Review: Without fail, one of the most requested sequels in Hollywood is a follow-up to Doug Liman’s 2014 alien invasion epic Edge of Tomorrow. The film, starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt, centers on a man fighting in a war against aliens who must relive the same day every time he dies until he can find a way to stop the enemy’s power source and break the cycle. Liman’s live-action version of the original story by Japanese author Hiroshi Sakurazaka is at times an intense roller coaster ride of bullets, mystery, and dystopian mayhem, but as good as it is, the anime I just watched, directed by Ken’ichirô Akimoto and Yukinori Nakamura, is an even better adaptation of Sakurazaka’s brilliant and emotionally raw story.

Akimoto and Nakamura’s All You Need Is Kill, based on a screenplay by Yûichirô Kido and Hiroshi Sakurazaka, takes an alternate approach to Liman’s version by focusing on Rita, a young woman trapped in a time loop after an unidentified and massive plant from outer space known as “Darol” unleashes monstrous creatures that decimate the population. Following a mysterious surge of energy from “Darol,” Rita becomes trapped in a time loop, forcing her to relive the catastrophic events of the day when all of her friends and fellow soldiers die. As time passes, Rita utilizes her memories and experiences to refine her skills, transforming her into a formidable warrior.

The loop traps Rita in a Groundhog Day-like cycle of solitude and destruction as she faces her formidable foes in a seemingly endless cycle of demoralizing defeat. The repetitive presentation of the story hammers home the loneliness and futility of Rita’s self-appointed mission. Her body and mind are exhausted, yet she’s steadily becoming an unstoppable killing machine with each trip into the fray. Akimoto and Nakamura’s film digs deep into the emotional stress of Rita’s rattled brain and body. Every time she dies, it feels like another dagger to the soul. Some people say pain begins to lessen with repetition. I did not find that to be the case with All You Need Is Kill. Every time I heard Rita’s bones snap or blood spill from her broken body, I felt an intense sensation of frustration and defeat.

At some point, it feels like Rita is about to give up, just let everyone die a horrible death. What’s the point? Nothing she does changes anything. She’s faster, wiser, and learning, but it’s never enough. That is, until she meets Keiji, a young co-worker from her base who’s caught in the same loop, secretly admiring Rita from afar. Once Keiji is exposed, he and Rita share information and partner in the effort to defeat “Darol” and save the world. Finally, Rita isn’t alone anymore, giving her a restored sense of purpose and duty.

Together, Rita and Keiji form an unlikely bond that helps change the tide of their war against “Darol.” Their chemistry is nothing short of endearing, earned, and beautifully executed with heart and sincerity. Their relationship is the kind that adds depth to an already impressive display of artistry and emotion. That’s another thing about All You Need Is Kill: it’s drop-dead gorgeous. Studio 4°C goes above and beyond to put meticulous care into every frame of the film, making it a visual spectacle that spans the color spectrum and introduces mind-boggling topography. You can see and feel the influence of the studio’s past films, such as Tekkonkinkreet, Children of the Sea, and The Animatrix, in All You Need Is Kill, particularly in the characters’ angular features and fun-house mirror-like movements.

All You Need Is Kill also boasts a killer soundtrack. In fact, the rich soundscapes were among the first things I took note of aside from the stunning visuals. The movie features a theme song by AKASAKI, but the specific composers for the background score are not detailed online. Still, the score features atmospheric glitch pop, ambient loops of meditative melodies, and rousing overtures that amplify the action when it kicks into overdrive, amounting to one of the better soundtracks I’ve heard in an anime film in recent memory.

While fans of Liman’s Edge of Tomorrow impatiently wait for word about a sequel to his 2014 version of Hiroshi Sakurazaka’s time travel epic, they could seek out All You Need Is Kill, an astonishingly breathtaking mix of hand-drawn and CGI animation that explodes in your eye sockets and tugs at your heartstrings as Rita and Keiji try time and again to discover a way to vanquish “Darol” and prevent the world from being overtaken by a hostile alien entity with no remorse.

All You Need Is Kill

GREAT

8

The post All You Need Is Kill Review: The Edge of Tomorrow anime is a visually-stunning and emotionally raw dystopian epic appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: A group of teenagers in a remote location must barricade themselves in a pool to escape their rabies-infested pet chimp. No, seriously.

REVIEW: It was hard to know what to expect walking into Paramount Pictures’ Primate at Fantastic Fest, where it premiered a few months ago. All that was known at that point was it was a horror movie scheduled to release in January about a killer chimp directed by Johannes Roberts. When the Strangers: Prey at Night director introduced the film to the audience, he promised a real treat for Stephen King fans. He talked about being inspired by Cujo and Christine and how proud he was of the film and joked that he hoped this would make people forgive him for Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City. As silly as the premise may sound, it was clear that everyone involved believed in this film. And it turns out they have every right to do just that.

Primate turned out to be an unapologetic blood bath of fun. The opening scene perfectly sets the tone and lets you know that this movie is going to have you laughing out loud while simultaneously squirming in your seat. For starters, the rabies-infested chimp Ben is amazing. It’s hard to discern exactly how they brought the adorable yet insane animal to life, but Roberts mentioned that they employed a variety of special effects techniques, including animatronics. All I know for sure is that it wasn’t done using very much CGI, if any at all, which brings you back to a better time of ’90s horror and action movies where maybe things didn’t always look perfect, but by God, they were far more entertaining. We also get more of this cute chimp turned sadistic little a-hole on screen than we ever could have imagined. He’s doing it all, from slow-stalking Michael Myers-esque suspense sequences to celebrating his kills in front of the crying friends of his victims. Therein lies the genius of Primate.

It’s an easy movie to snub your nose at if you are inclined to do so. Though our lead actors Troy Kotsur and Johnny Sequoyah are earnestly great, there’s a handful of dumb choices by our teens in peril. There are also some hilariously unbelievable moments involving what Ben is capable of doing. But the kicker is that everyone creating this madness is clearly in on the joke in a very meta way. You know this is the case when one character yells something completely stupid during an intense moment and the entire crowd bursts out in laughter together. It’s Neve Campbell talking about the big-breasted girl running upstairs when she should run out the front door. You’ll be feeling that way while you watch four human beings with at least almost fully grown brains unable to outsmart a rabies-crazed chimp hunting them down poolside. I don’t know what it is with Johannes Roberts and pool horror, but the man does his best work surrounded by floats and the smell of chlorine.

The music in Primate is sure to be a crowd-pleaser. Steve Parr, who worked with Roberts on Prey at Night, returns and leaves his mark yet again. During a chase sequence or moment of over-the-top carnage, John Carpenter-esque synth music raises the stakes and the fun. On the flip side, when something especially messed up and dark happens on the screen, the notes turn darker and invasive in a way that reminded me of Marco Beltrami’s Sidney’s Lament from Scream. Which is the perfect dichotomy of Primate.

Yeah, this is a killer chimp movie with some dumb laughs, Terrifier 2-level kills (it doesn’t go quite THAT far, but it’s in the neighborhood), and is a lot better than should be expected for a dump month such as January. But Primate seems to know all that, embrace it, and deliver an insanely entertaining horror movie. 

Fantastic Fest

GREAT

8

The post Primate Review: Johannes Roberts’ Killer Chimp Movie Is a Blood Bath of Fun appeared first on JoBlo.

Review: Bradley Cooper’s trio of directorial efforts explores the complexities of relationships and what defines them. A Star Is Born and Maestro both explored the impact of musical talents on the relationships between the gifted individuals and those they loved. With Is This Thing On?, Cooper once again uses a performing art to catalyze growth and change in the main character, this time played by co-writer Will Arnett, and yet still examines a relationship in flux. Is This Thing On? is Bradley Cooper’s smallest project to date, but it is still a wonderfully acted glimpse into a marriage in the midst of collapse and how the people at its center rediscover who they are and whether they are truly meant to be together. Boasting impressive performances from Arnett and Laura Dern, Is This Thing On? has some bursts of vision from Bradley Cooper, but it is not quite as strong as his previous films.

Is This Thing On? opens with Alex Novak (Will Arnett) and Tess (Laura Dern) having decided to separate and are trying to figure out how to tell their kids. The couple is amicable despite their decision to split and still attend a couple’s party thrown by best friends Balls (Bradley Cooper) and his wife Christine (Andra Day), along with Stephen (Sean Hayes) and Geoffrey (Scott Icenogle). Alex has gotten an apartment in New York, and after seeing Tess on the train to the suburbs, he wanders around looking for a bar. When he finds one that will let him drink for free if he signs up to do some stand-up comedy, Alex gives the microphone a try and discovers he may have potential. Returning to the club again and again, Alex can exorcise some of his emotional demons in the form of humor. At the same time, Tess is dealing with her emotions by considering a position as a volleyball coach after retiring as a professional player. Both Alex and Tess use their newfound independence to try to find themselves, and it surprisingly leads back to each other. Well, sort of.

Will Arnett and Laura Dern are excellent in their respective roles as Is This Thing On? tackles similar territory to Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story, for which Dern won an Academy Award. Like that film,Is This Thing On? presents some challenging moments to watch, but the chemistry between Arnett and Dern anchors them. Will Arnett’s background in comedy helps him portray Alex’s developing talent as a stand-up feel more realistic as he tries to figure out how to use his life experiences and turn them into entertainment. Bradley Cooper spends the majority of the film framing scenes in an unassuming manner, but whenever Alex is on stage, the camera is uncomfortably close to Will Arnett. Not giving any space, Cooper forces us to become intimate with the discomfort and emotions in the moment. It works really well and gives the scenes a distinctiveness compared to other films about comedians. But,Is This Thing On? is not about being or becoming a comedian. The stand-up segments also work because they feature comedians like Chloe Radcliffe, Jordan Jensen, James Tom, and Amy Sedaris, among others, who add to the realism of Alex’s introduction to open-mic nights and the New York comedy scene.

On the other side of the relationship, Laura Dern is excellent as Tess. Much of the film focuses on Alex and his journey, but Tess’s experiences during the separation are key to the dynamic. While both Alex and Tess explore intimacy, a connection between them remains that is not easily broken. Dern portrays the polar opposite of her Marriage Story character here, with Tess still being hopeful about the future and not entirely convinced she is done with her relationship. However, much of Tess’s story relies on interactions with supporting characters in the cast, which also includes a close bond with Alex’s parents, played by Christine Ebersole and Ciarán Hinds. There are no inherently bad people in this movie, which is a refreshing aspect. Without a villain to demonize, we are left with realistic, three-dimensional characters who are trying to make the best of a difficult situation. The story takes an unexpected turn in the middle that could have ended badly, but ultimately leads the film in a direction that somewhat undermines its presentation and ties things up a little too neatly.

