Movie Review - The Rip

Director: Joe Carnahan
Genre: Crime/ Action/ Thriller
Runtime: 113 minutes
Year: 2026
Starring: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Steven Yeun, Teyana Taylor, Catalina Sandano Moreno, Sasha Calle, Kyle Chandler
 
Description: A group of Miami cops discover a stash of millions in cash, leading to distrust as outsiders learn about the huge seizure, making them question who to rely on.
 
Review: The film follows a Miami police narcotics squad that stumbles upon a massive drug haul and millions of dollars in cash in an abandoned warehouse. What follows is a psychological game of cat and mouse: the officers must count the money on the spot, but the temptation, greed, and mutual distrust soon take hold. As the walls close in on them and dangerous outsiders get wins of the loot, loyalty within the team crumbles at record speed.

What makes this film so good is the chemistry between Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, who carry this film effortlessly. Their decades-long real-life friendship gives their characters a tangible history and depth. They way their mutual trust slowly begins to crack is a joy to watch. Strong performances across the board, with Steven Yeun and Sasha Calle in particular delivering memorable performances that keep the group’s dynamic constantly sharp.

There is constant underlying tension. Director Joe Carnahan creates an intense, claustrophobic atmosphere. And as soon as the situation spirals out of control, the film treats you to raw, explosive actions scenes with fantastic sound design.

The moral dilemma is built up brilliantly in the first half, the film leans a bit too heavily on familiar Hollywood action clichés as it approaches the finale. Although the plot twists are really good.

“The Rip” is a must-watch for fans of intense crime thrillers in the style of “Heat” and “Training Day”. It’s one of the better and most ambitious action movies Netflix has released recently.

Rating: 4/ 5

Movie Review - Mickey 17

Director: Bong Joo Ho
Genre: Science Fiction/ Comedy/ Drama/ Adventure/ Action
Runtime: 137 minutes
Year: 2025
Starring: Robert Pattinson, Mark Ruffalo, Toni Collette, Steven Yeun, Naomi Ackie
 
Description: During a human expedition to colonize space, Mickey 17 (Robert Pattinson), a so-called “expendable” employee, is send to explore an ice planet.
 
Review: South Korean filmmaker Bong Joo Ho follow up his masterpiece “Parasite” with lighter and less layered viewing material. “Mickey 17” is a science fiction comedy more in tune with “Okja” and contains similar satirical ingredients to “Snowpiercer”. However, the whole thing has nowhere near the drama of the latter film, or the emotional impact of “The host”. But no worry, “Micky 17” is highly entertaining popcorn cinema.

The new Bong Joon Ho seems like a blend between “Moon” by Duncan Jones and Paul Verhoeven’s “Starship Troopers”. The story came from the mind of American writer Edward Ashton. Protagonist is Mickey Barnes, a no to savvy guy who signed on to pursue the unappealing profession of Expendable. That means he is employable for the most dangerous jobs or experiments that are usually deadly. If Mickey dies, they just print a new version of, preserving memories.

When Mickey is sent to the ice planet Nifelheim with a crew of colonists led by Kenneth Marshall and his manipulative wife Ylfa, something goes wrong. Mickey, who is now on his seventeenth life, ends up in a rift and is written off. However, he manages to survive, returns to his base and collides with Mickey 18. This is a serious problem, as Multiples are not allowed to stay alive, by the rules of Marshall’s regime.

Bong’s critique of neofascism, which was also covered in “The Host” and “Snowpiercer”, takes on a more cartoonish approach here. The ultra-narcissist Kenneth Marshall, who seems like a parody mix of Donald Trump and Elon Musk, is the biggest example of that. Mark Ruffalo  really did a great job doing so (he is a well-know Trump-hater). Robert Pattinson is also very good as Mickey Barnes.

