Movie Reviews from Chris

★★ ☆ ☆ The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) Runtime: 92 minutes MPAA: Rated PG for action and mild violence. Early on in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, we get a glimpse into the commercial that Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) have spent their entire life savings on. "That is not a commercial. That is cinema," Luigi claims, which naturally reflects what the film itself aspires to be. It succeeds more in the former than the latter. It's easier to get cynical at the movies these days than one would like to admit. Regardless, I always approach projects, franchises and experimental films with an optimistic mind, which explains why a significantly tinier portion of movies land below the halfway mark than most profiles of professional critics or analytical moviegoers would. Movies like these have, time and again, split audiences and critics into two different worlds, with audiences finding the thrill of the spectacle when the film leans into nostalgia and references enou...

★★ ☆ ☆ Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu (2026) Runtime: 132 minutes MPAA: Rated PG-13 for sci-fi violence and action. I might be narrowing myself into this point of view, but I've seen film discourse online that has condemned The Mandalorian and Grogu as "death to creativity and death to cinema!", while simultaneously praising other flicks like The Super Mario Galaxy Movie or Michael as the greatest, most entertaining and blazingly spectacular film since the invention of it. The current cinematic landscape is absurdly funny; we're living in an era that selectively prioritises originality, experimental projects and nostalgia that specifically resonates with audiences. If you're going to persecute one film for being something you dislike, why let your guard down, furiously defend another and even worse, attack those who don't share your level of enthusiasm just because the subject matter happens to be something or someone you worship? I'm not trying to p...

★ ★★⯪ Disclosure Day (2026) Runtime: 145 minutes MPAA: Rated PG-13 for action/violence, some bloody images and strong language. In Disclosure Day, eyes become the subject of focus. Irises change in colour to signify when someone becomes telepathically controlled to act against their impulses. Peeking into the figurative interior of one's eyes is another frequent composition, where they tell entire stories, grief and memories of someone we've known or just met. Director Steven Spielberg, with a script by David Koepp, returns to the idea of extraterrestrial life which he covered in films several decades ago, from Close Encounters of the Third Kind to E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. There's a lingering sense of familiarity upon hearing its premise which may drive some viewers away. But airtight narrative mechanics and worldbuilding logic are secondary in a film raises thoughtful questions of truth, faith, political and personal beliefs, while grounding them in empathy, becoming a ...

★★ ★ ☆ Rental Family (2025) Runtime: 109 minutes MPAA: Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, some strong language, and suggestive material. There's an extremely interesting phenomenon in Japan where rental family services are offered, providing clients with actors who portray friends, family members, coworkers for social events and companions for individuals. Mental health issues have always been stigmatised there, perceived as a lack of willpower, resilience and self-control. Due to deep-rooted cultural beliefs, there has been widespread underreporting of mental health struggles and low rates of people seeking professional help. What if they're instead messing with people's lives, making the situation even more volatile and worse? How do we blur the line between what's real and fake? Hikari's (real name Mitsuyo Miyazaki) film, Rental Family, centers on a struggling American actor in Tokyo Phillip Vanderploeg (Brendan Fraser). Once recognised for a toothpaste commercia...

★★ ★ ☆ Toy Story 5 (2026) Runtime: 102 minutes MPAA: Rated PG for some thematic elements and rude humor. It's a little embarrassing to admit this, but the digitalisation of modern life has impacted all generations, myself included. Almost all of us are frequently on our screens, opening applications to stream, message, catch up on updates, play games, and even typing this review. Generations ago, children used to play with toys and meet with friends outdoors. The passage of time and change is a natural process, as things of the past become outdated, antique and sometimes even irrelevant. The world of Toy Story gave these them a soul, where they have a conscience and feelings. For those who have kept their toys in the drawer indefinitely or threw them away in obscure places, how do they feel? In Toy Story 5, phones, tablets and computer screens become the center of attention, immediately bringing us into the conflict between toys and screens. Wasting no time, writers and directors A...

