Review of IRON LUNG: Made by Markiplier

February 22, 2026

At first, there was a video game. In 2022, a submarine-simulation horror game developed by David Szymanski was released on Windows and Nintendo Switch. The plot of the game was about a future when all habitable planets in the universe disappeared in an event called the "Quiet Rapture." The only humans left were those based on space stations. One moon was noted to have formed an ocean of human blood. Survivors sent convicts into that blood ocean in a small submarine to gather information for possible sustenance of human life. 

Mark Edward Fischbach, under his handle Markiplier, became one of the most popular YouTubers by posting videos annotating himself while playing video games like "Five Nights at Freddy's." In May 2022, he posted his first video of himself playing "Iron Lung," and enjoyed its concept and gameplay. In April 2023, he announced that he would be adapting the game into a film which he would produce, write, direct, edit and star in. David Szymanski was involved in the script and even filmed a cameo. Total production budget was at USD 3M. 

From the very start, we immediately see the convict Simon (Markiplier) inside a small metal room, with a control panel in front of him. On the left side of the panel was a compass and below that was a digital display of the angle of his craft. On the right side of the panel were digital displays indicating the X and Y coordinates of his location. There was a control stick to maneuver to the desired coordinates. Instead of windows, there was a camera that took radiographic photos of what objects were located in those coordinates. 

There was no prologue to introduce the situation Simon was in. We just knew that he was a convict for the destruction of a space station that cost the loss of multiple lives, a crime that he did not intend to happen. He was sent on this exploratory mission with the assurance that he would earn his freedom back if he succeeded. Under the orders of Commander Ava (Carolyn Rose Kaplan), he was supposed to gather bone samples from what appeared to be a sea creature located at a specified place under the ocean of blood.  

This film may not be for everybody as it assumed that only fans of Iron Lung and Markiplier would be watching this, not even giving any introductory narration. We do eventually get the drift as the film progressed, picking up context clues here and there to splice a somehow coherent story. (You may want to watch his first Iron Lung video as before you watch the film.) As actor in this one-man show, Markiplier started out tentative and unintentionally funny, but he was totally intense in the final act. As director, he was able to create a stifling atmosphere of tension and claustrophobia, as the blood engulfed Simon. 6/10. 

Review of UNTIL SHE REMEMBERS: Recollection and Reconnection

February 21, 2026

Angel (Barbie Forteza) was supposed to graduate senior high school but she was failing her math and chemistry classes. Her father Raymund (Albert Martinez) and her mother Gloria (Angel Aquino) were both too busy to make time to go to school with her to meet with her adviser Teacher Rene (Eric Quizon) to talk about remedials.  Angel asked her maternal grandmother Concha (Charo Santos-Concio) to go with her instead. 

Since her parents were both always away at work or fighting each other, Angel decided to stay at her Lola Concha's place that summer to care for her health issues. They bonded over Concha's daily routine with her garden, her chickens and lovebirds. One day, Angel learned about a certain Catherine de Leon (Boots Anson Roa-Rodrigo) with whom Concha had a close friendship in the past. For Concha's sake, Angel decided to go search for Catherine.

Written and directed by Brillante Mendoza, this family and personal drama was a departure from the crime and war films he had been doing of late. The story dealt with how love can pervade over fading memory, but this one carried with it an unconventional underlying premise that should set it apart from others of its genre. As he is known for, Mendoza allowed his actors to devise their own characters without a hard-and-fast script in hand. 

The main draw of this film was the deeply emotional performances of the three actresses that head its star-studded cast. 

Ever since she returned to acting after a long stint as a TV executive, from every film starring Charo Santos-Concio, from "Ang Babaeng Humayo" (2016) to "Only We Know" (2025), had been major events, and her acting this one is no different. Her portrayal of Concha was a heartfelt one marked by a sincere and unwavering loyalty to someone she considered her soulmate, despite decades of estrangement and personal difficulties.  

Boots Anson Roa-Rodrigo has been acting in films since 1968, with more than 110 films in her career, in addition to her roles on television as actress and host. Compared to the usual her very wholesome roles I know her from, this character of Catherine was a very daring one -- both conceptually (she played a teacher who crossed a line of taboo), and physically (she had a scene where her blouse was removed) -- and she did these at age 81. 