Bong has set the bar so high with all his past work that it becomes difficult to consider “Mickey 17” one of his great films. Well-made? Yes. Entertaining? Most definitely. Witty? For the most part. Interesting? Overall, yes. The film touches on topical themes and works them into an entertaining popcorn sci-fi adventure. But also buries them under superficiality and silly stuff. A fun film, but it’s not one for the books.  

Rating: 3,5/ 5

Movie Review - Nope

Director: Jordan Peele
Genre: Horror/ Science Fiction/ Mystery
Runtime: 130 minutes
Year: 2022
Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Michael Wincott, Steven Yeun, Wrenn Schmidt, Brandon Perea, Keith David
 
    
Description: The residents of a lonely gulch in inland California bear witness to an uncanny and chilling discovery.

Review: Director Jordan Peele manages to give his film projects something special. All of them are pleasant genre films that do not rely on scare effects or other cheap effects, but are completely based on atmosphere, mutual tension and subcutaneous fear. At the same time, the director constantly holds up a mirror to us by addressing themes such as racism and the state of American society, without beating us over the head with them. Peele’s third film is not thematically a repeat of “Get Out” and “Us”.

Everyone knows the first well-known footage of a black man on a galloping horse from 1878. Its creator became world famous, but no one knows the name of the rider even though it was really the first real movie star. In “Nope”, his (fictional) descendants are a brother and sister who manage a horse range. Their noble animals are used for movies and commercials, but when OJ shows up with his horse for the filming of a commercial, he is hardly taken seriously and is even belittled.

Six months earlier, the two lost their father during an unexplained shower of objects. Their father was killed by a coin that pierced his eye, while a horse was pierced by a falling key. When OJ witnesses a strange presence in the sky one afternoon, it takes little effort on his part to convince his sister Emerald. They decide to capture the phenomenon on camera, but just at that moment, let every electrical appliance fail. With the help of a tech salesman, they still try to get a handle on the matter.

When OJ is chased one evening, gets out of his car and then looks up at the sky, his brief response is a confident ‘nope’, after which he safely gets back into his vehicle. With this, Peele seems to want to say that you shouldn’t look for something behind everything, which is in star contrast wo the messages he wanted to convey with his other two movies.

One of OJ’s potential customers is a former child star who once had an extremely traumatic experience with a murderous and vengeful chimpanzee. Why exactly Peele brings up this storyline remains somewhat unclear, but he seems to want to convey that man is powerless in the face of nature. This ties in with the manhunt that OJ and Emerals make for the unknown presence above their ranch. And balloons are somewhat of a factor as well, but I will not elaborate on that, for spoilers sake.

Jordan Peele proofs with “Nope” that he doesn’t only have a great talent for content, but also as a true visionary. The visuals are impressive. With its leisurely build-up and slow pace, “Nope” may not fully appeal to seasoned horror fans, but it’s certainly a skillfully crafted unconventional blend of genres that colors delightfully outside the lines. I truly loved “Nope” and considering Jordan Peele as one of the best modern horror directors.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

Movie Review - Minari

Director: Lee Isaac Chung
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 115 minutes
Year: 2021
Starring: Steven Yeung, Yeri Han, Alan S. Kim, Noel Cho, Yuh-Jung Youn, Will Patton

Description: A Korean family starts a farm in 1980s Arkansas.

