Category: Reviews

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When watching the movie “Primate,” my first thought was “Wow, people still think apes can learn languages,” and my second one was, “That’s about what I expected.”  It’s a mediocre horror movie though fair warning there is a lot of gore. 

Directed by Johannes Roberts, “Primate” stars Johnny Sequoyah as Lucy Pinborough, Jessica Alexander as Hannah, and Troy Kotsur as Adam Lucy’s father. Lucy and her friend Kate are flying home from college to Hawaii when it’s revealed Hannah Kate’s friend is also coming, much to Lucy’s annoyance. They meet up with Nick and all four head to Lucy’s house. They arrive home and meet Adam, who is deaf, and also a novelist, along with Erin, Lucy’s younger sister, who is upset that she has been gone for so long. 

Ben the chimp then pops up, and it’s revealed he can communicate through a soundboard, and was taught by Lucy’s deceased mom. Ben and Hannah interact near the pool where Ben begins to act aggressively. Adam finds a dead animal in Ben’s cage the next morning along with a bite mark on Ben. Adam calls a vet to check on Ben before leaving to go to a book signing. Ben kills the vet, escapes the cage, and begins attacking everyone at the house. They all go into the pool for safety, because Ben has rabies. They stay in that pool for a while trying to come up with a plan.  

The best thing “Primate” has going for it is its rather atypical premise, which is the most redeeming thing it has. Besides that the movie has major flaws. There is no discernible theme at all in the movie besides maybe a vague notion of family. But this gets thrown out when you realize Ben was a part of the family. So, is the message not to adopt chimps into your family? Additionally, the film is 90 minutes and could have easily been shorter. 

At a lot of points, you feel bad for Ben, which really takes away from the horror elements. I thought it was kind of stupid that he was going out of his way to fully brutalize all his victims. He has rabies. He should be a wild crazed animal, not a killer that is hunting his victims. The acting is a really mixed bag and there are too many characters for the movie to juggle. The gore and special effects were really good though, and might leave some queasy. The film is good if you’re not looking for something super deep and just want to have some dumb fun.  

Overall, I thought “Primate” was okay. There are always going to be far worse movies someone could be spending their money on, and it’s not a bad choice. If you like gory horror movies that make little to no sense at all, this movie is for you. If you at all care about the monkey like I did, maybe it’s not. “Primate” gets a 5.8 out of 10. 

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Amazon Prime recently released a new movie titled “Wrecking Crew” starring Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista. Most of the movie takes place in Hawaii with a few scenes in Oklahoma. The movie is hilarious if you can handle violence and explicit language. 5/5 stars for me. 

The movie is described as a buddy cop action comedy film in terms of genre but just feels more like an action comedy. Momoa’s character may technically be a cop, but that is not particularly relevant. Neither is Bautista’s role being a higher up in the Navy. The only part of their characters’ careers that were relevant was the martial and weapons training they received from it, making each of them able to easily take on their attackers in hand to hand.  

The secondary villain is introduced early in the movie when Momoa’s character Jonny Hale is attacked in his own home, while using the restroom no less, by a couple of Yakuza thugs looking for some mysterious package from his long-estranged father. He was joking around the whole time he was beating the stuffing out of these thugs until one of them messed with the shrine he had for his late mother. After that, the joking immediately stopped and was followed by utter rage and brutality. To top the whole thing off, he was drunk and drinking through the whole fight because his girlfriend had just left him earlier that day.  

Dave Bautista plays Momoa’s older half-brother, US Navy Seal James Hale. He is a very serious character who has a loving family. Already, the two men were vastly different from each other, but then their father Walter Hale is killing in a hit and run so they must tolerate each other long enough to figure out who killed their father. 

They are both Native Hawaiian, and as such have a fierce loyalty to their island and culture. The island and their culture are in trouble with the arrival of Claes Bang as Marcus Robichaux looking to develop a part of the island where a large community of native Hawaiians are, with mentions of a casino. Gambling is outlawed in Hawaii, so any mention of a casino or gambling is shocking to them.  

Jason Momoa has had a lot of serious roles in his career, and while that excludes his recent role as Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison in the Minecraft Movie, this role was something else. Not to mention how different Dave Bautista’s recent role of Drax from “Guardians of the Galaxy” is from his character in this movie.  

Whoever wrote the dialogue of the two brothers bickering with each other and even their small interactions together are spot on for how brothers act and talk. Down to them exchanging blows at one point. One set of dialogue perfectly encapsulates it. James asked if Jonny ever shut up; Jonny replied with the very mature reply of farting sounds. James got the last word when he asked his brother, “What do you charge to not talk?” Perfect capturing of a brotherly moment. There were some parts of the dialogue that could be included as the movie has an R rating for a reason. Not only because of the vivid on-screen violence, but the dialogue is very explicit. 

