Man of War (2026) | If you've been missing those old-school rescue mission action movies, Man of War scratches that itch without reinventing the genre. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 5.2/10. There are bad days, and then there are "your aid worker friend calls to tell you Russia has invaded Ukraine before immediately getting kidnapped" bad days. Man of War doesn't waste any time getting to the action.

It opens with radio chatter announcing the invasion of Ukraine before giving us a sweeping aerial shot of Barcelona on February 24, 2022. Down below is Connor (LaMonica Garrett), doing his best impression of someone who's holding the last bottle of booze on Earth. Sure enough, his phone rings. Riley (Rosmary Yaneva) calls to say the Russians have crossed the border, and moments later she's dragged away by armed militants.

Helpful bunch too. One of the kidnappers even grabs the phone long enough for Connor to get a good look at him. That's either incredibly arrogant or surprisingly accommodating. Either way, if you've ever watched an action movie, you already know the next step.

Connor calls his old CIA contact Charlie (Jason Patric), demands a flight into a freshly invaded war zone, and before long they're on their way to Kyiv. Once there, he's teamed up with local guide Dany (Andrew Howard), who quickly learns Connor isn't the type to stop and negotiate. The local mafia certainly finds that out the hard way.

Filmed in Bulgaria, Man of War actually does a respectable job selling the illusion of a devastated Ukraine. The production design carries more weight than you'd expect, helped by the involvement of Ukrainian refugee actors whose real-life experiences inspired many of the small background details throughout the film. Those touches give the setting an authenticity that stands out more than the fairly standard rescue mission at its core.

Connor eventually joins forces with a hardened team of private contractors led by Bunny (Linds Edwards) as they push deeper into occupied territory. Their target is Koniev (Daniel Bernhardt), the mercenary commander responsible for Riley's capture. What follows is exactly what the trailer promises. Artillery barrages, drone strikes, collapsing buildings, and enough bullets fired to make you wonder where they are carrying all these magazines.

Garrett makes for a likeable lead, similar to his take on Lioness. Bernhardt is always welcome, especially when he turns up as the villain. Director William Kaufman keeps the action moving at a brisk pace, even if the story rarely surprises. Every beat feels familiar, from assembling the team to the inevitable final assault on the enemy stronghold.

I honestly kept expecting Michael Jai White to stroll in because this has that exact STS action feel of many of his recent films. That's not necessarily a bad thing if that's what you're after. Man of War delivers plenty of shootouts, explosions, and tough-guy one-liners without pretending to be anything more.

Man of War (2026)

It's my definition of an average action flick. Nothing terrible, nothing particularly memorable either. If you're looking to switch your brain off for 110 minutes and watch heavily armed people solve every problem with more gunfire, it'll do the job just fine.

https://jackmeat.com/man-of-war-2026/

Passenger (2026) | Passenger proves the quickest way to summon a demon is ignoring literally every piece of travel advice you were just given. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 5.7/10. You know those road safety ads that tell you to stay alert. Take regular breaks. Watch out for hitchhikers? Passenger takes that advice, cranks it up, and basically says, "Also…maybe don't pick up ancient demons."

The film opens with a bit of travel safety exposition. Followed by an introduction of two friends heading down a regular highway. Lucas (Miles Fowler) takes a potty break, but when he comes back to his car, Daniel (Alan Trong) is nowhere to be found. Open doors, blaring horn, and the creepy meter goes off in the red. It's a good start that grabbed my attention from the get-go.

Six weeks later, the focus changes to Maddie (Lou Llobell) and Tyler (Jacob Scipio), her boyfriend, who have been enjoying the #VanLife dream. At a meetup known as Burning Van, they get a tip, which could easily grace an inspiring travel coffee mug: "People don't take trips…trips take people." The quote is incredibly unsettling, except for one thing. The movie immediately ignores its own rules.

They're specifically warned not to drive at night because that's when the Passenger is strongest. So naturally, veteran traveler Diane (Melissa Leo), who has supposedly survived this nightmare for years, turns around moments later and says, "Let's hit the road...tonight."

That's the horror equivalent of surviving every Nightmare on Elm Street movie and deciding, "You know what? I could really go for a nap."

The movie never really explains what the Passenger can and can't do, which becomes increasingly frustrating. This thing seems capable of manipulating reality, turning day into night, appearing anywhere it wants, and generally playing by whatever rules the script needs at the time. If it can literally change the time of day, rerouting a few roads shouldn't exactly be beyond its skill set.

That also raises another question. At one point, they mention they're "making good time," but...toward what? Nobody seems to know exactly where they are going. Kinda like patting yourself on the back for winning a race without a clue of where the finish line is.

Still, for all its questionable logic, I found myself enjoying the ride.