Review: If there was a film that stole the hearts of many voters during the 2021 film awards season, it was “Minari”. Especially Yuh-Jung Youn, who won the Oscar for best female supporting actor, grabbed everyone with her role as a contrarian grandmother. I was looking forward to this movie so much and it didn’t disappoint.
After years of working on the assembly line to determine the sex of newborn chicks, Jacob has had enough. Without proper consultation with his wife, he take the whole family in tow. And to the place where he bought a piece of land from his savings. The plan: Jacob is going to grow real Asian vegetables for the growing market of immigrants who, like him, have made the move from Korea to America. If he can strike the right sales deals with Asian greengrocers and supermarkets is just part of the pressure on Jacob and his family.
His wife Monica doesn’t like the new residential location in Arkasas at all, son David has a weak physical condition and the mother-in-law Soonja is brought into the house with all its consequences. Director Lee Isaac Chun molded all kinds of personal experiences from his youth into a story about family, hard work and dreams of a better future. And the affection that the director feels for his own former family situation, sometimes against his will, whines through completely.
It is one of those stories that doesn’t seem to have much to say, but that creeps up on you because you start to love the different characters. Even if they have a hard time getting along. Yuh-Jung Youn won her Oscar for playing a smiley old hag who takes pleasure in making fun of her grandson when he has wet the bed. And it’s fantastic. Of course it also helps that the little boy himself, Alan S. Kim is too cute and plays along with the banter. You laugh at Grandma’s antics, but you also sympathize with David’s pain. Ans slowly you also see a bond forming between them.
It wasn’t just Yuh-Jung Youn who was a standout in the race for the awards. Steven Yeun was the first actor of Asian descent to be nominated for the Oscar for best leading actor. Totally deserved. He has the tricky task of playing a dreamer who stoically persists in all adversity. The weight on his shoulders builds and builds, long past you think it’s getting too much for him.
“Minari” has a velvety visual style, with a bright use of color and a beautiful play with in incidence od natural light. And the music completely supports the melancholy, yet hopeful tone. The entire form exudes lighthearted arthouse, in which serious matters are given the proper weight and a laugh alternates with deep seriousness.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2017 - #82: Okja

Director: Joon-ho Bong
Genre: Adventure/ Drama/ Science Fiction
Runtime: 118 minutes
Year: 2017
Starring: Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano, Steven Yeun, Lily Collins, Jake Gyllenhaal, Giancarlo Esposito

Description: Meet Mija, a young girl who risks everything to prevent a powerful, multi-national company from kidnapping her best friend - a massive animal named Okja.

Review: Cannes 2017 got criticized because it showed two Netflix original films. But thankfully the boohs the audience gave when seeing the Netflix logo, turned into smiles and tears, because “Okja” is an endearing film.
Lucy Mirando thinks she has the solution for the world wide food problem and introduces the so-called super pig. Farmers all over the world are given the task to take care of those pigs. It’s a ten year project, where eventually the pigs will become food.
Okja is one of those super pigs, who grows up with Mija, in a beautiful green environment in Korea. Okja is as big as a hippo now and enjoys his life in freedom. He is sweet and loyal, yet clumsy and happy. The connection between Mija and Okja is heartwarming. But the Mirando Corporation disturbs their careless life when they take Okja away.
“Okja” calls for many different emotions. It puts a smile on your face, gets you excited, touches you and gets you to think. The acting is somewhat over-the-top, but fits the setting perfectly. Tilda Swinton and Jake Gyllenhaal excel here.
The message of the film is strong, if you are an animal lover or not. “Okja” is a great film, watch it on Netflix now!

Rating: 4/ 5

TV Review: "The Walking Dead"Season 6

Genre: Drama/ Horror/ Thriller
Year: 2015/ 2016
Number of Episodes: 16
Starring: Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Lauren Cohan, Steven Yeun, Chandler Riggs, Michael Cudlitz, Daniah Gurira, Melissa McBride, Lenny James, Christian Serratos, Sonequa Martin-Green, Josh McDermitt, Ross Marquand, Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Description: Rick Grimes leads a group of survivors in a world overrun by the walking dead. Fighting the dead, fearing the living.

