Writer Ohm Bauman goes to The Bilberry Woods Hotel in rural Ireland to scatter his parents’ ashes. After a girl he meets goes missing, he searches the hotel, where he learns that the building and the people it inhabits hold deep, sinister secrets. Directed by Damian McCarthy of Oddity (2024) and Caveat (2020) and starring Adam Scott of Parks and Recreation and Severance, Hokum continues in McCarthy’s work of proving there is nothing more sinister than the deepest pit of blackness inside of man.

Like Oddity and Caveat, McCarthy seeks to display that seemingly ordinary people can harbor true evil within themselves, while using witches, ghosts, and possessed golems as the boogeymen as representations of those evils. I see these three as an unofficial trilogy in that sense, all working together to strengthen that central idea. All three isolate their protagonist in rural Ireland, all three depict a violent crime against women, and all three use supernatural entities to personify the evil of those crimes.

The use of the supernatural is fascinating to me, as in each case, I often found myself wondering if the hauntings were a hoax. To me, paranormality works in two ways: a person can be haunted, and an environment can be haunted. A person being haunted usually harkens back to a past traumatic event that protagonists have to come to peace with and grow from. Here, Ohm is haunted by the ghost of his mother, who died from a gunshot when he was young. He carries the guilt of her death with him as he sees her ghost throughout the film. The environment being haunted can relate to several things, but here, it serves as a personification of evil. Without spoiling the ending of the movie, the witch that haunts the hotel chains Ohm and another man up, and only one of them is dragged to the underworld.

With so much of the film taking place in the hotel, and in particular, one room of the hotel, McCarthy makes the most of his space. Countless shots follow Ohm traversing the room, and we are peeking at the background, trying to see if there is something out of the ordinary. While a lot of the jumpscares ended up being telegraphed in a way like this, I still found them to be quite effective, with some getting physical reactions out of me. Beyond the jumpscares, the atmosphere is incredibly tense, especially as the movie hits its second act. Once Ohm returns to the hotel to look for the missing woman, Fiona, the movie fully clicks into gear. The movie is dark, and it utilizes its negative space well, making you never feel safe in a scene until the next one starts, only to start that cycle all over again.

I’d be remiss not to talk about how well Adam Scott works in Hokum. His bitter, cynical Ohm carries a lot of trauma with him, which influences his cynical work as a writer. What I found particularly interesting is how well adept Scott is at burying his trauma, only opening up after a few drinks. He’s abrasive, which is off-putting at times, but it makes his quest to find the missing Fiona all the more believable as he goes against all conventional wisdom to find her truth. His performance is nuanced and emotive, which effectively drives the story and heightens the fear.

Concluding Thoughts

Hokum is tense and frightening, making great use of its rural setting, and focuses on isolation. Damian McCarthy crafts a terrifying mystery, again showcasing the depths of evil. He is quickly becoming one of my favorite rising voices in the genre. Adam Scott delivers an incredibly nuanced and rich performance as Ohm. If you haven’t seen it already, make Hokum a priority watch.

On this episode of The Film Box Podcast, Connor and Aaryn are joined by special guest Marcel Urena to celebrate the 35th anniversary of one of only 3 Big 5 winners at the Oscars and a generational detective/serial killer movie: The Silence of The Lambs, directed by Jonathan Demme and starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins, from 1991.

If you like this episode, give us a follow and leave a rating! It really helps us out and we appreciate it immensely.

Check Marcel out on TikTok! https://www.tiktok.com/@marcelsmoviesandmore

Follow us on TikTok for content from this pod and other great videos: https://www.tiktok.com/@filmboxpodcast

Follow The Film Box Podcast: https://linktr.ee/filmboxpod

Check out our other socials:
Twitter: https://x.com/FirstPicHouse
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thefilmboxpodcast/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefirstpicturehouse/
Also, follow us now on BlueSky! https://bsky.app/profile/firstpicturehouse.bsky.social

Check Out Our Letterboxd Profiles!
Aaryn: https://letterboxd.com/asouza16/
Connor: https://letterboxd.com/cnnrjmsn/Marcel
Marcel: https://letterboxd.com/marcelsmovies/

Hashtags: #podcast #thesilenceofthelambs #anthonyhopkins #jodiefoster #horrormovie #movie #moviepodcast

Back in November, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment announced they were releasing for the first time 'All The President's Men' on 4k to celebrate the 50th anniversary of it's release. Upon the announcement, Aaryn pre-ordered it and it just came in. Join him as he unboxes it for the first time to see what it looks like in person!

Follow us on TikTok for content from this pod and other great videos: https://www.tiktok.com/@filmboxpodcast

Follow Our Podcast The Film Box! https://linktr.ee/filmboxpodcast

Check out our other socials:
Twitter: https://x.com/FirstPicHouse
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thefilmboxpodcast/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefirstpicturehouse/
Also, follow us now on BlueSky! https://bsky.app/profile/firstpicturehouse.bsky.social

Check out our website!

https://firstpicturehouse.com/

Check Out Aaryn's Letterboxd Profile!
Aaryn: https://letterboxd.com/asouza16/

Hashtags: #allthepresidentsmen #dustinhoffman #alanpakula #robertredford #4k #4ksteelbook #steelbook #physicalmedia #unboxingvideo

On this episode of The Film Box Podcast, Aaryn, Connor and Jasmine come together to talk about ‘Project Hail Mary’, the brand new sci-fi classic starring Ryan Gosling and Sandra Huller and directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Let’s get into it!

If you like this episode, give us a follow and leave a rating! It really helps us out and we appreciate it immensely.

Follow us on TikTok for content from this pod and other great videos: https://www.tiktok.com/@filmboxpodcast

Follow The Film Box Podcast: https://linktr.ee/filmboxpodhttps://linktr.ee/filmboxpod⁠

Follow Jasmine on Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@finalgirljasmine

Check out our other socials:
Twitter: https://x.com/FirstPicHouse
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thefilmboxpodcast/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefirstpicturehouse/
Also, follow us now on BlueSky! https://bsky.app/profile/firstpicturehouse.bsky.social

Check Out Our Letterboxd Profiles!
Aaryn: https://letterboxd.com/asouza16/
Connor: https://letterboxd.com/cnnrjmsn/
Jasmine: https://letterboxd.com/thecinesaint/

Hashtags: #projecthailmary #ryangosling #moviereview #movies #moviepodcast #sandrahuller #scifimovie #andyweir #phillord #christophermiller

To start, the absolute best thing about this movie is its cast. From Corenswet down to the minor side characters, this movie knocked the cast out of the park, finding actors who knew how to embody the characters they were portraying. David Corenswet is going to go down as one of the best Superman portrayals next to Christopher Reeve, with how well he blends the sincerity and earnestness of both Clark Kent and Superman. Rachel Brosnahan is excellent as Lois Lane, as she commands the screen in each of her scenes. Her and Corenswet’s chemistry was off the charts, and I personally believe it should set the standard for how iconic couples are cast in the future. 

