My Review of Michael (2026)

 

Written by John Logan

Directed by Antoine Fuqua

Michael Jackson: "I believe music can change the world. Spread love, joy, and peace. That is what I want the world to feel... magic!"

I'm not gonna lie. I had preconceived notions before watching this biopic. My fear was that it was going to be a heavily sanitised affair and to be honest, those fears were justified. This biopic needed a far more objective pair of hands working on it. That's not what we got here.

Casting Michael Jackson's own nephew Jaafar to play the infamous singer was alarming enough. I'll give Jaafar some credit. He did look and sound enough like his uncle to suspend some disbelief but it's still not something that should've been done in the first place.

Of course the movie started off with Michael (Juliano Krue Valdi) at the start of the Jackson 5 being worked excessively by his his overambitious and violent father, Joe (Colman Domingo). Joe's mistreatment of Michael was something that the movie didn't shy on. It was made pretty clear that Joe had no problem hurting his son for success.

As Michael got older, he wanted a solo career and independence from his family. He needed his legal team to almost trick Joe in order to let him record a solo album. The latter resented Michael's solo success but it was also the thing that gave Michael the confidence to take his career to the next level.

The movie delved into Michael visiting children's hospitals but there was a bigger focus on his body issues. There was scenes that focused on his vitiligo and rhinoplasty. There are some of the stronger moments in this movie along with the consequences of a stage accident.

Getting to the music side of things, most the Jackson 5 and Michael's biggest hits are recreated here. They're done reasonably well with the movie ending on the Bad tour at Wembley Stadium.

- There's some solid performances from Nia Long, Miles Teller and Kendrick Sampson as Katherine Scruse-Jackson, John Branca and Quincy Jones respectively.

- Not all of MJ's siblings feature in the movie and scenes with Kat Graham's Diana Ross were cut from the movie.

- Standout music: The likes of Billie Jean, Bad, I Want You Back etc are done well.

- Chronology: This movie covered from 1969 to 1988 in Michael's career and life.

Michael (2026) needed a more objective pair of hands working on this movie. It's too sanitised  and often quite bland at times too. Jaafar did an okay enough job in taking on his uncle's legacy. It'll make enough for that sequel to happen.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Things Like These (2025)

 

Written And Directed by Max Talisman

Zack A: "I like you and I'm trying so hard not to."

Zack M: "Yeah, that's what liking someone is like. It's terrifying. All you wanna do is run."

Sometimes you hear about a movie being so bad that morbid curiosity will take over and you've got to watch it. That's partly why I chose to watch this one last night. I'd love to say that the reputation wasn't deserved but I'd be lying.

First things first and because I try to be fair, I will give writer, director and lead actor Max Talisman props for trying to tell a slightly different gay romance. Saying that, he should've put his business hat on here and not cast himself as one of the leads. This movie would've benefitted from a more experienced actor in the role.

Anyways our writer and director cast himself as Zack Anthony. He's a fat guy (something which the movie isn't shy about mentioning) who's also an aspiring writer of vampire fiction. This film opened up with him getting dumped by Ben (James Leone). The latter isn't just repulsed by Zack's physical appearance but his personality in general.

Zack A's personality in general definitely would be one of the biggest problems with the movie. In some ways, we're clearly meant to find his bluntness more charming but oftentimes, it did come across as far too rude. Fortunately, Zack A did manage to temper some of that attitude upon meeting the love of his life.

Yup, this was where Zack Mandel (Joey Pollari) aka Zack M factored into things. Zack M quickly ditched his boyfriend of two years Eric (Taylor Trensch) in order to hook up with Zack A. Slightly stretching credulity a tad it turned out that both Zacks met at a summer camp fifteen years prior and were each others first kisses. Also both mens penchant for self sabotage provided some moderate tension before the big finale reunion at a high school prom.

Yeah, there's a lot of contrivances and sitcom/romcom style tropes that alternate between kind of endearing and rather annoying at times. Zack M's friend Ava (Jackie Cruz), boss Margie (Cara Bueno) and father Paul (Eric Roberts) are a mixed bag of characters. Saying that, Ava can be thanked/blamed for reuniting the Zacks. Zack A's friends get some focus as well but seem slightly less drawn out.

- Zack A's book was called Undeath In The Family. He got a publishing deal while Zack M got fired and decided to set up his own talent agency.

- Zack A made a point about hating actresses but didn't mind his straight actor friend, Peter (Danny Chavarriago). Willem Belli also had a brief cameo appearance.

