REVIEW: I’ve never so quickly been on board for a film as when the trailer for Dangerous Animals first dropped. There’s just something about a shark film that always excites, despite the fact that we’ve pretty much just gotten the one good one. And with so many following the same formula, it’s nice to see one that detours from the expected. Because having a madman (Courtney) who baits sharks with kidnapped girls has all the makings for an awesome shark film. 

Dangerous Animals follows Zephyr (Hassie Harrison), a transient who lives out of her van and surfs. Unfortunately for her, her nomadic nature makes her the perfect victim for Tucker, a local tour guide who makes a habit of kidnapping people and filming the act of feeding them to sharks. Zephyr needs to try and find a way out before she becomes chum. There’s a pretty lame love subplot with Josh Heuston‘s Moses and Zephyr. I get it, they needed someone who’s out there searching for her, so it’s not entirely hopeless, but it leads to many corny, stereotypical plot beats. This is the film’s main problem. All of the drama feels so melodramatic and hammy that it’s hard to take any of it seriously. It clashes so much with all the tension going on board the boat. A little bit of subtlety would have gone a long way. Instead, we’re given monologues that don’t work and some really convoluted moments meant to extend the narrative.

Like any good shark movie, the film really stews in the tension of the first big shark appearance. But there’s never that “oh my god” shocking moment with the sharks. Instead, the film makes it clear: Jai Courtney‘s Tucker is the villain, not these sharks. They are simply doing what sharks do: eat when there are signs of food in the water. There’s a moment where we get to find out just how long he’s been operating, and it only adds to the imminent danger as he’s clearly been getting away with this for quite some time. The opening ten minutes are where the film really excels, as the tension can be cut with a knife. But it loses steam whenever Tucker is offscreen.

What works so well with Tucker is that his character is essentially a comment on society’s lust for shark violence. We have Shark Week every year devoted to these creatures, and it’s often the tales of when they attack humans. It doesn’t happen naturally enough in the world, so Tucker has to make it happen himself to satiate his own obsession. Jaws really did a number on the public’s perception of these majestic creatures, and this seems to try and break from the usual mold. And Courtney is absolutely phenomenal, really inhabiting the character and making him one of the most intriguing villains I can recall.

Dangerous Animals utilizes real footage of sharks to create some really beautiful visuals. Usually, it’s the Great White or Tiger Shark that gets all the attention, but there are some gorgeous Mako’s that get the first real showcase of the film. And it’s a big ocean, so I’m glad that it’s not the same shark throughout. Different species interact, with a massive Great White being the main event. Makes things a bit more dynamic, as they aren’t treated like the villains. Though as much as the film is trying to make a point about how sharks don’t intentionally feed on people, it’s almost immediately upended with a Hollywood-style bombastic ending that seems to miss that point.

I really enjoyed the shark puppets that are used, as they look realistic and work well. The CGI on the sharks (outside of one moment) is also handled really well. But that one bad moment stands out so much that it’s hard not to be a stain on the film. The gore is a little disappointing in the shark attacks themselves, although the aftermath is quite brutal. There’s one shot in particular of someone’s upper body floating in the water that is truly haunting. And there’s a reason for the attacks being how they are because, outside of the very hammy final kill, they’re presenting these sharks in a realistic light. They aren’t these sentient beings that are prone to jump scares like every shark movie in existence makes them out to be. These sharks move at steady speeds and have normal behavior. It was a breath of fresh air.

It may just be me, but I was very distracted by how still the camera/boat were during some of the ocean-set scenes. I understand that these were likely done on a stage for convenience, but there’s not even a little bit of sway to the boat. They are perfectly still, and it constantly breaks my immersion in the world. Maybe being pulled out of the world with moments like this is why the drama really didn’t work for me. You’re telling me you couldn’t just have a cameraman sway a little bit to give the effect of being on the water? Instead, it feels overly staged.

I really wanted to love Dangerous Animals, but I just ended up liking it. Which is totally fine. There are some good moments, with Jai Courtney being an absolute standout. But it feels like the concept isn’t fully taken advantage of. I didn’t need the random romance subplot, and it really took away from the tension on board. I get its purpose, but it feels a bit sloppy in execution. Thankfully, Courtney is so maniacal, and the tension on the boat is like a tightrope, that it still makes for a fun time. You just need to shut your brain off more than expected.

DANGEROUS ANIMALS IS IN THEATERS ON JUNE 6TH, 2025.

Dangerous Animals

GOOD

7

The post Dangerous Animals Review: Killer Performance from Jai Courtney Drowns Out The Silly Melodrama appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: Plagued by a recurring violent nightmare, a college student returns home to find the one person who can break the cycle and save her family from the horrific fate that inevitably awaits them.

REVIEW: I have been a Final Destination fan since my teenage years and have seen each film dozens of times, if not more. There’s just something about the concept of a bunch of people escaping death, only for it to come back around and get them in incredibly violent ways. And as a fan, I always get a little worried when a new entry tries to mess with the mythology. Because Final Destination: Bloodlines takes aim at what came before it in a big, bad way. But does it result in a good movie?

Final Destination Bloodlines gives the franchise a twist, with the opening accident happening, only for our premonition to be seen by our supposed leads granddaughter in modern day. Turns out, her grandmother had a premonition decades prior, saved a bunch of people, and death has been having a helluva time cleaning up its mess. Entire families exist that weren’t supposed to, so death has to become Winston Wolfe. Only a lot messier. It makes things very convoluted and results in plenty of eye rolls. Is it really that hard to just have an accident, and then play clean-up crew? I guess this is what happens with a fifth sequel.

The franchise has already had some pretty incredible leads, so there was lot riding on Kaitlyn Santa Juana’s Stefani. She’s fine overall, but doesn’t have much personality. Having her not involved in the premonition means we’re not getting much in the way of character development. For her at least. Meanwhile, Iris gets the audience invested in her, which feels a tad wasted since we’re mostly getting her as an older lady. Given the change in how the premonition works, this is the most the series has ever felt like an ensemble. But none of these people are likable, so it’s easy to root on their deaths.

I’d argue the most important part of any Final Destination is its opening accident, and this one rules. There were so many deaths that I lost track by the end. As violent as this movie gets, they’re so over the top that the entire experience is a blast. I was laughing in my seat, having a great time with all the carnage. Though if I had to have a mark against it, it gets way too heavy with the CGI. This is a problem throughout, with many of the deaths being nothing but CGI gore explosions, which I always hate. Thankfully, the garbage truck and x-ray death are some all-timers that are sure to be on plenty of favorite kill lists going forward.

Tony Todd’s death felt like a gut punch earlier this year, but it’s awesome that we get to see him reprise one of his most famous roles here with the mortician, Bludworth. His in a similar role that we’ve seen him in before, giving our cast of characters some much-needed exposition. But there’s obviously a tinge of sadness to Todd’s final appearance in the series. I’m happy to say that it’s an absolutely beautiful tribute and probably his best cameo in the franchise. He’s involved in the story in a much more significant way, even if it only boils down to one scene.

Overall, I enjoyed my time with Final Destination: Bloodlines, even if I wasn’t completely blown away. One of the fun aspects of the series is the tension, and trying to add an equation to figuring out death’s plan just makes it all a tad lame. Not to mention constantly referring to death as a he, like he’s a physical person. Thankfully, this boasts some absolutely incredible kills, with some of them being the best of the franchise. Yes, I know, a bold claim. But I stand by it.

Final Destination: Bloodlines

GOOD

7

The post Final Destination Bloodlines Review: A Fun Twist On The Formula appeared first on JoBlo.

REVIEW: I’ll give Able “the Weeknd” Tesfaye this – he seems immune to criticism. After being pilloried by the press for his failed HBO series, The Idol, he’s doubled down on his attempts to break into acting. Hurry Up Tomorrow might be one of the most extreme acts of self-aggrandizement I’ve ever seen. In the movie, not only does he play a version of himself, but he’s also portrayed as perhaps the world’s most successful singer, whose work inspires devotion from fans. His voice and lyrics are so utterly powerful that, at one point, the beauty of one of his songs manages to defuse a potentially deadly confrontation. It’s the vanity project of all vanity projects, and indeed, he’s risking ridicule by making this his starring debut in a major film. 

There seem to be two potential audiences for this movie—devoted fans of The Weeknd and the singer himself. No one else, not even casual fans, needs to see this unless they like watching train wrecks. But even his fans might find this a chore to sit through, with it a thinly plotted rehash of far better films (Misery, Play Misty for Me, A Star is Born).  It’s a disappointing follow-up to Waves (one of the rare films I’ve ever given a 10/10 to) for director Trey Edward Shults, who seemed to be on the verge of a significant breakthrough between that and It Comes at Night. This is, at best, a feature-length collection of videos for The Weeknd’s new album (which carries the same title), and not a standalone project. 

One wonders what attracted rising stars Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan to this misbegotten film beyond Tesfaye’s undeniable charisma. This review isn’t meant to knock his talents, as he has written some terrific songs. But he’s not a compelling enough figure to carry a movie that only seems concerned with paying tribute to his tortured genius. How do we know he’s tortured? Because Tesfaye cries so often in the movie that I lost count after about a dozen scenes where tears slowly well up in his eyes and slowly pour down his face in moments that are meant to be powerful. 

In the film, Tesfaye is struggling with a mental problem that’s led to him losing his singing voice. It seems related to a bad breakup (with Riley Keough contributing a cameo via pics on an iPhone and a few voicemails). The copious amounts of drinking and all the drugs he does with his BFF/manager, Lee (Barry Keoghan), probably aren’t helping matters… but I digress. He meets up with a devoted fan, Jenna Ortega’s Anima, and they have a wild, passionate evening. But he gets more than he bargained for when he tries to blow her off the next morning.

Jenna Ortega at least seems to be having fun as the troubled Anima, who’s introduced setting her home on fire, with her seeming like a pyromaniac who, inexplicably, always seems to have access to a gas can, but doesn’t seem to realize vapours are also flammable. The moment everyone’s going to be talking about – if anyone sees the movie that is – is when Ortega dances along with “Blinding Lights” and offers an insightful deep dive into the song that was no doubt penned by Tesfaye himself, with him also co-authoring the slim screenplay. 

Shults and The Weeknd seemingly have no interest in making this into a genre film, meaning that even if it flirts with thriller territory, it never has any sense of tension. There are a lot of surreal scenes, such as one when the ever-weepy Weeknd meets his younger self in a dream. It’s all quite tedious, with Shults dressing the whole thing up in his shifting aspect ratios, and a camera that’s always on the verge of another 360-degree rotation. The craft is punishing more than it is enthralling. 

Again, though, one has to give The Weeknd credit for his audacity. I never thought that Hurry Up Tomorrow would end up being a 21st-century version of the kinds of video albums movie stars turned singers regularly dropped during the eighties (check out this one for Don Johnson’s Heartbeat, and this one for Bruce Willis’s The Return of Bruno). Hurry Up Tomorrow will likely have all the staying power those did – meaning it’ll quickly be forgotten by all except the most devoted connoisseur of bad cinema. This one hurt. 

Hurry Up Tomorrow

TERRIBLE

3

The post Hurry Up Tomorrow Review: A vanity project that makes The Weeknd look bad appeared first on JoBlo.

Review: David Mamet is a name that has become synonymous with masterful writing. A playwright and filmmaker for over fifty years, Mamet’s works have become required reading in performing arts programs nationwide. Having written films including Glengarry Glen Ross, Ronin, and Hannibal, Mamet’s directorial projects have been no less influential. While my favorite is 1997’s The Spanish Prisoner starring Steve Martin, Mamet has helmed many movies based on his plays and original scriptwork. It has been twelve years since Mamet’s last directorial effort, the HBO original film Phil Spector starring Al Pacino and Helen Mirren. Mamet’s new film, Henry Johnson, is a prime example of the biting dialogue the filmmaker is still capable of in a film that features performances that outweigh the movie.

Henry Johnson is less a film than a cinematic adaptation of Mamet’s stage play. Comprised of four sequences, the film feels like a series of short films connected by the titular character. Each conversation between Henry Johnson (Evan Jonigkeit) and other characters shows outsiders’ influence and the ease with which someone can be manipulated through persuasive arguments. Despite the title bearing his character’s name, Evan Jonigkeit is more of a supporting player for his co-stars, who get to deliver long monologues with minor rebuttals and interactions from Henry himself. Jonigkeit does a good job here of lobbing the ball back to his scene partners, but this film is truly a showcase for Chris Bauer, Dominic Hoffman, and Shia LaBeouf.

The overarching flow of the film finds attorney Henry Johnson embroiled in illegal activity, which sends him to prison. In the opening sequence, we watch as Henry and his boss, Mr. Barnes (Chris Bauer), discuss the case of Henry’s friend. Almost cross-examining Henry, Mr. Barnes asks questions and concludes, influencing Henry’s answers and drawing out assumptions that lead Henry to question how his boss could know these things. It is a stellar performance from Chris Bauer, a longtime character actor who has been in everything from The Wire to Thunderbolts* and has originated performances in many of David Mamet’s plays. The interaction between Barnes and Henry becomes increasingly contentious with the scene leading into Henry’s incarceration, where he meets his cellmate Gene (Shia LaBeouf) and guard, Jerry (Dominic Hoffman).

The two middle sections of the film focus on Henry meeting his cellmate and the course that Gene sets Henry on. Shia LaBeouf has already proven himself to be one of the best actors working today, and his challenges have kept him out of bigger projects over the last decade. Still, Henry Johnson once again proves how masterful an actor he can be. Gene is a misogynistic and divisively opinionated criminal who speaks with a Shakespearean eloquence that charms Henry. While we can pass judgment on how gullible Henry could be, how Gene seduces his cellmate into changing his fundamental beliefs and taking on a risky plan is like watching a car crash in slow motion. I cannot imagine many actors who could play Gene as alluring and revolting as LaBeouf does here. It is a brilliant performance.