Nicholas Hoult is one of my favorite actors, and he truly embodied the hate and envy Lex Luthor has for Superman. He is diabolical and legitimately evil, and also commands the screen in a way that Lex should. The Justice Gang members Nathan Fillion (Guy Gardner- Green Lantern), Edi Gathegi (Mr. Terrific), and Isabela Merced (Hawkgirl) crushed it in their small roles. Gathegi, in particular, elevated the story and created some of the most fun moments in the theater. The best I can say is that in their small roles, I was hoping to see more, and now I’m looking forward to the next time I can see them.

James Gunn has truly cemented himself in a tier above when it comes to comic book directors. It was a bold, creative decision to start a new universe not with an origin story and to introduce us to a universe already lived in. To some, I can see how that would be an issue as characters exist without introduction, and if you’re not familiar with them coming into the movie, you probably aren’t coming out of this movie knowing more about them. But for me, someone who enjoys these movies and grew up with comics and the animated shows and movies, this felt like a comic story ripped right from the pages and put onto the big screen. 

I was never the biggest fan of Zack Snyder’s overly gritty and cynical take on Superman. I didn’t like how alien he felt to his fellow humans, and I didn’t like the constant religious metaphors. The difference between these two iterations is so different, they feel like two separate characters. This Superman is one full of hope, full of love, and full of compassion. He stops in the middle of fights with giant monsters to save squirrels and dogs, and believes in the safe preservation of monsters instead of trying to kill them. In one of the best scenes of the movie, he and Lois talk about their different outlooks on the world, and Lois says that he believes everyone and everything is beautiful. He says that’s the real punk rock. He truly inspires hope for the world around him, and even when the world turns its back on him, he never loses that hope or humanity. Having Krypto be such a major part of the story added a layer of relatability to him as well. I mean, who amongst us wouldn’t fly against a black hole to save their dog?

In terms of boldness, Superman does take massive swings, with not all of them connecting. There is a lot of information that is thrown at the audience in the first chunk of the film, with Gunn trusting the audience to retain it all. Superman has been active for years, his conflict with Lex Luthor has ripened to a point where Lex has studied his moves enough to come up with counters, and metahumans have existed in this world for decades at this point. Visually, I appreciated the attempts the movie made to differentiate itself from the grounded movies the studio had been releasing earlier. While some shots weren’t pleasing and some sequences caught me off guard stylistically, I will never fault the creative team behind a movie for being unapologetically behind their vision. 

Their vision led to some breathtaking scenes of Superman action. His and the Justice Gang’s fight with the kaiju, his fight with Ultraman and the Engineer at the baseball field, and his final fight with Ultraman and Lex’s raptors are up there as some of the best choreographed scenes for a comic book movie in a while, in my honest opinion. I am not lying when I said there is a moment towards the end that brought tears to my eyes with how incredible the action was, with how the music was swelling. 

In terms of being unapologetic, this movie is also incredibly political, to the point where it would feel wrong not to address in this climate. One of the driving forces of the story is how Superman intervenes in a conflict in the Middle East between the fictional military power Boravia and the smaller, weaker Jarhanpur. It is a clear allegory for the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine, and it is incredibly bold and refreshing to see Gunn take a stance on the topic. He hasn’t shied away from heavy topics like American Interventionism and proxy wars in The Suicide Squad, but this is making a firm stance on the topic. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

Superman is everything I was hoping it would be. Yes, I had high hopes, and while it is imperfect, I came out of the theater with so much hope. The cast is excellent from the top down, the story is as entertaining as it is rich with lore, and it truly feels like what a comic book movie should be. I completely understand, though, that some choices the movie makes won’t work for everyone, and that’s ok. Movies should be subjective, and there shouldn’t be a right or wrong opinion to have. I happened to love Superman, and I hope you come out feeling a similar way. 

5/5

If you have suggestions for movies we should check out, email suggestions@firstpicturehouse.com!

Fountain of Youth opens right in the middle of what seems to be a heist gone wrong featuring Luke Purdue (Krasinski) as he tries to lift a painting from criminals in Thailand. In what's an incredibly elaborate sequence, Luke evades capture and fights off bandits in a solidly impressive set piece I've come to expect from someone like Ritchie. His action fingers are all over the set pieces of this film. In those respects its impressive. But through all the action and stunt work that get's audiences right into the thick of it, I felt there was something missing. A particular "sauce" that brings films like these together. And unfortunately that lies with Krasinski and his performance. Treasure hunting films rely on the lead to have a particular "it factor" to work. Somewhere around what Nicolas Cage does in National Treasure or Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones.

After watching Mission: Impossible and then moving to this film, it was clear that someone like Tom Cruise or Cage or Ford bring an intangible juice to films that Krasinski just doesn't have as an action star. Don't get me wrong, he can be particularly charismatic in a The Office-type role. But here it just feels off. Sure he can pull off all the moves and looks the part. But the intangibles just aren't there. It's like watching Russell Wilson play QB in 2024. The parts may be there and the name certainly gets recognition, but he just can't do what a Lamar Jackson or a Patrick Mahomes can. Not anymore at least.

After Luke gets away with the stolen painting, he encounters Esme (Gonzalez), a mysterious somebody that flags as an ancient protector a la "Brotherhood of the Cruciform Sword" from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade almost immediately. She attempts to take the painting from Luke but he inevitably gets away, setting up the films overarching chase. Luke then goes to meet his sister Charlotte Purdue (Portman), a former treasure hunter turned museum curator going through a divorce. He tries unsuccessfully to recruit her to his team of hunters, in which case he steals another painting and Charlotte chases after him, inevitably getting fired for supposedly being involved, in which event she joins the crew that includes Domhnall Gleeson, Laz Alonso and Carmen Ejogo in the search for the Fountain of Youth.

All these plot beats play extremely by-the-book, as if lifted from every other film of it's type throughout history. Fountain of Youth plays extremely predictably in that sense. You pretty much know exactly how things will play out well before they do. That could be excused if the characters work. But Krasinski and Portman have exactly zero chemistry as the lead sibling duo the film hinges on. Portman especially feels rather flat which was disappointing given that she's an incredible actress.

A lot of the issues that arise can fall down onto Guy Ritchie. He fails to get the most out of the cast he's presented with. The film, while having some really cool set pieces that he's known for, does little to maintain interest in the slower moments. Ritchie's been on a sort of "one for you, one for me" schedule and this really feels like one for the studio. Too often they go through the motions of creating a film that satisfies corporate analytics and what the studio says the audience will like versus making a film that actually appeals to people.

The end product becomes something that's just "enjoyable enough". The set pieces provide enough eye candy that'll keep you interested, but not much more. Those set pieces, though, are cool and feel like the type of Guy Ritchie film audiences have come to expect. It's just everything between those moments that leave much to be desired. I feel that Fountain of Youth is an unfortunate case of eye candy that passes the "look who's involved" test much more than the "look what these people made" test.

3/5

If you have suggestions for movies we should check out, email suggestions@firstpicturehouse.com! 

His production company, Atomic Monster, recently merged with Blumhouse in January 2024. The deal brings Wan back creatively to the beautiful beast he helped create with Leigh Whannel back in 2004. As expected with the news breaking so recently, there hasn’t been any traction on Saw XI, but I don’t think it will be long before we hear the announcement that a script is being developed and production is being set in motion. The original plan for Saw XI was to be released by the end of September 2025, but disputes between Twisted Pictures and Lionsgate ended any chance of that.