Will Arnett developed the story for Is This Thing On? with Mark Chappell and John Bishop. Bradley Cooper came in to write the screenplay alongside Arnett and Chappell. As with his previous directorial efforts, Cooper took on a significant amount of responsibility and served as the B-camera operator on this film. Bradley Cooper, aside from the stand-up sequences, takes a much less structured approach to this film, allowing Is This Thing On? to be driven by the characters and their performances. There is a feeling of intimacy in all of Cooper’s films, but he allows this movie to feel unadorned and less structured, which at times plays against the film itself. This is a movie driven by the performances of the actors, and Will Arnett is impressive in a dramatic turn. At the same time, Laura Dern embodies some humor and vulnerability that we have come to expect from her. However, the film itself feels like it is lacking something. Most of the supporting players, outside of Bradley Cooper’s hilariously named Balls, are set decorations and do not add much to the story. Ciaran Hinds and Andra Day each get a scene to shine in, but because the weight falls on Arnett and Dern to carry the film, it falls a bit short of hitting as hard as it could.

While it could have turned into a feel-bad movie, Is This Thing On? remains a sweet and uplifting film about a subject that you wouldn’t expect to leave you in a good mood. I have come to expect a little more depth and substance from Bradley Cooper as a director, but he does a nice job with this lighter project. It is not on par with either A Star is Born or Maestro, but Is This Thing On? does deliver on a showcase for Will Arnett and Laura Dern, whose chemistry helps make this movie work. I would have liked a little more tension and a less cloying ending, but I still enjoyed joining these characters on their journey—a nice movie with some solid moments that will leave you feeling better than you may have expected.

Is This Thing On? opens in theaters on December 19th.

Is This Thing On?

GOOD

7

The post Is This Thing On? Review: Will Arnett and Laura Dern are solid in this marriage dramedy appeared first on JoBlo.

REVIEW: It’s tough to make an original zombie flick (although hopefully that will soon change). Ever since 28 Days Later reinvigorated the genre back in 2003, we’ve been inundated with movie after movie, not to mention hundreds of episodes of The Walking Dead (and its spin-offs) and others. Into the fray comes the Australian We Bury the Dead, which is an attempt to make an elevated, realistic exploration of the genre. In this one, the undead are never referred to as “zombies” and are unlike any we’ve seen on film before. These undead victims aren’t particularly vicious, nor do they have a hunger for human flesh. They also can’t infect survivors. Instead, when they’re back “online” (which is how the film describes them), they’re relatively passive and sometimes have tiny remnants of who they used to be baked into them. 

Daisy Ridley plays Ava, an American woman whose husband, Mitch (Matt Whelan) was away on a company retreat in Tasmania when an American chemical weapons test went awry and killed millions. She volunteers to be part of a body retrieval unit so that she can have some measure of closure, but soon, she convinces another volunteer, Clay (Brenton Thwaites), to take her to a quarantined area so she can try to find the body of her husband. 

Much of the movie is a road odyssey through the infected parts of Australia. There’s very little in the way of horror, with it more focused on the human aspect. Ridley’s Ava is riddled with guilt over how, in the days before her beloved husband went on his fateful trip, their relationship had begun to curdle for some reason. She’s hoping that if she finds him, and he’s back “online,” she can help him have a more dignified end than what she’s seen, with the military simply shooting anyone who happens to come back. 

Ridley does a great job of evoking the character’s profound grief over both her husband’s death and her need to find out what happened to him. Brenton Thwaites steals scenes as Clay, the party-boy Australian who spends his nights hooking up with other volunteers and doing drugs to deal with the trauma of what they see day by day. 

As a drama, We Bury the Dead works well, with the Australian countryside beautifully photographed and the movie sporting an effective soundtrack by electronic musician Clay. Yet, the film goes awry at times, with writer-director Zak Hilditch unable to avoid falling prey to some cliches of the genre. One of the worst offenders is a lengthy aside featuring an intense soldier, Mark Coles Smith’s Riley, who seems wound too tight to be sane and is soon revealed to be a total psychopath. It’s such a familiar trope of the genre that when it hits, not only is it utterly predictable, but it’s also disappointing, as it makes the movie, for a good chunk of its running time, nothing you haven’t seen before.

As such, We Bury the Dead, for all its ambitions, can’t help but occasionally feel like a retread. With so much zombie content out there, it’s very difficult to add anything new to the genre. Inevitably, this movie doesn’t manage to overcome the familiarity of the genre, but even still, it is mostly entertaining for much of its running time thanks to the ace technical packaging, and good performances from Ridley and Thwaites. It’s solid but unspectacular. 

sxsw 2025

AVERAGE

6

The post We Bury the Dead Review: A grim, “elevated” zombie flick appeared first on JoBlo.

Review: One of the most acclaimed films coming out of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, The Secret Agent shot onto mainstream radar when it garnered Golden Globe nominations for Best International Film as well as Best Picture of the Year. A drama set during the tumultuous dictatorship that controlled Brazil from 1964 through 1985, The Secret Agent is a sprawling drama from director Kleber Mendonça Filho that draws inspiration from the films of Brian De Palma, John Boorman, and Steven Spielberg. Featuring hallmarks of the noir drama and grindhouse thrillers, The Secret Agent boasts another fantastic lead performance from Wagner Moura, which proves he is one of the most underutilized actors working today. Clocking in at two and a half hours, The Secret Agent is a substantial movie that may not appeal to everyone, but is absolutely worth investing time in.

While most of us in the Northern Hemisphere are familiar with the major cities of Brazil, such as Rio de Janeiro and São Paolo, The Secret Agent is set in Recife on the Northeastern coast of the country. The film opens with Armando (Wagner Moura), a professor hiding from a corrupt official named Ghirotti (Luciano Chirolli). Armando is returning to Recife to reunite with his son, Fernando, who is staying with Armando’s in-laws. As we follow Armando, we learn that there are assassins hired to kill him, as he also attempts to learn more about the identity of his mother. This all occurs as we meet refugees hiding from the dictatorial regime and duplicitous authorities around the country. The film also shifts back to how Armando crossed Ghirotti, as well as moving from 1977 to the present day, with Moura also portraying Armando’s adult son, Fernando.

The Secret Agent is a deliberately paced thriller that builds tension through the mounting threat of violence in Recife. In the peak summer heat, the town is dealing with a tiger shark attack that echoes the release of Jaws during the same season. Movies play a thematic role in The Secret Agent, with another sequence set during a screening of Richard Donner’s The Omen. The visual style of The Secret Agent echoes the films of Spielberg and others, featuring retro screen wipes and dissolves, as well as multiple musical cues of classic songs, accompanied by a horn-heavy score from Tomas Alves Souza and Mateus Alves. You can almost feel the heat of South America coming through the screen as the story unfolds, giving us a glimpse of Armando hiding from his pursuers while also trying to learn about his past. The movie spends a considerable amount of time on dialogue-heavy sequences until an intense pursuit scene in the final half hour ramps up the intensity.

Wagner Moura is the most recognizable actor to most audiences outside of Brazil. The Secret Agent marks the actor’s first Portuguese-language role in almost a decade, and he offers an incredible performance. Playing Armando in hiding as Marcelo, as well as himself in flashbacks, Moura lends his character quiet dignity as he pursues justice. This is a character whose journey is fraught with the risk of death, providing us with a glimpse into the ever-present danger posed by Brazil’s government at the time. There is a lot of hope in the eyes of the actors playing the various refugees whom Armando befriends. However, at the center of this film is Armando’s attempt to reunite with his son and move on with his life, as well as a look at those pursuing him. Bobbi (Gabriel Leone) and Augusto (Roney Villela) are the hitmen following Armando, and they connect with Recife’s corrupt sheriff, Euclides (Roberio Diogenes), who shows us how the power structure controls those without any. In his final film role, the late Udo Kier has a small scene portraying a Holocaust survivor, which serves as a touching tribute to the actor’s long career and a poignant glimpse into the country in 1977.

Written and directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho, The Secret Agent is the director’s fourth and most ambitious film. Treading similar territory to last year’s acclaimed I’m Still Here, also set during the same dictatorial regime, Filho pulls together multiple homages to films that have inspired him. Using a 1970s aesthetic and a non-linear story structure, The Secret Agent features a visual palette that is messy and unrefined, yet still vibrant, whether in a dingy office building, a remote gas station, or a conference room full of cigarette smoke. At 158 minutes, The Secret Agent is a long film that takes its time developing the world of 1977 Brazil. Long, lingering shots and abrupt cuts give the film a feel that it could have been produced in the era in which it is set. Cinephiles will appreciate the meaty homages to classic filmmakers, while general audiences may find themselves a bit distracted. The Secret Agent is definitely not a casual film experience.

Wagner Moura’s gripping performance is more than enough reason to watch The Secret Agent. However, the film boasts a wealth of masterful direction that more than earns director Kleber Mendonça Filho the acclaim he has been receiving. This is a movie about a specific period in Brazilian history that comes alive on screen in pulsating heat, further defined by Moura’s multi-layered approach to his roles. While it could have shaved about thirty minutes off its running time and still been very effective, The Secret Agent remains an impressive and engaging film about a complex era told in a complex manner. At times abrupt and uneven, The Secret Agent echoes the best political thriller films of the 1970s while doing so through the lens of modern movie-making.

The Secret Agent is now playing in theaters.

The Secret Agent

GREAT

8

The post The Secret Agent Review: Wagner Moura is compelling in this neo-noir political drama from Brazil appeared first on JoBlo.

Review: Being a kid can be tough, regardless of gender or nationality. Of all the ages that seem to have the most difficulty, middle schoolers are the most difficult. Caught between elementary and high school with roiling hormones and burgeoning independence, tweens exist at a crossroads in life that has become exponentially more difficult in the age of social media. But, even before cell phones and online access, pre-teens suffered at the hands of rumors and bullying. Charlie Polinger’s directorial debut, The Plague, presents a horrifying portrait of the stress and trauma that transforms a particular kid in just a matter of days. It is one of the most affecting films I have seen in years, and it also serves as a beautifully filmed introduction to a filmmaker worth watching in the future. The Plague is not a traditional horror movie, but it is one of the scariest films of the year.

Set in 2003, before mobile devices transformed the way kids communicate, The Plague is set at an all-boys water polo camp. Ben (Everett Blunck) is a nervous and awkward twelve-year-old arriving at the camp after moving from Boston with his recently divorced mother. When Ben arrives, the kids have already separated into cliques. Ben immediately gravitates towards Jake (Kayo Martin), who is the de facto leader of the popular kids and a veteran of the previous camp session. Right away, Ben is branded with a mocking nickname, but he overlooks the teasing to try to stay with the group. That is when he notices the kids, led by Jake, ostracizing another camper named Eli (Kenny Rasmussen). The boys dramatically pull away from Eli and leave his vicinity when he tries to sit with them. When Ben asks why they do this, Jake tells him that Eli has “the plague”. Jake tells a story from the prior session that Eli contracted it from another camper to account for the rash visible all over Eli’s body. While doubting that it really is an infectious disease, Ben is nonetheless cautious around Eli.

The rumor of Eli’s plague status is no different from many of us who have either been victims or perpetrators of spreading it when we were twelve and thirteen. Seeing it realized in a film like this makes it all the more challenging to justify our participation in bullying or being bullied when we were younger. Charlie Polinger never outright says it, but he indicates that Eli may be autistic, as evidenced by his hyperfocus on specific subjects, social awkwardness, and a general sense of being different, something Jake homes in on and uses to excuse his own inner challenges. Caught in the middle, Ben struggles with whether he wants to be accepted by the group badly enough or get to know Eli better. Every decision that Ben makes is met with an immediate response that begins to wear his own psychological well-being down and has him questioning whether he may have the plague as well. It is a scary journey to see how brutal Jake and his cabal can be to Ben and Eli, as well as how much both boys are willing to take for the sake of not rocking the boat.

