Movie Review: Passenger

There may not have been a worse spot on the entire summer slate to release Passenger than this past weekend. Granted, a supernatural horror movie that heavily relies on the loud jump scare trope to provide jolts and boasts an inherently silly story about a demonic entity known as "The Passenger" (Joseph Lopez) who latches onto a young couple (Lou Llobell, Jacob Scipio) living out of their van after they had the audacity to pull over on the open road at night to offer assistance to someone (Miles Fowler) they witnessed get into a car accident wouldn't have been met with widespread praise if it had been slotted elsewhere on the calendar, but sandwiching it between the WOM-powered phenomenon that is Obsession and the buzzy feature adaptation of YouTube series Backrooms-which has drawn favorable early reactions from the critics who've seen it over the past couple of weeks and is pacing to obliterate the record for the biggest opening weekend in A24's history that's currently held by Civil War ($25.7 mil)- is inevitably going to maximize the scrutiny it receives. 

While I certainly understand where the detractors of Passenger are coming from, I will not be joining their disgruntled chrous as I walked out of the theater having had a good time with it. Seasoned horror filmmaker André Øvredal (The Autopsy of Jane Doe, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark) punches up the predictable scare punchlines with some tense setpieces that are full of excellent camerawork that invoke the feeling of being completely disoriented from traveling nonstop (an extended sequence in the second act where Llobell's character is trying to find their van in a strip mall parking lot does a particularly good job of capturing this), there's a lingering atmosphere of dread present as the main characters navigate vast wide open spaces with the blind hope that they'll stumble upon a place that can provide them with some sort of safety from this serious supernatural threat and the lore surrounding "The Passenger" is made simple enough where it doesn't bog down the pacing of this efficient 94-minute ride with bloated exposition. Surrendering to the ridiculous baggage that Passenger is carrying with it is easy to do when it mostly succeeds in its primary goal of finding ways to be spooky. Part of the beauty of horror movies is that there's space for all sorts of different projects within it and in a month where the genre has commanded so much of the theatrical spotlight, I'm thrilled that flawed but entertaining studio horror flicks that will largely be forgotten within a few years of their release got some representation. 

Grade: B
 

2026 NFL Position Rankings: Top 25 Tight Ends

()=2025 Ranking

+=Unranked or ineligible in 2025

25.(11) Isaiah Likely (Giants)

24.(12) Mike Gesicki (Bengals)

23.(14) Pat Freiermuth (Steelers)

22.(4) Mark Andrews (Ravens)

21(+) .Oronde Gasden II (Chargers)

20.(+) Harold Fannin Jr. (Browns)

19.(+) Jake Ferguson (Cowboys)

18.(7) T.J. Hockenson (Vikings)

17.(8) Dallas Goedert (Eagles)

16.(+) Brenton Strange (Jaguars)

15.(+) A.J. Barner (Seahawks)

14.(+) Colby Parkinson (Rams)

13.(+) Tyler Warren (Colts)

12.(+) Juwan Johnson (Saints)

11.(20) Dalton Schultz (Texans)

10.(5) Travis Kelce (Chiefs)

9.(+) Colston Loveland (Bears)

8.(10) Tucker Kraft (Packers)

7.(16) Dalton Kincaid (Bills)

6.(13) Hunter Henry (Patriots)

5.(+) Kyle Pitts (Falcons)

4.(3) Brock Bowers (Raiders)

3.(6) Sam LaPorta (Lions)

2.(1) George Kittle (49ers)

1.(2) Trey McBride (Cardinals)

Movie Review: In the Grey

If Operation Fortune and The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare was Guy Ritchie relaxing with a beachside margarita, In the Grey is him doing bumps in a bathroom stall before giving the keynote address at some exotic business conference. Through a frantic string of monologues that detail schemes, contingences and the supplies needed to make them happen, Ritchie manages to make a movie about a lawyer (Eiza Gonzalez) and the team of shooters and saboteurs led by Henry Cavil and Jake Gyllenhaal she uses to extract debt from unsavory delinquent clients embarking on a very tough job where their target is a powerful crime lord (Carlos Bardem) who resides on a remote island where he controls damn near everything far more of a chore to follow than it should be. Gonzalez, Cavil and Gyllenhaal-who have all worked with Ritchie on other projects recently-know how to dispense the quips Ritchie chucked at them three minutes before the cameras rolled with enough deadpan swagger to make them convincing, but these zingers being delivered effectively doesn't mean all that much when they mainly serve as a way to break up the all of the breathless musings that are driving the plot. The arrival of shootouts, chases and huge explosions in the final act feels strangely tranquil as it forces the characters to practice brevity when they speak and mercifully allows the brainless macho shit that Ritchie has become particularly fond of doing in recent years to become the star of the show. Once this big extended action setpiece wraps up, there's about 5 more minutes of narrative housekeeping to be done and the credits start rolling. Ending things on such an efficient, high octane note made the sometimes-grating nature of the first 2/3 of the film easier to swallow and powered In the Grey into the respectably decent territory that Ritchie has often found himself since he turned into a machine that refuses to take time off post-Wrath of Man.

