Captain America: Brave New World (2025)

 

Captain America: Brave New World (2025)

6/10

Starring

Anthony Mackie

Danny Ramirez

Shira Haas

Carl Lumbly

 

Directed by Julius Onah

 

You can tell that Marvel wants to wrap up this phase and move on. This movie had too many side characters and subplots that didn’t add much to the overall experience. It tries to tie up loose ends from other stories, making it feel more like a filler movie than its own film. It’s frustrating that Marvel thought they could sell us a movie just to clean up their loose ends and link some MCU storylines.

Brave New World is the fourth Captain America film and continues the story from TV miniseries The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, with Sam Wilson now taking on the mantle of Captain America. It’s also the 35th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

Anthony Mackie is a great actor, and the movie boasts strong performances all around. The real problem lies in the story and pacing, which let the cast down. The pacing in-between action should help with character development, but we just get boring, not well written dialogue.

Before I dive into the plot, I need to tell you as my friend told me, watch The Incredible Hulk (2008) to refresh your memory on Ross, because this film connects that story to the MCU. Harrison Ford takes over the role of Ross (and does an amazing job), replacing the late William Hurt, and Tim Blake Nelson reprises his role as Samuel Sterns from The Incredible Hulk (2008).

Sam Wilson has now stepped up as Captain America, and he’s thrown into a high-stakes mission to recover stolen classified items tied to the discovery of adamantium. Now, unless I’m mistaken, adamantium isn’t exactly new—I've known it since I first encountered Wolverine—but I digress. Its discovery still stirs up tension across nations, and before long, Wilson finds himself caught in a global crisis brimming with political intrigue, secret experiments, and a bizarre mind-control plot (as I said earlier, too many sub-plots). Teaming up with his buddy Joaquin Torres, he must navigate a tangled web of espionage, betrayal, and dangerous enemies while figuring out what it really means to be a hero in a world without Steve Rogers.

Meanwhile, President Ross is hell-bent on seizing control of adamantium, completely unaware that his past missteps are catching up to him as he eventually transforms into the Red Hulk. With alliances on the brink and lives at stake, Wilson is forced to step up and stop the looming chaos while shouldering the heavy burden of leadership.

The Easter eggs weren’t particularly exciting, but the CGI—especially Ross’s transformation into the Red Hulk—was well done. As for the rest of the CGI, it was just okay. Another problem I have with the movie is the lack of excitement. The poster and trailer give away too much, so I already knew what to expect. Normally, that kind of setup should build anticipation as you are watching the movie, but with the film’s slow pacing, by the time the exciting moments happen, I was already bored.

Lastly, I didn’t like the new Black Widow. After seeing the movie myself—despite my friends' warnings—it's hard to recommend, honestly. But if you choose to watch it, just know it’s really not all that.

The Gorge (2025)

 

The Gorge (2025)

4/10 

Starring

Miles Teller

Anya Taylor-Joy

Sigourney Weaver

 

Directed by Scott Derrickson

 

By the time you are almost twenty minutes into the movie, you get the idea that there is something, evil in the gorge that should not come out of it. That idea is set in your mind, and now we have to see how this movie moves, from thriller, to romance, to horror and then Sci-Fi.

The gorge for me has an uneven pacing, first it starts slow, we get excited when the two leads start to interact, we get a taste of action, then we are back to another slow pacing.

The CGI and action is good, and you will like the idea of how the hollow men are designed. but the movie as a whole kind of disappoints. It sets you up for something amazing, but then the genre jumps and the lackluster writing which shows up in the middle just mars what could have been a fantastic movie, because the idea and initial setup is very good.

The plot is about two elite snipers, each positioned on either side of a deep gorge without knowing what lies beneath them. On one side is an American, Levi (Miles Teller) guarding the west sid eand on the other side is a Lithuanian named Drasa (Anya Taylor-Joy) working for Russia, guarding the east side.

This job is covert, and as we learn from the person who debrief Levi when he takes his post, it has been in operation since around the second world war, and in the gorge is something called the hollow men. Nobody knows about this, and he will be in the position for a year, with no contact with anyone, and he is not to contact the east side also.

The problem is, both Levi and Darsa start to spy on each other and soon, they start to contact one another, talking using signs. Very soon, they form a sort of relationship.

We do get to see the creatures coming out of the gorge early on in the movie, and Levi and Darsa shoot them down, and these creatures do look human like.

From here, Levi and Darsa become romantically involved, and Levi broke the rules and zip line to see her. After spending time together, and he tries to zip line back, he falls into the gorge. It is from here the movie takes a turn, and we go straight to Sci Fi. I am skipping things here not to drop spoilers.

