Ready for some angelic intervention? Synopsis!
Where: Cinemark Egyptian
In GOOD FORTUNE, a well-meaning but rather inept angel named Gabriel (Keanu Reeves) meddles in the lives of a struggling gig worker (Aziz Ansari) and a wealthy venture capitalist (Seth Rogen).
Ready? Let’s go!
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“You gonna have an open bar?… We’ll be there.”
Genre: Madea Movies (yes, she’s in a genre all her own, as is just and right)
Release Date: 2025
Where I Watched: Netflix
Gist: When Madea’s granddaughter Tiffany gets engaged, nephew Brian struggles to figure out how he became so distant from his kids. As his ex Debrah plows through plans Tiffany a “lavish” destination wedding in the Bahamas, the family has their own issues. Will Tiffany and her man make it down the aisle? Your guess is as good as mine.
Gotta say: C’mon now. If you clicked on this review, you’ve already got your ideas about Tyler Perry’s most famously infamous character, Madea. And nothing I write will talk you into, or out of, watching this latest installment. So let’s just have fun, you and me, okay? Cool.
“She’s coming. To Istanbul.”
Genre: Subtitled Romcoms (oh don’t worry, they’ve got an English dub if you’re tired.)
Release Date: 2025
Where I Watched: Netflix
Gist: Mavi and Can are off to Istanbul for their 2nd dating anniversary. He plans to finally make the perfect proposal while in Turkey. But chaos ensues when Mavi finds out she’s the granddaughter of one of the wealthiest families in Turkey. Can their love withstand the socio-economic changes? Oh look, a kitty!
Gotta say: This German-Turkish riff on Crazy Rich Asians is part romance, part family melodrama, part gorgeous travelog. And it’s a sweet, fun bit of fluff that’s perfect for a lazy day.
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“They say it’s a choice to sign up for the walk, but do you know anyone who doesn’t?”
Story: After a “war that tore the nation apart”, there is an annual Hunger Games Long Walk. Fifty young men are chosen from a lottery system to make the trek. Walk at the pace of 3 MPH, and finish. That’s all you’ve gotta do. But slow down, and you get three strikes. Then? You get your ticket punched, and you don’t want that. Last one walking, wins.
Genre I’d put it in: Dramatic Horrors
Release Date: 2025
Remake, Sequel, Based-On, or Original: Based on the novella of the same name by Richard Bachman, aka Stephen King
Gotta say: This is my favorite “Bachman book”. It’s also the most “King”, to my mind at least. Think of this story as Stand By Me, but with guns at the characters’ heads. It’s a seemingly small story, but Walk packs a hell of a punch.
This one sounds creepy… And from me, that’s a compliment. Synopsis!
HIM stars former college wide-receiver Tyriq Withers (Atlanta, the upcoming I Know What You Did Last Summer) as Cameron Cade, a rising-star quarterback who has devoted his life, and identity, to football. On the eve of professional football’s annual scouting Combine, Cam is attacked by an unhinged fan and suffers a potentially career-ending brain trauma.
Just when all seems lost, Cam receives a lifeline when his hero, Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans), a legendary eight-time Championship quarterback and cultural megastar, offers to train Cam at Isaiah’s isolated compound that he shares with his celebrity influencer wife, Elsie White (Julia Fox; Uncut Gems, No Sudden Move). But as Cam’s training accelerates, Isaiah’s charisma begins to curdle into something darker, sending his protégé down a disorienting rabbit hole that may cost him more than he ever bargained for.
Ready? Let’s go!
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“But for those who can’t accept me, I guess it’s just because they refuse to see it, and they don’t wanna understand it.”
Genre: Documentaries That Hark Back To Classic Documentaries
Release Date: 2025 (festival circuit 2024)
Where I Watched: Netflix
Gist: In the 1990 film Paris Is Burning, we got a look at the ball culture in New York City. We also got to meet and care about a whole lot of dancers in the scene. But for many of us, Venus Xtravaganza held a special place in our heart. Perhaps that was because she was so tiny and sweet. Perhaps because she was such a talented performer. Or perhaps it was because she was brutally taken from us before the documentary was released. Now, her biological brothers (along with a niece and nephew) look to find her killer.
