Genre: Crime/Thriller
Director: Bart Layton
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Halle Berry, Monica Barbaro, Barry Keoghan, Nick Nolte, Devon Bostick, Corey Hawkins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tate Donovan
Runtime: 2 hr 21 mins
Rating: NC16 (Coarse Language & Nudity)
Released By: Sony Pictures
Official Website:
Opening Day: 26 February 2026
Synopsis: Set against the sun-bleached grit of Los Angeles, CRIME 101 is the story of three strangers, played by Chris Hemsworth, Halle Berry and Mark Ruffalo, all at a breaking point in their lives, and whose paths collide when a thrilling and high-stakes multimillion-dollar heist tempts them with the promise of a life-changing outcome. As the stakes rise, they are forced to confront the cost of their choices and the realization that there's no turning back.
Movie Review:
Why does every thief in a Hollywood crime movie dress so impeccably, drive a fancy car, and live in a luxury apartment? It certainly doesn’t help the illusion when the thief happens to be played by the hunky Chris Hemsworth.
In Bart Layton’s Crime 101, Hemsworth plays the mysterious Mike, a jewel thief whose grooming habits are as meticulous as his well-planned heists on couriers transporting diamonds. He is cool, calm, and never resorts to violence.
Then there is Lou (Mark Ruffalo), a dishevelled detective investigating the latest diamond robbery and hardly the favourite among his colleagues. There is also Sharon (Halle Berry), a 53-year-old insurance broker who has long been denied a promotion by her boss. Lastly, there’s Ormon (Barry Keoghan), an unhinged motorcycle punk who is the exact opposite of Mike and has no qualms about shooting his victims during robberies.
How these four individuals come together is what makes Crime 101 such a fascinating watch. Layton, who adapted the material from the Crime 101 novella by Don Winslow, delivers on almost every front from the slick cast and on-location shoots in the seedier parts of LA, to the unpredictable storyline and pulsing music score. It is, admittedly, a slow burner, taking its time to mould its characters and narrative but it never turns banal.
Layton’s handling of the main characters is a major plus. Mike is, strictly speaking, a “ghost” — highly intelligent yet yearning for connection, which comes in the form of love interest Maya (Monica Barbaro). Lou’s career and marriage are both coming apart; he clashes with his boss and colleagues and is separating from his wife (Jennifer Jason Leigh in a cameo). Sharon may not get to kick ass, but she does manage to deliver a sharp lecture to her entitled white boss.
It goes without saying that a good movie deserves character development and well-rounded performances, and Crime 101 certainly benefits from both. It’s mesmerising watching these individuals go about their business so much so that you almost forget there is a major heist unfolding at the centre of it all. There are at least two compelling, erratic car chases across the LA cityscape and a final showdown that, frankly, could have been far more dynamic and polished.
Still, Crime 101 is more than a decent crime thriller. It evokes the works of legends like Michael Mann and John Frankenheimer and as mentioned in the movie itself, Steve McQueen.
Movie Rating:
(Crime 101 is stylish and slick -a pleasant surprise entry in the crime genre)
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Animation
Director: Tyree Dillihay
Cast: Caleb McLaughlin, Gabrielle Union, Stephen Curry, Nicola Coughlan, Nick Kroll, David Harbour, Jenifer Lewis
Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins
Rating: PG (Some Violence)
Released By: Sony
Official Website:
Opening Day: 17 February 2026
Synopsis: From Sony Pictures Animation, the studio behind Spider-ManTM: Across the Spider-Verse and the artists that made KPop Demon Hunters, comes GOAT, an original action-comedy set in an all-animal world. The story follows Will, a small goat with big dreams who gets a once-in-a[1]lifetime shot to join the pros and play roarball – a high-intensity, co-ed, full-contact sport dominated by the fastest, fiercest animals in the world. Will’s new teammates aren’t thrilled about having a little goat on their roster, but Will is determined to revolutionize the sport and prove once and for all that “smalls can ball!”
Movie Review:
Trust the minds behind ‘GOAT’ to think of an animated comedy about an actual goat Will Harris (voiced by Caleb McLaughlin) who dreams of being the Greatest of All Time in a basketball-like game called roarball. Despite the pun of the title, this goat goes further than just realising his dream by the end of the movie; he also helps his local team, the Vineland Thorns, regain their mojo.
