Ranking May's Best and Worst Movies

Added: 2026-06-02

[00:00:05]That's right.

[00:00:06]>> What's going on, folks? We've reached the end of May. Plenty of new releases this month. It's a big month for horror.

[00:00:12]Less of a big month for this guy. Poor little Grou. But we're going to get into all of that. If you all have thoughts and recommendations and movies I missed, plenty of films I wanted to see. I love Boosters and Tuner and movies I'll get to if you follow me over on Letterbox.

[00:00:28]Right now, let's dive deep into what I have seen. We're going to rank them. If you want to share this video, continue to leave those comments, man. Let me know what I missed. If you want to spare a like, not for me, but for Grou, he could really use the money. Right about Let's start with some animated films. A couple that flew under the radar this month. Swapped actually did well on Netflix. It was ranking consistently in the top 10 for a couple of weeks.

[00:00:51]Michael B. Jordan, uh, voicing the lead role here, also the director of Tangled.

[00:00:56]So, that's pretty cool. Juno Temple, Tracy Morgan, Cedric the Entertainer, and it's a very simple story, right?

[00:01:01]This small woodland creature voiced by Michael B. Jordan, uh, and this giant majestic bird, they swap places, and so it puts them in different, uh, positions compared to the rest of the predators and prey roaming around what feels like a majestic forest of sorts. And one cool thing about this movie is getting to see all of these creatures come to life. And I actually found the animation here to be really solid for the most part. There are a few times where I think the rendering felt a little off. Maybe that's where I'm watching it on the small screen and compared to where we're normally seeing these big Disney Pixar lately. DreamWorks has been crushing it types of movies. But I really love what this had to offer from a morality standpoint. Some very important life lessons that kids can watch and really grasp and take on. And then obviously you're going to have the villainous entities and maybe a couple of surprises there within this story. Now all of those positives, they are somewhat contradicted by the cliches that this movie hits. Some nice messages, but messages we've seen a thousand times.

[00:02:11]Some nice visuals, but similar looking creatures. Maybe not creatures. I do think some of the visualization was distinct, but the movement and the way that these characters are interacting and just the story of I showed you how to get food, now you're getting food, so we're going to starve. And then there's a little bit of a clash between our main two characters, but a great relationship nonetheless. And so, this is a rock solid film for families and kids. It doesn't go above and beyond. It doesn't have anything that we haven't seen before, but it's all executed well enough for me to say Swapped is worth uh some time with the fam watching Netflix.

[00:02:51]I'm going to put this one on the okay tier. All right, everything nice I just said about Swamped, which again was just a solid and sweet animated movie that didn't really do anything distinct. At least it had competent writing and direction and voice work. Okay, you know what? I'll say this about Animal Farm, the brand new Andy Circus iteration of the story we've seen a thousand times, except this time they're handling things a little differently. Not for the better, but for the worse. Uh, the voice work is fine. I even think Seth Rogan, well, he sounds like Seth Rogan, but he's fine. Steve Bushimi, Glen Close, Woody Harelson, Gate Maserado. Uh, this is a really nice cast. But when you have animation, this lackluster, a story in Animal Farm that should and is dealing with themes that kids can kind of take in and attempt to grasp bigger ideas that have always been present in the story of Animal Farm. And I mean, these ideas are huge. And so I thought Andy Circus as a director would be the right director to come in and attempt to tackle it. But man oh man, talking about a flop of an animated film would not even do how I feel about this movie justice. This is a disaster from start to finish. And I think the biggest detriment I have for Animal Farm is that it feels lazy. The animation is lazy. It feels like everything and everyone here is moving in slow motion. It doesn't look good. The characters themselves do not stand out whatsoever. They're hitting these prominent political topics and themes and starting this civilization once this farmer goes away.

[00:04:42]Uh learning how to earn compensation.

[00:04:46]Animals, we're all the the same. We're all the types of creatures that want to live and thrive together. No, we're not according to Seth Rogan's character. So, these ideas start to creep in as they do in the original story, but it feels like you're flying through some of these really important topics as opposed to spending some some really important time fleshing out these characters and moments. And Animal Farm does none of that. And Annie Circus' touch or lack thereof, I mean, it just adds nothing.

[00:05:17]You might as you may as well have had uh this Grou doll sitting in the floor direct this film because it is lifeless.