Grade: B-
 

Melissa Leo Ranked

Welcome to "Ranked", a weekly series where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out assorted related superlatives. This week, I'm profiling the work of Melissa Leo-whose latest project "Passenger" opens in theaters on Thursday. 

Melissa Leo's Filmography Ranked:

19.Mr. Woodcock (D+)

18.King Ivory (C-)

17.Righteous Kill (C)

16.Guns Up (C)

15.The Equalizer 2 (C)

14.Red State (C)

13.Thunder Force (C+)

12.London Has Fallen (B-)

11.Charlie Countryman (B-)

10.The Equalizer 3 (B-)

9.The Equalizer (B-)

8.Olympus Has Fallen (B-)

7.Frozen River (B-)

6.Oblivion (B)

5.Snowden (B)

4.Flight (B+)

3.The Big Short (B+)

2.Prisoners (B+)

1.The Fighter (A)

Top Dog: The Fighter (2010)

The Fighter very much fits into the mold of a classic fact-based underdog sports drama as it details professional boxer "Irish" Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg)'s efforts to mount a comeback after a tumultuous string of events in and outside of the ring put his career on hold for a bit during the mid 90's. What elevates The Fighter beyond its familiar story/structure are some outstanding performances from its entire main cast (Christian Bale, Amy Adams and Leo are alongside Wahlberg at the top of the call sheet), compelling family drama and rousing boxing sequences that sell just how hard Ward had to work to get back into top form. 

Bottom Feeder: Mr. Woodcock (2007)

Craig Gillespie has gone onto have a nice career that's best defined by his genre versatility and ability to make the most out of whatever sized budget he has to work with. Gillespie's longevity in this unforgiving industry is made even more impressive by the fact that his directorial debut was the universally loathed comedy Mr. Woodcock. While the premise of a self-help author (Seann William Scott) returning to his Nebraska hometown to discover that his widowed mother (Susan Sarandon) is dating the gym teacher (Billy Bob Thornton) that tormented him as a kid isn't bad on paper, the bits that are mined from it are consistently groanworthy and all of the actors involved seem to be acutely aware that they're in a comedy that isn't working and basically just stoically read their lines until they're able to fuck off and enjoy the money they earned from the gig. 

Most Underrated: None

After a few minutes of internal debate, I couldn't justify picking any of Leo's films here. None of the under-the-radar films she's appeared in over the years are titles that I would go to bat for and all of the movies of hers that I really like (The Fighter, Prisoners, The Big Short, Flight) have their fair share of fans. A veteran Oscar-winning character actor getting the abstain treatment here is a real shock to me, and I'd be surprised if this phenomenon occurred again anytime soon.

Most Overrated: The Equalizer (2014)

This is pretty widely considered to be one of the best action movies of the 2010's. Personally, I don't even think that it's the best action vehicle that Denzel Washington and Antonie Fuqua made together during that decade. There are a couple of excellent elements to The Equalizer as Washington is in top form as the meticulous, even-keeled killing machine Robert McCall and the action beats deliver some unflinchingly brutality that makes them standout from their peers. Everything else surrounding these key pillars is pretty suspect as the pacing is pretty sluggish when the bodies aren't dropping, the script's efforts to build up McCall as something other than a highly skilled killer who thought his days of wielding a gun were over are pretty half-hearted and Marton Csokas is completely asleep at the wheel as the film's Russian mobster antagonist. Part of me wants to give this another whirl since it's so well-liked, but my similarly lukewarm thoughts on the sequels that were far from hated by audiences will continue to give me pause. 

Movie Review: Is God Is

Great movies slipping through the cracks of the Hollywood machine is something that's happened throughout my lifetime and almost certainly predates 1992. What makes this occurrence all the more tragic in the present day is that the video store/pay cable ecosystem that used to elevate the profile of titles that were ignored in theaters has been gutted and the odds of something breaking out on streaming are similar to those of winning the Powerball jackpot. With this in mind, I'm going to use my tiny platform to bang the drum for Alesha Harris' incendiary revenge thriller Is God Is-which was quietly released into 1,510 theaters this past weekend and never stood a chance of finding a sizable audience during such a busy stretch of the calendar. 