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“We Bury the Dead” is perhaps the emptiest nothing movie I have watched in a long time. It is worse than bad, it is in fact, nothing. Nothing is the worst thing a movie can be. 

The film is directed by Zak Hilditch and stars Daisy Ridley as Ava, Brenton Thwaites as Clay, and Mark Coles Smith as Riley. The movie is set in Tasmania after America accidentally launches a new experimental weapon resulting in the city of Hobart being destroyed and leaving the remaining population brain dead. But of course, some are still alive and might as well be zombies. 

Ava is an American who has volunteered to help with the clean-up of the area in hopes of finding her husband’s body. She is assigned with Clay, a local in the area who, besides being cool-looking, has no personality. They are tasked with going into houses to find dead bodies and then alert the military of the ones that are alive. Ava wants to go looking in the area her husband was in, so the two find a motorcycle and ride off before encountering Riley, a member of the military who says he will help them. While all of this is happening, we see flashbacks of Ava and her husband before he went away to Tasmania. 

It’s simple, and with a run time of around 90 minutes, you’d think it would be nice and straight to the point. But for some reason, it takes forever for anything to happen, and feels double the length. One-third of the film is spent on the opening scenes of corpses being dragged around. It’s so utterly boring and it’s not even scary. Things happen in the movie, but it feels like nothing happens. 

The ending isn’t great either, dragging on for way too long. Essentially, Riley kidnaps Ava and tries to make her his wife, but she kills him. She meets back up with Clay and they find her husband’s body. It’s revealed that Ava cheated on her husband and that’s why he left for Tasmania. Then Ava and Clay ride off. It’s supposed to be emotional, but it’s so hard to care about these characters or their lives. 

The acting is alright; Ridley gives a good enough performance. The film’s atmosphere is pretty good along with the general setting being nice to look at. But then again, I didn’t sacrifice 90 minutes of my life just to watch a pretty screensaver. 

What shocks me the most is the positive attitude many have toward the film. Personally, I think this has to do with the general rejection horror movies get from the mainstream compared to other genres. To some, “We Bury the Dead” is unique and different, and therefore worthy of praise. But to me if a horror movie isn’t scary, if it isn’t giving a deep message, and if it isn’t entertaining, it has failed. Do not watch this movie, you would be wasting 90 minutes of your life that you can never get back. I give “We Bury the Dead” a 4.3 out of 10. 

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Seth MacFarlane is probably best known for his work on well-known shows like “Family Guy,” “American Dad!,” and “The Cleveland Show.” He has made a guest appearance on “Star Trek: Enterprise,” and has been inspired to create his show, “The Orville.” MacFarlane not only writes and produces the show, but is the main character, Captain Edward “Ed” Mercer. 

The first season was released in 2017, followed by the second season in 2018-2019 under Fox before being taken in under Hulu and releasing the third season in 2022.  

During the first season, the tone had some serious elements but was kept pretty light throughout that first season. During the second, it got a little more serious, but in the third season after Hulu took over, the budget seemed to have gotten larger, and with the new streaming platform, they were able to tackle far more difficult topics.  

With difficult topics comes a lot of challenges, but the way many of the topics are handled with respect and a touch of humor to take some of the edge off was really impressive. According to reviews, the first season did not do very well with critics, but season two and onwards was well-received.  

The main cast is part of the Planetary Union, which is an interstellar alliance in the 25th century, with many species coming together on ships like the USS Orville (ECV-197), a mid-level exploratory vessel. While it is technically an exploratory vessel, they get into trouble over and over again. This trouble is usually with species like the Krill and the Kaylon, both having some interesting lore to them.  

The first episode sets an interesting tone for several characters and the relationships between them. Starting the show off with Ed walking in on his then wife Kelly Grayson, played by Adrianne Palicki, sleeping with a blue alien and switching to him being promoted to Captain of his own ship was a unique start to a show about space exploration for sure. Next thing you know, Kelly Grayson is found to be Commander Kelly Grayson, the newly appointed First Mate to her now ex-husband Ed on his new ship, Orville.  

A character that has some interesting story lines and character development is Lieutenant Gordon Malloy, played by Scott Grimes. He does not seem to be very lucky in love, but his humor is almost always on point with his timing. He has quickly become a favorite of mine with how he handles tough situations with humor and wit. Malloy is also a very intelligent man who can think on the fly with his piloting skills, like when he pulls off a risky maneuver he called “Hugging the Donkey,” where he moved the ship around the enemy ship as if drifting a car instead of a massive spaceship.   