[00:05:25]>> It's the biggest piece of dog and the political allegorories of totalitarianism and how power corrupts and how uh these things that we see happen can breed revolutions within the I mean a lot of these things happen in a very different way and they switch up the way that some of these themes are presented and present them in a different way when it's George Orwell you don't have to do that just give us a solid adaptation and don't put fart jokes numerous fart jokes in the George Orwell adaptation.

[00:05:59]What are we doing? Because they're very clearly trying to make this for kids, right? This is something that could appeal to all families. That's that's not what this movie is, but they're trying to make this for kids. Yet, they try to keep and maintain and even push some of these ideas. It's like, you don't know who your audience is.

[00:06:16]Obviously, there's a reason why no major studio wanted to pick this up. And Andy Circus as a director brings nothing to the table. And this voice cast is completely wasted. I could continue talking, but frankly, I've wasted too much time on this dumb movie. Uh, Animal Farm is awful. Okay, let's transition to something that's a lot better than Animal Farm. We're going to stay in the animation world, but combine it with liveaction. This is Sheep Detectives. I saw that trailer and thought, "Oh, okay.

[00:06:45]Well, this looks kind of silly, but there is part of me that was thinking maybe it could have this Paddington vibe because the sense of humor did look very similar in the trailer, but obviously it's not going to be on the level of Paddington or even close. Now, I was wrong about the or even close point because it is fairly close to how Paddington made me feel. It's just a genuine, heartwarming, emotional movie that revolves around this murder mystery. a murder mystery that the sheeps have to try to figure out because Hugh Jackman, the guy who plays the shepherd, well, it's not a spoiler. It's in the trailer and the beginning of the film. It doesn't end well for him, but we have all of these sheep voiced by spectacular voice actors trying to figure things out along with a police detective who he's a little bit of a class. Okay, it kind of reminded me of a similar type of humor. obviously, you know, less adult, more for kids that we get from like Shawn of the Dead, uh, that Edgar Wright world that we used to live in, combined with the charm of Paddington. I don't want to say it's fully Paddington because those movies are so special, but Sheep Detectives is fairly special. You've got Lord Miller as producers. Just so many people involved here that are going to make a great movie, and they did. Julia Lou Drifus, Brian Cranston, Chris Odow. I mean, the voice cast is spectacular.

[00:08:09]Then you've got Emma Thompson and Nicholas Braun, Molly Gordon, part of the live action cast and it had this Knives Out vibe to it as well. You've got all these people gathered around.

[00:08:18]Someone in here has committed a MOA except it's sheep. So it's so it's I reviewed this in short form. You all know I think it's great. It goes on the great tier. We're going to stay in the same category of massive, and I mean massive surprises because I saw the trailer for Remarkably Bright Creatures, and I thought it could be good. It's based on a novel that a lot of people cherish and care about, and so I I knew it would be good, but you know, it's a Netflix original. A lot of the times these types of movies don't play out.

[00:08:49]They feel very lifetimey. And admittedly, there are points in this film that feel a little lifetimey.

[00:08:54]That's not necessarily a bad thing. But the cast is amazing. And then you've got Alfred Molina as this octopus who is just paying attention to how these humans interact with each other and kind of telling us this story which again I thought was a little dumb. Turned out to be the most heartwarming aspect of this film by the time you get to the end.

[00:09:14]More importantly, Lewis Pullman is great. But Sally Field, Sally Mother Effing Field is giving an Oscar worthy performance. Now, she's not going to get that because it's it's the type of film that you are watching and saying, "I don't know if the awards body is going to take this movie seriously."

[00:09:35]Albeit, they should take it seriously because it is that good. Because it has so much going for it. Great characters, amazing human interactions, a wonderful story being told. two people that are so far apart in life and where they are and what they're trying to do and where they are trying to be, but they end up working and and this duo that we're following, the way they interact is just so wonderful, man. And I loved every bit of it. Uh, you know, some of the turns for the story were a little predictable, but others were not. And for the most part, the dialogue, other than a couple of moments that felt made for TV movie type of dialogue, most of it's not that.

[00:10:17]Most of it's great. And Remarkably Bright Creatures is a film that I am encouraging everyone to watch, including my parents who watched it, my brother and his fiance who watched it.