The religious myths and demons provide some background other than your basic story of a haunted road, and I did find myself wanting to know more about the Passenger. The mood is set nicely because of good lighting, angles of the camera, and good use of dark scenes.

The scares are a mixed bag. There are more jump scares than the movie probably needs, but they are generally well done since the sound design is very effective in creating suspense prior to the scare. Even when you know something is coming, the audio still sets you up.

Unfortunately, the ending goes a little off the rails. Rather than delivering a satisfying payoff to the mythology it spends the film building, director André Øvredal swings for something much bigger and stranger that didn't quite land for me.

Passenger might not be breaking any ground in supernatural horror territory, nor will its characters ever earn their AAA membership in making decisions, but this is still a fun film to watch. The mood, imagery, and mythology work wonders to compensate for the story’s tendency to create rules on the fly. While Passenger might very well be your typical horror flick, it’s one worth watching. Even if I was occasionally yelling at the screen to stop driving into obvious danger.

Passenger (2026)

https://jackmeat.com/passenger-2026/

The Furious (2025) | It doesn't reinvent the revenge movie, but when the fights are this good, why would you care? #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 7.7/10. The Furious begins somewhere in Southeast Asia...at least that's what the text on the screen tells me. We meet a journalist investigating missing children who's on the phone with her partner because, apparently, she hasn't been home in a while. Instead of waiting for backup, she decides to investigate alone. You can probably guess how well that goes.

After a fantastic opening fight scene ends with her staring down an arrow, we cut to Wang Wei (Miao Xie), a mute handyman living a quiet life with his daughter, Rainy (Enyou Yang). If you've seen even one revenge flick, you already know where this is headed. Sure enough, Rainy is kidnapped, and since the police cannot do shit, Wei takes matters into his own hands.

His first lead takes him to, wait for it, a cage-fighting bar. LOL. Apparently, every criminal hangs out there waiting to be interrogated. At least Wei remembered his steel-toe boots this time. Since he can't speak, his version of questioning people mostly involves punching them until someone gives him an answer.

Also looking for answers is journalist Navin (Joe Taslim), whose wife has mysteriously disappeared (opening scene). Naturally, the two future allies have to beat the crap out of each other before realizing they're chasing the same bad guys. Action movie rules.

I wasn't as familiar with Miao Xie, but Joe Taslim has already proven himself in The Raid: Redemption and the recent Mortal Kombat II, so you know the fight scenes are going to deliver. Then they throw Yayan Ruhian into the mix as Tak, and now you've got two Raid veterans sharing the screen.

The whole movie has a dark and gritty look. Makes sense. It is about child trafficking. To describe the police chief as corrupt would be the understatement of the year. And once wealthy crime boss Paklung (Joey Iwanaga) completely loses his mind after his scheme begins to unravel, the body count ramps up in a hurry.

The action is where The Furious really shines. Bones break, bodies fly, and the choreography is excellent throughout. Rainy's motorcycle scene pushed things a little too far for me, but it's a minor complaint in an otherwise impressive action film.

Since we have two good guys, we get two final fights going on simultaneously. Having two fights of this caliber going on and mixing partners/opponents as it goes is worth the price of admission alone. Throw in another character looking for revenge, and it turns into an absolute martial arts showcase for a finale.

The Furious (2026)

The Furious isn't trying to reinvent the revenge genre, but it doesn't need to. If you're looking for a brutal martial arts movie with fantastic choreography and enough broken bones to make an orthopedic surgeon rich, this one absolutely delivers.

https://jackmeat.com/the-furious-2025/

House Sitter (2026) | House Sitter has way too much talky talky and not nearly enough stabby bloody. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 3.1/10. House Sitter kicks off with wealthy homeowner Harold Finch (David Varrieur) giving Kayla (Jenna Forcier) the grand tour of his mansion, complete with warnings about sticky doors and making sure everything stays locked. It's meant to build tension. Instead, it immediately introduces the biggest horror of the movie. The acting. If first impressions matter, this one trips over the front doorstep.

Kayla rounds up her friends for what should be an easy house-sitting gig. First is Dani (Cristina Méndez), who works at an actual comic book shop, which was a fun little touch. Then there's boyfriend Blake (Evan Eiglarsh), an influencer whose first priority is filming content around the mansion. The moment he started posing for the camera, I was rooting for the masked killer. If your biggest personality trait is "don't forget to like and subscribe," horror movies have traditionally had a solution for that.

Unfortunately, the potential victim list is tiny. Three main characters, one creepy house...and maybe a pizza delivery driver if we're feeling generous. It's hard to build suspense when you can practically count the remaining survivors on one hand before the opening credits have settled.

