The Daughters of the Domino (2025) | An average but enjoyable indie thriller where the family tree has more skeletons than branches. I'd skip the reunion. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 5.2/10. Being the daughter of a notorious serial killer can't be easy. Being the daughter who actually arrested him must make family gatherings a little awkward. Welcome to The Daughters of the Domino, an indie mystery thriller where family baggage, missing relatives and a copycat killer come together for what turns out to be a reasonably entertaining, if occasionally ridiculous, reunion.

Detective Nina Rose (Miranda Moffat), or Nine-A as she's apparently known, became something of a celebrity after bringing her serial-killer father, The Domino, to justice. Unfortunately, fame doesn't fix broken family relationships, and her relationship with sister Laura (Lucie Gillespie) has remained in the dumpster. Years later, a new killer appears to be following in Dad's footsteps, while Laura's daughter Jules (Ashley Poulin) goes missing. Naturally, this is the perfect opportunity for the sisters to put their differences aside and revisit some deeply buried family secrets. Nothing brings relatives together quite like murder.

We kick things off with some ominous music and Nina inspecting what she identifies as her father's burnt remains. A wonderfully cheerful opening. Really. Then, in a rather abrupt change of mood, she's dancing around her apartment to Spence Hood - The Bloodhound of the Blue Heron. I guess surviving a serial-killer father comes with an eclectic morning playlist.

Jules' birthday provides an opportunity for Aunt Nina to hand out show tickets, and the conversations between Jules and her friend Frankie (Asia Hicks) are refreshingly natural. They actually sound like teenagers talking to each other rather than actors desperately trying to convince us they're teenagers. Unfortunately, the celebrations are interrupted by another apparent Domino-inspired murder. Nina gets called to the scene, while the girls decide the show must go on. Their evening doesn't exactly end as planned, though, and neither does their journey home.

The underlying mystery is actually quite well constructed, with the family connections providing plenty of material to work with. The police response, however, requires a fairly generous suspension of disbelief. Let's just say some of the procedures and decisions aren't going to win any awards for realism. The investigation also wraps up a little too quickly, and the eventual twist isn't particularly difficult to spot. Still, it's competently put together and manages to keep things interesting.

Director Jesse McAnally deserves credit for making this look considerably more polished than its indie credentials might suggest. The cinematography is crisp, the shots are nicely composed, and the editing keeps everything moving. The cast also does a decent job selling the material, although Chief Keaton (Grover McCants) never quite clicked. Whether that's down to the performance or the writing, his scenes just don't land quite as well as the others.

There's also a nice little touch of uncertainty towards the end that gives the story one last reason to keep you thinking.

Overall, The Daughters of the Domino is an average indie mystery with a decent story and a likeable cast. There is enough family dysfunction to keep a therapist employed for years. The resolution could have been more fleshed out, but I still found it worthwhile. It felt more like the pilot episode of a television series than a standalone movie, and I wouldn't be surprised if that was the intention. There's certainly room for more Nine-A and her complicated family tree. Just keep Dad out of the next family reunion.

The Daughters of the Domino (2025)

Thanks to Richard over at Fosca Features for sending this one over.

https://jackmeat.com/the-daughters-of-the-domino-2025/

Melaleuca (2026) | A couple heads to a remote cabin for some quality time, only to discover the apocalypse has terrible timing. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 4.4/10. A couple heads off to a remote cabin during a pandemic, hoping for some peace, quiet, and perhaps a little marital rehabilitation. Unfortunately, a new "guest" has other ideas. The world starts falling apart, and their romantic getaway turns into a fight for survival. This determined survivalist has no intention of sharing the apocalypse with anyone. Melaleuca sounds promising, right? Well, I was expecting a little more bang for my end-of-the-world buck.

Things kick off with Misha (Jess Salgueiro) delivering a rather serious monologue, the central message of which is, "You are not lost." Salgueiro was easily one of the highlights of the Frasier reboot, so I was happy to see her here. We then get introduced to Arnold (Tom Keenan) and Patrick (Adam Hurtig), with the latter duct-taped to a chair while Arnold casually moves their checkers pieces around. Even hostage situations need a little recreational activity.

The movie uses illustrated doodle sequences to jump between the past and present, introducing us to the characters and giving us a broad overview of what's happening. We get "Before," followed by "The Happy Couple," which had me expecting a healthy dose of sarcasm. Surprisingly, these two actually seem relatively happy. They just need a getaway, and the family cabin seems like the perfect place to reconnect. Famous last words.

Director Jeremy Guenette takes a slow-burn approach, gradually connecting the cabin getaway with the increasingly uncomfortable hostage situation. Arnold eventually receives a panicked phone call from his mother, giving us some insight into the chaos unfolding beyond their little hideaway. Naturally, he decides that sharing this rather important information with his wife can wait. Nothing says healthy communication quite like withholding news of a global catastrophe.

