FilmGator – Between Movies

A private user reviewed How to Train Your Dragon (2025)

How to Train Your Dragon

Whatever happened to Brenton Thwaites? For some reason that crossed my mind as this thoroughly entertaining fantasy adventure gets off to a rollicking start and keeps going. Now if you are the “Hagar”-esque Viking chief (Gerard Butler) expecting your son to take over as fearless dragon-chaser after you, why would you call him “Hiccup”? Might as well call him “Buttercup”? Anyway, that hapless lad (Mason Thames) maybe isn’t the most adept on the muscle front but cerebrally he has something of the Leonardo Da Vinci to him as he determines to ...

A private user reviewed 10DANCE (2025)

10DANCE

10 Dance explores dance as an emotional language, pairing two rival dancers whose opposing styles reflect their inner emptiness and desire to connect. As ambition and forbidden feelings blur the line between competition and intimacy, their pursuit of perfection demands both technical and emotional sacrifice. Though rich in theme and rhythm, the film stumbles in execution, leaving its powerful ideas slightly short of a truly resonant finale ...

A private user reviewed Chasing the Wind (2025)

Chasing the Wind

I was at the premiere they gave in Russia and I was one of those who left the theater less than halfway through the movie. They are the type of movie that is very boring, the kind that you already know what is going to happen. The acting of the actress is very bad. They say she is pretty but I don't see her that way, she is a woman who has undergone surgery, her body is not pretty, the actor's is, although not from the face. They could have cast ...

A private user reviewed I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025)

I Know What You Did Last Summer

A third rate slasher franchise trying to be first rate. The best I can say is it is better than I Still Know, which is a very low bar for sure. This one did nothing for me, not one time was I in suspense and more often I was kind of bored. I didn't mind the twist as I couldn't care less about any of these characters, new or the two legacy returners in it to cash that paycheck, which I can't totally blame them tbh. Now, I will say I ...

A private user reviewed A Big Bold Beautiful Journey (2025)

A Big Bold Beautiful Journey

It’s been said that “life is what you make of it,” that “we become what we believe.” To some, this probably seems like the content of a warm, fuzzy, inspirational greeting card. But, if we truly take the time to examine ourselves and our lives, we’re likely to find that there’s more than a small kernel of truth in these observations. Such is the point of the latest offering from filmmaker Kogonada, who deftly explores how this principle is applied to our romantic lives, especially for those who are single and ...

A private user reviewed Ready or Not: Here I Come (2026)

Ready or Not: Here I Come

Having barely escaped from her nuptials alive, poor old “Grace” (Samara Weaving) finds her recovery in hospital brought to quite a violent end. It seems that the fraternity that had assumed she would be eliminated by their previous game of hide and seek is now having to fill a gap in the upper echelons of it’s leadership. Unfortunately for her estranged sister “Faith” (Kathryn Newton), she was still listed as her emergency contact and so she, too, is soon embroiled in the next stage of this recruitment process. Under the supervision ...

A private user reviewed If I Had Legs I'd Kick You (2025)

If I Had Legs I'd Kick You

In an age where life’s everyday challenges can test our wits, becoming overwhelmed is a real possibility when they pile up. Just ask Linda (Rose Byrne), a therapist who struggles to sincerely and sensitively assist her troubled patients. But that’s just the start of her problems. She’s also tending to a sick child (Delaney Quinn), the demands of which are considerable, both from the whiny, often-unappreciative youngster and her annoyingly insistent caregivers. To make matters worse, a burst pipe in the ceiling of her apartment has forced mother and child to ...

A private user reviewed The Surfer (2025)

The Surfer

Nicolas Cage has built a reputation for making some bold, unconventional career choices in recent years, diving into a range of unique and often off-beat films that defy the expectations of mainstream Hollywood. From Mandy to Longlegs, Cage has delivered some truly fascinating, if not always widely appreciated, performances. With The Surfer, he once again takes on a role that promises to be eccentric and boundary-pushing. Unfortunately, this time, despite Cage's commitment and the film's daring premise, the result is ultimately more frustrating than fulfilling.

A private user reviewed Ghost Killer (2025)

Ghost Killer

"Ghost Killer" is a rather unusual supernatural action flick, from Japan.

The very different story line see's an ordinary young woman possessed by the spirit, of a ruthless murdered male assassin.

On first glance, this sounds heavy but a light touch, with not too serious characterisations, plus a dash of humour and redemption, thrown in, actually works ...

A private user reviewed Lee Cronin's The Mummy (2026)

Lee Cronin's The Mummy

I had high hopes for this, but boy was I disappointed... Instead of getting Christopher Lee, Boris Karloff or even Arnold Vosloo - we get a modern day "Carrie" with a few bandages and a rehash of the "Azazel" story - only this time with a sarcophagus and lots of rusty chains. We begin when the young daughter of "Charlie" (Jack Reynor) and "Larissa" (Laia Costa) is abducted by someone at the bottom of their garden who has been grooming her with candy bars at their Cairo home. Despite the best ...

