Easily among the most anticipated films of 2025 in Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation of Mary Shelley’s classic 1818 novel “Frankenstein”. It seems like the perfect fit for the Academy Award-winning filmmaker who both writes and directs this well traveled tale. He brings together an all-star cast that includes Oscar Isaac as the brilliant but egotistical Victor Frankenstein, Jacob Elordi as his macabre creation, and Mia Goth as Victor’s fiancé. The film also stars Christoph Waltz, Lars Mikkelsen, Felix Kammerer, Ralph Ineson, Burn Gorman, David Bradley, Charles Dance, Christian Convery, and Lauren Collins.
“Frankenstein” will be coming to select theaters on October 17th followed by its Netflix streaming release on November 7th. To get audiences ready, Netflix has released some killer new teaser key art which I’m sure it’s just the start of their promotion for what could be a significant awards contender. Check them out below.
Are you excited for Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein”?
It has been over two years since writer-director Tony Tost’s “Americana” had its world premiere at the 2023 South By Southwest film festival. Now this rural genre smorgasbord is finally set for its official release on August 15th. But before it does, “Americana” recently kicked off Filmland 2025, an Arkansas based celebration of cinema presented by the Jeff Nichols led Arkansas Cinema Society.
“Americana” is a movie that can’t be summarized by a single label. Tost throws a little bit of everything at the screen. His film could rightly be called many things including a crime thriller, a heist comedy, a Western deconstruction, a stylish neo-noir, a trashy (although relatively tame) exploitation flick, and more. It unquestionably borrows (perhaps too heavily) from its obvious inspirations, most notably Quentin Tarantino and the Coen brothers. Yet it’s a surprisingly assured first feature from a filmmaker drawing from several of his own life experiences.
Image Courtesy of Lionsgate
Set along the border of South Dakota and Wyoming but mostly shot in New Mexico, “Americana” leans into its unique setting both visually and narratively. The sparse, sunbaked territory adds a certain character that richly benefits the story. As for that story, it’s a non-linear yarn that Tost unfolds through a series of chapters. It features a wide array of colorful characters who function like puzzle pieces, each connecting together in unexpected ways.
Much of the story revolves around an ancient ghost shirt traced to the indigenous Lakota people. The movie begins with it in the possession of a wealthy collector played briefly but comically by Toby Huss. With a worth of around half a million dollars, the ghost shirt attracts the attention of a lot of people. Among them is a sleazy antiquities dealer named Roy Lee Dean (Simon Rex). Dean hires a local thug, Dillon MacIntosh (Eric Dane) to steal the shirt. But once Dillon discovers its worth, he considers selling it himself.
Elsewhere, Sydney Sweeney plays Penny Jo Poplin, bashful waitress with strawberry blonde hair, a noticeable stammer, and big dreams of moving to Nashville and becoming a country music singer. Paul Walter Hauser plays Lefty Ledbetter, a lonely lovelorn cowboy who frequents her diner. Over time the two development a amusingly sweet relationship. And after Penny Jo overhears Roy Lee making the deal with Dillon, they decide that getting the shirt first could be the answer to their dreams.
And elsewhere (again), a battered single mother named Mandy (played by pop star Halsey) flees an abusive relationship with Dillon, seeing the shirt as her ticket to a better life. In the process, she leaves behind her stubborn 11-year-old son Cal (Gavin Maddox Bergman) who is obsessed with Native American culture (the television version), so much so that he believes himself to be the reincarnation of Sitting Bull. Young Cal eventually crosses paths with Ghost Eye (Zahn McClarnon), the leader of an area Native American resistance group who soon find themselves hot on the shirt’s trail.
Image Courtesy of Lionsgate
As you can tell, “Americana” has numerous parts moving in the same general direction. Yet to Tost’s credit, he maintains mostly unpredictable character arcs. Despite how familiar the movie sometimes feels, the characters take enough surprising turns to keep us guessing. As for the offbeat cast, Sweeney and Hauser are highlights with each giving solid low-key performances in a movie that cranks so much up to 10. Halsey also shines despite having the hardest to read character in the movie.
