Bottom Row (L-R): ‘Under Stjernerne På Himlen (SF Studios;’ ‘Opus (A24),’ ‘The Amateur (20th Century Studios).’
Every once in a while, I don’t quite have enough to say or the time to put it into enough words for me to write full, dedicated reviews for everything new that I see. So, from time to time, I will just post a short review on Letterboxd, and, as you may have noticed, sometimes these reviews find their way to this site in the form of bite-sized reviews in a compilation article. That is exactly what’s happening today.
In this article, I’ll give you my thoughts on two Danish films starring the same stand-up comedian turned actor, an action thriller that came and went without much fanfare, a mystery thriller that also came and went without making an imprint, a recent Netflix casino flick, and a retirement home-set horror film that may just be one of the worst films I’ve seen this year. Let’s get to it.
Ballad of a Small Player | Film | Directed by Edward Berger | Release Year: 2025 | Recommended?: It depends.
As I am someone who really liked both All Quiet on the Western Front and Conclave, I was extremely excited to see what Edward Berger was doing next, especially when I heard he was teaming up with Colin Farrell and Tilda Swinton, both of whom are some of my personal favorites. My interest was piqued further by the trailers for Ballad of a Small Player, as they showed a colorful casino thriller, which is very much up my alley. But, as the saying goes, you don’t judge books by their covers. Now, don’t get me wrong, Ballad of a Small Player is not at all a bad film, it just does not live up to its potential.
Indeed, it often looks wonderful with its glamorous production design, its heavily stylized and eccentrically color-graded visuals, and the similarly red, blue, and turquoise clothing that we get to see Colin Farrell fool around in as the con man gambling addict disguised as an obscenely wealthy high roller gambler ‘with a lucky glove’ named Lord Doyle (as one character humorously calls out, he didn’t even pick a particularly posh surname for his fake identity). And yes, Farrell is predictably good here as a perennially stressed down-on-his-luck run-from-the-bill Macau-based hustler, and I enjoyed both Tilda Swinton and Fala Chen in supporting roles.
But if this is Berger going for Uncut Gems like stress, he doesn’t quite nail the landing. Sure, there are well-chosen close-ups and angles, but the pace of the film is surprisingly slow, and despite the fact that the film has two ticking clock elements (two debts he needs to pay before it’s too late), the film doesn’t really utilize that element to get you on the edge of your seat. Indeed, the film is more about a character falling apart than him earning back what he has squandered. At the end of the day, it ends up being at best merely ‘okay’ and, at worst, relatively messy and forgettable, because it tries to be too many things at one and the same time without paying any element the focus it ought to have to fully succeed (e.g., a stylish and quirky Macau-based film, a casino thriller with an emphasis on game mechanics, and an occasionally supernatural East Asian-set stranger in a strange land film). So, while I mostly enjoyed it, I can’t fully recommend it because it is a noticeably weaker entry into Berger’s filmography than his previous two efforts.
The Home | Film | Directed by James DeMonaco | Release Year: 2025 | Recommended?: Definitely not, no.
James DeMonaco’s The Home is an all-around baffling misfire that relies solely on its SNL lead actor’s presence and its ‘old people horror’ premise, neither of which can keep it from sinking. Ultimately, the premise sounds a lot better than the film is, largely due to really rough first-draft/scribbled notes-type dialogue, jarring and ineffective editing, a frustratingly slow pace, and, frankly, relatively cheap-looking visuals. It’s never scary, and, while it could easily have had potential as a tongue-in-cheek horror comedy, it isn’t funny either (though I’m sure a five-minute SNL sketch comedy version of this could’ve been fine with Davidson playing a type he is more comfortable with).
It really doesn’t help that Pete Davidson is woefully miscast, as the character and the direction ask things of him that he is simply not capable of pulling off. It is the kind of revealing miscasting that showcases the actor’s dramatic limitations. It’s ultimately a shoddily put-together snooze fest that fails to achieve what it set out to do. I found it to be shockingly bad and ineffective, and it is ultimately, disappointingly, one of the worst films of the year.
Det Andet Offer (International title: Second Victims) | Film | Directed by Zinnini Elkington | Release Year: 2025 | Recommended?: Yes.
