Joker: Folie à Deux (2024) | REVIEW

Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix in Joker: Folie à Deux — PHOTO: Warner Bros. Pictures (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Todd Phillips — Screenplay by Scott Silver & Todd Phillips.

Only a select few films in recent years have had as much controversy surrounding their release, and yet still been celebrated by the industry, as Todd Phillips’ Joker, which was a massive box office success and earned its star, Joaquin Phoenix, an Oscar for his fully committed performance as the iconic DC Comics clown. When, however, Todd Phillips’ Joker: Folie à Deux, the long-awaited sequel, was released last week, it was without that same controversy, without that same concern, and without that same celebration in the industry, with critics, or audiences. Box office-wise, it landed with a thud, and fans of the original film have almost uniformly rejected the sequel. So, what gives? Well, let’s just say, it sometimes feels like Todd Phillips’ sequel is bending over backwards to distance itself from the people who championed the first film. Despite including some DC Comics references, it almost couldn’t be farther from fan service. It makes for a strange endeavor, but a very interesting film.

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You Can’t Run Forever (2024) | REVIEW

J.K. Simmons in YOU CAN’T RUN FOREVER — PHOTO: Lionsgate (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Michelle Schumacher — Screenplay by Carolyn Carpenter & Michelle Schumacher.

Michelle Schumacher’s You Can’t Run Forever is a film about a mysterious and sociopathic biker (played by J.K. Simmons) on a murderous rampage, who decides to take his frustrations out on a random family who he meets on the road. When the family’s teenage daughter runs into the woods in an attempt to escape him, the sociopath leaves his bike and hunts her through the woodland wilderness.

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Wolfs (2024) | REVIEW

Brad Pitt and George Clooney in “Wolfs,” now playing in select theaters and streaming on Apple TV+.

Directed by Jon Watts — Screenplay by Jon Watts.

A couple of years back, a crime comedy with George Clooney and Brad Pitt as co-leads would’ve been all the rage. Now such a film is given a limited theatrical release before being chucked onto a streaming platform without much fanfare. It is a shame, really. As if Pitt and Clooney’s names weren’t enough, the attached director is none other than Jon Watts. Though not a household name, Watts spearheaded the production of the extremely profitable and popular Tom Holland Spider-Man movie trilogy as its director. His first attempt at a film outside of the Mouse House since Cop Car, Wolfs is designed to be more than merely an Ocean’s reunion between ‘Brad’ and ‘George,’ but is the reunion worth getting excited about? Your mileage may vary, but I eventually warmed to what the film was throwing at me, despite the film feeling relatively unremarkable.

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Inside Out 2 (2024) | REVIEW

Embarrassment (voiced by Paul Walter Hauser), Anxiety (voiced by Maya Hawke), Envy (voiced by Ayo Edebiri), and Ennui (voiced by Adèle Exarchopoulos) in Inside Out 2 — PHOTO: Disney.

Directed by Kelsey Mann — Screenplay by Meg LeFauve and Dave Holstein.

Following a string of films that were either dumped onto Disney+ or that disappointed critics and/or audiences, I think it is fair to say that, earlier this year, Pixar got its groove back. With the long-awaited release of Inside Out 2, Pixar had one of its golden internal properties back out in theaters, and it certainly felt like they had something here as it did well with critics, as well as found the type of audience that propelled it to breaking records. Eventually, Inside Out 2 became the biggest animated film ever made based on its box office numbers. But, as a major fan of the original film, which I declared a masterpiece when it was released, I was curious if the long-awaited sequel was actually as good as its reputation suggested. Well, I’ve now finally seen the emotionally-driven sequel. While I don’t think it is as novel of a film as the first one, or a masterpiece for that matter, I definitely think the sequel is a worthy follow-up to Pixar’s emotionally rich sensation.

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The Contestant (2024 – Documentary) | REVIEW

Title card for THE CONTESTANT — PHOTO: Hulu / Disney (Still image from trailers).

Clair Titley’s The Contestant tells the astonishing and disturbing true story about how one man, known as Nasubi (whose real name is Tomoaki Hamatsu), was fooled into appearing on a Japanese reality television show in which he was asked to live entirely on magazine competition prizes inside of a tiny apartment after having been stripped of his clothes. He had signed no contract, didn’t know the footage was being shown to the public weekly (or that he was eventually live-streamed), and he didn’t know when (or if) it would ever end. It’s a true story that you have to see to believe as it is equal parts Peter Weir’s The Truman Show and Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy, and the doc also prominently features the infamous television producer, Toshio Tsuchiya, who essentially was a devilish or sadistic taskmaster to Nasubi. As the film laid out the story, I was again and again shocked by what happened to Nasubi and horrified by how people reacted to it. It was essentially a social experiment writ large. 

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Speak No Evil (2024) | REVIEW

James McAvoy and Aisling Franciosi in James Watkins’ SPEAK NO EVIL — PHOTO: Universal Pictures (Still image from trailers).

Directed by James Watkins — Screenplay by James Watkins.