As Tost maneuvers his way towards the story’s inevitably violent finish, he lightly explores several themes. The most glaring features yet another patriarchy takedown that gets more obvious with every white male Tost kills off. But frankly no one should watch “Americana” in search of some deep sociopolitical insight. It’s best viewed as a routinely funny, fittingly violent, and stylishly made caper that’s cinematically seasoned with 70s, 80s, and even a touch of early 90s flavor. It’s a well-acted romp and an accomplished first feature from a filmmaker to keep your eye on.
In its opening moments, “River of Blood” transports us to the jungles of Southeast Asia where a team of Australian loggers are savagely murdered by a mysterious tribe. That sets the table for this handsomely shot but frustratingly shallow horror thriller from director Howard J. Ford. It has all the ingredients for a good old-fashioned exploitation romp. But even with a few helpings of gory goodness, you can’t help but sense the movie playing it safe.
Written for the screen by Tom Boyle, “River of Blood” is built upon a simple yet promising premise. Filmed on location in Thailand, the jungle setting is as beautiful as it is threatening, with its dense green foliage, high canopy with rays of sun beaming through the cracks, and the narrow winding river cutting through it. And as the beauty gives way to the danger, Ford delivers some pretty gnarly violence which is perfectly fitting for the story he’s trying to tell.
Image Courtesy of Saban Films
But the problems almost immediately seep in through the thinly sketched characters and their paper-thin relationships. The movie outlines some history between them and attempts to build tension through the drama unfolding between them. But the jealousy, bitterness, and betrayal is all so superficial and borderline soapy. Meanwhile meatier themes regarding deforestation and native culture remain on the surface. Compound it all by their countless dumb decisions which may get the story to where they want it, but makes them look incredibly inept in the process.
Four good-looking and undeniably privileged friends are vacationing together in Southeast Asia. They are Ajay (Louis James) and his wife Maya (Ella Starbuck) and Ritchie (David Wayman) and his wife Jasmine (Sarah Alexandra Marks). Ajay and Ritchie have been best friends since college, but it’s clear the insecure Ajay is jealous of Ritchie’s financial success. Even clearer is the obvious affair between Ajay and Jasmine.
The four ‘friends’ decide to take a kayak river tour into the jungle led by their guide, Nick (Joseph Millson) who on a whim changes their day trip into an overnight adventure. Aside from Ajay’s eye-rolling machismo and natural douchery, things start off great as the group floats down the scenic river admiring the jungle’s unspoiled beauty. But that all changes after they set up camp for the night.
The poorly concealed inter-couple drama eventually comes to a head, driving one member of the group to stupidly take off on their own. The others start searching for their missing member but end up crossing into land inhabited by a territorial tribe of violent cannibals. Suddenly the pampered vacationers find themselves being stalked by the tribe’s chief (Nelson Mahodi) who is hunting for his people’s next meal.
Image Courtesy of Saban Films
From there the story leans heavily into its predator/prey dynamic. To the film’s credit, it leads to several harrowing sequences although getting to them requires enduring some numbingly dopey character moments. The cast gives it their all, and their physical commitment is especially appreciable. They certainly seem up to handling deeper and more challenging material but never get it.
Even with its blemishes, “River of Blood” manages to pull off what some would argue is its most important task – to entertain. At a brisk 87 minutes, the movie never leaves us much time to dwell on its shortcomings. And for die-hard horror fans it’ll be even easier to look past the flaws. That’s because Ford hits his genre beats and doesn’t skimp on the blood. Still, I can’t help but wish the movie had pushed things further. A little more risk could have made a world of difference.
Warrior and swordswoman Red Sonja has a long history in the world of pop culture. The character as most know her was created by Roy Thomas in 1973 and was somewhat inspired by Robert E. Howard’s Red Sonya of Rogatino from 1934. Thomas – the man who brought the classic pulp character Conan the Barbarian to mainstream American comics – often teamed Red Sonja with Conan in his Hyborian Age adventures prior to her receiving her first self-titled dedicated comic series in 1977.