There is only one adult in the cast of The Plague. Joel Edgerton, who produced the film, plays water polo coach Daddy Wags, who tries to forge a bond with Ben. Edgerton plays his character as an understanding figure who went through a similar experience when he was a child, but fails to see just how bad things are getting when the raging hormones of these boys are amplified after bunking together day after day and night after night. While Edgerton brings some name recognition to the film, The Plague is carried by the young cast led by Everett Blunck, Kayo Martin, and Kenny Rasmussen. Kayo Martin makes for a convincing villain in the normalcy of his portrayal as Jake. We all went to school with a kid like Jake, and Martin conveys an eerily subtle menace. Kenny Rasmussen evokes the weirdness of Eli without making him a caricature, while Everett Blunck is excellent as almost every scene hinges on his performance. Blunck makes you feel bad for Ben through his nightmarish experience at the camp, but always with a realistic sense that this could have been a documentary with how natural his performance is.

Joel Edgerton initially wanted to direct The Plague, but writer Charlie Polinger insisted he wanted to make his debut. There is a dread running through The Plague that is balanced with a beauty, thanks to the 35mm film. Setting the story at a summer camp accentuates the body horror element of the fictional plague, as all of these kids must be in physical contact to play water polo. Polinger echoes the hierarchical structure of the military in how the boys bunk together and live their day-to-day, trying to forge camaraderie as a team while struggling with the testosterone surrounding them. The presence of a girls’ swimming camp at the same facility adds even more to the hormonal surge these boys contend with, and Polinger uses that simmering tension to significant effect. The Plague feels like the opening boot camp section of Full Metal Jacket, with Ben and Eli standing in as diminutive versions of Matthew Modine’s Joker and Vincent D’Onofrio’s Pyle. Johan Lenox’s score contributes to the pervasive sense that something dreadful is about to happen after every scene in the film, a tension that persists throughout the entire movie.

The Plague is a movie that everyone will relate to. We were all kids and had to deal with feeling left out or ostracized, and The Plague homes in on the awkwardness and discomfort of those experiences. It is even more relatable today as parents experience the magnification of bullying and harassment that kids must deal with in a world fully connected through social media. Not every kid is a victim, and not every kid is a bully, but puberty is an inevitable stick of dynamite that could explode at any moment. Charlie Polinger has masterfully captured the buildup to an explosion and how it could have been avoided at many points before it finally happens. The Plague is an incredible debut that is both beautifully made and terrifying to watch, and deserves every bit of acclaim it has earned. This is a movie that will make you anxious as you watch it and leave you with a lot to think about, both about your own childhood and about those who may be going through something similar now.

The Plague opens in limited release on December 24th, expanding nationwide on January 2, 2026.

The Plague

AMAZING

9

The post The Plague Review: A chilling look at adolescent bullying and a stellar directorial debut appeared first on JoBlo.

Review: Park Chan-wook is hands down one of the best directors working today. From fan favorites like Oldboy and Lady Vengeance to the acclaimed 2022 film Decision to Leave, Park Chan-wook has explored every genre, from horror to comedy, science fiction, and beyond. While he has dabbled in satire and comedy, his latest film, No Other Choice, is easily one of his best films and a contender for best movie of the year. A biting satire about how we identify ourselves and our value based on our professional achievements, No Other Choice features a fantastic performance from Squid Game star Lee Byung-hun (check out our interview with him here) and one of the best endings in recent memory.

No Other Choice opens with Man-su (Lee Byung-hun) celebrating his success at work by having a barbecue with his wife, Mi-ri (Son Ye-jin), and his stepson, Si-one, and autistic stepdaughter, Ri-one. After twenty-five years working for a paper mill, Man-su is a homeowner and can afford luxuries for his entire family. When the mill, which an American company had taken over, downsizes and fires him, Man-su is left depressed and unable to find employment. As he contends with his wife resuming work as a dental hygienist, giving up their pet dogs, and the thought of selling the family home, Man-su begins to spiral as he cannot find any paper company willing to hire him. One day, Man-su crosses paths with a successful line manager and social media influencer, Seon-chul (Park Hee-soon), whom Man-su thinks about murdering. That is when Man-su devises a complex plan to secure a new job.

Man-su’s plot involves the murder of his primary rivals for an open job at another paper company. Spending all of his time in his greenhouse, Man-su first seeks out Goo Beom-mo (Lee Sung-min). At this point, you may be wondering how No Other Choice could be categorized as a comedy, but trust me, you will understand when you begin watching it. The subtext of Man-su’s single-minded focus on working for a dying industry is in itself a hilarious concept that echoes the ridiculousness of The Office. Still, it does so through the lens of South Korea’s deeply hierarchical culture. The cultural implications of one being defined by one’s station in business are not solely a Korean concept, which makes No Other Choice accessible from any vantage point. At no point in the film do the characters play their scenes as intentionally comical, but the pitch-black sense of humor is evident in the over-the-top plot that Man-su tries to execute.

At one hundred and forty minutes, No Other Choice flies by as the narrative keeps things moving briskly after setting up the professional downfall of Man-su and his subsequent plan. There are a few tangential threads that connect back to the main plot. Lee Byung-hun impressively nuances his performance as Man-su, embodying a range of emotions that starkly contrast with his more stoic portrayal in Squid Game. It is easy to feel a kinship with Man-su’s plight. Equally good is Son Ye-jin as Man-su’s wife, Mi-ri. Whether she suspects that her husband may be committing the crimes, the police have discussed with him, or that he is blinded by a focus on achieving the same type of job he had before. Both Lee and Son have a chemistry together that makes them a believable couple, giving their fights with each other a realistic angle that anchors the over-the-top concept of the movie.

Park Chan-wook co-wrote the screenplay for No Other Choice alongside Lee Kyoung-mi (Lady Vengeance), Lee Ja-hye, and Don McKellar (The Sympathizer). Based on the novel The Ax by Donald Westlake, No Other Choice is the second adaptation of the source material. Still, it changes the story from a serious horror tale into a funnier and more layered narrative that feels like a prescient look into the current emotional state of adult professionals worldwide. The threat of unemployment and the risk of upending your lifestyle is a fear that everyone can relate to, and Park Chan-wook and his co-writers nail the angst and anxiety that accompany it. Park Chan-wook and cinematographer Kim Woo-hyung have crafted one of the most beautiful films of the year, with every frame brimming with details that you see differently with each viewing. No Other Choice also has one of the best scores of the year from composer Jo Yeong-wook, who is able to deliver a jazz-influenced soundtrack that also incorporates the work of Mozart.

No Other Choice could be boiled down to how The Coen Brothers’ A Serious Man would play if the protagonist worked at Dunder-Mifflin, but that undersells how fantastic a film this is. Park Chan-wook outdoes himself as a director with each new film he creates, and No Other Choice feels like a culmination of his skills as a visual artist and a storyteller, but far from being the end of his talents. This is a film that is idiosyncratic in a way that many Korean films are, but it is one of the most accessible offerings from the country’s robust movie industry. Suspenseful and hilarious in equal measure, you will find yourself cringing with anticipation as much as you are chuckling at the audacity of the characters and their actions. The title of the film comes up repeatedly throughout the film, and you should feel that you have no other choice but to check this movie out on the big screen. From the first classical notes at the start of the film to the moment the end credits begin, No Other Choice is a captivating masterwork from one of the best directors working today.

No Other Choice is now playing in limited release and expands wide in January.

No Other Choice

AMAZING

9

The post No Other Choice Review: Park Chan-wook’s satirical comedy is a darkly hilarious thriller appeared first on JoBlo.

REVIEW: Song Sung Blue is such a crazy story that you know it has to be true—who could ever dream it up? There really was a Lightning and Thunder, and they were pretty damn good, with a documentary chronicling their careers released a few years ago (you can watch it on YouTube). While the movie takes several Hollywood liberties, particularly in the overly artificial-feeling climax, some of the crazier bits taken from their lives—such as the fact that they were once popular enough to open for Eddie Vedder, who played with them onstage—are legit. And Craig Brewer, working with a well-cast Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson as the eponymous Lightning and Thunder, pays a lovely tribute to this working-class act, who never let the shadow of tragedy that followed them take them away from doing what they loved.

Of course, your like or dislike of Song Sung Blue likely depends on your love of Neil Diamond, with the movie serving as a kind of jukebox musical built around his biggest hits. I happen to be a fan, so I fell pretty hard for Song Sung Blue, although it didn’t hurt that I have something of a taste for melodrama and have always been a sucker for a tearjerker.

Both Jackman and Hudson are at their best in roles that fit them like one of Diamond’s sequinned jumpsuits. Jackman has made no secret of his preference for musical roles, and this must have been a dream for him—being able to juggle drama and sing a bunch of tunes as the tortured-but-upbeat Mike, aka Lightning. A Vietnam vet and a recovering alcoholic, he clings to the Diamond songs that got him through the worst times, but only finds a way forward when he meets Hudson’s Claire, aka Thunder, who encourages him to start a band she eventually sings backup in. With her having two kids and him having one, they start a rather harmonious blended family before tragedy begins to strike—over and over—with the pair barely getting a break from the horrible luck that follows them.

What makes Song Sung Blue so moving is that Brewer, who previously directed two other great movies about misfits trying to make art—Hustle & Flow and Dolemite Is My Name—never makes it downbeat. Rather, he invites us to find joy in the small victories won by Mike and Claire, the biggest of which is the love they find for each other. The movie shares in their joy when the act works, or when the blended family fits so well together, with Mike and Claire’s daughters (played by singer King Princess and Hudson Hensley) immediately becoming confidants and friends. Mike and Claire, while certainly outsiders to some extent, are presented as warm people who make friends everywhere they go: Michael Imperioli as a Buddy Holly impersonator who joins the band; Mustafa Shakir as Sex Machine, a James Brown impersonator; James Belushi as their manager; Fisher Stevens as Mike’s best friend and dentist; and so on. As in his other movies, Brewer shows how people like this can put together huge surrogate families that always have each other’s backs—even if fate constantly threatens to take as much away from them as it can, often without mercy.

Of course, early reviews of Song Sung Blue are mixed, with many calling it overly sentimental. We live in a cynical time, and this isn’t a movie for cynics. While I do think Brewer gets carried away in the climax, where he goes for an almost operatic finish, for much of the running time Song Sung Blue is both an effective tearjerker and a toe-tapping musical. If you want to see a movie that just wants to put a smile on your face.

Song Sung Blue

GREAT

8

The post Song Sung Blue Review: An unapologetic and effective tearjerker appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: After one of them unexpectedly acquires the remake rights to 1997’s Anaconda, four childhood friends—who once dreamed of becoming filmmakers—take out a bank loan and head to the Amazon to shoot a shoestring-budget reboot.

