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Movie reviews and ratings by two married people (Z)ach and (E)llen and their third wheel (J)ordan. Scroll for the latest reviews or check out our ratings table to find our favorites.

Zach Rhodes 11/17/25 Zach Rhodes 11/17/25

Predator: Badlands

Dan Trachtenberg’s Predator universe expands with his third film, Predator: Badlands, and in my opinion, it’s his best yet. Prey felt like a TV movie, and since Killer of Killers was a multi-chapter story, the quality level varied, but Badlands is a legitimate, feature length action film, made for the big screen, and it looked AWESOME! The planet and character designs are incredible, and the action sequences were really slick. While this movie, is plagued a bit from MCU-style “cute humor”, where dramatic moments are often undercut by a joke, which while it may be funny, sort of takes you out of the scene, and detracts from the darker tone of the universe. But that gripe, aside, this is very fun, and I hope Trachtenberg makes as many of these as he wants to.
-Z
I didn’t enjoy Prey and Killer of Killers as much as everyone else it seems, so my expectations for this were a bit low, but I was pleasantly surprised! With very few characters on the screen, it really is impressive how action-packed it feels. Elle Fanning does a fantastic acting job here that really elevated the mood of this movie for me. Genuinely excited to see where this franchise goes next!
-E
It has been a long time since I have felt this way about a blockbuster. I was wanting an action filled movie that was on the nose and looked cool, and boy did this deliver. I will tell anyone how I cannot believe Predator exists after the original being terrible, but this was really fun. I will continue to watch these and am genuinely excited to see where it goes. Overall, it is what it is, but I really think it hit!
-J

Z 8.25
E 8.0
J 7.75

ZEJ 8.0

Zach Rhodes 11/16/25 Zach Rhodes 11/16/25

Knocked Up

Can’t tell you why I watched this, but I did. I have seen it many times and I think just watching a mindless, funny, Seth Rogen flick was the vibe and it hits every note. I forgot how many famous actors are in this and that this really is a good movie, not just a good comedy. It's on Netflix if you are looking for something fun, throw it on!
-J

Z n/a
E n/a
J 7.5

~ZEJ 7.5

Zach Rhodes 11/15/25 Zach Rhodes 11/15/25

It Was Just an Accident

While the Palme d’Or winner, It Was Just an Accident, may have won this year because One Battle After Another wasn’t at the Cannes Film Festival, it is certainly very deserving of the award. While the subject matter limited its upside slightly for my personal enjoyment, it’s an extremely good film, especially on a technical level, the acting and directing are excellent. It’s also surprisingly funny, despite the dark focus of the film. The script and dialogue are particularly good - very 12 Angry Men. This is must watch for any Oscar movie fans, as it’s a very likely nomination for Best Picture. With a 8.75, this lands just outside the top 5 for the year for ZEJ.
-Z
A classic International Best Picture Nom super heavy plot with a surprising amount of humor thrown in, I really enjoyed this. The characters were well developed and the final scene was really powerful. Some of the dialogue-heavy scenes felt a bit long, but that also might be an issue of having to read so many subtitles. Even though I didn’t pick this for my Movie Fantasy League, I’ll be rooting for it to do well come awards season.
-E
The first high level foreign film of the season if I am not mistaken. Sadly, not the movie's fault, I was in a tired mood that wasn’t really ready for a film like this, but no matter the mood this is an objectively very good film. Acting was great and had a few extremely powerful moments, but to my surprise it was much more of a comedy than you would expect. This will win awards, so you better find time and see it!
-J