The film’s final act has Henry and Jerry barricaded in the prison library. This sequence has the most dialogue from Henry, but remains a spotlight on Dominic Hoffman. A frequent player in Mamet films and plays, Hoffman serves as a makeshift negotiator as he tries to talk down Henry from the bad path he is headed down. Of the three sparring partners, Hoffman’s Jerry is the most soft-spoken and gracious, which makes the direction the film heads all the more emotionally impactful. All four actors in this film are as good as they are thanks to where David Mamet’s script starts them. Acting decisions in tone and inflection certainly adjust the way the scenes unfold. Still, the complex and long stretches of one character talking are difficult for stage performers while sometimes stalling the momentum of a film. Nevertheless, Hoffman ends up as one of the major highlights of this film with a performance that sits beautifully alongside Bauer and LaBeouf.

As a series of performances, Henry Johnson is a brilliant showcase for this cast. As an example of David Mamet’s writing skills, it is still good. Still, it suffers from overly complicated forays into legal jargon and repetitive arguments that mask controversial topics about women and the way men perceive them. As a film, Henry Johnson is more of a filmed take on a stage production with good set decoration. Mamet does not move the camera much as it statically holds on the actor delivering his lines, allowing the work to be in the performance rather than the filmmaker’s art. That said, clocking in at less than ninety minutes makes Henry Johnson a quick and easy exploration into how frightening and straightforward manipulation can be. Henry repeatedly says, “How did you know that?” when the other characters infer something about him. Rather than being impressive like a magician performing a trick, it becomes repetitive. Overall, Henry Johnson is an intriguing story worth watching for the phenomenal supporting performances.

HENRY JOHNSON is available for rental directly from its official site (https://henryjohnsonmovie.com), with nationwide theatrical screenings throughout the summer.

Henry Johnson

AVERAGE

6

The post Henry Johnson Review: David Mamet’s prison drama boasts a masterful performance from Shia LaBeouf appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: With the world on the brink of a nuclear war due to the machinations of an evil AI program called “The Entity”, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his team make an all-out, last-ditch effort to prevent armageddon.

REVIEW: Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning aims to put a bow on the franchise by bringing together elements from all the previous instalments in one all-out conclusion that aims to send off Cruise’s Ethan Hunt with a bang. Picking up exactly where Dead Reckoning left off, it ties together many critical plot points from previous films. This is particularly true of the first and third films, to illustrate how Ethan Hunt’s efforts to save the world over and over may have inadvertently played a part in the fact that it’s now on the brink. 

It’s a bold direction for the franchise, taking a detour into nearly mythical territory, with Hunt less the super spy he was in previous films. Now, he’s more of a hero whose destiny has always been to save the world from itself – he’s almost messianic in how he demands absolute trust and confidence from all he encounters. Only he has the power to save the planet. While perhaps a bit over-the-top in how the series now feels like it’s taken a hard sci-fi twist from the relatively grounded spy franchise it once was, no one can deny that The Final Reckoning is entertaining, with a few caveats.

For me, the biggest is that despite changing the title from Dead Reckoning Part 2 (going so far as to change the last movie’s title in the process), this is still the second half of a larger story. Given that the last one is underwhelmed at the box office, the makers seem concerned that audience members may not have seen the previous movie, so the film’s first thirty minutes are loaded with clunky exposition. Many flashbacks had me groaning, wondering when the movie would kick into high gear with some action. It takes longer than expected, and at over 160 minutes, the movie seems weighed down by over-explaining how interconnected all the elements are. The Final Reckoning definitely isn’t a stand-alone instalment. 

The movie also suffers from an overabundance of melodrama, with the score by Max Aruj & Alfie Godfrey drowning the film in sentimentality, with long shots of team members looking at each other silently while over-the-top music fills the soundtrack. These elements draw attention to the limitations, or worse impulses, that director Christopher McQuarrie and producer/star Tom Cruise have when they do these movies, as they seem keen to elevate them to the point that they seem mired in self-importance when they should be romps.

Yet, some truly amazing things in The Final Reckoning make it unmissable as far as action movies go. If melodrama is one of their worst impulses, their dedication to verisimilitude is them at their best. As such, despite the sci-fi tinge of the plot, you can expect relatively limited CGI, and extensive use of real-world locations and top-shelf production design. The movie looks terrific, with it set mainly aboard submarines and underwater as Hunt tries to recover a piece of tech from the sunken Russian submarine, the Sevastopol. The underwater shooting is terrific, and the physical endurance required by Hunt to undertake his mission is emphasized, as is Cruise’s noticeably buffed-up physique. 

The finale also features some of the greatest stuntwork I’ve ever seen, with Cruise taking on the movie’s returning bad guy, Gabriel (Esai Morales), by navigating his way from one plane to another in 140mph winds. Knowing Cruise is up there doing it for real makes this one of the most striking action sequences in recent memory, and one of the most jaw-dropping sequences in a series known for them.

The cast is also well-served here, with Simon Pegg’s Benji moving up from comic relief into a leadership role. At the same time, Pom Klementieff’s former baddie, Paris, has switched sides and is the latest recruit, along with Greg Tarzan Davis’s Degas. After joining the crew during the last film, Hayley Atwell’s Grace is once again part of the fold, although it must be noted that the film suffers a bit from the loss of Rebecca Ferguson’s Isla Faust, after she was killed off in the last one. Ving Rhames’s Luther gets a heftier part than usual, while many other characters return from the previous instalments. 

It can’t be denied that Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning definitely feels overstuffed at times. A big chunk of the running time is devoted to McQuarrie’s riff on the classic Sidney Lumet film, Fail Safe, as the president (Angela Bassett) weighs the option of a nuclear strike, but the movie works more often than it doesn’t. I still don’t think it was a good call to make the Dead Reckoning storyline into two separate, nearly three-hour films, but even when it’s most uneven, the series is still worth watching. If this is the end for the IMF, one can never say Cruise didn’t give this franchise his all, and this ends it on a satisfying note. If it falls slightly short of the others, it’s simply because the bar has been set so high. 

Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning

GOOD

7

The post Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Review: A Worthy End to the Franchise? appeared first on JoBlo.

REVIEW: Confession time – this movie is my introduction to Tim Robinson. Sure, I’ve had folks name-drop his show I Think You Should Leave, and it’s always been on my list of stuff to check out. But, I walked into this more-or-less fresh, not knowing what to expect. What I got was one of the most cringe-inducing comedies I’ve ever seen – and I loved every second of it.

To be sure, this kind of humour isn’t for everyone. There were times while I was watching Friendship in the jam-packed screening that I’m sure I annoyed the people sitting next to me by how many times I sunk in my seat, covering my face with my hands and repeating “no, no, no” louder than I should. That’s the effect this had on me.

In it, Tim Robinson plays a painful, awkward suburbanite who, despite his many foibles, has somehow managed to land a gorgeous wife (Kate Mara) who puts up with his madness and seems to have a good, if evil, job designing ways to get people addicted to apps on their phone. His whole world changes when a TV weatherman, Austin Carmichael (Paul Rudd), moves in next door and takes an interest in him.

Rudd, for his part, weaponizes his cool guy charisma. Almost everyone reading this probably wants to be best friends with Rudd, so we get why Robinson wants to impress him so much. The film starts off as a quasi-charming bromance in the vein of a more indie-flavoured I Love You Man before becoming something more radical.

Friendship was acquired by A24 shortly after its TIFF debut, and it was a smart acquisition. More than anything I’ve seen in awhile, it seems to have a chance to become the kind of cult comedy its fans watch repeatedly. While it’s horrifically uncomfortable to watch at times, it’s also hilarious, with instantly quotable dialogue (watching Robinson’s character get crazy excited over the MCU will go viral) and characters – such as a teenage drug dealer named T-Boy, cool folks might start dressing up as for screenings. 

It’s also surprisingly nuanced about how hard it is to make friends as an adult male. Indeed, we’re not always wired that way, with our natural inclination as we get older being to hibernate with our families. It’s not true for everyone, but some folks watching this will relate to how Robinson’s character develops a bro crush on Rudd and wants to be instant best buds, even if the way he goes about it is certifiably insane.

The supporting cast is good, too, with Kate Mara both warm and funny in an offhand way throughout the movie. She gets to be more three-dimensional than usual for a movie like this, with her having both agency and a sense of humour. I also loved It’s Jack Dylan Grazer as Robinson’s cool son whose uncomfortably warm relationship with his hot mom is good fodder for even more uncomfortable laughs. 

Friendship, as it rocked the house at TIFF’s Midnight Madness (it was the runner-up in its TIFF awards category), and went down just as well at SXSW. Director Andrew DeYoung (Our Flag Means Death) directs this with real flair, with Keegan Dewitt’s score also impressive. Heck, it’s hard not to love a movie that opens with a synth wave riff on Ryuichi Sakamoto’s theme for Merry Christmas, Mister Lawrence. If that last line there made you chuckle, then this is the movie for you. It’s niche, but I think in a couple of years the Friendship cult will grow and grow. 

TIFF

AMAZING

9

The post Friendship Review: The Next Great Cult Comedy appeared first on JoBlo.

REVIEW: There are few things that I enjoy more than the behind-the-scenes featurettes of a beloved film/franchise. They exist to give the viewer so much more information and provide more context behind something that they love. And few do it better than Wick is Pain, the definitive look at the John Wick film franchise.

Wick is Pain follows the production process and impact of the first four John Wick films. With development being one of the most interesting aspects of these, there’s a lot of time spent on the first John Wick. It’s really shocking to see how close the film was to never happening, with cameras rolling the entire time. It’s utterly fascinating and easily my favorite aspect. Though part of me wishes we got Eva Longoria’s side to her funding the rest of what was needed on the film.

You can’t talk about John Wick without talking Keanu Reeves, and Wick is Pain shows why he has such a stellar reputation. I lost track of the number of times that Reeves was sick during production, yet he powered through and worked intense action choreography anyway. It’s never been more evident that the John Wick character would not exist without Reeves, as no other actor can even keep up with half the intense regimen that’s required, while holding the star power that Reeves does. His perseverance sets a great example for a crew that holds themselves to the highest of standards.

As much as the documentary is about the Wick series, it’s framed through the career of director, Chad Stahelski. It’s a nice little history lesson, which shows the unlikelihood of his directorial career and how he managed to get John Wick made as his first film. But what’s most impressive is how vulnerable Chad allows himself to be portrayed. He doesn’t shy away from the fact that the first film caused a separation from his wife, only to reconcile and eventually get divorced during the production of the second film. This added context really helps to show the sacrifices that are made for the love of the film and why it’s not always about what ends up on screen. And it sets this apart from other looks at the filmmaking process which serve more as fluff (though don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of that too).

There’s always been a bit of mystery around David Leitch co-directing the first film (uncredited, as DGA guidelines would only allow one director), and this doc completely takes aim at it. We get an unflinching look at their process, the screaming matches they’d get to on set, and how much it stressed out the crew. As great of friends as the two are, it’s clear that they won’t ever be working together in a co-directing capacity ever again. Both Chad and David have strong creative visions which would make repeating the process an impossibility. But their continued working relationship serves as another lesson to not let creative differences get personal.

I won’t deny that there are some things which are glossed over, but that’s the nature of covering a series that has spanned a decade. They acknowledge that “it was a different team behind Chapter 4” without really going into the nasty details. Trilogy writer Derek Kolstead was replaced by writers Shay Hatten and Michael Finch, and it’s not really delved into. If anything, the doc shows Kolstead as the perfect steward for Wick. Kolstead’s involvement with the doc shows that there must not be hard feelings there and one has to hope he’ll be back for Chapter 5. It’s just odd to get so much other information, but leave out something that has long been speculated about.

Overall, Wick is Pain is a loving tribute to John Wick and all who made it what it was. You’ll never look at the franchise the same way again, and that’s a good thing. We’re able to see the blood, sweat, and tears that the cast and crew put themselves through for this series, with Keanu being an absurdly good sport in increasingly impossible situations. Chad Stahelski is proving to be one of the most interesting directors out there because no one shoots action like him, and this does a great job at showing why he’s so good at his job. Because it takes a certain kind of dedication that this doc showcases.

WICK IS PAIN IS AVAILABLE ON DIGITAL ON MAY 9TH, 2025.

Wick Is Pain

AMAZING

9

The post Wick Is Pain Review: A Stunning Doc on the Making of John Wick appeared first on JoBlo.

Review: What is more comforting than a home-cooked meal made by your grandmother? It is a cliche that holds in the hearts of countless people regardless of race, ethnicity, or religion. Good, heartwarming food can be as powerful an emotional trigger as anything. The new Netflix comedy, Nonnas, aims to hit you right in the feels with a sweet, family-friendly comedy about one man’s quest to open a restaurant in honor of his late mother by employing local Italian grandmothers, the titular nonnas, to be the chefs in his Staten Island establishment. With a cast of Italian-Americans evoking a story inspired by the real Enoteca Maria in New York, Nonnas is a safe and formulaic movie perfectly timed to Mother’s Day weekend.

Nonnas opens with the passing of the mother of Joe Scaravella (Vince Vaughn). Left with his childhood home and a sealed final letter from his mother, Joe wonders what to do with the insurance money left to him. Coming across a restaurant for sale on Staten Island, Joe decides to open a restaurant where he will employ only Italian grandmothers who cook their family recipes, transforming it from a dining establishment into an experience honoring family. Joe enlists his mother’s best friend, Roberta (Lorraine Bracco), a brash Sicilian who immediately clashes with Antonella (Brenda Vaccaro), the neighbor of Joe’s high school sweetheart Olivia (Linda Cardellini). Joe also hires Teresa (Talia Shire), a lapsed nun, and his mom’s friend Gia (Susan Sarandon) as pastry chef. Joe has everything in place with the help of his best pal, contractor Bruno (Joe Manganiello), and his wife Stella (Drea de Matteo).

For the first hour of Nonnas, a lot of time is spent with the conflicting personalities of the elderly chefs who clash over whose dishes should be on the menu. At the same time, Bruno implores Joe to give up his pipedream in light of its cost in everything from construction to the emotional toll on everyone. Joe refuses to give up, and in typical underdog fashion, the nonnas become friends after they get past their initial cliche exteriors and learn who each is. Meanwhile, Joe gets closer to Olivia, whom he stood up to during their senior prom. But, with conflicts rising mildly throughout the entire film, not much really seems like it is going to stop this true story from reaching a happy ending. Sure, there are roadblocks like a grumpy local business owner played by Michael Rispoli and a snooty food critic portrayed by Campbell Scott. Still, none ever feel like they will prevent Enoteca Maria from opening to long-term success. As with any formulaic and safe movie, Nonnas is awash with expected beats and plot turns you have seen many times before. That does not necessarily mean it is bad, just safe.

