REVIEW: “Mutiny” (2026)

August 21, 2026 by Keith Garlington

You always know what you’re going to get from a Jason Statham movie. The 59-year-old English action star is one of the steadiest and most reliable actors in the industry today. Statham’s films don’t shatter the mold or break new ground. But they are sturdily made and consistently entertaining. They routinely work because Statham knows his audience and he almost always meets their expectations. Such is the case with his latest film, “Mutiny”.

Jean-François Richet directs “Mutiny” from a script penned by Lindsay Michel and J.P. Davis. It’s the director’s followup to his surprisingly propulsive 2023 action thriller “Plane”. With “Mutiny” Richet crafts another proudly straightforward and entertaining throwback, this time catered to the gritty, hard-hitting style of Jason Statham. And for fans who know what they’re in for, his latest actioner delivers in spades.

This time around Statham plays Cole Reed, a highly decorated former Royal Marine and police officer who now works as head of security for Tibo Campallo (Ramon Tikaram), the billionaire owner of a major Bangkok shipping company. Five years ago Cole saved Tibo’s life. After that, Tibo took Cole in and became his boss, mentor, and father figure. Now Tibo is on the eve of selling his company and leaving a healthy sum of the money to his son Kameron (Chaneil Kular) who has his own big dreams.

But as Cole is driving Tibo home from a party, they are ambushed by a group of heavily armed men – some of them police officers. Cole manages to kill them all, but Tibo is gravely wounded and dies on the scene. After searching the bodies, Cole discovers a connection to a shipping vessel called the Artemis set to disembark later that night. So he makes his way to the port and sneaks his way onto the ship, intent on finding out who is behind his boss’ murder.

In his hunt for answers, Cole makes an alarming discovery. In the belly of the ship he uncovers a shipping container loaded with scared, hot, and hungry people. And as he tries to free them, he’s spotted by a couple of goons who he quickly disposed of, Statham style. But that alerts the ship’s corrupt and complicit Captain Marko Madsen (Roland Møller) who quickly makes extinguishing this stowaway a priority. But Cole finds an ally in Angie Ellis (Annabelle Wallis), the ship’s third mate and a last-minute addition to the crew list.

Richet wastes no time ratcheting up the tension, much of which comes from confining his protagonist to a freighter far out in the Andaman Sea. It’s a fascinating setting, with stacks and stacks of shipping containers. cramped corridors and gangways, and no place to escape to. Statham does the rest, simmering with his signature intensity and unleashing his special brand of justice (or it this case vengeance). And while the story is plenty serviceable, it’s Statham doling out that justice/vengeance that fans want to see.

The story does its job of setting the table, establishing the stakes, and then moving us from one action encounter to the next. Similar to romantic comedies, these movies tend to go exactly how we expect and it’s no different here. But the action is the film’s bread and butter, and it more than satisfies. The kills have an especially brutal edge to them as Statham uses everything at his disposal including his fists, guns, knives, an axe, a harpoon, and more. In a nutshell, it rips!

Again, there’s nothing all that new here. “Mutiny” sticks to brand and delivers exactly what it promises. And if you have expectations of something more, that’s kinda on you. Similar to the actor-centric action movies of the 80s and early 90s, Statham films have clearly defined themselves. And with his latest, fans of that formula will certainly get their money’s worth. “Mutiny” is 95 minutes of straightforward action escapism built around a reliable star who can still convincingly and entertainingly get the job done.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS

REVIEW: “Coyote vs Acme” (2026)

August 20, 2026 by Keith Garlington

For those who don’t know, the true story behind getting “Coyote vs Acme” released is movie material in itself. The film was fully completed in early November, 2023. But then news dropped that Warner Bros. Entertainment had canceled its release in order to claim a $30 million tax write-off. The move sparked intense backlash from an angry public and from within the industry. There was enough heat to make the studio reverse course and allow the filmmakers to shop the film to other buyers. Ketchup Entertainment saved the movie, buying it for $50 million.

It was a truly bizarre course of events considering how well the movie test screened and the enthusiasm that was building around it. Thankfully the story has a happy ending, and not only because “Coyote vs Acme” is finally getting its well-deserved release. But because this live-action/animation hybrid is a blast. It’s funny, family-friendly, and fiercely faithful to the spirit of these classic Looney Tunes characters who so many of us spent our childhood with.

**Image Courtesy of Ketchup Entertainment**

The story of “Coyote vs. Acme” is based on Ian Frazier’s 1990 article of the same name that was published in The New Yorker. It’s adapted for the screen by Samy Burch who tells this fittingly looney tale in a way that is both a nostalgic blast and a genuinely funny comedy. Director David Green does the rest, surprisingly grounding the story yet with no shortage of Looney Tunes hijinks. Fans will love the signature zaniness and they’ll smile with every classic character who pops in to make an appearance.

