‘The Housemaid’ Delivers on Its Promise of Twisty and Shocking Thrills

December 17, 2025

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They were maid for this (CREDIT: Daniel McFadden/Lionsgate)

Starring: Sydney Sweeney, Amanda Seyfried, Brandon Sklenar, Michele Morrone, Elizabeth Perkins, Indiana Elle

Director: Paul Feig

Running Time: 131 Minutes

Rating: R for Sex, Nudity, A Shocking Amount of Violence, and Other Disturbing Behavior (Including Sexual Assault)

Release Date: December 19, 2025 (Theaters)

What’s It About?: Millie Calloway (Sydney Sweeney) is desperate for a job, any job, especially one that’ll guarantee a roof over her head. She’s an ex-con out on parole who’s been living in her car, you see. So it feels like a miracle when she’s hired by Nina Winchester (Amanda Seyfried) as a live-in housemaid for her gated suburban mansion. Nina’s husband Andrew (Brandon Sklenar) and seven-year-old daughter Cecelia (Indiana Elle) are a little puzzled at first by their new roommate, but it’s really Nina that Millie has to watch out for, despite their promising start. Her behavior becomes increasingly unstable as she constantly gaslights Millie. Meanwhile, Andrew is lifesavingly eager to protect his new employee. But as you might suspect, The Housemaid is the type of movie where these characters aren’t exactly who they initially seem to be.

What Made an Impression?: History Repeating Itself: Is Sydney Sweeney basically just Amanda Seyfried but a decade younger? If we thoroughly compare and contrast their personalities and career arcs, it probably won’t be an exact match. But in this movie, their already similar faces and hair are styled about as closely as they possibly can be. And that is surely intentional in pretty much every way you can possibly conceive of.
Can We Be Real?: The Housemaid is a movie that you’ve got to be patient with, and director Paul Feig trusts that his audience will be okay with a two hour-plus runtime despite the breeziness of the trappings. Furthermore, you have to be willing to accept that until the final act, Seyfried is pretty much the only actor who’s not suppressing her emotions. But the payoff is worth it, because the climax is climactic all over the place. And before we get there, it’s not completely devoid of entertainment value, especially thanks to some especially droll line readings, like “Juice is a privilege, not something you drink out of a dirty glass.”
Broke is What They’re Going For: Throughout this review, I’ve been teasing just how twisty and revelatory this movie’s conclusion is. So of course I’m going to conclude by teasing that aspect once again. Obviously, now’s not the time for spoilers, but I will say that The Housemaid spends its last 45 minutes or so earning its R rating, and then some. Covers are dropped, old wounds are revealed, new wounds are poked, and just desserts are delivered forcefully. Folks, if you’re planning on seeing this, you gotta do so in a crowded theater full of stunned ooh’s and ah’s.

The Housemaid is Recommended If You: Wished that Conclave had been more like The Stepford Wives

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Fake Resumes

‘Christy’ Movie Review, AKA ‘Wow, They’re Sure Are a Lot of Boxing Biopics, Aren’t There?’

November 13, 2025

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Think Pink? (CREDIT: Black Bear/Screenshot)

Starring: Sydney Sweeney, Ben Foster, Merritt Wever, Katy O’Brian, Ethan Embry, Coleman Pedigo, Jess Gabor, Chad L. Coleman, Tony Cavalero

Director: David Michôd

Running Time: 135 Minutes

Rating: R

Release Date: November 7, 2025 (Theaters)

If you’ve been reading my reviews for a while, then perhaps you are already familiar with my approach of asking myself, “Would I like to live in the world of this movie and/or be the protagonist?” In the case of the sports biopic Christy, in which Sydney Sweeney stars as pioneering boxer Christy Salters Martin, the answer is a definitive split decision of “Yes in some ways” and “No in other ways.” On the one hand, professional athletic glory sounds like something I’d love to bask in. But on the other hand, being a queer woman in a homophobic world who’s married to a controlling and abusive man sounds much less appealing. So since that strategy didn’t result in a singular response, I’ll instead think of this movie as an advertisement for what a great friend Christy surely is to all those who have the good fortune to be a part of her life now and in the future.

Grade: 5 Belts out of 8 Mullets

Ron Howard Takes Us to ‘Eden,’ Shall We Join Him?

August 26, 2025

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Starring: Jude Law, Vanessa Kirby, Daniel Brühl, Sydney Sweeney, Ana De Armas, Jonathan Tittel, Richard Roxburgh, Toby Wallace, Felix Kammerer, Ignacio Gasparini

Director: Ron Howard

Running Time: 129 Minutes

Rating: R

Release Date: August 22, 2025 (Theaters)

Okay, y’all. You know I love to review movies by asking, “Would I like to live in the world of this film?” And the based-on-a-true-story Eden is just SCREAMING for me to review it that way, as three very different parties settle on the remote Galápagos island of Floreana for three very different reasons. Set in 1928, Jude Law and Vanessa Kirby play a Nietzsche-loving couple who want to save post-World War I humanity, while Daniel Brühl and Sydney Sweeney play another couple who somehow believe this is the best place to raise their family, and Ana de Armas enters the mix as a so-called “baroness” set on building a luxury hotel.

