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 The third weekend in May brought a number of different releases, including horror, action, drama, and more. Below is my take on the new movies I saw this week. You can keep up with everything I’m watching by following me on Letterboxd @knighthawk7734.

In the Grey (Theaters)
Starring: Henry Cavill, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Eiza Gonzales
Synopsis: Since the late 1990s, Guy Ritchie films have been a fixture in theaters. He started with these indie crime dramas noted for fast dialogue, fun characters, and great action. Nearly 30 years later, he’s still delivering those kind of fun rides in theaters. That’s the case with In The Grey, which opened May 15. It arrived without a lot of hype and fanfare, and just provides a bit of fun, escapist fantasy for 98 minutes. In short, it’s what summer is all about. The film focuses on Rachel (Gonzalez), who is a lawyer and something of a fixer. She is a gun for hire for asset management companies, helping to recover funds that are due from unwilling clients. She’s landed a whale in Manny Salazar (Carlos Bardem). He owes a billion dollars, which is just a fraction of his net worth. But he’s been resistant to attempts to recover it. Salazar is a businessman and a criminal, burying and hiding his assets in shell corporations around the world. He also runs his empire from a private island where he owns the police and employs a small, private army. So, Rachel turns to her right-hand men, Sid (Cavill) and Bronco (Gyllenhaal). While Rachel and her team of lawyers and accounts pursue the money and the courts, she uses Sid, Bronco, and their teams to apply the pressure in less legal ways. This involves surveillance, deception, and spy craft. All of it is meant to push Salazar to the point of a meeting where the stakes are huge. Can Rachel and her team get the debt repaid before it’s too late? This is a blast from start to finish. Ritchie has a knack for action, mixing with comedy and some fun locations. In recent years he’s delivered a string of these kind of films that have a glossy look, humor, plenty of action, and a great cast. They are a fun ride that provide a bit of a light-hearted escape. That’s certainly the case with In The Grey. Gyllenhaal and Cavill have a lot of fun together, and their back-and-forth and plans are a lot of what makes the film work. I also enjoyed Gonzalez as the piece that ties it all together. It’s a fun ride that delivers exactly what you’re looking for from this kind of film. In The Grey isn’t complex and it isn’t deep. But it’s a good time that feels like the kind of film that the summer movie season is all about. It’s worth checking out to kick back and be entertained for 98 minutes.
Rating: Rated R for violence, language and a sexual reference.
Verdict: Three stars out of five

Is God Is (Theaters)
Starring: Sterling K. Brown, Janelle Monae, Vivica A. Fox, Kara Young, and Mallori Johnson
Synopsis: We see a lot of films about monsters. Usually, they are supernatural and terrifying creatures that wreak havoc on all those who cross their path. And while the supernatural monsters are terrifying, it’s the everyday monsters that ruin lives that might be the most traumatizing. That’s certainly something Alesha Harris understands. She’s the writer and director behind the new drama Is God Is, which opened May 15. It’s based on her 2018 play of the same name and it’s a monster story. It’s not supernatural, but it’s about hunting a monster all the same. The film centers on twins—Racine (Cara Young) and Anaia (Mallori Johnson)—who have a deep bond and a rough history. They both carry scars—mentally and physically—from a broken childhood. Their father (Sterling K. Brown) was a vicious man, an everyday monster. And he wreaked havoc on their lives, burning their mother and them when they were young. Now young adults, the arc of their lives has been changed. The physical burns have made them outcasts and the mental scars have stunted their ability to engage with the world in a healthy way. When they get a letter from their mother (Vivica A. Fox), who is still alive though badly injured, they hope to get some closure. Instead, she tells them the horrifying tale of the night their lives all changed. As she’s dying, she has a final request for her girls—find and kill their father. It sets Racine and Anaia on a quest that will change their lives. This is a unique story. Harris pours a lot into crafting this journey and the wild characters they meet along the way. It’s a sensational cast, which includes Janelle Monae, Erika Alexander, and Mykelti Williamson as people they meet on the journey. In some ways it’s a road movie. In some ways it’s about the events and people that shape our lives. But, mostly, it’s a revenge tale. By the time we get to the wild third act, things get really interesting. It’s violent and chaotic. And it takes the story in some unexpected ways as it wraps up. It’s haunting and emotional at times, featuring some incredible work from Johnson, Young, and Brown. I enjoyed the film for what it is. Harris has a unique vision in adapting this unique story to the screen. It feels unlike characters or a world I’d seen before, and she makes some interesting narrative choices. I really enjoyed some of the sequences and the way it all comes to a head with Brown at the end. That being said, not all of it worked for me. I had a few questions that went unanswered. And some of the violence felt abrupt before we settle into the final sequence. I like the film and I like the creativity, but there were points that felt disjointed in the middle. Still, this is an original and creative film. If you’re looking for a different kind of monster tale, it’s worth checking out Is God Is.
Rating: Rated R for strong/bloody violence and language.
Verdict: Three Stars out of five