REVIEW: I must admit that the concept of this new version of Anaconda struck me as promising. The idea of four childhood friends, now in their late forties and early fifties, heading to the Amazon to shoot a remake of Anaconda of all things seemed just silly enough to be brilliant. While the premise may sound too ridiculous to be believed, there have been fan-directed, shoestring remakes that went viral—the most famous being the unauthorized Raiders of the Lost Ark remake made by a group of kids in the eighties, which later inspired a genuinely touching documentary. The fact that this group chooses to remake Anaconda, one of the silliest horror flicks of the nineties, really tickled me.

Too bad the movie isn’t funny at all.

Watching this in a theater proved to be a profoundly disappointing experience, as none of the jokes seemed to land (well, they did for a few people—one guy in my screening laughed hysterically at even the lamest gags). With a cast stacked with talented, funny people—including Paul Rudd and Jack Black—this should, by sheer accident alone, have generated a few solid belly laughs. Instead, it came off as desperately lame and unfunny.

Part of the problem may lie with director Tom Gormican, who consistently comes up with clever meta concepts but never quite pulls them off. This was true of his Nicolas Cage satire The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, and it’s even more apparent here. Another issue is that I never fully bought into the central premise—that these four friends would actually go to the Amazon because they believe one of them somehow secured the rights to remake Anaconda. It’s a tough sell, and to make it work you’d need a cast that comes across as believably naïve. That’s not the case here.

Jack Black and Paul Rudd lead the ensemble, with Black playing a wedding videographer who always wanted to be a director, and Rudd a former childhood friend who’s become a middling Hollywood actor now reduced to extra work. Thandiwe Newton plays another friend, a newly divorced lawyer, while Steve Zahn is their ne’er-do-well cameraman. All four are tremendously talented, but they’re stranded by a plot that requires them to be believably dumb—and none of them come off that way.

Even so, I could have forgiven the shaky premise if the movie actually delivered laughs. Instead, it’s a tame PG-13 holiday farce that settles for mild, toothless humor and isn’t nearly as incisive about reboots—or even the original Anaconda—as it should be. Yes, there are a few easy-to-predict cameos, but they’re painfully obvious and already spoiled by the trailers.

Usually, Rudd’s presence alone is enough to sell me on a movie, but he’s given nothing to work with here. Black at least seems hell-bent on injecting energy into the film, even if his efforts aren’t enough to save it. Of the entire cast, the only performance that comes close to being genuinely funny is Selton Mello (who recently played a very different, serious role in Walter Salles’ I’m Still Here) as the snake handler the team hires, who happens to own his own pet anaconda.

The film goes even further off the rails once the mutant, man-eating anacondas show up, with Gormican awkwardly trying to juggle carnage and comedy. Ironically, the original 1997 Anaconda—which played everything straight—is at least ten times funnier than this intentionally comedic version.

In the end, this new Anaconda is a real bummer. Mainstream comedies are increasingly rare these days, and I miss seeing them on the big screen. The Naked Gun was a welcome throwback to an era when you could shut your brain off for ninety minutes and just share some laughs with an audience. I was hoping for the same here—but sadly, that’s not what I got.

Anaconda (2025)

NOT GOOD

4

The post Anaconda (2025) Review: Great Concept, But Where Are the Laughs? appeared first on JoBlo.

REVIEW: We’ve been lucky this year in that A24 has released two movies from the Safdie Brothers, with the two splitting to pursue their own passion projects. Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine was quiet and contemplative, whereas Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme is anything but. A slam-bang, virtuoso piece of filmmaking that’s very much in the vein of Uncut Gems and Good Time, Marty Supreme—for this critic—is the film of the year and the most exciting 2.5 hours I spent in a movie theater this year. All for a movie about table tennis!

Indeed, ping-pong has never been as exciting as it is in Josh Safdie’s movie, but it’s no more a movie about table tennis than Uncut Gems is a movie specifically about diamonds. It simply provides the backdrop for a character study, with Timothée Chalamet giving the performance of his life as Marty Mauser, a born hustler. Were it not ping-pong, he’d be hustling something else—he just happens to have a particular skill once a paddle is put in his hands. Always looking for the next score, with him not giving an iota of thought to the wreckage he causes in his wake, Marty should become an iconic role for Chalamet, who gives off the vibe of a young De Niro or Pacino in the starring role. Wire-thin, with a unibrow, b.t.m (bad teenage moustache) and always on the make, the fast-talking Marty has never met anyone he couldn’t hustle, and Chalamet has the charisma to make you believe it.

The wreckage we watch Marty leave in his wake is impressive, with him unable to stop screwing up people’s lives, even if it’s unintentional. Literally in the first five minutes of the film, we watch him knock up Rachel (Odessa A’zion), a girl from his tight-knit Jewish neighbourhood (with us actually seeing the moment of conception Look Who’s Talking-style) who—natch—happens to be married. Everyone he runs into gets left with some kind of wreckage, including a faded film star (Gwyneth Paltrow in a meaty role) he seduces, her powerful husband (Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary), a taxi-driver pal (Tyler, the Creator), and more. No one walks out of Marty’s life unscathed.

Yet, for all his faults you can’t help but admire Marty and his constant hustle, and it’s a tribute to Chalamet’s performance and Safdie’s storytelling skills that you can’t help but want to see Marty get ahead. Safdie directs the film in his typically propulsive way, with the vibe being that it’s set in the fifties, but scored by Daniel Lopatin and soundtracked like it was made in 1988. Lopatin’s score is evocative of Tangerine Dream, which is appropriate as the film seems heavily influenced by Risky Business, while choice New Wave cuts from Tears for Fears, New Order, and Public Image Ltd. fill the soundtrack.

Like Uncut Gems, the supporting cast is highly idiosyncratic, with A’zion, who’s currently appearing on the talked-about HBO comedy I Love L.A., terrific as Rachel, the girl who can’t help but want Marty despite his faults. In her own way, she’s just as much of a hustler as Marty, yet like Chalamet we can’t help but like her. Tyler, the Creator also totally vanishes into his role as a cab driver who has the misfortune of being Marty’s best friend, whom he drags along on his harebrained schemes, while O’Leary is effective in a role that seems patterned on his own Shark Tank persona. Paltrow will also draw buzz for a pretty bold, ego-less performance as an easily manipulated, aging actress who proves to be a good mark for Marty, while one of Safdie’s biggest influences, director Abel Ferrara, has a good role as a low-rent gangster tied into some of the film’s most shocking moments.

Through it all, Safdie’s command of the audience is impressive, with him making the film such an intense experience I felt like I was in the midst of a drug-fuelled binge while watching it. He keeps your pulse pounding, and it’s the kind of movie one is tempted to immediately revisit after the credits roll. For me, it’s the movie of the year, and if film as a form seems to be dying off, at least there are guys like Safdie around who still deserve their place in the pantheon of great directors.

Marty Supreme

PERFECTO-MUNDO

10

The post Marty Supreme Review: Josh Safdie and Timothee Chalamet have made the film of the year appeared first on JoBlo.

Review: Last year, The Brutalist showed the powerful scope a film could present without needing hundreds of millions of dollars. The acclaimed filmmaking duo of Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold instantly became in-demand talents in Hollywood, thanks to their epic vision for stories that would otherwise never make it to the big screen. The couple, who wrote The Brutalist together with Corbet directing, reversed roles for The Testament of Ann Lee with Fastvold serving as director. An unconventional musical about an unconventional historical figure, The Testament of Ann Lee boasts the same 70mm scale as The Brutalist and shares similar themes, yet it is a wholly unique experience. Meticulous in its production values and unlike any musical film that has come before it, The Testament of Ann Lee is a beautifully filmed story and one of the finest films of the year.

Chronicling the life of the title figure, The Testament of Ann Lee is told across three chapters. Beginning with her youth in Manchester, England, we follow Ann (Amanda Seyfried) as she grows up alongside her brother, William (Lewis Pullman), in poverty. Indoctrinated into the church at an early age, Ann joined a sect of Quakers, where she met her husband, Abraham Standerin (played by Christopher Abbott). Abraham and Ann explore their sexuality, and she becomes pregnant four times, losing each child. Eventually, Ann Lee’s fervent devotion, energetic dancing, and singing make her an early church leader in a new sect of Christianity that becomes known as the Shakers. While female religious leaders were rare in the 18th century, Ann’s popularity grew as her followers viewed her as the embodiment of God. The Shakers built their community in England but eventually migrated to America with the ambition to develop into a utopian society that emphasized hard work and celibacy. The final act of the film follows the challenges faced by the Shakers in their new home.

Using Shaker hymns, the film incorporates musical sequences involving the radical dancing that garnered the Shakers their name. Blending these moments of worship and prayer with a score byThe Brutalist composer Daniel Blumberg, The Testament of Ann Lee takes songs written two hundred years ago and makes them sound timeless. The hymns evoke a sound distinct from what we commonly associate with contemporary church music, giving Ann Lee and the Shakers an ethereal and otherworldly quality. There are also three original songs written for The Testament of Ann Lee, featuring performances from stars Amanda Seyfried, Lewis Pullman, and Thomasin McKenzie. The songs are naturalistic and fit organically into the film’s narrative, with the sequences never pulling you out of the story, as some other musical films tend to do. The Testament of Ann Lee is not a musical like Wicked, Chicago, or even La La Land, but if you could imagine a movie like The Brutalist with song and dance numbers, you would get this movie.

The film features numerous starkly dramatic and shocking moments, including four intense childbirth sequences that are unflinching in their raw depiction, as well as a brutal attack that occurs near the end of the film. Still, these moments are interspersed with the great joy, positivity, and faith that drove Ann Lee and her followers through every obstacle in their path. The film celebrates the joy and spirit that flowed through Ann Lee, thanks in part to Amanda Seyfried’s uninhibited performance. We have seen Seyfried in dramatic roles before, and she has utilised her musicality in Mamma Mia! and Les Misérables. However, The Testament of Ann Lee treats its musical sequences in a guttural and feral manner, portraying the internal ferocity of the Shaker faith in a way that dialogue could not convey. Amanda Seyfried bares all in this performance, which could easily be the best of her career. Equally good are Lewis Pullman and Christopher Abbott, along with supporting turns from Tim Blake Nelson, Thomasin McKenzie, Stacy Mardin, and Matthew Beard.

The legacy of the Shaker movement has dwindled over the last hundred years, from a peak of six thousand followers to just a pair of people remaining who follow the movement. Today, most recognise the architectural and furniture achievements of the Shakers and their quest for utility and perfection in their craft. Still, Mona Fastvold and Brady Corbet have resurrected their songs and cultural tenets in a story that is epic in every sense. Beyond Daniel Blumberg’s haunting score and songs, the cinematography by William Rexer is reminiscent of Lol Crawley’s work on The Brutalist, with the film set in muted greys and bathed in natural light. Still, Fastvold embraces the nature and love of Ann Lee and her followers within the trials and tribulations of being outsiders in both England and America. Using Thomasin McKenzie’s character as a narrator, the life of Ann Lee is told from the vantage of an apostle relaying the legend of a person held in the highest regard.

Few filmmakers can create back-to-back films that are eerily similar and yet wholly distinct from one another as Mona Fastvold and Brady Corbet have achieved. While The Brutalist had a coldness and distance to it, Mona Fastvold has embraced the warmth and inclusivity that Ann Lee preached in her day. The Testament of Ann Lee is, at times, hard to watch, but it evokes the exact tender reflection on the halcyon frontier days as Train Dreams. There is a hope in this film that never dwindles despite the obstacles in the path of the Shakers during the era of this story. The Testament of Ann Lee boasts memorable and unique music, as well as a truly stunning performance by Amanda Seyfried that will not be forgotten, just as the woman she portrays was.

