Movie Review - Weapons

Director: Zach Cregger
Genre: Horror/ mystery
Runtime: 128 minutes
Year: 2025
Starring: Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Benedict Wong, Alden Ehrenreich, Amy Madigan, Justin Long
 
Description: When all but one child from the same class mysteriously vanish on the same night at exactly the same time, a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance.
 
Review: “Weapons” is a horror film directed by Zach Cregger, who also made “Barbarian”. This movie really surprised me with its originality and shocking twists. “Weapons” is no different.

At the start of the movie, we learn that all but one kid from the same class have disappeared. They all vanished at the exact same time in the middle of the night.

The film has a complex, non-linear structure in which the story is told from different points of view. This makes the film unpredictable and captivating. It has a mix of horror and thriller, with elements of dark comedy. It constantly balances tension, terror and humor, avoiding conventional horror tropes.

I praise Zach Cregger for his creative and idiosyncratic storytelling style, which kept me on the edge of my set the entire time. The film is definitely not for everyone and especially towards the end it’s pretty gruesome. It has great performances by Julia Garner and Josh Brolin and I loved the bold approach to the genre.

Please go in with a blank slate, knowing as little as possible about the film. This way the experience is so much better, because it has many unexpected, surprising twists. “Weapons” is unique in its storytelling and content. Get ready to be blown away. My favorite film of 2025 (so far).

Rating: 5/ 5

Movie Review - The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Director: Matt Shakman
Genre: Action/ Science Fiction/ Adventure
Runtime: 114 minutes
Year: 2025
Starring: Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Julia Garner, Ralph Ineson, Paul Walter Hauser, Natasha Lyonne, Sarah Niles, Mark Gadiss
 
Description: Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, the Fantastic Four must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus and his enigmatic herald the Silver Surfer.  
 
Review: Genius Dr. Reed Richards can stretch his body, his wife Sue can turn invisible and create force fields, her brother van burst into flames on command, and their best friend is a walking chunk of granite with massive strength. They are the protectors of Eart No. 828. But then an alien creature, all covered in silver, falls from the sky and tells them the world is doomed. At least, unless Reed and Sue sacrifice their unborn baby to the space god Galactus.
 
They have tried before, to put Marvel’s ‘first family’ on the big screen. The first, from 1994, was never released. And since then we had a financially successful version in 2005 that also got a sequel. The dark reboot, with the strange title Fant-4-Stic, wasn’t a success at all. “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” is definitely the best of the bunch.
 
They didn’t only have to proof that this comic series is filmable at all, but the commercial future of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe rests just a little bit more heavily on its shoulders than on other titles.
 
Director Matt Shakman was also responsible for the most inventive series of the MCU: “WandaVision”. And this film, in my eyes, is great too.
 
The origin story of the Four is quickly rushed through a TV recap. And we can accept that you can still end a superhero movie with a big world-threatening final battle. As long as it’s done right. Shakman and his writers understand it all too well.
 
The film is strong, and this is first and foremost because of the excellent casting of the four main characters. Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm and Ebon Moss-Bachrach all fit their roles very well, but it’s Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm who impresses the most. The dynamic between these characters is convincing, in details and grand gestures. There is bickering, teasing, back and forth irritation. But when it comes down to it, they always choose each other and fight together.
 
The villains were portrayed well, especially Silver Surfer, played by Julia Garner. Because of Johnny Storm’s  immediate fascination with her, it gives the story a chance to delve a little deeper into her background. Which in terms gives her the necessary depth. Galactus is a bit more one-dimensional then, since he just wants one thing.
 
I highly enjoyed “The Fantastic Four: First Steps”. An excellent superhero film and a nice stepping stone to the next chapter in the MCU.
 
Rating: 4,5/ 5

10s Movie Review - The Assistant

Director: Kitty Green
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 87 minutes
Year: 2019
Starring: Julia Garner, Owen Holland, Jon Orsini, Rory Kulz, Migs Govea, Daoud Heidami, Ben Maters, Matthew Macfadyen, Patrick Wilson, Calara Wong, Noah Robbins, Tony Torn, Dagmara Dominczyk, Alexander Chaplin, Bregje Heinen, Devon Caraway, Genny Lis Padilla, James C.B. Gray, Sophie Knapp, Hunter Hojnowski

Description: A searing look at a day in the life of an assistant (Julia Garner) to a powerful executive. As Jane follows her daily routine, she grows increasingly aware of the insidious abuse that threatens every aspect of her position.  

