MB-reviewer185

I am keeping an open mind still on the MCU making good films, though in the year 2025 the film before this was Captain America: Brave New World (2025) and I only thought it was ok at best but not great, and despite being interested and a bit excited in seeing Thunderbolts* (2025) I kept my expectations at a reasonable level cause I didn't know what to expect; characters from past Marvel films and a premise that is basically Marvel's version of DC's Suicide Squad (2016). The MCU film Thunderbolts* (2025) is one of the better MCU films that has come out with it having great performances, fun action sequences, effective use of CG effects with the practical, a surprise villain, heavy themes, and a dark tone, along with the film being fun, emotional, and funny to watch; I honestly was surprised when this film started tackling grief and anxiety for each character and how it affected them in many ways either from past films or new flashbacks giving new information.

The whole group involving Yelena, Red Guardian, John Walker/U. S. Agent, Ghost, and Bucky were all great, with great performances by Florence Pugh as Yelena being just as good as her character in pas Marvel films and shows, along with David Harbour, Wyatt Russell, Hannah John-Kamen, and returning Sebastian Stan all giving great performances; the reluctant team dynamic was great and they worked well together making them likable. I like how each one of them has a bad past in some way or is struggling some way, having to deal with any trauma they had and growing as characters, but also that they felt like real people going through all this; I liked how they tackled their grief and anxiety, and how they try to cope with it despite clearly having issues; how they show flashbacks and certain visions helped relate to them or sympathize with them has the film went on.

Without spoilers, I will say Lewis Pullman did an excellent job as Bob, the mysterious kind guy who shows up at random as shown in the trailer for the film, I liked how they used his character and how they gradually revealed more and more about him, who he is, and his past that may tie into everything overall, so when things go down by the third act, it is investing to watch him go through certain stuff; also, Julia Louis-Dreyfus was good as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, the one setting things up from the start, she was made unlikable as an antagonist very well, but you were entertained by her performance. The action sequences were fun and nicely shot with cool camera work, cinematography, and stunts from the actors, along with there being uses practical effects with good looking CGI that blends well with everything; the film also had effective emotional and funny moments, along with topics on grief, loneliness, and depression that is shown and handled well for the plot and helps you connect with the characters.

The MCU film Thunderbolts* (2025) is one of the better MCU films that has come out with it having great performances, fun action sequences, effective use of CG effects with the practical, a surprise villain, heavy themes, and a dark tone, along with the film being fun, emotional, and funny to watch; honestly if you are still skeptical about the MCU being good again, just give this film a shot to see where it stands for you. This did feel like the older MCU films from back in the day when the universe was starting out, having a fun premise and enjoyable characters, with low stakes and nothing too crazy to make it over the top; this is one of the better MCU films that has come out recently, at least for 2025 compared to the last one, so I would recommend this to any Marvel fans or just anyone who is still on board with the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole.

The first film Smile (2022) was a surprise when I saw it cause the trailer for it looked stupid, but after seeing it I liked it more than I thought I would, with it being an effective scary psychological horror film that is worth checking out; so, after how the first film ended, I was wondering how you can do a sequel to it especially with it focusing on a different character having a pop star go through it this time instead of a psychiatrist. The sequel Smile 2 (2024) was an effective horror film that I liked more than the first with its great performances, effective scares, good cinematography, a sense of unease throughout the film, and surprisingly good songs that are incorporated into the story because of the lead pop star; I wasn't sure how they were going to develop or give a backstory to this pop star, but they find ways in making her interesting throughout the film.

Naomi Scott gives an exceptional performance as pop star Skye Riley, who has this tragic and intense trauma to her that makes her interesting, while dealing with all the pressure of being a pop star, which made the scary or intense scenes of the film effective to watch; it was interesting seeing how the smile entity would affect her based on recent trauma or past trauma that may or may not have involved the death of someone. Just like the first film, the rest of the characters are loved ones, friends, or just random people like fans of her that makes her see things from the smiling entity and screw with her head; I will say the film did a great job with messing with your head or the main character's head when it came to the entity, by how you don't know what is real or not or if there are major details you missed that reveals what really happened.