It must be said that this is a pretty terrific feature debut from writer-director Zinnini Elkington. It is an intense, edge-of-your-seat medical drama that, with a bit of social realism, puts a spotlight on heightened workplace stresses with a narrative about guilt, blame, responsibility, swift medical assessments, the chain of screaming, and how you can go from being a hero to a villain in the blink of an eye, but still be expected to function perfectly. Like HBO’s The Pitt earlier in the year, it highlights the intensity of this line of work, but Elkington’s feature has no Hollywood sheen; it’s a lot of shaky-cam, and it’s got the hyper-realistic Danish hospital look.
It will both get you to the edge-of-your-seat, make your palms sweaty, and leave you mentally exhausted at the end of it. It’s all by design. Elkington’s film is blessed with a sensational and complex lead performance from Özlem Sağlanmak and a strong supporting performance from Trine Dyrholm, who always wrings the most out of the material. I will say, though, that Anders Matthesen’s appearance almost took me out of the reality of the narrative. He’s a brilliant stand-up comedian, but I am still not convinced by him as a dramatic actor. Still, I’m really impressed by this debut feature.
Under Stjernerne På Himlen (International title: Under the Stars in the Sky) | Film | Directed by Kasper Gaardsøe | Release Year: 2025 | Recommended?: Perhaps for nostalgic Danes, yes.
Like most Danes, I have a lot of love in my heart for Tommy Seebach and his songs (and, for what it’s worth, for his son Rasmus’ biggest hits, as well), and he definitely deserves another moment in the spotlight. I also think it does manage to touch your heart and be genuinely affecting in moments. At the same time, though, this is a rather safe and by-the-numbers version of the story (that fits the well-trod biopic formula), which I’ve heard told in documentaries before.
I don’t think you get anything here that you couldn’t get from reading a Wikipedia entry or a short article. It feels a little bit superficial, and the dialogue is a bit too obvious and on-the-nose (it lifts dialogue directly, and word for word, from Rasmus Seebach’s emotional song “Den jeg er,”). So, while it gets the job done and is a nice celebration of the Seebach family (and tribute to Tommy), as a musician’s biopic, it is a fairly unremarkable film. I also still don’t get the casting of Anders Matthesen in the lead role. You can give him contacts and change his hairstyle with a wig or the like, but throughout the film, it only ever reads as playing dress-up.
Opus | Film | Directed by Mark Anthony Green | Release Year: 2025 | Recommended?: No.
This definitely could’ve worked, as it has many of the right ingredients on paper, like Ayo Edebiri, John Malkovich, and a writer-director with experience in the magazine journalism space, but it falls apart in the execution and in the lack of originality. There are clear pacing issues, it is very derivative, the writing pales in comparison to the films it’s copying, and the ending, to some extent, feels rushed, as the film is wrapped up in an unsatisfying way that doesn’t really say anything you haven’t heard or seen done better before. Having a movie about the modern cult of celebrity and the celebrity status’s relationship with influencers and journalists sounds fairly interesting, but, ultimately, it feels like a lesser version of other films about cults or with eat-the-rich themes.
It fits right at home in the Midsommar, Get Out, and The Menu mould, but it is nowhere near as good. I don’t want to be too hard on a debuting director (and this certainly has elements that are stronger than many other debut films), but this film lacks originality and identity. It can’t escape the ‘been there done that’ of it all, which is a massive problem when several narrative beats don’t land well. I will say, though, that there is some fun to be found in Malkovich’s performance (and his character’s songs).
The Amateur | Film | Directed by James Hawes | Release Year: 2025 | Recommended?: Not really, no.
Jason Bourne or John Wick mixed with Snowden. That’s essentially the setup. I remember seeing the trailer a while back and thinking it looked really entertaining in a top-notch bargain bin offering kind of way. As someone who, once upon a time, loved Mr. Robot, I have a soft spot for Rami Malek, but while he’s paired with a strong supporting cast (Holt McCallany! Jon Bernthal! Michael Stuhlbarg! Laurence Fishburne! Rachel Brosnahan!), I have to admit that I don’t think Malek was very good in this.
In his big, early emotional reaction, I thought he really overacted in a way that stood out and kind of took me out of the movie. Really, on paper, Malek makes sense for this part, but he struggles with the passionate and emotional aspect of his justice-seeking hacker genius. As a result, it’s just not as emotionally engaging as it should be, and though there are certain exciting sequences (the best of which is in the trailers), the film is surprisingly poorly paced and dull.
But what did you think of these films? Please do consider commenting below.
– Reviews written by Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen.
I'm Jeffrey Rex 