I have made it known that I am not a Blumhouse fan. I don’t like how formulaic their movies are, nor how often they resort to cheap jump scares or tired storylines of trauma and grief without adding any nuance or insight to the idea. Their recent stretch of movies has been anywhere from pretty decent (like Drop, The Black Phone, or The Passenger) to borderline garbage (AfrAId, Imaginary, and Night Swim). With Tobin Bell’s age, you have to wonder what direction the franchise will go, as the Chris Rock-led Spiral came out to mixed reviews and the lowest box office of the franchise without Bell in the mix. I hope that with James Wan back in the fold, they can find a good story that doesn’t lean too heavily into tired tropes but still can bring back the campy drama the franchise has been known for, all while delivering great traps and bloody kills.

I found one of the main pillars of the movie to be the extent to which these characters would go for their family. Andy is protective of Piper, even during the mundane day-to-day activities they experience. The movie opens with her trying to make friends, but the girls make fun of her for her eyes. He consistently paints the world in a lighter lens for her to protect her from how cruel it is. He hides that their father, whom she adored, abused him and caused him to act out.

Grief and loss are the other core of Bring Her Back. Laura, played by Sally Hawkins, lost her daughter tragically and was never able to let her go. She says how it kills her that she gets to sleep in a bed, but her daughter is in the ground. She goes to unspeakable, horrific lengths for the chance to see her again. I thought some of the best moments of the movie were when she and Andy were talking about Andy’s dad dying and her daughter drowning. There, we are able to dive into these characters' psyches and why they are the way that they are.

Sally Hawkins is excellent in Bring Her Back. Similar to Hugh Grant in Heretic, her soft, sensitive demeanor draws you in and allows you to sympathize with her, but as the movie progresses and her mask comes off, she can flip the switch. Even when she is at her worst and most despicable, she still somehow maintains her sensitivity at the end. She struggles with doing what is right and wrong, and I really found the ending shot for her to be really beautiful in a way.

Billy Barratt, Jonah Wren Phillips, and Sora Wong were great finds for the film. In her first real acting role, Wong was able to have real screen presence amongst other, more experienced actors. Her relationship to Andy is what sells their family bond and what makes this movie work as well as it does.

As for Barratt, he perfectly embodies what an older brother should be. He protects his younger sister at all costs from the evils of the world and does everything he can to ensure she can live a comfortable life. He lapses and lets his anger and his repressed trauma get the best of him, but it’s what makes him feel real. Jonah didn’t have much speaking to do, but his physicality is what elevated the horror of Bring Her Back. The way he’d twitch silently or bang into walls or glass added so much tension.

To that point, Bring Her Back is very much a slow-burning horror movie as opposed to a jumpscare-filled frightfest. I do feel like they could’ve incorporated more horror elements into the story leading up to the end, as leading up to the ending, you only have glimpses of what the movie is really capable of. The best way I can describe it is like if you shot a basketball and it spun around the rim a bunch of times before finally going in. The horror lies beneath the surface here, as I was filled with more dread than anything as the story unfolded.

There are snippets of VHS that guide Laura on how to bring her daughter back that are quite unsettling and frightening to watch, but the movie doesn’t utilize them as much as you’d expect from the trailers. What gets you is the gore and practical effects, specifically what is done to Jonah Wren Phillips. So many moments throughout this movie, I had to pull my hoodie over my eyes because it gets very visceral.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Bring Her Back is one of the best horror movies of 2025 already. It is thematically rich and overall such a dark, depressing, visceral watch. The performances are all so grounded and tortured, led by the wonderful Sally Hawkins, and the gore and horror are completely dreadful in the most complimentary way possible. Bring Her Back proves once again that the Philippous have such a bright future in horror.

4/5

If you have suggestions for movies we should check out, email suggestions@firstpicturehouse.com!

The story is reminiscent of early slashers where a masked killer stalks and hunts down a group of teens, save for a final girl. Our final girl, Lori, comes from a tragic background as her father died during his and her mother’s prom night, and she was accused of his murder. As the movie opens, she knows this night will end with her either dead or killing someone. There are plenty of red herrings running around, leading to a satisfying killer reveal. There are good crumbs left to put it together, even if it falls into a common trope that I’m beginning to grow tired of. 

The kills were decent enough, but I felt like they could’ve played more into the school setting. As the movie got to the end, they got more and more brutal as you can feel the killer’s rage and frustration begin to boil over. They did a decent enough job letting us know that no one was safe. One kill used the paper cutter, but aside from that, none played into the prom environment. The killer’s design was alright as well. The mask was creepy enough, and the red hood gave them a cool silhouette, but I wouldn’t call it incredibly memorable. 

The performances were fun and matched a high school vibe, in my opinion. No one felt perfect, but they at least felt real. Lori and her horror fan friend Megan had a fun dynamic. The mean girls group was well-defined and fun on screen. They clashed well with everyone on screen and even with their group. Watching Lori come into her own throughout the movie added depth, while everything else felt pretty shallow. 

My holdup with Prom Queen is that it is okay at everything it does. The performances are okay, the kills are decent and formulaic, and the twist reveal at the end is fun, but once you start to pick up on it halfway through, it is pretty telegraphed. For a movie that is only 90 minutes long, it doesn’t feel like it flies by. The 80s nostalgia might work for someone who lived through the times, but for a younger audience, it is just an excuse to cram a bunch of older songs, VHS-style segments, and show off apparel of the time. If the story took place in 2025, nothing fundamentally changes with the story. It is pretty formulaic in how it tells its story, down to the conflict between best friends Lori and Megan and how fast it is resolved. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

 Fear Street: Prom Queen is a decent, entertaining horror film, but it suffers from its formulaic story. At the end of the day, if all they hoped to accomplish was to deepen the lore of Shadyside, then they accomplished their mission. The kills were decent and the killer had moments to shine. This is just not a movie I think I have much interest in revisiting but I think it’s well worth watching once. 

2.5/5

If you have suggestions for movies we should check out, email suggestions@firstpicturehouse.com!

The film stars Vince Vaughn as Joe Scaravella an Italian man who, after his mother dies, decides to purchase and open an Italian restaurant in her honor. However, this isn't just any bog standard italian joint. No, Joe is dead set on staffing this new restaurant with Nonnas, italian grandmothers from his local area.

Now given the story and a cast that includes Vaughn and other iconic folks like Susan Sarandon and Linda Cardellini, you'd expect Nonnas to be played as a comedy. Surprisingly, this is not the case. Instead, the film plays more as a heartfelt drama a la Jon Favreau's Chef with comedic bits sprinkled throughout. Sarandon and the other older Italian ladies, played by Lorraine Bracco, Talia Shire and Brenda Vaccaro, do most of the comedic heavy lifting. The film works with the four of them on screen together, riffing off of each other in mildly stereotypical Italian fashion.

