FilmGator – Between Movies

A private user reviewed Kayara (2025)

Kayara

Kayara is a badass. Essentially Mulan but with elements of Emperor's New Groove as well. All the best parts of Emperor's New Groove are featured in this fun, family-friendly, Inca jungle romp written by some white guys. I assume lots of cultural inaccuracy in here but it's not Disney and I could understand the Spanish which made me feel smart.

A private user reviewed Becoming Led Zeppelin (2025)

Becoming Led Zeppelin

I grew up in an home where folk music reigned, and a bit like with those folks at the Newport Folk Festival who recoiled in disgust at Bob Dylan’s shift from acoustic to electric, my parents wouldn’t give this band house room in their collection. Therefore, save for the odd rendition of “Whole Lotta Love” or “Stairway to Heaven” I knew precious little about this band when I watched this documentary. It starts by introducing us to each of the members, and rather poignantly uses an interview with the late John ...

A private user reviewed Presence (2025)

Presence

'Presence' holds uniqueness in regards to how it is filmed, which is very effective, though its story does end up being quite straightforward - and more teen drama-ry than anticipated. All the same, I did enjoy myself whilst watching it unfold across 85mins, pleasantly.

The cast are also a strong point of this film. Lucy Liu and Eddy Maday are decent, though Callina Liang and Chris Sullivan are the definitive standouts - both t'rific. West ...

A private user reviewed Freaky Tales (2025)

Freaky Tales

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://movieswetextedabout.com/freaky-tales-review-a-wild-genre-blending-tribute-to-80s-filmmaking/

"Freaky Tales delivers exactly what it sets out to: a hyper-stylized, adrenaline-fueled spectacle bursting with energy and '80s cinema tributes, without any grand thematic pretensions.

While its narrative lacks cohesion and more substantial development of its themes and characters, it more than makes up for it with its frenetic pace, distinctive visuals, and pure ...

A private user reviewed Karate Kid: Legends (2025)

Karate Kid: Legends

While Karate Kid Legend may hold appeal for a younger audience drawn to high-energy martial arts sequences and a familiar underdog narrative, I found the film somewhat lacking in depth. The storyline followed a predictable arc with few surprises, and although competently executed, it offered little in the way of emotional complexity or thematic richness.

That said, one commendable aspect was the inclusion of a sustainability seal during the end credits. This small but significant ...

A private user reviewed The Alto Knights (2025)

The Alto Knights

After mob boss Vito (Robert De Niro with loads of facial prosthetics) gets into a scrape with the authorities, he has to flee the USA and leave his childhood friend and business partner Frank (Robert De Niro without augmentation) in charge of things. Many years go by and the latter makes a success of the post prohibition business, avoiding the narcotics industry and keeping the peace amongst the other families that control the boroughs of New York. Then Vito decides he wants to come home and resume his position at the ...

A private user reviewed Baby Blue (2025)

Baby Blue

This wasn't
For what this was it wasn't bad. Yes, some of the characters are annoying, yes, you can see the twists and turns if you have seen movies like this before, but this wasn't bad. It wasn't great, but it was certainly made with more heart and effort than some of the other stuff that gets released. I am not sad I watched this at all.

A private user reviewed Spinal Tap II: The End Continues (2025)

Spinal Tap II: The End Continues

I don’t know about the spirit of “Spinal Tap”, but the spirit of the much-loved “Victor Meldrew” - in the guise of “David St. Hubbins” (Michael McKean) is alive and well here! A better and more curmudgeonly companion for the newly married and cheese-shop owning “Nigel” (Christopher Guest) and glue-museum curator “Derek” (Harry Shearer) you couldn’t ask for as they reunite at the behest of the producer “Martin DeBergi” (Rob Reiner) for a last fly-on-the-wall to accompany their forthcoming one-night-only gig in New Orleans. If you thought the “Bros” movie (2018) ...

A private user reviewed George A. Romero's Resident Evil (2025)

George A. Romero's Resident Evil

**tl;dr:** This documentary is fine but underwhelming. It's probably interesting for fans of Romero / Resident Evil who had no idea about the unrealized film, but really you can just go and read the script that's been floating around online for yourself.

**Full review:**
The documentary is fairly one-sided. We only ever hear information from Romero's side of the story; interviews with people from the George A. Romero Foundation, the George A. Romero Archives, friends, and ...

A private user reviewed Americana (2025)

Americana

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://movieswetextedabout.com/americana-movie-review-the-weight-of-tradition-in-a-modern-western-key/

"Americana carries thematic richness and characters with emotionally satisfying arcs, brought to life by an inspired cast. It's true that the narrative loses some power in questionable structural choices and a genre fusion that, while ambitious, doesn't always succeed ...