The biggest miss in Nonnas may be Vince Vaughn, who is in the lead role. While each of the nonnas, notably Lorraine Bracco and Brenda Vaccaro, who seem to be having a blast playing ornery older ladies, gives the film a vigor and energy, Vaughn is unusually calm and subdued in his role. While the credits show the real Jody Scaravella as being very different than how Vince Vaughn plays his fictionalized self, the story allows every other actor in the cast to exude some Italian fire in their condemnation of one another or calling out slights on anyone’s familial heritage. There are a few moments where Vince Vaughn seems like he may pull out some of his signature smart-assery. Still, the film keeps the proceedings overly PG with even some of the mildest profanity replaced by sanitized phrases that even Ned Flanders would think were too much.

Written by Liz Maccie (Siren, A Loud House Christmas), Nonnas is a generic comedy that uses every conceivable Italian-American phrase, reference, and stereotype a dozen times. With a predominantly Italian-American cast, Nonnas repeatedly tries to hit the familiar beats from every underdog sports and family film. Director Stephen Chbosky knows a little about directing heartstring-tugging emotional films, having helmed the 2021 musical Dear Evan Hansen, 2017’s Wonder, and the fan favorite The Perks of Being a Wallflower, based on his novel. Chbosky seems a bit above the material with Nonnas as he lends very little energy to the project. He is reverent of the Italian cuisine on screen. He makes sure the movie feels as inclusive for families to watch together, to the point that the film feels offensively inoffensive. With Frank Sinatra playing in the background, copious usages of the word capisce, and so many New York accents, it felt like Mario or Luigi were apt to appear on screen as much as Tony Soprano.

I would be lying if I said I didn’t get teary towards the end for all the generic and cliche elements I found in Nonnas. The saving grace of this movie may be just how nice and sweet it is to see a film with no real villains and just good people who want to be good to one another. It is sometimes nice to just watch something harmless that feels good. Familiar things are sometimes the most inviting, and the highest compliment I can make about Nonnas is that, like your grandmother’s cooking, it will have a more substantial impact on some than on others. Nonnas is a bit too long, as it clocks in at just under two hours, but it will never make you feel bad while watching it. I had hoped Vince Vaughn would have been the highlight of this movie, but Bracco, Sarandon, Shire, and Vacarro steal Nonnas and make it a safe watch with your loved ones.

Nonnas

AVERAGE

6

The post Nonnas Review: Vince Vaughn leads a sweet comedy about a family-style restaurant appeared first on JoBlo.

REVIEW: Joe Carnahan‘s name really used to mean something in the action space. And I’d argue that he still does to some extent (with a ton of anticipation for his recently wrapped Affleck/Damon flick RIP). And I love that Kerry Washington is getting into the world of guns and mayhem. Sadly, their latest film, Shadow Force, fails to get me excited for either’s output in the genre, as it’s a pale retread of better films.

I was shocked by how much of Shadow Force consists of characters simply talking. When the whole plot is “former shadow ops are hunted down by their former team/employer” you expect a lot more action. But instead, this is more of a family drama, with a lot of focus being put on Washington, Kerry Washington‘s Issac, and their son Ky. That’s not inherently a bad thing, and there are some fun moments there, like their love for Lionel Richie. It just means the action moments need to really hit hard the few times that they do. Instead, it all feels so pedestrian. And it doesn’t help that, with how generic the story is, it all just feels like a retread of something we’ve seen time and time again.

I would blame the budget, but we’ve seen some great films on the smaller end of the scale put up some awesome action set pieces. And with Carnahan at the helm, I expected a lot. But there are such long stretches, with the few bits of action that happen being cut around, and/or over in a flash. The only part that really gets some time to breathe is the finale. Just don’t expect a ton of creativity. This is about as meat and potatoes as you can expect when it comes to action beats. There are a ton of cuts, and they’re constantly having to hide hits. This just doesn’t cut it in 2025. I guess the one positive is that it’s mostly done practically and in camera. In a genre that’s filled with greenscreen and bad CGI, that has to be commended.

The biggest problem with Shadow Force is that Kyrah Owen is a very poorly written action lead. She is constantly making herself look like an idiot by not taking action and allowing bad guys to get the jump on her. Once would be forgivable, but it got to the point of parody. She just seemed entirely incapable of doing cool spy shit. Which is such a disservice to Kerry Washington, who is doing her damndest. But the film is constantly trying its best to make Kyrah look like an idiot, resulting in even her triumphs landing with a thud. Meanwhile, Isaac’s big character development is that he thought he lost a step with his shooting, but he’s actually still a great shot. What a journey.

I really enjoyed Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who gives the film a bit of life. I’ll always love these “ride or die” type characters, and she fits the role well. And her pairing with Method Man works well. But it’s getting to the point where I feel like films need to stop having Mark Strong as their bad guy. It’s just too obvious, and he doesn’t stray far from his usual schtick. He’s too good of an actor to be typecast into such a basic villain role. His obsession with Kyrah feels underdeveloped and more like they threw it in last minute. I expected there to be a bit more personality amongst the slew of assassins, but they’re all practically faceless/nameless. Feels like such a wasted opportunity.

I found myself completely unable to get invested in Shadow Force. All I really wanted was some fun action, but those few moments are so abbreviated that I struggle to even call this an action movie. Your film really lives and dies on your lead, and they just made Kyrah too inept at even the most basic of action hero qualities. They try a Mr. and Mrs. Smith bit with the spy couple, but it just does not work in any way, as there’s no heat between them. This feels like a classic tale of too many cooks in the kitchen, resulting in little focus or purpose.

SHADOW FORCE IS PLAYING IN THEATERS ON MAY 9TH, 2025.

Shadow Force

NOT GOOD

4

The post Shadow Force Review: Carnahan’s Latest is a Dud appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: A mercenary takes on the job of tracking down a target on a plane but must protect her when they’re surrounded by people trying to kill both of them.

REVIEW: Last year’s Trap proved no matter the film, Josh Hartnett will deliver a great performance that can anchor any story. It’s been awesome to see him back in leading roles and proving why he never should have left. And I don’t know about you, but I love an airplane movie. Air Force One, Red Eye, and even Snakes on Plane proved how much tense fun can be had aboard an airplane. Then you’ve got Fight or Flight, which pits one target against a plane full of assassins proving there are even more high stakes at being trapped 30,000 feet in the air. But as serious as it sounds, this is decidedly more funny than expected.

Fight or Flight is high energy from minute one and keeps the momentum going throughout the film. Following Lucas Reyes, a mercenary who has to protect a target known as The Ghost on a plane from the many assassins out to kill them. It’s a simple plot that has a lot of mileage due to the performance at the center by Josh Hartnett. Reyes clearly had a rough past and is drowning himself in drugs to escape reality. It’s far from the usual straight-laced action hero lead. He has a fun dynamic with Charithra Chandran‘s Isha, a flight attendant on the plane who helps Reyes.

As a Battlestar Galactica fan, Katee Sackhoff can do no wrong, so it’s great to see her as the head of the organization that’s sending Reyes after The Ghost. She’s commanding but still has some humor to her, being more than just the typical “powerful leader” type. There are some fun twists and turns that will keep you guessing, while never feeling out of left field. I won’t deny that there aren’t some familiar beats to some of the reveals but it never enters corny territory. This is ridiculous and over the top, and fully embraces both. As much as I love logic, realism doesn’t always have to go with it. This doesn’t shy away from the absurd, and it makes it stand out tonally.

It’s hard to make an action movie these days, as pretty much everything has been done before. I appreciate creativity, even if it doesn’t break bank, and Fight or Flight really swings for the fences. The fight scenes take inspiration from John Wick, with long, unbroken takes, and hardly ever just a singular action. There are multiple beats happening within the frame, avoiding the nauseating shaky cam trend. It’s impactful and doesn’t feel overly choreographed. I love a high body count and this one gets pretty detailed in its carnage. These aren’t just a bunch of simple shootings. There are all sorts of weapons being used, ranging from chainsaws to fire sprinklers to climbing axes. It’s a great mix that prevents things from getting stale.

The airplane has all the hallmarks of a classic plane movie set, being far larger than any plane I’ve seen. Take for example the bathroom, which is laughably large and has way more space than any actually have in reality. But that’s part of the fun. There are a couple of dumb moments, like a random yoga class whose only there to make fun of. But the few bits of sophomoric humor don’t ruin the otherwise fun film. The score follows the Hans Zimmer path, and Composer Paul Saunderson does a good job of making this fit in with modern action. Action scores feel like such an afterthought these days so it’s nice that it has some personality.

Similar to 2022’s Bullet Train, Fight or Flight is able to avoid the same mistakes, never trying to do too much and is very aware of its limitations. This isn’t a $100 Million film and it doesn’t need to be. They utilize their resources well and Hartnett as Lucas Reyes is just so damn fun. There’s a twist in this film that is so unexpected, yet makes everything so much better in hindsight, that it really ties a nice bow on it. And it really felt appropriate for the modern era. Here’s hoping that this lands with a bang, and we’re able to get the sequel that’s teased. Because I need more of this world.

FIGHT OR FLIGHT IS IN THEATERS ON MAY 9TH, 2025.

Fight or Flight

GREAT

8

The post Fight or Flight Review: John Wick-style Action With Absurdist Humor appeared first on JoBlo.

Review: The sex comedy has long been the domain of male-centric stories. In the early 2000s, there was a shift to telling more female-led comedies that used nudity and graphic content to show that women could be just as nasty as men. While it has been a while since a solid R-rated comedy has done well on the big screen, several independent films have been snatched up by streaming platforms to pad their libraries. The latest addition to Hulu’s slate is one of the more substantive efforts and comes from actress Jillian Bell, making her feature directorial debut. Summer of 69 starts with a tone and approach that makes it seem in line with films like The Girl Next Door or Superbad but ends up being a much stronger project thanks to charismatic performances from Chloe Fineman and Sam Morelos. With appearances from Charlie Day, Paula Pell, and more, Summer of 69 is a sweet comedy about friendship and the titular sex act delivered in a way that defied my expectations.

Summer of 69 follows Abby Flores (That 90s Show‘s Sam Morelos), a high school senior with a crush on classmate Max Warren (Matt Cornett). Both teens attend a Catholic school where Abby pines after Max despite having no self-confidence. When Max breaks up with his girlfriend, Abby hears a rumor that he is into sixty-nine. Using money saved from her video-game streaming channel, Abby decides to pay stripper Santa Monica (Chloe Fineman) to teach her everything she needs to know about sex so that she can sixty-nine Max and win the guy of her dreams. It is a ridiculous premise that allows Morelos to play with Abby’s shy but charmingly cute demeanor. On the flip side of the narrative, Santa Monica struggles with her upcoming high school reunion and whether to attend as she feels she has not done anything with her life despite encouragement from her coworkers, Angel (Liza Koshy) and Destiny (Nicole Byer). That is when Santa Monica’s boss, Betty Spaghetti (Paula Pell), informs them the strip club will close unless they can raise $20,000 to repay a loan to rival club owner Rick Richards (Charlie Day).

The connection between Abby and Santa Monica serves as the center of Summer of 69 and works well thanks to the chemistry between Sam Morelos and Chloe Fineman. Rather than having Fineman’s Santa Monica portrayed as a ditz or vain, a genuine friendship develops between the high school senior and the mentor. While the idea of Santa Monica teaching the naive Abby about her internal “sex machine” personality, the revelations and connections they make with each other are far more layered and work despite some superficial moments that do not get explored as much as they should have including a scene with some sketchy guys who hire Santa Monica that could have turned into something much darker. A foray to an adult toy store devolves into a strange horror-themed daydream that could have been a recurring plot device, but instead is just a one-off moment that does not happen again. A lot happens in just an hour-and-forty-minute film, with some subplots getting wrapped up more neatly than others.

The film is a solid showcase for Chloe Fineman, who has shown a wide range on Saturday Night Live since 2019, along with roles in Damien Chazelle’s Babylon, Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis, and Noah Baumbach’s White Noise. With upcoming roles in Freakier Friday and The Dink, Summer of 69 is Fineman’s most significant role to date. While she has shown a skill for impressions and physical comedy, Fineman turns Santa Monica into a rounded character while showcasing unexpected exotic dance skills. Fineman plays her role as a woman trying to make something more out of her life, which has not ended up where she wanted it to be, but it is handled nicely. Interactions with her high school rival, played by Natalie Morales, are handled well, whereas the broader comedy from Charlie Day and Paula Pell feels a little out of place. The high school-set scenes are handled well compared to the sillier sequences outside of school.

Co-written by Jillian Bell, Liz Nico, and Jules Byrne, Summer of 69 has a lot of story in a short running time. It occasionally feels like it includes more than it needed to, which all leads to a Risky Business-themed dance number to try and save the strip club. Jillian Bell has experience as a writer, having worked on Saturday Night Live before garnering roles in everything from silly series Workaholics to small turns in Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master and Inherent Vice. Bell had a great turn in Brittany Runs a Marathon, which boasts a balance of comedy and drama that can be felt in Summer of 69. Bell also has a cameo that fits nicely into the quirkier side of the film, but as a filmmaker, she does good work balancing the crass with the heartfelt. There is minimal nudity outside of some brief porn clips, but much of the mature subject matter is handled through dialogue and is treated as humorous without mocking it. In short, it works better than I anticipated.

Because of Chloe Fineman and Sam Morelos, Summer of 69 is less a sex comedy than a comedy about sex. Using elements of buddy comedies, Jillian Bell turns what could have been a throwaway comedy into a sweet and platonic story about two friends finding each other. It is never weird that there is an age gap between the high school senior and the thirtysomething stripper she befriends, and it works naturally because the two actors work well together. I would have liked some of the sillier subplot elements and the out-of-place daydream to have been excised in favor of a more streamlined story or maybe even a less tidy ending, but Summer of 69 worked better for me than I thought it would. A fun, lightweight comedy that will be nice counterprogramming this summer.

Summer of 69 premieres on May 9th on Hulu.