I first saw Barbie Forteza on the big screen as a 16 year-old in the Cinemalaya film "Mariquina" (2014), and she was already quite an impressive dramatic actress back then. Forteza is 28 now, but she can still pull off playing 16 year-old Angel here, in whose point of view the story of her elders was being told. It was on her own initiative that Angel actively sought this reunion, and Forteza's enthusiasm made us root her on in her quest.  

Mercado had some interesting choices in the language of certain details and scenes. As Catherine was Concha's teacher in Literature class, their favorite poem was "Tonight I Can Write (The Saddest Lines)," the English translation of a poem by Pablo Neruda The first between them after a 50-year separation was rendered in pure English. The recurrent theme music being played was "End of the World," a 1962 song by Skeeter Davis. 

There were scene transitions midway in the film that would seem so jarring and illogical. Significant events were happening onscreen, but there wasn't much buildup or excitement. A scene involving lovebirds will make you scratch your head in puzzlement. However, Mendoza would soon clear up things eventually, but with much restraint. This imbued the storytelling with more unexpected emotion, without ever resorting to over-the-top melodrama. 7/10

Review of WUTHERING HEIGHTS (2026): Lavish and Lascivious Longing

February 19, 2026

Wuthering Heights was the remote estate owned by Mr. Earnshaw (Martin Clunes), where he lived with his only daughter Catherine (Charlotte Mellington as child, Margot Robbie as adult). One night, a drunk Mr. Earnshaw brought home a boy of shady origins whom he intended to be Cathy's pet. She called him Heathcliff (Owen Cooper as child, Jacob Elordi as adult) after her late brother and became very close friends. 

Years later, Wuthering Heights had fallen into bad times because of Mr. Earnshaw's drinking and gambling habits. Catherine went to spy on the wealthy textile merchant named Edward Linton (Shazad Latif) and his ward Isabella (Alison Oliver) who had moved in to nearby Thrushcross Grange.  After an accident where she hurt her ankle, Cathy wound up spending the next six weeks being cared for by her fancy neighbors.   

There had been about 35 film and television adaptations of Emily Bronte's 1947 classic novel over the years, from a 1920 silent version by AV Bramble to this present version. The most famous version was the 1939 black-and-white classic film by William Wyler, starring Lawrence Olivier and Merle Oberon, which earned eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor. There were also international adaptations, most notably into Japanese ("Arashi ga oka") in 1988, and Filipino ("Hihintayin Kita sa Langit") in 1991.  

Like the 1939 version, this current 2026 version written and directed by Emerald Fennell confined itself to the tumultuous love story of Catherine and Heathcliff, which was only up to Chapter 16 of Bronte's book. The novel still had 18 more chapters that delved into the lives of their children, which were included in the 1988 Japanese version and the 1992 Peter Kominsky version. However, the entire second generation part of the original story were rendered impossible by how the 1939 and 2026 film versions ended.  

Even between the 1939 and 2026 films, there were several significant differences in the diverse casting of main characters. Margot Robbie's Cathy was said to be past spinsterhood, likely to explain why she, now age 34, was playing a character who was in her teens in the book. Jacob Elordi's Heathcliff was clearly white, not the dark gypsy or Indian as described in the book. It was interesting that the actor playing Edward Linton -- Shazad Latif, who was of Pakistani descent -- would seem to fit that swarthy description more. 

The 2026 Nelly Dean was played by actresses of Asian descent -- Vy Nguyen as a child, and Hong Chau as adult. This new Nelly was Cathy's hired companion, not a typical servant of the house as 1939's narrator Ellen Dean. Here, Cathy did not have a brother Hindley anymore, and instead it was her Father who drank and gambled Wuthering Heights to its ruin. Alison Oliver's Isabella was now only Edward's ward, not his sister. This new Isabella was unkindly portrayed with truly bizarre behavior, blindly accepting abuse as a price for her infatuation. 