Gotta say: I’ve always had a special place in my heart for Venus Xtravaganza. She seemed so fearless, so comfortable in her own skin. So freaking talented. As a gal who was born the same year this lady was? I’ll admit I wished I could be more like her back in the day. And I was heartbroken to see that the end of Burning closed with the information that she’d been murdered in a hotel room. Strangled to death and then left under the bed like so much garbage. It was a gut-punch that still hits me. So when Venus came to streaming, I was hesitant to watch. Would I end up even more heartbroken? Would I and other viewers get closure? Well, no, but also kinda.
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“The red light goes on, and what the hell have you got?”
Story: Well’p. It’s a documentary. So it’s basically the story of how Dominic Richard Harrison – aka Yungblud – recorded a live version of his 4th studio album, Idols at Hansa Studios, Berlin. It’s also much more than that.
Genre I’d put it in: Deeply Affecting Music Documentaries
Release Date: 2025
Remake, Sequel, Based-On, or Original: See Story paragraph above. Because I’m abnormally lazy.
Gotta say: In 2023, my niece Lucie said she bought us tickets to see Yungblud. Mostly because her mom wasn’t feeling the pit. But I was like HELL YEAH BABY I’M IN…who’s Yungblud? After that night, I was a fan. Yungblud (whom I’ll call Dom from now on, to differentiate him from the band in toto) is an incredible songwriter, talented musician, and has some serious pipes on him. But a few years went by, and while I enjoyed the hell out of his three albums (still do), I kinda didn’t think much about the band or Dom, figuring I’d hear something when his next album dropped. And honey? We all did.
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“What could you do? You couldn’t go back to mommy and dad.”
Genre: Rock Documentaries
Release Date: 2025
Where I Watched: Netflix
Gist: We all know that Led Zeppelin is one of the most popular bands of the 1970s. Their importance to music cannot be underestimated. But nowadays it seems their myth is greater than their music. Zeppelin looks to change that. By focusing on their coming together and early years, ending with the release of Led Zeppelin II, we see a fantastically professional set of talented musicians. Fancy that.
Gotta say: As someone who was in elementary and middle school at the height of Led Zeppelin’s power, all I remember is overly long slow dances to “Stairway To Heaven”, and a bunch of long-haired dudes whose faces I couldn’t really see performing absolute bangers that hit me in a way the majority of music at the time did not. (It was their blending of genres, something that at the time I could feel, but not understand.) Zeppelin scrubs away all the blinding starpower of the group, focusing on how these musicians came together and became stadium legends.
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“What the fuck was THAT?”
Story: In Maybrook, Pennsylvania, an entire classroom of children disappeared one night. Okay fine, so it was 2:17am. And okay fine, there was one child who remained. For their third-grade teacher Justine Gandy, it’s a mystery to be solved. For Archer Graff, he’ll move heaven and earth to find his son. And for many others in the town? It’s…well. It’s something. But nobody seems to know what.
Genre I’d put it in: Slow Burn Wild Ride Horrors
Release Date: 2025
Remake, Sequel, Based-On, or Original: Original, but you’ll notice ideas that echo other films, like Children of the Damned, Rashomon, Longlegs, and The Witch.
Gotta say: The vague marketing campaign of Weapons had me thinking about the similar styles of PR used in films like Longlegs and Nope. So yeah, I was itching to check this one out. I needed to know. And now that I’m home from the multiplex? Well, I’m still kinda stumped. But in a good way.
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“Oh god it’s bad – it’s so bad girl.”
Gist: In rural Kettle Springs, Missouri, Quinn and her physician dad come to town, looking to start fresh after Quinn’s mother died. The town seems to be a bit too into their yearly Founder’s Day celebration, and when Quinn’s newfound friends decide to liven things up? Well, apparently the town/old corn syrup factory’s mascot Frendo doesn’t take kindly to ridicule. At. All.
Genre: Small Town Tradition Killers
Release Date: 2025
Where I Watched: Shudder/AMC+
Gotta say: Oh man do I love Tucker and Dale vs. Evil. I watch it a few times a year. I’ve got the poster hanging in my house. Seriously, it’s a fave. So when I heard that Eli Craig – the director of Tucker – was helming this film? I could not wait. And, well, it’s okay. It’ll do when you want something new to watch.
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Got a dollar to spare? A quarter?
Atomic Fangirl 