Summer of 69

GOOD

7

The post Summer of 69 Review: Jillian Bell’s directorial debut is a funny and sincere coming-of-age sex comedy appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: After being betrayed by their boss, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), Yelena (Florence Pugh), U.S Agent (Wyatt Russell), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) and Red Guardian (David Harbour), with some help from Bucky (Sebastian Stan) team up to take on a new threat.

REVIEW: The big marketing gimmick behind Thunderbolts has been that this is unique as far as Marvel movies go. Sporting a (presumably) thriftier budget than usual, and dialling the pyrotechnics and heroics way down, this seems to be an attempt to make a smaller, contained kind of Marvel movie which doesn’t need to make $800 million to be considered a success. Whether or not audiences, who have become accustomed to the “everything but the kitchen sink” approach, will go for this new vibe is a different question, but kudos to the studio for at least trying something a little different. 

Indeed, this is a smaller Marvel movie than expected, with it more like the first wave of MCU movies we received in the wake of the original Iron Man. It spends a lot of time on characterization, and doesn’t even really have a traditional villain, with it taking a surprisingly cerebral turn in the movie’s climax, which I found pretty refreshing. Yet, as different as these parts of the movie are, and as pleasantly as they surprised me, you still have to plow through a lot of typical exposition which ties the film into the greater franchise as a whole. In fact, with virtually the entire cast already announced for Avengers: Doomsday, this feels like a bit of a prelude to bigger things, and less a movie that succeeds by its own merits. So basically, it feeling like an old-school Marvel movie is both a blessing and a curse, and it’s not as over the top as more recent movies, but, like Iron Man 2, Thor, and a few of the other OG movies, it feels like just a big tease for bigger things to come.

Even still, Thunderbolts gets a lot of mileage out of the cast, led by Florence Pugh as the increasingly fed-up Yelena, grieving her sister’s death, and looking for a bigger purpose in life beyond being a mercenary. She’s also haunted by past misdeeds, which makes her fit right into this crew of anti-heroes. While Sebastian Stan’s return as Winter Soldier is being hyped, and he certainly is cool when he re-enters the fray, Wyatt Russell as the disgraced U.S. Agent makes an even bigger impression, with him initially standoff-ish with the rest of the team, before the extent of his own disgrace is revealed. His redemption arc is one of the better aspects of the movie, with him, Pugh, and Lewis Pullman as Bob, a hapless but dangerous victim of Valentina’s experiments, the movie’s heart.

By contrast, David Harbour’s return as Red Guardian is largely played for laughs, which is needed as much of the movie is about processing trauma. The simplicity of his character gives the movie a bit of needed levity. Of the crew, Hanna John Kamen’s Ghost gets relatively little to do, although she makes a welcome return, while Olga Kurylenko barely registers as Taskmaster, having little more than a walk-on. 

While the trailers make Thunderbolts seem action-packed, I was surprised at how modest the carnage is this time, with the IMAX-enhanced action scenes not much more dynamic than anything you’d see on Disney Plus. Director Jake Schreier, who comes from the indie world, gives the movie a bit of quirkiness (at least as much as Marvel will allow), even having a score by Everything Everywhere All At Once’s Son Lux. However, the promos saying this would be like an A24-style Marvel pic are a bit laughable, as even if they mix up the formula A BIT, it’s still a Marvel movie through and through, not that there’s anything wrong with that, mind you. 

Overall, Thunderbolts is a significant step-up from the disappointing Captain America: Brave New World, although it’s not the game-changer some of the breathless early junket reviews suggest. With Marvel movies, the first wave of reviews almost always fall prey to too much hype. Even still, I had a better time with Thunderbolts than any other Marvel movie (outside of Deadpool & Wolverine), in recent memory (I’d wager Guardians 3 was the last great one). Granted, the bar hasn’t been too high recently, but this is very decent and hopefully moves the franchise back in the right direction, where we actually can start investing in new characters and having favourites again.

Thunderbolts

GOOD

7

The post Thunderbolts Review: A Throwback to Phase One-style Marvel Movies? appeared first on JoBlo.

REVIEW: Maybe it has something to do with Rocky having a profound impact on me (and most of America), but there’s just something about a boxing movie that feels special. Every time one releases, I make sure to rush and check it out. I don’t need much outside of some decent boxing action and an intriguing lead character I can root for. Unfortunately, Salvable has neither of those things, and is more focused on showing us all the ways to be a bad father instead.

Toby Kebbell pulls the most he can from the thinly written character of Sal, an aging boxer with a complicated relationship with his daughter. He says he cares about her, but his actions constantly say otherwise. He’s his own worst enemy and can’t seem to stop getting in his own way. Makes it tough when this is the guy we’re supposed to be rooting for. Shia LaBeouf is in the more flashy role of Vince, boasting blonde hair and an Irish accent. It slips a bit, but for the most part, he pulls it off. They have an interesting dynamic, and the movie comes to life a bit when they’re together, as Vince is a bad influence on Sal, having many criminal connections. Unfortunately, Vince comes and goes from the narrative.

One of the turning points of the story comes when Sal and Vince are on the line for a ton of money with a particularly seedy element. That’s all well and good, except it all happens because Sal wouldn’t finish the guy. He has him dead to rights, and instead of doing what they went there to do, he just walks away. This was the moment I stopped caring about anything that happened in the story, because it was all self-inflicted. Instead of an intriguing plot development that strongarms them into an uncomfortable situation where they need money, the characters simply make stupid decisions to get there instead. I just can’t vibe with the “this happens because we need it to” style of writing. Throws all logic out the window.

The boxing takes a backseat to more of the character drama. Which isn’t a bad thing in and of itself but the action between the ropes is all pretty basic. Kebbell doesn’t have the greatest footwork, so it can be a bit distracting. The camerawork mostly makes sure to keep things moving, so you can’t focus on it, but anyone who watches any kind of combat sport is surely going to notice. It also has that more flashy Rocky-style of guys just throwing haymakers with nearly every punch. It feels very much like “movie fighting.” Visually, Salvable goes for the more handheld, naturally lit approach, making the world feel quite lived in. This really takes the gritty aspect seriously.

Despite boasting a great lead performance from Toby Kebbell, Salvable never goes beneath surface level. And I couldn’t help but wonder what the point was when the credits rolled. This was not a story of redemption or someone finally getting their life together. This was just depressing moment after depressing moment, taking any satisfaction out of what I was hoping would be an intriguing boxing film. And if you’re going to make me bask in the darkness, at least write your characters so I have someone to root for or a clear goal. A deadbeat dad who constantly lets his daughter down and can’t seem to understand his own failures as a father could have been interesting (as proven by The Wrestler). Instead, it feels directionless and ultimately pointless.

SALVABLE IS PLAYING IN THEATERS AND ON DEMAND/DIGITAL ON MAY 2ND, 2025.

Salvable

BELOW AVERAGE

5

The post Salvable Review: This Boxing Drama Fails In More Ways Than One appeared first on JoBlo.

REVIEW: Australian cinema has a long history of psychological dramas that probe the psyche of the Aussie male. North American audiences have always been somewhat taken with the stereotypical macho Australian. For proof, one need only note their outsized impact on the film industry, with many of the biggest stars being of Australian descent, like Mel Gibson, Hugh Jackman, Chris Hemsworth, Russell Crowe, and many others. Yet, as much as they seem to celebrate their rough and tumble nature, their movies have always been more introspective about such things, and director Lorcan Finnegan’s The Surfer fits into that mould.

Like the Aussie New Wave classic, Wake in Fright, The Surfer follows an outsider’s entry into a highly tribalized community. While Nicolas Cage’s unnamed surfer is supposed to have grown up in the area, he’s shed any giveaways of his former identity. It’s clearly a deliberate choice to have the very American Cage play the role without any hint of an Australian accent, and he’s made up to look very different from the suntanned, young, macho surfers he runs afoul of.

In Finnegan’s film, our ritual character slowly gets stripped of all the elements that connect him to his former life over the course of the film, starting with his fancy Lexus, his cell phone, his wedding ring, his watch, and even – eventually – his sanity. It gets to the point that you even start to question what the reality of the film is, with Cage excellent at depicting a man slowly reverting to a different kind of existence. He’s always been maximalist in his approach to characterization (when it calls for it – he can also be brilliantly introspective – like in Pig), and this is one of his bigger performances, although he pulls back when necessary. Even still, there are some gnarly Cage scenes, such as when he gnaws at a rat’s corpse and succumbs to depravity. 

The movie also benefits greatly from the presence of former Nip/Tuck star Julian McMahon, who returns to his Australian roots as Scally, the kind of pseudo patriarch of the surf hooligans. He advocates to his followers that, to be a man, you also need to learn to suffer, with his followers constantly chanting “surf… suffer” over and over. McMahon cuts a dynamic figure here, with him wearing a striking red robe and seeming the picture-perfect ideal of the macho Australian male.

Finnegan’s movie also detours into psychedelia, with the gorgeous, sun-kissed visuals by Radzek Ladczuk getting trippier as the film goes on. The beach our hero wants to surf is portrayed as otherworldly in its beauty, even if the community of alphas that rule it are anything but inviting. Notably, one of the few people to show the surfer any kindness is a photographer with Aboriginal roots (The Sapphires’s star Miranda Tapsell). 

While The Surfer does go off the rails a bit in its final act, which drops the film’s surreal side and devolves into a more conventional thriller, it’s still an interesting watch. The chemistry between Cage and McMahon is especially absorbing, and it should find plenty of fans when Roadside Attractions and Lionsgate put it out later this spring. 

The Surfer

GOOD

7

The post The Surfer Review: Nicolas Cage leads this psychedelic surf thriller appeared first on JoBlo.

REVIEW: Most people will already know of Rust due to the controversy that has long surrounded the project. Halyna Hutchins‘ death is an absolute tragedy and is a dark cloud hanging over the film. Like Brandon Lee with The Crow or the tragedy of Twilight Zone: The Movie, some things will always be associated with their respective films, and some people will never get past it. And it’s really up to the individual viewer as to whether or not they want to watch the film given the circumstances, but it should be noted that profits on the film will be going to Hutchins’ family. But does Rust stand on its own?

Rust follows a young boy named Lucas after he accidentally kills a local farmer and is set to hang. His grandpa, Rust, thought long dead, breaks him out, and a massive manhunt ensues. The narrative follows three groups of people: Rust and Lucas, the US Marshals on their tail, and Preacher, an off his rocker Bounty Hunter with loose morals. Each sort of feels like a different film, having a different tone than the others. It makes for an uneven story that feels stitched together. But when they finally all converged, I was surprised to see that it actually kind of worked. Too bad that’s not until the final thirty minutes.

The acting is a bit all over the place, with some people really impressing and others looking straight out of the bargain bin. In the face of controversy, Baldwin manages to be pretty good as Harland Rust, the worn-down cowboy with a dark past (even if his accent comes and goes). Travis Fimmel’s Fenton “Preacher” Lang is easily the highlight of the film. He brings such unease when he’s on screen and gives the film a darker edge. He should have been in the movie more as he’s the only part that felt unique. I had a really tough time with the character of Lucas as he acts the part of a dumb kid, and is a constant thorn in the story. Doesn’t help that he’s essentially one of the leads.

The gun battles are nothing short of ridiculous, which is not good for a Western. They’re executed well on a technical level, but make no sense half the time. Gunslingers constantly shooting without any cover and somehow not getting hit? Happens more times than I could count. And there’s a moment where Rust gets the jump on two guys, we see he has his shots perfectly lined up, then somehow manages to just shoot them in the legs. There’s a sloppiness in logic that feels like a disservice to the otherwise well-shot film. I assume a lot of this has to do with the cobbled-together nature of the production. The tragic shooting resulted in a large gap in filming and it results in some pretty obvious filmmaking tricks. Body doubles and green screen had to be used, but I’d say they make the best of it. I never found anything laughably out of place.

Thankfully, the most impressive element of Rust is the cinematography. Halyna Hutchins had quite an eye and really took advantage of the western setting. It can be a bit drab, but that’s clearly the intention, and I think it works. I loved the wide open vistas and how she photographs nature. It’s still not entirely clear as to how much of the film Bianca Cline took part in, but the visual parity of the film continues throughout. The behind the scenes of this film would be absolutely fascinating, but with all the legal elements, I’m not sure we’ll ever hear the full story.

I went into Rust with an open mind, and there were many elements that I enjoyed. But there will always be the lingering history of the tragedy that happened on set. Because of that, I’m not sure it will ever get a fair shot, but it’s worth seeing for Hutchins’ absolutely breathtaking cinematography. She was able to present this world in a way that both pays homage to westerns of the past while still keeping a modern sharpness to it. But everything else is just a generic western that would have likely been forgotten had it not been for the tragic shooting. The irony is that: whose to say how much became generic because of the circumstances surrounding the shooting/reshoots.

RUST RELEASES TO THEATERS ON MAY 2ND, 2025.

Rust

AVERAGE

6

The post Rust Review: A Highlight Reel of Halyna Hutchin’s Phenomenal Cinematography But Not Much Else appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick), who’s reinvented herself as an amateur investigator (as well as being a mommy blogger), is convinced by her old foe, Emily (Blake Lively), to attend her extravagant destination wedding in Capri.

REVIEW: A Simple Favor was a surprisingly effective potboiler, anchored by two ace performances from Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively. Plus, it had snappy direction from Paul Feig and a tight script that somehow managed to take some vast cliches and make them feel fresh. As such, the only thing surprising about a sequel being made is that Amazon’s opting to premiere this on streaming, despite Lively’s last movie making $300 million worldwide – controversy be damned.

While not as inspired as the original and more of a retread than expected, the gorgeous scenery (well-photographed by John Schwartzman) and an especially good turn by Lively make it worthwhile. Emily Nelson is surely the best role of her career, with her getting more screen time than she did in the original, thanks to an added twist (which I won’t reveal here). While Lively looks terrific in her jaw-dropping wardrobe, she sinks her teeth into the camp aspect of the role, playing well off Kendrick, whose Stephanie is portrayed as a little less naive in this instalment.  