Those who aren’t comic fans may remember Red Sonja from the not-so-great 1985 film starring Brigitte Nielsen. It was a spin-off from Arnold Schwarzenegger’s popular Conan movies but ended up a critical and commercial failure. Nonetheless a reboot was in the works in 2008 and again in 2015, but both attempts crumbled early into their conceptions. By 2021 a script had finally been written, and one year later M. J. Bassett was in line to direct.
Image Courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films
Now set for its official release, “Red Sonja” seeks to recapture the once popular sword and sorcery pulp from the 1980s. In many ways it’s very much a throwback action fantasy in line with that decade’s earlier (and notably bloodier) films. At the same time, it has no real connection to the 1985 film and is only vaguely in line with the more recent comics. Instead Bassett takes Red Sonja in a handful of new directions while mostly staying true to the essence of her character.
An inspired Matilda Lutz fully commits to her role as the eponymous central character. Her Red Sonja is a capable warrior who is not without her own vulnerabilities, many of which are traced back to her childhood. A series of flashbacks reveal she was separated from her people as a child after their village was violently ransacked by barbarians. Now, accompanied only by her fiercely loyal horse, Sonja roams the vast Dyrkania forest in search of her lost people, the Arkanians.
After pouring out some well-deserved vengeance on some shameless poachers, Sonja is taken captive by the film’s big baddie, Draygan (Robert Sheehan). He and his entourage are combing the forest for beasts to put in his arena. Sonja is immediately cast into his den of gladiators whose only purpose is to “die exceptionally“. The similarities to Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator” are impossible to deny. Sonja is told she can win her freedom if she wins in the arena. And she can only win in the arena if she wins the crowd (sound familiar?). Meanwhile her courage wins over the other gladiators who determine to fight by her side.
As for Draygan, in many ways he’s a blend of several fantasy villain archetypes. But Bassett and screenwriter Tasha Huo add a few layers of backstory that give him a touch of his own identity. Draygan is a self-ordained emperor who seeks the second half of a sacred tome that he believes prove he is the fulfillment of a mythical prophecy. He’s the epitome of a megalomaniac, using his crude mechanical inventions and army of loyalists to crush anyone in his way. He’s also a coward, hiding behind those very same forces he wields.
Image Courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films
To no one’s surprise, the story moves towards an inevitable showdown between Sonja and Draygan. As it does, we’re ushered through a violent world full of ancient gods, mythical creatures, and eye-popping natural beauty. At the same time, you can’t miss the moments of campiness and certain scenes where the film’s budget constraints are made pretty obvious. Still Bassett does a lot with what she’s given, unfolding an immersive story accented by beautiful landscapes, brutal violence, and a rousing heroine at its center.
For many (like me), “Red Sonja” is an entertaining callback to a nearly forgotten time in sword and sorcery cinema. It’s a movie that embraces the wonder (and at times absurdity) of the 1980s films with reverence. Yet it’s littered with lines of humor that keep it from taking itself too seriously. And while it has most of Sonja’s key ingredients including her fierce warrior tenacity, her fire-red hair, and even her signature chain mail bikini, it’s aware enough to poke fun at the old-school exploitation from her past. When all considered, “Red Sonja” is the worthwhile feature length adaptation the character has long deserved.
Prime Video’s “War of the Worlds” from director Rich Lee is a science-fiction thriller that attempts to put a modern spin on the 1898 H.G. Wells novel of the same name. It employs the screenlife style of visual storytelling where nearly everything plays out on the screens of computers, smartphones, tablets, televisions, etc. It’s an interesting approach to the classic story. Unfortunately it utterly crumbles under the weight of its own astonishing clumsiness.
Made during the COVID-19 era, “War of the Worlds” sees Ice Cube playing William Bradford, a Domestic Terrorist Analyst for the Department of Homeland Security. His job description is somewhat of a mystery, but basically he alone has full access to the globe’s digital systems. He sits alone at his computer in his DHS office, watching surveillance feeds, hacking into security cameras, listening in on cell phone conversations, monitoring people’s credit card accounts, and playing a cat-and-mouse game with a mysterious hacker named “Disruptor”.