James Watkins’ Speak No Evil is an American remake of Christian Tafdrup’s Danish culture clash horror-thriller of the same name. The remake stars Mackenzie Davis and Scoot McNairy as Louise and Ben, an American married couple, who are, at the start of the film, on vacation in Italy alongside their young daughter Agnes (played by Alix West Lefler). On holiday, the family trio meet and befriend a particularly self-assertive British couple, Paddy (played by James McAvoy) and Ciara (played by Aisling Franciosi), who are also on holiday with their youngest, their son Ant (played by Dan Hough). When the Americans return home from their holiday to their normal lives, the couple receives an invitation from their new vacation friends, who want them to come stay with them in the British countryside. So, Louise, Ben, and Agnes soon decide to visit and stay at Paddy and Ciara’s home. However, not everything they thought they knew about the British couple is exactly how it was first presented to them, and soon they start to question if they’re actually people that they can trust or if they’ve put themselves in danger. 

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Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) | REVIEW

Michael Keaton as the titular character in Tim Burton’s BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE — PHOTO: Warner Bros. Pictures (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Tim Burton — Screenplay by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar — Story by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, and Seth Grahame-Smith

It has been thirty-six years since Tim Burton — from writing by Michael McDowell, Warren Skaaren, and Larry Wilson — wowed audiences with his dark horror-comedy film about the afterlife, Beetlejuice. A lot has happened since then, for instance, Michael Keaton — the actor portraying the film’s zany titular character — became a household name and Batman (and Birdman!) himself, and Burton’s career rose and fell as he navigated the studio system with varying success. Despite having struggled critically over more than the last decade, Tim Burton remains an auteur with a distinct style and, as luck would have it, a new generation has embraced it following his Netflix hit Wednesday starring Jenna Ortega. This welcomed career resurgence has now led to the long-awaited sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which welcomes back most (but not all) of the principal original cast. And, although the film isn’t quite as good or instantly iconic as the original film, Burton’s long-anticipated sequel has the right energy and sense of style to make it a thoroughly good time, despite how messy it sometimes feels.

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Rebel Ridge (2024) | REVIEW

Aaron Pierre in Jeremy Saulnier’s Rebel Ridge — PHOTO: Netflix (Still image from trailer).

Directed by Jeremy Saulnier — Screenplay by Jeremy Saulnier.

Over the course of more than a decade, Rebel Ridge writer-editor-director Jeremy Saulnier (who, even, sometimes serves as cinematographer on some of his other projects) has made a name for himself as a promising filmmaker beloved by many cinephiles for his gripping thrillers such as Green Room and Blue Ruin, both of which I am a huge fan of. In 2018, Netflix released his cold Alaska-set thriller Hold the Dark to mixed-to-positive reviews, but the film did not become the critical darling that his aforementioned color-coded thrillers, so to speak, are. With Rebel Ridge, Saulnier has given it another go with a Netflix release. Rebel Ridge, frankly, feels like a return to form. It is a sharp and intense thriller that hits the sweet spot, just like Saulnier’s best films have done in the past.

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Mothers’ Instinct (2024) | REVIEW

Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain in Benoît Delhomme’s Mothers’ Instinct — PHOTO: Neon (Still image from trailer).

Directed by Benoît Delhomme — Screenplay by Sarah Conradt.

Based on the novel Derrière la haine from author Barbara Abel (and a remake of the 2018 Olivier Masset-Depasse adaptation), Benoît Delhomme’s Mothers’ Instinct tells the story of two 1960s American housewives and mothers, Celine (played by Anne Hathaway) and Alice (played by Jessica Chastain). After Celine’s son tragically died and Alice was too late to stop it from happening, Celine and Alice become distant, and, following Celine’s stay away from the suburbs that she called her home, Alice notices a change in her neighbor, who starts to become close with Alice’s son. As strange things start to happen, Alice begins to suspect that her grieving neighbor has cruel intentions.

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The Crow (2024) | REVIEW

Bill Skarsgård as Eric in Rupert Sanders’ THE CROW — PHOTO: LIONSGATE (Still image from trailer).

Directed by Rupert Sanders (Ghost in the Shell) — Screenplay by Zach Baylin (King Richard) and William Schneider.

It has been a long time coming, but, now, 30 years after the release of 1994’s The Crow — the original Alex Proyas’ film adaptation of James O’Barr’s iconic comic book series of the same name — a new film bears its title. The original film has a tragic reputation, as its star Brandon Lee was shot and fatally wounded by a prop gun while shooting the film. The original film went on to achieve cult status, Lee’s portrayal is similarly iconic, but, despite attempts to continue the franchise, it never really again got off on the right foot as it was followed by multiple critically derided sequels and a canceled series. The failed productions of potential future films would be infamous and often referred to as ‘cursed’ as directors, actors, and studios always failed to get a reboot off the ground despite actors like Mark Wahlberg, Bradley Cooper, Ryan Gosling, Jason Momoa, and Alexander Skarsgård having been attached or rumored for the principal lead role over the years. Despite the infamous development hell, a reboot or reimagining of The Crow is finally here from Ghost in the Shell (2017) director Rupert Sanders and it stars, how about that, Alexander’s brother Bill Skarsgård, of It-fame. Unfortunately, this new attempt at telling this story of vengeance and lost love isn’t, ultimately, very good, as the latest production only really kicks into high gear late in the film.

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