After years of using faulty Acme products in his futile attempts at catching the speedy Road Runner, the hapless Wile E. Coyote travels to Albuquerque, New Mexico and hires an equally hapless billboard attorney named Kevin (Will Forte). Coyote’s idea is to sue the Acme Corporation for decades of defective mail-order products they’ve sent him. But Kevin isn’t a ruthless, go-for-the-jugular lawyer. He specializes in quickly settling small, easy cases.

After the crafty Coyote dupes him into filing a lawsuit against Acme, Kevin scrambles to find a way out of the mess. “Our job is not to win this case”, he declares to his staff. “Our job is to still be in business when it’s over.” But that won’t be easy. Especially when Kevin learns he’ll be going head-to-head against Buddy Crane (John Cena), Acme’s merciless chief legal counsel who has all the company’s corporate connections at his disposal.

Green really leans into the goofiness of the film’s premise, and I say that as an enormous compliment. He maintains just the right comic tone throughout the brisk 100 minutes, and everyone on-screen is in lockstep. Forte nails the down on his luck Kevin, who has settled for a go-nowhere job and is content to live in a motel for another five years. Cena feels a bit out of place at first, but the over-the-top energy he brings ends up fitting right in. Meanwhile Lana Condor gets a nice supporting role as Paige, Kevin’s niece and spirited new intern.

The combination of 3D animation and live-action is incredibly well done. Reminiscent of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”, it allows the cartoons to feel perfectly at home in the real-world setting. And it fuels some of the best humor which is often aimed at long-time Looney Tunes fans who will love the many callbacks. But “Coyote vs. Acme” is a hysterical romp with a big heart which leads to some surprisingly moving moments. And for this charming, funny, and root-worthy underdog story, that is the proverbial icing on the cake.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

First Glance: “Whalefall” Official Trailer & New Poster

August 19, 2026 by Keith Garlington

Now here is a confined, tight-quartered feature film unlike any that has come before it. “Whalefall” is a deep-sea survival thriller that spends the majority of its time in (of all places) the belly of a giant sperm whale. The movie is based on a 2023 best-selling novel by Daniel Kraus who co-writes the movie’s script along with director Brian Duffield. 20th Century Studios recently released the official trailer and it looks like one wild ride. But for those who are claustrophobic…beware.

Austin Abrams plays Jay Gardiner, a scuba diver struggling to cope with the loss of his domineering father Mitt (Josh Brolin). His father was a local diving legend who drowned off the coast of California. His body was never found. Hoping to find his dad’s remains, Jay dives in the treacherous waters near Monterey. But disaster strikes when he is swallowed by an enormous 80-foot sperm whale. It leaves him fighting for his survival against sustained injuries, limited oxygen, the darkness, and of course the creature’s digestive system. The movie looks absolutely bonkers. But it also looks like a lot of fun.

“Whalefall” swims into theaters on October 16th. Check out the new trailer and poster below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

REVIEW: “Feed” (2026)

August 19, 2026 by Keith Garlington

Vampires and Irish folklore collide in the new supernatural horror film appropriately titled “Feed”. It’s written and directed by Marco van Belle who employs the tried-and-true formula of sending a group of good-looking young people to be terrorized (and more often than not slaughtered) by some deadly force. In this case it’s five obnoxious influencers who come face-to-face with a mysterious and very angry local legend.

Social media influencers haven’t always made for the most sympathetic protagonists and it’s no different here. This time it’s five of the most unconvincing “friends” imaginable, who arrive at a remote Irish Airbnb for a week-long getaway. Nessa (Daisy Jelley) is a self-obsessed social media maven who expects everyone to prioritize her the way she prioritizes herself. Austin (Rhy Mannion) is Nessa’s lapdog American boyfriend and photographer. Sean (Oskar Smith) is Nessa’s starstruck assistant. And tagging along is Nessa’s best friend Orla (Grace Collender) and her boyfriend Lorcan (Clinton Liberty).

While the trip seems to revolve around Nessa shooting promotional videos for her own line of products, we learn there is another motivation. The group hopes the getaway will help Orla who is still reeling from a horrific family tragedy one year earlier. She once had her own blossoming social media career which Nessa hopes to rekindle. But Orla’s trauma has a crushing hold on her, and getting her out of her own head proves to be harder than her friends expect.

