Movies, Film, and Chili

Resident Evil (2026) is written and directed by Zach Cregger , who previously directed Barbarian and Weapons . Cregger brings a strong understanding of tension and horror to the film, relying heavily on jump scares, drawn-out suspense, and carefully executed moments of terror. The movie also contains so many video game easter eggs that fans of the franchise will have plenty to appreciate. While I had heard that Cregger had reduced the amount of humor, the film is still surprisingly funny. The comedy never completely disappears, even when the movie is focused on being genuinely frightening. Austin Abrams , known for Weapons  and Euphoria , carries much of the film as Bryan. The audience spends nearly the entire movie with him, and fortunately, Abrams has the charisma and delivery to make even his smaller moments entertaining. There is something about the way he performs the character that makes you smile, even when the situation around him is becoming increasingly terrifying. He g...

Runner is directed by Scott Waugh , the same director who brought us Act of Valor and Expendables 4 , and he knows how to handle action. The action is well directed, and the editing is tight enough that the movie never feels unnecessarily drawn out. The film is pretty straightforward, but it knows what it wants to be and delivers a fun action movie without overstaying its welcome. Alan Ritchson tries to branch out from the role of the giant who beats people up, but he doesn't get very far away from it. He's clearly capable of playing more than the typical physically imposing action hero, but this movie still leans heavily into what he's already known for. Owen Wilson , meanwhile, basically plays himself, or at least a character very similar to the one he played in Wedding Crashers . If you've seen Wilson in that type of role before, you know exactly what you're getting. Rodrigo Santoro , who most people will probably recognize from 300 , plays the main villain. H...

Hope is directed by Na Hong-jin , the same director who brought us The Wailing , and it has a similarly interesting approach to suspense. The story itself is intriguing, but the editing desperately needed some work. The pacing can be all over the place, which makes some sections feel much longer than they need to be. The comedy also comes completely out of nowhere, considering most of the movie is built around suspense and action. Some of it works, but the tonal shifts can be pretty jarring. Hwang Jung-min's character has the best arc in the movie. His character actually changes throughout the story, and watching that progression is one of the film's strongest elements. Ho-yeon's character, she was in Squid Game, on the other hand, is great from the beginning and doesn't really have much growth. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it makes the contrast between the two characters' arcs pretty noticeable. Zo In-sung, known from Netflix show  It's Okay,...

Buddy is written and directed by Casper Kelly , who is better known as an Adult Swim writer. That probably explains why this type of film is right up his alley. The movie tries to be funny, but it tries way too hard. At the same time, it tries to be a horror movie but doesn't try nearly hard enough. It feels like the whole premise is being pushed to its extreme primarily to create something that could go viral rather than because the story actually has anywhere meaningful to go. Cristin Milioti is the main actress in the film, and while she's definitely charismatic, her performance feels a bit overdramatic at times. The child actors are all fine with one exception, although none of them really stand out enough to make much of an impression. Topher Grace is another example of the horrible male characters we've gotten in a long line of that particular trope throughout the 2020s. I can't wait to see what comes next in that line of writing. At this point, it's almos...

Onslaught is a grindhouse action/horror movie, and I had no idea it was going to turn into a slasher until about five minutes in. Adam Wingard , a V/H/S alumni, writes and directs, and while the action can be pretty good at times, it's also flawed in some pretty obvious ways. The biggest problem is the plot armor given to the heroine. Why can these super soldiers hit everyone else just fine, but suddenly can't hit her? It makes some of the action feel less exciting when you know the movie is going to bend the rules to keep her alive. Adria Arjona spends the majority of the movie dressed like she's headed to Walmart, but somehow she doesn't look bad. Few people could probably pull off an outfit like that and still make it work. She does a decent job in the role, even if the character is clearly protected by the script whenever the action gets going. Dan Stevens has a great cameo, and Reginald VelJohnson brings his classic acting chops to the movie. Drew Starkey pla...

The Runner is directed by Kevin Macdonald and written by Mark Gibson , and it starts off incredibly cringe. Considering Gibson's past work, that isn't exactly surprising, but the camera work and directing choices are all over the place as well. The premise itself is already pretty unrealistic, and the movie does very little to make it believable. It also doesn't help that the pacing makes the whole thing feel much longer than it actually is. Gal Gadot's portrayal of a mother is so awful that I started wondering if she's ever actually interacted with her own children. There are moments where she runs with decent form, but then there are other times when she's running all limp-wristed, exactly as you'd expect someone who clearly isn't a runner to run. More importantly, her character is incredibly difficult to take seriously. Even though she has a kidnapped child, she still acts like she should be bossing the kidnapper around. It doesn't feel like a...