[00:10:26]Everyone's reported back great things and it's on Netflix for you all to see right now. It absolutely goes on the great tier. Ladies First on Netflix, starring Sasha Baron Cohen. He's this guy kind of living in his own world. He has it all. He has the money, the power, the fame, the fortune, the the private jets, this and that. And all of a sudden, he comes back to a world that's basically dominated by women. and his entire world is thrown for a loop and completely thrown off and he sparks this uh actually a handful of dynamics and relationships specifically with Roseman Pike. Both of them doing a good job in this movie uh that kind of leads him down a path that he never expected.

[00:11:03]Here's the problem I had with this film.

[00:11:05]The way it moves in the beginning is just so fast to where there's no sense of not only solid pacing, but there's no sense of direction. What this film was trying to be inevitably where we ended up, it just all feels kind of messy. And I'm listening to the dialogue and there are very arrogant characters in this movie. Obviously, Sasha Baron Cohen, who again, I really like when he plays a role like this, but there's just something about that character I could never ever respond to, even when the movie wants me to. Uh, Roseman Pike is solid, but again, that dynamic wasn't as good as the movie wanted me to think it was, and it just never really felt like it came together to create a coherent experience. Now again, it's a comedy where we're exploring this world that's dominated by women. And so we're putting women in these very prominent roles and his life is turned literally upside down and it's supposed to be funny. And I think there's a world where you could take that concept and make it funny.

[00:12:09]Especially with Sasha Baron Cohen, who's often times hilarious. This movie wasn't funny. And I wasn't laughing. And I'm watching this thinking this is just like every other Netflix comedy where they take a decent idea uh that could have been good but they just make it to where it's dumb and they flip everything on its head to where it just doesn't quite work. And so I'm done talking about this. Ladies first is bad. It's going on the bad tier. How about The Devil Wears Prada 2 and halfway Merryill Streep Emily Blunt Stanley Tucci who I think is just the MVP of these movies. Everything that Stanley Tucci does or says in these films I often times respond to. I just love his sense of humor and I love this movie's sense of humor. At least I do the first one. This is a little bit uh darker as a sequel. This is a film that is exploring how these types of organizations and companies are kind of on a downward spiral and they have to adapt to not only today's technology but how things work in 2026. And you know, Hathaway's character coming back into the life of your Merryill Street performance from the first movie that was absolutely incredible. She was this ruthless, some would say a devil that wears Prada type of character. In this film, she's doing things and saying things that aren't quite as ruthless. And I get characters like this can grow, but if you're going to write a sequel to Devil Wear's Prada 2, I'm going to want a little bit of that. And there's not really that much of that. when she first gets back, she tries to act like she has no idea who she is. Uh, other than that though, the ruthlessness, the oneliners, the the the anger that protrudes from her character that we love so much about the first, it's not there. And so again, understandably, characters like this can grow and Stanley Tucci's kind of keeping her uh on the right path, but I needed more and I needed less dark path of this company and more laughs and more charm and it just kind of lacked a lot of that. Now, is the film bad? No, it's actually not. It's pretty interesting where this story goes and what we're exploring there. Uh and Emily Blunt plays a really fun role as well. And I love what Hathaway does. That performance is magnificent, but it doesn't give these characters the opportunity to do what they did in the first. I want characters like that to grow, but expand upon that. And they never really expanded upon that. And so, I did walk out a little disappointed from that standpoint. But again, it's a way better sequel than we're used to getting. And there are some nice themes and ideas in here that this film hit that I didn't think it would. And so, I'm going to put Devil Wars Produ on the okay tier. It was pretty solid. In the Gray directed by Guy Richie, a film that stars Jake Gyllenhaal, uh Henry Caval, Isaac Gonzalez.

[00:14:55]It's a very generic movie of its type.

[00:14:59]And it's unfortunate because you have some really fun actors in there. First of all, I'm a huge fan of Gonzalez and what she does, but Jake freaking Gyllenhaal to make his character and it's a good performance, but to make his character this uninteresting h even worse off to give Henry Caval hardly anything to do from a dynamic standpoint, and I'm not saying Henry Caval's a dynamic actor, but you need to give him something to do that's different than what he does in this movie to allow him to stand out. And this film, unfortunately, did not do that. and Guy Richie, who's been operating on a higher level as of late.

[00:15:35]Obviously, still some misses in there.