Lieutenant Commander Bortus, played by Peter Macon, and Doctor Claire Finn, played by Penny Johnson Jerald, are characters that play an important role in the show as well. Bortus is a race of alien that is known as a single sex race, though that becomes one of those hard topics they broach later. He is very dry and brutally honest, but it works for him. Doctor Claire has interesting character depth that gets explored in her romantic subplots as well as her handling of complex situations. She is a very compassionate character but has a wry sense of humor that pairs well with her field. I would say overall, “The Orville” is a solid 4/5 for me. 

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Season five of “Stranger Things” feels less like a normal season of television and more like a long goodbye. From early on, it is clear that Hawkins is not something that can simply be saved and reset. The damage left behind from season four shapes everything, and the show commits to a heavier, more final tone all the way through. 

One of the strongest choices this season makes is letting loss linger. Max being alive but not truly present hangs over the group constantly, especially Lucas. His grief and frustration are uncomfortable to watch in the best way because there is nothing he can do to fix it. The show finally allows characters to sit in pain instead of immediately turning it into motivation or action. 

Eleven’s arc feels the most complete it ever has. Instead of focusing on how strong she is, the season focuses on control and choice. Her final confrontation with Vecna is not really about power but about refusal. Refusing to become him. Refusing to let trauma define her. It feels like the natural end of the story that began when she first escaped the lab. 

Vecna himself is used more carefully this time. He feels less like a villain who needs constant screen time and more like something inevitable. His presence looms even when he is not on screen, which makes the threat feel heavier and more personal. 

Will’s coming out is handled quietly and respectfully. It is not treated as a major plot twist or emotional centerpiece, but as a small moment of honesty in a season full of endings. The show does not overexplain it or turn it into a big deal. It simply lets it exist as part of Will growing up and understanding himself, which fits both the character and the tone of the final season. 

Steve, Nancy, and Jonathan finally stop repeating the same emotional loops from earlier seasons. The ending is not perfect or overly sentimental, but it feels honest. Not everyone ends up where fans might expect, and that realism works in the show’s favor. 

The finale avoids a clean reset. Hawkins survives, but it is permanently changed, and so are the people who grew up there. The last moments are small and human rather than flashy. Friends sitting together. Silence. A sense that childhood is truly over. 

While season five is not the most fun season of “Stranger Things,” it may be the most meaningful. It closes the series by accepting that growing up comes with loss, change, and unfinished feelings, and it does not try to soften that truth. 

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Approximately four months and three weeks after the release of Hollow Knight: Silksong, the gaming community has beaten the game and formed their opinions. After all of the excitement that the game generated at release, it became clear that the community behind Silksong’s predecessor, Hollow Knight, had very high hopes.  

Silksong is a Metroidvania game based in Pharloom, a kingdom in disrepair though not completely abandoned. You meet pilgrims making their way to the citadel at the top of this kingdom, though most don’t survive to make it there. Hornet, our protagonist, gets captured and is brought to Pharloom. When she escapes her captors, your main objective becomes reaching the citadel. You go through difficult boss battles and arenas, meet many characters like a caravan of flea characters and Shakra the map maker, and can complete quests for the towns you come across. In comparison to Hollow Knight, Silksong gives the player more choice, allowing Hornet to build bonds with characters and dictate what will happen in the acts of the game. 

The game as a whole was received very well by both Hollow Knight community members and newcomers to the series. The positive aspects of the game being heavily related to its intricate and well thought out level/world design. There are 32 distinct areas on the map that the player gets to explore as they progress through the game, each feeling unique to one another. With the new movement of Silksong, these areas have their own ways to progress. 

Great examples of this are in an area called the Hunters March, which utilizes the pogo mechanic so that you can avoid spikes that fill the area. Another example is in an area called Mount Fay that uses the claw line mechanic to have you scale the mountain while avoiding being frozen. Each area brings its own quirks to the game that makes it feel fleshed out and nicely done. Adding onto that each area has multiple bosses that complement their themes, sometimes catching the player off guard.  

With every good game, there also comes issues that the players have with them. With Silksong, the biggest problem people have had was the backtracking. Because of the number of bosses that the game has, it makes sense that dying is very common, even for seasoned players. In  Silksong, you can heal yourself and save when you sit on a bench, which also respawns enemies. Though these benches are riddled through Pharloom, they may not be close to the arena or boss that you are trying to fight, and having to backtrack through treacherous areas to collect your things and fight a boss can be daunting and quickly become an annoyance. In the boss fight for Groal the Great, the runback takes anywhere from three to five minutes, while you also risk dying again during it. While not every boss fight has this issue, it is still a mildly annoying part of the game. Though runbacks are very common in Metroidvanias and not just an issue within Silksong.  

