It was a busy holiday weekend with a major theatrical release and a trio of streaming options. Below is my take on the holiday weekend releases. You can keep up with everything I’m watching by following me on Letterboxd @knighthawk7734.

Dora and the Search for Sol Dorado (Paramount+)
Starring: Samantha Lorraine, Daniella Pineda, Jacob Rodriguez, and Gabriel Iglesias
Synopsis: This is the second time in the last few years Dora has made her way to a live-action film that was available to streaming audiences. The first was in 2019, a film that featured Isabela Merced in the lead role. That movie had a quest, had a solid cast, and was a bit of fun. This time we have Lorraine in the lead role, with Rodriguez as her cousin and questing partner Diego. She’s also accompanied by her monkey Boots, voiced this time by Iglesias. She’s on another quest that has some Indiana Jones/National Treasure vibes. It’s a decently produced film that clocks in around 90 minutes, thereby not wearing out its welcome. The cast lacks some of the pop of the last outing and the film in general lacks some of the fun from last time. Still, it will appeal to younger viewers, offering a fun streaming option for the family.
Rating: NA

Heads of State (Prime Video)
Starring: Idris Elba, John Cena, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Paddy Considine, and Carla Gugino
Synopsis: This new action comedy for Prime Video follows the President of the United States (Cena) and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (Elba) as they are forced to team up against a new threat. The President is a former actor who is a man of the people. The Prime Minister, a former soldier and spy, is a man of action. They don’t like each other much, and their initial meetings are rough. But when an attempt is made to take them both off the board, they find a mutual respect as they try to restore the world order. Jonas plays an MI-6 agent that helps them, while Considine plays the primary antagonist. It’s a deep cast including Gugino, Stephen Root, and others, who all seem to be having fun here. This falls in the tradition of films like this where the President is in peril. In fact, this is the second action film of this type for Prime Video in 2025. But this one has a more comedic edge that works great. Cena and Elba are a lot of fun together. This film is a lot of dumb fun, which is perfect for the genre. I wouldn’t mind seeing a sequel to be honest. This is worth a fun evening watch.
Rating: Rated PG-13 for sequences of strong violence/action, language and some smoking.

Jurassic World: Rebirth (Theaters)
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey, Rupert Friend, and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo
Synopsis: This is the seventh film in the Jurassic franchise, the first since 2022 and the second time the franchise has received a re-boot. This tries to launch us into a different kind of world. We start in the past, with a look at the way InGen was messing with DNA and creating new mashup dinosaurs on a secret island near the equator. Now in the present, it’s been 32 years since dinosaurs returned and now, they are a somewhat endangered species again, relegated to a few islands near the equator where people are banned from traveling. A drug company executive (Friend) wants the DNA of three of the big dinosaurs for a new drug that could change the world. And he’s willing to pay. He employs Zora Bennett (Johansson) to help get it done, and recruits Dr. Henry Loomis (Bailey) to be their expert in the field. Zora, in turn, reaches out to her friend Duncan (Ali), who handles transportation and security. Along the way, they encounter a family whose sailboat was sunk due to a dinosaur. Soon, the team and survivors of the boat attack are stranded on an island fighting for survival. This film comes from director Gareth Edwards. I enjoyed his work in Rogue One and with The Creator, and he’s done well with big monster movies before, handling Godzilla well in 2014. But this doesn’t quite hit. I like the cast and I like the attempt to build real characters—which is a credit to writer David Koepp. But this film feels like it goes over familiar territory and packs too much in that isn’t fully explored. The genetic hybrid dinosaurs get short shrift, but so do the stories for Zora, Duncan, Dr. Loomis, and the family led by Garcia-Rulfo. We get pieces of it, but it doesn’t feel complete. It feels packed and thin all at the same time. There is still some nice visual flourishes, and some fun moments. One feels like it’s straight out of Jaws, another feels like something out of Alien. Meanwhile we get a classic scene of amazing CGI creatures and a swelling score. This isn’t the worst of the franchise, but it feels like a dull beginning to anything new. It might be time for the franchise to retire.
Rating: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence/action, bloody images, some suggestive references, language and a drug reference.

The Old Guard 2 (Netflix)
Starring: Charlize Theron, Uma Thurman, Kiki Layne, and Chiwetel Ejiofor
Synopsis: The original Old Guard film dropped on Netflix in 2020. It was a surprisingly gripping action film with a strong cast and great direction from Gina Prince-Bythewood. Five years later, we get a sequel. It returns the writers, the original cast, and picks up story threads from the first film. It’s 106 minutes, of which about 10 minutes are credits. So, it’s a crisp film packed with action. There are some fine performances, including from Theron in the lead and Thurman, who joins the fray. This builds out more of the mythology and the world. But the decisions made with the third act will likely leave some viewers frustrated. This isn’t a fully formed idea, it’s the introduction of new ideas that ends on a cliffhanger to push you to a future installment—if there is one. The action sequences are fine, but the film isn’t as dynamic, and that ending is a bit of a frustration. It’s a fine watch, especially for those who enjoyed the first film, but it isn’t as impressive as a sequel.
Rating: Rated R for sequences of graphic violence, and some language.

Matthew Fox is a graduate of the Radio, Television and Film program at Biola University, and a giant nerd. He spends his free time watching movies, TV, and obsessing about football. He is a member of the FSWA. You can find him @knighthawk7734 on Twitter and as co-host of the Fantasy Football Roundtable Podcast.