Vaughn does some great dramatic work here, especially in two separate scenes at the end of the film. However, I did feel at times like he was falling into his signature fast-talking manner only to leave without a punchline, which felt unsatisfying. But regardless of that, the low stakes of the story allow for a very fun and fulfilling time even without a true comedic backbone.

But the place where the movie succeeds the most is in the kitchen. This is a movie about food, and specifically the love we share for family cooking. I gotta say, they nailed the photography of the food in Nonnas. Everything looked incredible, cooking shots were gorgeous and having the grandmas in the kitchen felt familiar in a sort of way that touches the heart. I loved seeing the cast cook here and fortunately there is plenty of it available.

Final Thoughts

Nonnas is a really fun time. It's laid back, not too serious, and quite nostalgic if you come from a family where food was a symbol of togetherness. For a Netflix streaming original, I'm impressed with the quality of the film and can imagine it being a feel-good staple in family households.

3.5/5

If you have suggestions for movies we should check out, email suggestions@firstpicturehouse.com! 

Victor’s directorial debut tells the story of Agnes, a college grad now teaching at the same school. She spends time with her friends and gets through life with people around her, but from the opening moments you can recognize something isn’t right. Yes, she seems normal on the surface and delights in a visit from her best friend Lydie (Naomie Ackie). But as the film unfolds, you come to find out that she was the victim of a sexual assault by her own college professor, and you are able to see how Agnes deals with that in an incredibly real, grounded way.

Victor, who also wrote and stars as Agnes, used her background in comedy to craft a film that is genuine and aptly touches on difficult subjects, but also shows that humor can help to heal wounds. From the opening scene there are great comedic bits that almost entirely rely on witty dialogue and not slapstick, over the top scenarios. 

Jokes are instead found through awkward dinners, messy doctor encounters and interactions between best friends. It works incredibly well and doesn’t detract from the message of the film either.

But what Victor does exceedingly well for a film touching on difficult subject matter is she never makes the victim the punchline. She instead ensures the comedy is all around Agnes. There’s a particularly great scene in a courtroom that oozes awkward energy and focuses on Agnes and yet she’s never made into a joke. It’s quite impressive and, as the film delves deeper into the dramatic, more serious tones, makes you realize the human nature of it all and empathize with Agnes as a normal person. 

But Sorry, Baby isn’t just a balance of comedic beats and dramatic moments. There are also plenty of tender scenes between friends that highlight the relationships of the film well and provide a nice balance for the film. At times, the comedy can take over and be a little too prevalent but never distracting.

It’s also those dramatic and tender beats that allow Victor and cinematographer Mia Cioffi Henry to flex their filmmaking muscles. There’s an especially excellent sequence in the middle of the film of three consecutive one takes that blew me away as I was watching. Sorry, Baby was also shot almost entirely on location in Ipswich, Massachusetts and there’s a small town vibe that really helps enhance the film. There’s isolated cabins in the woods, quiet neighborhood streets and small town eateries that give off an atmosphere of home for the characters. Had it been shot on a studio lot, you wouldn’t get anywhere close to that same feeling.

Final Thoughts

Sorry, Baby is an impressive debut for Eva Victor. It’s smart, funny, dramatic, heartbreaking and tender. There are signs of inexperience and an occasional over-reliance on comedy to advance moments of the story, but that doesn’t detract from the experience at all. It’s engaging and fun in the face of trauma and by the end of the film, I was left feeling hopeful for the characters. Even if the film doesn’t have the traditional “see this character is all healed” trope that some films in this genre use. I am quite excited to see what Victor decides to do next, because this one was really special.

4/5

If you have suggestions for movies we should check out, email suggestions@firstpicturehouse.com! 

Eephus is an interesting film in the sense that it is set in one day, and only takes place for this one last game. We know the players of the game as well as Franny, an older fan of the game who keeps score, but we know absolutely nothing about who they are beyond this game. The movie does not attempt to single anyone out and develop them, but we do get glimpses into their lives.

Take Graham, the captain of the Riverdogs. All we know about him is that he is responsible for the field being destroyed for the school to open. We can see how that has caused tension within his team and a level of resentment that has been bubbling the entire time. Then there’s Ed Mortanian, the captain of Adler’s Paint. In the middle of the game, he practically has to be dragged off the field for his niece’s christening, indicating that this game and this sport mean more to him than family. 

I found it interesting that one of the writers, Nate Fisher, wrote on Letterboxd how he and director Carson Lund had bonded over baseball and wrote a movie about the challenges of men making friends with each other as they had seen each other countless times at the Harvard Film Archive without ever introducing themselves. It’s something I caught on to as well throughout the film.

Within each team, there were different groups of friends. It felt like some people had joined a league to keep playing baseball, while others had joined as a group. Some interactions felt like people had just met each other, while others already had that natural chemistry. Personally, this is something I experienced a lot growing up playing ball. Most of the time I played, it was with the same kids from my town, but when I played with a travel team, there were those friend groups that were preexisting. The only thing that connected us was baseball. 

To that point, that was the feeling I came away from watching Eephus. It didn’t matter where these guys came from before or where they were off to after the game; baseball had brought them all together, and they all bonded through their love of the game. Some of them were older and knew that this was it for them, while some were younger and could probably just join a new league if they chose, but it was undeniable that they all were there for each other. People who in ordinary life might never have crossed paths developed a friendship that they can look at fondly. As the game went longer than the umpires wanted to stay, they chose to stay and play to give themselves and the field the proper send-off they deserved. 

Being a Massachusetts-based movie, it was nice to not just hear references to the local area but to respect the legends of Boston. Bill “Spaceman” Lee, former pitcher for the Red Sox from 1969 to 1978 appears in a cameo to pitch an inning. He then vasnishes as mysteriously as he shows up. The voice of the Sox Joe Castiglione also makes a cameo as a pizza truck vendor, who spends his time talking about how much he hates being a pizza truck vendor. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

Eephus is funny and charming, all while telling a pretty relatable story about adult friendship throughout a baseball game. You don’t have to like or even understand baseball to see its value. There’s no fancy editing to amp up the action. At the end of the day, it’s just a bunch of dudes playing ball together, not worried about tomorrow.

4/5

“Rapid Review” is a series of short-form reviews where we give a brief look at new films between our full-length reviews or are older films we want to highlight in between our other film reviews. For film suggestions, email suggestions@firstpicturehouse.com.

From the beginning, Paul Rudd feels off. His classic charm never shows up. He delivers lines, but without spark. The quick wit and warmth he’s known for is completely missing. He gives a performance, but it lacks any of the energy and presence we can generally expect from Rudd. Will Poulter, on the other hand, steals every scene. He brings unpredictable energy and fully embraces the bizarre material. He keeps viewers on edge in the best way. His commitment stands out. Without him, the film would offer far less entertainment.

The unicorn itself comes with strange handling. The story hints at mystery but never builds it. It flirts with lore, then drops it. The film introduces a magical creature, then does almost nothing with its mythology. It wastes a huge opportunity to create a richer world.