★★⯪☆ Backrooms (2026) Runtime: 110 minutes MPAA:  Rated R for language and some violent content/bloody images. Liminal spaces are a fascinating thing to the human mind. These are ordinary environments - think of a hallway, room or even outdoor park - but strip it of humans, activity and context. Sometimes, it's nostalgic and cozy. Other times, it becomes eerie, even creepy. In 2002 at a former furniture store in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, the new tenant was renovating the place and snapped a picture, showing a large and empty room with a yellow atmosphere. This was enough to spawn an internet meme called the Backrooms, a fictional location that consists of an endless maze of complex rooms, accessible by exiting reality. Eventually, lore was developed to the point where YouTuber Kane Parsons made a short film on it, later expanding into a 24-episode web series. He directs the film adaptation of Backrooms, distributed by A24. In found-footage style, Backrooms opens with a first-person recor...

★⯪☆ ☆ How to Make a Killing (2026) Runtime: 105 minutes MPAA:  Rated R for language and some violence/bloody images. Maybe I just don't get it. A person who plans and commits murders of all his family members to inherit a fortune seems like an interesting idea, and I did go in expecting a ton of fun in its action, satire, wit and dialogue. I walked out thinking it was plain dull.  Written and directed by John Patton Ford, Glen Powell plays Becket Redfellow, the son of disgraced member Mary (Nell Williams). The patriach Whitelaw (Ed Harris) kicked her out because of her teenage pregnancy, and when Mary fell sick and eventually died, leaving Becket alone, the family didn't bother to support or even reach out to Becket. In the present day, he's a luxury suit salesman in New York City, where he bumps into his childhood friend Julia (Margaret Qualley) who's married. Demoted from his current job because of store politics (nepotism!), he decides to go on a killing spree, elimi...

★ ☆ ☆ ☆ Scary Movie (2026) Runtime: 96 minutes MPAA: Rated R for crude sexual content, graphic nudity, strong violence, and drug content and language throughout. There's a scene about halfway into the newest Scary Movie, directed by Michael Tiddes, where a character says, "it's like a reboot in a sequel, mixing legacy characters with new characters, in an attempt to feed into bullshit nostalgia and bring more fans to the theaters." That couldn't be a more apt description for the movie as a whole. With the Wayans brothers back in control, Scary Movie reunites Marlon, Shawn, Anna Faris and Regina Hall in a supposedly self-aware parody that references newer films while updating it with modern political and social topics. I say supposed, because they throw in all the ingredients and proceed to do nothing with it. As usual, it's crude and ridiculous, filled to the brim with pop culture, yet it's never funny nor has any sort of payoff. One doesn't expect muc...

★ ★ ★⯪ Obsession (2025) Runtime: 108 minutes MPAA: Rated R for strong bloody violence, grisly images, sexual content, pervasive language, and brief graphic nudity. Obsession may be one of the only films where I desperately wished for it to end because of how deeply distressing it was. I'm not exaggerating when I put this on the table. Almost everyone would be familiar with the wish-granting Genie in Aladdin, who states that (other than not being able to grant more than 3 wishes) there are three restrictions: he cannot kill anyone, cannot make anyone fall in love and cannot bring anyone back from the dead. Obsession, written, directed, and edited by Curry Barker, precisely shows you why granting a love wish is anything but a good idea in the most gritty and horrifying way possible. Tackling an emotionally prickly premise, he explores psychological possession and violation of free will in unsettling fashion. I don't normally consider this the fundamental component of a film, but ...

★★ ★ ☆ Mickey 17 (2025) Runtime: 137 minutes MPAA: Rated R for violent content, language throughout, sexual content and drug material. Parasite made history by being the first non-English language film to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Its legacy is still being actively discussed up to this day, and it's easy to see why. A seemingly light and breezy story descended into madness, then bleakness, as the film subtly provided a scathing commentary on the socioeconomic status and privilege of people in this cruel system of capitalism. While I'll admit that subtlety isn't my biggest strength - I tend to have slight trouble interpreting points - it's packed with so many details, twists and turns in the best way possible. Mickey 17, Bong Joon Ho's follow-up work, is anything but subtle, as it spells out the themes of immigration, colonisation and makes broad political statements in its somewhat caricatured figures. A co-production with Hollywood, it's more talk...