A remarkable departure from past film versions was the exaggerated production design by Suzie Davies, done to contrast Cathy's lavish playground in Thrushcross Grove to her miserable home turf in Wuthering Heights. The Linton house was replete with over-the-top interiors and props, from the bedroom walls rendered in the color of Cathy's face, the enormous replica of the mansion with dolls inside made by hand with actual human hair, to those glazed shrimps and giant fruits garnishing the food on the ostentatious dining table.

A markedly aggressive feature of the 2026 film was the overtly sexual Cathy-Heathcliff relationship. Previously, they were portrayed to be just limited to longing looks and repressed desire. Now, in the first hour, Heathcliff would chance upon Cathy's moments of intimate awakening, peeking at cavorting servants, and exploring herself behind the rocks. In the second hour, upon their reunion, Heathcliff and Cathy actually broke all boundaries and launched into a montage-ful of illicit sexual encounters both in- and outdoors. 7/10 

Review of THE LOVED ONE: Breakup Blues

February 12, 2026

Eric (Jericho Rosales) was an IT specialist who spent all day in his cubicle working on his codes. He still lived his mother (Jackie Lou Blanco) and supported the education of his two college-age siblings (Ian Pangilinan and Ara Davao). One day, Eric went with his best friend Greg (Luis Alandy) and his girlfriend Kyla (Max Eigenmann). There, Eric met and fell in love at first sight with Ellie.

Ellie (Anne Curtis) was a pretty and vivacious girl who effortlessly caught admiring attention of every guy around her.  She lived a privileged well-to-do life with her parents (Mari Kaimo and Joyce Burton). She and Eric met each other again during Greg and Kyla's wedding, and that's when their mutual attraction really bloomed into what seemed to be a perfect relationship. That is, until it wasn't.

This new film written and directed by Irene Emma Villamor, whose whole filmography consisted of films that intimately explored various romantic relationships. Most of her films have been practically two-handers just focused on a central couple, from "Meet Me in St. Gallen" (2018) and "Sid and Aya: Not a Love Story" (2018), to "Only We Know" (2025). All these films had a sleek, classy look, credited to the skills of cinematographer Pao Orendain. 

Villamor chose to tell Eric and Ellie's story in a non-linear manner, as if we were seeing the mix of memories that entered their heads when they reunite in that coffee shop some time after they split up. At first, we see those idyllic and ideal times, with seemingly random mentions of things that seemed had no context yet. Then gradually, we see those less pleasant moments creeping into the picture, those with hurtful words and careless actions. Only then do we see their 10-year long story completed. 

We hear Eric's side first -- how he loved Ellie more so he was willing to wait for her.. Jericho Rosales played Eric as the responsible type of guy, with old-fashioned sensibilities. He was the type that can could get promotions at work, and win the rich girl's parents over. However, when Ellie did things outside his strictly-planned route, his composure unraveled, which then led to uncharacteristic carelessness (Catriona Gray). 

Anne Curtis played Ellie with such quirky vibrance, life of the party. She was a girl who believed in astrology and painted outside the lines. We loved her when she gamely rode Eric's motorbike in a long dress. We believe her when she said that she had a talent for raising funds and donations for children's charities, and taught English to Nepalese kids. We shared in her desperation for her life to make sense. 

If you scan the list of Villamor's films, the topic of breakups is certainly not new for Villamor. She's had films with titles like "On Vodka, Beers and Regret" (2020) and "Five Breakups and a Romance" (2023). Here, Villamor wrote about becoming angry people who become destructive storms, unmindful of hurting others. She wrote with a bitter truth which cuts deep in everyone who is (or was) in a relationship

Despite its February release, "The Loved One," however well-written, well-acted, and beautifully-shot, may not exactly be a film to cuddle up your partner with on Valentine's Day. 8/10

Review of SONG SUNG BLUE: Delivery via Diamond

February 5, 2026

Mike Sardina (Hugh Jackman) was an auto-mechanic who also accepted gigs as a singer-performer under his stage name Lightning. One night in 1987, he walked out on the Legends show at the Wisconsin State Fair because he wanted to perform as Lightning, and not Don Ho as originally planned. There, he met and was smitten with pretty hairdresser Claire Stengl (Kate Hudson), who did a mean impersonation of Patsy Cline. 