Death of a Unicorn joins the fast-growing “eat the rich” genre. It mocks the wealthy and highlights corruption, but without much depth. The satire feels lazy and surface-level. The same themes appear, but nothing fresh comes from them. In a crowded space, this film contributes very little. At the very least, it should have been fun. The premise—a unicorn hit by a car and a bizarre cover-up—sets the stage for absurdity. But I struggled to stay interested. Scenes drag. Jokes miss their mark. Pacing becomes a problem early on. Even the more chaotic and gory moments can’t hold attention. What could have become a cult classic ends up as background noise.

The film tries to shock but underplays the moments. It skips emotional beats, builds little tension, and wants to be quirky, but won’t fully commit. By the halfway point, I found myself checking out. Even the absurd premise couldn’t keep me engaged. The visuals feel competent but forgettable. The film uses color sparingly and chooses a sterile look—maybe on purpose? But the atmosphere stays flat. Nothing about the visuals stick. The unicorn, when it finally appears, looks oddly fake. The film turns a creature of myth into a lifeless prop.

By the time the credits roll, I’m already forgetting what I watched. The film can’t hold attention. The characters blur together. The stakes never feel real. I felt relief more than emotion once it ended. Disappointment lingers longer than any scene. A24 has been pumping put movies that fit its " indie aesthetic" but recently their films seem more formulaic, comparable to that of the superhero genre. I know what to expect, and I'm definitely getting it, but in a way that is starting to feel cheap, and this film is the perfect example of that.

Final Thoughts

Death of a Unicorn has all the right pieces. It has the cast, the concept, and the potential. But it forgets the heart, the humor, and the imagination. In the end, the only real thing that dies is its potential.

2.5/5

If you have suggestions for movies we should check out, email suggestions@firstpicturehouse.com! 

The film is set on the northern island of Carpathia, where magical beings called Ochi - who communicate rhythmically through chants and feelings - are often at odds with the human race that live there. Humans have been taught to fear the Ochi and to hunt them, led by Maxim (Willem Dafoe). Maxim's daughter Yuri (Helena Zengel), however, doesn't share these sentiments and when a baby Ochi becomes separated from the pack, she sets out to return it to its home. Meanwhile, Maxim attempts to chase after her to bring her back and "save" her from the Ochi.

The issues I have with The Legend of Ochi aren't due to a lack of care. It's clear that Saxon really loves the story he's telling. He spent over 6 years working to bring it to life. The issues lie in the fact that Saxon is clearly inexperienced in crafting the story. The film is largely a kid's movie with traits that definitely can work, but they're often implemented in unsatisfying ways. Stereotypical "kid" humor is injected in inorganic ways and while they got laughs, it often fragmented the narrative. Additionally, the story at many points feels secondary to what Saxon and crew are trying to attempt visually.

While they're quite successful in making the film world look fantastical through its use of practical effects, creatures and on location shooting, The Legend of Ochi often overlooks its story for these visual elements. Had the film been any longer than a tight 97 minutes, it may have been forgivable. But the film moves at such breakneck pace that when it slows down to show off the baby Ochi up close or depict the characters interacting with their environment, it takes time away from crafting the narrative.

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, The Legend of Ochi is effective in creating a world that kids will find magical. That was clearly one of the goals of the filmmakers. But at the same time, I can't find many reasons why this kid's movie would stand out amongst the rest. Saxon is clearly influenced by the works of Studio Ghibli in crafting this film. But you're better off introducing a child to one of Miyazaki's masterpieces like Ponyo, My Neighbor Totoro or Howl's Moving Castle to get the same idea.

2/5

“Rapid Review” is a series of short-form reviews where we give a brief look at new films between our full-length reviews or are older films we want to highlight in between our other film reviews. For film suggestions, email suggestions@firstpicturehouse.com.

Gary Oldman and Keanu Reeves in Bram Stoker’s Dracula | Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

There have been many iterations of Dracula’s story, dating back to 1931’s Dracula starring Bela Lugosi. We reviewed Francis Ford Coppola’s retelling on the Film Box Podcast in October 2024, so you can hear all our thoughts there. But I loved this movie more than Sam and Aaryn, specifically because this might be one of the most visually stunning movies ever. The way Dracula, played perfectly by Gary Oldman, can cast his shadow or his gaze into the horizon or against a wall is truly visionary. The story captures the seductive nature of Dracula to a T, and has impressive uses of color and puppets as well. You have to get used to Keanu Reeves’ clunky performance, but it is one of the best portrayals of Dracula I have seen. 

Sheila Vand in A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night | Courtesy of Vice Films

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (2014)

A common theme of vampire films seems to be stunning cinematography. Filmed in black and white, A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night is more of a slow burn compared to the nonstop action horror rides of others. It follows two similar lost souls in this ghost town, Arash and the girl. The way the stories weave together is fascinating. The entire movie has this dreamlike aura to it that makes it so easy to fall into a trance with. 

Danny Huston in 30 Days of Night | Courtesy of Sony Pictures Releasing

30 Days of Night (2007)

This is a movie that has haunted me ever since I saw it when I was younger. The vampire design was terrifying. An Alaskan town that is stuck in a month-long period of darkness is the perfect setting for a vampire movie, and they make the most out of its premise. It is incredibly nerve-wracking and brutal watching a town essentially be devoured while Josh Hartnett and the survivors try to figure out how to make it to the end of the month. Danny Huston is terrifying as the head vampire Marlow, and I’m sure he has haunted other people’s nightmares before. 

Lina Leandersson and Kare Hedebrant in Let The Right One In | Courtesy of Sandrew Metronome

Let the Right One In (2008)

I could’ve gone with either version as I liked them both, but I’ll highlight the original. It follows a bullied young boy who develops a friendship and romantic relationship with the vampire who moves in next door. It is a beautiful coming-of-age story set in this supernatural environment that explores the power of friendship between Oskar and Eli. It doesn’t feel as much like a horror movie as the others, due to how much of the storytelling is set around how they make this impossible relationship work. It is for sure a must-watch.

Corey Haim and Jason Patric The Lost Boys | Courtesy of Warner Bros.

The Lost Boys (1987)

I might be against time travel, but I’ll never be against a movie that can transport you back in time like The Lost Boys can. This is a time capsule of the 80s, capturing the counterculture aesthetic of the era with its production design, costumes, and cast. Kiefer Sutherland is one of the most iconic non-Dracula vampires put to screen, with how charismatic he is. It blends topical themes of the time with ageless themes of family stresses, friends, and fitting in. This is one all horror fans should be familiar with. 

Felix-Antoine Benard and Sara Montpetit in Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person | Courtesy of H264

Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person (2023)

I’ve tried to pick movies that capture different subgenres, and this movie is more of a black comedy story.. It tells the tale of a vampire who doesn’t like to kill people, but once her parents kick her out, she has to make do on her own. She finds a lonely teenager who is considering ending his life, and the two decide to help him accomplish the last things he’d like before he allows her to feast on him. The bond the two form along their journey is very sweet and romantic, but don’t be fooled, blood is still shed a plenty.

If you have suggestions for new content or reviews, email us at suggestions@firstpicturehouse.com!