Despite its anthropomorphized setting (think ‘Zootopia’), ‘GOAT’ is ultimately an underdog story. That is no coincidence though – it was inspired by the real-life struggles of basketball great Stephen Curry, a physically undersized late bloomer who went on to become a four-time NBA champion, two-time MVP and Olympic gold medallist. Curry not only serves as producer, but also lends his voice to a giraffe on the Thorns who has lost his passion for the game.
Said giraffe Lenny Williamson is one of those whom Will inspires after joining the Thorns; besides Lenny, there is an ostrich addicted to social media (Nicola Coughlan); a Komodo dragon with a bizarre accent (Nick Kroll); and a rhino (David Harbour) whose natural aggression has been tamped down since he became the father of twin daughters. Above them all, Will has to contend with the star player of the team, a flamboyant, preening panther named Jett Fillmore (Gabrielle Union). Jett also happens to be Will’s idol, but as with such celebrity worship, the truth is often far from the hype.
That Will has the opportunity to sign on to the Thorns is credit to its publicity-hungry owner Flo (Jenifer Lewis), who signs Will up as a media stunt to help her flailing team fill stadiums again after a video of Will going one-on-one against pro player Mane Attraction (Aaron Pierre), an Andalusian horse who is the MVP of the league, goes viral. You know that Will will rally the Thorns to go head to head against Mane, but if the outcome of that championship match against the formidable Lava Coast Magma is no surprise, it is the journey to the winning that ultimately matters.
And in that regard, director Tyree Dillihay, working from a script by Aaron Buchsbaum and Teddy Riley, turns a predictable underdog tale into a vibrant delight. Boasting a similar hyperkinetic style as Sony’s ‘Spiderverse’, ‘GOAT’ draws you into its bustling, stylised city, where animals of all shapes and sizes live, work, and play the high-intensity sport of roarball. From the city’s graffiti-lined walls, to its lush living vines in play spaces, and to its dynamic arenas that shift from jungles to ice or desert-like courts as matches progress, it is a visually stylised and exciting sight to behold.
Equally invigorating are the games themselves, which aren’t just basketball with claws and horns; instead, each of them is staged like a gladiatorial spectacle fused with streetball flair, escalating in scale, intensity and theatricality as the story progresses. Whether is it falling stalactites in the Cave or an active volcano in the Inferno or the Northern Lights in the frozen Cryosphere, there is hardly a dull moment as Dillihay ushers us from one showdown to the next.
That is in essence the charm of ‘GOAT’, a lively, fast-paced ride that wears its familiarity on its sleeve. Even though it is hardly fresh, it is quite certainly funny and heartfelt, reminding us that greatness is rarely about size or spectacle, but about heart, hustle and lifting others along the way. In turning a goat into a G.O.A.T., the film delivers exactly what it promises — an exuberant crowd-pleaser that may not rewrite the playbook, but knows exactly how to run it to winning effect.
Movie Rating:
(A slick, high-energy underdog romp that turns a punny premise into a heartfelt crowd-pleaser about finding greatness through grit and teamwork)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Romance/Drama
Director: Vanessa Caswill
Cast: Maika Monroe, Tyriq Withers, Lauren Graham, Bradley Whitford, Rudy Pankow, Lainey Wilson, Jennifer Robertson, Zoe Kosovic, Hilary Jardine, Nicholas Duvernay, Monika Myers
Runtime: 1 hr 54 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Some Drug References and Scenes of Intimacy)
Released By: UIP
Official Website:
Opening Day: 12 March 2026
Synopsis: After a perfect outing with her boyfriend, Kenna (Maika Monroe; The Hand that Rocks the Cradle, Longlegs) makes an unbearable mistake that sends her to prison. Seven years later, Kenna returns to her hometown in Wyoming, hoping to rebuild her life and earn the chance to reunite with her young daughter, Diem, whom she has never known. When Diem’s custodial grandparents adamantly refuse Kenna’s attempts to see her daughter, Kenna discovers unexpected compassion, and then something truer and deeper, with former NFL player and local bar owner Ledger (Tyriq Withers; HIM, I Know What You Did Last Summer). As their secret romance develops, so do the dangers for both of them, leading Kenna toward heartbreak and, ultimately, the hope for a second chance.
