Film Review: Mickey 17 (2025)

 

When Parasite came out in 2019, I wasn't as impressed as I was with  Memories of Murder, a film that blew me away nearly two decades ago. But it did show that the voice of Bong Joon Ho is an evolving artistic presence and, strangely enough, that his time in the global limelight is only starting out in earnest.

When great directors suddenly get massive budgets, the same money is often tied to a gentle chokehold of producers and studio executives. For Bong Joon Ho and his sci-fi satirical comedy, that chokehold was not an option. Instead of making something dumbed down, he made probably one of the better films of this type in many years. On some levels, this film, showcasing the life of a constantly dying and reprinted indentured worker, Mickey on a colonising mission, rivals Terry Gilliam's Brazil. It also shares many of the key points that it explores, but here, the exposition is about mass media spectacle as it is about inalienable human rights.

It's wonderful to see that Bong Joon Ho commanded such a massive budget and a cast including Robert Pattinson, Toni Collette, and a fantastic Mark Ruffalo, but still remained so very much his own man. Mickey 17 is resonant, touching, bizarre, grotesque, and funny, all at the same time. There's a massive lesson there for the likes of Denis Villeneuve and Christopher Nolan. In other words, your talent and vision are important, but only if you are able to stick with them even when the stakes are very high. If not, you get to direct the new James Bond film or make the 100th version of Homer's Odysseus. I’m not seeing Bong Joon Ho move in any of those directions anytime soon.

Hey Chris TV Series - Balancing Family, Ambition, and Faith

 

Every life is always an endless stream of good moments, bad moments, and everything in between. Finding both the drama and the humor in those moments is often where great art is found, and the same applies to Hey Chris, a TV series available exclusively on Tubi. Its story focuses on Chris Kingston, a man devoted to his family. Chris is also very ambitious and a man of faith, who is constantly working to find the right balance in his life. But destiny is also ever-ready to throw some unexpected twists and turns, which the entire Kingston family has to resolve and overcome. 

 As a family comedy-drama, this series is all about the will and determination needed to keep a household together and resolve anything life has in store. It also deals with the realities of a regular family working, living, and loving in the modern United States. This makes it particularly impactful as it tells the tale of ordinary people meeting everyday problems, just as the same thing happens to countless others this very day across the US. The same allows for both the drama and the humor of the experiences of Chris and his loved ones to be even more relevant and impactful.

If this sounds like something you might be interested in watching, check out the official Facebook group of the series to get more information about the show. But, once you do that, head on to Tubi and watch Hey Chris right now to share the tears and the laughs with the Kingstons family!

Counterfeit Kids - Crime Drama Diving Deep into Emotional Realism

Set in 1980s Baltimore, Counterfeit Kids stars seemingly ordinary people. As a directorial debut of Screenwriter James Sclafani, it seeks to explore the characters and situations that are not overtly dramatic, but carry the hardship and difficulties that can be easily recognized in any context or time period or place. By doing this, it offers a slow-burning crime drama that is not only about real emotions and different mind states, but also characters who, because of that, seem all too real.

The film places the audience inside a foster home, where two teenagers dream of something better. They are Nic and Jude, both young and completely aware of the instability and toxicity of their newfound circumstances. This is especially seen in the form of the leeching and manipulative Jerry and Trisha, who run the same home. Nic is close to Jude, who is her best friend, but also conflicted about her relationship with her mom Trisha. During a time when Nic was suffering from leukemia, Trisha was there to take care of her. But, as time passed, that relationship turned toxic. 

 

On the other hand, Jude is a talented and resourceful artist who comes up with a simple idea - to use his skills to make counterfeit money. Nic, on the other hand, has both charm and personality that allow the pair to pass off the fake money in places like local stores and flea markets. As the scheme seems to work, Trisha and Jerry find out about it and decide to steal some of the counterfeit bills. This sets the film on an escalating path where Nic, in particular, will have to make some hard choices, especially when it comes to Trisha. 

This film is not a massive crime spectacle, and most definitely isn’t something that romanticizes the necessity and the drive to commit these illegal deeds. Instead, Sclafani draws on his previous experience to build a small but believable world of two young people who desire to change their lives no matter the cost. Instead of resigning to their cruel and unfair fate, both Nic and Jude are determined to change their fortunes, however possible. A story like that has an inherent, timeless power and with it, all-encompassing ability to connect to the audience. 