The Testament of Ann Lee opens in limited release in theaters on December 25th.

The Testament of Ann Lee

AMAZING

9

The post The Testament of Ann Lee Review: Amanda Seyfried leads one the most unique musicals ever put to screen appeared first on JoBlo.

Review: In an effort to reach young audiences and families, Angel Studios returns to theaters this holiday season to share one of humankind’s most inspiring stories: the tale of David and his epic journey to becoming the chosen king of Israel. Arriving in the form of an animated musical, David tells the story of a humble shepherd chosen by God to lead the people of Israel to salvation. However, his mission will be fraught with adversity, division, and questions of faith.

David’s story comes to life with clean, high-production animation. The film’s look strikes a balance between Disney-adjacent and old-school Blue Sky (think the first Ice Age film), blending elements of the classic mobile game Clash of Clans. That last comparison could read as a slight, but I mean no harm. Overall, the film is bright and colorful, with Israel and its surrounding areas giving an inviting aura as David’s journey takes him from one territory to the next.

Audiences coming to David for a tale of faith and perseverance will leave the film feeling inspired, and with a song or two ringing in their ears. The film features a handful of tunes, primarily performed by young David (Brandon Engman) and his adult counterpart (Phil Wickham). The songs are spirited, heartfelt, and do not outstay their welcome. I’d be the first to call the film out for cramming too many songs into its presentation, primarily if they don’t serve to enrich the story and move things forward.

While David tells an epic story of three groups torn apart by opposing faith (the Israelites, Philistines, and Amalakites), it’s careful not to overindulge in violence, as there was surely plenty in other versions of the tale. This approach to the material keeps things light and safe for audiences of all ages. However, I wish the filmmakers had shown some level of consequence for the amount of division and violence presented on screen. I understand the choice, though I do wish the story included more urgency and drama.

Still, it’s nice to see a more pure approach to the material. The film conveys a powerful message about faith, with David’s unwavering belief in God remaining steadfast throughout his trials and tribulations. He’s a pillar of his community, an inspiration to others, and a would-be king, untainted by the power and inevitable disappointments that come with years of leadership. Unlike King Saul, David never feels alone because he knows God is on his side. David’s faith is refreshing and something that can be difficult to maintain in a world filled with temptation, corruption, and the abandonment of a higher power.

To my shock, I enjoyed David far more than I thought I would. It’s a case of an inspiring story told well through a team of filmmakers determined to honor the tale with style and heart. I’m by no means the target audience for a film like this, but the fact that I felt entertained and engaged throughout its two-hour runtime is a testament to its quality. It’s clear that Angel Studios cared about presenting David with sincerity, and that goes a long way in a time when it feels like other studios churn out sequels and uninspired romps to make a buck.

David (2025)

AVERAGE

6

The post David Review: A Solid Animated Tale appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: Fresh out of prison, Millie (Sydney Sweeney) lies her way into a prime gig as the live-in housemaid for a fabulously wealthy family. Initially welcomed with open arms by her new boss, Nina (Amanda Seyfried), she quickly learns that life with her new employers isn’t going to be a picnic, especially once she starts to develop feelings for Nina’s husband, Andrew (Brandon Sklenar).

REVIEW: There are good movies, there are bad movies, and then there are good bad movies. The Housemaid is what I consider the latter. It’s an adaptation of a pulpy, trashy piece of airport fiction by author Freida McFadden that didn’t win a lot of critical raves but sold a ton of copies and was a damn fun read. It was trash, but it was good trash. Paul Feig’s film has the same goal in mind. A smart, sometimes sophisticated filmmaker, his A Simple Favor movies were like rough drafts for the final, ultra-trashy 2.0 version that is The Housemaid. Many will call this trashy and critics may hate it, but it could become a big hit if its lead, Sydney Sweeney, hasn’t been fatally overexposed.

The film centres around Sweeney’s Millie, but the screen time is pretty equally split between her, Seyfried’s Nina, and Sklenar’s Andrew. All three have been cast because of how they look, and Feig makes the most of that, with both Sklenar and Sweeney getting lovingly photographed nude scenes. There’s nary a moment where Sweeney doesn’t look like she’s about to spill out of her shirt, while Sklenar almost never wears sleeves.

Of all of them, it’s Seyfried as the gloriously batty Nina who seems to be having the most fun, with her crazy act coming off like a tribute to Faye Dunaway’s portrayal of Joan Crawford in Mommie Dearest. It’s a delicious, deliberately camp performance, but it also serves a purpose as the movie goes on and the film’s real premise becomes clear.

Sklenar also seems to be having a good time sinking his teeth into a part that allows him to play a dreamy leading man while also camping it up in the film’s second half. It’s easy to see why Feig was able to attract three such big names to the cast, as it seems like the kind of movie that must have been a blast to make, and to be sure, it’s good fun to watch.

Of the three, Sweeney is stuck with the most conventional part, being our leading lady. Next to Seyfried and Sklenar, she can’t help but get lost among all the scenery chewing, but she also has the right look and charm for the role. While blasting her acting ability has seemingly become sport in recent months, she’s actually always been a good actress, although of her roles, this is likely the least taxing she’s played since Anyone But You, as she mostly just has to bounce off Seyfried and Sklenar’s craziness. The supporting cast more or less vanishes into the background, with Michele Morrone barely registering as Enzo, the mysterious groundskeeper. Elizabeth Perkins shows up, with bleached white hair, to play Andrew’s intense mom, Evelyn, with her doing a nice Joan Crawford or Bette Davis riff in her small part.

The audience that sees The Housemaid will likely be split in half. Some will think this is the dumbest movie they’ve ever seen and utterly dismiss it. But those who appreciate good trash and camp will have a good time. This isn’t trying to be Gone Girl or even Fatal Attraction. It’s more like the most psychotic lost episode of Dynasty you never saw, and for what it is, I had a good time.

The Housemaid (2025)

GOOD

7

The post The Housemaid Review: Good, Trashy Fun appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: A year after the events of Avatar: The Way of Water, the Sully clan is settling into a new life with the Metkayina. However, Quaritch is still obsessed with capturing Jake and reclaiming his son, Spider, and he allies himself with the violent Mangkwan clan to capture his enemy once and for all.

REVIEW: James Cameron’s Avatar movies are outliers when you consider the current state of cinema. One of the big problems nowadays is that people just don’t go out to the movies anymore, as they tend to stay home and wait for any movie they want to see to hit streaming. Heck, with digital projection and the state of some screens, going to a lot of movies does indeed feel like just watching a huge 4K TV, but Cameron still knows how to deliver a cinematic spectacle (to the point that he has a specified process exhibitors need to follow). At over 3.5 hours, shown in 3D and at 48 frames per second, Avatar: Fire and Ash is a lot of movie, but it does something a lot of other films can’t do — it delivers a cinematic experience on the big screen that can’t be duplicated at home, no matter how fancy your screen is.

While I’ve never considered Cameron’s Avatar movies among his best work (they always just feel like high-concept sci-fi variations on Dances With Wolves, A Man Called Horse, and The Last Samurai), I respect his dedication to the world of Pandora, and even if — for me anyway — they tend to be one-and-done experiences, I wouldn’t dream of missing one of these on the big screen.

Avatar: Fire and Ash picks up where The Way of Water left off, with it gradually shifting the narrative focus to a younger generation of Na’vi, including Britain Dalton’s Lo’ak, who serves as the movie’s narrator and has to carry the guilt of his brother’s death from the first movie. Much of the movie revolves around both Lo’ak and his adopted sister, Kiri (Sigourney Weaver), coming into their own as the war on Pandora intensifies, not only with the humans, but also with a dangerous tribe called the Ash People.

Warlike and only interested in chaos and destruction, they become Quaritch’s new allies as he hunts down the Sully family. The Ash People contain one of the best new additions to the franchise: Oona Chaplin’s psychopathic Varang — the scariest villain the series has ever had. While Sam Worthington’s Jake and Zoe Saldaña’s Neytiri are still pivotal, you can sense Cameron trying to move the franchise forward, especially with a renewed focus on Jack Champion’s Spider, who finds himself torn between two fathers, while he himself carries a secret that makes him a fundamental threat to the Na’vi.

Again, at over three hours, Fire and Ash is jam-packed with action and world-building, but for the first time in the series I started to feel like I had a handle on the geography of Pandora, as well as its numerous creatures. Yet it’s in the simpler, character-driven moments that I really found myself having fun. I especially liked the continued evolution of Stephen Lang’s Quaritch, with him learning to use his new Na’vi body and being torn between his pursuit of Sully (which he feels is justified, as Sully committed mutiny and killed many of his fellow soldiers) and his growing attachment to the son who despises him, Spider. He also gets to explore some Kurtz-style territory as he finds an unlikely home among the similarly warlike Ash People.

To be sure, not all of Avatar: Fire and Ash works. A potential romance between Kiri and Spider is hinted at, but it’s a little strange given that they are essentially brother and sister. The formula is also starting to feel repetitive, with each of the three movies so far all ending the same way, with a big battle royale between the Na’vi and the humans, with no real resolution. Cameron has spoken about potentially stepping away from the Avatar series at some point, but this doesn’t feel like he’s even close to wrapping up the saga, with many threads left dangling by the time the credits roll.

Yet, as always with this series, I had a good time, as the lengthy running time races by, and the immersive tech really does make you feel like you’re part of this world. Cameron still seems engaged by the material, and it’s bound to be another hugely successful crowd-pleaser (an Aliens callback involving Weaver’s Kiri will no doubt get a lot of cheers). Some think the audience’s thirst for Avatar may run out someday, but Cameron has been wise in the way he’s refused to allow the studio to spin off any element of his world, keeping the franchise feeling fresh. If there’s an Avatar 4 and 5, I’ll be there.

Avatar: Fire and Ash

GREAT

8

The post Avatar: Fire and Ash Review: Another Electrifying Visceral Experience appeared first on JoBlo.

REVIEW: There’s a reason that Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining is often near the top of many “Best Horror Films Of All Time” lists. It’s imagery is iconic and its performances are legendary. The film has reached a status that few films can manage. And, despite Stephen King not being a fan of it, I think it actually goes pretty well with the book. There are plenty of little details that are enhanced if you’ve read the novel. But does The Shining hold up as an experience on IMAX 45 years later?

For the select few who are unaware, The Shining follows the Torrance family as they move into The Overlook Hotel. Jack Torrance has taken up the winter caretaker position, as the hotel needs looked after during the long and arduous winter during the off season. Isolation starts to get to the entire family, as weird events start occurring, and Jack’s sanity starts slipping more and more. Their son Danny has a unique psychic ability that warns him of the impending doom.