For an 87-minute film, House Sitter looks like it’s trying to get out of being a horror movie as soon as possible. The dialogue in this movie is terrible. It consists of pointless conversations that don’t lead anywhere. Characters are talking just for the sake of talking as per the script.

The pizza delivery driver gets a bizarre little sequence where he blasts heavy metal while yanking the steering wheel around like he's trying to beat Need for Speed. It adds nothing to the movie, but at least someone was having fun. Not me.

Not until the 35-minute mark does the first kill occur, and when it does, it's just lame. The horror junkies are left asking themselves whether or not they have started watching the film or the making-of featurette.

Of course, this is yet another modern horror movie in which everyone has a drone since we are treated to the obligatory aerial shots from up above. These days, drone shots have become just as common in indie horror movies as terrifying masks and dying flashlights.

To make matters worse, it takes nearly another half hour before anything horror-adjacent happens aside from the masked killer creeping around. The suspense is non-existent, and despite the occasional stalking scenes, House Sitter never finds any of that urgency it desperately needs.

One bright spot is director Christopher Leto's use of practical effects. When the violence finally shows up, it at least looks tangible instead of drowning everything in questionable CGI. That's always appreciated and gives the finale a little extra punch.

The mystery itself isn't particularly mysterious. The identity of the murderer is quite obvious long before the actual reveal. There are a couple of twists along the way, trying to redeem the boring first hour. When contrasted with the slow start of the film, they easily become the best parts of the movie.

House Sitter (2026)

In the end, House Sitter spends far too much time talking instead of actually giving us the horror we came for. Better pacing, sharper dialogue, and a significantly higher body count would've gone a long way. Why not throw a house party, give us some victims?

Instead, it's a movie where I spent more time waiting for something to happen than watching it happen.

https://jackmeat.com/house-sitter-2026/

The Get Out (2026) | Turns out retiring from the crime business is somehow even more stressful than staying in it. Who knew? #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 5.8/10. Russell Crowe has hit that wonderful stage of his career where he can walk in a room, barely raise his voice, and still make everyone realize they made a bad decision. In The Get Out, he plays a nightclub owner looking to retire from his less-than-legitimate career after a heart attack. And yes, the film wastes no time revealing that the heart attack happened during one of the few activities most men are strangely proud to admit nearly killed them. It's an opening that immediately lets you know this crime thriller isn't afraid to have a little fun with itself.

Crowe opens the film, arriving at his nightclub while narrating his Albanian journey to America and how he built his empire. He settles comfortably into the role of the aging businessman trying to cash out before the criminal world cashes him out first. His accent works well, and honestly, I've always enjoyed watching Crowe. He has that effortless ability to make even the simplest conversation sound like it could end with somebody buried in concrete.

Teresa Palmer, who I've been a fan of ever since Warm Bodies, brings some common sense to the film as the woman encouraging Crowe to finally enjoy life instead of constantly surviving it. Naturally, the universe has other ideas.

Enter masked robbers, ruthless cartels, double-crosses, and Luke Evans showing up with the sort of smile that immediately screams, "This bloke definitely has an agenda." Nina Dobrev and Aaron Paul make for entertaining wildcards, and I particularly enjoyed Carrie's explanation for wanting in on the robbery. Apparently, Point Break counts as life counseling for her.

The overall story won't exactly reinvent the crime genre, but it doesn't really need to. The script keeps the plot moving with enough twists and shifting alliances to stay entertaining. Better still, there really aren't any dead spots. Every scene serves a purpose. Every character eventually fits into the bigger picture. And the final act ties everything together in a satisfying way without feeling overly complicated.

My favourite part actually comes after the movie ends. During the end credits, Dobrev jokes about the Point Break remake before casually pointing out that the best part of the movie was that Teresa Palmer was in it. I genuinely laughed out loud. It's a fun little wink that perfectly fits the lighter touch despite all the guns, gangsters, and betrayals.

The Get Out (2026)

The Get Out is not going to be the next great crime masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but it definitely knows who it is. It is a well-paced and twisty small crime story. We get a fine Russell Crowe performance, a cast of likeable characters, and some humorous moments to even it out. Sometimes that's all I really need.

https://jackmeat.com/the-get-out-2026/

The Red Book Ritual: Gates of Hell (2025) | I watched The Red Book Ritual: Gates of Hell so you don't have to. Even the characters wanted to quit halfway through. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 2.4/10. I vaguely recall watching the first Red Book Ritual and giving it a #turkey. So why not bring on The Red Book Ritual: Gates of Hell? I am apparently a glutton for punishment.

It starts with some guy who looks like he's had a rough night. Then he glances down at a woman on a table who has clearly had a much worse one. At least the practical effects are decent so far.