Movie Review:
Few contemporary authors command as devoted a readership as Colleen Hoover. Known for emotionally charged romance novels that blend love stories with trauma, regret, and redemption, Hoover has cultivated a following that eagerly embraces her bittersweet brand of storytelling.
Her books often centre on damaged characters navigating heartbreak, guilt, and second chances — themes that resonate deeply with readers who appreciate intense, tear-stained romance. It is therefore no surprise that film adaptations of her work such as It Ends with Us (2024) and Regretting You (2025) are finding their way to the big screen, aimed squarely at the audience that made her novels bestsellers in the first place.
Reminders of Him, directed by Vanessa Caswill from a screenplay by Hoover and Lauren Levine, follows this familiar template. Based on Hoover’s 2022 novel, the film leans heavily into the emotional territory fans expect. Admittedly, for viewers like this reviewer who are less enamoured with the author’s style, the formula can feel somewhat predictable.
The story centres on a young woman attempting to rebuild her life after an unfortunate accident that not only killed her boyfriend, but also robbed her the chance to raise her own child. Upon returning to the town she once called home, she faces hostility and suspicion. She tries all ways and means to reclaim a place in her daughter’s life, and meets a man who becomes an unexpected source of support. Their relationship slowly deepens, but you know things won’t go well with the guy was her boyfriend’s best friend (gasp!).
While the narrative may follow a well-trodden emotional path, the performances help elevate the material. Maika Monroe anchors the film with a grounded portrayal of a woman weighed down by guilt yet fiercely determined to move forward. Opposite her, Tyriq Withers brings warmth and sincerity to the role of the man who gradually becomes her confidant and romantic partner. Together, they create a believable connection that keeps the story engaging even when the plot moves along familiar tracks.
Equally affecting are the performances by Lauren Graham and Bradley Whitford, who portray the grieving parents of the man whose tragic accident set the story in motion. Their characters live with a loss that cannot be undone, and both actors convey the quiet, lingering ache of that grief with impressive restraint. In their scenes, the film briefly transcends its romantic focus to explore the enduring pain of unresolved sorrow.
Ultimately, Reminders of Him is unlikely to convert skeptics who already find Hoover’s style overly sentimental or predictable. The story unfolds largely as expected, and its emotional beats rarely stray from the established formula of contemporary tragic romance. Yet for fans of Hoover’s novels — and for viewers drawn to heartfelt tales of forgiveness, redemption, and love after loss — the film delivers exactly what it promises.
Movie Rating:
(Faithful to Colleen Hoover’s emotional formula, the film delivers the brand of romance her fans expect)
Review by John Li
SYNOPSIS: A Caribbean woman gets her secret past revealed when her island is invaded by vicious buccaneers.
MOVIE REVIEW:
After appearing somewhat underutilized in action-oriented roles in Citadel and Heads of State, Priyanka Chopra Jonas steps forward to headline her first full-fledged action vehicle in this Russo Brothers-produced spectacle, The Bluff.
The film opens in 1846, a time when the pirate era is nearing its end. However, one notorious pirate, Captain Connor (Karl Urban) still has unfinished business, both a personal grudge and missing gold. His former partner and lover, Bloody Mary, has allegedly run off with his treasure and is now living off the grid on Cayman Brac.
There’s little mystery surrounding Bloody Mary’s identity. Once a feared pirate, she now lives under the name Ercell, married to Captain T.H. Bodden (Ismael Cruz Córdova) and raising a son, alongside her rebellious sister-in-law Elizabeth (Safia Oakley-Green). But as expected, her violent past resurfaces, forcing her to dust off her formidable skill set.
No one going in expects The Bluff to rival the fantastical spectacle of Pirates of the Caribbean. Instead, the film keeps things straightforward, avoiding excessive exposition. The central mission is clear: Connor wants revenge, while his quartermaster Lee (Temuera Morrison) wants the gold for the crew. That’s essentially the driving force of the narrative.
That said, The Bluff feels more like a gritty action-adventure than a traditional pirate epic despite the treasure-hunting premise. Priyanka Chopra Jonas is fully committed, dishing out brutal kills and intense combat with the dedication of Keanu Reeves in one of his action roles. It’s evident she has put in serious work mastering the demanding fight choreography, from sharp kicks to elaborate swordplay. Karl Urban and Temuera Morrison add to the chaos though their characters lean toward standard villain archetypes.