- Standout music: There's a decent cover version of Linger during the prom scene.

- Chronology: Alternates between New York and Jersey, over the course of week during the winter.

I will give Things Like These points for effort and for trying something a little different in the gay romcom genre. I think there's a lot of gay men who are similar to Zack A and wanting to find their Zack M. I just wish the chemistry with Max Talisman and Joey Pollari was there but sadly it's desperately lacking.

Rating: 5 out of 10 

My Review of Half Man: "Episode 1"

 

Written by Richard Gadd

Directed by Alexandra Brodski

Ruben (to Niall): "My brother from another lover."

My original plan for this show was to watch it weekly and then do a series overview. However, after watching the first episode late last night, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I also couldn't wait until the end of next month to do a series review, so I'm doing this instead.

Things started off with the wedding of Niall Kennedy (Jamie Bell). We don't see the person that Niall's marrying but we do see his estranged "brother" Ruben Pallister (Richard Gadd). They're in a barn, their interactions laced with a strong homoerotic tension and then Niall ended up being punched by Ruben.

After that, it's basically a look into their past as teenagers in 1980s Scotland. The younger Niall (Mitchell Robertson) wasn't pleased about the recently released Ruben (Stuart Campbell) sharing a bedroom with him. At this point, it's largely implied that Niall and Ruben's mothers - Lori (Neve McIntosh) and Maura (Marianne McIvor) are in a relationship with each other. Ruben seemed less phased by this than Niall was.

Of course for Niall, not only did he have to deal with Ruben being a volatile presence in his life, he was also victim of being bullied by the likes of John (Scott Greenan), Drew (Calum Manchip) and Murray (Gordon Brown). The bullying bordered on homophobic until Ruben put a stop to it. Niall returned the favour by helping Ruben pass his prelam.

Then there's Mona (Charlotte Blackwood). I could be wrong but I really do get the vibe that Niall's gay because the only he seemed to be able to have sex with Mona was when he looked at Ruben. Ruben also seemed to be kind of aware of that too. For two guys who were essentially "brothers", the homoerotic tension between the two of them was off the flipping charts.

While the majority of this first episode largely focused on the younger versions of Niall and Ruben, we did go back to the older versions to cap the episode off. Ruben went from trying to steady Niall's breathing to trying to suffocate him. Ignoring the "weeks ahead" trailer that gave some context, Ruben was genuinely terrifying in his interactions with Niall in both timelines.

- I wish HBO Max and BBC1 had synced up the release better. Why are they five days apart? This feels like it should be a Sunday show.

- There's a nice supporting role for Stuart McQuarrie as the weary teacher, Mr. Jenkins. He had a few funny lines.

- Niall liked Indiana Jones and Doctor Who. Neve McIntosh played Madame Vastra during the Steven Moffat era of the show.

- Ruben gifted Niall a pair of boxing gloves. Niall wanted to be a writer and his father died when he was eight. Ruben was in Young Offenders. Ruben gave Niall the nickname of "Bambi".

- Standout music: Ian Dury's Clever Trevor was used well during the end of the episode.

- Chronology: Mostly in the late 80s and a more present day setting for the older versions of Niall and Ruben.

The first episode really stuck the landing and I've been thinking about it since last night. Richard Gadd clearly wants to give a more layered insight into masculinity. That was evident with Baby Reindeer but this show definitely seems like it's going to push that conversation even harder and I can't wait to see more.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Project Hail Mary (2026)

 

Written by Drew Goddard

Directed by Phil Lord And Christopher Miller

Ryland (re Rocky): "He tells me what to do, he tells me why to do it, he tells me how to do it, he tells me when to do it, and then when I do it, he's like, "what are you doing?""

Okay, decided to finally catch up on one of the biggest movies of 2026 so far. I had to see this one. There was way too much surrounding it. Did it live up to the hype? Yes it did.

Ryan Gosling has had such a mixed bag at the box office. He's had a strong of flops and I genuinely this was going to be another. I thought it's budget alone wouldn't get made back. I was wrong. Anyways on to the actual movie itself.

There's a science teacher named Ryland Grace (Gosling). He's also a former molecular biologist but teaching middle school science became something that he genuinely liked doing. He seemed content with it as a profession but fate had other ideas for Ryland.

In particular a bunch of scientists and government officials under agent Eva Stratt (Sandra Hüller) have discovered that the sun has started to dim due to a microorganism and it's up to both Ryland and other scientists to figure out to stop this. This was something that Ryland had to be persuaded into doing by excessive force.