Most of the co-stars from the first movie return, with Henry Golding intriguingly cast against type. In the first film, his character, Sean, is presented as a bit of a trophy husband, but Golding’s charm is dialled down, with the character having gone to seed in the years since the last film. Oddly, he’s never been more likeable. 365 Days star Michele Morrone plays Emily’s mobbed-up, new would-be husband, but like Golding in the original, seems to have been cast to up the beefcake quotient more than anything else – which is understandable given the target audience.

Where the movie falters is in the inclusion of too many red herrings, including Allison Janney as Emily’s sinister aunt, who arrives with her addled mother (Elizabeth Perkins – filling in for Jean Smart) in tow. When you have someone like Lively having such a whale of a time playing a quasi-antagonist, it’s a shame they inevitably water her down somewhat (softening her rough edges way too much) to perhaps pave the way for a third instalment, which seems like a questionable proposition now.

It’s not that Another Simple Favor is bad – in its own way, the sequel is kind of fun. It’s just that it’s so unnecessary and seems to undo everything that made the original such a romp. Anna Kendrick’s Stephanie follows the same beats she did in the original, with her again being haunted by guilt over a traumatic death. In the first movie, it was her husband and half-brother/ lover. In this one, we find out that a case she was investigating led to the suicide of someone who may have been innocent, which would have given her an interesting wrinkle. Still, the movie seems afraid to commit to the notion that she is fallible. 

The film is also loaded with extraneous characters, with Alex Newell, Stephanie’s agent, tagging along on the European getaway for no reason and then being given absolutely nothing to do. The movie, which—like the first—embraces the camp aspect, goes overboard in its resolution, with everything wrapped up in too tidy a package.

However, the scenery is gorgeous, the leads are fun, and Feig’s thrown in some choice needle drops, including Ennio Morricone’s Once Upon a Time in the West theme. It’s absolutely watchable, if not a patch on the surprisingly rock-solid original. It should prove to be a big streaming hit for Prime Video, and while it’s not a movie that cried out to be made, taken as a lark, it’s good fun. 

Another Simple Favor

AVERAGE

6

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REVIEW: Between Companion and Novocaine, Jack Quaid fans have already been eating pretty good this year. Now, Quaid teams with Jeffrey Dean Morgan to try and track down a missing girl, all while dealing with a pretty intense mental issue. But Neighborhood Watch seems to be yet another Quaid-starring picture that isn’t getting the financial success that it deserves. This brings the question: Why is it so difficult to market this charismatic actor’s films?

Neighborhood Watch follows Simon, a mentally ill man, who happens to witness what he believes to be a kidnapping. So he asks his grumpy neighbor, Ed, to help find the abducted girl. Simon is a really tragic character and one I constantly found myself feeling sorry for. It’s clear that he has some deep-seated issues and is just trying his best. Quaid does a fantastic job, breaking more outside of what people have come to know from him. Simon has little ticks and a lack of confidence that he struggles to overcome. Ed Deerman is tragic as well, but in a different way. Having recently lost his security job at the local college, he can’t seem to move past it. Morgan is captivating, really striking that balance of sad but determined. Malin Akerman appears as Simon’s sister, DeeDee, and I feel like the narrative doesn’t completely take advantage of her.

Simon hears voices in his head, and they’re constantly talking down to him. He clearly doesn’t have the highest opinion of himself after years of judgment from the outside world. The film examines the different ways that trauma can manifest and the ways it can be misunderstood. DeeDee, doing a nice act for Simon, inadvertently puts him in a spot where he’s reminded of past trauma. And as much as Ed is helping out, he really has to be dragged along.

This is an independent movie, and it’s very reliant on the stars at the forefront. But they don’t connect in the way that we’ve been conditioned to expect in these kinds of films. They are simply two tragic people who have consciences. That’s their connection. We aren’t getting some opposites attract situation, because they really are two sides of the same coin. One is just much more capable than the other. If anything, Ed is annoyed with Simon for a large portion, and his big acceptance is that he mostly just puts up with him. But the pairing is still intriguing, it’s just more outside the box than the norm.

Where Neighborhood Watch stumbles a bit is in its pacing and logic. The second act meanders more than I’d like, and the limited budget means everything is pared down and simplified, sometimes a bit too much. This is more about the investigation and mystery than anything, but it goes in circles a bit. And the police are a little too forgiving of the vigilantism that Simon and Ed take part in. As much as the film wants to walk the line of realism, the ending still takes a decidedly Hollywood approach.

Sadly, Neighborhood Watch is likely going to be skipped over and discovered via streaming in a few years, where people go, “Why have I never heard of this movie?” The generic title doesn’t help, nor does the dumped-out-of-nowhere release. Which is really too bad, as Quaid and Morgan deliver fantastic performances and make for an interesting pairing. I really enjoyed my time with the film and hope that it’s able to find its audience. It’s somber and visceral, anchored by the idea of human connection and what it means to do the right thing in the face of crippling doubt.

NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH IS IN SELECT THEATERS AND VOD ON APRIL 25TH, 2025.

Neighborhood Watch

GREAT

8

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PLOT: On Christmas Eve, a dirty cop (Tom Hardy) is blackmailed by his crime lord boss (Forest Whitaker) into rescuing his son Charlie (Justin Cornwell), who’s been embroiled in a drug deal gone bad is the subject of a city-wide manhunt.

REVIEW: Havoc is the long-awaited return to action movies for director Gareth Evans. After a brief detour into hallucinogenic horror with Apostle and episodic TV with Gangs of London, Evans is back to shake up the genre, with Havoc ranking among the most brutal action films of the last decade. Sporting a body count that must be in the hundreds, with over 30,000 rounds of ammunition fired (a number I got right from the director himself), this is a totally different style of action film than the more polished efforts being put out by 87 Eleven/North (the folks behind John Wick, Nobody, and more).

While easily as violent as The Raid or its sequel, Havoc embraces a different style of action, with it being Evans’s homage to the heroic bloodshed genre. For those not in the know, this is the genre of action engineered by directors like John Woo and Ringo Lam during their 80s Hong Kong hey-day. Like in those films, the bullets fly constantly, with our heroes simply wincing anytime they take a bullet, as in this world it takes AT LEAST half a dozen wounds to take anyone down. Not since the days of Chow Yun-Fat and John Woo has there been as trigger happy an action flick, and it’s stunningly accomplished for fans of the genre.

Tom Hardy stars as a prototypical hero for this kind of movie, being the morally shady, semi-tragic hero who puts himself into harm’s way to do good. Rather than have him be a hitman or gangster with a conscience, Evans borrows from American police movies, making him a crooked cop, who works with a crew of his fellow officers to rip off dealers at the behest of their crime lord boss with political ambitions (Whitaker – who seems to be having a ball as a quasi-redeemable villain). Of course, Hardy is tortured by his misdeeds, leaving him on the outs with the rest of his department, including his former best pal (played by a gun-toting Timothy Olyphant), with only a rookie partner (Jessie Mei Li) on his side, who doesn’t know the extent of his crimes.

Truth be told, there’s nothing especially original about Evans’s premise, with the whole plot being little more than an excuse to get to the movie’s true raison d’être – the incredible, extended action sequences. While it takes a while to get to them (nearly an hour), the second half of the movie is wall-to-wall carnage.

While we’ve seen Tom Hardy do action before, he’s never been put through the wringer like he has here. Shooting off round after round, and using edged weapons in extended fight sequences, he makes for a dynamic action hero. One thing worth noting is that his action is never polished, with him far more of a brawler than a guy like John Wick. He’s playing something of an everyman, so his fighting style is appropriately chaotic, with him using everything in reach to kill his opponents are quickly as he can. And, let me tell you – there are A LOT of opponents.

Now, some may find the film borders on being absurd, with perhaps hundreds of Chinese bad guys assaulting our heroic trio (consisting of Hardy, Cornwell, and his love interest – Quelin Sepulveda) in the second half of the movie. No one every really seems to run out of bullets either, but this is standard for the genre, and anyone walking into this should expect it to be highly stylized. 

Technically, the movie is impeccable, with DP Matt Flannery giving it a grittier, harder-edged look than most other, more polished action flicks. The sound design is especially important, with each gun having a signature sound, while Evans’s regular composer Aria Prayogi contributes a propulsive score.

Of course, Havoc isn’t perfect, with the Chinese bad guys lacking development, with the main, female villain not given much in the way of screen time. The movie also has a liberal amount of cheesy scenes sprinkled in, with almost everything about the storyline being relatively cliche ridden. It doesn’t matter though. While some action fans may be frustrated by how long the carnage takes to kick in, once the gunfights start, the movie is a jaw-dropper, although it certainly would have played even better in theaters that it will at home. 

Havoc begins streaming on Netflix on April 25th.

Havoc (2025)

GOOD

7

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Review: In 2005, it was considered radical that Brokeback Mountain would get a wide theatrical release, considering it was a homosexual love story. How times have changed. Two decades later, On Swift Horses is the latest in a long line of queer films that boast substantial star power and nuanced narratives about same-sex relationships. The stigma is no longer as prominent as it once was, but there is still something to be said about heterosexual actors playing gay characters. Still, it bodes well for box office performance when you have up-and-coming talents like Jacob Elordi and Daisy Edgar-Jones in those roles. On Swift Horses, based on Shannon Pufahl’s 2019 novel of the same name, is a period drama set in the mid-twentieth century, chronicling the parallel queer awakenings of two characters whose lives are changed in significant ways. It is a strong pair of narratives that each feels watered down by ceding focus to the other. While the powerful performances from Elordi and Edgar-Jones are worth seeing, the film itself does not quite work as well as it should.

Upon his return from the Korean War in the early 1950s, Julius (Jacob Elordi) reunites with his brother Lee (Will Poulter). The siblings planned to move to California and start a new life, which Lee wants his new fiancée, Muriel (Daisy Edgar-Jones), to be a part of. There is an immediate connection between Julius and Muriel as they both sense they are kindred spirits. As Lee and Muriel move to California, Julius heads to Las Vegas, and from that moment on, their lives take parallel paths that intersect occasionally over the next few years. Muriel discovers a penchant for betting on horse racing while Julius uses his skills at counting cards to work for a casino boss (Don Swayze) trying to spot cheaters. Julius meets Henry (Diego Calva) and the two fall for each other. Muriel also explores an unexpected relationship with her new neighbor, Sandra (Sasha Calle), a bold and outspoken woman unafraid of her sexuality. As the story unfolds, Muriel and Julius keep their secret lives hidden from each other and begin to learn how to accept who they truly want to be.

On Swift Horses has a fantastic cast that is all more than up to the task of portraying these characters, hiding parts of themselves from those around them. Jacob Elordi, hot off his magnificent performance in Justin Kurzel’s The Narrow Road to the Deep North, gives a similarly searing performance as Julius. Elordi plays Julius as stoic and quiet, his signature approach, as he uses his talents of charming manipulation to get what he feels he wants. Diego Calva, one of the best parts of Damien Chazelle’s Babylon, gives Henry a charm and confidence that balances Julius. The pair has some steamy sex scenes, something far beyond what Brokeback Mountain could even have dared show twenty years ago. Elordi and Calva have an ease about them as they interact, but Julius’s journey on his own is where Jacob Elordi gets to shine. There is no doubt that Elordi is growing into one of the strongest actors of his generation as he combines his matinee idol good looks with provocative projects like On Swift Horses.

Daisy Edgar-Jones and Sasha Calle share an equally steamy run of scenes as Muriel’s path is much different than Julius’s. While Muriel is exploring her sexual nature, something that Sandra can bring out of her, Muriel is also testing the waters of her independence as a woman. Edgar-Jones has been stellar in everything from Fresh to Twisters, but On Swift Horses allows her not to play a genre character in any way. We have seen characters like Muriel before on screen, but Daisy Edgar-Jones never lets this character feel like a cliche. Sasha Calle also provides a strong supporting performance that should earn her more substantial roles. Of the five main cast, Will Poulter has one of the most challenging roles. Poulter plays Lee as a good and honest man who is surrounded by people who do not know what they want. In many ways, Lee is the most tragic character in this story, but only because he knows who he is from the outset, while everyone struggles to figure themselves out. All five excellent actors make for one of the better ensembles this year.

Director Daniel Minahan, best known for directing Ryan Murphy projects like Hollywood, Ratched, and Halston, along with HBO’s Deadwood: The Movie and episodes of Game of Thrones, does a good job of evoking the look and feel of 1950s California without needing to pepper the film with cliches and pop culture artifacts. There is a workmanlike approach to On Swift Horses that never tries to be cute or overly cinematic while focusing on the characters and their paths. The challenge comes from the lukewarm screenplay by Bryce Kass. On Swift Horses provides some obstacles and challenges for Muriel and Julius, but their development is muted by almost sleepwalking through their lives. Because On Swift Horses chooses a more subdued emotional tone, seemingly to avoid falling into melodrama, the film does not evoke any strong or visceral feelings outside of the sex scenes and a couple of fistfights. Mostly, these characters begin and end in the same place they started, with a slight change in their self-awareness.

What On Swift Horses could have learned from Brokeback Mountain was how to end your film on a powerful note. The journeys of the protagonists in both films could not be more different, but the neat, Hollywood-style ending of this movie is underwhelming to say the least. Daniel Minahan does a good job of allowing his stars to own the screen and showcase why they all are on the list of the next big thing, but none of them get to develop into more than who the characters are at the beginning of their journey. As a film, On Swift Horses showcases acting highlights from Daisy Edgar-Jones, Jacob Elordi, Diego Calva, Sasha Calle, and Will Poulter. Still, it does not offer enough to feel more than just ordinary. Movies like this should be better than just good.

On Swift Horses opens in theaters on April 25th.

On Swift Horses

AVERAGE

6

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PLOT: After his friend is killed while trying to track down a missing woman, Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) attempts to solve the murder. When the trail leads to the dangerous world of human trafficking, he’s forced to contact his deadly, estranged brother Braxton (Jon Bernthal) for help.

REVIEW: It’s taken nine whole years, but here we are with a long-awaited sequel to The Accountant. For my money, the first film ranks as Ben Affleck’s best-action vehicle. While his superhero roles and other stabs at franchises, such as his turn as Jack Ryan in The Sum of All Fears, never panned out, The Accountant was a different story. The role of Christian Wolff seemed tailor-made for him. In the first movie, Wolff, who worked as a forensic accountant for the mob, was revealed to be something of a do-gooder, using the information he learned from jobs to help the feds take down violent criminals.