The smiling entity still is not specified on what it is, but it is still threatening and unsettling whenever you see someone make that face, so it keeps you on edge throughout the film and it will also add to the intensity of certain scenes; the way they show people with the smiling face is creepy, and when things go off the rails, it gets really disturbing and weird to watch. The camera work or the cinematography was well-done, they made a lot of unsettling camera shots and creepy moments I will not forget from this film, along with the score to the movie being eerie and creepy adding to the intense scenes and scare factor of the film; also, the Skye Riley songs were pretty good and added to the film, the film has upped the gore and effects in lots of moments very well, and the ending was really disturbing, unsettling, and memorable leaving chills when the credits rolled.

Smile 2 (2024) was an effective horror film that I liked more than the first with its great performances, effective scares, good cinematography, a sense of unease throughout the film, and surprisingly good songs that are incorporated into the story because of the lead pop star; I wasn't sure how they were going to develop or give a backstory to this pop star, but they find ways in making her interesting throughout the film making you have sympathy for her. I did not know what to expect going into this sequel, but I thought it was better than the first film despite liking the first film, so I would recommend seeing this if you liked the first film or if you just want a creepy and unsettling horror movie to watch; I'm most likely going to watch this again whenever I can and if I'm in the mood for a horror movie.

I like Blumhouse's films even if some of them aren't that great, but when I saw the trailer for this film I was just getting generic horror movie vibes from it like nothing was being done with it, especially when I found out this was from Blumhouse; but the main reason I saw this was because it was known as Blumhouse's most hated film and that lots of people either hated it or liked/loved it, so from that I was at least intrigued to see why this was having so much divided attention. The Woman in the Yard (2025) was honestly not as bad as I thought it was going to be especially since there are good performances, heavy themes and topics, nice cinematography, a simple but intimidating entity, and some cool camera work with the movements and shadows; the issues involve plot holes, some messy execution in some scenes, and unexplained moments that could have been expanded on.

The performances were good, with there being a good enough family dynamic between the mom and the two kids, and the focus was the mom and her issues to keep going after the loss of her husband, which were intense but handled well; the mom is questioning what the woman in the yard is, and trying to keep he kids safe despite the teenage son wanting to do things another way and the younger daughter being oblivious to certain things going on. The kids as characters were not, though they can get annoying at times, I thought of it as the family trying to understand why someone is sitting on their property and coming closer somehow; the family dynamic is what drives the film because of the crummy situation they are in while living in a fixer upper house dealing with each other, so it helps to make the characters at least somewhat likable in order for the film to work more effectively.

The reveal of who/what the woman in the yard was surprising, leading to heavy themes about grief and depression, and under things under the surface that might turn people off when they watch this, but what was interesting was the idea of the woman in the yard and that they handled these heavy themes very well, along with some intense hard to watch moments; but, though I liked the themes and how they handled it, the issues involve the messy execution of the themes and ideas, plot holes once you know what is going on, and moments that could have been better explained. The last thing I liked was the cinematography and the one location we are stuck at, that being a fixer upper farmhouse; there were also effective uses of camera angles and shadows, and the way the woman in the yard was shot in the sunny landscape and shadows was well-done.

Blumhouse's The Woman in the Yard (2025) was honestly not as bad as I thought it was going to be especially since there are good performances, heavy themes and topics, nice cinematography, a simple but intimidating entity, and some cool camera work with the movements and shadows; the issues involve plot holes, some messy execution in some scenes, and unexplained moments that could have been expanded on. This wasn't an excellent Blumhouse film, but it wasn't terrible, it was just good enough, because it only turned out better than I was expecting, considering the marketing in the trailers; give this film a chance to see what it's hiding, but it might not be for everyone, so go in with an open mind or just skip this film entirely.