So is this heaven on Earth?

No.

Not at all.

But… this is one of those situations where it’s better to be second than first. Or not necessarily second, but definitely much later than first. Which is to say, I bet 2028 Floreana will be better than 1928 Floreana (spoiler alert, sort of ).

Grade: A Supportive Family Is So Important

‘Americana’ is One of Those Movies Where It All Comes Together

August 20, 2025

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This movie used to be called “National Anthem” (CREDIT: Ursula Coyote/Lionsgate)

Starring: Sydney Sweeney, Paul Walter Hauser, Halsey, Eric Dane, Zahn McClarnon, Gavin Maddox Bergman, Simon Rex, Derek Hinkey, Toby Huss

Director: Tony Tost

Running Time: 107 Minutes

Rating: R

Release Date: August 15, 2025 (Theaters)

The August 2025 theatrical release Americana has what must be called – I’m just going to come out and say it – a P-shaped narrative. It’s told in five sections. The first part unfolds, then we curve around a few days to jump into Part 2. Then by Part 3 we catch back up to Part 1, and that’s followed by a mad dash to the conclusion. Part 1 initially feels like it could be a prelude to everything else, but then someone who dies in that section shows back up in subsequent parts, thereby forcing us viewers to adjust our temporal orientation. Anyway, I haven’t really talked about the plot, but that’s only because I wanted to talk about the structure more.

Grade: Not Bad, But I Prefer the Halsey Song “New Americana”

‘Immaculate’ Review: Sydney Sweeney Enters Her Pregnant Nun Era

March 19, 2024

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How to Become Pregnant? (CREDIT: NEON)

Starring: Sydney Sweeney, Álvaro Morte, Benedetta Porcaroli, Dora Romano, Giorgio Colangeli, Simona Tabasco

Director: Michael Mohan

Running Time: 88 Minutes

Rating: R for Disturbing Behavior in the Name of Salvation

Release Date: March 22, 2024 (Theaters)

What’s It About?: Cecilia (Sydney Sweeney) is absolutely ready to devote the rest of her life to God. But perhaps she didn’t quite envision her vocation as a nun happening at Our Lady of Sorrows in the Italian countryside. In addition to her standard vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, her primary duties include looking after the sick, older sisters, who are beset by metastasizing tumors and incontinence. Nevertheless, she remains committed, although some of her fellow nuns eye her with suspicion. On top of all that, she suddenly finds herself pregnant, even though she insists that she’s never had sex with anyone. And in fact, we’re given every indication that she’s being honest and that instead something much more sinister is going on.

What Made an Impression?: What Year is This?: Isolation from the outside world is a good idea every once in a while. But as a way of life day in and day out? Maybe it can work in certain situations, but in others, it’s a formula for exploitation. And so it goes in Immaculate, where there are zero signifiers about the temporal setting. Are there no modern amenities because they haven’t been invented yet, or because this particular religious order has chosen to forgo them completely? If I had to guess, I would say it’s set in the present day, as the medical technology appears to be up-to-date, although it’s wielded sparingly to wield control.
Why Her?: It’s difficult to analyze what happens in Immaculate without spoiling too much, so I’ll keep it vague and say that there’s a reason why Cecilia becomes pregnant. Or perhaps I should say: there’s a reason why someone becomes pregnant, although it’s not entirely clear why Cecilia is that someone. It might have something to do with her origin story of surviving a childhood accident when she got trapped underneath a frozen lake. Or maybe this movie’s title offers a clue about the character of her soul. Maybe. This isn’t the most thematically clear-eyed horror movie I’ve ever seen. But at least it covers its Final Girl in buckets of blood as she screams for her life and breaks the tension once or twice with some funny moments of frustration.

Immaculate is Recommended If You Like: Religious-themed escape rooms

Grade: 3 out of 5 Conceptions

Jeff’s Wacky SNL Review: Sydney Sweeney/Kacey Musgraves

March 3, 2024

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Kacey and the Sunshine Sweeney (CREDIT: NBC/Screenshot)

Jeff “jmunney” Malone watches every new episode of Saturday Night Live and then reviews all the sketches and segments according to a “wacky” theme.

Excellent! March is my favorite month. And the 2024 edition is off to a promising start with a couple of new Saturday Night Live episodes on the docket. The 3/2 show was hosted by Sydney Sweeney, who you might know from the rom-com hit Anyone But You, the wacky superhero flick Madame Web, and the upcoming pregnant nun horror movie Immaculate. I’ve seen two of those, and I’m excited for the third! I might also start watching that HBO show that she stars on.

Kacey Musgraves was the musical guest, which she’s done twice before. She hails from a magical land named “Golden,” Texas.

And since this episode was indeed hosted by Sydney Sweeney, I’m going to include as much alliteration in my review as I can muster.