A private user reviewed Barren Land (2025)

Barren Land

There are a lot of possible takeaways from "Barren Land".

In my opinion, this film's core message is that the most valuable things in life are friendship and love. Greed and unfulfilled ambition mean little by comparison but may exact a high price from those blinded by them. Without hopefully giving too much away, we see this play out in the interplay between three close friends, on the right and wrong side of the law ...

A private user reviewed D(e)ad (2025)

D(e)ad

This movie is in the top tier of the best works of art I’ve ever seen.

Context: So I write a lot. Most of it is about, essentially, myself. Every so often, I'll do a reread, and while I'm clutching at my aching chest, I'll think, "Wow, past!me sure was going through it!!!” ...

A private user reviewed JUJUTSU KAISEN: Execution (2025)

JUJUTSU KAISEN: Execution

Whilst I do reckon that the cinema is a great place for this kind of vibrant and action-packed animation, it’s not so important for the stories here as this spends quite a while abridging what are quite clearly previous storylines before teeing us up for an introduction to the new curse-laden grudge matches that are to play out in the next series. Now that’s hardly new, but at least the “Demon Slayer” films try to present more stand-alone movies that offer us something a lot more self-contained. This doesn’t, and so ...

A private user reviewed The Christophers (2026)

The Christophers

To tell you the truth, I'm not sure quite how much actual acting was going on here from Sir Ian McKellen as he slightly updated his effort from "The Critic" (2023) and becomes legendary painter "Julian Sklar". He has long since lost his touch, and is now suffering from a terminal disease so his grasping children "Sallie" (Jessica Gunning) and "Barney" (James Corden) have a cunning plan to ensure that their nest is well and truly feathered after he has gone. This involves embroiling "Lori" (Michaela Coel) in a plan to ...

A private user reviewed A Poet (2025)

A Poet

They say that “no good deed goes unpunished.” If you doubt that, just ask Oscar Restrepo (Ubeimar Rios). The middle-aged, modestly talented poet struggles to get by on multiple fronts, but, to be honest, he’s often his own worst enemy, frequently getting in his own way, digging in his heels and refusing to make any compromises that might make his life easier and more palatable. He’s broke financially, living with his aging mother (Margarita Soto), and relations with his largely estranged college-age daughter (Alisson Correa) are severely strained, particularly since she ...

A private user reviewed Office Romance (2026)

Office Romance

Jennifer Lopez as the CEO of an airline is hard to buy. Hey, don’t look at me; the makers of Office Romance (2026) themselves didn’t have faith in that premise — but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Harder to swallow is that Jackie Cruz (Lopez) can provoke raging hard-ons just by shaking hands. Who is she supposed to be? The Blue Pill Fairy? Maybe they should have made her the CEO of Pfizer.

A private user reviewed Disclosure Day (2026)

Disclosure Day

Check out my full review @ https://www.manuelsbento.com/disclosure-day-2026-a-breathtakingly-human-paradigm-shift-in-modern-sci-fi/

Rating: A-

DISCLOSURE DAY is a fascinating, deeply hopeful return to sci-fi for Steven Spielberg, beautifully championing the concept of truth as a fundamental human right. Subverting the destructive tropes of typical alien invasion flicks, it favors radical empathy and genuine human connection over blockbuster chaos. Emily Blunt delivers a sensational, potentially ...

A private user reviewed Obsession (2026)

Obsession

Curry Barker has crafted something mostly special for an almost non-existent budget. The story is compelling, the acting is solid, and Obsession feels like a breath of fresh air in comparison to similar horror films. However, it’s disappointing that one shrill character trait nearly ruins the entire film. It’s because of this that Obsession will have to settle for being a well-made, well-written film dominated by one aggressively irritating character, which will hinder future rewatches much like Frank Darabont’s The Mist.

A private user reviewed Normal (2026)

Normal

I thought there something of the "Twin Peaks" about this as a temporary sheriff arrives in the town of Normal for a short stint following the untimely death of his predecessor. "Ulysses" (Bob Odenkirk) is about as laid back as a man can get, and so expects to do little in the sleepy town aside from settle squabbles between shopkeepers and listen to his deputy's squeaky leather jacket. Then the alarm in the bank goes off. Surely it's not being robbed? Anyway, his entire force race to the scene only to ...

A private user reviewed M3GAN 2.0 (2025)

M3GAN 2.0

Is it really only two years since we first met M3GAN? Shouldn’t she have an ‘h’ in her name? Maybe I’m thinking of another robotic and plastic manifestation of womanhood? Anyway, this sees “Gemma” (Allison Williams) and her pals caught up with investment problems whilst Uncle Sam’s latest AI specimen “Amelia” (Ivanna Sakhno) goes off the rails. Pretty swiftly, thanks to the intervention of the newly mobile tech gazillionaire “Alt” (Jermaine Clement), she finds herself working on something she’d vowed never to touch again, else niece “Cady” (Violet McGraw) is gonna ...