A private user reviewed Sentimental Value (2025)

Sentimental Value

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://talkingfilms.net/sentimental-value-review-joachim-triers-profound-meditation-on-art-grief-and-forgiveness/

"Sentimental Value is, ultimately, a mature and profoundly moving movie that resonates with the authorial mark of Joachim Trier.

The film triumphs thanks to the strength of its narrative and the excellence of the four central performances. It's a meditation on inherited pain, the intricate cost of artistic creation, and the difficult, yet essential ...

A private user reviewed Magazine Dreams (2025)

Magazine Dreams

Toxic masculinity is a topic that has garnered increased attention in recent years, addressed in various outlets from TV talk shows to social media to myriad print resources. And now, in the latest offering from writer-director Elijah Bynum, the subject has made its way to the big screen (although it almost didn’t – see below). This character study of amateur bodybuilder Killian Maddox (Jonathan Majors) follows the life of this highly disciplined competitor who’s little known in the field but is determined to one day win major titles and fulfill his ...

A private user reviewed Ziam (2025)

Ziam

Beautifully executed but not entirely coherent.
Zombie movies can become incredibly difficult to write and direct as you need a lot of moving pieces to build and maintain the tension of an ongoing catastrophe like that. This is not a bad attempt, but it cannot stand shoulder to shoulder with things like Train to Busan, which is a Korean zombie movie that you probably should see instead. The martial art action in this feels gratuitous and some of the casting is lackluster at best. I can't recommend this even though it looks ...

A private user reviewed Captain America: Brave New World (2025)

Captain America: Brave New World

'Captain America: Brave New World' came close to pleasing me, but in the end I think it is not consistently enjoyable enough to be classed as something I'd want to watch again and/or recommend. There is quite a bit about it that I did like, but the down moments hurt the ups.

The cast and their characters are positives. I'm a big fan of Anthony Mackie's as he has done many roles in films that ...

A private user reviewed The Toxic Avenger Unrated (2025)

The Toxic Avenger Unrated

This doesn’t start well, indeed after about ten minutes I thought it was just going to be “Tyrion Lannister” does “Bruce Banner”. Well I was quite pleasantly surprised as it takes those foundations and, with it’s tongue firmly implanted in it’s cheek, and with him suitably armed with his newly radioactive mop, we set off on a crime caper with a difference. Kevin Bacon’s “Bob Garbinger” runs a big chemical company that routinely churns out enough gunge into the rivers and streams of the city to give Julia Roberts and Albert ...

A private user reviewed Mickey 17 (2025)

Mickey 17

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://movieswetextedabout.com/mickey-17-review-robert-pattinson-shines-in-bong-joon-hos-latest-genre-bending-adventure/

"Mickey 17 presents an intriguing sci-fi concept and raises interesting questions, even if it doesn't always explore them with the desired depth.

Bong Joon-ho continues to demonstrate his mastery in blending genres, but here, the satire and lack of subtlety in the narrative end up limiting the emotional and philosophical impact of a ...

A private user reviewed Ballerina (2025)

Ballerina

Entertaining enough spin-off that features great stunts and action sequences one would expect from the franchise and while the story isn't terribly strong (to be fair none of the JW movies had amazing plots), it was a solid time-waster and Ana de Armas was fairly good in the lead. Reeves for his part probably had about 10-minutes of screen time and likely collected a nice paycheck for a day or two of filming. I won't say it broke new ground however I did think it was a step up from John ...

A private user reviewed Elio (2025)

Elio

The geeky young “Elio” has been orphaned into the care of his military aunt “Olga” who works for Uncle Sam helping folks to navigate the debris that’s floating around in outer space. He likes to speak his own language “Elioese” and is fascinated, obsessed even, with making contact with alien life. He’s convinced that there is intelligent life out there, so imagine his surprise when he hears of a possible response from the Voyager mission sent decades ago. Next thing, well he is transported to the kaleidoscopic “communiverse” where everyone share ...

A private user reviewed The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent (2025)

The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent

This is quite a tensely shot short drama that depicts a scene on a train that has been stopped on it's journey through Bosnia by a paramilitary gang seeking Muslims. They are polite enough to the "brother" passengers whose papers they inspect, but "Milan" (Silvio Mumelaš) in one carriage has no papers and is terrified. His fellow travellers offer him some comfort and one, the retired captain "Tomo" (Dragan Mićanović) sticks his neck out when they try to remove the man from their compartment. When the train eventually moves on, fellow ...

A private user reviewed My Mom Jayne (2025)

My Mom Jayne

It’s curiously ironic that the search to learn more about a loved one you barely knew turns out to be a journey of discovery about oneself. Nevertheless, such was the case for actress Marisla Hargitay, daughter of screen legend Jayne Mansfield (1933-1967), who directed this revealing new HBO documentary about her relationship (or lack thereof) with the famous mother she lost in a tragic car accident when she was only three years old. Mansfield, one of the most visible movie idols of the 1950s and ʼ60s, was molded by the Hollywood ...