Flashforward to today, as Sinners is out and silencing those who have been worried about the state of movies in 2025. It follows twin brothers Smoke and Stack (both played by Michael B. Jordan) who come back to their hometown to open a juke bar and find vampires waiting for them. With phenomenal cinematography, terrific musical performances and score, excellent performances from the leads and the supporting cast, and a genre-bending story that leaves you shaken to your core, Sinners has established itself as the best movie of 2025 so far. 

Sinners is such a rich story. Like if this script were food, it would be a red velvet cake. There are so many layers that this movie gets into with all its characters. The first half of this movie is admittedly very slow as it introduces all the characters and locations we’ll be spending the next 2 hours with. I didn’t think it was bad at all, as it laid the groundwork for Michael B. Jordan to establish his two characters as two completely separate people. Similar to what Robert Pattinson did this year in Mickey 17, he plays twins whose differences lie under the surface. Smoke is the cold businessman. He cares about his money, and he will kill anyone who messes with him. We see from his estranged relationship with his wife Annie (Wunmi Mosaku) why he closes himself off, but that's for you to discover. Stack is a little more of a people person, with the ability to work a crowd at a train station to get people to come to their juke bar. They both have their issues that they battle with, but their core tenet is that they look out for each other, no matter what. 

Some other elements of the story have been done before with the vampires. What is very clear with Sinners, however, is that Ryan Coogler has a clear and distinct voice, and when he wants to tell a story like this one, it’s going to be delivered in a way that just flat-out works. In a time where it seems like no movies are breaking out that aren’t a part of an existing IP, Sinners is proof that these blockbuster-type movies can not just be financially successful but meaningful to audience members. His vision is one filled with passion, creativity, and wisdom that jumps off the screen and lands in your head and heart. He blends so many different ideas and genres to the point where even if they all don’t hit, they bring enough to the table to at least be engaging, if not more thought-provoking. 

Visually, this movie is a masterpiece. You are immediately transported to the 1930s South, and it is truly an immersive experience. Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw frequently infused long, mesmerizing long shots into truly gorgeous scenes. They aren’t just stylish, as they play a major role in the storytelling. Some establish locations, while one in particular is what many are calling one of the best scenes of the year and Coogler’s filmography. That specific scene gave me chills with how beautiful the imagery and dancing were, the way the camera moved around this mill, and how the music swelled to such an impactful climax. It is so perfectly choreographed, too, knowing just how many people had to be in the exact right spot for the camera, it truly is a moment that makes you feel lucky to have seen it.

Music plays such a massive role in Sinners, and two-time Oscar winner and frequent collaborator with Coogler, Ludwig Göransson, was up to the task. The movie paints a picture of how music can be so powerful that it breaks the barrier between light and dark. It tells stories of pain and culture through the blues, with newcomer Miles Caton singing an incredible song about breaking from his father’s expectations. Meanwhile, the main vampire, played by Jack O’Connell, introduces himself to the main cast through a song of his own, but has an even better one after the night has already devolved into hell and his army has been created as they rally around him, dancing an Irish jig. 

I loved how they said the vampire’s design was inspired by Death’s design from Puss In Boots: The Last Wish, because the same tension I felt when he was on screen, I felt for each vampire appearance. While the gore was effective, I found it interesting that until the climactic end fight, almost all the vampire turnings were done off-screen. Their presence was still felt, namely when Omar Benson Miller’s character, Cornbread, is about to be attacked. The scene is set so that the darkness of night is only broken up by the flickering lights of fireflies. That is, until two pairs of lights remain constant, those being the eyes of vampires, ready to attack. 

I found the fact that Jack O’Connell had a motivation as the antagonist fascinating. Normally, vampires are just motivated by survival: drink blood and don’t be out during the day. Here, his character Remmick is motivated by something cultural and religious deeper than I expected. It could’ve been developed a tad deeper, but it introduced an interesting dynamic. You never root for him, but you are always captivated by him on screen. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

Sinners is not a movie you want to miss. I’d go as far as to say that it is the first truly great movie of the year, and will be a lot of people’s favorite movie by the end of the year. Michael B. Jordan delivers not one, but two phenomenal performances. The supporting cast shines as well, highlighted by newcomer Miles Caton. This is truly a powerful movie with what it conveys through its music and imagery, and it’s one you should prioritize seeing soon.

4.5/5

If you have suggestions for movies we should check out, email suggestions@firstpicturehouse.com!

This is Ben Affleck’s movie, but man, does John Bernthal elevate each scene he’s in. The original played into how they were estranged brothers ever since their dad had raised them to be incredibly trained assassins. This led to an emotionally charged confrontation when Affleck’s Chris had to face off with Bernthal’s gun-for-hire Braxton before they made amends. We pick up 8 years later, and their relationship is not fully healthy yet, as Braxton makes a point of pointing out how Chris never reaches out or makes it seem like he misses him. The bond between them is still there as they’d do anything for each other, but it’s clear that who they are prevents them from fully embracing each other yet. Braxton talks about how he wants to get a dog, and Chris points out that with his personality, no close relationships, and how he leaves often for his profession, he’d be a cat person instead. 

The Accountant 2 knew it couldn’t just run back the same action as the first go and injected itself with some well-received comedy, again thanks largely to Affleck and Bernthal. The duo knew which buttons to push with each other and when to dial it up and back, and the audience loved it. Scenes like Chris trying speed dating or line dancing were fan favorites, while also scenes of Braxton hyping himself up to ask for custody of a puppy in his underwear were good as well, albeit a bit too long. Around the middle of this movie, I realized that it had taken on a new identity from its predecessor. Its focal point is the relationship between Braxton and Chris, putting the action and the accounting on the back burner for the most part.

While the story didn’t need to focus on accounting like the first one did, it chose to highlight how Chris can find the signal in the noise. Similar to how he was able to look through hundreds of thousands of records to find balance sheet imbalances, he can piece down the story of a missing family just by looking through pictures and seemingly disconnected files. I wish the movie featured more of this, though. I felt that was something that made The Accountant unique from other action flicks, and it was missed here. It made me wonder, why does Chris need to be involved in this mystery of tracking down the missing family, when none of his unique skills were going to be fully on display besides his combat skills? 

The story of the movie is bigger, but it didn’t always work for me, as I found myself not following along as easily. Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) returns after Raymond King  (J.K. Simmons) is killed by unknown assassins. He was tracking down a family that had gone missing from Mexico, but as we’ll come to learn, they were a part of a trafficking ring. Medina tracks down Chris, who then gets Braxton involved. There were too many times where the story took a back seat to Braxton and Chris’s relationship, or it just tried to through too many twists in, and it just wasn’t comprehensive. 

The action was great to see on an IMAX screen, especially the final fight pitting Chris and Braxton against the traffickers at a compound in Mexico. We got to see their chemistry beyond just cracking jokes with each other as they moved together through the compound with military precision, all without speaking. Affleck and Bernthal clearly have put in a ton of time training, and it shows. Affleck has a reload that is so crisp, and Bernthal goes full Punisher at one point, taking 3 shots to the vest just to get better leverage to crack someone's neck. It is such an adrenaline boost that really pays off a story that needed a big finish to bring it all together. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

While the story might not have meshed as well as it could’ve on a bigger scale, the chemistry between Affleck and Bernthal is The Accountant 2’s calling card. The comedy worked incredibly well, and the action was firing on all cylinders when it was needed. There is potential for more movies down the road, and while I think there is a fine line before these movies grow tired, The Accountant 2 is a success that you should watch, especially if you were a fan of the original.