While all that would have made the film a serviceable action vehicle, writer Bill Dubuque and director Gavin O’Connor made the choice to have Wolff be autistic. A such, they spent a significant amount of time detailing how the quirks of his condition made him better at his job but also made it hard for him to bond with others, including his brother Braxton, who was originally the antagonist in the first film, who had a change of heart at the eleventh hour.

In the sequel, Bernthal’s been bumped up to co-star status, with the movie playing out like an ultra-violent version of Rain Man in some respects, with the two teaming up to unravel a violent plot. The Accountant 2 has been highly anticipated here at JoBlo, and I’m happy to report that the movie lives up to the first one and might actually be better thanks to the byplay between Affleck and Bernthal, who make a dynamic buddy pairing. While the plot is confusing at times and probably more complicated than it needed to be, it’s all just an excuse to put these two guys together and let them do their thing. For his part, Affleck looks trim and engaged and seems to relish once again sinking his teeth into one of his most memorable characters. 

Despite being killers, the movie does a nice job humanizing both of them. Christian and Braxton are portrayed as ultimately lonely, with Wolff giving speed dating a try while Braxton agonizes over whether he should adopt a dog. You get the sense that the thing that’s missing from both of their lives is simply each other. Bernthal, in particular, is allowed to almost walk away with the movie, as Braxton pushes Christian’s buttons for largely comic effect, making the film much more amusing than the darker first film. 

One thing about The Accountant 2 is that, for most of the running time, the action takes a bit of a backseat, save for a nifty opening scrap with J.K. Simmons, who returns from the first film in a smaller role, and a cool moment where Christian violently interrogates a thug. Yet, in the last half hour, the action is ramped up to a level not seen in the first film, with a sprawling final gun battle in Mexico that riffs on Heat and delivers in a big way.

Overall, The Accountant 2 works terrifically well as a slam-bang buddy action comedy, with Affleck and Bernthal at their absolute best. Cynthia Addai-Robinson returns as the straight-laced treasury agent helping out our antiheroes, with her proving to be a good foil, especially for the more murderous Braxton, who doesn’t quite have the scruples his older brother has. Danielle Pineda also makes an impression as a mysterious hit woman who enters their orbit, with her backstory figuring heavily into the plot. The only thing the movie is really missing is a good bad guy, with the villains mostly a barrage of faceless goons who only exist so Affleck and Bernthal can blow them away in the climax. Christian’s squad of fellow autistic savant helpers also seems a little too all-powerful, especially with them being all children – although this seems to be a kind of deliberate riff on Sherlock Holmes’s Baker Street Irregulars.

I’m not complaining, though—as a meat-and-potatoes action fan, I’ve been starving for a film like this. I love the sleek 87North-style action flicks that are in favour now, but The Accountant 2 is old-school in a way I’ve been missing. The extra emphasis on characterization only sweetens the pot. Bring on The Accountant 3! 

The Accountant 2

GREAT

8

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REVIEW: Style over substance isn’t always a bad thing, as The Legend of Ochi thoroughly proves. Story-wise, the film offers what feels like the umpteenth variation on an adventure story following a brave young outsider who befriends an unusual creature; some of the notes are changed but the music is very familiar. However, thanks to a unique visual style and a charmingly quirky atmosphere, The Legend of Ochi manages to entertain for a tight 95 minutes even while we recognize it’s doing anything but reinventing the wheel.

Imagine if Wes Anderson decided to make an homage to Amblin-era 80s adventure movies and you might have a vague concept of what you’re getting into with “Ochi.” Writer-director Isaiah Saxon’s film is painted in vivid colors, with frequently surreal landscapes filling the frame. Never a boring movie to look at, it’s a testament to the director’s creativity that some people had apparently thought the movie’s visual effects were produced via A.I., though the truth is most of the movie’s eye-catching vistas came courtesy of old-fashioned matte paintings. The baby ochi character at the center of the action – as well as its larger relatives – are puppets, each wrangled by six or seven puppeteers who were then erased thanks to digital magic. The result is quite something to behold, and if you’re keen to give this movie a change it’s recommended you do so on a big screen. 

Not unlike the protagonists in Shyamalan’s The Village, the people who live on the small island of Carpathia in “Ochi” live in fear of the supposedly deadly creatures who lurk in the woods that surround their hamlet. Every once in a while a man named Maxim (a reliably intense Willem Dafoe) takes a small band of young men out to hunt down the vicious beasts. Tagging along is Yuri (compelling German actress Helena Zengel), Maxim’s introverted daughter who’s grown bored and weary of her rugged lifestyle. During a night hunt that devolves into chaos, Yuri ends up rescuing a baby ochi, who of course turns out not to be a ferocious monster but a cute, cuddly little thing that one might mistake for Gizmo’s long lost cousin. Breaking with her father’s strict worldview, Yuri patches up the adorable creature and decides to return it to its family, sparking off a series of predictable yet wholesome events (such as a messy trip to the grocery store) that bond the unlikely pair. 

Saxon keeps us invested in this fairly routine tale with his confident visual panache and an easy, breezy rhythm that never tries the audience’s patience. Plus, there’s no avoiding the appeal of the baby ochi, an irresistible creation that makes Grogu look hard-bitten and weathered by comparison. What is refreshing is that Saxon doesn’t feel the need to manufacture too many mini-dramas for the traveling duo; instead of confronting a series of life-threatening challenges, our leads’ journey is more about learning to communicate with one another in order to survive the grimy terrain they find themselves in. 

Saxon’s cast is game for his fantastical vision, with Zengel an engaging if unorthodox lead who draws us in the longer we get to know her. Dafoe, of course, can be counted on to sell a hard-charging, fiery Alpha male who hides a wounded side, while Emily Watson turns up in an engaging supporting role as Yuri’s tough-as-nails absentee mother who comes back into her life at just the right time. 

The Legend of Ochi is perfectly pleasant family entertainment that’s easy on the eyes and even easier to digest. More cynical viewers are likely to ding it for its familiar beats and lack of action (you’re not going to get any exciting set-pieces in the spirit of E.T. or Gremlins here), but if you’re content with a sweet-natured and predominantly upbeat tale with an impossible-to-dislike friendship at its center, you’ve got a modest winner here. 

The Legend of Ochi Review: A24 dips its toe into family-friendly fantasy

GOOD

7

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PLOT: A prominent businessman (Vincent Cassel), grieving over the death of his wife, invents a company called GraveTech, where corpses are wrapped in technologically enhanced burial shrouds that allow family members to monitor the decaying bodies of their loved ones in real-time.

REVIEW: So, if you read the plot outline posted about, you likely muttered a little “wtf” to yourself once you got to the “monitor the decaying bodies of their loved ones” bit. But hey, The Shrouds is a David Cronenberg movie. Would you want to see one without any WTF moments? I think not. Indeed, The Shrouds has enough ultra-weird imagery and kinky twists to make this Cronenberg’s edgiest movie since Crash and perhaps his most personal work to date.

Tragically, Cronenberg lost his wife several years ago, and The Shrouds seems autobiographical in the way it deals with grief. In it, Vincent Cassel plays Karsh, a tech entrepreneur who once made “industrial films,” a term critics have often used to describe the harsh lighting and cinematography of his earlier works. Cassel is made up to look exactly like Cronenberg, sporting the same distinctive haircut and always favoring dark suits. 

Much of Cronenberg’s filmography has been dedicated to body horror. While that term may not totally apply to The Shrouds, it’s still preoccupied with the body and the way it’s mutilated through illness. Karsh’s wife, Becca (Diane Kruger) is shown to have died of an aggressive form of cancer that led to multiple amputations, with him both tortured and oddly aroused (hey, it’s Cronenberg) by visions of her advancing illness. Notably, he keeps talking about how he lost her “body,” with him harbouring paranoia about the doctor who treated her and performed the amputations. He’s preoccupied with the fact that others got to be the last ones to be with parts of her body, and one of the reasons he presumably uses GraveTech is so that he can be the only one with any sense of control over her corpse. 

Psychologically, it’s a very complex and provocative work, yet Cassel doesn’t play Karsh as “weird.” He’s actually somewhat charming and seems like he really did love his wife, which has led to issues with him connecting with other women since she died. In a darkly comedic moment early on, he takes a blind date to see his wife’s grave, which contains a video screen showing her corpse’s decay. 

As the film goes on, a labyrinthine plot develops, where several GraveTech plots are vandalized, and the corpses seem to be growing nodes on their bones, which may have something to do with the Chinese tech behind the shrouds. Are they being used for surveillance? Seeds of paranoia are planted by Karsh’s former brother-in-law, Guy Pearce’s Maury, who calls himself Karsh’s “brother in grief” after his wife, Terry (also Diane Kruger), leaves him.

The Shrouds is a hard film to describe in that it’s not horror, but it certainly has more gore than you’d expect in a straight drama. It also has elements of sci-fi and even paranoid thrillers, but more than anything, it feels like a pitch-black comedy, with Pearce and Kruger (in both her roles) playing their roles to the hilt. 

Yet, it’s also a thoroughly sad film, with Cronenberg likely using it as a way to exorcise some demons, and much of it will hit close to home for anyone who’s ever mourned the death of a loved one. When I interviewed Cronenberg years ago, I was struck by how nice and normal he seemed, and I think part of that is that he’s always been able to use his work therapeutically. While The Shrouds ultimately goes off on many different tangents without ever coming to a clear resolution, it’s insightful about how grief often goes hand-in-hand with paranoia. As such, it hits surprisingly hard by the time the credits roll. It won’t be for everybody, but I’ll say this – even if you don’t like The Shrouds (which is fair), you won’t be bored by it. 

The Shrouds

AVERAGE

6

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PLOT: Twin brothers Smoke and Stack (Michael B. Jordan) return to their Jim Crow-era southern home to open a juke joint. While anticipating trouble from the Klan, it turns out they have another enemy they could have never anticipated.

REVIEW: It’s hard to make a vampire movie feel fresh, but that’s what director Ryan Coogler has done with Sinners, perhaps his best film to date. Expertly marrying the classic “survive the night” premise, which has paid such hefty dividends for everything from Assault on Precinct 13 to From Dusk Till Dawn, Coogler’s made an emotional, blood-soaked epic that may well go down as a classic of its kind.

Running 137 minutes, the movie takes its time building up the atmosphere of Smoke and Stack’s southern home, with us getting to know a disparate cast of characters. This makes the horror aspect all the more potent when it kicks in, as you’ve become emotionally invested with everyone by the time they start getting picked off. Chief among them are Smoke and Stack themselves, WWI veterans who’ve made a chunk of cash they plan on using to open a roadhouse that can serve their community – and hopefully, make them rich. Of the two, Smoke is the more thoughtful and eager to pick up with his one-time lover, a medicinal healer who serves the community named Annie (Wunmi Mosaku). On the other hand, Stack is more of a hustler, but he’s also emotionally involved with the white woman, Mary (Hailee Steinfeld) the twins grew up with, and who still loves him.

Meanwhile, there’s their blues-playing cousin, Miles Caton’s Sammie, whose talent is so fierce it can’t help but wake up a demonic force they’ll all have to contend with. This comes in the form of Jack O’Connell’s Irish vampire, Remmick, who tries to lure them in with a promise of eternal life but also, finally, some sense of equality. Coogler does an excellent job evoking the time and the place with gorgeous 2:76:1 Ultra Panavision lensing by Autumn Durald Arkapaw, which opens up to full 1:44:1 IMAX during many key sequences in a superb use of the format.

While the horror and action elements are plentiful and will no doubt be what really draws in an audience, there’s more to Sinners. In fact, it’s almost a quasi-musical, with the blues-driven score, which contains several songs produced by composer Ludwig Göransson and sung by Caton and O’Connell, with his musical appreciation part of Remmick’s silver-tongued appeal.

Coogler does a masterful job mounting the film, so much so that even the first half, which plays more like a blues-infused historical drama, plays exceptionally well. Some jaw-dropping moments could have fallen apart in another director’s hands because of how wildly ambitious they are. Yet, even a moment where Caton’s playing conjures up musicians from the past, present and future, which sounds absurd, works brilliantly and is one of the movie’s finest scenes. 

At the same time, horror and action fans will be well-served, with loads of carnage and action. Jordan, as always, is a more than capable action hero – one of the best to emerge in the last few years. Yet, it’s the emotional aspect of the film that gives it some real staying power, with Jordan’s doomed romance with Steinfeld given heft, with her a plain-spoken, headstrong, but kind woman who, more than anyone, knows how dangerous her love can be in the Jim Crow south. Plus, there’s Delroy Lindo as a worn-out old bluesman who finds himself reinvigorated by Caton’s talent, and as Mosaku’s Annie, whose fierce love protects our heroes when things get crazy. Sinners will also put Miles Canton on the map, with his character, Sammie, in many ways the true lead, being a preacher’s son torn between his cousins, who encourage his talent but operate on the margins with their shady pasts, and his devout father. Sammie seems somewhat inspired by the myths around bluesman Robert Johnson who, as legend says, sold his soul to the devil in a Faustian pact.

Hopefully, audiences will turn out to see Sinners in droves. It’s the kind of elevated blockbuster a guy like Christopher Nolan churns out (he earns a thank you in the credits), with Coogler really working at that level here. It’s an invigorating piece of work that I can’t wait to see again. It’s good enough that I can’t help but hope Coogler eventually parts ways with the MCU (after his next Black Panther flick), as he seems better off playing in his own sandbox. Given the right resources and support, Sinners might be the beginning of a whole new chapter for one of our most exciting, emerging filmmakers.

Sinners

AMAZING

9

The post Sinners Review: Ryan Coogler’s Best Film To Date? appeared first on JoBlo.

Plot: Following the death of his father, energetic and free-spirited Rickey convinces long-time friend Glenn to go on an impromptu road trip from Los Angeles to Sacramento. Frustrated by Rickey’s Peter Pan complex, Glenn is encouraged by his pregnant wife Rosie to go on the adventure to reconnect. In the worn yellow seats of Glenn’s old college convertible, the two men confront their anxiety-ridden lives, addressing past mistakes and questioning what their futures hold. 