With the Hollow Knight: Silksong DLC Sea of Sorrow rapidly approaching in 2026, it’s clear that even with the difficult bosses and bad runback, Silksong is a well-crafted and good game. This holds true with Silksong receiving the title of 2025 game of the year during the Steam game awards.

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“Pluribus” is a show that does nearly everything correctly. It will be revered like Vince Gilligan’s other shows (“Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul”). It is deeply human, and that might be the best part. In this review, there will be spoilers for the first episode and other minor plot points. 

The show stars Rhea Seahorn, playing romance novelist Carol Sturka, trying to navigate a world now run by a hive mind called the Others. The hive mind was created in a lab after scientists discovered coding for a virus being projected from space. They then created the virus, testing it on rats before a human got infected, eventually spreading to all but 13 people in the world. The Others are peaceful and meet almost any demand the immune make, but their end goal is to have the remaining 13 immune join the rest of the human race. Carol is seemingly the only person opposed to such a goal and thus clashes with the hivemind in the form of Zosia played by Karolina Wydra in a love-hate relationship mirroring actual relationships people have. Another character, Manousos Oviedo, played by Carlos-Manuel Vesga, refuses all contact with the Others. Eventually Manousos discovers the existence of Carol via videotapes she sends to the immune, leading him to travel from Paraguay all the way to Albuquerque, New Mexico, in order to help Carol reverse the virus.  

The show does a good job showing the negative and positive aspects of the Others. For example, the Others don’t kill, but this also leads them to not pick plants, causing there to be a crisis in the food supply. Everyone is happy, but it’s a result of everyone being basically one person and having all identity and autonomy stripped away from them with no consent. Nearly a billion people died in the so-called “Joining,” the event where the virus was activated. This includes Carol’s manager and wife Helen, adding to why she initially distrusts the Others. The show really is shades of grey and so morally complex. It deals with ideas of identity, choice, and what it means to be human. 

The cinematography is wonderful, with almost every shot being beautiful. All the actors give an amazing performance, especially Vesga. The music is mostly good, besides the intro, which isn’t nearly as memorable as that of “Breaking Bad” or “Better Call Saul.” 

One of the only problems the show might have is how long it will take for another season. Increasingly, more shows have taken longer and longer gaps with seemingly fewer and fewer episodes. Estimates for a second season release would be in late 2027, two years after the first season. Regardless, “Pluribus” is an amazing show that deserves immense praise. From its visuals to its storytelling, it’s hard to find many flaws. It is available for streaming on AppleTV. Overall “Pluribus” is the best piece of media I have reviewed so far. I would give the show a 9.2 out of 10 for sure.

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Approximately 4 months and 3 weeks after the release of Hollow Knight: Silksong, the gaming community has beaten the game and formed their opinions. After all of the excitement that the game generated at release it became clear that the community behind Silksong’s predecessor, Hollow Knight, had very high hopes.  

Silksong is a Metroidvania game based in Pharloom, a kingdom in disrepair though not completely abandoned. You meet pilgrims making their way to the citadel at the top of this kingdom, though most don’t survive to make it there. Hornet our protagonist gets captured and is brought to Pharloom, when she escapes her captors your main objective becomes reaching the citadel. You go through difficult boss battles and arenas, meet many characters like a caravan of flea characters and Shakra the map maker, and can complete quests for the towns you come across. In comparison to Hollow Knight, Silksong gives the player more choice allowing Hornet to build bonds with characters and dictate what will happen in the acts of the game. 

The game as a whole was received very well by both Hollow Knight community members and newcomers to the series. The positive aspects of the game being heavily related to its intricate and well though out level/world design. There are 32 distinct areas on the map that the player gets to explore as they progress through the game, each feeling unique to one another. With the new movement of Silksong it allows for these areas to have their own ways to progress. Great examples of this are in an area called the Hunters March, it utilizes the pogo mechanic so that you can avoid spikes that fill the area and in an area called Mount Fay that uses the claw line mechanic to have you scale the mountain while avoiding being frozen. Each area brings its own quirks to the game that makes it feel fleshed out and nicely done. Adding onto that each area has multiple bosses that compliment their themes sometimes catching the player off guard.  

