Die My Love (2025) | REVIEW

Jennifer Lawrence as ‘Grace’ in Lynne Ramsay’s DIE MY LOVE — PHOTO: Mubi (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Lynne Ramsay (Morvern Callar; You Were Never Really Here) — Screenplay by Enda Walsh, Lynne Ramsay, and Alice Birch.

Based on Ariana Harwicz’s novel of the same name, Lynne Ramsay’s Die My Love follows a young mother, Grace (played by Jennifer Lawrence), as she struggles with everything from an identity crisis to postpartum depression and an imbalance within her marriage. The film is mostly set in and around a Montana-based home that the couple inherited from her husband’s late uncle. Robert Pattinson plays Jackson, Grace’s feeble husband, who is oblivious to how his behavior (and his being largely uninvolved in the day-to-day challenges) is impacting her. The film also features supporting performances from Sissy Spacek and Nick Nolte as Jackson’s parents, as well as LaKeith Stanfield as a mysterious individual with whom Grace has an ambiguous connection.

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Crime 101 (2026) | REVIEW

Barry Keoghan (Left) and Chris Hemsworth (Right) in Bart Layton’s CRIME 101 — PHOTO: AMAZON MGM STUDIOS (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Bart Layton — Screenplay by Bart Layton.

Based on a Don Winslow novella of the same name, Bart Layton’s Crime 101 follows a disciplined and lonely thief named Mike (played by Chris Hemsworth), who has done a good job of avoiding capture and planning out his robberies over the years. Now, after having completed a mission in which he stole diamonds (but which almost cost him his life), he’s on the fence about what to do next and is unsure about going straight into the next heist, even though his underworld middleman, Money (played by Nick Nolte), is frustrated by his unwillingness to go straight into the next job. So, while Mike strikes up a romance with a woman he encounters named Maya (played by Monica Barbaro), Money enlists a wild and unpredictable thief called Ormon (played by Barry Keoghan) to do what Mike won’t and possibly cut off the loose end that Mike personifies. Meanwhile, LAPD detective Lou Lubesnick (played by Mark Ruffalo) has managed to connect the crimes Mike committed and has determined that one person committed all of them. While both the criminal underworld and law enforcement are trying to track down Mike, he attempts to juggle a blossoming romantic relationship with getting ‘one last job’ done so that he can put his criminal days behind him for good. That ‘last job’ will involve Sharon Combs (played by Halle Berry), an increasingly disgruntled insurance broker, who may or may not be interested in breaking bad.

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2023 TV Catch-Up / Backlog: The Greats | Bite-Sized Reviews

(Clockwise L-R) Natasha Lyonne in POKER FACE (Peacock / SkyShowtime), Harrison Ford and Lukita Maxwell in SHRINKING (Apple TV+), Carla Gugino in THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER (Netflix), FOR ALL MANKIND (Apple TV+), and THE BEAR (Disney+ / FX).

Just like with the previous edition of Additional Bite-Sized Reviews, the point of this post is to function as a review compilation, if you will, of some notable 2023 television series that I’ve either just caught up with or which I never found the time to write about when they were released way back when. For this post, I have specifically highlighted five of the past year’s best shows. For quite a few of these, I had initially intended to write extensive, long reviews, but time flew by and now I just feel the need to get my thoughts out there on some of my favorite shows from 2023.

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Nightwatch (1997) | RETRO REVIEW

Ewan McGregor as ‘Martin’ in NIGHTWATCH — PHOTO: Dimension Films.

Directed by Ole Bornedal — Screenplay by Ole Bornedal and Steven Soderbergh.

A couple of months back, I decided to finally watch something that had been on my watchlist for such a long time, but which I was kind of dreading watching. I am referring to the English-language remake of Ole Bornedal’s Nattevagten, one of the most beloved and iconic Danish horror films. Although there are instances in which an English-language remake or reimagining of a Danish film can result in something akin to an improvement (see Michael Bay’s Ambulance), more often than not, though, English-language remakes of Danish films go one of two ways, either they result in A) a bland copy (though often with a more internationally recognizable cast) or b) an unnecessary remake that is so bad that it ruins the chances of the original reaching a larger audience by mere association. Make no mistake, Dimension Film’s English-language remake of Nattevagten, Nightwatch (also directed by Danish director Ole Bornedal), is not an improvement whatsoever. And, frankly, of the previous A and B options, Nightwatch is decidedly more in the A category. Nightwatch does have a more recognizable cast, but the American product is inferior, less interesting, and, yes, quite bland. This also means that it isn’t the Americanized abomination that I feared, but that, however, doesn’t mean that it is good.

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REVIEW: The Ridiculous Six (2015)

Netflix Release Poster

The following is a review of the Netflix Original Film “The Ridiculous Six”, a Frank Coraci & Adam Sandler film.

Netflix has been great at releasing binge- and stream-worthy content for years. House of Cards, Virunga, and Beasts of No Nation are examples of Netflix bringing excellent original content to screens around the world. Netflix has slipped up before, not every season, documentary or stand-up special works, but I believe that The Ridiculous Six might be the worst thing they’ve ever released as original content. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Ridiculous Six (2015)”