[00:15:37]Uh, but this is one of those movies that I watch. It's like it's a heist film, right? This covert team of operatives, they're going in and stealing back the money. And so, you've got this big plan that's building up. You got some fun editing in there that's uh you know throwing certain scenes together, some transitions that are really nice, but these characters are so bland and uninteresting to where it it takes a really fun concept and some fun action sequences and you get to see Henry Caval doing what he does best. The movie starts out on an interesting note and so the the ideas are there, but the generic writing is just so generic to where it doesn't even feel like a Guy Richie movie at points. It's like every now and then you'll get some of that witty, snappy dialogue. You're like, "Oh, there's Guy Richie." And then there are whole other sequences where it just disappears and you're like, "Where where did Guy Richie go?" And so it's unfortunate to waste a cast like this.

[00:16:29]This movie is very forgettable. And this explains the lack of marketing because this film, if I would not have looked, I would not have known this was out. And for a Guy Richie movie with this cast, that's atrocious. So in the gray, it could have been worse, BUT IT'S DEFINITELY MEH. MORTAL KOMBAT. JOHNNY Cage returns. It's Carl Urban. Now, I'm not saying Carl Urban is bad in this film. I don't think he is whatsoever. He added a fun dynamic and element to this movie. This Johnny Cage is not quite what I expected or frankly wanted him to be. That's probably a me thing and less of a movie thing. The way he's handled in the movie is fine. Uh, but I thought I thought I needed more from him. Uh that said, the quippy oneliners and some of those elements that he brings and the action sequences are great. I love how this movie is much more straightforward and simple. It's like, all right, go get Johnny Cage. We're going to bring him in. Here's a tournament. We're going to show the fights. Bada bing, bada boom, there's your movie. Very simple, really entertaining from that standpoint. You get some great moments from some characters that you have wanted to see deliver those great moments. and a character from the first film who is ultimately just kind of in and out, you know, like the burger. But Katana and Sonia Blade, uh, they make a big splash in this film for sure. And it kind of shows things from we start out with with her perspective and less of a of a Johnny Cage perspective movie, more of a her perspective movie, but Johnny Cage comes in and makes a big splash. Uh, once again, Kano is playing that Johnny Cage role, I think, more than Johnny Cage is, and steals his sequences 1,000%. He is genuinely like the highlight of this movie for me, other than the fight sequences, which again are great, one in particular that knocked my socks off. But I watched this and I really needed a little bit more from the story. Johnny Cage's introduction feels so quick, so rushed.

[00:18:27]Some of these characters thrown in, they are so in and out. I'm just like, I understand they don't want to take the time to flesh out a lot of this because they did that in the first movie and it didn't work. And so focusing on the action is great, but there are points where I'm watching this thinking, I do need a little more from the characters to care or I I just need something that allows me to take this a little more seriously than I am. And so if you're in this for a fun action movie sequel, one that I actually believe improves upon the first, it takes some of the issues I had and makes it work and that's great.

[00:19:04]Then well, I at least encourage you to see this for yourself. And you know what? I'm going to put it on the okay tier. It was pretty funny. All right, Mando and Grou, let's get this out of the Come here, Grou, you little bastard.

[00:19:15]Grou, I love you, pal, but there is a reason why no one wants to go see this movie. And I don't literally mean no one, right? It still made 80 something million opening weekend and it had some good things going for it. But when you're the lowest opening of any Star Wars film and you open lower than Solo, and I remember when Solo came out at the time, I looked at it as this huge flop because no Star Wars movie had ever done that little. But I also looked at Solo as a movie that should have been a TV show. I think it would have worked great. Uh, it's not a bad film. I I kind of enjoyed Solo, but it would have worked way better as a TV show.

[00:19:53]Mandalorian Gro is already a TV show, and I think it just needs to stick to that format. Some things don't work if you attempt to consolidate them in the way that this movie does. Now, if you have the idea for a spin-off movie, that's great. I don't think this is what that was. I think what they did is they took what was supposed to be season 4 and they consolidated some stories that they were going to tell into movie format because it does feel like two different distinct parts, part one and part two of Mandalorian and Grou. And in that way, it feels episodic, which isn't inherently a bad thing for the Mandalorian Grou, but it feels episodic. It doesn't feel cinematic. And that's a problem. You know what else is a problem? Nobody was interested in this film because of the second weekend drop off. I mean, finishing third, behind back rooms and obsession. Obsession in its third weekend. That's not good. And I think this is all proof. Now, look, the audiences who saw this movie gave it a decent cinema score, but I knew that was going to be the case because again, when you look, and there's nothing wrong with this, I include my brother and my parents in this category. When you only see five to 10 movies a year in theaters, you watch what you want to watch and a lot of the times you just kind of expect to be entertained.