Because of financial difficulties, Mike took up singing the songs of Neil Diamond upon Claire's suggestion since nostalgia sells. On their first date, they work up a partnership with Mike singing, and Claire on keyboards and back up vocals. Mike proposed calling their act "Lightning and Thunder -- The Neil Diamond Experience." Claire sealed that name with a kiss, and they soon got married. Terrible events would soon disrupt their fairy tale.

Writer-director Craig Brewer adapted a 2008 documentary film of the same title by Greg Kohs telling the story of  Mike and Claire Sardina, and their Neil Diamond tribute band Lightning & Thunder. The biopic followed typical musical band story points of how they met and how they formed their band. However ideal their partnership, this couple went through very tough times. Hard to believe that these things really happened, not mere fictional melodrama. 

Of course, the stars of the film were all the Neil Diamond songs  that peppered the soundtrack. These were all performed by the lead stars Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, both known to be powerhouse singers aside from acclaimed movie stars. You bet "Sweet Caroline" was in there. But as Mike always emphasized, Neil Diamond was more than just that song, and this film made sure we heard his best -- from "Play Me" to "Holly Holy" to "Soolaimon." 

My personal favorite song number was "Forever in Blue Jeans" -- the song Mike chose to sing when they opened for the Pearl Jam concert. It reached a peak when Eddie Vedder (John Beckwith) himself joined in at the rousing chorus to the big surprise of the youthful audience. Aside from their duets, Jackman had an introspective solo with "I Am... I Said," while Hudson had her own heartfelt moment singing "I've Been This Way Before." 

Mike and Claire were both divorced with kids (King Princess as Mike's daughter Angelina, Ella Anderson and Hudson Hensley as Claire's kids Rachel and Dana), so there were also issues tackled about that blended family life. Veteran character actors played their bandmates: Jim Belushi as their manager Tom, Fisher Stevens as Mike's manager and dentist Dave, and Michael Imperioli as Mark, their guitarist who used to be a Buddy Holly impersonator. 

Mike was only 35 and Claire 25 in 1987, so Jackman (57) and Hudson (47) were both much older playing them. That aside, these two actors really committed to portraying the couple through their extremely good and terribly bad times. Kate Hudson had earned Best Actress nominations at the Oscars, SAG, BAFTA and Golden Globes.  Admittedly the roller-coaster of melodramatic scenes can get cringe-y at times, but good thing the song numbers would come in at the right time and save the film from sinking in emotional quagmire.  7/10

Review of MERCY: AI Adjudication

February 3, 2026

In Los Angeles 2029, there are already Mercy Courts where AI judges have replaced human judges to deliver logical, unbiased and mistake-free verdicts in trials of individuals accused of heinous crimes. The accused had access to various web-based applications, video footage and databases to prove his innocence within 90 minutes. If he failed to do so, the Ai judge would execute him right there on the seat where he was strapped into. 

One day, Nicole Raven (Annabelle Wallis) was murdered in her home. Prime suspect was her police detective husband Chris (Chris Pratt), so he had to prove his innocence in front of presiding AI Judge Maddox (Rebecca Ferguson). Chris was an alcoholic and had a bad temper. Based on available evidence, the initial probability of guilt was judged to be 97.5%. Can he lower this to at least 92% for reasonable doubt to be spared execution?

The futuristic premise bout the justice system is very interesting, especially that this scenario is set only three years from today. The mechanics of the Mercy Court do sound very idealistic though, especially that authoritarian mandate requiring the devices of all individuals and organizations have to be connected to a so-called Municipal Cloud, the servers of which the AI judge had full access during the hearing in order to reach his verdict. 

The accused directed the investigation of his case. He was the one who chose whose devices to access, and the AI judge would grant him access to them. Of course, Chris was in a position to make full use of these digital resources to their full capacity to help him. He is a trained detective who he knew how to run the investigation. He also had his partner Jaq Diallo (Kali Reis) and his other friends in the police department to help him at critical moments.

