Animals

 

Co-written, directed by, and starring Ben Affleck, Animals is a political thriller that centers on Mark Kimball, played by Affleck, a wealthy lawyer running for mayor of Los Angeles. His high-stakes campaign and pristine personal life with his wife Abigail, played by Kerry Washington, threatens to crumble after a devastating phone call reveals that their son has been kidnapped for a massive ransom. As they scramble to secure the payout, hidden secrets unravel, dragging them deeper into a web of deceit and dangerous moral compromises.

On screen, the talent was undeniable. Affleck and Washington shared a compelling, grounded chemistry, and the supporting ensemble delivered strong performances across the board. The narrative kicked off with an intriguing, fast-moving premise that successfully kept me guessing, using its central line, “Humans are animals with stories”, to explore sharp themes about family, spin doctoring, and how far someone will go when backed into a corner.

However, despite the strong cast, the film ultimately lacked the directorial punch and kinetic tension of Affleck’s previous work, like The Town or Argo. Instead, it landed in surprisingly mediocre territory, feeling more like a straight-to-streaming title than a cinematic event.

The plot felt long-winded and it built toward a straightforward, lackluster ending rather than a truly shocking payoff. With several unanswered questions left hanging by the credits Animals turned out to be an okay, one-time watch at home, but not a film you’ll feel compelled to revisit.

Steel Magnolias

 

After Dolly Parton’s recent passing, I felt drawn to her classic catalog, making Herbert Ross’s 1989 Southern classic Steel Magnolias my first stop. Adapted from Robert Harling’s stage play, the film gathers six women in a small-town Louisiana beauty parlor run by Truvy Jones, played by Parton.

At its heart, this film was really anchored by the mother-daughter dynamic between M'Lynn and Shelby, as the latter navigates a high-risk pregnancy alongside an autoimmune disease, played by Sally Field and Julia Roberts, respectively. It was a little slow in pace but it was easy to follow and the central themes hit home. It’s an affectionate look at grief, radical self-acceptance, and the undeniable power of female friendship to carry you through the heaviest of moments.

The casting was star powered for its time. All the women played well off of one another. A young Roberts held her own around seasoned actors. Dolly’s Truvy felt very much like Dolly playing herself, a warm, charming, gossip-loving anchor, functioning more as a delightful side character than a heavily developed lead. In fact, most of the supporting ensemble, including Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah, and Olympia Dukakis, stayed relatively one-dimensional, leaving you wishing the script had given them richer character arcs.

Visually and culturally, the movie served as a total 80s time capsule. That era’s severe lack of diversity was on full display here. I caught maybe one Black couple in the background of the entire film.

From a pacing standpoint, the melodrama was a bit of a rollercoaster. During the peak emotional scene it started off feeling somewhat flat, then built into a really effective and moving stride, and then got a little unhinged right at the end.

In the end I found the title to be a clever nod, as Steel Magnolias are exactly what this film was trying to depict with this group of women. Delicate, beautiful facades that hid an inner core of pure steel when life got hard. So, despite its structural flaws, I can see why this film has stood the test of time.

Best of the Best

Best of the Best is a bright, high-energy comfort watch that delivers a refreshing coming-of-age comedy with plenty of heart. Directed with the signature warmth and fast-paced wit we’ve come to expect from the team behind the Netflix tv show Never Have I Ever, the film follows two inseparable friends navigating the chaos of freshman year at UCLA while trying to make their mark in the university’s ultra-competitive dance scene.

While the plot followed a fairly predictable formula and a few supporting characters leaned into slightly one-dimensional archetypes, the strong lead performances and infectious charm carried the story with ease.

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and Priyanka Kedia shared an effortless, believable chemistry that anchored the film, while a witty script seamlessly balanced the comedy with thoughtful themes around female friendship, taking accountability, and breaking away from external expectations to discover your authentic self.

It was immensely refreshing to see South Asian culture placed front and center, with Bollywood dance providing vibrant choreography, electric energy, and a rich cultural heartbeat throughout the film. 

In the end, Best of the Best was an engaging, lighthearted, and easy-to-follow film that made for a thoroughly enjoyable watch.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day

 

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is Marvel's fourth entry in the Tom Holland superhero franchise, picking up in the heavy aftermath of No Way Home. The story centers on a completely forgotten Peter Parker, living in total isolation and pouring himself into being a full-time Spider-Man. When the constant pressure threatens to push him over the edge he has to dig deep to face a new powerful enemy.

While this film didn’t quite reach the high-stakes high of No Way Home, it was still an incredibly enjoyable film with a really interesting storyline, even if a few plot points landed a bit predictably.

 
The movie really exceled with its themes, diving deep into loss, loneliness, and the different ways people react when they are forced to process grief in isolation.

The entire cast delivered decent, solid performances across the board, with Zendaya showing serious range and bringing incredible emotional depth to her scenes.

