Netflix And Chill: The Rip (2026)

While I knew that I would make a viewing of The Rip a priority because of it co-starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck in lead roles, I was pleased to find out that it was directed and written by Joe Carnahan. Carnahan may not be working at the level that he once was, but the guy still delivers some decent entertainment.

Everything here begins with the death of Captain Jackie Velez (Lina Esco). This leads to her team being questioned, with nobody above suspicion. Things then get even trickier for the team when they're tipped off about a stash house, and soon discover that they're going to have to count and keep safe an amount of money that exceeds $20M. If ever there was a temptation for someone who wasn't hestitant to kill a police Captain, this should expose any traitors in the midst of the group.

Inspired by a true story, which was worked on by Carnahan and Michael McGrale, there's nothing here in the by-the-numbers plotting that should displease those who know what they're in for. The twists and turns are predictable, but also satisfying. The main cast members all look very capable while waving their guns around through the clouds of testosterone. Okay, there aren't really any memorable action set-pieces, but the rest of the film plays out as expected, and the story ultimately proves better for the focus on intelligence and mistrust ahead of fights and gunplay.

Damon and Affleck are a proven combo, they're the mac & cheese of millenial blockbuster stars (which I mean as a compliment, although I am sure others will use the same analogy as an insult), and they work as well as ever here. Damon is the one in charge, and the more level-headed one of the two, perhaps due to having a different view of the unfolding situation, but he's also under as much, if not more, suspicion than anyone else in the team. Steven Yeun gets a decent amount to do, Teyana Taylor continues to impress now that she seems to have been finding better roles for her talent, and Catalina Sandino Moreno is, well, there. She's fine, but not really given anything to do. Sasha Calle is very good as the young woman who has her home raided while hoping to skip and dance through some grey legal areas to avoid arrest, Kyle Chandler is a DEA agent who might return in time to help or hinder our leads in the third act, and Scott Adkins has a good time with his role, playing Affleck's brother.

The screenplay may not be stuffed with memorable dialogue, but it works for what the film wants to do. What doesn't work is the visual style (or lack of) throughout. I'm sorry to say, but cinematographer Juanmi Azpiroz presents everything in a horribly murky mix of muted blues and something akin greyscale. I assume this wasn't necessarily his choice, nor the result of his work alone, but I'm naming him as the main culprit because it's the worst aspect of the film and he should have looked through his viewfinder and convinced everyone else to do a lot better.

There are other good things about this, but they tend to be tied to the production and profit-sharing model put in place by Damon and Affleck. What's actually in the movie itself is decidedly average, all things considered. It could have been elevated by another one or two passes on the script and a few more meetings about getting the visuals improved, while keeping everything in line with the aesthetic that Carnahan wanted.

6/10

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Mubi Monday: Minari (2020)

Although Minari is an American drama, it is all about the experience of South Korean immigrants trying to establish their life in the USA. Which means I may well get some of the name formatting wrong, once again, despite trying my best to double-check the details available to me.

Steven Yeun is Jacob Yi, Han Ye-ri is his wife, Monica, and they have two young children, David (Alan Kim) and Anne (Noel Kate Cho). They will also soon be joined by Soon-ja (Youn Yuh-jung), Monica's mother who will hopefully be able to look after the children while the hard work is done that should turn their house into a home, and also hopefully turn their land into something able to grow produce on. It won't be a smooth journey, but it will hopefully be a journey that the whole family experience together.

Written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung, based on his own childhood, Minari is one of those films that makes use of specifics and personal details to deliver something that feels universal and identifiable. While it's about the immigrant experience, and about the challenges facing them, it's also just about parents doing their best to ensure that each subsequent generation has a better starting point in life than the previous one. 

While the cast all do fantastic work, with young Kim being an absolute delight, and Yeun showing once again that he is yet to be given due credit for his many brilliant performances over the last decade or so, this is all about the delicate exploration of people who have to consider the value of the sacrifices made in pursuit of a better life. While there's a monetary cost involved, the more difficult moments come when loved ones may be negatively impacted by choices seemingly made for the greater good. 

As well as those mentioned, Will Patton delivers a great performance, portraying a Korean War veteran who believes that it's a great sign that he has been placed to potentially help the family. His character helps to highlight the ways in which the world keeps changing, and how it's very easy to find commonality with people simply hoping to make a good life for their family.

There's a lot of strain and stress here, and it's always clear that Jacob has gambled everything on this one place, and his plans for it, but Chung shows that the risks are, despite moments of doubt, worth the reward. The family is together, there are happier times lying ahead for them, and they can feel as if they have made some progress as soon as they decided to make their home in America. Whether sexing chickens, trying to find a good spot for a water well, struggling to sell any produce, or figuring out how to deal with health problems, Jacob and Monica are always motivated by family and love. And that counts for a hell of a lot, even in the face of overwhelming odds trying to fill them with doubt. 