More

Getting Caught Up in ‘Madame Web’

February 20, 2024

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The Four Madames (CREDIT: Sony Pictures)

Starring: Dakota Johnson, Sydney Sweeney, Isabel Merced, Celeste O’Connor, Tahar Rahim, Adam Scott, Kerry Bishé, Emma Roberts, Zosia Mamet, Mike Epps, José María Yazpik

Director: S.J. Clarkson

Running Time: 116 Minutes

Rating: PG-13

Release Date: February 14, 2024 (Theaters)

It’s finally here!

Madame Web… what an experience. I can barely believe what I just watched, but I’m so grateful I did.

I can see the future now, but only a thin slice of it, specifically the part in which Madame Web becomes a midnight movie classic.

Half of it is run-of-the-mill meh mediocre. But that other half… It’s like the people who made this movie were half-asleep during all of 2003 and tried to recreate that year through telepathy.

The Amazon is a trip, man. They don’t make realities like this anymore!

Grade: Mike Epps and Emma Roberts Are Weirdly Also in This

‘Anyone But You’ is a Silly, Sexy, and Self-Aware Riff on Shakespeare

December 21, 2023

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Sydney (and Glen) in Sydney (CREDIT: Brook Rushton/Sony Pictures Entertainment)

Starring: Sydney Sweeney, Glen Powell, Alexandra Shipp, GaTa, Hadley Robinson, Dermot Mulroney, Rachel Griffiths, Michelle Hurd, Darren Barnet, Bryan Brown, Charlee Fraser, Joe Davidson

Director: Will Gluck

Running Time: 103 Minutes

Rating: R for Naughty Bits and Cheeky Language

Release Date: December 22, 2023 (Theaters)

What’s It About?: After an improbably passionate meet-cute that ends as terribly as possible, Bea (Sydney Sweeney) and Ben (Glen Powell) find themselves inexplicably thrust back into each other’s lives several months later when her sister Halle (Hadley Robinson) and his good friend Claudia (Alexandra Shipp) are getting married at a destination wedding in Sydney, Australia. Their petty sniping threatens to ruin the nuptials, so the brides and a few other guests concoct a scheme to get them to reignite the spark. Bea and Ben quickly catch on to the ruse, but instead of getting upset, they decide that the best way to get everyone off their backs is to just play along. Plus, their respective exes (Darren Barnet, Charlee Fraser) are also both in attendance, so this charade could siphon away some of the awkwardness from those encounters, or maybe even spark some jealousy. Of course, this being a romantic comedy and all, Bea and Ben are probably on a path to discovering that the fake relationship should maybe become the real deal.

What Made an Impression?: Only in Rom-Coms: The typical rom-com formula requires plenty of suspension of disbelief, what with all the unlikely encounters and easily resolvable misunderstandings. Anyone But You kind of pushes the limits of cliché, perhaps even to the point of parody. Bea and Ben’s meet-cute is especially absurd, as she runs into a coffee shop just to find a place to pee, and he buys her a drink so that she can become a paying customer. And this proves to be chivalrous enough for them to spend the night together! Then their big initial misunderstanding is based on the thinnest of circumstances, as she leaves his apartment the morning after before he wakes up, only to turn around just in time to hear him masking his insecurity by lying to a friend that he meant nothing to her. They eventually have ample opportunity to clear the confusion up, but both of them are too petty to do so. But the ridiculousness is kind of the point. The setup had to be that infuriating to really establish Bea and Ben as the ultimate rom-com protagonists.
All the Romance is a Stage: While I was eager to be charmed by Anyone But You‘s friendly cast and sunny harborside exteriors, I found some of the dialogue to be stilted and unnatural. But then I eventually locked into the vibe that it was going for. The story is based on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, so it’s all about trickery and subterfuge, and self-awareness about that trickery and subterfuge, and self-awareness about that self-awareness. It’s hard not to occasionally sound like a doofus while diving too deep into this silly game. Considering the source material, I wonder how Anyone But You would’ve worked as a stage production, especially if it had encouraged mass audience participation. As it stands now in its cinematic form, it wisely encourages silliness on the part of all of its cast members, and also smartly decides to have low stakes masquerade as high stakes.
Stripping Down: Romantic movies that feature a lot of skin tend to be of the “erotic” or “gross-out” variety, but Anyone But You bucks that trend by maintaining the sweetness while also dropping trou on more than a few occasions. Part of that is surely attributable to a more liberal attitude towards nudity among Australians compared to Americans. Whatever the full reasoning behind this cheekiness, it helps to bolster the theme of vulnerability being good for the heart. And here’s the thing: with a combination of goofball energy, sunny beaches, and horniness, certain parts are just going to pop out at some point. It’s enough to drive you wild, and help you come to an important epiphany.

Anyone But You is Recommended If You Like: Vicarious traveling, Dermot Mulroney’s Silver Fox Era, Awkward everyday acrobatics

Grade: 4 out of 5 Deceptions