Miles Teller, who for me did not deliver a strong enough performance to carry the idea of a mercenary with a past that hunts him. While Anya Taylor-Joy, outshines in her role as a covert military operations officer. Making Miles the central focus of the movie as the lead, is not the best decision the filmmakers made. Another bad decision is not giving Sigourney Weaver enough screen time, because she was amazing in the short time we see her, and she gives you the meanacing idea that she is more focused on the task of keeping the gorge a secret and keeping what is in it away from humans.

I think the movie is watchable, it is not amazing or memorable, but it was not bad.

Ne Zha (2019)

 

Ne Zha (2019)

6/10

Starring the voices of

Jordan Cole

Griffin Puatu

Aleks Le

Vincent Rodriguez III

Jaden Waldman

 

Directed by Jiaozi (Yang Yu)

 

I have to say, the animation design is good, and the plot story is very fun indeed. The movie also has an amazing start, which really sets the flow of the movie. This Chinese produced animation is actually fantastic, and it is amazing that it is produced to such class with less than $25 million, if this was Hollywood, this kind of animation would be around $100 million.

The animation tells the mythological origins of Ne Zha. Now, Ne Zha is a protection deity in Chinese folk religion. I believe the story in this animation is inspired by the Ming-dynasty novel Investiture of the Gods.

The movie does feel a bit long, with some pacing issues before it finally gets to the main battle. You might get angry at how long it takes Ne Zha to start thinking about others other than himself, but you have to remember, he is a caged three-year-old. That aside, I really enjoyed the movie, and it made me crave seeing the second part, that was released earlier this year.

It starts with what led to the birth of Ne Zha. In this world-building, we have a Chaos Pearl, which was born from primordial essences (I do not fully grasp that), but the pearl is seen greedily draining energy from the Sun and the Moon. So, to stop it, Yuanshi Tianzun (the lord of Heaven) sends his disciples Taiyi Zhenren and Shen Gongbao (both are also immortals, kind of like demi-gods) to subdue the Chaos Pearl.

They couldn't gain the upper hand because the pearl was just feeding off their energy when they fought it. For this reason, Tianzun had to intervene, capturing the pearl and splitting it into two parts: the Spirit Pearl and the Demon Orb. He then curses the Demon Orb, which is nearly indestructible. To eventually destroy it, it is marked, and in three years, a powerful lightning strike will destroy it. Tianzun then orders Taiyi to take the Spirit Pearl and reincarnate it as Ne Zha. This is where the story goes off for me—why not just give him the Spirit Pearl alone? Instead, he is given both together. So, he is to reincarnate it in the third son of Li Jing.

After this nice introduction, which was effectively done to keep you engrossed and invested, the plot kicks off when Shen steals the Spirit Pearl, causing the Demon Orb to be the one reincarnated into the child of Li Jing. So, Ne Zha is born with demonic traits.

Taiyi then warns Li Jing of the fate of his son, that in three years he will die. Li Jing believes he can change this fate. Meanwhile, Shen gives the Spirit Pearl to the Dragon King, who then uses it to create a son, Ao Bing, hoping to raise a dragon worthy of Heaven. Shen takes Ao Bing under his wing.

To comfort Ne Zha and quell his demonic nature, his parents lie to him. They tell him that he was born from the Spirit Pearl and is destined to be a demon hunter. So, Ne Zha is trained under the guidance of Taiyi. As Ne Zha grows, he becomes skilled, but also impatient with the restraints on his life, so he escapes to hunt demons.

My issue with the movie is that Shen's motives are kept hidden for way too long, which can get pretty annoying as the animation progresses. Also, you can easily spot Shen's evil nature early on because of the animation's visual cues. You see, a lot of animated films make this too obvious, and even Disney has found ways to stop this. What these animated productions do is use obvious color cues—like bright, warm colors for the good guys and dark, gloomy colors for the bad guys, along with facial expressions that scream "villain." This takes away the suspense of not knowing who’s really on which side.

The plot feels pretty predictable from the start, which isn't ideal. The movie’s voice casting, though, is actually a bright spot. I watched the English dub, and I have to say, the cast did a great job. Their performances really help bring the characters to life and made it easier for me to enjoy the film. I can’t speak to the Chinese voice acting, so this review only covers the English cast.

I recommend seeing this movie, it is worth the time invested.