9/10

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Mubi Monday: Mickey 17 (2025)

It should be obvious to many by now, but Bong Joon Ho isn't really interested in subtlety any more. His most recent movies, as great as they are, are a long way from his superbly uneven and nuanced Memories Of Murder. I still love pretty much everything that he does, but I also know that I don't mind when the lack of subtlety is so front and centre in a way that may put off others.

Mickey 17 is all about the titular character (played by Robert Pattinson), an expendable who is used by a deep space vehicle to take on the tasks that will result in death. Whether being exposed to dangerous amounts of radiation, being placed in environments that may contain elements harmful to humans, or just exploring terrain that is unstable and could house dangerous alien creatures . . . Mickey's your man. Whenever he dies, it's not long until he is simply "printed out"again, his memories uploaded into his brain, and made available for the next dangerous task. He's ended up with this life (these lives) due to being put in a sticky situation by a bad friend, Timo (Steven Yeun), but at least he has moments of happiness with his partner, Nasha (Naomi Ackie). Things become tricky, however, when the latest Mickey is assumed dead and a new Mickey printed out. Mickey 17 and Mickey 18 are both aware that there are strict rules against multiples, but maybe they can figure out a way to take turns dying while they piece together a relatively full life.

Based on a novel, "Mickey 7", by Edward Ashton, this is darkly comedic sci-fi fare with plenty to say about the exploitation of workers, the ways in which those in power continually keep those below them pitted against one another, and the hypocrisy and arrogance of those who decide to make a life elsewhere without proper planning or consideration for the territory they are invading. As you can imagine, it feels very timely, and some may not appreciate how closely it aligns to some current world events. It doesn't help that Mark Ruffalo and Toni Collette play their characters, Kenneth Marshall and Yifa, as arrogant idiots who would happily ruin lives and entire ecosystems just to keep maintaining their image of confident leadership. They're definitely doing what is asked of them, but the broad comedy of their performances is at odds with the real and awful repercussions we can see right now because of someone who works in almost exactly the same way. 

Thankfully, aside from the silliness provided by Ruffalo and Collette, everyone else is much better. Again, I don't blame those two stars, but they're apparently hampered by the direction of their performances. Pattinson has no such problems, and has a lot of fun in his multiple roles, specifically when he gets to show a marked difference between the two most recent Mickeys. Yeun is enjoyably sneaky, Ackie is a nice mix of tough and caring, and the rest of the supporting cast includes such familiar faces as Tim Key, Thomas Turgoose, Anamaria Vartolomei, and Patsy Ferran, some getting a fair amount of screentime and some just popping up for all-too-brief moments.

As expected, there's also some consistently excellent editing work and FX work throughout, as well as production design that creates a realistic world in which the building farce can unfold. It's all in service to the themes that Bong Joon Ho is exploring, and it's a shame when the tone occasionally clashes with the grime and verisimilitude of the onscreen world, but it's also loaded with little details that complement the main characters and their journey.

Not wholly satisfying, it spins so many plates that some inevitably fly off and smash before being quickly replaced, but Mickey 17 is still the kind of thing I would rather see ahead of another empty blockbuster with CGI distractions making up for a lack of any real substance.

7/10

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Nope (2022)

I have aimed to keep this spoiler-free, talking about some general ideas that resonates with me before mentioning a few specifics about the film, but I would advise people to go into this film knowing as little as possible. Seriously. The less you know, the more you are likely to enjoy it. As long as you prepare to watch something that isn’t what you expect.

Cinema has progressed so much in the 100+ years that have passed since it began, not always for the better (we've all seen fads come and go), but it's worth remembering that all you need to make a movie is the right camera and the right level of creativity. In fact, you could argue that everyone can make a small animated movie with some drawings on a flickpad. And maybe more people should do that, giving themselves a reminder of the sheer joy that comes from creating a teeny tiny motion picture.

Cinema has also been built on the blood, sweat, and tears of many others, from the stunt performers who often risk their lives to the imaginations that were pillaged, appropriated, and simply used up as industry execs kept searching for the next big thing. Streaming may be a relatively new phenomenon, but the quest for content has always been a giant machine chewing up the lives of those who aren't situated high enough to stay out of its way. Cinema is exploitation, even when it isn't. It exploits animals, it exploits natural resources, and it exploits people. Even when audiences are being catered for, they are also being exploited, which was maybe most obvious during the blaxploitation boon of the 1970s.

And yet, and yet, despite the perils, despite the horrible history of it, cinema, and indeed the arena of showbusiness, continues to cast a mesmerising spell over everyone. There are those who want fame, those who want to seize an opportunity they know is only available fleetingly before others come along to snatch it away from them, and those who have had a taste, no matter how bitter it may have been, and keep trying to get another slice of the pie. Everyone thinks they can take the beast, until it rips their limbs off.