[00:21:16]Mandalorian Grou is entertaining and so the cinema score for this movie is a reflection of general audiences going to watch this movie being entertained and I completely understand that. But I watched 170 movies last year. I want a little more than entertainment from a Star Wars film. Well, Austin, I mean, why don't you just have fun with the Star Wars movie? You're supposed to have fun. Well, I feel like a lot of times people say that to defend bad movies.

[00:21:43]Okay, Mandalorian Grou isn't a bad movie. There are some things in here that work. I like the action set pieces.

[00:21:49]Uh, I I really like some of the character moments. The huts are interesting, but I wasn't quite quite responding to them. Jeremy Allen White's performance, frankly, sucks, but at least his character had some substance to it. So, better character than performance. And I don't even blame White cuz I'm sure he didn't get a lot of really good direction on what to say or do, but it's just all of these puzzle pieces aren't coming together to make for a coherent experience here. And it's it's not fun enough to overcome not having a lot of meaning to it. I wasn't emotionally connected. There's not a lot of meat on the bone here. They don't really explore the lore. They don't push these characters. Where they at in the beginning at point A is where they are in the end at point Z. We might as well have just skipped all of them because they don't really show a lot of growth or development. It's fun. I was entertained, but you compare this to Mortal Kombat. Mortal Kombat at least kind of understood the assignment.

[00:22:46]Mandalorian and Grou did not understand the assignment here. I think fans I think fans do expect more. Now, more casual fans again, they had fun with it.

[00:22:55]But those of us with higher expectations for a film like this, it just did not quite work for us. And that is oh so disappointing. I'm putting this on the MET tier. I still love the show, but I don't love the movie. Back rooms. Oh my goodness, what a fun experience this was from director Kane Parsons. Now, I have flaws with this film. Okay, and that is why I am squarely in between two tiers here. Uh because the first hour is incredible. Just the exploration of the back rooms. I'm seeing a lot of people on Twitter complain about this film and and it's funny. You can start to make the connections here, right? And this isn't me being, oh well, young people don't need to go watch movies. No, it's just more how younger people respond to films. And so you're looking at the under 35, and I'm under 35, right? I include myself in this. The under 35 audience was like 70s something% of its opening weekend. and a film like this that has a little more sub substance than your normal scary movie. Uh but also a film that has some slow pacing and the the amount of people that are like it's just walking around hallways.

[00:24:07]Oh my god, it's so boring. What What did you think backrooms was going to be?

[00:24:13]Well, how many brain cells do we have to have to understand that that's what that's what backrooms is, guys? That's the movie. So, it's like, what are we complaining about here? I think some of the complaints about the very fast turn from one specific character in the third act are very valid. I believe in that vein, the movie's missing like 15 minutes. It just feels like we're there so fast. I'm like, whoa, that was way too quick for what I was looking for there. And so, that was very unfortunate. But, at the end of the day, you're looking for a movie that feels unique and different and atmospheric and uh creepy. Back rooms is creepy. and it made me feel creepy. And some of these things that are chasing around our characters towards the end of the movie, exponentially creepy, utilizing practical effects, which I love. And then those handheld sequences, very Blair Witchesque, are spectacular. But this movie is also very sci-fi, right?

[00:25:06]It's horror, and I was creeped out. I was never terrified until that chase sequence towards the end. Then I was a little scared. Okay. Uh, but it's very sci-fi. And so, you've got to be ready for sci-fi. I am, you know, I'm going to play it safe and go good tier because of those flaws, but I could see this improving on Second Watch. One that will not improve on Second Watch. I can guarantee you that because I will not be watching it again, is Passenger.

[00:25:32]The first 10 minutes of Passenger was awesome. I mean, awesome. And it wasn't even the characters. It was the concept.