If this sounds like something you’d be interested in experiencing, Counterfeit Kids will screen at the New Jersey International Film Festival on Saturday, May 30, 2026, at 7:00 PM. The screening will take place at Rutgers University’s Voorhees Hall in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Tickets, as well as all relevant festival information are available here.

STAR WARS: Fruut & Hari [feline fan series] - #1 "Order 66" - A Must-Watch for All Star Wars Fans!

The realm of fan-made movies is built through a long and proud tradition reaching back decades. The same creative space even produced a handful of films that were close to rivaling its source material, like it's the case with The Hunt For Gollum from 2009, which turned into a true masterpiece. Now, there's a new contender for the fanflick crown, but the focus is on a different fictional universe. This time around, that universe is Star Wars, but one inhabited by, among others, Jedi... cats! The name of this creation is STAR WARS: Fruut & Hari, and it first episode is simply called "Order 66". You can watch the entire creation right here!

From the first moment, there's so much stuff happening in this fan series that it's nearly overwhelming. But, just as fast, the episode finds its footing that quickly turns the viewing process into an engaging adventure which could lead almost anywhere. As Star Wars fans, we can’t help but feel anything other than being instantly pulled into its wacky but exciting domain.

However, the thing that really impressed me is the fact that the series is so masterfully executed. Sure, the VFXs and visuals are very low-fi, but the script, editing, and acting are anything but amateurish. From the first moment, the series initial episode sets the stage by going for maximum drama, which is faithfully following the overall Star Wars approach. Right after that, both the action and drama kick in, with space battles, crash landings, and speeder chases. The fact that all of that was made by a single creator and his cat is mind-blowing.

If you're a fan of cats, Star Wars, or possibly both, this is a must-watch for sure. The level of artistry, cinematic craft, humor, and overall love for all things Star Wars make Fruut & Hari a potential new instant hit in the fanfic world and for all good reasons. Subscribe to the same YouTube channel and see where these mesmerizing characters take you in subsequent episodes in a galaxy far, far away!

Film Review: The Long Walk (2025)

 

There's some truly deep cinematic magic in the way Francis Lawrence can make things ordinarily extraordinary. His first film, Constantine, did this quite literally, but his latest, another adaptation of a great literary work, returns to this topic. This time he does it from a completely different angle that is anything but magical. In the alternate contemporary world of Stephen King, a group of teenage boys begins a challenge where they need to walk continuously, getting shot by their military escort if they slow down, until only one remains.

This stripped-down version of so many Battle Royale tales is here much more visceral. King's novel is a minimalist masterpiece of absolute doom and this sense of being stuck in a hell of one's own choosing. The film fatefully adapts this notion into a film that keeps going, even though its cast struggles to fill the worn, bloody shows of the much more impactful individuals from the book. Lawrence solves the problem of limited time and exposure by focusing on the constant movement of both characters and the plot. 

With that, The Long Walk is a film that probably broke the record of lines being said by actors in motion and with it, made a disturbing work of art about grim perseverance. That perseverance doesn’t let up even when it fails to make anything or anyone anything but dead. But, that's ultimately also the story of life itself, isn't it?

Film Review: Skinamarink (2022)

It’s hard to have a film that is practically faceless, but not impossible, as Skinamarink shows. This highly experimental horror takes the idea of space and personality, only to twist both into something so uncanny that it cannot do anything but stick in your mind. But does this make the film great? For me, it’s impossible to say, as the process of watching for me was just as boring, and it was terrifyingly memorable. 

The film’s premise involves two kids, aged four and six, waking up in their home in the middle of the night. Their father is missing, and all of the doors and windows of the same house are gone too. In the preceding hours and days, we get an experience that is not just survival of those unable to care for themselves, but something horrifically transcended. 

The problem is that this experience elongates through time almost to infinity. Endlessly long shots of corridors and room corners, kids whose faces are (almost) never shown, and a pressing design of eerie soundscapes all build into a cumbersome watching process. If the film lacks anything, it is that power to immerse the viewers in its strange rhythm. Similarly, low-budget, experimental films like Come True do that almost miraculously. Skinamarink struggles with it nearly from the beginning. 

The film’s writer and director, Kyle Edward Ball, clearly made film history with this work of art. It’s so unusual and impactful that it will leave few in any other state than adoration or complete rejection. Yet, I can’t stop myself from believing that with a more immersive setup and a clearer drive for its obscured narrative, Skinamarink could have been one of the best horrors in the past decade.