What does this have to do with Nope? Maybe nothing, maybe everything. With his latest film, a genre-blend of sci-fi, horror, and more, Jordan Peele has delivered a layered and thought-provoking film that provides familiar thrills and entertainment while also providing a small, but important, overview of the history of cinema.

Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer are OJ and Em, siblings who end up working together for a while after the sudden, and strange, death of their father (Keith David). The family business is all to do with training horses for movie work, but OJ has already sold a few of his four-legged assets to the nearby child-star-turned-animal-show-host Ricky (Steven Yeun). When OJ starts sensing a presence in the clouds above him, he not only enlists the helps of his sister, but also a local tech store employee (Angel, played by Brandon Perea). And Em becomes convinced that they need the help of legendary cinematographer Antlers Holst (Michael Wincott), a man known for his ability to do the impossible. That is all you need to know. In fact, it is probably more than you need to know.

With great visuals throughout, from the effects to the consistently gorgeous cinematography from Hoyte Van Hoytema (browse his filmography to see a selection of gorgeous movies that he has worked on), and a score from Michael Abels that mixes perfectly with flawless sound design to create one of the best audio-visual experiences in modern horror cinema, Nope is an audacious and thrilling experience from start to finish. It’s a thought-provoking dissemination of art, business, and race delivered in a Spielbergian blockbuster package, something that paradoxically feels like the biggest AND the most persona film yet from the talented Peele.

He is helped massively by his talented cast, with both Kaluuya and Palmer absolutely stellar in their lead roles. Yeun is also great, Wincott has what may be his best role in year, and the only weakness, for me, is the character played by Perea, the one bit of writing and acting that feels less tonally assured than any other aspect of the movie.

I have said all I want to say about the movie. A big chunk of this may not even feel like a review, but it very much is. It is everything I wanted to blurt out after the end credits rolled, and it gives an idea of how much is packed into the 2+ hour runtime. I cannot wait to see this again. I cannot wait to own it. And I cannot wait to see what Peele will deliver next, because it will be hard to top his greatest achievement yet.

I thought long and hard about my rating for this. There are a couple of minor issues that I had to mull over (mainly to do with the scenes involving Petra’s character). Then I realised that they didn’t bother me enough. You can think of a movie as subjectively perfect even while you acknowledge that there are minor imperfections. This, for me, is one of those movies.

10/10

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Shudder Saturday: Mayhem (2017)

The second film in a short space of time to focus on a bout of extreme violence in an office environment (the other being The Belko Experiment), Mayhem may have suffered thanks to the timing of its release. Maybe. It also may have suffered due to the fact that not many people found it all that enjoyable. Once again, I find myself in the minority.

Steven Yeun is Derek Cho an ambitious white collar worker in your standard dog-eat-dog corporate environment. His day starts off badly (he can't find his favourite coffee cup), becomes slightly worse with a meeting that he takes in his stride as someone (Melanie, played by Samara Weaving) desperately tries to save their home from foreclosure, and then he is thrown under a bus by a colleague, which leads to him being sacked and removed from the building. Well, due to be removed from the building. That has to be delayed when the entire building is placed under quarantine, due to the presence of a virus that causes people to act unashamedly on their baser urges. This gives Derek the time, and necessary attitude, to try and make his way up to the boardroom and win back his job.

Written by Matias Caruso and directed by Joe Lynch, Mayhem is a hugely entertaining mix of workplace tensions and cathartic violence. The effect of the virus may not be quite what you expect, especially when compared to the over the top opening sequence that explains how it changes people, but all of the decisions made work in favour of a better story, and lead characters that are easier to root for than mindless psychopaths. Despite the film being set in a densely-populated office building, the plot only makes use of a core group of characters, and most of the people who end up the most bruised and bloodied (and murder death killed) are the ones that we strongly dislike from their earliest appearances onscreen. There's a lot of madness shown going on in the background, however, and plentiful doses of pain and bloodshed.

Yeun is great in the lead role, helped by the script that allows him to also narrate exposition and notes of his own failings, and Weaving gives another very likable turn, initially opposed to Yeun and quickly realising that it is best for them to work together. Caroline Chikezie is the one who ruins Yeun's life, Steven Brand is the big boss man, Dallas Roberts is the man sent in to meet people when it is time for their tenure with the company to end,  and Kerry Fox is a senior board member. All of them are amusingly easy to loathe, each one for a slightly different reason, although it all amounts to self-preservation in a corporate environment.

I really enjoyed this. It was a lot funnier than I expected it to be, Yeun and Weaving are a big plus in their main roles, and it strikes just the right balance between satire and visceral thrills. Some may dislike it because it doesn't have enough of the titular noun, some may dislike it in (unfair) comparison to The Belko Experiment, and some may just dislike it because, well, individual taste is subjective, of course. I hope a few others check it out, and maybe one or two of them will agree with my minority opinion.

8/10

You can buy Mayhem here.
Americans can buy the movie here.