[00:25:38]It was pulling over and trying to help this entity that oh, as soon as you stop, and they make this known throughout the movie, as soon as you stop, well, it gets in the passenger seat and just write you the rest of the day. That sounded weird. It's like if you're an Uber driver and you just pick up the most psychotic customer ever.

[00:25:54]That's basically passenger, but it's a demon that follows you around. And conceptually, this was amazing. The first 10 minutes was amazing. The whole RV thing could have had some merit to it. The lore is interesting.

[00:26:09]Unfortunately, that part was botched.

[00:26:12]The couple that we get to spend time with, it wasn't that interesting. Uh the boyfriend is like, "Yeah, I would believe you. I just I've not seen or felt anything that you've experienced."

[00:26:21]That whole cliche is worn out, man.

[00:26:24]After the first little bit of the film, it falls off a cliff because it doesn't know what it's trying to do with this concept. And it should have been a short film. I don't understand why they tried to extend this as long as they did. And there are times where they're stumbling upon some things that are great. Some awesome shots, some decent scares. This is actually a horror film with some decent scares. You can't often say that with a movie like this, but where the scares work, the story doesn't. And it just feels so played out by the end. And then we get to the end of the movie and this character is like, I know how to solve it. go to this abandoned church in the middle of the desert. It's like, what? Where did that come from? It's so stupid. Where this they just didn't know how to end it. And that's okay. Uh I I do think this director's got some interest. There's some nice things on display here visually, some fun shots, one in a parking lot that was great, but for the most part, it it feels repetitive, a little recycled, and um well, bad. And finally, obsession. There's not much I need to say here about this movie. It is incredible uh what they were able to accomplish here. To accomplish so much, I say with so little, and I mean that from a budget perspective, what Curry Barker was able to accomplish here, one of the next great voices in horror, I would assume. I got to see what his sophomore project is. But man, I I go back and watch some of his shorts and just blending together comedy and horror. I mean, a director that can do that and make some of these more ridiculous moments feel like you can chuckle and laugh a little bit, but often times it's because you're feeling so uncomfortable. And the cast is really good. Michael Johnston, Cooper Tomlinson, Indie Navar, I mean Indie, her performance is so freaking good in this movie. Nikki is already iconic. And we're talking like like Kathy Bates level of insanity, right?

[00:28:16]This is one of those types of horror performances where she is not letting this guy go completely obsessed. Maybe because she's possessed, but the idea of this one wish Willow is so cool. It's something that you could if you wanted to explore down the road in many other with many other interpretations because we see other wishes in this movie and not all of them are going that bad. But it's just a series, a string of events that plays out in the most entertaining way it possibly could have. It's like the trajectory of this film uh was existed in the perfect reality. Every decision it could have made that would work for fans or entertain them, it made. And so, if it wasn't obvious already, this is going on the awesome tier. What an experience. What a movie.

[00:29:07]Before I rank these projects, let me know your thoughts down below. How did you feel about the month of May? Are you looking forward to June? And again, what did I miss? I missed so much and I promise I'll get to them. Follow me on Letterbox and I'll I'll keep the list going. The 2026 list at the bottom.

[00:29:22]1,000% Animal Farm. What a garbage movie. Uh but these aren't far behind.

[00:29:29]Passenger looks good there. And I'm going to put Ladies First slightly above because of the performances on the me tier. Let's go in the gray below Mando.

[00:29:37]Mando still had some fun Star Wars moments. It just it didn't feel like I needed a Star Wars movie to feel on the okay tier. I'm going to keep Mortal Kombat 2 in that spot and put Swapped, which was a sweet animated movie for families, slightly above uh with Devil Wears Prada 2 very close in the fifth spot overall. At number four, we've got Back Rooms. A really good movie, one that could maybe move up or down, but probably up in the future. The top three I'm very happy about. Sheep detectives is number three on the month. What a a fun family experience, man. Remarkably bright creatures. Maybe the surprise of the year so far. I'd say both of those are the surprises of the year. But how about Obsession? Easily. Don't even have to think twice about it. The number one movie of the month. And if you go look at my letter box list, it's in the top three to four. That's all I'll say. So, thank you all so much for watching.

[00:30:41]Plenty of movies to talk about in June.

[00:30:42]I'm going to watch a Regal Mystery movie tonight. Any any predictions on what that'll be? I'll see you soon.