Movies Worth Seeing
Movies Worth Seeing is a comedy podcast that explores all the best trending films and blockbuster releases. A big movie buff, Michael is an unconventional reviewer of all things movies. This podcast is for anyone sick of watching crappy movies and wants only to watch the best
Movies Worth Seeing
The Gorge: When Romance Meets Monsters
The Gorge defies expectations at every turn. What starts as a seemingly formulaic assassin romance between Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy evolves into something far more intriguing when they literally fall into another world. Their chemistry anchors this genre-bending adventure that seamlessly transitions from romantic thriller to monster-filled horror without missing a beat.
Miles Teller's transformation is nothing short of remarkable. Gone is the young actor from Whiplash, replaced by a commanding leading man whose emotional range perfectly complements Anya Taylor-Joy's enigmatic presence. Though her Lithuanian accent occasionally wavers, their connection feels authentic and earned. When joined by the legendary Sigourney Weaver in a perfect supporting role, the cast elevates what could have been a standard streaming release into something truly cinematic.
The film's visual design deserves special mention—particularly the creature concepts that blend organic and plant elements reminiscent of The Last of Us. While some CGI moments betray budget limitations, the overall production design creates a world you can believe in. The pacing masterfully drip-feeds information, building tension before dramatic reveals that keep you invested throughout. Even as hardcore film critics, we found ourselves genuinely startled by jump scares in what isn't technically a horror film.
Where The Gorge stumbles is its final act. After brilliantly navigating multiple genres and building to a thrilling climax, it settles for a predictable conclusion that lacks tension. The music telegraphs developments too obviously, undermining otherwise strong storytelling. Yet these flaws don't erase what works—a streaming release that proves direct-to-digital films can deliver genuinely engaging cinematic experiences. Whether you're drawn to romantic thrillers, creature features, or simply appreciate watching talented actors elevate material, The Gorge offers something unexpected and worth your time.
Can direct-to-streaming movies change their perception? With high-quality movies like the Gorge, what happens when two high-caliber actors work on a film that transcends different genres in the short span of time? Find out in the Gorge To be real. Me and Addy both saw the trailer for this film a couple weeks back for our other video where we were talking about upcoming movies of 2025, and we did not think much of it. We were kind of annoyed as well because the trailer kind of spoiled so much of the mystery surrounding the Gorge.
Speaker 2:It felt the trailer gave so so much information away that I could have predicted what the movie was going to be about and, to be fair, we weren't that far off.
Speaker 1:But there was actually a lot more to it that it became less of a cliche film and it became actually more interesting than we expected it to be I was so shocked with how well the movie did with its pacing as far as building up to that epic climax of the end, and the chemistry between Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy was phenomenal. They did such a good job of building up their relationship that when the film reaches this crucial point where one of them had to make a key decision, to kind of go into the gorge. It made sense to us which I think would have been very hard for lesser actors to get that across.
Speaker 2:There's a lot of stuff I didn't expect from Milestello. He was just completely changed. He wasn't the same kid, he was doing Whiplash.
Speaker 1:Fan 4-stick. What Fantastic Four, oh Fan 44stick. What Fantastic Four, oh Fan Fan4stick, fan4stick. They call it Fan4stick because in the title oh, fan4stick, so that's always.
Speaker 2:He changed. In other words, he changed. He was a little kid and now he's just like a f***ing man Like, and a good looking man too. No homo, he was a good. F***ing man like, and a good looking man too. No homo, he was a good f***ing looking man it's like.
Speaker 1:Are you sure? No homo, I don't know, after some of your reactions.
Speaker 2:I was like I don't know, I don't know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he made me one of myself yeah, something's happened with his jawline, where it's like much more defined. I don't know if that naturally happened or he just knows a really good surgeon, I don't know. But whatever he did, it looks great. He looks great. I take him seriously as a leading man whereas anya taylor joy.
Speaker 1:On the other hand, I believe she hasn't changed at all look, I I really liked her in the menu, but I can see what you mean as far as she looks like the exact same character from the other films I've seen her in.
Speaker 2:Besides the critique on Anya Taylor-Joy and the craze on Miles Stutter, from my perspective their chemistry was really good. The thing that did threw me off a little bit is Anya Taylor-Joy's accent, which was weaving in and out what was it meant to be lithuanian? Yeah, sometimes she goes into like this whisper voice and then it's just like crystal clear american and it's like why is it lithuanian when you speak normally, but then when you whisper it's just general american.
Speaker 1:I have new orders that require me to go dark for at least a year, maybe more.
Speaker 2:A special assignment in an undisclosed location sometimes you can hear when an actor is just not from that country, whereas when you go to Hugh Laurie in house, oh, and nobody knew the guy was British yeah everybody thought this guy was American because his accent is so f***ing on point. Now I understand an American accent is easier than the Lithuanian accent, but it was just a bad accent.
Speaker 1:I personally I didn't mind it. I thought anya taylor joy was pretty good. The accent was the only thing that was throwing me off but, like her, moments and everything were there. Both actors, I feel, were very good at showing their emotional baggage of what it entails being an assassin where you've killed so many people, you've lost sight of what it means to have any sense of morality or integrity about what you're doing. It was all really well done and believable for these two characters to be in this situation, despite how ridiculously over the top it sounds when you talk about the premise with people that haven't seen it. Yeah, and we haven't even gotten into the actual gorge yet.
Speaker 2:Yeah, interesting how, when they go into the gorge, not just does the world change, the whole genre changes. Yeah, it was like this interesting romance kind of thing happening in the first half, but when they go into the gorge, all of that disappears and it becomes a full-on thriller. It gets you on the edge of your chair because it's something you did not expect.