Review: Sacramento has an equal amount of sweetness and sadness that it tries to balance. Starring two actors who spent their early careers in Hollywood playing teenagers, Sacramento shows us Michael Cera and Michael Angarano as what could be adult versions of any number of characters from their past projects. Co-written and directed by Angarano, Sacramento is a successor to films like Superbad if they were made through the lens of Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain. A portrait of stunted men dealing with the next phase of their lives, including parenthood, Angarano directs his real-life partners, Maya Erskine and Kristen Stewart, in a movie that is funny and a perceptive look at how important friendship is even when you don’t think you want or need it in your life.

Opening with the meet-cute between man-child Rickey (Michael Angarano) and free spirit Tallie (Maya Erskine), Sacramento shifts a year to find Rickey dealing with the passing of his father. Needing the stability of his best friend Glenn (Michael Cera), Rickey drops in unannounced as Glenn deals with a slew of panic attacks and anxiety focused on the impending birth of his child with his wife Rosie (Kristen Stewart). Not wanting to deal with Rickey’s flakiness, Glenn begrudgingly agrees to accompany his friend to Sacramento, where he wants to spread his father’s ashes. Rosie encourages her husband to make the trip, hoping it will loosen him up as they prepare to have their kid. Taking Glenn’s old car on the six-hour journey to Sacramento, Glenn and Rickey reconnect despite being in very different places in their lives.

The trip takes all the requisite twists and turns of any good road trip movie. Rickey provides the more blatant humor as Michael Angarano blends Kieran Culkin’s Oscar-winning brand of smart-ass commentary with a hidden agenda. At the same time, Michael Cera plays what feels like Superbad‘s Evan or Scott Pilgrim, as portrayed by Steve Martin. Glenn is a mess in every way, not wanting anything to do with Rickey’s shenanigans but still going along for the ride. This includes picking up a couple of women who own a gym and dealing with getting their car towed. As the running time of Sacramento is a brisk ninety minutes, the movie does not spend that long digging into side plots and has Rickey and Glenn reach their destination less than halfway through the movie, which is when it begins to deal with the reality that both protagonists must come to terms with to move on with their lives. Of course, this is not handled in the most mature manner that works for audiences.

As much as Sacramento is about friendship, it hinges on the performances from the leads. Angarano is the loosest he has been in any of his films, as he naturally inhabits Rickey’s personality. There is also a chemistry between Angarano and Maya Erskine as the couple are married in real life and have two children. Erskine’s Tallie is just as flaky as Rickey, but the two complement each other well on screen. Michael Cera and Kristen Stewart are an interesting couple I would never have pictured working well together but they do wonderfully here. Stewart plays Rosie as calm and in control despite contending with Glenn’s high-maintenance personality while also being nine months pregnant. The smaller supporting roles from Rosalind Chao, AJ Mendez, and Iman Karram are brief but effective. This movie hinges on Angarano and Cera playing off of one another, and for the most part, it works.

Michael Angarano co-wrote Sacramento with Chris Smith. Smith, an actor who has written for the series Friends from College and Parental Indiscretion, makes his feature writing debut with this film. Angarano’s directorial debut, Avenues, treads similar territory in dealing with grief and adult friendships. Still, Sacramento shows he has a strong indie sensibility as a filmmaker with a solid appreciation for balancing comedy and drama. Sacramento has all of the tropes that you would expect from an independent comedy, including retro title fonts, a retro soundtrack of obscure songs, credible acting talent, and just the right amount of low-budget location filming. As the movie is pretty short, it tends to feel rushed in places. Angarano wants the audience to focus on the little things that pepper the background, including Michael Cera’s wardrobe and how characters stand in certain scenes. Its quirkiness works to an extent, but that quality sometimes wears a bit thin. Luckily, the cast keeps the movie engaging and worth watching.

Sacramento aims to be endearing and works well because of Michael Cera’s trademark style and the chemistry between the leads. There are hints of an even better film that could have been made if Angarano and Smith had taken a little longer on the road trip angle, and Sacramento could have become the Millennial equivalent of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. As it is, Sacramento is a heartfelt and sweet comedy that never pushes too far into dramatic territory but is not afraid to deal with some serious topics along the way. I would have liked to see more from Kristen Stewart and Maya Erskine as both actors are good but under-used in this story. Good acting and chemistry between Michael Angarano and Michael Cera save this movie and make Sacramento worth checking out.

Sacramento is now playing in theaters.

Sacramento

GOOD

7

The post Sacramento Review: Michael Angarano’s road trip with Michael Cera makes for great comedy appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: A team of Navy SEALS are pinned down in a two-story house in the middle of insurgent territory during the Battle of Ramadi.

REVIEW: Francois Truffaut once famously stated that there was no such thing as an anti-war film. His reasoning for this was that, by the way the medium works, there’s always something dazzling about the way such a film is mounted that can’t help but glamorize a terrifying situation. Granted, I’m not the only critic who pulled out this old chestnut for my Warfare review but speak to any vet, and they’ll tell you that Hollywood gets it wrong more often than it gets it right. I vividly remember our former EIC here at JoBlo, Paul Shirey, a combat vet, telling me that he thought The Hurt Locker was utterly preposterous. Yet, it can’t be denied that Alex Garland and co-director Ray Mendoza have tried to make Warfare truly different from the war film canon by making it as immersive as possible. It’s the lone war film that doesn’t dive into the backstories of its soldiers, knowing that you’ll empathize with them anyway based solely on the impossible situation they find themselves in the middle of. I suppose one could call this the anti-Hurt Locker.

Warfare follows a group of Navy SEALS who find themselves pinned down by insurgents in a two-story home. With attackers coming from all corners, the movie occurs in real time as the unit tries to stay alive long enough to get evacuated. Mendoza, who worked with Garland on Civil War, actually fought in this battle, with him played in the film by Reservation Dogs breakout D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai. As such, the movie tries to evoke the white-knuckle terror of the situation for not only the soldiers but also the Iraqi civilians who live in the home which has been commandeered by the soldiers. 

Mendoza and Garland’s film isn’t here to make any grand statement about the Iraq War, but they do want you to think about the toll it takes on all involved. The soldiers are introduced in a rare moment of levity watching the video for Eric Prydz’s “Call on Me,” but very soon, it’s clear that a massive opposing force is heading toward the guys. Warfare tries to deconstruct all the war movie tropes, particularly the tiresome one where badly wounded soldiers are always portrayed as stoic – as if that would even be possible. Joseph Quinn, of Stranger Things, wails and screams in terror and agony for much of the running time in what must have been a gruelling performance.

The film is cast with a who’s who of the brightest young twenty-something actors, but despite the big names involved, the movie is a true ensemble. There’s no real lead, and the movie allows you to observe them as they try to stay alive. No one falls pretty to any cliches, and you empathize with all of them, from Quinn’s gravely wounded petty officer to Will Poulter as the team’s CO, whose wounds are less physically apparent but just as gruelling. There’s not a weak link among the cast, with Cosmo Jarvis particularly good as the team’s sniper, while Charles Melton makes a big impression as he enters late in the game to try and save his friends from the impossible situation they’ve found themselves in.

Notably, Garland and Mendoza’s film doesn’t have a musical score, as they eschew almost all the trappings of a typical Hollywood-style war film. One thing is for certain, they want you to respect the sacrifices of the men who served without getting maudlin or heavy-handed. As such, it’s the A24 version of a movie like Black Hawk Down, and it should find an appreciative audience, even if its effort to cut down on the rah-rah aspects of a war film might limit its appeal to the art house. That’s too bad, as it’s a movie that cries out to be seen on a big screen, although veterans, understandably, might feel it hits a little too close to home.

On that note, if any veterans have seen the film and want to share their thoughts, please chime in via the comments below. We’d love to hear from you. 

Warfare

GREAT

8

The post Warfare Review: An immersive battle flick like no other appeared first on JoBlo.

Plot: A father tells his son the greatest story ever told, and what begins as a bedtime tale becomes a life-changing journey. Through vivid imagination, the boy walks alongside Jesus, witnessing His miracles, facing His trials, and understanding His ultimate sacrifice. The King of Kings invites us to rediscover the enduring power of hope, love and redemption through the eyes of a child.

Review: Religious films have a long history in Hollywood, but their focus has shifted in the last few decades. While biblical epics were common for studios to finance, most have been relegated to smaller studios or independent productions. Outside of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, the only other substantial biblical films have been Ridley Scott’s Exodus: Gods & Kings and Darren Aronofsky’s Noah. Whenever A-list actors join a religious film, it tends to garner attention, and the massive cast of the animated film The King of Kings certainly has a roster of talent attached. Distributed by Angel Studios, who also released the surprise 2023 box office hit Sound of Freedom, The King of Kings takes an unusual and distinct approach to the story of Jesus Christ in a manner designed to be easily understood by children. With the talents of Kenneth Branagh, Uma Thurman, Roman Griffin Davis, Oscar Isaac, Forest Whitaker, Pierce Brosnan, Mark Hamill, and Ben Kingsley, The King of Kings is a harmless retelling of the greatest story ever told, even if the animation is not quite on par with what we usually see these days.

Loosely based on Charles Dickens‘ The Life of Our Lord, The King of Kings opens with the famous author (voiced by Kenneth Branagh) performing A Christmas Carol for an audience in London. When Dickens’ rambunctious youngest son, Walter (Jojo Rabbit‘s Roman Griffin Davis), causes a ruckus, Dickens is frustrated and upset. His wife, Catherine (Uma Thurman), stumbles upon her husband’s story about Jesus and prompts him to tell it to young Walter. Listening to the story alongside his troublesome cat, Willa, Walter envisions himself in the story of Jesus from his birth in a manger in Nazareth to his eventual crucifixion and resurrection. With asides made along the way in the contemporary Dickens home, the story shifts through the three decades of Jesus’ life, hitting all major points. This includes the most memorable quotations from the Bible, with the rest of the dialogue modernized a bit so that younger viewers can understand what is unfolding rather than keeping the flowery prose of the New Testament challenging for most kids and even some adults.

Of the all-star voice cast, most have only minor roles. Mark Hamill, who voices King Herod, and Pierce Brosnan, who voices Pontius Pilate, both have less than five minutes of screen time in the movie. Other actors, including Forest Whitaker as Peter and Ben Kingsley as High Priest Caiaphas, have a bit more to do in the story, but their contributions are small compared to the main cast. While Uma Thurman has some substantial dialogue, most of the film relies on Kenneth Branagh’s narration and interaction with Roman Griffin Davis. The elder and younger Dickens are key to the film’s story as Charles Dickens tries to relate the importance of Jesus’ story over Walter’s obsession with King Arthur. At times, the approach feels somewhat heavy-handed, as it may come across as Charles Dickens trying to tell his son that everything he likes is bad. He needs Jesus more than he enjoys mythology and legend. The abundance of pratfall and silly comedy included in the form of Willa the Cat also lends the film an attempt at Disney-esque whimsy, but it feels a bit out of place. The entire Dickens element of the story is strange and maybe the hardest part of The King of Kings for audiences to relate to.

As Jesus, Oscar Isaac brings a feeling of calm and serenity to his performance. For much of The King of Kings, Isaac maintains an even-keeled and stoic approach to voicing Jesus with only a few moments of intensity punctuating the story. Jesus, at times, seems to have different animation styles to accentuate his iconic visage from artistic impressions. Most of the miracles performed by Jesus are handled in a realistic fashion, like the loaves and fishes and the resurrection of Lazarus. Still, there are a few more ambitious sequences. The work of Satan is visualized as a duststorm and another as a demon possessing a man, both of which are handled in a more subtle manner than I expected. The walking on water sequence is the most energetic in the film and stands out from the rest of the one-hundred-minute film. Through it all, Oscar Isaac keeps his performance easy to follow and approachable for viewers who may be unfamiliar with the tale. The crucifixion sequence is presented as bloodless, with the eventual nailing of Jesus to the cross done off-screen with his wounds blurred. It is an odd choice, given that the talk of death and execution is rampant.

Written and produced by Seong-ho Jang, this is his first project as director. The animation work is decent but pales compared to anything from a major studio and looks about a decade old in terms of refinement. There are moments where some characters appear to be AI-generated to fill in background sequences, and movements are blocky at times. Occasionally, the sync between the voice actor and onscreen avatar gets out of step, but it is momentary. At times, the animation has an ethereal quality that shows what could have been had the CGI been a bit more developed, but it feels somewhat antiquated and occasionally cheap. From a writing perspective, the approach to having the wraparound tale featuring Charles Dickens did not work for me as well as it could have. Kenneth Branagh is a solid narrator, but having the Dickens characters appear in the biblical tale is bound to confuse younger audiences. The film also seems a bit long for a children’s movie as it tries to include everything from the entire life of Jesus but glosses over characters like Mary Magdalene and Mary and Joseph in favor of the more prominent parts of Jesus’ life.

With a power ballad sung by Kristin Chenoweth over the closing credits, The King of Kings is an overall nice and accessible take on the message of peace at the core of Christianity. As a Jewish person, I was on the lookout for more stereotypical elements that became controversial in Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ. Still, there was nothing offensive in this adaptation. Some of the visualizations of the characters could be interpreted as a bit outdated, but nothing I would call racist or anti-Semitic in the least. This film focuses on the core principles Jesus preached and how his message should resonate today. I was unimpressed by the animation but found the overall film to be better than expected. I don’t think kids will be as entertained as the producers may think, but there is certainly more to be enjoyed in this movie than smaller kids would get from The Ten Commandments. The King of Kings is appropriate for younger kids and families, but pre-teens may be a stretch.

The King of Kings opens in theaters on April 11th.

The King of Kings

BELOW AVERAGE

5

The post The King of Kings Review: Oscar Isaac leads an all-star voice cast in this kid-friendly retelling of the life of Jesus appeared first on JoBlo.