Image Courtesy of Universal Pictures
When not serving as the government’s intrusive eyes, William uses his high-tech access to spy on his two kids. He constantly chides his son Dave (Henry Hunter Hall) who recently graduated college but spends most of his time at home playing video games rather than finding a job. He’s even more worried about his pregnant daughter Faith (Iman Benson) who is only a few weeks away from having her baby. It’s all part of this underdeveloped family angle that’s shoehorned in during some of the weirdest times.
As the controlling William secretly watches his daughter drink coffee and monitors her heart rate through her iPhone, the earth is shaken as countless meteors rip through the atmosphere and crash to the surface. Out of them crawl massive alien machines dubbed Tripods which immediately wrecking havoc all across the globe. William instantly finds himself caught in between his government duty and protecting his family.
Rather than giving us a thrilling visual depiction of the alien invasion, we watch it with William through a series of grainy low-resolution videos that are broken up by snippets of generic news reports and footage of soldiers running around in full soldier mode. In a sense it’s bold and (if it had been surrounded by good material) it could have been dramatically effective. But when viewed through the film’s lone gimmick, the invasion only feels threatening from a distance.
But the movie’s problems extend much further than that. The story is haphazardly thrown together and it features more cheap shortcuts than meaningful plot turns. Meanwhile watching Ice Cube trying to sell us on him being a tech whiz is unintentional comedy in itself. He does what he can with the script, but seeing how he reaches certain conclusions can be hilarious. And he’s saddled with so much laughably bad dialogue that it is impossibly to take him seriously.
Image Courtesy of Universal Pictures
Ice Cube isn’t the only victim from the cast. No one else gets a fighting chance either. Eva Longoria gets nothing to do playing NASA scientist Sandra Salas. A wasted Clark Gregg plays NSA Director Donald Briggs (Clark Gregg) whose cartoonish villainy barely registers. Neither Hall or Benson get much help either. Both are shuttled around as the script calls for it, and both are caught in ludicrous family drama that always pops up at the worst times.
Despite its efforts, “War of the Worlds” is hampered by enormous plot holes, ridiculous conspiracies, an incredibly goofy second-half twist, and an unhealthy dose of shameless product placement. And it’s all coated in artery-clogging cheese that seals the fate of this bad and baffling misfire. There’s an admirable idea somewhere within it. But it’s barely discernible amid the waves of bad scenes that get more preposterous with each passing one. “War of the Worlds” is streaming exclusively on Prime Video.
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is bringing “The Accountant 2”, the surprise sequel to the 2016 action thriller “The Accountant”, to home video. The movie sees star and producer Ben Affleck reteaming with director Gavin O’Connor in a film that improves on its predecessor by taking an almost buddy-comedy approach. Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, and J.K. Simmons all reprise their roles from the first film. You can read my full spoiler-free review of the movie [HERE].
This 4K Ultra-HD edition of “The Accountant 2” is light on special features but looks sharp and comes with a digital copy. It will be available to purchase on August 12th. See below for a full synopsis of the film and its release information.
About the Film:
Year: 2025
Runtime: 132 Minutes
Director: Gavin O’Connor
Screenwriter: Bill Dubuque
Cast: Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, J.K. Simmons, Daniella Pineda, Allison Robertson, Robert Morgan, Grant Harvey, Andrew Howard, Lombardo Boyer, Michael Tourek
Rating: R for strong violence and language throughout
Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) has a talent for solving complex problems. When an old acquaintance is murdered, leaving behind a cryptic message to “find the accountant,” Wolff is compelled to solve the case. Realizing more extreme measures are necessary, Wolff recruits his estranged and highly lethal brother, Brax (Jon Bernthal), to help. In partnership with U.S. Treasury Deputy Director Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), they uncover a deadly conspiracy, becoming targets of a ruthless network of killers who will stop at nothing to keep their secrets buried.
Keith & the Movies 