Overall, the action set pieces are solidly executed. The film delivers plenty of hand-to-hand combat sequences, culminating in a finale set inside an obviously studio-built cave filled with booby traps and improvised weapons almost reminiscent of Home Alone-style deadly contraptions.
No one is claiming The Bluff is Oscar-worthy material. It is what it is: a predictable storyline packed with old-school, hard-hitting action. And sometimes, that’s good enough.
MOVIE RATING:
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Action/Drama
Director: Claudio Fäh
Cast: Hera Hilmar, Jeremy Irvine, Kelsey Grammer, Olga Kurylenko
Runtime: 1 hr 36 mins
Rating: NC16 (Some Violence and Coarse Language)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website:
Opening Day: 12 March 2026
Synopsis: Young married couple Zach and Emmy decide to take a hot air balloon trip across the Italian Dolomites to rekindle their relationship. When they and pilot Harry are joined by a third passenger, Julia, events unfold in ways in which they could never imagine five thousand meters in the air.
Movie Review:
High-concept thrillers can be hit or miss – and in the case of ‘Turbulence’, as high as it physically gets, its thrills stay pretty low.
The concept here rests on a married couple, Zach (Jeremy Irvine) and Emmy (Hera Hilmar), who go on a hot-air balloon ride in the Dolomites in an attempt to repair their marriage after Emmy’s unfortunate miscarriage and subsequent depression, only to have their holiday interrupted by a mysterious woman Julia (Olga Kurylenko) with an agenda she intends to finish with Zach.
As the setup goes, Zach and Julia had met in a bar in Zurich before Zach had travelled to Italy to meet up with Emmy, and despite not hiding the fact that he is married (with a ring on his left finger in plain sight), something happened between the two of them that gave Julia sufficient leverage to demand compensation of 500 million euros to buy her silence.
It is frankly not hard to guess whether Zach is indeed the honourable man he professes to be in front of Emmy, or if he had a one night stand with Julia as she claims. Oh yes, what matters is not so much the destination as the journey, and the tension between Zach and Julia soon comes to a head at 8,000 feet into the air.
For one, the group lose their guide Harry (Kelsey Grammer), an American originally from Chicago who in addition to owning a hot air balloon business now also works part time as a clown. Suffice to say his fall from the balloon is no laughing matter, leaving a du plicitous Zach, a doubtful Emmy and a vengeful Julia to fend for themselves while fighting amongst themselves.
Making the best out of a limited budget, director Claudio Fah and screenwriter Andy Mayson engineer a number of harrowing scenarios – some of these have to do with Julia of course, and the rest with the elements, what with Zach and Emmy needing to navigate their hot air balloon over, above and around the ridges of the Dolomites, while dealing with a fire in their basket, a severed rope that controls the air flow at the top of the balloon so they don’t drift off too high, and a torn canopy that could deflate them right in the middle of a thunderstorm. The staging could certainly be better, but there are still genuinely nail-biting moments in between.
What does take the air out of the proceedings is how not quite realistic it is – ultimately, the whole point of the endeavour is to appreciate how a kindergarten teacher (we mean Emmy) and an unscrupulous venture capitalist (no prizes for guessing who we mean) can overcome the odds to survive nature and some nasty bit of human nature in close proximity. Fah’s staging is too cavalier to put us in the thick of the action nor for that matter for us to share vicariously in Emmy’s anxiety as she dangles precariously in mid-air to secure the rope or the torn part of the canopy.
Though it could clearly have been more, ‘Turbulence’ is adequately engaging as a time-killer if you keep your expectations low. Truth be told, we went into this with little to no expectations, and we came out feeling neither too thrilled nor too disappointed at what it turned out to be. So likewise, if you keep your hopes in check, you’ll probably find ‘Turbulence’ a harmless bit of entertainment that doesn’t outstay its welcome.
Movie Rating:
(A sky-high thriller with a juicy premise that never quite takes flight, Turbulence delivers mild, occasionally tense entertainment—but little lasting impact beyond a passable time-killer)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Romance/Horror
Director: Maggie Gyllenhaal
Cast: Jessie Buckley, Christian Bale, Annette Bening, Peter Sarsgaard, Jake Gyllenhaal, Penélope Cruz, Julianne Hough
Runtime: 2 hr 6 mins
Rating: M18 (Sexual Scenes & Violence)
Released By: Warner Bros
Official Website:
Opening Day: 5 March 2026
Synopsis: A lonely Frankenstein (Bale) travels to 1930s Chicago to ask groundbreaking scientist Dr. Euphronious (five-time Oscar nominee Annette Bening) to create a companion for him. The two revive a murdered young woman and The Bride (Buckley) is born. What ensues is beyond what either of them imagined: Murder! Possession! A wild and radical cultural movement! And outlaw lovers in a wild and combustible romance!
