Tag: Danny Huston

The Naked Gun (2025) | REVIEW

Liam Neeson in THE NAKED GUN — PHOTO: Paramount Pictures (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Akiva Schaffer — Screenplay by Dan Gregor, Doug Mand, and Akiva Schaffer.

One of the best pieces of marketing for a film that I’ve seen this year is an ad for The Naked Gun that features Liam Neeson prominently asking viewers to go back to theaters to watch comedy films. At the end of the ad, we hear Liam Neeson do a classic Leslie Nielsen-style fart-machine joke. It is a delightfully silly note to end on, but the message at the heart of the ad rings true. Comedy films have largely been relegated to being streaming fodder. If you want to watch a new comedy film, you’re more likely to find one on Netflix or on Amazon Prime Video than in the movie theaters. For example, Happy Gilmore 2 recently premiered on Netflix, just like the John Cena and Idris Elba vehicle Heads of State premiered on Prime Video. Unfortunately, major comedy stars have flocked to the streaming services and left movie theaters without successful comedies for quite some time. To reignite the spark that would keep comedy movies thriving on the big screen, we now have a reboot or legacy sequel of The Naked Gun, the Leslie Nielsen vehicle from the 80s and 90s, filled with spoof film humor, some of which has become quite iconic. For the legacy sequel, the studio turned to the Lonely Island member Akiva Schaffer, director of Popstar: Never Stop, Never Stopping, as well as producer Seth MacFarlane, with the hopes of finally releasing a good spoof comedy film in the theaters again. Thankfully, with screen legends leading the picture, the reboot of The Naked Gun is a success. It is, undoubtedly, one of the funniest films I’ve seen this year, and I hope it’s the beginning of a new trend where comedy films can once again thrive in theaters.

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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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REVIEW: IO (2019)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of IO — Directed by Jonathan Helpert.

Netflix is starting to build itself a — let’s call it — ‘fascinating’ library of original films. The service is filled to the brim with poor-to-average comedies, many of which feature Adam Sandler and his friends, and yet Netflix has started to make a name for itself as a place where unconventional or unmarketable films from great, noteworthy filmmakers are given a global reach.

But, in between these two piles of films of varying success, a film like IO exists. IO has a small but recognizable cast, the film is made by an up-and-coming filmmaker, and it struggles with themes present in films that sci-fi aficionados adore. Continue reading “REVIEW: IO (2019)” →

REVIEW: Wonder Woman (2017)

Release Poster – Warner Bros. Pictures

The following is a review of Wonder Woman – Directed by Patty Jenkins.

Although there are a lot of female heroes to read about in comic books, few of them have been given a chance on the big screen. In fairness, Hollywood has tried to make female superhero films work before, but when those attempts didn’t work out well, they weren’t really interested in pursuing other similar projects.

Jeannot Szwarc’s Supergirl was critically panned, as was both Pitof’s Catwoman and Rob Bowman’s Elektra. Now, in 2017, we are finally getting a good film about a true feminist icon. Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman is here, and while it isn’t perfect, it is a strong origin story for an important comic book character. Continue reading “REVIEW: Wonder Woman (2017)” →