Pasckie Pascua's Nerdy Squirrel Reviews: Movies.

“Bad Trip” (2021, Netflix) hidden camera comedy. The film follows two best friends who take a road trip from Florida to New York City so one of them can declare his love for his high school crush, all the while being chased by the other's criminal sister, whose car they have stolen for the trip.         This is a wild old-school but masterful laughing frenzy. I haven't laughed in a while so I just did. Director Kitao Sakurai 's smart use of the “hidden camera” trick worked splendidly as though we were watching “Candid Camera” for the first time.         Eric André as lead comic Chris Carey and Tiffany Haddish as Trina Malone are hilarious! I definitely agree with most critics. This movie is a “surprisingly uplifting ride." 🎥💻📽 “The Comeback Trail” (2020, Paramount+) comedy . A desperate 1970s Hollywood producer in debt to the mob, plots to kill an aging a Western star during a dangerous movie stunt to claim...

“Marty Supreme” (2025, HBO Max) sports comedy-drama. Set in the 1950s, it stars Timothée Chalamet as table tennis player Marty Mauser (loosely based on Marty Reisman ) and follows his quest to become world champion.         First, I must say, Timothee should have won the Best Actor award for this very entertaining movie. And it's all because of Mr Chalamet's high-energy hold (or grip) of the title character. Funny, infuriating, flirty, heart-warming, contradicting etcetera--all embodied and craftily channeled in one dramatic bombast yet never hysterical and confectionary.         Second, and this isn't really a superlative, the majority of the 2 and half hour movie is fiction, especially the action sequences and the sexual shenanigans with a Hollywood actress. The “trip to Japan” or competitions in Japan were also twisted, but the rivalry with a Japanese player was real. I guess that's an “accepted” mischi...

“Outcome” (2026, Apple TV+) black comedy, directed by Jonah Hill and stars Keanu Reeves and Cameron Diaz. An actor embarks on an apology tour after a blackmail threat. Those stars (add Matt Bomer) hint of a good show. Plus Martin Scorsese is here, too!         But I expected too much. Built as a satire, this jibe talked a lot of nonsense, especially Jonah as Ira (“crisis lawyer” for Keanu’s Hollywood star Reef). There are some jokes and sequences that should have been flushed off the toilet bowl (such as Mr Hill in uhh toilet bowl).         Meanwhile, Cameron and Matt appeared silly as Reef’s oblique friends Kyle and Xander. Well, at least Ivy Wolk as Sammy (Ira’s assistant), as is funny.         Keanu kind of talks here more than he does. Though I prefer that he doesn't talk much, like when he is John Wick. 🎥💻📽 “Vengeance” (2022, Netflix) black comedy mystery. T...

“Little Joe” (2019, Pluto TV) drama. A plant breeder and single mother creates "Little Joe,” a plant that gives its caretakers joy.          This little movie is certainly an unorthodox movie but I don't think it qualifies as horror at all. Nothing's creepy about it. More a fantasy drama. Emily Beecham's understated, charming stoicism also works as deadpan enchantment. Her restrained take on plant breeder mom Alice Woodard won her the Best Actress plum in 2019's Cannes.        All in all, Jessica Hausner's directorial thrift is a minimalist intrigue in a spaced-out set sans weirdness. 🎥💻📽 “The Killing of a Sacred Deer” (2017, HBO Max) absurdist psychological horror thriller film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos . A cardiac surgeon introduces his family to a teenage boy with a connection to his past, after which they mysteriously begin to fall ill.         Mr Lanthimos is...

“Nonnas” (2025, Netflix) biographical comedy - drama, based on the life of Joe Scaravella , the owner of Staten Island (New York City) restaurant Enoteca Maria, who risks everything to honor his recently deceased, beloved mother by opening an Italian restaurant with actual grandmothers as chefs.        I didn't recognize the grandmothers until after watching per Google: Lorraine Bracco, Brenda Vaccaro and Talia Shire. All lookin’ fine and acting remarkably. Add the hottie grandma, Susan Sarandon.         The lead is Vince Vaughn as Joe Scaravella . You know, wherever Vince is, he can't stop talkin’ and talkin’ and talkin’. He didn't talk as much here though; the grannies did most of the talking and arguing and stuff.         Rotten Tomatoes : "Like a homey dish prepared for family, ‘Nonnas’ just wants to provide heaping helpings of comfort — and does so with enough charm that...

“Honey Don't!” (2025, Netflix) neo-noir black comedy directed by Ethan Coen . Small-town private investigator Honey O'Donahue probes a series of strange deaths that are tied to a mysterious church.        Director Ethan Coen requires no introduction, whatsoever. And Margaret Qualley has been scoring hits so far. Add Aubrey Plaza's engaging stoicism. But never mind a perennially one-dimensional Chris Evans and loud-mouth Charlie Day.         Anyhow, this movie has the pre-watch gravitas that'd get you intrigued and interested. Only, “Honey Don't” is a disappointment, and I am not necessarily talking about Margaret and Aubrey's lesbo sex scenes. 🎥💻📽 "Stone Creek Killer" (2025, Amazon Prime) psychological thriller about a Minnesota small-town police chief who pursues a serial killer. He is aided by a psychic, all while fighting to prove his own innocence and confronting his personal past and present demons....