Movie Review:
Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Bride!” is an ambitious experiment — one that, much like the creature at the centre of the story, is stitched together from disparate parts and brought to life with undeniable conviction. But as with Frankenstein’s creation, the result is a fascinating yet awkward organism: a film that tries to be a horror movie, a mob drama and a love story all at once, yet never quite reconciles these competing identities.
Inspired by the 1935 classic “Bride of Frankenstein”, Gyllenhaal’s film relocates the myth to a stylised 1930s Chicago. In this version, the lonely monster (played by Christian Bale) seeks companionship and persuades a scientist to resurrect a murdered woman as his Bride. Jessie Buckley plays the reanimated woman, who awakens not merely as a creation but as a force of will in her own right. What begins as an act of grotesque scientific hubris soon spirals into a strange romance that ripples outward into the city around them, drawing in gangsters, police and a cast of opportunists who see the creature and his Bride as curiosities, threats or weapons to be exploited.
On paper, the premise is deliciously strange. Gyllenhaal seems intent on reinventing the Frankenstein myth by blending gothic horror with the energy of a Chicago mob story and the emotional beats of an unconventional love story. At times, the film feels as though it is trying to stage a collision between several different genres: the shadowy laboratories and macabre imagery of classic monster movies; the swaggering criminal underworld of a gangster film; and a tragic romance between two beings struggling to understand their place in the world.
Individually, these ingredients are intriguing. Together, however, they never quite settle into a coherent whole.
There are stretches where “The Bride!” plays like a lush gothic horror film, with the imagery evoking the classic Frankenstein tradition: lightning-lit laboratories, stitched flesh, and a sense that unnatural forces have been unleashed. These moments are steeped in the eerie melancholy of the original myth, where the horror arises not merely from grotesque science but from the loneliness of the creature itself.
But just as the film begins to lean into this gothic atmosphere, it abruptly pivots into another register. Suddenly, the narrative is populated by Chicago gangsters, criminal rivalries and underworld intrigue. The mob elements introduce a sense of danger and scale, but they also push the film in a different direction altogether. Instead of deepening the central story, these plotlines expand outward, scattering the film’s attention across multiple threads that compete for focus.
At the centre of the film is the relationship between the monster and the Bride — a pairing that should provide the emotional core. Gyllenhaal clearly intends their bond to carry the story: two beings brought into existence through unnatural means, navigating a hostile world that regards them as aberrations. The idea of the Bride discovering her autonomy and identity is particularly compelling, reframing a character who was once little more than a silent symbol into someone with agency and unpredictability.
Jessie Buckley throws herself into this role with fearless intensity. Her Bride is not merely a passive creation but a volatile presence, by turns curious, rebellious and unsettling. There is something electric about watching her character piece together who she is and what she wants from a world that immediately tries to define her.
Yet the romance between the monster and the Bride never fully lands with the emotional weight it seems designed to carry. Their connection unfolds in abrupt bursts rather than through a steady emotional progression. Moments that should deepen their relationship are often interrupted by the film’s other narrative strands, leaving the central love story oddly underdeveloped.
This sense of fragmentation becomes the film’s defining characteristic. Scenes that feel like they belong to different movies sit side by side without quite blending together – one moment the film leans into gothic horror, the next it shifts into mob drama, and then it veers toward tragic romance. The tonal shifts can be jarring, as if the film is constantly renegotiating its own identity.
Ironically, this awkward hybridity mirrors the story it is telling. Frankenstein’s creature is famously assembled from mismatched parts, and “The Bride!” often feels constructed in much the same way. Each component — the horror, the gangster plot, the romance — has potential on its own. But stitched together, they create a film that lurches from one mode to another without fully integrating them.
Still, there is something admirable about the sheer audacity of the attempt. Gyllenhaal approaches the material with a bold visual imagination, crafting a world that feels deliberately stylised and heightened. The film’s design embraces theatricality and excess, leaning into its strange premise rather than trying to ground it in realism. At times, this aesthetic ambition produces moments of genuine fascination, where the film feels like a fever dream spun from gothic myth and noir fantasy.