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy (2025)

 

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy (2025)

3/10

 

Starring

Renée Zellweger

Chiwetel Ejiofor

Leo Woodall

Jim Broadbent

 

Directed by Michael Morris

 

I know writing can be hard, and writers gotta eat. So when the third book of Bridget Jones was released in 2013—Mad About the Boy by Helen Fielding (I think she’s written another one after this)—you can bet the studio was going to jump on it.

With studios running out of fresh ideas and bringing back old gems, it’s no surprise that we got this movie. Unfortunately, it’s boring, too long, and painfully slow. The comedy didn’t land for me, and the romance and drama felt predictable because we’ve seen this kind of Bridget Jones story before. It lacks the charm and wit that made the earlier films enjoyable, instead settling for a formulaic approach that drags on longer than it should.

Mad About the Boy follows Bridget’s life four years after Mark Darcy’s death. If there’s one thing I appreciated, it’s how they brought back Colin Firth. Having him appear in flashbacks added warmth and made it easier to connect with Bridget’s grief, especially in her toughest moments. Other than that, this movie is a total snoozefest. Sad thing is, these moments of seeing Mark in the background are few and far between. I felt the actors did their best in this movie. Each one brings in their own charm, the problem is the story and screenplay just don’t hold up. The emotional weight the film is supposed to carry doesn’t hit hard, so you are left watching an unimpactful continuation of Bridget’s journey.

Then the movie could have cut some of the school run sequences, it felt so repetitive.

As mentioned, the plot focuses on Bridget trying to move on four years after Mark’s death. We see her struggling to balance widowhood, raising her kids, and getting her life back on track. Her friends push her to start dating again, so she does. She goes back to work, meets a younger man, and starts a relationship.

Now, being with someone new can be life-changing, but this movie completely skips over Bridget’s character development. Here was a change to build the emotion and make me connect more, but instead the film it rushes straight to her being happy again. Then the relationship ends, and she’s suddenly another man is in the horizon, a teacher at her kids' school. The transitions between these relationships feel rushed, making it hard for me to connect with her struggles.

The whole thing lacks anything fresh. The “Bridget Jones caught between two men” dynamic has been rehashed so many times that this version just felt tired. I genuinely hope the studio doesn’t see this as a reason to make another film because, in my opinion, they’ve done more harm than good to the franchise with this one.

Mad About the Boy is available on Peacock if you’re interested—but honestly, I wouldn’t bother.

 

The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep (2025)

 

The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep (2025)

6/10

Starring the voice of  

Doug Cockle

Joey Batey

Anya Chalotra

Christina Wren

Emily Carey

 

Directed by Kang Hei Chul

 

I enjoyed this animation, and I can see why some people might not. If you didn’t like the books and only enjoyed the video games, there’s a good chance you won’t like this animation either, because its storytelling feels much more like the books.

The animation itself is well produced, and you’ll love the voice casting—they brought in some of the voice actors from the game, and they all did a great job. One issue I had, though, was the lack of depth in the story. It was written as if certain events had already happened, and we were just supposed to accept that and move forward. At first, that wasn’t a problem, but when I saw how the prince and the mermaid princess (Agloval and Sh'eenaz respectively) interacted, I had a lot of questions.

The movie has a Disney’s Little Mermaid feel, which I didn’t like. The plot was also predictable, and it was frustrating to be able to guess who would die, who the villain was, and how things would play out (regardless of the changes made from the book, it still was predictable). The Little Mermaid vibe made it even more obvious for anyone watching to be able to know that the villain would try to steal the prince from the mermaid princess, via the Little Mermaid style switch.

The story is based on A Little Sacrifice by Andrzej Sapkowski. I’ve read the book, and I noticed a lot of changes—especially in how the lovers tried to be together and how they got together in the end. Also, concerning the war dynamics and the villain, there are changes. Many of these changes were likely made for cinematic effect, and since the original was a short story, they had to expand it. So, you have to cut the writers some slack.

The animation starts with Geralt and Jaskier hunting a creature that Geralt has been paid to kill because it’s believed to have harmed humans. Just as he’s about to kill it, some mer-people tell him the creature is innocent. Believing them, he spares it—leaving him and Jaskier without money.

Jaskier takes the first job he can find, playing at the king’s court, where he reunites with old friends and meets Essi. She has a thing for Geralt, having admired him after hearing all about his adventures. But as the plot unfolds, we’re thrown into a war. Humans are being killed by sea creatures, and they want revenge on the mer-people who run the sea. Geralt is hired to uncover the truth, and as he digs deeper, it becomes clear that someone is pulling the strings to push humans and mer-people into war.

This adult animation was fun to watch. The pacing is a bit slow at times, but the fight scenes are well done.

I recommend it if you’re a fan of the books.