Z 8.75
E 8.75
J 8.75

ZEJ 8.75

Zach Rhodes 11/14/25 Zach Rhodes 11/14/25

Bugonia

Yorgos Lanthimos is SO back! While Kinds of Kindness wasn’t exactly bad, I still gave it a 8.25/10, it wasn’t quite the peak cinema I’ve come to expect from him, and Bugonia is peak cinema. Though, it’s a much simpler plot and set than say Poor Things, and that limits the upside a bit for me, it’s super fun, and just a brilliant actor’s showcase. Aidan Delbis, an autistic actor, who plays an autistic character in Bugonia is absolutely incredible, and really sells the household that he and Jesse Plemons live in and the majority of this movie is set in. As you would expect, Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons absolutely FEAST in this, and this might be my new favorite Jesse Plemons role, surpassing his legendary performance in season 2 of Fargo. He’s seriously so good. I say this is a must watch, and as E says, the more you go in blind, the better. A 9.08 puts this at a tie with Sinners for 2nd best movie of the year, behind only One Battle After Another (9.5).
-Z
Wow, what a ride! I’m really glad I went into this completely blind. Really keeps you on your toes with a surprising amount of humor thrown in. Jesse Plemons once again masters the art of acting purely unsettling. Watching this in a very small, hot theater filled with incredibly vocal audience members definitely added to the aesthetic.
-E
We now have a race. What is the best film I have seen in 2025? Maybe this! Initially I left a bit disappointed, as I had extremely unrealistic expectations with it being my favorite actress and top tier actor Jesse Plemmons and directed by Yorgos. Once I slept on it, I spent the entire next day thinking about it and actually want to go again! A completely different kind of movie with next level acting is always going to turn heads. I don’t know if it will win any awards as it is a bit out there, but it deserves them and I hope it does!
-J

Z 8.75
E 9.0
J 9.5

ZEJ 9.08

Zach Rhodes 11/12/25 Zach Rhodes 11/12/25

Ghostbusters

My girlfriend had never seen it and I thought it could be a great Halloween flick. Since most have seen it, I am not going to dive deep into the film but I want to say this; It holds up and is just a great example of why movies are awesome and classics become classics!
-J

Z n/a
E n/a
J 9.0

~ZEJ 9.0

Zach Rhodes 11/10/25 Zach Rhodes 11/10/25

Night of the Living Dead

This is a movie that grew on me. Obviously, an old iconic film and when it was spooky season, I thought it was the perfect time to give it a watch. There is always a charm to old films and at first I sadly didn’t think it had aged very well. Over time, I could see its relevance to film today and actually grew to appreciate it a lot more. What they were able to accomplish was impressive and despite it not being overtly scary, it definitely was unnerving. Overall, anyone who says they are a horror fan needs to see this to be a true horror fan.
-J

Z n/a
E n/a
J 8.5

~ZEJ 8.5

Zach Rhodes 11/7/25 Zach Rhodes 11/7/25

Frankenstein

Frankenstein is classic Guillermo Del Toro - truly unbelievable character and set design that is so good it makes it worth a watch even if other areas of the film are lacking. The areas of downfall in this particular film are pacing, direction, and adaptation of the source material. I largely don’t have issues with the artistic liberties he took, but as E says, removing the morally gray character component here definitely makes this a different morale tale and a less complex one. The acting is great, and the design of both the monster and the experimentation that leads to the monster is so detailed and well done that it still deserves watching despite its flaws.
-Z
One of my favorite aspects of the novel Frankenstein is how blurry the lines are between good and evil, so it’s a bit disappointing to me that Guillermo del Toro makes that so much more distinct here. The story is otherwise close enough to the novel to feel satisfying, and the acting and cinematography are excellent, but nothing about this blew me away.
-E
Vibes. As a high school teacher I am allowed to use this verbiage. The vibes of this are exactly what I wanted them to be. The set, costumes, and everything in between was exactly what I was looking for in this film. I heard it was book accurate, which meant I thought it was going to potentially be on the more boring side, which at times it was, but that was few and far between. Overall, I really enjoyed the film and despite a longer run-time, I stayed engaged the whole time. This isn’t for everyone, but it's perfect for those who think it is for them!
-J

Z 8.0
E 8.0
J 8.5

ZEJ 8.17

Zach Rhodes 11/5/25 Zach Rhodes 11/5/25

Sacramento

Preface, as I do a lot of films like these, that these movies are made almost specifically for people like me. You have a slow burn indie film that has coming of age feels with adult problems at the forefront. I eat these up. Michael Cera is always a joy in my opinion and it could have used more Kristen Stewart, but overall it worked. This was a better version of ‘A Real Pain’ in my opinion, but I believe I am the minority. Overall, I think this could be watched and enjoyed by anyone!
-J