What undermines the film is not a lack of ideas but an overabundance of them. Gyllenhaal appears determined to reinterpret the Frankenstein story through multiple lenses at once: a meditation on creation and autonomy, a feminist reclamation of the Bride, a gangster tale set in a mythic Chicago, and a tragic romance between two outsiders. Each of these threads contains the seed of an interesting film, but together they pull the narrative in too many directions.
Ultimately, “The Bride!” may be remembered less as a successful film than as an intriguing experiment. Much like its resurrected heroine, it lurches between identities—part horror, part mob saga, part tragic romance—without quite finding a stable form. The result is messy, uneven, and occasionally exhilarating.
Which is perhaps the most fitting tribute imaginable to the Frankenstein legend: a creation that is flawed, fascinating, and unmistakably alive.
Movie Rating:
(Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Bride! is an ambitious but uneven genre mash-up that, like Frankenstein’s creature, stitches together horror, mob drama and romance into a fascinating experiment that never quite comes alive)
Review by Gabriel Chong
SYNOPSIS: Three storylines, spanning thousands of years, intersect and reflect on hope, connection, and the circle of life.
MOVIE REVIEW:
In the Blink of an Eye is an ambitious project that attempts to tell a philosophical story about the vastness of the universe and the circle of life. The narrative spans multiple timelines from a Neanderthal family struggling to survive, to present-day anthropologist Claire (Rashida Jones), and finally to the year 2417, where a spacewoman, Coakley (Kate McKinnon) embarks on a long journey to another planet.
Despite its relatively brief runtime of 94 minutes, the film requires considerable patience to decipher what director Andrew Stanton (WALL-E, John Carter) and screenwriter Colby Day (Spaceman) are trying to convey to the audience.
The drama jumps back and forth between the three storylines. We watch the Neanderthal family navigate illness, childbirth and a peaceful community to settle in. Meanwhile, Claire struggles with grief as she deals with her dying mother while also feeling uncertain about her relationship with Greg (Daveed Diggs), a statistics analyst from her workplace. In the distant future, Coakley and her AI companion ROSCO transport human embryos to a new planet in an effort to preserve the human race, all while dealing with failing plants aboard the spaceship that provide their oxygen supply.
The film touches on several serious and thought-provoking themes, but its narrative feels too uninspired and muddled to make a clear point. Stanton is known for emphasizing emotion and striking visuals in his animated features. However, in his live-action projects, his typically sprawling storytelling approach comes across as somewhat pretentious.
Ultimately, it is difficult to connect with the struggles of the Neanderthal family or Claire’s pursuit of both her career and personal life. Coakley’s mission to save humanity feels hollow and inconsequential. Among the characters, only Greg remains genuinely likable and human. Simply put, there isn’t enough screen time or narrative depth for the different storylines to fully come together.
To its credit, the present-day and future timelines eventually converge through a symbolic use of an acorn to represent life, continuity and emotional meaning. Yet the drama ultimately feels rushed and shallow especially toward the end. Stanton’s second live-action feature, arriving after a 15-year gap, ends up feeling like an exercise in futility. While the film is undeniably ambitious, its ideas never fully materialize beyond some appealing visual aesthetics and Thomas Newman’s evocative musical score.
MOVIE RATING:
Review by Linus Tee
Genre: Comedy/Thriller
Director: John Patton Ford
Cast: Glen Powell, Margaret Qualley, Jessica Henwick, Bill Camp, Zach Woods, Topher Grace, Ed Harris
Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence and Coarse Language)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website:
Opening Day: 19 March 2026
Synopsis: Disowned at birth by his obscenely wealthy family, blue-collar Becket Redfellow (Glen Powell) will stop at nothing to reclaim his inheritance, no matter how many relatives stand in his way.
Movie Review:
When the credits rolled for How to Make a Killing, Richard Linklater’s Hit Man, which also stars Glen Powell instantly came to mind. Both movies are crime comedies yet the latter fares better than the former. That is not to say How to Make a Killing is a bad movie, it’s just moderately entertaining.