The horror kicks in after the group stumbles upon an old ritual site while roaming around in the nearby forest. Nessa instantly orders her lackeys to start filming for her channel. But Orla has a violent vision after accidently cutting her finger on some creepy wreath. As they rush the panicking Orla back to the house, blood from her cut seeps into the ground, unearthing a vengeful revenant known as the Dearg Due.

The Dearg Due (which is translated “red bloodsucker”) takes her female form and sets out to find a new host. And her first stop is the house where she begins terrifying the influencers in a number of horrifying ways. The house’s owner, Nora (Charlotte Bradley) and her eerie granddaughter (Sadbh McMullin) factor into the story, and they end up being more interesting than any of their five guests. But even they can’t bring enough to really invest us in the story.

That said, van Belle does generate some pretty good suspense in the film’s second half as things finally ramp up. He also includes some genuinely creepy makeup and practical effects (the few swings with digital effects aren’t nearly as effective). It’s also easy to appreciate his reliance on atmosphere and tension-building rather than cheap jump scares. It doesn’t help some of the movie’s frustrating narrative problems, but it does help to deliver a decent payoff for genre fans.

At a lean 83 minutes, “Feed” doesn’t drag along or overstay its welcome. At the same time, it would be a better movie if more time had been spent building up and fleshing out the Dearg Due’s backstory. There is still so much begging to be told. And if it had been, I can’t help but believe the film would pack a much bigger punch. As it is, “Feed” manages a few chilling moments and a couple of impressive kills. But sadly there’s not much to cling to beyond that.

VERDICT – 2 STARS

FILMLAND 2026 REVIEW: “In Spite of Ourselves” (2026)

August 18, 2026 by Keith Garlington

[“In Spite of Ourselves” screened at Filmland 2026 and was followed by Q&A with writer-director Jeff Loeb, cinematographer Gabe Mayhan, and composer Jim Fairchild.]

Josh Loeb writes and directs “In Spite of Ourselves”, a romantic drama that (sadly) almost feels like the remnant of a bygone era. It’s the kind of adult-centered movie that simply doesn’t get made these days. Instead studios have migrated towards flighty and formulaic melodramas aimed at younger audiences. Thankfully independent cinema has left the doors open for filmmakers who still remember the work of the Rob Reiners and Nora Ephrons.

“In Spite of Ourselves” surprises in a variety of ways. Tops on the list is how it continually bucks the predictable formulas that have come to define these types of stories. Every time we think it’s going a more conventional route, Loeb brings things back to earth. And that grounded sensibility extends to everything from the characters to the dialogue to the story arc itself. It’s such a refreshing reminder that stories like this can be told without following some worn-out blueprint.

From the outset, “In Spite of Ourselves” feels as if it’s drawn from real life. And for good reason. Loeb pulls from all kinds of life experiences, from his successes as an accomplished restauranteur to more personal family circumstances. It all factors into his story about two thirtysomethings, who by all conventional modern movie wisdom appear destined to be together. But as we learn, they’ll need to come to grips with their own messy lives if they are to have any chance together.

Archie (Brett Dier) is an up-and-coming comic out of Los Angeles who can’t seem to get out of his own way when it comes to commitment. His only semblance of a social life is hanging out with his two friends and fellow comics, Ben (Mo Mandel) and Sam (Alyssa Limperis). When not touring comedy clubs along the west coast, Archie is trying to cope with the failing health of his father Frank (Glenn Morshower), who is living in a senior care facility battling dementia.

Meanwhile in Portland, Hannah (Conor Leslie) is a talented baker with big dreams of opening her own restaurant. For the time being she’s stuck working for a narcissistic chef named Jake (Ethan Ingle) who believes he can treat her however he wants due to one night of drunken indiscretion. But Hannah has more on her proverbial plate. She has slowly been losing hearing in her right ear. And the only means to potentially stop it is a major surgery that comes with some frightening risks.

While doing a show in Portland, Archie pops into Jake’s place for a cinnamon roll which is where he meets Hannah. The moment plays like your prototypical meet-cute with its slightly awkward dialogue, sheepish grins, and a glaringly obvious mutual attraction. But well before the movie veers into standard-issue rom-dram territory, Loeb pulls his story back to reality with a slightly comical yet emotionally grounded moment that sets the tone for the rest of the film in its own unique way.

While Archie and Hannah have an easygoing and organic connection, their individual struggles begin pulling them in opposite directions. It’s here that the movie features the same maddening lack of communication that often plagues these stories. It’s a case where one open and honest conversation could avoid the majority of the conflict. But in the movie’s defense, overly internalizing their feelings fits naturally with these characters. And it builds towards an ending that honestly conveys the messiness of real life.