This latest film by Kazakh filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov is an extension of the "Screenlife" filmmaking style that he pioneered with films like "Unfriended" (2015) and "Searching" (2018), telling stories via images from gadgets. Chris Pratt played his flawed lead character to edge of being hammy. Rebecca Ferguson fared better, playing emotionless AI judge Maddox to the point of self-awareness. Supporting cast were rather amateurish in their acting. However, this was not as bad as its dismal 22% Rotten Tomatoes score would imply. 5/10

Review of IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT: Maze of Morality

January 31, 2026

One night, a man with a prosthetic leg (Ebrahim Azizi) stopped by an auto repair shop to have his car checked. A mechanic named Vahid (Vahid Mobasseri) heard the clicking sound of his prosthetic leg and believed that this man was the same guy who previously tortured him in an Iranian prison. The next morning, Vahid abducted this man and took him to the desert to be buried alive. However, the man denied that he was the notorious interrogator known as Eghbal. Vahid decided to bring him back to town to confirm his identity. 

Book shop owner Salar (Georges Hashemzadeh) declined to verify, and referred photographer Shiva (Mariam Afshari), who thought he was Eghbal by his smell. She was then taking prenuptial photos of couple Ali (Majid Panahi) and Goli (Hadis Pakbaten). Goli revealed that she had also been Eghbal's victim, but was likewise unsure. Shiva's ex Hamid (Mohammad Ali Elyasmehr) felt sure about this was Eghbal after touching the man's leg, and wanted to kill him at once. However, the others wanted a confession and apology from him first. 

This film was written and directed by Iranian director Jafar Panahi, who reportedly made this film without permission from the Iranian government. Panahi's other open act of defiance to authority was the inclusion of two female characters who were not wearing the hijab, which is compulsory for women in Iran. Despite these controversies, this film competed for and actually won the Palme D'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival. 

This film is a shoo-in to be nominated in the race for Best International Film Oscar, as the submission of France. There is also very loud buzz that this may also make it to the final 10 of the nominations list for the Best Picture Oscar. In the recently-announced  Golden Globe nominations, it is vying for Best Picture Drama, Director, Screenplay as well as Foreign Language film (The languages used in the film were Persian and Azebaijani.)

The first part was not clear outright. Why was Vahid very wary of this customer, and why did he stalk him all the way to his house? As more people were involved in Vahid's darkly humorous road trip did we learn about Vahid's true personality and realize that we will need to stick it out to the very end to know the answer to the mystery of prosthetic guy's true identity. Panahi's enigmatic ending involved a very subtle sound effect to create tension. Listen!

The title was mentioned twice in the opening sequence, where prosthetic guy was driving home with his pregnant wife and young daughter. Their car hit a stray dog on the road and killed it. The wife calmed their daughter down by saying that this was just an accident. In the end, you would think back about this innocuous opening and try to connect this as a metaphor for the events that happened in the film. Was anything really just a simple accident? 7/10

Review of SEND HELP: Marooned Madness

January 29, 2026

Linda Liddle (Rachel McAdams) may be unpopular among her co-workers, but she was the most efficient employee at the consulting firm of the Preston family. The old boss was about to promote her to vice president, but he passed away before he could announce it. The new CEO, the late boss's frat boy son Bradley (Dylan O'Brien), immediately got turned off by Linda's lousy looks and penchant for tuna fish, and promoted someone else as VP.

Bradley ordered Linda to join his team flying to Bangkok to close a merger deal. During the flight, someone shared a video of Linda auditioning to join her favorite TV reality show "Survivor," and all the boys a good laugh at her expense. Suddenly, their private plane experienced engine trouble and crashed into the ocean. In the morning, Linda found herself on the beach of a deserted island. An injured Bradley who the only other survivor.

The career of Rachel McAdams blew up bigtime in 2004 when she starred in two major box office hits that year -- "Mean Girls" and "The Notebook." Since then, she had been in a steady stream of projects, including a role in "Spotlight" (2015) which earned her a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the Oscars. Dylan O'Brien broke through in 2014 playing the lead in "the Maze Runner." HIs highest profile role since then was in "Love and Monsters" (2020). 