Life Hack (Theaters)
Starring: Georgie Farmer, Yasmin Finney, and Roman Hayeck-Green
Synopsis: The advent of the Internet has led to a lot of wonderful things. We live our lives online. The ease of using everything online—including our identity and our finances—can be a gift. But it also makes us a target for those who know how to exploit the technology. But do those that exploit it use it for good, or for evil? That’s a question posed in Life Hack; a new drama that focuses on a group of hackers that found a way to make those who do bad pay. But they end up pushing too far and getting caught in the process. The film focuses on Kyle (Farmer). At the outset, he’s facing a parole board who asks if he has learned from his past. As he stumbles to answer, we flash back to see Kyle living his life online. He is connected to his friend Petey (James Scholz), who long ago moved away, and the friends he made online in Sid (Hayeck-Green) and Alex (Finney). They mostly play games and use their skills to expose online predators. But soon, they realize they can use their skills to swindle sharks, too. They set their sights on Don Heard (Charlie Creed-Miles), using his estranged daughter, Lindsay (Jessica Reynolds), to gain a foothold. They come up with a nice payday, and soon decide to do it again. But Lindsay isn’t pleased with her father, and she isn’t pleased with being played. She tracks down Kyle and soon pressures him to go after Don Heard again, this time for a much bigger score. But it comes with bigger risk, too, especially as Don traffics in online security and information. This is an interesting approach. The central characters are never together in the same place as this film plays out where they ply their skills—online. It’s told through screens and experiences, but it never feels disconnected. It never feels stale and despite not being in the same location, the connection of the four friends feels real and vibrant. It’s the type of story that makes sense in 2026, when so many people—especially young people—are living their lives online. I appreciated the craft and the approach from director Ronan Corrigan, who makes the action come to life. I enjoyed the story and the performances, especially the tension created in the third act of the film. This moves at a good pace, blending action, drama, and humor. I found the story engaging and I appreciated the way it all wrapped up in the end. The young cast does a good job, especially Farmer as Kyle. This will be an engaging film to check out in theaters.
Rating: NA
Verdict: Three stars out of five