The movie bounced between the build up of sending Ryland into space and then everything that Ryland got up to while he was in space. In particular, there's the introduction of an alien named Rocky (James Ortiz) and it's the biggest highlight in the movie. Yes, Ryan Gosling's best scene partner was through a puppet controlled alien.

Watching Ryland and Rocky form a bond and learning about each others cultures was fun. It's a friendship that was nicely fleshed out during the second and third acts of the movie and both characters bonded over a similar mission. By the end of this movie, I think Ryland made the right choice about his future.

- I'm going to give this movie props for avoiding a Ryland/Eva romance as I felt the more professional relationship worked much better.

- The film's based on a 2021 book of the same name by Andy Weir.

- Ryland and Rocky lamented about past lovers. Rocky didn't quite perfect the first bump.

- While it was totally predictable, I did smile when Ryland referred to Rocky's girlfriend as Adrian.

- Standout music: Sandra Hüller's version of Sign Of The Times certainly hit the spot.

- Chronology: 2032 Earth, space, Venus, the 40 Eridani A System and the biodome on the Eridanians planet.

After watching this film, I get the hype for Project Hail Mary. While I'll admit that I did think it lagged a little, once Rocky was introduced, I really do think the movie came alive. Ryan Gosling definitely gave one hell of a performance too.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Apex (2026)

 

Written by Jeremy Robbins

Directed by Baltasar Kormákur

Ben (to Sasha): "It's very simple. You've got until the very end of this song to get as far away from me as you can."

Time for some action survival shenanigans then. Let's get Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton and place them in a 95 minute battle of determination of wits. Only one will survive and yes, it's the one you'd expect to survive.

First though, a little context. Let's open with Theron's thrill seeking Sasha who was married to a man named Tommy (Eric Bana). Rock climbing was a thing for these two but it also led to the death of Tommy.

Sasha of course was grieving the loss of her husband and had intended to scatter his ashes. She also had the misfortune to encounter a strange man named Ben (Egerton). Sasha knew he was a bit off but not the extent he'd reveal himself to be when they met a second time.

It turned out that Ben was a serial killer and he had Sasha marked as his next victim. Ben's also something of a thrill seeker too and wanted to give Sasha a head start into the wilderness first. This did add some more tension to the movie.

I'll give the movie pointers for the cat and mouse antics with Sasha and Ben. Sasha's determined to stay alive, even when Ben's got the jump on her and bombarding her with unwarranted observations about her dead husband. Ben's big problem was that he enjoyed the build up a bit too much.

It should go without saying that of course Sasha would be the one to survive. She had Ben at a disadvantage and used it to get rid of him altogether. Ben completely deserved his fate but it's amusing that in spite of his mistrust for Sasha, he still couldn't stop her from getting the better of him.

- There's a rather nice shot of a naked Taron Egerton swinging from a big rope halfway through the film.

- Ben practiced cannibalistic rituals and had previous victims carcases in a cave. He also killed his own mother.

- Standout music: Leonard Cohen's Boogie Street.

- Chronology: First scene had Sasha and Tommy climbing the Troll Wall in Norway before the main action took place in Wandarra National Park, Australia.

I'll admit they I thought Apex (2026) was decent enough. It's not the type of movie that will leave a lasting impression but it's a diverting 95 minutes with both leads on good form. Good enough weekend viewing.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Misery (1990)

 

Written by William Goldman 

Directed by Rob Reiner

Annie (to Paul): "I'm your number one fan. There's nothing to worry about. You're going to be just fine. I will take good care of you. I'm your number one fan."

Okay, if I said this was my favourite adaptation of a Stephen King novel, what would that say about me? An absolute cautionary tale in fan worship can take a hold of your senses and turn someone into something far scarier than anything a writer could come up.

This was a story about a woman named Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates). A retired nurse, widowed and living on a farm, her life wasn't much to write home about. As she dealt with an increasingly cruel world, she at least had some literary solice with the exploits of Misery Chastain. Those books were a lifeline to Annie.

Not only just the books but the author behind them - Paul Sheldon (James Caan) was someone who Annie worshipped the ground of. Annie's literary escape and her real life collided when a snowstorm brought Paul into her life for real. Yup, he was badly busted up and who better to take care of him than Annie herself.