Jack Nicholson’s Jack Torrance is still wonderful demented and, despite his big turn towards the end, is much more subdued in the buildup. You can feel the hotel taking him over with each passing day. But this is really Shelley Duvall’s movie. Her performance as Wendy has been criticized over the years but if there’s anything about this film that’s aged well, it’s her take on the matriarch of the family. She plays the emotional abused mother so well, and it’s so gratifying to finally see her snap into action. Young Danny Lloyd is quiet but brings so much to the table, nailing every moment he needs to sell a moment.

Seeing The Shining on IMAX is an otherworldly experience, with so many elements getting a chance to shine on the large format. Kubrick is so intentional with his framing Kubrick and color palette and it’s a lot easier to appreciate on such a big screen. I also really love how much the sound design and score from Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind help to layer the film in such a sense of dread. The atmosphere is truly astounding and really engrosses you. The story aside, it’s easy to get lost in all the technical details as everything that shows up in the frame feels so intentional.

I really love that studios are doing these anniversary screenings as they provide the opportunity to see these films on something more than just the televisions in our living rooms. If there’s any film deserving of the theatrical experience, it’s Kubrick‘s 1980 masterpiece. I find myself jealous of those that may have never seen the film and this was their first time with it, as it’s still so impactful. It takes something truly special to feel so timeless nearly half a century later and this does just that. I can’t recommend this one enough.

The Shining Is Now Playing In Select Theaters For It’s 45th Anniversary.

The Shining

PERFECTO-MUNDO

10

The post The Shining (45th Anniversary IMAX) Review – A Seminal Experience appeared first on JoBlo.

REVIEW: Truthfully, I had never even heard of the true story of Nick Schuyler and his friends being stranded out in the ocean during a storm. I must not have been paying close attention to the news because I feel like two NFL players dying in a tragic accident would have definitely been heavily in the news cycle. But maybe it’s more just showing my age than anything. It’s a truly harrowing story and, since I wasn’t familiar with it before, I can’t really speak to how much in Not Without Hope is dramatized for the sake of entertainment. But it feels respectful overall.

There’s a lot of tension throughout the story of Not Without Hope. whether it’s witnessing the four guys and their last moments with the people they love, or the incoming storm that is going to wreak havoc upon them. This is the ultimate “put yourself in their shoes” situation, and it’s scary to think how truly helpless the situation is. The film intercuts between the four stranded men and the search for them by the Coast Guard. It can be pretty hammy and over the top, especially seeing how much the potential rescuers are all job and no character.

The entire cast does a decent job, with Zachary Levi taking on the role of the sole survivor. With Levi’s casting, I really wasn’t sure what to expect, since he’s taken on some pretty strange roles as of late after being essentially cancelled. Quentin Plair, Marshall Cook, and Terrence Terrell all have a good dynamic together, and feel like legitimate friends. That helps to sell what happens to them later even more. And Josh Duhamel, while the character itself is very one-dimensional, embodies the “take charge government type” well. He ultimately just feels a bit pointless.

I was pleasantly surprised with how straightforward the story is with the accident, and the effects always work well. Despite obviously taking place in a water tank most of the time, it never feels too constrained. There was a moment where sharks appear in the water, and I was just waiting for it to go for some crazy jump scares. Thankfully, the story remains grounded and the corniness mostly comes from how hokey the rescue element is. Schuyler’s mom immediately knowing something is wrong and being so forceful with the rescue feels so corny. I think it would have worked a lot better had we not left these guys and could fully experience the feeling of being stranded.

Director Joe Carnahan gets to try something a bit different here, with more of a focus on the emotion and drama than the more bombastic action we’re used to seeing from him. He handles the shipwreck really well, with it never feeling too staged or cheap. I also appreciated how impactful each of the deaths are, taking a more realistic approach. You really feel for each of these men. While, sure the night time scenes are a bit too bright given that they are in the middle of the ocean, that’s just something we have to accept in modern day movies. It’s better then never properly seeing anything.

Not Without Hope is a very depressing story that remains riveting despite some of its missteps in the portions away from our survivors. If it weren’t based on a true story, it would almost be unbelievable that there were even any survivors as it seems like such a low percentage likelihood given the circumstances. I think it would have been improved with a tighter runtime, as I’m not sure the story really warranted it. I’m definitely going to be looking more into the real life story so I suppose that’s a win for this film.

Not Without Hope is Now Playing

Not Without Hope

AVERAGE

6

The post Not Without Hope Review: Joe Carnahan Takes Aim At A Tragic Real Life Story appeared first on JoBlo.

REVIEW: Dust Bunny marks the feature directorial debut of Bryan Fuller. While it may be his first film, Fuller has had a long career as a showrunner on television, with Pushing Daisies, Heroes, and Hannibal (a series he seems far from finished with) among his biggest cult hits. For his jump to features, Fuller has crafted a unique fantasy film that often feels like a live-action Laika movie—albeit one with a heavy dose of gunplay.

That mix of childlike wonder and sudden bursts of violence may make the film tricky to market once Roadside releases it in December. It’s likely too whimsical for a standard adult audience, yet violent enough to earn an R-rating from the MPAA. That seems a bit harsh, though. Even with its surprisingly high body count, the violence is fairly restrained by genre standards. Fuller is clearly aiming for the “gateway horror” sweet spot once occupied by eighties films like The Company of Wolves or Return to Oz.

The first half hour, however, leans a little too far into the fantasy. Dialogue is sparse, and the pace can be challenging as we’re introduced to Sophie Sloan’s Aurora. She’s just lost her parents to the monster under her bed and wants it gone fast. One night, she follows her mysterious neighbor, 5B (named for his apartment number and played by Fuller’s favorite leading man, Mads Mikkelsen), and sees him dispatch what she thinks is a monster but is actually a gang of triads. He cuts them down in dazzling fashion with martial arts and swordplay. Convinced he’s the man for the job, she sends him money to kill her monster.

Mikkelsen’s 5B, though a lethal assassin, is intrigued by her request. As he digs deeper, he starts to suspect that Aurora’s “monster” may actually have been hitmen who targeted the wrong apartment, leaving him feeling responsible for her safety. Mikkelsen is at his charismatic best here, playing the archetypal hitman with a heart of gold. He has the physical presence to sell the action while generating surprisingly sweet chemistry with Sloan. A running gag about his inability to properly pronounce her name due to his accent adds warmth to their bond.

Fuller makes the most of his feature debut, working with cinematographer Nicole Hirsch Whitaker to shoot in an unusual 3:1 aspect ratio. For comparison, The Hateful Eight and Sinners, both shot in Ultra Panavision, were in 2.76:1. This format requires a full Cinemascope screen, which most modern theaters—standardized to 1.85:1—don’t properly accommodate. Watching Dust Bunny in a regular theater felt like seeing a letterboxed VHS on a 90s tube TV. It’s a bold, distinctive choice, though it may frustrate audiences unprepared for it.

The cast is peppered with familiar genre faces. Sigourney Weaver shines in a tailor-made role as 5B’s boss, complete with a few badass moments that nod to her legacy as one of cinema’s great action heroines. David Dastmalchian’s late arrival drew huge cheers from the TIFF Midnight Madness crowd, as he’s already a fan favorite.

While the film takes about half an hour to find its rhythm, once it does, Dust Bunny is a lot of fun. Mikkelsen and Sloan’s chemistry, combined with Fuller’s eccentric vision, makes it feel refreshingly original. I’ll admit fantasy isn’t my preferred genre, but there’s a certain audience that will consider this an instant classic. I may not be one of them, but I still respected and enjoyed the ride.

TIFF

AVERAGE

6

The post Dust Bunny Review: A Fantasy-action hybrid shot with a strange aspect ratio appeared first on JoBlo.

REVIEW: Ella McCay is the review I was dreading to write. Whenever a director you admire makes a movie this bad, it’s always a bummer, and like many, I’ve always had a fondness for the work of James L. Brooks. As a writer-director, his Terms of Endearment, Broadcast News, and As Good As It Gets are top-notch (and let’s not forget he’s also the man who got The Simpsons made). But his work over the last twenty years has been rough. Spanglish had a great Adam Sandler performance but didn’t work. How Do You Know (which remains Jack Nicholson’s last movie) was a disaster, but Ella McCay might be the worst of them.

If Ella McCay had been made twenty years ago, it would have seemed like an antique, but the whiskers are really showing in 2025, even if they try to date the film somewhat by setting it in 2008, making its political milieu less fraught (the movie’s one sharp line is when Julie Kavner’s narrator remembers it as “the time before we all hated each other”). Emma Mackey definitely seems like a star on the rise (she’ll be in Greta Gerwig’s Narnia movie), but she’s saddled with an impossible role—McCay is the kind of incredibly sunny optimist who’s so naïve it makes the notion of her political ascendancy impossible to swallow. This is a movie where McKay gasps in surprise when she realizes her brother smokes marijuana, and when she gets high for the first time, it’s unlike any weed experience even loosely tied to reality—about as cartoonish as when the centurions get high in Mel Brooks’ History of the World: Part I.

The whole film feels false from the get-go, with McCay an impossibly sweet, kind heroine without any character flaws whatsoever. She’s like the protagonist of a Doris Day movie circa 1960. Mackey is charming, but she’s playing a cartoon. The same could be said for Jamie Lee Curtis as her supportive aunt/surrogate mother, who’s portrayed as a somewhat sweeter version of Shirley MacLaine in Terms of Endearment.

The male characters are even worse. Woody Harrelson plays McCay’s dad, whom the movie expects us to view as a “hilarious” deadbeat, but he comes off as almost psychotic—we watch him flirt with women at his dead wife’s funeral in flashbacks, not in a mean way, mind you, more in a “wow, what a character” kind of way. No actor alive could make this palatable, and Harrelson looks embarrassed.

Jack Lowden, as McCay’s longtime husband Ryan, somehow comes off even worse—maybe the least palatable screen husband since Eric Roberts in Star 80. He’s portrayed as so insecure about his wife’s elevation to governor that he launches into a campaign of seedy scheming, making it hard to swallow that McCay—who everyone keeps reminding us is so smart—wouldn’t have seen through him in eighteen years together. Again, he’s supposed to be “charming,” but Lowden plays him utterly without any of that quality. Brooks also stages much of the film in flashback, meaning we get a lot of scenes of the thirty-five-year-old Lowden and twenty-nine-year-old Mackey playing sixteen-year-olds.

As if the movie didn’t have enough subplots, there’s also loads of time devoted to Spike Fearn as Casey, McCay’s ne’er-do-well younger brother, who’s trying to win back his ex, played by Ayo Edebiri. Their reunion scene—delivered with dialogue that would be sinister in any other movie—is staged as sugary sweet here.

However, two cast members somehow walk out unscathed. One is Kumail Nanjiani as the nice-guy trooper on McCay’s detail; in a better version of this movie, he would have been the leading man. The other is Albert Brooks, who plays McCay’s boss, the acid-tongued but sympathetic Governor Bill, in a role that had to have been earmarked for Nicholson. He acquits himself nicely in a Nicholson-esque part, and his scenes are the only ones with the kind of bite that remind you how good James L. Brooks used to be at this kind of material.

Ella McCay is the director’s first movie in fifteen years, but rather than a solid return to form, it’s a movie people should have advised him against making. It will be ravaged by critics. It’s the kind of movie you feel embarrassed watching.

Ella McCay

NOT GOOD

4

The post Ella McCay Review: James L. Brooks’ first film in 15 years is a disaster appeared first on JoBlo.