The revenge plot of Is God Is revolves around twin sisters Racine (Kara Young) and Anaia (Mallori Johnson) who are summoned to their estranged mother's (Vivica A. Fox) home as she lies on her deathbed with simple instructions: Track down their abusive father (Sterling K. Brown) and kill him as payback for setting the three of them on fire before he walked out on the family roughly 20 years prior. After some initial reluctance to honor their mother's dying wish, the twins hit the road and attempt to locate their father by meeting with some other people that he was associated with in the years immediately following the incident (Erika Alexander, Mykelti Williamson). Eventually, they discover that he lives in a big house with a new wife (Janelle Monae) and twin sons (Xavier Mills, Justen Ross) and have to grapple with the high price that needs to be paid if they follow through on their plans to murder him. 

What makes Is God Is such a distinct take on the revenge story is that it never shies away from the messy reality of the situation Racine and Anaia find themselves in. Their father may be a serial abuser who has zero remorse and endless justifications for his actions (Brown does a stellar job of infusing the character with the kind of coldly menacing monster energy that can be found in terrifying abundance in our world), but this mission reveals a darkness in them that they never had to confront before and the blood that ends up on their hands as a result of them going down this violent path will stick with them for the rest of their days. The thing about being a child of an abuser that nobody wants to discuss is that those monstrous qualities are also in your DNA. Those traits may manifest in different ways, but that evil exists within them and there's no running away from it no matter how hard they try. Being unafraid to grapple with the thorniness of this paradox is an act of unflinching honesty and the weight of this painful truth informs the dynamic shift that occurs as the film progresses. Having a bond that was strengthened by love and being there for each other in the face of decades of facing trauma together be challenged by being in a situation where they're the ones inflicting pain that's similar to what they've faced onto others brings forth an unfathomable ugliness and how Young and Johnson navigate the moral complexity of going from being victims of violence to the ones carrying it out is the most impressive aspect of their powerhouse performances that ask them to run through an intense emotional gauntlet from start to finish. 

Remarkably, Is God Is originated as a stage production that was also written and directed by Harris. This story is so inherently cinematic in scope, look and feel that it's hard to conceive it being mounted in the confined space of a live theater. What makes the fluidity of its transition from stage to film even more impressive is that Harris had never worked as a writer or director on screen prior to this. Jumping into a new medium with such a strong overall clarity of vision-particularly once that is as emotionally and thematically dense as this-is a rare trait that speaks to how gifted Harris is as an artist. I don't know if Harris has any interest in making another film or quite frankly, will be able to secure the funding to do so given how little noise Is God Is is going to end up making at the box office (it'll be lucky to clear $5 mil domestic by the end of its run), but I'd run to watch any feature she was involved with in the future.  

Grade: A-
 

Andy Ritcher Ranked

Welcome to "Ranked", a weekly series I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out assorted related superlatives. This week, I'm profiling the work of Andy Richter-whose latest project "Obsession" is in theaters today. 

Andy Richter's Filmography Ranked:

13.My Boss's Daughter (D)

12.Dr. Dolittle 2 (C-)

11.Big Trouble (C)

10.80 for Brady (C)

9.Semi-Pro (C+)

8.Scary Movie 2 (C+)

7.Madagascar (B-)

6.Blades of Glory (B-)

5.Elf (B)

4.Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (B+)

3.Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (B+)

2.Obsession (A-)

1.Pootie Tang (A)

Top Dog: Pootie Tang (2001)

Sine your pitty on the runny kine! Sepatown! Sadatay! Wahdahtah! These are the wise, immortal words of the legend known as Pootie Tang. The impact he's made through his work as a philanthropist, musician and crime fighter will never be properly measured and the world would be a much better place if there more people like Mr. Tang in it. 

Bottom Feeder: My Boss's Daughter (2003)

One of the most unsung staples of the 2000's were comedy movies that came out during the winter or late summer that just completely ate shit in their pursuit of laughs. My Boss's Daughter very well could be my personal favorite example of this long forgotten breed of movie as it's basically a series of loosely connected bits with a romantic subplot where absolutely nothing works. What make this misfire particularly disheartening is that was it directed by comedy legend David Zucker. How the guy behind Airplane!, The Naked Gun and Top Secret! managed to make something so brutally unfunny is one of those mysteries that will never produce an answer that makes any sense. 