3.5/5

If you have suggestions for movies we should check out, email suggestions@firstpicturehouse.com!

Matilda Lutz in Revenge | Courtesy of Rezo Films

Revenge (2017)

Coralie Fargeat’s film The Substance gained mainstream attention last year, even earning the Oscar for Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling. Now that her talents as a filmmaker are widely recognized, her debut film Revenge, deserves more attention. Revenge tells the story of three wealthy married businessmen on their annual hunting trip. One of them brings along a mistress, who attracts the attention of the other two. However, events take a dark turn when the mistress is left for dead in the wilderness. Against the odds, she survives and turns the tables, creating a deadly game of her own. Set in an isolated Moroccan landscape, *Revenge* primarily unfolds in daylight. It is a must-watch revenge thriller that emasculates the male gaze and empowers its female lead.

Bette Davis in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane | Courtesy of Warner Bros

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane (1962)

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane is a fascinating psychological horror piece. Stars Bette Davis and Joan Crawford were alleged rivals throughout their careers, so for them to be in a movie about how a bitter rivalry for fame and jealousy as well as aging and losing relevancy, they truly hit the nail on the head. This isn’t a movie that will scare you but will leave you very uncomfortable and unsettled. Bette Davis is a powerhouse as she goes insane while Joan Crawford is helpless at her mercy. It holds up incredibly well being the oldest film on our list and it will stick with you for a while as it has for me.

Thomas Roach in Beaten to Death | Courtesy of Umbrella Entertainment and Welcome Villain

Beaten to Death (2022)

Australians know how to make a crazy horror movie, and Beaten to Death is one of the most brutally exhausting films I’ve ever seen. This movie follows a desperate man making a decision that leads him down a path no person should ever have to go through. What makes it worse is the main character traversing through the Tasmanian backcountry having to battle the elements of nature, making this a daylight horror movie that you don’t want to miss.

Martin Freeman in Cargo | Courtesy of Netflix

Cargo (2017)

I typically am not a fan of zombie movies because of how depressing they are and Cargo fits the bill. Based on the 2013 short of the same name, we follow parents and their young daughter as they navigate a ravaged Australia while avoiding the infected. Cargo is less of a straight-up horror, with its focus on Martin Freeman trying to find a safe place for his daughter before he is ultimately infected. It brings more emotions as we know the mortality of our lead is fleeting and the last thing he needs to do is protect his daughter in the hellscape of a new world. The film prominently features Aboriginal Australians in leading roles and for the first feature film for Ben Howling and Yolanda Ramke.

Takayuki Hamatsu in One Cut of the Dead | Courtesy of Asmik Ace

One Cut of the Dead (2017)

The remake of Dawn of the Dead primarily takes place during the day, but that's a movie everyone already knows, right? Another daytime zombie film is the mockumentary One Cut of the Dead. This movie follows a film crew struggling to complete their production when zombies suddenly attack their set. Not only is this horror-comedy filmed during the day, but it's also shot in one continuous take, hence the title. In a zombie genre that is so saturated, it's rare to find a modern film that feels refreshing. One Cut of the Dead presents an original concept that truly elevates the zombie genre.

Geno Segers in Bone Tomahawk | Courtesy of RLJ Entertainment

Bone Tomahawk (2015)

When people talk about the most out-of-pocket death scene in a horror movie, it doesn’t take long to bring up THAT scene in Bone Tomahawk. A Western horror that pits a sheriff and crew against a cannibalistic Native American tribe after members of their community are kidnapped. This movie gets all types of nasty and gnarly as the party we follow has to survive each onslaught from their brutal attackers who show them no mercy. Led by the always-impressive Kurt Russell, this one won't be for the faint of heart, but it will scratch the nostalgic Western itch for many.

Dana Berger in Brightwood | Courtesy of Cinephobia Releasing

Brightwood (2022)

Imagine going for a run on a trail with your significant other, only to find yourself trapped in a never-ending loop with no way to escape. Brightwood is a low-budget independent horror film that effectively uses daylight to create a perplexing atmosphere. While nighttime can be frightening, being stuck on a trail in constant daylight feels like a different kind of nightmare. With only two characters in the entire film, Brightwood keeps the audience engaged through twists and turns that, although at times confusing, ultimately lead to a satisfying conclusion.

Piranhas in Piranha (1978) | Courtesy of New World Pictures

Piranha (1978)

Shortly after Jaws made you terrified to swim at the beach, Piranha made you think twice before jumping into the lake. I absolutely love horror movies based around bodies of water. Everything above the surface is clear and visible: you can’t see any danger so there is no danger. Under the surface, though? Endless nightmares for the brain to create. Piranha does a great job with this premise as it takes what should be a peaceful lake, and fills it with genetically modified killing machines. If you’ve ever stumbled upon the show River Monsters before, you know just how ferocious and how swiftly piranhas can rip meat off the bone. What's great about this movie is it knows that it has a goofy premise as well and its release is shortly after Jaws. It doesn't play itself too seriously as director Joe Dante brings the blood and the piranhas wrack up a body count.

Rutger Hauer in The Hitcher | Courtesy of Tri-Star Pictures

The Hitcher (1986)

Hitchhiking, a form of transportation that gained popularity in the 1960s, has become less relevant in today’s ride-sharing culture. Despite its decline since the 70s, the 1986 film The Hitcher is a perfect example of creating fear in a fad popularized by being a product of its time. The film follows a protagonist who picks up a hitchhiking murderer and, after escaping his clutches, finds himself relentlessly stalked throughout the day—primarily in broad daylight.  Similar to how Jaws instills fear of the ocean, Child’s Play does so with dolls, and Final Destination heightens anxiety about everyday activities, The Hitcher explores the dangers of picking up strangers on the side of the road.

David Caruso and Brendan Sexton III in Session 9 | Courtesy of USA Films

Session 9 (2001)

Session 9 is a fun movie to highlight here. It bends your expectations for a movie set in an asylum. It follows an asbestos abatement crew cleaning an abandoned mental asylum and mysterious things happening to them while they work on a tightened schedule. This movie is authentically early 2000s for better and worse. It throws insane twists at you when you least expect it, and some of the most tense moments come when the sun is the brightest. There’s a reason it is a cult classic. 

If you have suggestions for new content or reviews, email us at suggestions@firstpicturehouse.com!

So it surprises me that, in an era where huge swaths of Hollywood budgets go towards developing films based around massive IP, that no one thought to tackle Minecraft until now. And if the early box office numbers are anything to go by, it would seem like this was an easy slam dunk for Warner Bros. and Universal Pictures. It's a shame though that there is little semblance of actual good filmmaking present in the film that was almost guaranteed to make hundreds of millions of dollars.