REVIEW: It’s gotten to the point where I more or less automatically dismiss movies Mel Gibson appears in as an actor. As a director, he’s still pretty much at the top of his game (if we can ignore Flight Risk, that is), but as a movie star he tends to get slotted into the same kind of low-rent B-movies Bruce Willis made in his latter era, usually in small supporting roles. You know the type of films—they’re often called “geezer teasers,” and for the most part aren’t worth watching.

But the downside of this is that it’s hard to tell when Gibson is in a movie as the lead, as he’s always top-billed no matter how small his role is. As such, Hunting Season initially escaped my attention, until word got out that Gibson is actually the lead—and for me, an actioner with Gibson front and center is always worth checking out. Even some of his later-era vehicles, like Blood Father and Get the Gringo, are gems.

Sadly, Hunting Season is no gem, as it suffers from the same issues many of Gibson’s VOD movies have in recent years—namely that the directors, in this case R.J. Collins, have clearly had to make do with such a rushed production schedule, from pre-to-post, that the chances of making a good movie are practically nil. Hunting Season isn’t awful, and Collins does the best he can with the material, but there’s no denying that were Gibson not the star, it would be immediately disposable.

That said, Gibson is still an incredibly dynamic lead. While he doesn’t resemble the young, handsome star he was in his youth, Gibson—with his grizzled look and big bushy beard—still looks cool and carries himself with gravitas. There are flashes of the old Mel, or at least the kind of Mel we’d be getting if he were afforded bigger budgets for his action flicks. He doesn’t phone it in, and making it a father/daughter story was a smart move. You believe Gibson as Bo, a guy with a shady past who’s raising his daughter, Tag (Sofia Hublitz), to be self-sufficient and an expert shot (he buys her a handgun for her birthday). Yet he’s also shown to be loving, supportive, and willing to let her lead her own life—making him unstereotypical for this kind of role. Rather than being overprotective, he teaches her to protect herself.

When the bad guys make the mistake of crossing him, Hunting Season is fun to watch. Too bad it takes about seventy minutes of the ninety-minute running time for things to get really good. There’s too much flat domestic drama, making it hard to invest in or believe Bo’s need to do right by Hennig’s January. Tag mentions Bo was named after a Louis L’Amour character, which makes the quasi-western intent of the movie clear, but it lacks any sense of atmosphere. Jordi Mollà is also way overboard as the psycho baddie, with indulgent monologues that make him come off as more of a bad-guy parody than someone with real menace.

Yet when Gibson gets at it, there are some legitimately cool scenes—such as one where he dispatches a gunman with a lawnmower. That scene alone makes it worth checking out. I just wish Gibson were given the kind of material someone like Liam Neeson still routinely gets. I know he’s out of favor in many circles, but I also think he still has fans who would love to see him in an old-school action flick made with real panache.

Hunting Season (2025)

BELOW AVERAGE

5

The post Hunting Season Review: Mel Gibson is still a compelling lead even if the film is assembly line appeared first on JoBlo.

REVIEW: In the history of film, there have always been cinematic treasures that seem lost to time: Lon Chaney’s London After Midnight, the mythical three-hour cut of Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Jerry Lewis’s highly regrettable The Day the Clown Cried. And until recently, I assumed Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair was destined to become one of them.

Let’s be real, I love Tarantino’s work, but he has a history of promising projects that never come to fruition, like the Vega Brothers movie or his take on Star Trek. So when I heard that not only was this cut seeing the light of day but that it was coming to theaters, I was pleasantly surprised, to put it lightly. But does this fabled cut live up to the legend?

I grew up in the tail end of the Blockbuster Era. I had just turned 13 when Kill Bill Vol. 1 hit the shelves, and while I loved action films, I was only just starting to be allowed to rent the bloodier ones. I still remember that cover on the shelf — that striking yellow-and-black image of Uma Thurman with her katana, emblazoned with “The 4th Film From Quentin Tarantino.” I had no idea who that was, but over the course of that weekend, I lost myself in the blood-soaked revenge world he built. I ran that thing on a loop, and while I didn’t understand many of the references he was making at the time, I was unknowingly getting an education in ’70s kung fu cinema, samurai films, spaghetti westerns, and exploitation movies. I devoured it, and it became a favorite.

Volume 2 followed up and flipped the script from vengeful kung fu to contemplative western. At the time, the decision to split the film in two came down to not wanting to compromise the vision and cut the entire thing down to a two-hour version. But there was also such a clear divide between the tones and styles of the two volumes that it just made sense. They were parts of the same story, yes, but they sometimes felt like two different visions. So I always wondered what it would have been like to see the tale as one complete piece, the way Tarantino intended. I tried to replicate that with my DVDs, playing them back-to-back, but it always felt slightly off. I wanted to see it the way he meant it to be seen.

Cut to 22 years later, and I finally got to see that full vision: The Whole Bloody Affair. Now, I’m not reviewing the movie the way I would a new release. Let’s be honest, these films have been around for nearly a quarter century; you already know whether you like them or not. I’m more here to reflect on the new cut — the whole gory enchilada, as it were. So does it make a difference to sit down for four-plus hours and take the entire ride with the Bride? Hell yeah, it does. Because if the first two films were a meal, then this cut is a Vegas-style all-you-can-eat buffet.

The changes are often subtle: a few extra seconds of gore, a voice-over added where silence once reigned. Other times, they’re far more dramatic. The biggest example is the House of Blue Leaves showdown with the Crazy 88. Remember when the Bride plucks out an attacker’s eye and the fight switches to black and white? Not anymore. The rest of the fight plays out in a glorious full-color bloodbath. Because this cut? It’s unrated, and doesn’t have to contend with restrictions set down by the MPAA to make an R rating. So not only does Uma pluck the eye, she feeds it back to him. And when O-Ren takes her revenge on Boss Matsumoto, she doesn’t just stab him — she disembowels him. No punches pulled this time.

Speaking of O-Ren, her backstory benefits the most from the expanded runtime. The anime sequence breathes more, and it fixes one of my small but long-standing gripes. In this gorgeous anime sequence, we see the origin of Lucy Liu’s O-Ren Ishii unfold as she witnesses her parents being murdered by Boss Matsumoto and his henchman, Pretty Riki. In the original cut, she eventually takes her revenge on Matsumoto and rises to become the top assassin in her field. But it always bugged me that Riki, the guy who killed her father and burned down her home, got away. I wanted that grinning psycho to get his. Well, in this cut, he sure does — and man, is it satisfying to see after all these years. It makes O-Ren’s journey of revenge almost as gratifying as the Bride’s. Almost.

Another major shift you’ll notice comes at the end of Volume 1. It still wraps up with Bill interrogating Sofie Fatale, armless but alive by the Bride’s design. In the original cut, Bill ends with that fantastic cliffhanger: “One more thing, Sofie… is she aware her daughter is still alive?” Boom. Cut to credits and “The Lonely Shepherd.” It’s an all-timer of a hook, and man does it get you stoked for the final showdown. So imagine my surprise when that reveal was removed. At first, I wondered if that was a mistake, but by the end, I understood: if you’re watching this as a single cohesive film, that reveal hits so much harder when the Bride confronts Bill and her daughter appears. Without the episodic break, the story doesn’t need the cliffhanger. And moments like that prove why The Whole Bloody Affair matters. It’s the pacing, the slow burns, the crescendos, the carnage. It all finally flows the way it was meant to.

So is the experience worth it? That depends on you. If you’re a fan of these movies, grab an extra-large popcorn and the comfiest theater seat you can find ASAP. For more casual moviegoers, it might feel like an endurance test. But does the end justify the runtime? Oh yeah. One of the beautiful things about experiencing the film like this is how you’ll feel fully immersed in the Bride’s journey. Four hours later, when you rise from your seat and walk out of that theater, the world feels sharper, louder, and a little more dangerous — like you’ve been carrying the Bride’s blade yourself. I caught the movie on a rainy night in Boston and immediately had to hop a plane back to LA. I’m writing this on that plane, but as far as I’m concerned, I may as well be flying with a Hattori Hanzō sword riding shotgun, a sunset over Tokyo out the window instead of New England storm clouds, scribbling my revenge list instead of this review.

Let the lights go down, let the swords sing, and let Tarantino’s whole bloody affair wash over you. You’ll be glad you did.

Kill Bill

PERFECTO-MUNDO

10

The post Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair Review – Is it Tarantino’s masterpiece? appeared first on JoBlo.

REVIEW: It feels like Westerns have been a dying genre for quite some time now. Even when they seem to break through to the public, they go a more modern route (Django, Hateful Eight). And it’s been far too long since those have graced our movie theaters. Even Costner had trouble getting back in the game with his Horizon series, so it’s never been tougher to make a film within the genre. I’m thankful that it hasn’t stopped people from trying, however, and we’re now receiving Frontier Crucible, a well-made independent feature.

Frontier Crucible tells the story of weathered cowboy, Merrick Beckford, who is tasked with taking a wagon full of medical supplies across dangerous Apache territory. Things become complicated when he encounters a dangerous trio of outlaws and a couple that has been attacked by the natives. It’s a pretty simple story that gets a little lost along the way, but is still completely engrossing. I’ve always really liked the Western setting, and here is no different. The seedy characters, desert landscapes, and harsh world often make for an intriguing story. However, you should probably expect fewer of the typical tropes that we tend to get in these films. No saloon brawls or Mexican Standoffs.

Myles Clohessy is a bit stiff as the lead, but it never becomes egregious. It’s more of an issue with his character, who seems to be flawless and entirely in control of nearly any situation he faces. It makes him a bit one-dimensional. Solid actors like William H Macy and Thomas Jane appear in supporting roles. Macy is pretty much just in the one scene, but it does help give the film a bit of legitimacy. This is also the first movie I’ve seen Armie Hammer appear in quite some time, and he’s good at playing the bad guy. But it’s really Jane who steals nearly every scene he’s in. I’ve always found him to be underrated, and this is a really interesting role that allows him to play with the audience’s expectations a bit.

Despite there being a couple in the film (with one trying to recover from a gunshot), the woman has this strange romantic angle with Merrick. It feels very tacked on and out of place, and was easily my least favorite element of the film. I’m not sure why every movie feels like it needs some kind of love story, but this one felt half-baked and unnecessary. It doesn’t help that she provides one of the weaker performances as well.

I will always love a Western that fully takes advantage of the American West setting, and Frontier Crucible certainly does that. Wide open vistas and a beautiful usage of color make the cinematography stand out. I loved how much the camera just allowed the action to unfold within the frame, versus constantly trying to move the camera around to add energy. Unfortunately, night scenes are way too bright and have that digital look that doesn’t entirely work for a Western. When you’re out in the middle of nowhere, darkness is your friend, and I wish more films would take advantage of that. The film handles its violence well, with one scene in particular actually making me wince. The gunshots also have a lot of impact and really help to further engross you in what’s happening.

Like many Westerns, Frontier Crucible is a slow burn and inches the story forward a little bit at a time. It may prove frustrating to some, as there not a whole lot that happens overall (the story takes place in a very small area), but I really enjoyed it. While it’s probably didn’t need a full 2 hours to tell the tale, it avoids many of the pitfalls of other independent films set in the Old West. If you don’t like films set within the genre, this is unlikely to change your mind, but those that do will be treated with a good one.