Review: The season starts with Rick and his crew trying to assimilate into the Alexandria group. A lot of new faces, non as interesting as any of the old gang. Denise and Aaron are the only ones that were likeable and I could see them in Rick’s group.
There are a lot more introductions in season 6. Besides the Alexandria people, we also meet the Wolves, people from Hilltop and Negan’s associates. Especially the last had us on the edge of our seats, because who was this Negan character? More about him later. Some drama: Maggie being pregnant, Rick and Michonne hooking up, Abraham and Rosita breaking up, Carl losing an eye. You gotta love the drama.
The biggest shock was Glenn’s death (Episode 3: Thank You) , or what turned out not to be his death. They left us believing Glenn died a horrible death, for a couple of episodes. Everyone cried! Then to later find out it was someone else who died and Glenn was still alive (Episode 7: Heads Up). Don’t get me wrong, I like Glenn and I’m happy he’s still around. But what a twist it would have been if he had really died at such an unpredictable point in the season.
The Morgan episode (Episode 4: Here’s Not Here) I didn’t really like. I think most people did, but it was my least favorite episode of the season. I think Morgan is an interesting character and I wanted to know more about him, what he did after parting ways with Rick. But the episode was very slow.
The episode where Daryl, Sasha and Abraham first meet the Saviors (Episode 9: No Way Out) and where the people left in Alexandria are trying to find a way through all the walkers, was probably the best, bloodiest and most exciting episode of the season.
Later we meet the Hilltop Colony (Episode 11: Knots Untie) and they tell Rick and his people they have been working for Negan in order to stay alive. This made me even more intrigued, I wanted to find out who Negan was. But I knew I wasn’t going to see him anytime soon.
When Rick plans on a surprise attack on the Savior’s compound (Episode 12: Not Tomorrow Yet) we think we will see Negan, but off course we don’t. Carol and Maggie get captured and in the next episode (Episode 13: The Same Boat) we meet some of Negan’s people. Another pretty bloody episode, Maggie and Carol kick some ass in this one.
All these events lead us to the 90 minute season finale (Episode 16: Last Day on Earth) and our long awaited introduction to Negan. In this final episode Rick, Abraham, Eugene, Sasha and Carl are driving their RV to Hilltop, to get Maggie to a doctor. She is having pains and isn’t doing well. Everywhere they go, roads are blocked by Negan’s people. In the meantime Daryl, Rosita, Glenn and Michonne are captured and Morgan is looking for Carol. Did it need 90 minutes, I don’t think so, but it was a great episode. Especially the last 10 minutes. We finally meet Negan, played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Morgan kills it, he is fantastic as Negan, who might possibly be the best villain the show has had. Rick and his people are all lined up, sitting on their knees. One of them is going to meet Lucille, Negan’s barb wired baseball bat. When Negan starts hitting, we see it from the point of view of the victim. We don’t know who it is and that’s exactly where they leave us.
Many people are angry and didn’t like the finale. I loved it. I always like cliffhangers, because they leave me wanting more. This makes me even more excited for season 7. They want us to talk about “The Walking Dead” and that is exactly what we are going to do. Speculate about who Negan killed and why he choose this person. I think it’s either Eugene, Daryl or Abraham. In might be Glenn, because in the comics it’s Glenn. But we all know “The Walking Dead” loves twists and surprises.

Top 5 Thursday: Characters from "The Walking Dead"

Yesterday I did a pic spam featuring one of the actors from this amazing show. Now I’m giving you my five favorite characters from “The Walking Dead”.

5. Rick Grimes
The leader of the group and that’s a big responsibility. But he’s doing an OK job so far. Rick would do anything for his family and the members of their group. I think it’s tough to stay sane in a situation like this, but Rick manages.

4. Glenn Rhee
He kind of reminds me of Hurley from “Lost”. A guy you just can’t hate, everybody likes him. And Glenn is very brave and honest.

3. Dale Horvath
Dale is a loyal and wise man. He’s the guy you can always rely on. I liked him in combination with Andrea. It really broke my heart when Dale died, I actually cried. He just wanted everybody to be save, instead he had to give is life for it.

2. Maggie Green
I liked her from the beginning. She is a tough girl and ver loyal to Glenn and all the other survivors in the group.

1. Daryl Dixon
Not at first, but Daryl grew on me somehow. I especially liked the part where he was trying to find Sophia. Daryl has a big mouth, but maybe even a bigger heart.

They Almost Made the Top 5: T-Dog, Andrea, Carol Peletier