Obsession (Theaters)
Starring: Michael Johnston and Inde Navarrette
Synopsis: It’s often been said, be careful what you wish for. That seems apt when considering Obsession, a new horror film from writer/director Curry Barker. It made the festival circuit in 2025 and now is making a wide release for audiences today. The film follows a young man who is fixated on the future he wants. A solution presents itself that seems too good to be true. And as often turns out, when something appears that way, it’s for a reason. And that sends him on a dark path. The film focuses on Baron—Bear (Johnston) to his friends. He’s a quiet man living a quiet life with a singular obsession—his friend Nikki (Navarrette). They’ve been friends for years and a big part of each other’s lives, and yet he’s never been able to express how he feels. When he shares his grand plan of romantic pronouncement with his friend, Ian (Cooper Tomlinson), he’s told to wait. He’s told he has plenty of time and it’s not worth the risk. But when Bear arrives home, he finds his cat dead. Shattered, he plans to spend a quiet night at home. Instead, Nikki calls and convinces him to come out to trivia—sharing that she’s put in notice at the job where they all work. It feels like a sign. Bear stops on the way to grab a gift, and ends up settling on a novelty item, a One-Wish Willow. After a trivia session, the path to a grand gesture seems to open as Bear offers to drive Nikki home. But, in the end, he can’t quite get there, even when presented a golden invitation to share the truth. Alone, after failing to give her the gift, he decides to give it a try. He makes a wish that will change all their lives moving forward. We’ve seen these kind of magical elements in horror before. We’ve also seen uncomfortable inter-personal drama in horror before. And yet, the way Barker puts it together does feel unique and uniquely uncomfortable at times. That’s a reason it was a hit on the festival circuit and has been a hit with early audiences. I won’t deny that it’s a simple premise executed in a clever way. There are some deeply unsettling sequences and images that will haunt you. There are some wildly uncomfortable sequences, too, that will likely have you squirming in your seat. I know that was the case for me. He gets some solid performances, too. I enjoyed Johnston in the lead role and the sense of dread and terror that increasingly plagues him throughout this dream turned nightmare. And Navarrette has some sequences, and some looks that are the most haunting thing I’ve seen since the viral marketing campaign for Smile. If you’re a fan of horror or have been a big fan of Barker’s short films on YouTube, this will be a nice expansion. And yet, it didn’t totally resonate with me. It’s unsettling and uncomfortable, but it also feels a bit too long. It runs 108 minutes, and I couldn’t help but wonder if it would have worked better in a tight, 90-minute format. I also struggled some with the characters and the world. We don’t get a lot of backstory fleshed out here, which leaves them somewhat thin. Even for Bear himself, aside from the loss of a pet and an obsession with Nikki, we know precious little about him and this friend group at the center of the story. That doesn’t always matter, and it likely won’t dissuade hard-core fans of the genre, but it kept me from latching on to the film in a deeper way.
Rating: Rated R for strong bloody violence, grisly images, sexual content, pervasive language, and brief graphic nudity.
Verdict: Three stars out of five

The Wizard of the Kremlin (Theaters)
Starring: Paul Dano and Jude Law
Synopsis: At this point you’d be hard pressed to find someone who hasn’t heard of Vladimir Putin, President of Russia. But how many people have heard of Vadim Baranov? That’s the question behind The Wizard of the Kremlin, a new drama from Olivier Assayas. The film tells the story of Baranov, who worked his way to the highest levels of power. And after establishing himself there, he quickly disappeared. This film seeks to highlight his story and explain where it all went wrong. The film follows reporter and author Rowland (Jeffrey Wright), who is granted an audience with Baranov (Dano) at his country home after he’s retired from public life. There, bonded by a shared love of old books, he begins to spin his tale. He goes on to start with his younger life, and how he first found himself in media. Through a connection with Boris Berezovsky (Will Keen), at the time the power behind President Boris Yeltsin, he is introduced to Putin (Law). Putin is tapped to be the next in line, and viewed by Berezovsky as someone he can control in the same way. But Putin has ideas of his own, and soon recruits Baranov to help craft the message. As Putin takes power, and takes the country in a new direction, Baranov is charged with crafting the message. He also comes up with some of the counter-intelligence techniques that sew massive distrust and discord in the world. But as he grows closer to Ksenia (Alicia Vikander), and starts a family of his own, Baranov begins to pull away, putting everyone in jeopardy. This is an interesting idea for those who want to learn more about Russia, Putin, and the power behind his office and his meteoric rise. That gives some potential here. But the set up for the storytelling feels stiff. In addition, the run time of more than two hours makes it feel a bit drawn out at times. The film is based on the novel from Giuliano Da Empoli, which gives it plenty of biographical details. And Dano does a fine enough job in the lead role. Law is a gifted performer, but it was hard to get a feel for how he wanted to play Putin. That’s a struggle. In addition, Baranov isn’t that complex or interesting a character—either in his professional or personal life. So, that can leave you questioning why the investment in this story by the end. Assayas does a fine enough job of crafting the scenes. But there is a lack of tension and pop here. And the meeting between Baranov and Rowland that serves as a framing device never feels like it has the requisite payoff. The film isn’t bad, but it isn’t dynamic or memorable, either. Despite the talented cast and the interesting premise, this film feels somewhat underwhelming. Fans of a good biopic will appreciate learning more about Baranov, a figure I knew little about prior to the film. But aside from filling in some historical blanks, this likely won’t offer much memorable or compelling.
Rating: Rated R for language, some sexual material, graphic nudity, violence and a grisly image.
Verdict: Two and a half stars out of five