McAdams was in full black comedy mode as mousy Linda gradually and gleefully asserted her dominance over her spoiled sexist boss. As Linda, she totally deglamorized herself, furthest from her iconic Regina George character. Her biggest stunt highlight here was that intense hunting scene with a ferocious wild boar, where she went all caveman in wild physical abandon and brutality that I daresay no one would expect from her. 

O'Brien also knew his assignment as Brandon very well. At first, he was positively irritating as that entitled nepo-baby conveniently slipping into his late father's CEO position from out of nowhere. Predictably, he would still expect Linda to treat him as her boss even when they were already marooned on the island. Eventually, O'Brien will effectively keep audiences guessing whether he is really warming up or even falling in love with Linda or not.  

This story about the conflicts between individuals of different economic status stranded on a desert island have been done before, like "Swept Away" (Lina Wertmuller, 1974), "Triangle of Sadness" (Ruben Östlund, 2022) and even "Temptation Island (Joey Gosiengfiao, 1980). Director Sam Raimi injected this trope his signature energetic style for psychological horror and black comedy to come up with another entertaining and thought-provoking thriller. 7/10 

Review of SENTIMENTAL VALUE: Fatherly Friction

January 29, 2026

When their mother passed away, Nora (Renate Reinsve) and Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) were reunited with their estranged father, the esteemed filmmaker Gustav Borg (Stellan Skarsgård).  Gustav wrote a script about the resistance activities and death of his mother, and wanted Nora, a stage actress, to play the lead role.  When Nora declined because of their past issues, Gustav offered the role to American actress Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning).

"Sentimental Value," winner of the Grand Prix at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, is a Norwegian film directed and co-written by Joachim Trier. This new film reunited Trier with his co-writer Eskil Vogt and lead actress Renate Reinsave from his acclaimed film "The Worst Person in the World" (MY REVIEW).  "Worst" also competed for the Palme D'Or at Cannes in 2021, where Reinsve won the Best Actress award. 

In "Sentimental," Reinsve played a stage actress with a severe stage fright. Her most intense scene here was that opening sequence of her Nora struggling to get into the proper frame of mind to mount the stage was very tense as the clock was ticking past curtain time.  Even if her acting style would be subtler that this for the rest of the film, Reinsve is right in the thick of Best Actress race at the Oscars this year for her performance here. 

There were two other actresses who complete the lead ensemble, and they both also make a big impression on the audience even if they displayed considerable restraint in their portrayals. Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas's Agnes was the peacemaker who treated her father with more kindness than abrasive Nora. I was impressed with Elle Fanning in that scene where her Rachel bared her insecurities to Nora with so much sincerity, sensitivity and humility. 

This awards season, Stellan Skarsgard is one of the leading nominees for Best Supporting Actor. This is another case of lead actors being fielded for Oscar consideration in the supporting category for a better chance to be nominated and win. As the egotistical artist and father, Gustav was the source of the film's tension and Skarsgard truly commanded the screen whenever he was on with his imposing presence. 8/10

Mini-Reviews of 28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE and PRIMATE: Gore Galore

January 25, 2026

28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE

Directed by Nia DaCosta

Written by Alex Garland

Following the events of the last film, young Spike (Alfie Williams) was rescued by a gang led by "Sir Lord" Jimmy Crystal (Jack O'Connell), who called himself the son of Satan himself. He called his minions his "Fingers," replacing their names with various forms of his name Jimmy, going around terrorizing people by tying them up and skinning them alive. A female Finger called Jimmy Ink (Erin Kellyman) has become protective of Spike.  

Meanwhile, back at his Bone Temple, Dr. Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) has started to interact with the Infected Alpha whom he called Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry) who seemed to be gaining back his sanity as an effect of the multiple doses Kelson had shot into him from darts of his blowgun. When Jimmy Crystal heard that there was this mysterious man with red skin that seemed to have been able to tame an Alpha, he thought Kelson could be his lord Satan.