Meanwhile, Misha is struggling with a writing deadline, and watching her hunt-and-peck typing technique makes me wonder how she's managed to get this far professionally. Perhaps the apocalypse will finally give her enough time to learn where the keys are. With everything going sideways, somebody also decides that taking acid is a perfectly reasonable next step. Honestly, at this point, who am I to judge?

Eventually, the various timelines catch up, and we discover exactly how Patrick ended up decorating that chair with duct tape. The "Now Where Were We" doodle helpfully brings us back around. Unfortunately, not everything lands. There's a particular "I just got shot" performance that had me questioning whether the actor had actually been informed what was happening in the scene.

Melaleuca is an extremely self-contained indie thriller that centers around three main characters. Salgueiro is a shining star in it all, making sense of all the bouncing back and forth between marriage crisis, apocalyptic antics, and panic at the prospect of a pandemic situation.

I liked the concept and appreciated the unusual storytelling approach, but the payoff never quite matches the setup. A decent little indie effort, just one that left me wishing there was a bit more going on beyond the doodles and duct tape.

Melaleuca (2026)

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

Blue Beetle (2023) | D.C. takes its stab at introducing a lesser-known hero from its comics with a varied degree of success. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 6.1/10. Blue Beetle is another superhero origin story, but this time we're trading billionaire playboys and radioactive accidents for a recent college graduate who gets his hands on an alien scarab. Because getting a job after school wasn't going to be difficult enough.

Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña) returns home full of hope and plans for the future, only to find himself bonded to an extraterrestrial piece of technology that has rather different ideas about his career. Before he knows it, he's transformed into the latest addition to the superhero club, complete with an armored suit, an impressive collection of weapons, and absolutely no idea what he's doing.

The film has a decent amount going for it. Maridueña makes for a likeable and relatable Jaime, and his family keeps the story ticking along. There's a nice emphasis on family here, which helps Blue Beetle stand apart from some of the more generic superhero outings. Unfortunately, the film doesn't always know what to do with its central character once the Scarab enters the picture.

Jaime's powers are a bit of a moving target. One minute he's doing something impressive, the next you're left wondering what exactly the suit can and can't do. The special effects are similarly inconsistent. Some of the action sequences look fantastic, while others have moments that wouldn't look out of place in an ambitious Saturday morning cartoon. It's not exactly a deal-breaker, but a little more consistency wouldn't have hurt.

The humor is another mixed bag. There are some funny moments, but the jokes don't always land, and the film sometimes struggles to find the right balance between superhero action, family drama and comedy.

Thankfully, Nana is here to save the day. Played by Adriana Barraza, she's easily one of the film's biggest highlights. As I was thinking, when the credits hit, Nana is really something else. Her character brings plenty of personality, some unexpected laughs, and a few of the most memorable moments in the entire film. Honestly, I could have done with more Nana and considerably less time worrying about the Scarab's ever-changing instruction manual.

George Lopez also provides some welcome comic relief. His performance adds more humor to the family dynamic, although, much like the film's other attempts at comedy, not every joke hits its target. Still, when it works, it works.

Ultimately, Blue Beetle is an entertaining enough superhero movie with a likeable lead, an amusing family unit, and a few standout performances. It doesn't reinvent the superhero genre, and its uneven effects and inconsistent handling of Jaime's powers hold it back from being more memorable.

That said, there's enough potential here for the character to become an interesting addition to the ever-expanding DC universe. Jaime Reyes deserves another crack at the superhero business, preferably with a little more consistency and a healthy dose of Nana.

Blue Beetle (2023)

It's not going to knock the likes of Batman or Superman off their pedestals, but it's a perfectly watchable origin story. And I'll be honest, Nana nearly steals the whole bloody show.

https://jackmeat.com/blue-beetle-2023/

Godzilla Minus Zero (2026) | Not quite as good as Minus One, but still a spectacular Godzilla adventure. Less crying, more stomping, and we'd have a winner. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 7.8/10. Finally, a trip to the cinema to check out Godzilla Minus Zero! I used to do this all the time, but somewhere along the way, I developed a rather ridiculous reason for avoiding theaters. I can't multitask while watching a movie. No pausing, no checking things, no wandering off to do something else. Just sitting there watching a movie like some sort of normal person. Lame, huh? Anyway, a nice change of pace, and this time I had my bro-in-law and his son Dom along for the ride.

Picking up two years after the events of Godzilla Minus One, Japan is still struggling to recover. War brought the country to zero, and Godzilla took it into the negatives. Just as humanity begins to reclaim some semblance of normality, another enormous problem decides to ruin everyone's day. Apparently, rebuilding a country wasn't difficult enough. There is no third time. Everything ends here.