John Patton Ford’s self-written directorial effort stars Powell as Becket Redfellow, whose mother is exiled from her ultra-rich family for running away with a man deemed unworthy of her. Although Becket is still entitled to the family fortune, there are seven relatives ahead of him in the inheritance line, meaning he must outlive all of them before seeing any money. Thus, he hatches a plan — to get rid of all seven of them, starting with Taylor Redfellow (Raff Law) and Noah Redfellow (Zach Woods).
How to Make a Killing begins as a dark crime comedy — supposedly violent, with a dash of psycho-serial-killer energy. In reality, however, Ford plays it very safe, so safe that you begin to wonder if the concept is ever going to work. We soon discover that Becket’s plans are merely so-so and ridiculously plain-sailing. His victims are easily disposed of without much of a hitch and even if you choose not to take things too seriously, the outcomes still feel underwhelming.
There are also the laughable recurring appearances of two FBI agents who show up to conduct routine interrogations of Becket. Amazingly, these encounters lead nowhere, which further illustrates the problem: the stakes may seem high but the results are not.
Fortunately, Ford delivers a few compelling and colorful supporting characters. Topher Grace appears as a pastor with questionable values and morals. Margaret Qualley plays Julia, Becket’s childhood crush who harbors an ulterior motive of her own while Jessica Henwick appears as Becket’s true love interest. Veteran Ed Harris also has a small role as the menacing family patriarch, Whitelaw Redfellow, who predictably faces off with Becket in the finale.
Honestly, without Glen Powell in the lead role, How to Make a Killing might not work at all. Powell’s charisma carries much of the film. He is likable, easy on the eyes, and does his best to convince the audience despite the somewhat shallow plotting.
How to Make a Killing could have been a sharper satirical take on generational wealth, human greed and nepotism. Sadly, these themes remain largely surface-level. Even the killings occur off-screen and feel inconsequential. It’s not that the movie is outright bad, but overall it feels like a missed opportunity.
Movie Rating:
(A charismatic Glen Powell stars in this slick crime comedy that ultimately lacks depth and wit)
Review by Linus Tee
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ACADEMY AWARD WINNERS 2026Posted on 16 Mar 2026 |
SYNOPSIS: During the final stage of U.S. Army Ranger selection, an elite team’s training exercise turns into a fight for survival against an unimaginable threat.
MOVIE REVIEW:
This War Machine has nothing to do with Marvel, nor is it a sequel to the 2017 Netflix drama of the same name starring Brad Pitt. Instead, this sci-fi actioner is written and directed by Patrick Hughes (The Hitman’s Bodyguard, The Expendables 3) and stars Alan Ritchson. No offence, but it turns out to be far better than what you might expect from a typical Hughes outing.
Ritchson plays 81, a combat engineer who lost his brother in an ambush and decides to join the Ranger program in his honour. While his physique is impressive, his PTSD and fragile mental state worry his superiors, Sergeant Major Sheridan (Dennis Quaid) and First Sergeant Torres (Esai Morales). They come up with a plan: if 81 and his fellow recruits can pass the final simulated test, they will be accepted into the regiment.
War Machine starts out as a straightforward action movie. In fact, the first half plays like a conventional military drama, filled with realistic and relentless Ranger training sequences. The less you know about the movie going in, the better, as Hughes introduces a mysterious alien machine-like craft halfway through the story. What initially appears to be a training simulation soon turns into something far more dangerous — a deadly alien threat targeting 81 and his platoon.
Technically speaking, War Machine boasts impressive CGI effects combined with breathtaking on-location shooting in New Zealand. The film delivers plenty of large-scale sci-fi action, featuring brutal battles between humans and alien machine and it doesn’t shy away from bloody violence. Amid all the explosions and chaos, Ritchson stands out as 81 — a flawed soldier who rises above the turmoil to become a heroic leader for his squad.
Fans of Reacher will certainly enjoy Ritchson’s performance here. Unfortunately, the rest of the supporting cast is mostly forgettable and serves mainly as cannon fodder. You’ll probably only remember a few archetypes: the comic relief (Blake Richardson), the lone woman in the squad (Alex King), and 81’s dependable second-in-command (Stephan James).
War Machine is far from the most original sci-fi film ever made. It borrows heavily from movies like Predator, Transformers (even the soundtrack sounds eerily similar) and Battle: Los Angeles. Still, despite its familiar elements, it remains an undeniably entertaining ride especially for diehard action fans.
MOVIE RATING:
Review by Linus Tee
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