With every good game there also come issues that the players have with them. With Silksong the biggest problem people have had was the backtracking. Because of the amount of bosses that the game has it makes sense that dying is very common even for seasoned players. In  Silksong you can heal yourself and save when you sit on a bench, this also respawns enemies. Though these benches are riddled through Pharloom they many not be close to the arena or boss that you are trying to fight, and having to backtrack through treacherous areas to collect your thing and fight a boss can be daunting and quickly become an annoyance. In the boss fight for Groal the Great the runback take anywhere from three to five minutes, while you also risk dying again during it. While not every boss fight has this issue it is still a mildly annoying part of the game, though runbacks are very common in Metroidvanias and not just an issue within Silksong.  

With the Hollow Knight: Silksong DLC Sea of Sorrow rapidly approaching in 2026 its clear that even with the difficult bosses and bad runback Silksong is a well crafted and good game. This holds true with Silksong receiving the title of 2025 game of the year during the Steam game awards.  

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Divinity: Original Sin II is not a game for everyone but still deserves some love. It is a turn-based roleplay game made by Larian Studios released in 2017 and music composed by Borislav Slavov, the same studio and composer who brought Baldur’s Gate 3 to life. 

The game came onto my radar after the announcement of Divinity, the seventh installation in the series, being announced at the last Game of the Year Awards ceremony following a departure from the Baldur’s Gate franchise. 

The trailer for the new game is very graphic, as is some of the gameplay in Divinity: Original Sin II, so audiences need to be aware of this before watching or playing. However, while the story has a plethora of dark elements throughout, it is still a diverse story with an even wider range of choices for the player. While having a mature rating can limit your audience, it opens a whole new array of topics to explore in the story that could not if less mature audiences were being targeted.  

One wonderful thing about Divinity: Original Sin II, is that not only can you play single player fine, but you can also play multiplayer just as well. Not only that, but the game was released to a variety of gaming systems, so both console and PC players could enjoy it.  

While the game itself has a cool layout and good mechanics, the story it is trying to tell is captivating to see unfold. Some of the topics seen in the story are graphic and violent but add to the story in unexpected ways. One of the big ones you become increasingly familiar with if you choose the companion character Sebille, is that elves are cannibals. 

This alone is such a unique take on elves that it sets this world apart from all others I have seen. Elves are tall and have the signature long elf ears but have borderline gangly limbs that truly set them apart from all other creatures in the game. Not only this, but when they eat flesh of others, they can see that creature’s memories, experience what they felt, and even gain new abilities or spells from it.  

Waking up on a slave ship with a collar around their neck, the player is in a precarious situation. After waking up, you are taken through the tutorial of how to move, do all sorts of actions, the usual kind of opening to a game. The opening cutscene tells of a witch hunt started because horrible monsters called Voidwoken emerged and began attacking people who used Source, attracted to it.  

From then on, all creatures ranging from elves, humans, dwarves, lizards, undead, and even animals who had a trace of Source, which is essentially soul magic in this game; they are rounded up and shipped off to a faraway island. People who can manipulate this energy are called Sorcerers. The ship you wake up on is full of captured Sorcerers, all with collars to make sure they cannot use it. After meeting all the available companion characters, investigating a murder, and encountering an old woman who is partially responsible for the Sorcerer witch hunt, the ship is attacked and sinks. Landing on the ship’s intended destination of Fort Joy, you need to figure out what is happening to the Sorcerers who are taken away by the Magisters and find a way off the island. And that is just Act 1. Each act has a different piece of the story set in a different place. 

The player has the choice between 14 classes, and while that choice shapes the kinds of things you will excel at, nothing is set in stone. You could choose a magic heavy class, but with the right tweaks to your skills, weapons, play style, and choice of skills, you can create something tailored to you. The game is not easy to start on, but if you put in the time to learn what everything does, then you will do great.  

If you have played both this game and Baldur’s Gate 3, then you may be familiar with the companion system. While it was frustrating that each player could not have a full team of companions each when playing multiplayer, being only limited to one companion character to control and develop alongside my own character was kind of nice as a first-time player of the franchise. I hope to see the option of having more open up in the new game.  

Overall, the game is a 5/5 for me, and I have been recommending it to anyone I can with the following advice. Make sure to read the content warnings beforehand, otherwise you might be a bit surprised. Almost everything you can see or touch is lootable, so do not skimp on your strength stats or your thievery skill if you need to steal something. Stealing can be a little broken in the game but helps when you need a ton of skill books but do not have the money for it in the early game, even more so in the later game as things get more expensive, so load up on as much gold as you can before leaving the island. 

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