One of Them Days (2025)

 

One of Them Days (2025)

 

3/10

Starring

Keke Palmer

SZA

Katt Williams

 

Directed by Lawrence Lamont

 

This movie flashed before me, and since I wasn’t doing anything, I decided to watch it. It’s as predictable as they come. The movie didn’t thrill me at all.

I must be one of those people whose mind rests on another plane because I just don’t see Keke Palmer as a good actress anymore. I remember her from when she was younger (Akeelah and the Bee comes to mind), and back then, she had solid acting skills. She had range. Now, she just acts like she’s acting.

Her performance lacked emotional depth, making it hard to connect with her. I know SZA isn’t an actress by trade, so I can forgive her bad acting in this movie, but I expected better from Keke Palmer. Another issue is how one-dimensional the rest of the cast is—none of them act like they’ve ever acted before.

You’ll need next-level patience to figure out what this movie is even about (other than paying rent) because it feels like the movie itself is still trying to figure that out as you’re watching.

It starts painfully slow. The pacing is so bad that I wonder if the director has ever made a movie before. There’s no way they didn’t notice the sluggish opening, not to mention the awful dialogue that gets thrown around with reckless ambition.

I kept waiting for another reason this movie was greenlit because I didn’t want to believe I was watching a film about two girls, Dreux (Palmer) and Alyssa (SZA), living in an apartment where Alyssa’s boyfriend steals their rent money, and now their landlord is kicking them out.

Then comes Katt Williams, and I thought, Okay, maybe he’ll save the movie. Nope.

So, the whole thing is just watching these two girls trying to get the money back or come up with it before 6 o’clock that day to avoid being kicked out.

With bad editing and horrible costumes, nothing about this movie adds up. The comedy barely lands, making the awkward pacing even worse. Scenes drag on without real payoff, and the dialogue feels forced. It’s like the movie wants to be funny and relatable but ends up feeling clumsy and directionless instead. I kept hoping to find at least one good thing to say about it, just so I wouldn’t feel like I completely wasted my time. But no such thing exists.

I don’t recommend watching this movie.

Back to the Future Part III (1990)

 Back to the Future Part III (1990)

7/10

Starring

Michael J Fox

Christopher Lloyd

Mary Steenburgen

Directed by Robert Zemeckis

I guess we’ve seen the present, the future, the past—so what’s left? Back to the Future Part III lassos its way into the Wild West. This is the part I’ve seen the most, because it was the one most shown on local TV back home. Of the three, it’s the one I liked least, even though it rounds off the classic trilogy. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, with Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd back as Marty and Doc, this finale slows down the frantic energy coming off Part II. The whole idea is that the trilogy is one big film, so Part III continues right where Part II leaves off.

The plot is all about saving Doc. Picking up right where Part II ended, Marty discovers Doc has been sent 70 years into the past—to 1885—thanks to a letter delivered to them. Using details from Doc’s 1885 letter, Marty teams up with the 1955 Doc to track down and fix the DeLorean so he can bring Doc back to 1985. But things take a turn when Marty stumbles on a tombstone with Doc’s name, revealing he was shot by Biff Tannen’s great-grandfather, Buford “Mad Dog” Tannen, just six days after writing the letter.

As expected, the chemistry between Fox and Lloyd remains the series’ backbone, delivering fantastic acting. Even Clara (played by Mary Steenburgen) was well portrayed. The effects in this movie are amazing, especially the ending with the train Doc worked on.

The reason this is my least favorite? The pacing. It stumbles compared to the others. No more multi-timeline acrobatics—instead, we get a straightforward Western romp, everything happening in 1885. Even though it’s still fun to watch, that intensity we feel from time-travel gymnastics and things not adding up—needing to sort it out—isn’t present here. Then there’s the romance between Doc and Clara. Though sweet, it eats up screen time that could’ve gone to Doc and Marty’s dynamic—the real heart of the trilogy.

Tonally, the film wobbles. One minute, we’re dodging bullets in a saloon shootout, the next, Doc’s speaking poetically about love under the stars. The shift from sci-fi to Western isn’t seamless—Part III feels like a genre detour, not a natural progression.

Also, the movie’s vision of 1885 is about as historically accurate as a TikTok cowboy influencer. Doc inventing things with 1885 tech stretches realism.

Regardless, it’s still a good movie. It lacks the punch of Part I and the chaotic charm of Part II, yet it sticks the landing emotionally—I’ll give it that. If you’re here for Marty and Doc’s bromance, you’ll leave with a smile. If you’re craving time-travel shenanigans, you might yawn into your popcorn.