in the end, it just glosses over them.

**1/2 out of *****

Movie Review: Masters of the Universe (2026)

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The latest adaption of the popular action figure/animated series is a big-screen action/comedy that ultimately doesn’t pull off either genre very well. The plot is pretty straightforward and can be guessed fairly easily by watching any of the trailers. After a solid opening to the story, the film becomes a bit cringe-worthy during the Earth sequences. (There’s a quite a few big plotholes that the movie quickly brushes past and hopes that nobody notices.) Once the story returns to Eternia, things do pick up…but not enough. One of the biggest problems is that Adam isn’t a very engaging protagonist. Granted, this is supposed to be his hero’s journey, but it never quite feels like he comes into his own. Most the other heroes are fine, while Idris Elba outshine everyone. The villains are all cartoony, which is not surprising considering the source material. While overall Skeletor is an intimidating big bad, he often leans into camp that feels like a blend of his animated incarnations and Dr. Evil from the “Austin Powers” films. While the action sequences are occasionally pretty cool, but overall, they’re either overly CG aerial battles or mediocre bloodless sword fights. The film features a lot of humor, and although some of it works, much of it is just awkwardly placed. There are two mid-credits scenes and a post-credit. The first two are worth it for fans of the franchise, but the last one wasn’t worth sitting around and waiting for.

**1/2 out of *****

Movie Review: Scary Movie (2026)

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Despite a few good laughs and the return of most of the cast from the first two films in the series, the sixth “Scary Movie” falls flat mostly by being too referential to that cast and elements of those films while massively overdeveloping the new cast and the story. Granted, the film mostly parodies the plot of the fifth “Scream” film, but at least that had more success creating a new cast of characters to move the franchise forward. This movie also references a handful of modern horror films, but many of them feel shoehorned in and feel like a cheap attempt to feel modern. While it is nice to have the returning characters back along with some fun nods to the first entries in the franchise, the constant barrage of callbacks to those movies starts to erode that goodwill. The film runs out of steam entering the third act, at which point it becomes a chaotic mess full of callbacks and meta references before wrapping up in a fairly unsatisfactory way. There are some mid-credits scenes, but the first wasn’t worth sticking around for and I didn’t stay for the second. (And apparently that parodies a film I haven’t seen, so that works out.)

** out of *****