Z n/a
E n/a
J 8.25

~ZEJ 8.25

Zach Rhodes 11/3/25 Zach Rhodes 11/3/25

The Ballad of Wallis Island

When looking for a movie to wrap up date night, we looked to some help from AI. We wanted a nice, lovey movie for Katie and I wanted a highly regarded movie that came out this year, and this ballad is what came from it. I had never heard of it before and was excited once it started. A very indie feel with a very larger than life character. Overall, it is undeniably good, but I think it becomes both predictable and played out. If you can get behind a good indie film you should find time, otherwise I fear you will become bored.
-J

Z n/a
E n/a
J 8.0

~ZEJ 8.0

Zach Rhodes 10/31/25 Zach Rhodes 10/31/25

Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere

The ZEJ team all-around was pleasantly surprised by how not terrible Springsteen was given the reviews, and it really made me wonder what complaints were. A rough summary of the critical analysis boils down to the movie being boring, tropish and too narrow of a focus on Springsteen’s life. The most valid of those complaints is that it fell into the classic musical biopic tropes, but where it struggled here, it also felt fresh in the genre in that it wasn’t just a 2 hour concert for your favorite old artist. This felt like an actual movie. While it was slow, I didn’t find it boring and appreciated the buildup of the story. The final critique, about the alleged wrong area of focus on Springsteen’s life is the dumbest to me. The movie is an adaptation of Warren Zanes book, which focuses solely on Springsteen’s Nebraska album, a fact I learned post-watch, but after watching the movie, it makes perfect sense why this chapter of Springsteen’s life would best tell his story. It encapsulates his emotional journey. The ZEJ team has been burned out on musical biopics for a while, but this is not like the others. In a good way. I think this is worth checking out.
-Z
I think we all went to this movie with pretty low expectations and hesitations after the disappointment of A Complete Unknown last year and the even lower reviews this had. This is not your typical biopic, and thank goodness. The more slow, even “boring”, feeling plot, while not perfect, actually works really well to tell this particular story. No rags-to-riches cliches, no big moment of sticking it to the man - this felt refreshingly creative, and I definitely came away from it with more of an appreciation for who Bruce Springsteen is as an artist. The more I sit with it, the more I like it. The reviews are just wrong on this one, folks!
-E
I know what I expected and what I got were two totally different things. Usually that means it was bad, but overall I was pleasantly surprised by this film. I liked it more than A Complete Unknown and thought that it really dove into the story of Bruce and not just a concert by J.A.W. Do I think this story needed to be told? Probably not yet at least, but all in all it was a strong film and I hope it gets more love than it currently has by other reviews.
-J

Z 7.75
E 8.5
J 8.0

ZEJ 8.08

Zach Rhodes 10/28/25 Zach Rhodes 10/28/25

The Wailing

Wow, if you like Korean films, horror, or just pure cinema, then you definitely have to watch the Wailing. It’s extremely clever, and like the best horror films, surprisingly funny. As E says, it’s really not scary, only in an intellectual sense. My only complaint is that it’s a little slow to start, and probably a little long. But definitely recommend.
-Z
The best way I can describe this is one long fever dream. I was pretty confused about who was good, who was evil, and what was happening for a lot of the movie, but I was also somehow okay with that. Not a scary movie per se, but very, very unsettling - a perfect way to wrap up Spooktober. Thanks to Austin for the recommendation!
-E

Z 8.5
E 8.25
J n/a

~ZEJ 8.38

Zach Rhodes 10/27/25 Zach Rhodes 10/27/25

REC

Considered one of the premiere found footage films in the genre, I found REC to be fun, and clever, but not as scary as it’s been credited. The ending is the scariest part, no doubt, but it also felt a little forced and that distracted me a bit. Great for genre fans; but a difficult movie to track down if you’re looking for the original Spanish language version, which is disappointing.
-Z
Lauded as one of the scariest movies of all time, Z and I are wondering if we are completely desensitized to horror at this point. I did not find this very scary, but it was very very intense. The characters all felt like real people, which really sold the found footage vibes here, but I was getting pretty tired of the very shaky camera work by the end. As I’ve stated before, the zombie-trope is just not my favorite. Please find the original Spanish language version if you choose to watch it!
-E