That opening scene with Ghidorah was absolutely fantastic. Loud, spectacular, and exactly the sort of introduction you want when two giant monsters are about to make everyone's insurance premiums irrelevant. The monster effects are exceptional, and the transformation throughout the film is particularly impressive. Takashi Yamazaki clearly hasn't lost his touch.

The action is where this movie really earns its keep. There aren't a huge number of fight sequences, but the ones we get are phenomenal. The aerial battle around the halfway point is a particular highlight, and the final confrontation delivers some wonderfully destructive entertainment. Visually, this is another impressive achievement, and the sound design deserves just as much credit. This is absolutely one to experience in a theater. Your speakers at home might forgive you, but your neighbors probably won't.

Unfortunately, the human drama doesn't fare quite as well. I understand the emotional weight of what these characters have experienced, and there's certainly a place for the melodrama. However, some scenes drag on considerably longer than necessary. That adorable little girl spends so much time crying that I genuinely started wondering whether she had more screen time roaring than Godzilla and Ghidorah combined. I swear, I heard her more often than either monster. Thankfully, her final scene is genuinely touching, so I'll give her a pass.

The R rating might also scare off a few potential viewers, but honestly, it's a fairly soft R. There's some brutal fantasy violence, particularly during the final battle, but nothing that should put off most monster-movie fans.

Oscar nominations wouldn't surprise me at all. The technical work is outstanding, and Yamazaki delivers another exceptional Godzilla outing. That said, I still maintain that Godzilla Minus One is the best overall Godzilla movie made. Minus Zero is a slight step down, mainly thanks to the overextended human drama, but it's still bloody good monster entertainment.

A spectacular big-screen experience, even if I could have done with about twenty minutes less crying and twenty minutes more monster mayhem.

Godzilla Minus Zero (2026)

https://jackmeat.com/godzilla-minus-zero-2026/

The Canvas (2026) | One decent opening scare doesn't make a good horror movie. The Canvas spends the rest of its running time proving that point. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 2.8/10. The Canvas or La toile, if you really want to bore yourself to death and find this for your viewing displeasure, opens with a woman absolutely mesmerized by a painting hanging on the wall. The creepy voices provide an immediate clue that this isn't your average museum visit, and it's actually a pretty kewl and effective little opening. A genuine scare, some decent atmosphere, and a promising start. Shame about everything that follows.

From there, we're off to the woods, where Robert (John Real) and his son Daniel (Francesco Marzagalli) arrive at a cabin. In the woods. Because apparently nobody in horror movies has ever heard of Airbnb reviews or basic survival instincts.

It doesn't take long for the kid to start hearing voices, eventually leading him to a wrapped-up painting with a very clear DO NOT OPEN warning. Naturally, he opens it. What could possibly go wrong? The painting should look familiar from our opening scene, and after Dad hangs the thing up, the nightmares begin. Interior decorating is now a potentially life-threatening activity.

The premise has some potential. An isolated father and son discover a painting that seems disturbingly alive, with their darkest nightmares bleeding into reality and a sinister presence emerging from the canvas, feeding on buried trauma and forgotten memories (thanks IMDB). Robert eventually meets Annie (Nicolette McKeown) in town and recruits her and her father Nick (Angus Macfadyen), to help understand and possibly defeat the curse.

Unfortunately, a potentially interesting premise doesn't automatically make an interesting movie. The story is weak, underdeveloped, and about as engaging as watching paint dry. Which, given the subject matter, feels like a particularly unfortunate achievement.

There are a few things worth mentioning. The creepy woman actually looks pretty damn unsettling, and the effects used to bring her to life are surprisingly solid. Unfortunately, that quality doesn't extend to everything. There's a rather strange contrast between the effective creature work and some truly awful animated fire. It's almost as if two completely different production teams were working on the same movie, with one receiving a budget and the other being handed a copy of Microsoft Paint.

That opening scene remains the highlight by far. Beyond that, we're left with a whole lot of whispering, spooky noises and very little actual excitement. If you're absolutely terrified of a woman's voice whispering, you might get something out of this. The rest of us will probably be checking the runtime.

I genuinely feel bad for anyone who got tricked into seeing this during its limited USA theatrical release on October 30th, expecting a decent #Shocktober flick. Sorry, folks. This wasn't it.

The Canvas (2026)

At least the poster is great. Shame the movie couldn't paint a similarly impressive picture.

https://jackmeat.com/the-canvas-2026/

The Dog Stars (2026) | A gorgeous, slow-burning survival story with more heart than action. Just don't hold your breath waiting for the big payoff. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 6.4/10. We open The Dog Stars with some sweeping shots of beautiful, wide-open scenery while Hozier sings Like Real People Do. Nothing quite says the end of civilization like a bit of Hozier. We meet a man and his dog, Jasper, going about their business, which involves taking a little flight to, well, wherever. Just another day in paradise, assuming your definition of paradise doesn't include the complete collapse of humanity.