Speaker 1:For me, it reminded me of films like From Dusk Till Dawn, where the first half is like this suspenseful thriller where Tarantino and George Clooney are being chased by their fugitives on the run and you think that's what the film is and then the midpoint vampires coming out. The change in tone is super jarring in that, whereas in this it was done in a way where it made sense, based on the story, it all makes sense for the genres where they fall into the gorge.
Speaker 2:You know they're going to be surrounded by monsters. You expect it to be scary, and so it becomes scary. It's a welcome.
Speaker 1:The other thing I really liked was the creature designs were pretty cool. Reminded me a lot of the last of us. You get this vibe of this mesh between natural, organic, like plants, kind of taking over people in a way. The designs itself were really good. It was just like a few moments where I was like, ah, they're over-relying a bit too much on the CGI for the gorge itself, the environment, but I really enjoyed that. When they go into the gorge you've got this change of colors, the, this change of music. That was jarring, though I felt, yeah, but that was meant to like. It made you feel weird. We thought like one of us thought the other just kept farting and I'm like, no, it's the music no, but a change of lighting.
Speaker 2:It was really weird. It just walked from orange into blue and it's like what justifies the color change, because then suddenly it's nighttime.
Speaker 1:I just felt like it.
Speaker 2:It was a way of saying this world is completely unpredictable I like it, but it's so surreal that for me in that moment it just took me out of it completely. Because, like you, can make the world surreal, but done in a believable and unjustified way. I will give it a minus point for that interesting.
Speaker 1:Yeah, as I said, like the, the cgi at times looked really great, and then there were moments where, like certain drones were flying or creatures were looking a bit off. There was a moment that you pointed out where we were looking at the water and we were like yep, that's a green screen this is yeah, um. Yeah, that took me out of it because that was the moment when I go oh yeah, this is direct to streaming, which sucks because so much of this movie was actually high quality it's the little things I understand.
Speaker 2:Doing the cgi for water is really difficult, but the cgi for so many things was really good. But then, like some of the shots with the water in the back, it's just. This looks like a computer game from 1964. It's weird.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's like if you were watching Jurassic Park and you see the T-Rex and you're like holy shit, he's amazing. But then you see the raptors and they looked terrible. You'd be like what the Like? Why wouldn't you take that same attention to detail so that it consistently looks good throughout? You know what surprised me Seeing Sigourney Weaver. Where the hell would she be? I swear I haven't seen her since Avatar. And then she comes out of nowhere in this film and I'm like holy shit. I feel like her role really suited her.
Speaker 2:You know what? Sigourney Weaver, you don't have to question anything.
Speaker 1:Along with Miles Teller and anya taylor. Joy like having another high quality actor like that only helped the perception of me for this film. It felt like this was a high concept movie that has some, some weight to it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we have a few more points which he kind of dipped into it here and there. They really did a very good job at drip feeding the audience. It was a slow release of information over time and suddenly a big piece of information and a long pause before the next big reveal of information. But done in a very tasteful manner where you stay interested and every time that right piece of big information is coming at the right time.
Speaker 1:I felt the pacing made me feel like this isn't going too long, it's not going too short, it's like it's just right. I think it's time to get to like our final ratings.
Speaker 2:What do you think? One to five stars, what would you give it?
Speaker 1:I think I'm going to give the Gorge like four out of five stars, because I went in with really low expectations and got blown away. The way it handles so many different genres within a two hour runtime is very well done, very balanced, very good flow, great pacing, pacing. It was a treat to see it go into that shift of becoming now action sci-fi, while still holding down this romance as, like the foundation for it, the jump scares actually got me. I feel like I haven't seen a horror movie that got me with its jump scares in a long time, and this isn't even technically a horror movie. If it was in theaters, I feel like I may have had a different perspective about it, but because it was direct to streaming, I'm like, wow, this is awesome. So if you got time and you're at home and you don't know what to watch, it's a great time. Great time at home watching apple tv I would.
Speaker 2:I was considering giving it a three and a half, but I'm gonna give it a three. The whole movie was pretty decent, was pretty good. I'd give that a four and a half stars, but at the very end it's just like is that it? That's the ending. There was no tension. Actually, after the climax you could turn off the film because then the last 10 minutes kind of gonna ruin it for you. Yeah, that that does bring up a good point.
Speaker 1:the way the gorge tries to misdirect the audience at the end was honestly really laughable. Like there was no effort put in to be like no, we're actually going to try our best to get the audience to think they're not getting that ultra, super, duper happy ending. Yay, Everything in the world is perfect. We both looked at each other and we're like I don't believe that for a second. And then you see that ultra super happy ending and you're like that's really disappointing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was boring, Boring, boring boring.
Speaker 1:It was like in those rom-coms where there's that moment of like oh no, they're not going to get together and everyone knows they're going to get together at the end, because everything alludes to it.
Speaker 2:It's like the style filming, the color grading, the music, the f***ing music gives it away Pretty much.
Speaker 1:The music score gives away the ending before we even get a chance to catch up and see, which essentially just spoils all the tension.
Speaker 2:I think yeah because of how well the rest of the film is. It out like a sore thumb. It stands out like a fucking sore thumb, so that's why I'm giving it a three out of five stars and kind of you've kind of convinced me to change my mind now, oh, too late. You gave four stars. No, you gotta reduce the three and a half.
Speaker 1:no, no, no, you can reduce I'll. You gave it four stars. No, I'm not. You know what? No, no, no, you can reduce it. I'll keep it at four stars, but if this was in cinemas it would be less. Well, that's it for us guys. But, yeah, comment below. Let us know what did you think of the Gorge? For now, that's it from us guys. Please like, share and subscribe for more movie reviews like this.