Most Underrated: Pootie Tang (2001)

Blaxploitation spoof Pootie Tang is about as niche as comedy gets and its status as a minor cult classic among the people that stumbled upon it on home video or VOD following its disastrous theatrical run in the summer of 2001 proves that. I'm proud to be part of this small group that will champion this movie whenever the opportunity arises. There are honestly only about 15-20 movies that I've ever seen that have me laugh harder than Pootie Tang and one scene in particular is a surefire bet to make me cackle to the point where tears are streaming out of my eyes every single time I see it. Even in the far wackier creative climate of the early 2000's, it's hard to believe that a movie like this was able to secure funding from a major studio and I'd like to thank whoever at Paramount was responsible for greenlighting this for allowing a genuine miracle to happen on Earth. 

Most Overrated: Madagascar (2005)

Admittedly, including Madagascar here is kind of a stretch as it's not aspiring to be much more than a goofy movie for kids and it does a perfectly fine job of delivering on that front. However, it's pretty widely considered to be a classic in the 2000's animation space, and I just think it's too minor of a movie to have such high praise placed upon it.  

Some Thoughts on Obsession Since I Didn't Review It After I Saw It in March:

Does the horror genre have its next ascending star filmmaker in Curry Barker? Time will tell, but Obsession is a mighty promising sign that the 26-year-old that started out making sketch comedy videos on YouTube with his longtime creative partner Cooper Tomlinson-who also appears here in a key supporting role-under the name that's a bad idea is well on his way to becoming one of the genre's most exciting filmmakers. His first feature to play on the big screen (his 2024 feature debut Milk & Serial is available on YouTube) is a really well-constructed piece of work that does wonders with its simple premise revolving around an awkward "nice" guy's (Michael Johnston) wish for their longtime unrequited crush (Inde Navarrette) to fall in love with him going horribly wrong. Barker does an incredible job of walking a tonal tightrope that frequently switches between dark/cringe comedy and hardcore horror throughout while Johnston and Navarrette deeply commit to making this forced relationship feel nauseatingly uncomfortable from the very moment the wish is granted until it reaches its inevitable horrific conclusion. The story goes to some very twisted places (there are three scenes in particular that caused the sold-out festival crowd that I saw it with to go fucking bonkers) so I'd urge horror fans to check this out as soon as possible before the spoilers are shouted all over the internet rooftops. 

2026 NFL Position Rankings: Top 50 Wide Receivers

 ()=2025 ranking

+=Unranked or ineligible in 2025

50.(+) Quentin Johnston (Chargers)

49.(+) Kayshon Boutte (Patriots)

48.(+) Rashid Shaheed (Seahawks)

47.(+) Luther Burden III (Bears)

46.(42) Josh Downs (Colts)

45.(18) Brian Thomas Jr. (Jaguars)

44.(+) Emeka Egbuka (Buccaneers)

43.(+) Ricky Pearsall (49ers)

42.(+) Christian Watson (Packers)

41.(39) Deebo Samuel (Free Agent)

40.(+) Keenan Allen (Free Agent)

39.(25) Chris Godwin (Buccaneers)

38.(37) Jauan Jennings (Vikings)

37.(34) Khalil Shakir (Bills)

36.(+) Rome Odunze (Bears)

35.(+) Parker Washington (Jaguars)

34.(32) Ladd McConkey (Chargers)

33.(+) Wan'Dale Robinson (Titans)

32.(15) D.J. Moore (Bills)

31.(+) Romeo Doubs (Patriots)

30.(30) Michael Pittman Jr. (Steelers)

29.(31) Jakobi Meyers (Jaguars)

28.(46) Rashee Rice (Chiefs)

27.(16) D.K. Metcalf (Steelers)

26.(+) Michael Wilson (Cardinals)

25.(+) Tetairoa McMillan (Panthers)

24.(11) Mike Evans (49ers)

23.(35) Jameson Williams (Lions)

22.(47) Alec Pierce (Colts)

21.(27) Stefon Diggs (Free Agent)

20.(17) Davante Adams (Rams)

19.(20) DeVonta Smith (Eagles)

18.(28) Courtland Sutton (Broncos)

17.(14) Malik Nabers (Giants)

16.(13) Garrett Wilson (Jets)

15.(21) Jaylen Waddle (Broncos)

14.(10) Terry McLaurin (Commanders)

13.(12) Tee Higgins (Bengals)

12.(23) Chris Olave (Saints)

11.(19) Zay Flowers (Ravens)

10.(29) George Pickens (Cowboys)

9.(8) Drake London (Falcons)

8.(5) A.J. Brown (Eagles)

7.(9) Nico Collins (Texans)

6.(3) CeeDee Lamb (Cowboys)

5.(4) Amon-Ra St.Brown (Lions)

4.(22) Jaxson Smith-Njigba (Seahawks)

3.(1) Justin Jefferson (Vikings)

2.(6) Puka Nacua (Rams)

1.(2) Ja'Marr Chase (Bengals)