We then cut to the grieving guy visiting a psychic card reader, who warns him about a dangerous ritual. Robbie (Mario González Martí) wants to contact his deceased girlfriend, so he heads to an abandoned house with a group of young people to perform the Red Book Ritual.

Finally, a horror movie where the woman sees one creepy thing and immediately starts packing her shit to get the hell out. Granted, she's being chased by a giant stuffed animal, but still. Progress.

I started wondering if this was another anthology, with the psychic acting as the narrator like the first movie. At least that would've explained why we suddenly jump from Robbie's story to a random woman boarding an empty trolley where creepy things happen for no apparent reason.

Then it's back to the ritual. Then another unrelated story. A woman hears knocking at her door, finds a weird-looking headpiece outside, and because it's a horror movie, immediately puts it on. Do adults really still pull the blanket over their heads when something supernatural is trying to kill them? Unless that comforter was blessed by a priest, I don't think it's helping.

Back to Robbie's group, where one guy grabs the Red Book and asks if he can leave the game. I completely understand. I wanted to leave too, but unlike him, I had another hour to go. Needless to say, the answer is a very bloody no.

The No Filter segment actually had a decent idea. A woman downloads a beauty filter app during a video chat with a guy whose face is covered in a nasty rash. Before long, she's the one blistering while the app keeps making her look flawless. It's a timely concept that completely wastes itself with a terrible ending.

Then comes Mystery Box, where a woman drags a strange box out of a lake. Horror movie rules say it obviously isn't full of money or happiness. Another solid premise that fizzles out by the finish.

Eventually we return to Robbie and finally learn what happened to his girlfriend. Unfortunately, the anthology never really comes together. The stories barely connect, the Red Book itself is never explained beyond "it does spooky things," and too many segments end just as they start getting interesting.

Stick around through the credits, and you'll at least get the names of each segment. IMDb couldn't even be bothered listing which director made which one, despite every story having a different director. So instead, I'll blame writer Hernán Moyano for stitching together an anthology that feels far less than the sum of its parts.

A couple of decent ideas. Too many weak endings. Another easy #turkey.

The Red Book Ritual: Gates of Hell (2025)

https://jackmeat.com/the-red-book-ritual-gates-of-hell-2025/

Enola Holmes 3 (2026) | Even Enola couldn't solve the mystery of where all the fun from the first two movies disappeared to. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 5.5/10. I admit. I did enjoy the first two Enola Holmes films. Rounded both of them up to a 7/10 even. They were smart, witty, and just plain fun. So I went into Enola Holmes 3 expecting another entertaining mystery caper.

This time, detective Enola Holmes (Millie Bobby Brown) heads to Malta, where her plans to marry Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge) fall apart when Sherlock Holmes (Henry Cavill) goes missing.

It opens with a hooded woman being marched through a prison and dropped in front of some dude who offers her freedom if she can recover some stolen goods. Insert the dramatic music as he asks if the name Tewkesbury means anything to her.

Apparently it does, because the movie smash cuts to...one year later...at a wedding.

Enola wastes no time breaking the fourth wall before giving us a quick refresher on the first two movies and explaining how we ended up in Malta. Then, just as expected, we're knee-deep in another mystery that initially seems impossibly complicated. These movies always make the case look like it requires seventeen corkboards, three maps, and enough red string to knit a sweater before everything starts falling into place.

It was great to have Helena Bonham Carter as the mother of Enola once again. Since everybody else was returning to the screen, it was just natural that Himesh Patel would come back as Dr. Watson too.

One scene had me laughing for all the wrong reasons. A box with what looked like twenty-five gold bars gets treated like something Enola can just pick up and carry away. That's roughly 675 pounds of gold. Unless Sherlock has secretly been training her as Britain's strongest woman between movies, that wasn't happening.

Unfortunately, this one never reaches the heights of its predecessors.

There's less action, less adventure, and fewer moments where we get to sleuth alongside Enola. Even the romance, which should've been the touching part, is pretty damn dull. Instead of another globe-trotting mystery, it feels a lot more like a stage production. Just too many long conversations replacing the energetic pacing that made the first two so enjoyable.

The mystery itself is also far more predictable. I found myself figuring things out well before the film wanted me to, which takes a lot of the fun out of a detective story.

I don't think the change in directors to Philip Barantini is really the issue. He's proven he can direct excellent material. The bigger problem is the screenplay. Jack Thorne, who wrote the first two, doesn't deliver the same sharp dialogue, clever twists, or sense of adventure this time around.

It's still an easy watch thanks to the returning cast and Millie Bobby Brown's endlessly likeable performance. But compared to the first two outings, this is definitely the weakest case Enola has taken on so far.

Enola Holmes 3 (2026)

Not a bad sequel. Just one that's missing the spark that made the others so much fun.

https://jackmeat.com/enola-holmes-3-2026/