In this fourth installment in the 28th Day Later film series, there are already more human characters in this film than Infected (zombies). In fact, the diabolically psychotic Lord Jimmy Crystal and his Fingers were more chilling than the Infected. Their scenes of skinning their regular human victims alive were far more disgusting than any of the Infected kills. The interesting musical soundtrack ranged from Iron Maiden to Duran Duran. Fiennes and O'Connell give totally committed performances of opposite extremes. 8/10 

**********

PRIMATE

Directed by Johannes Roberts

Written by Johannes Roberts and Ernest Riera

After spending several years away in the US mainland, Lucy (Johnny Sequoyah) returned to Hawaii to visit her family home with her friend Kate (Victoria Wyant). Kate had invited another girl Hannah (Jessica Alexander), who rubbed Lucy off the wrong way. When Kate found out that Lucy's father will be not be home, she volunteered herself, Hannah and their male friend Nick (Benjamin Cheng), to stay over at Lucy's place.

Lucy's deaf father Adam Pinborough (Troy Kotsur) is a successful author who was going away over the weekend for a book signing of his latest book. Lucy also had a kid sister Erin (Gia Hunter) with whom she had a strained relationship because of the years apart. The family had a genius pet chimpanzee named Ben (motion capture by actor Miguel Torres Umba). However, Ben was not going to be docile himself that particular weekend. 

From the start, it was evident that rabies would cause Ben's uncharacteristically deadly behavior. Like typical horror formula, the victims were taken out one by one, until they figure out how to neutralize the killer. From the opening, we already know that the kills will be graphically violent, from a face getting ripped off to a jawbone being pulled out from its sockets. The atmosphere was just like any other serial killer film where the victims are trapped in one house. Only difference here, the killer was a rabid chimp, not a man. 7/10

Review of RENTAL FAMILY: Hearts for Hire

January 22, 2026

Phillip (Brendan Fraser) was an American actor who now lived in Japan. He had a successful toothpaste commercial there, but unfortunately since then, the acting jobs have been few. One day, Phillip was recruited by a company called Rental Family, who provided actors who act as surrogates for people in need of family or friends. After resisting at first, Phillip agreed to become their "token white guy" for customers with that particular unusual requirement. 

His first job was to act as the groom for a lesbian (Misato Morita) for a wedding ceremony that her parents dreamed of. He was then hired by a single mother (Shino Shinozaki) to act as the father of a biracial girl Mia (Shannon Mahina Gorman) to fulfill an application requirement for an exclusive school. He was then hired by a daughter (Sei Matobu) to act as a reporter interested to interview her father, retired film director Kikuo Hasegawa (Akira Emoto). 

Hikaru is the professional name of the female Japanese-American filmmaker who co-wrote (with Stephen Blahut) and directed this dramatic film, only her second feature film as director. Prior to this, her last high-profile job was directing three episodes of the acclaimed Netflix series "Beef" (2023). Hikaru's storytelling style was gentle and full of heart, enhanced by beautiful cinematography of Japanese landscapes by Takurô Ishizaka as backdrop.

The topic is very uniquely Japanese. The idea of hiring people to pretend to be temporary family or friend will likely not fly in any other culture in the world, but, if we were to believe this movie, perfectly acceptable for the Japanese, as long as there is a higher purpose to achieve. As a foreigner, Phillip did not immediately accept the job, and even wanted to back out of his first one at the last minute. However, he eventually understood and became good at it.

The agency owner Shinji (Takehiro Hira) and his fellow employee Aiko (Mari Yamamoto) have fully and passionately embraced the noble aims of their company, and do not find anything wrong about living these elaborate lies. However, they would eventually also learn from Phillip's experiences as he tended to develop genuine empathy with his clients. However, cutting ties and apologies are very difficult to do after each job is done.   

The inherent kindness in Brendan Fraser's face makes his Phillip easy to like and relate to. He had genuine chemistry with both Gorman and Emoto, so that his scenes with them, particularly the goodbyes, are quite heartrending. Thankfully, director Hikaru never went into any hysterical melodrama in these scenes replete with Japanese aesthetics and restraint all the way through. Despite the underlying deception depicted, warmth still radiates through. 8/10