Loeb’s script communicates its themes through the lens of the writer’s own experiences which infuses it with an authenticity rarely found in the genre today. It also helps to have two solid anchors in Leslie and Dier, whose indelible charm and natural chemistry bled over into a real-life engagement. Then you have some solid supporting characters, such as Hannah’s best friends Becca (Britian Seibert), a raging cynic, and Shalice (Zora Casebere), a hopeless romantic. They mostly dodge the archetypal bullet which allows them to have some genuinely meaningful moments.

Other factors play into the movie’s success, from its distinct visual language to its shrewdly composed score. But the impact is felt most through Loeb’s refreshing vision and two superb lead performances. The bulk of the humor seems aimed at stand-up comedy fans, but there are plenty of amusing moments for the rest of us. And the schmaltz-free storytelling is a nice reminder that stories like this can be told without the crutches of excessive sentimentality and tired formula. For me, that’s what makes “In Spite of Ourselves” stand out most.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

REVIEW: “The End of Oak Street” (2026)

August 17, 2026 by Keith Garlington

Set in the 1980s while emanating Steven Spielberg vibes from the 1990s, the mostly entertaining “The End of Oak Street” hearkens back to the crowd-pleasing blockbusters of yesteryear. Writer-director David Robert Mitchell has crafted an unashamed Twilight Zone meets Jurassic Park throwback. But Mitchell throws in just enough of his own original flourishes to make this is more than some lazy Spielberg impression. It still has its issues, but it also has its fun.

“The End of Oak Street” is the kind of proudly preposterous popcorn entertainment that has the end goal of taking its audience on a no-nonsense, creature-filled thrill ride. And it mostly succeeds in doing that. It’s a smorgasbord of genre conventions, tapping into everything including science fiction, domestic drama, and even survival horror. Just don’t go in expecting it to make much sense. In fact, by the end, making sense seemed to be the least of its worries.

Mitchell’s story is set in the summer of 1982 and kicks off with the neighborhood of Flowervale gathering for a block party. It’s a nice introduction to the people of Oak Street, most importantly the Platt family. Ewan McGregor plays Greg Platt, a down-on-his-luck husband and father who recently lost job yet hasn’t mustered the courage to tell his family. His wife Denise (Anne Hathaway) is a talented writer who has backburnered her ambitions to raise a family.

Greg and Denise put on a good show, but their marriage has hit a rough patch. And their bookish daughter Audrey (Maisy Stella) and their sensitive son Brian (Christian Convery) are starting to notice. As Greg pretends to deliver pizzas for “some extra money”, Denise is secretly writing a novel in the basement. Neither are willing to deal with their secrets. He would rather drown them with swigs of whiskey from his hidden stash in the garage. She pours her feelings out on the pages of her book.

Outside of Greg and Denise’s semi-buried personal struggles, the family live a pretty normal life. But with one blinding flash of white light, their idyllic 1980s suburb is whisked away to the Jurassic Period some 250 million years into the past. And yes, I means the entire neighborhood. Of course the Platts aren’t immediately aware of what has happened and the movie takes a little too much time revealing it to them. The first hint comes when they travel to end of their street only to find it dead-end at a massive chasm. But the real teller comes during their first of many encounters with…you guessed it…a dinosaur.

The real fun begins here as the film finally kicks into gear. It’s easy to enjoy such a bonkers premise when the movie operates with such self-awareness. Mitchell has a field day conceiving new ways for dinosaurs to terrorize a superb. The effects are pretty impressive and they’re instrumental in building much of the excitement and tension. They also emphasize the film’s surprisingly nasty edge which is seen in a handful of delightfully gruesome dino kills.

While the fun-factor is a huge positive, “The End of Oak Street” isn’t without its issues. Mitchell throws in a couple of storylines that are underdeveloped to the point of being uninteresting. There’s a strange bully bit involving Brian that all but vanishes until it pops back up again at the most baffling time. Then there is the new neighbor Jeannette (Jordan Alexa Davis) who tags along with the Platts after her parents are devoured off screen somewhere. She adds a ham-fisted romantic angle to the story that feels clumsily tacked on. And it diverts the movie away from doing what it does best.

The movie also employs nearly every trope you can list to go along with an assortment of side character archetypes. By no means do these gripes break the bank. But they do strip away some of the originality. And it’s compounded by an ending that is content with surface-level explanations of what is actually happening. You could nitpick several other things about “The End of Oak Street”, but in the end it delivers exactly what it promises. And it does so with more than enough humor and heart to go along with the wild and wacky spectacle.