Set in a post-apocalyptic world where a virus has wiped out most of the population, the remaining survivors have to contend with roaming scavengers known as "Reapers". Our protagonist is Hig (Jacob Elordi), a pilot who survived the flu that killed everyone he knew, including his wife. He lives in the hangar of a small abandoned airport with Jasper, while his only neighbor is Bangley (Josh Brolin), a gun-toting ex-Marine who presumably considers a friendly greeting a waste of ammunition.

Hig occasionally takes his 1956 Cessna out for a spin, visiting a nearby farm run by Aaron (Benedict Wong), where a handful of other survivors have managed to establish some semblance of normality. When a mysterious radio transmission breaks through the silence, Hig finds himself clinging to the possibility that there's something better out there. So, naturally, he decides to risk everything and fly towards Grand Junction in search of a possible haven. Along the way, he encounters Cima (Margaret Qualley) and Pops (Guy Pearce).

Knowing that Ridley Scott is behind the camera, it should come as no surprise that the barren landscapes look absolutely convincing. The cinematography is easily one of the film's biggest strengths, with some gorgeous aerial photography and sweeping scenery. There's a real sense of isolation, and the contrast between the natural beauty and the ugliness of the world makes for some captivating visuals.

This is a very well-made film, although patience is definitely required. It's refreshingly slow-paced, taking time to explore the quieter moments between characters rather than constantly throwing another crisis at them. I'm not entirely convinced that a pandemic would turn humanity into a collection of brainless scavenging lunatics, but apparently the apocalypse comes with a mandatory IQ reduction for some people.

The story eventually gets moving in a direction I more or less expected, but there's one problem for me. The entire movie feels like an elaborate setup for something considerably bigger, and that something never quite arrives. It's not an all-out action film, nor does it pretend to be. It's a story about survival, loneliness, companionship and finding a reason to keep going.

Ultimately, The Dog Stars is one of the more humane and tender big-budget films I've seen recently. I don't mind a change of pace, and there's plenty here to appreciate. Just don't spend the entire runtime waiting for the apocalypse to really kick off. It appears even the end of the world has decided to take things slowly.

The Dog Stars (2026)

https://jackmeat.com/the-dog-stars-2026/

Resident Evil (2026) | Resident Evil is a bloody entertaining ride, even if the horror occasionally takes a backseat to the comedy. #jackmeatsflix

My quick rating - 7.2/10. Being a big fan of the games and most of the previous movies, I wasn't exactly hesitating to check this one out. It doesn't take long before things go sideways, starting with hapless courier Bryan (Austin Abrams) arriving at a hospital while casually chit-chatting on the phone. He's soon tasked with delivering a package to a remote hospital, which naturally comes with the incentive of double pay. Now, if someone offered me double money to deliver something to Raccoon City, I'd consider that a pretty solid warning sign to tell them where to shove their package. Add a snowstorm to the mix, and you have all the ingredients for a thoroughly miserable evening.

We even get the obligatory in-your-face warning to keep your eyes on the road, which is always reassuring when you're about to enter a nightmare. Before long, Bryan finds himself caught in the middle of an outbreak and fighting through hordes of mutated creatures just to stay alive.

Writer/director Zach Cregger puts together a terrific opening, and there are some nice little nods to gamers along the way. One moment involving Bryan checking his gun magazine and discovering he has only four bullets left definitely felt familiar. Anyone who's played these games knows that particular feeling of panic. Nothing says survival horror quite like having enough ammunition to mildly inconvenience the next monster.

Bryan is also ridiculously dedicated to his delivery job. The amount of insane shit this poor dude encounters would have most people reconsidering their career, but not him. He just keeps pushing forward. Almost as if he's controlled by someone sitting on a couch refusing to quit until they've finished the level. Whether intentional or not, there's a definite survival horror feel to his journey.

The creepy imagery is effective, the monsters look fantastic, and there's a nice combination of CGI and practical effects. The action is also really well done, although the comedy gets a little too much attention at the expense of the horror. That's a shame because whenever the movie decides to genuinely creep you out, it does a damn good job. Abrams is the centre of most of the humor and handles it well. The other characters, meanwhile, are about as developed as NPCs waiting for you to walk past them and trigger their next line of dialogue.

Thankfully, the pacing is excellent, and that entire ending sequence is an absolute bloody blast. It does wrap things up rather abruptly, with a fairly obvious sequel tease, but I'm certainly not complaining if there's more to come.

Resident Evil (2026)

Overall, this fan of both the games and movies walked away satisfied. It might have benefited from a little less comedy and a few more scares, but there's plenty of entertaining chaos to enjoy. Consider the delivery successfully completed. Just don't expect Bryan to get a five-star customer rating from Raccoon City. You didn't really think I would be avoiding horror for long, did you?

https://jackmeat.com/resident-evil-2026/