The plot, if you can call it that, follows a group of four individuals- washed up gaming champ Garret "The Garbage Man" Garrison (Jason Momoa), siblings Henry (Sebastian Hansen) and Natalie (Emma Myers), and real estate agent/traveling zoo owner Dawn (Danielle Brooks). The four live in the small town of Chuglass, Idaho. When they discover an orb from Minecraft's overworld that opens a portal to that dimension. The four are rescued by Steve (Jack Black) during a zombie attack at night and they venture to find a new way home. Meanwhile, the evil piglin queen Margosha plots to steal the orb and use it to take over the Overworld.

The big issue with A Minecraft Movie isn't that the plot is inherently bad. It's generic as far as video game adaptations go - We've seen this "real people enter video game world" plot rehashed in films like Tron: Legacy or the recent Jumanji films. But the real issue here is that the execution of the story is quite poor. The film has 5 credited writers and 3 "story by" credits. That's obnoxiously too many cooks in the kitchen. As a result, elements feel half baked, characters are wholly one note and their forced arcs are undeserved, and conflicts wrap up as quickly as they are introduced. There is an extended intro that explains both what Minecraft is and the origins of the characters of the story that takes far too long for a film about a video game. Nearly the first 25 minutes are spent just setting things up. For a 2.5-hour movie, that's not awful. When the film is a hair over 90 minutes, that's nearly a third of the whole film.

Now, given some of these faults, its obvious that A Minecraft Movie is going to be a huge hit. As it stands it will easily be the highest grossing film of 2025 so far, and quite possible will end the year with that mantle. Much of that can be contributed to the Gen Z/Gen Alpha demographic that has turned out in droves to see it. Theaters are packed with children and teenagers who grew up with Minecraft are seated. It's time that Hollywood discover that children and teenagers will turn out for a film they care about. It's IP that was made for their generation, not their parents. And I am glad that a new generation of people are discovering that the theater can be a place to be.

What I wish is that the filmmakers and director Jared Hess, most famous for Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre, had decided to make a good movie as well.

At the end of the day, there's quite a list of things that this film attempts to accomplish but doesn't. The characters of the story are pretty solely one note, without any actual earned development. Garret's only feature is he's a washed-up video game champ. Henry is just a nerdy kid who wants to be cool. Natalie is just trying to get by and care for her brother. and Dawn is just a single real estate agent with side hustles to get by. The film does nothing to expand on these characters or dive into what makes them who they are, nor does it care to.

Hess doesn't ask for much from the talented pool of actors here. The best performance belongs to Emma Myers as Natalie, who actually brings some good moments to the character. I've been a fan of hers since her breakout with Netflix for Wednesday. She gives what I believe the best performance of the film. The problem with A Minecraft Movie is that most of the performances are just so over the top it gets to be too much. While I enjoyed Jason Momoa and his commitment to the bit, it can get annoying fairly quickly and Jennifer Coolidge delivers the laughs in her side plot.

But the worst offender of the main cast is Jack Black. His performance is just so far out there it borders on totally ridiculous. It feels at times that he was able to do just whatever he wanted with no borders. It just needs to be seen to be believed.

Yet there are some things that the film does well. I especially appreciated the dedication to the visuals. While the stunt effects were pretty poor, the visual landscapes of the Minecraft overworld were quite impressive. I also appreciated the commitment to creating practical sets and props that fit the Minecraft world. It makes places like the village feel totally alive and the characters present in the scenes. As a fan of the game, it was fun to actually see the props of things I've used in the game appear in real life.

However, with all its faults, A Minecraft Movie may end up being a net positive. If not solely for its impact on newer generations, but also for getting people - and kids in particular - back into the movie theaters and back watching movies. After an incredibly slow start to 2025, this is the right shot in the arm that the industry needed this year. Plus, a film like this making billions of dollars will allow for studios to finance smaller, better films that won't.

Final Thoughts

A Minecraft Movie is an inherently bad film. Visually the film looks great and I suspect a great deal of nostalgia will be there for those who grew up with the game. But also the film is destined to be meme'd constantly, with tiktok clips already circulating all over the internet. It's poorly made, poorly acted and with hardly any story it's not very satisfying either. While it may have positive effects on people, I wish they had paired this generationally good IP with a good movie too.

1/5

If you have suggestions for movies we should check out, email suggestions@firstpicturehouse.com! 

Let me tell you, this movie was scary. And no, I don’t mean the spooky monsters or jump scares. The pure vastness and darkness of the bottom of the ocean was enough to make me shiver. They say that we know more about space than we do about our ocean. After watching this movie, I would believe them. 

During a routine saturation dive off the coast of Scotland in 2012, Chris Lemons, portrayed by Finn Cole, was detached from the ship and was lost at the bottom of the sea for close to 40 minutes. Diving mates Duncan Allcock (Woody Harrelson) and Dave Yuasa (Simu Liu) have to act fast in order to rescue him. The divers spend weeks in a tin chamber that pressurizes so that the divers can acclimate to the pressure 300 feet below the surface. The divers then drop further down in a “bell” which they are attached to with a cord. During a dive, the weather got so bad that the ship that was housing the divers drifted off course causing the bell to also move. Chris’ cord got stuck on the structure they were working on and snapped. With everyone working together, Dave was able to dive back down and rescue him after almost 40 minutes with no oxygen. 

Tons of experts say that it is a miracle that Chris survived that long without oxygen and furthermore sustained no major physical or mental injuries. 

I knew very little when going into Last Breath. I didn’t even know the story or that there was already a documentary on this event that was made in 2019. I am always wary of these types of remakes. Was this movie necessary when the documentary already has an 88% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.7/10 on IMDb? My opinion -"kind of". I feel like there is an audience that really loves documentaries and those that really don’t. Then there are people that love movies that are based on true stories and then an audience that hates it. I was torn somewhere in the middle. 

I haven’t seen the documentary so take my opinion with a grain of salt; however, I did enjoy Last Breath the movie. I really think both the storytelling and the acting was on par. Woody Harrelson (Hunger Games, Zombieland, Now You See Me) did an excellent job at portraying the older mentor diver while Simu Liu (Shang Chi, Barbie) and Finn Cole (Peaky Blinders, F9) were great as the other crew members.

What Last Breath did differently that I really appreciated was showing how the divers actually live when they go on the boat and into the pressurized chamber. They did this by shooting the movie from a security camera that was inside the can for a few scenes. I think that added to the effect. Imagine living inside a tin can that is on a boat in the middle of the ocean, and you can literally step outside if you open a door? Freedom would be so close but unachievable due to the pressure. This is one thing I wish they explained better in the film. Some people know that someone needs to be accustomed to the pressure or else they might get sick. However, this wasn’t clearly stated in the movie and if it was, I definitely missed it. I feel like some people may have gotten confused by that. 

Final Thoughts

I didn’t mind Last Breath. I think it was fine for what it was with some solid performances by well-known actors. I didn’t know about the story, so it definitely kept me on the edge of my seat at some points, especially when Chris was stuck for almost 40 minutes. After seeing this, I am intrigued to watch the documentary as it may provide a little more explanations and actual interviews from the divers themselves.

3/5

If you have suggestions for movies we should check out, email suggestions@firstpicturehouse.com!