Review: “The Assistant” works best when you go into it as blindly as possible. Not because of big plot twists, but simple because the film only reveals what it’s about bit by bit. However, since it is quite difficult to review a film without being able to elaborate on something, reading the rest of this review is at your own risk. Thematically, the film revolves around the clogged system that resulted in numerous “MeToo outbursts in 2017, which comes as a surprise to both the viewer and the protagonist. Indeed, hints are not exactly sprinkled throughout, although the story does revolve around the details.
The film covers a full work day of a young woman working in a New York office building, where she is the first to arrive and will eventually be the last to leave. Not an unusual day for her. When she asks a co-worker how his weekend was, he asks her the same question. Her answer, “I was here”. Clearly, her work does not allow her a private life. However, the work she does is simple something her superiors feel to good for: from arranging cabs and ordering lunch to doing the dishes and preparing bottles of water for a meeting. All sorts of thankless work for which she is actually overqualified.
Between her activities it gradually becomes clear that she works for a large film company, as an assistant to a powerful film producer. This comes as a surprise, because visually there is nothing to indicate that. The office building shows no trace od the glitz and glamour that we associate with the film industry. There is not even a movie poster on the wall. If Hollywood is the show window of the film industry, then this chilly workplace is the warehouse. The snippets of conversations she overhears are thus not about the creative aspect of the film world, but purely about the business side: markets, contracts and reports. Her job as an assistant is a first step toward a career as a film producer, but it seems that her work is not so much a test of ability as a test of her loyalty.
Remarkably, in carrying out her daily activity, she has virtually no contact with her boss. The man in question is never seen on screen. He is only referred to with ‘he’ and ‘him’. Everyone on the work floor knows who is meant by that. All sorts of things are expected of Jane at work, but perhaps most important is that she is as invisible as possible. So she is quite surprised when in the middle of the day a girl suddenly reports as the new assistant. A strikingly young and attractive girl with no relevant work experience. Add to that the fact that Jane earlier in the office of her boss, found an earring and it suddenly begins to dawn on us what kind of man her boss is. All of this comes together wonderfully in a scene where the assistant wants to blow the whistle on an HR manager. Right at the start of the conversation, the man reassures her, “whatever it is, you can tell me.” And she does, but nothing she says makes an impression on him, after which the conversation soon becomes not about her boss but about herself. It is constantly clear which of the two has the reigns in this conversation. During her long working days, there is never any sign of thanks or appreciation from her co-workers. But at the end of this conversation, she is the one who thanks her interlocutor. For what exactly? Probably out of nothing but simple politeness, which shows that she still has a long way to go in the film industry.
In an earlier scene, we see Jane on the phone speaking to her boss’s complaining wife. The little she says in the process is enough for her to then be scolded by her boss over the phone. In response, she starts writing an apology e-mail, whereupon a co-worker immediately tells her what should be in it. Apparently he knows the drill. He also asks her if she is okay after the telephone tirade, but the question does not seem to come from a genuine interest. He only offers her the opportunity to confirm out loud that nothing is wrong, which she does immediately. Nothing to worry about: the mantra of both power abusers and look-aways.
“The Assistant” is a small film, but because of its realistic portrayal it really makes a great impression.

Rating: 5 / 5

TV Show Review - Dirty John (Season 1)

Season: 1
Genre: Thriller/ Drama/ Crime
Number of episodes: 8
Year: 2018
Starring: Connie Britton, Eric Bana, Juno Temple, Julia Garner, Jean Smart, Alan Ruck

Description: Debra's (Connie Britton) seemingly perfect life is disrupted as she falls for a handsome doctor (Eric Bana) who sweeps her into a whirlwind romance. But her handsome new beau pulls Debra into a sinister game of psychological manipulation.

Review: Giving love a second chance. But what if the seemingly perfect guy turns out to be a sociopath? That’s what’s happening in “Dirty John”.
“Dirty John” is based on the podcast by the American crime journalist Christopher Goffard. He takes on true crime stories. In his first podcast, he focuses on John Meehan.
We meet Debra Newell, a successful interior designer with three grown children and a beautiful house. Through a dating website she meets John Meehan, a charismatic anesthesiologist. Debra falls for him immediately. They are living together within months and married not long after. But Debra’s family doesn’t trust John. And they have good reason for it.
They rush through the beginning of their relationship, but it’s hard to fault that. Because John’s illicit intentions don’t stay hidden very long. That’s good, it has good pace. But it’s pretty hard to understand why Debra is falling for John so hard, because it all goes so fast.
Connie Britton plays Debra, and she is such a talented actress and I always love watching her. But despite Britton’s best effort to bring her character to life, there’s not much going on with Debra. In the beginning, I was hoping for a little more depth in her character, but after seeing the third episode, it was clear what the shows priority was: explore the killer’s point of view and keep the victim scared senseless. It’s not Britton’s fault, her character is just very bland.
Eric Bana plays the titular John. And his performance only pays off when John shows his true colors.
The daughters, played by Juno Temple and Julia Garner, are probably the best part of the show’s acting. Even though their characters are pretty annoying at times, they steal the show. And Jean Smart, playing Debra’s mother, is also very strong. When it comes to the story. I expected so much more. Off course John wasn’t the man that Debra thought she’d married, but what he does to Debra in the period they are together, isn’t all that shocking. I felt no danger, when Debra really was in danger. The true feeling of threat isn’t really present. When it comes to the stalker theme, “You” did a way better job.
The show does scare you in a way, that any guy could be a ‘John’ and women could be lured in easily. But overall, “Dirty John” wasn’t as good as I thought it would be.