Okay, I'll stop. Annie might be the hero of her own story but in the book and the movie itself, she's unquestionably the villain of the piece and one of the most menacing baddies ever committed to the page and screen. To say this was one of Kathy Bates best performance would be underselling it.

Throughout the movie, Annie went from girlishly charming towards Paul to losing the absolute plot upon realising the latter had killed off her favourite character. Her violent outbursts are genuinely shocking, no more than when she decided to break Paul's ankles as a result of him sneaking out of the room.

Annie's other method of dealing with Paul was to get him to write a new Misery book that would resurrect the character. There's a scene where Annie gave Paul one of the best critiques about fairness in writing. I actually think that critique alone helped to make Paul a much better writer.

Saying that, Annie might have gotten the book she wanted all along but she didn't get to live long enough to enjoy it. That fight to the death scene with her and Paul was brutal to watch but only one of them was getting out of that place alive. The ending itself certainly show that Paul won't be forgetting Annie for the rest of his life.

- In the book, there's more details on Annie's victims, a different foot outcome and paragraphs of Misery's Return. None of these appear here.

- Annie had a sow named Misery and she really hated swearing. That didn't stop Annie from swearing itself. I also loved husband/wife duo, Sheriff Buster (Richard Farnsworth) and Deputy Virginia (Frances Sternhagen). Lauren Bacall appeared briefly as Paul's agent, Marcia Sindell.

- Paul's real life background was more in line with the Fast Cars book they Annie made him burn.

- Stephen King was so impressed with Kathy Bates performance that he wrote Dolores Claiborne for her.

- Standout music: Jr. Walker and the All Stars Shotgun and Liberace's Piano Concerto #1.

- Chronology: Paul was living in New York City but was heading to Silver Creek, Colorado before Annie got to him.

Misery (1990) to me is easily the best performance that Kathy Bates and James Caan have given in their careers. It's also the best Stephen King adaptation and one that's painfully on point about fanaticism getting out of hand.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

My Review of Stand By Me (1986)

 

Written by Raynold Gideon And Bruce A. Evans

Directed by Rob Reiner

Gordie: "I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?"

In a few months time, this movie will hit it's 40th anniversary and it's also one of the best adaptations of a Stephen King short story (specifically The Body). 

You've got four young lads - Gordie Lachance (Wil Wheaton), Chris Chambers (River Phoenix), Teddy Duchamp (Corey Feldman) and Vern Tessio (Jerry O'Connell). Each of them with their own distinct personalities but it's Gordie that was the unofficial centre focus of this story

The lads heard about a dead body of a boy named Ray Brower. Well, it was Vern eavesdropping on his brother, Billy (Casey Siemaszko) and the latter's friend, Charlie (Gary Riley) talking about it. Gordie and company decided that they are going to find the body first before Billy and his friends, led by Ace Merrill (Kiefer Sutherland) get there first.

It's a fun journey where the lads had to dodge trains, fend off actual leeches, ridicule each other at every turn and even combat the cantankerous Milo Pressman (William Bronder) and his not so vicious dog, Chopper. Pressman in particular got under Teddy's skin, making him a rather callous adult.

One of the best things about this movie was how we got to know bits about each of the lads. Teddy's dad was abusive, Chris propped up Gordie but kept putting himself down while Vern and Teddy would drift apart from Gordie and Chris at a later date. Gordie dealing with his older brother, Denny (John Cusack) dying was also rather affecting.

As for the body itself, there's a good stand off between the boys and that gang with Gordie humiliating Ace. The latter's a scumbag, nicely played by Sutherland. Ace himself did vow revenge but no one took him seriously. By the way the film ended, I don't think Ace got his chance to get even.

- The last scene had Richard Dreyfuss as the older Gordie who became a writer. Chris was a lawyer who got stabbed. Gordie read about his death at the start of the movie.

- The grossest moment was Teddy recalling the story of David "Lard-Ass" Hogan (Andy Lindberg) and a certain pie eating contest.

- Gordie's father was the couch from A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge and his mother was in Gremlins, Footloose and Back To The Future.

- Ray Brower was in the Lard Ass story. I hadn't realised that until I read up on the movie.

- Standout music: Ben E. King's Stand By Me of course.

- Chronology: Mostly in 1959 during Labor Day, Castle Rock but the first and last scenes are set in 1985.

Stand By Me would definitely be in my Top 5 in terms of Stephen King adaptations. It's such a perfect movie and one that does have a genuinely timeless feel to it. A brilliant movie with a great commentary on friendship.

Rating: 9 out of 10