 
One thing these Spider-Man films continue to pull off so well is weaving in major MCU heavy-hitters without losing focus. Having Mark Ruffalo's Hulk and Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova step into the story felt seamless, and dropping in the Jon Bernthal’s Punisher along with a few subtle X-Men nuggets was a fantastic way to bridge those characters into the broader universe.

 
Ultimately, Spider-Man: Brand New Day served as an enjoyable, essential connecting piece for anyone gearing up for Avengers: Doomsday.

The Odyssey

 

The Odyssey is Christopher Nolan's epic action-adventure adaptation of Homer's legendary poem, starring Matt Damon as Odysseus alongside a stellar ensemble that includes Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, and Zendaya. Shot entirely on IMAX film, the story follows Odysseus on his grueling ten-year journey to return to his kingdom after the Trojan War, battling mythic monsters and god-driven forces along the way.

Nolan has often been criticized for a lack of diversity in his casting, so seeing such a well-renowned, award-winning, diverse cast here was a very welcome change. Matt Damon brought strong leadership to Odysseus, carrying a heavy burden of guilt that felt surprisingly similar to Oppenheimer. Some might argue Damon played it a bit one-note or that Anne Hathaway leaned too hard into her performance, but I thought their chemistry worked really well. John Leguizamo was a standout in his performance as Eumaeus, someone that was loyal and easy to root for right away. Zendaya served as a grounding moral compass, quietly commanding the screen as Athena, while Lupita Nyong'o pulled double duty and really impressed me with her limited screen time. I actually wanted to see more of her story. Robert Pattinson was wonderfully sly, conniving, and convincing in his role. But the most impressive performance of the whole film belonged to Samantha Morton, who played Circe brilliantly. She was cold, calculated, brutal, and genuinely dangerous.

The movie delivered a massive sense of scale, filling the screen with incredible sets, endless extras, and another pulse-pounding, unforgettable score from Ludwig Göransson. It brought up themes of loyalty and the struggle to return home, while offering a sharp critique of the personal damage caused by unchecked patriarchal arrogance.

Even with its massive runtime, the film kept me completely hooked from start to finish. This is a massive movie that is absolutely worth seeing on the biggest screen possible.

Die My Love

Die My Love is a psychological drama from director Lynne Ramsay, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson. The story centers on a writer and new mother, Grace, living in rural Montana whose world begins to fracture as she falls deeper into severe postpartum psychosis and intense isolation.

As an audience member, you can see Grace’s spiral starting early on, and Lawrence did a phenomenal job bringing subtlety to a breakdown that slowly escalated into something far more extreme and dangerous. The cinematography did a lot of heavy lifting to mirror that loneliness, using quiet, empty compositions and deep blue tones that physically radiated depression and isolation.

Robert Pattinson, who played Jackson, surprisingly had a solid New York accent, as he sometimes struggles with accents. He also had remarkably grounded chemistry with Lawrence. He gave an empathetic performance, showing the painful reality of what it looks like to deeply love someone who is losing their grip on sanity.

The movie purposely blurred the line between reality and hallucination. It leaned into symbolic elements like a wandering horse and a mysterious motorcyclist that left me deciphering what actually happened.

Die My Love was undoubtedly a clever, visceral film, though the pacing did drag a bit in the middle. I found myself checking the time about an hour in, but by the time the credits rolled, I still really appreciated what it pulled off.

The Drama

The Drama is a dark romantic comedy from A24, directed by Kristoffer Borgli, starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson. The story centers on a couple preparing to tie the knot, only for a sudden, unexpected confession during their wedding week to throw their entire future into complete chaos.

Talking about the worst thing you have ever done is probably never a good idea, especially around a partner's friend group where you are still the outsider. I honestly thought what some of the other friends admitted to was far worse, but because of group loyalty, everyone laughed it off while holding Zendaya's character, Emma, to a completely different standard.

The film dug into the massive risks of building a relationship on a lie and how fast those secrets compound. It tackled fascinating themes of trauma, who actually deserves empathy and forgiveness, and what you are genuinely willing to tolerate from a partner, wrapping it all in a sharp satire that exposed human hypocrisy. 

Zendaya showed incredible range here, capturing raw sadness, anxiety, and fear, while maintaining strong chemistry with Pattinson. Pattinson was equally brilliant, bringing layers of confusion and stress that culminate in an epic, unhinged crash out. Rachel, played by Alana Haim, exhibited some of the most frustratingly passive-aggressive and toxic behavior in the whole movie. The cringe-inducing, chaotic moments highlighted the flawed humanity of these characters perfectly.

Overall, I thought that this movie was unique and kept me on my toes throughout. My only real critique was that while Emma received rich, compelling character development, it would have been nice to see that same level of depth given to the rest of the group.