Plot: U.S. President Danielle Sutton must defend her family, fellow leaders and the world when the G20 summit in Cape Town, South Africa is taken over by terrorists

Review: I grew up in the era of Arnold, Stallone, JCVD, Bruce Willis, and, yes, Steven Seagal. Action movies of the 1980s and 1990s had a different flavor than today, but seeing an actor play the President of the United States and kicking terrorists or alien asses was always a fun and exploitative experience. It is impossible to avoid that surge of patriotism as Harrison Ford said, “Get off my plane,” or Bill Pullman declared, “Today we celebrate our Independence Day.” In recent years, Gerard Butler and Channing Tatum have played agents protecting the President and garnering their own action-hero status. Still, it will never replace POTUS wielding a gun or beating the hell out of a bad guy. The Prime Video action flick G20 is designed with all of the 21st-century buzzwords relevant to modern society and technology but still revels in the formula of a 1990s blockbuster movie. Despite Viola Davis more than earning her spot amongst the kick-ass cinematic presidents, G20 is an underwhelming and overly familiar retread of countless generic action movies.

Viola Davis plays Danielle Sutton, a war veteran who ran a successful campaign based on her heroic rescue of a child in Fallujah, which became the cover of Time magazine. With a platform designed to end world hunger, Sutton embarks on a trip to South Africa for the G20 Summit amongst the most wealthy nations to discuss her platform. Accompanied by her husband, Derek (Anthony Anderson), Sutton also brings her children. Son Demetrius (Christopher Farrar) is the quiet, good child, while rebellious Serena (Marsai Martin) is a tech wiz pushing back at her overprotective mother. The quartet makes their way to the summit, which is quickly overrun by terrorist Rutledge (Antony Starr), who has a complicated plan to bilk the world out of their wealth by creating deepfakes of the world leaders. When the attack commences, Sutton and her Secret Service agent, Manny Ruiz (Ramon Rodriguez), get away with a small group as Sutton plots how to return to her family. In the United States, Vice President Harold Mosely (Clark Gregg) begins organizing a response to rescue the President.

G20 spends almost forty minutes building towards the attack on the South African summit, leaving over an hour of action. The film spends little time giving us the backstory of any characters other than Sutton or Rutledge. Still, Viola Davis and Antony Starr share only the last twenty minutes or so on screen together. Early on, we learn that Sutton has a bad knee and does not like wearing fancy dresses or high heels, something she quickly switches out for a sleeveless vest and some big guns. Davis has an enviable physique for a fifty-nine-year-old. Hell, she has an enviable physique for any age group, male or female. Boasting a similar presence as in The Woman King, Davis delivers in all her action scenes, whether hand-to-hand combat or involving gunplay. Davis makes for an impressive leader like Sutton, and the film avoids any callouts involving race or gender. Sutton’s biggest label is as an American, something that makes the patriotism you feel watching a story like this but which will likely feel a bit tone-deaf in global markets considering the recent trade tariffs causing repercussions in the global market.

For his part, Antony Starr embraces an accent that is more in line with his native New Zealand. Starr has made a career out of playing morally ambiguous characters and outright villains. With his slick-back hair and constant smile, Rutledge shares much in common with Starr’s portrayal of Homelander on The Boys. While this character sounds different and sports a beard, you can still see similarities in the roles. As a bad guy with a complicated plan and a grudge against those in power, Starr chews the scenery and looks to be having fun in his role, but he never feels like a threat on par with Alan Rickman’s Hans Gruber or Gary Oldman’s Egor Korshunov. The closest comparable villain would be Tommy Lee Jones as William Stranix in Under Siege, but Starr does not get to have the same level of wacky fun in his performance here. So much of the movie is focused on Stratton killing nameless goons and henchmen. At the same time, Rutledge waxes philosophical among his hostages that the final act cannot help but feel anticlimactic.

Directed by Patricia Riggen, G20 is violent and does not avoid dropping a decent amount of profanity, but looks artificial in many other places. A large amount of CGI is used to visualize the hotel where the summit is taking place and sequences set near the White House. Riggen has directed action-oriented projects, including the Antonia Banderas film The 33 and three episodes of Prime Video’s Jack Ryan, but G20 is her biggest project to date. Riggen handles the action scenes well, but nothing is energetic about them. They are competent, but the lackluster script makes it hard to elevate the rest of the material. Veteran Supergirl writer Caitlin Parrish wrote G20 alongside Erica Weiss, Logan Miller, and Noah Miller, who use cryptocurrency and deepfakes as massive technological concepts that immediately feel outdated as part of the core scheme in the film. The fact that the President’s daughter is a skilled enough hacker to combat the plans of a cabal of mercenaries is laughable. Still, so much about G20 is silly, stupid, and ridiculous, including a nonsensical twist in the final act.

G20 is not bad enough to warrant any attention towards its budget or how much it cost. Viola Davis is so much better than this material that it feels like a waste to have her presence be as forgettable as it is. G20 ultimately suffers from doing nothing distinct from the concept of a President going up against a bunch of bad guys, gun in hand. While we can say that the race and gender element is no longer in question when casting the leader of the free world, that does not give this movie a pass for being a boring waste of talent. More forgettable than bad, G20 is another in a long line of movies made for streaming that is not worth watching even if your subscription cost already includes it. This is a movie you can put on in the background and forget about for thirty minutes or more and not miss a beat when you resume paying attention.

G20 is now streaming on Prime Video.

G20

BELOW AVERAGE

5

The post G20 Review: Viola Davis has her guns out in Prime Video’s formulaic action movie appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: When his supervisors at the CIA refuse to take action after his wife is killed in a London terrorist attack, a decoder takes matters into his own hands.

REVIEW: I’m of the opinion that revenge is one of the best catalysts for a great action movie. John Wick, Kill Bill, or hell, even The Punisher are all stories of revenge that give a clear goal for both the protagonist and the audience. We want to see the bad guys get their comeuppance and the hero stand tall over them. Yet we’ve seen so many variations over the years that it can be tough to come up with a unique spin. But I’d say casting Academy Award Winner Rami Malek as your action lead is a good start in the unique department.

The Amateur follows CIA decoder, Heller (Malek), who loses his wife, Sarah (Rachel Brosnahan), in a terrorist attack in London. He wants nothing but revenge and for his wife’s killers to face justice. Unfortunately for him, the higher-ups in the CIA don’t agree with him, and he has to circumvent them in order to go on his revenge mission. There’s also an intriguing element of corruption, which may or may not have contributed to Sarah’s death. Was it random, or was Heller getting too close to something that he shouldn’t have? Heller uses his skills and translates them to the real world, proving he’s more capable than they ever realized.

Rami Malek is so easy to root for as Heller, and you can really feel his grief through the screen. The man just lives and breathes torment. They do a good job of not overwriting the character and making him “all knowing.” He’s just very prepared and thinks of situations from many angles. It never went too ludicrous. Same with the moments that he gets in on the action. It all feels very believable, with him even being bested by a woman. And it’s also easy to see where he’s coming from with his grief, as Rachel Brosnahan‘s Sarah is utterly captivating. She has little screen time, yet she makes the most of it. They have good chemistry, and it’s easy to see why Heller would be so lost without her.

Laurence Fishburne in any kind of mentor role just feels right, and his Henderson is just enough of a threat to make the cat-and-mouse pursuit fun. His respect for Heller makes him more interesting, as he feels like more than just a mindless assassin on his tale. Jon Bernthal shows up in a role that feels somewhat similar to Henderson, ironically named The Bear. But unlike Henderson, he’s not on the hunt for Heller, meaning he’s not very involved in the story. But his brief role brings a little bit of hope, as it shows that not everyone in the company is without morals. And it’s getting to the point where if Holt McCallany shows up, then I can assume he’s a bad guy.

One thing that will always bother me about this or any film is treating characters as fodder to move the story forward. It inadvertently makes Heller a bit of a bad guy, as his involvement is getting innocent people killed. I’d love to see them explore this more in a sequel, if we’re lucky enough to get one.

The action in The Amateur is handled really well, never betraying the idea that Heller isn’t some typical action star. He uses his brains and resourcefulness to get out of a situation, not brawn or physical superiority. Even the moments where it seems like they may be leaning in that direction, they instead bring back Heller’s “three steps ahead” approach. It makes for a very satisfying watch, even if one of the coolest deaths was spoiled in the trailers. They’re able to provide just enough mystery, but this still runs a track laid down by action films of the past.

I had an absolute blast with The Amateur, and I got a similar feeling as I did watching The Bourne Identity for the first time. The action genre has long needed someone who breaks from the standard mold, and Malek does just that. The “man behind the computer” is often a thankless role, so it’s satisfying to see someone in that position finally get more of a spotlight. The story is compelling and satisfying, and leaves room for more. I know I’m absolutely on board with this becoming a franchise. The Professional, anyone?

THE AMATEUR RELEASES TO THEATERS ON APRIL 11TH, 2025.

The Amateur

GREAT

8

The post The Amateur Review: The Next Jason Bourne? appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: The narrative unfolds in the 14th Century amidst the days of the Holy Roman Empire where Europe’s nations fiercely vie for supremacy and the ambitious Austrians, desiring more land, encroach upon Switzerland, a serene and pastoral nation.

REVIEW: It’s always interesting to hear about a different figure from the past that was otherwise unknown to most (or at least me). It feels like we often hear variations of the same stories. Historical epics are hard to do on a budget, but that doesn’t stop people from trying. William Tell is very impressive on a technical front, giving us a look at this Swiss figure. The production design is absolutely wonderful and it really feels like we’re in the 14th Century. But where it fails is in its story, which fails to muster much intrigue and moves at an undesirable pace.

William Tell is the story of the Swiss being invaded by Austrians, seeking out more land, and ultimately causing death and chaos. Despite their usually peaceful nature, the Swiss won’t stand by, and there are very machinations of revenge at play. The film takes the Napoleon route, avoiding specific accents for the most part and just going for an old-timey aesthetic. The dialogue rides the line of Shakespeare, but is a bit more accessible. It was nice though, as I’ve realized how much I hate modern dialogue in old-timey stories.

While Claes Bang‘s William Tell gets the title all to himself, this is really more of an ensemble. I’ve always liked Bang, and he does a good job, but Tell is a pretty one dimensional character. I wish we were able to see more of Tell’s time during the Crusades, as that section was fascinating and over all too quickly. I wouldn’t say Ben Kingsley is sleepwalking through his role but he’s really not putting much into it. His role as King Albert doesn’t feel as impactful as it should and his disinterest translates to a preoccupied King. It felt like he was on set for two days, maybe. And I love Emily Beecham I was a bit disappointed that she didn’t have more to do. Connor Swindells is the big standout here, playing a great villain that you can’t wait to see get his comeuppance.

Narratively, the film just doesn’t really come together. The opening scene is this tense moment where it’s clear someone is on trial and there’s a ton of emotion. We aren’t given much context in the moment, but when the scene comes back around, it feels so half-baked. If anything, it just felt like they needed an event to be able to have the opening scene. But the stakes are too low for it to matter. There’s also an intriguing storyline about the King’s niece being betrothed to a man she hates. But it doesn’t really go anywhere. Which feels accurate for many plot threads here. I really enjoyed the score from Steven Price at least. The orchestral backing with its pounding drums and flourishing strings is really quite something.

The action is scant, but when it happens, it’s pretty well done. The low budget just means they can’t afford to have it happen often or for extended periods. The final battle at the end is the one bit of extended action we get, but there are so many bad decisions made during this that it’s hard to enjoy. Characters are being killed when they could easily avoid it, or people are being left for dead versus giving us a punctuated ending to them. Rafe Spall in particular gets the worse of it, with a truly head scratching moment.

William Tell is a really well-made film that just doesn’t come together narratively. The pacing and some of the story beats feel like such massive missteps for what is otherwise so competent that it results in a bit of whiplash. Some emotional beats just don’t work at all, and it’s frustrating given how well done the technical side is. Oddly, the film is set up for a sequel, which I would love to see, as it looks to be a story of revenge. But it feels like a strange choice to tease a much more intriguing story than the one we were given.

WILLIAM TELL IS PLAYING IN THEATERS ON APRIL 4TH, 2025.

William Tell

AVERAGE

6

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PLOT: A teacher and writer named Iris (Naomi Watts) is dealing with the aftermath of the sudden loss of her longtime friend and mentor, Walter (Bill Murray). To make life more complicated, his widow tells Iris that Walter wanted Iris to care for his aging dog Apollo after he’s gone. Two factors make this difficult.  One….Iris isn’t a dog lover.  Two….Apollo is a 150 lb. Great Dane and Iris live in a small apartment in New York City that doesn’t allow animals to live there.  So, Iris is not only dealing with the drama and grief of her closest friend passing away but also faces the complications of taking care of the dog, trying to find him a home, and avoiding eviction. 

REVIEW: Normally, I love to watch movies for fun and escapism. But sometimes, I can enjoy a film for its relatability and empathize with everything that’s going on, which is why some aspects of this film hit close to home for me. As the former owner of a large-breed dog (whom I lost to cancer last fall) and living in a shoebox apartment myself, I could quickly identify with Iris’s struggles. Not to mention, many of us have been through a tragic grieving process.

What I really enjoyed about this film from Bleeker Street is that with all the big-name stars, The Friend has an indie feel.  Yes, it is, in fact, a drama, but it does have its comedic moments, especially the ones that involve the dog.  It has no complicated or super artsy shots, but every scene is impactful and edited relatively fast, so nothing feels like it’s dragging.  The directors (Scott McGehee and David Siegel) do a fantastic job focusing on the dog, as you can see and feel how Apollo is dealing with the loss of his master. 

Naomi Watts carries the film, and shockingly enough. However, he doesn’t have much screen time; Bill Murray pulls off a tragic and dramatic role, which is something I’m not really used to, given that most of us grew up with all his fantastic and timeless comedy films.  I think Murray’s lack of screen time was beneficial because it’s much more impactful when he’s shown on screen (primarily in flashbacks). Also, the supporting cast is great too.  This is especially true of Sarah Pidgeon, who plays Walter’s only daughter, Val, and really puts in a standout performance.

If there are any gripes I have with this movie, you could argue that some of the characters, like his daughter Val and his widow Barbara, don’t seem as broken up over the loss of Walter as you would think.  And I think the film could have given Walter’s death a little more context because it does leave you with questions.  But other than that, I loved everything else.  The Friend’s climax and final scene with Naomi Watts and Bill Murray is unforgettable. I’d say this movie is worth multiple viewings, and anyone who has ever owned a dog needs to see this film.

The Friend

AMAZING

9

The post The Friend Review: A gem that will make you laugh (and maybe make you cry) appeared first on JoBlo.