Frontier Crucible is In Theaters and On Digital on December 5th, 2025.

Frontier Crucible

GOOD

7

The post Frontier Crucible: A Slow Burn That Western Fans Will Enjoy appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: A child witnesses his parents’ murder by a man in a Santa suit. Years later, as an adult, he dons a Santa costume himself and embarks on a violent quest for retribution against those responsible for the traumatic event from his childhood.

REVIEW: The Silent Night Deadly Night Franchise is one of the craziest ones out there. From “Garbage Day” to a killer toymaker to a crazy witch cult that have nothing to do with the other films, it can be pretty all over the place. And with a remake already happening 13 years ago, I’m not sure I was even anticipating another stab at the franchise. But thankfully that has changed with Mike P. Nelson’s Silent Night Deadly Night.

Like the original, we’re following Billy as he goes on a bit of a rampage dressed as Santa. But plenty of the details are changed and is updated for more modern sensibilities. Gone is the rape of Billy’s mother, and the more psychological elements of the story, but there’s still plenty of killer Santa spectacle. It doesn’t all work, and those expecting something deep and meaningful should probably look elsewhere, but if you just want a good time, then this certainly provides that.

Putting aside my feelings on Halloween Ends, I was excited to see Rohan Campbell enter the Billy Chapman role, as it seemed like a part he could really pull off. While the character is very different from the more tormented version we see in the original, it makes up for that by presenting him in a more palatable way. Despite all the killings, Billy doesn’t immediately enter antagonist mode. I’ve been a fan of Ruby Modine since Happy Death Day so it’s nice to see her in a role that’s more than meets the eye. She shows some great emotional depth and is able to make the dialogue feel a little less awkward when she’s around. The movie definitely leans into the love story between those two characters.

There are some fun twists and turns along the way that will make some roll their eyes but I got a kick out of them. There are also really dumb ones that don’t work and are very expositional. Thankfully, even these enter the “so bad it’s good” territory so it’s all very palatable. Even those moments that don’t work entirely, still fit in with the world enough that they never feel overly egregious. Though, the ending is probably going to irk some people as it takes a big swing that isn’t going to work for all.

There’s been a strange pattern lately of “title cards to explain the situation” and I can’t tell if it’s just because of the short attention spans or what. Silent Night Deadly Night does this with nearly every kill, with a “Kill So and So” title card. I got pretty sick of it and it really made me realize how much I hate those in many films. Unless you’re telling us something that the visuals don’t then immediately follow-up with, then it just feels like it’s catering to dummies (which I feel like we need less of in this world).

I was very worried about this film after the Jason Voorhees short film Sweet Revenge released earlier this year as it annoyed me on just about every level. But thankfully, writer/director Mike P Nelson really pulls off the Killer Santa well here. While I do wish that there was some more impactful violence, the tone rides the line of slightly disturbing but always entertaining, very well. I’m sure the budget hampered it at times, but it’s never overly noticeable and I was always engrossed in the world.

It is difficult for me to call Silent Night, Deadly Night a good movie in the traditional sense. It’s melodramatic, over the top and just plain silly at times. But damn if it’s not extremely entertaining from start to finish. This will definitely be entering my annual Christmas rotation as it manages to bask in the Christmas spirit while still giving us plenty of violent mayhem. It’s not nearly as psychological as the original (or as disturbing) but it’s more than deserving of the name. Here’s just hoping there aren’t a bunch of pissed off mothers boycotting it. Or maybe that would be a good thing? Marketing is marketing, especially in this day and age.

Silent Night Deadly Night is playing In Theaters on December 11th, 2025.

Silent Night, Deadly Night

GOOD

7

The post Silent Night Deadly Night ’25 Review: A Fun But Flawed Christmas Slasher appeared first on JoBlo.

REVIEW: Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly is tailor-made for George Clooney. Of all the modern movie stars, he’s one of the few left who have maintained a certain aura — a mystique. He’s old-school in the way someone like Cary Grant or Paul Newman was, and his presence is what makes Jay Kelly work as well as it does. You have to believe that Jay Kelly could be a movie star, and Clooney is nothing if not believable in that role.

Many will be tempted to see parallels between Kelly’s career and Clooney’s own, especially as a sizzle reel of the actor’s past movies is used toward the end when the star is given a tribute at a film festival. Yet, the movie examines the hollowness, at times, of a movie star’s life. Kelly, at first, isn’t unlike what we imagine Clooney to be — affable, charming, and well-liked by all as he completes his latest movie (in an elaborately staged oner that introduces the entire cast). Yet Kelly also has two daughters he rarely sees, a few ex-wives, and perhaps no real friends, surrounding himself instead with a retinue of employees who act as a surrogate family.

They are led by Adam Sandler as Ron, his long-time manager, who treats his clients like family, endearingly referring to them only as “puppy,” the same way he calls his own kids. To Ron, Jay is family — but is the reverse true?

Indeed, Jay initially seems like a nice guy, but Baumbach quickly pulls away the layers when Kelly has a chance encounter with an old colleague from whom he once stole a career-making role. The friend, played by Billy Crudup, appears in a bravura scene where their initially friendly encounter soon goes disastrously awry, sending Kelly into a midlife crisis that ends with him hopping a train to Paris in the hopes of reconnecting with his youngest daughter (Grace Edwards), with his employees in tow.

While it’s Clooney’s show, Baumbach has assembled a great supporting cast, with Sandler at his best as the mensch-like Ben, who invests too much in the friendships he believes he has with clients to whom he is little more than hired help. Sandler excels at playing these nice-guy characters, but he’s also believable in the moments when Ben must pivot to ruthlessness — such as when he handles a vicious shakedown or tries to finagle a new part for Jay, whose career is on the downslide as he ages. Laura Dern is especially good as Jay’s publicist, who increasingly starts to resent being dragged away from her own family to serve Jay’s whims, seeing through the nice-guy façade more clearly than others.

Through it all, Clooney maintains our sympathy for Jay. For all his faults, he isn’t presented as a bad person — just hollow. He’s spent no time building a life for himself outside of his work, to the particular resentment of his oldest daughter (Riley Keough, in a small but strong part). The movie grows especially potent in the third act when Kelly reunites with his estranged father, played by a memorable Stacy Keach, and starts to realize just how empty his life truly is.

Yet for all the incredible performances, Jay Kelly isn’t a perfect film. It’s marred by a somewhat indulgent tone, with Baumbach occasionally lapsing into broadly comic moments reminiscent of his lighter fare like Mistress America. Baumbach did a better job with this kind of tone in his masterful Marriage Story (although I didn’t care for his last movie, White Noise). It’s jarring to have near-slapstick moments interfere with the drama, with the tone recalling late-period Blake Edwards, when he was making darker films such as S.O.B. There’s also a heavy dose of Fellini’s 8½ as Jay reflects on his youth, with reenactments of earlier moments from his life portrayed by Andor’s Kyle Soller (it’s refreshing that they didn’t use AI de-aging techniques and opted to go old-school). It’s also a bit too long at 135 minutes, but these imperfections can’t take away from what really works in the movie — namely, the performances.

It’ll be interesting to see how Jay Kelly is received once it opens in theaters (it goes into limited release on November 14) and hits Netflix (on November 5). As a celebration of Clooney and Sandler’s talent, it absolutely works, and even if it’s inconsistent and oddly shaped at times, it tells a story that resonates beyond the privileged world it depicts.

Jay Kelly is now streaming on Netflix.

Jay Kelly

GOOD

7

The post Jay Kelly Review: George Clooney delivers a strong performance in Noah Baumbach’s latest appeared first on JoBlo.

REVIEW: It can be very difficult to encapsulate someone’s entire life in a documentary. So it’s a bit of a relief that Tim Burton: Life in the Line is over four hours long and really takes its time with such a prolific director’s career. Broken down into four episodes, this is something that any fan of the filmmaker will want to check out, not only for the highlight of so many great works, but for some insight from his collaborators that really gets down to who Tim is as a person.

Tim Burton: Life in the Line spans Burton’s entire life and career, getting into the minute details of what makes the filmmaker so unique. It’s fascinating to see how driven he was at a young age, and it’s clear that he was always destined for great things. Nearly every single movie of his gets some sort of spotlight, and the longer runtime allows them to really flourish and not just be glossed over. There’s a certain importance put on most of his projects, and each gets room to breathe. There are some films at the tail end of his career that don’t get quite as much insight, but I think that’s more due to the massive shadow that his other films cast over pop culture as a whole. The narrative moves seamlessly from story to story, mostly chronological, but always flowing with what the conversation dictates.

Burton himself doesn’t appear in the doc, but damn near every single person you could think of that has some kind of connection with the filmmaker does. Johnny Depp, Danny DeVito, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Christopher Walken, and so many more all tell their tales of Burton. While seasoned Burton fans will have no doubt heard some of these stories, it’s how the interviews are presented that really make them feel special. These aren’t just standard interviews and it genuinely feels like these people are opening up about their friend versus being interviewed about them. This is a credit to director Tara Wood, who conducted the sit-downs (watch our own interview with Wood embedded at the bottom of this article). They all clearly have such a love for the man that it comes through on screen.

I think people are really going to be surprised with what an open book Johnny Depp is, telling some very fun stories that I don’t believe have been told elsewhere. Often, actors of his level of fame are quite guarded, so it’s fascinating to see him be so open in this. And given how much his career has been tied to Burton, he really brings the documentary together in a meaningful way. Helena Bonham Carter is also very open about her relationship with Burton, and it’s clear there’s still a deep respect there. The only real notable people that don’t show up are Catherine O’Hara, Burton’s ex Lisa Marie, and his most recent partner, Monica Bellucci. Which, honestly, makes sense for the latter two.

Those who are hoping for any kind of negative light to be cast on Burton with a “gotcha” piece should probably look elsewhere. This is really just about giving the director his due and talking about his influence on so many people and pop culture as a whole.

Tim Burton’s style is one that’s really hard to replicate and the film does a great job of evoking that same feel, with a great score and some truly Burton-esque graphics. The stories are always presented in such vivid detail due to the animations and behind the scenes footage at play. I’m a sucker for any kind of documentary that does a deep dive on a filmmaker or a movie franchise, so Life in the Line was right up my alley. I’ve always been a big Tim Burton fan and was endlessly fascinated by the stories being told. This is an absolute must for anyone that’s a fan of the director. By the end, you’ll just appreciate him even moreso.

Tim Burton: Life in the Line is currently available to purchase HERE.

FULL DISCLOSURE: JoBlo himself, CEO Berge Garabedian, is an executive producer on this project. However, this review is entirely independent, and no instructions have been given to the reviewer.

Tim Burton

AMAZING

9

The post Tim Burton: Life in the Line Review: A Brilliant Doc On The Filmmaker’s Illustrious Career appeared first on JoBlo.

Review: During a year when the secret to owning the box office eludes some of Hollywood’s safest bets, a dark horse is riding high in the form of anime. In September, Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle sent shockwaves through the industry by earning over $ 768 million worldwide, while Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc garnered $150 million from global audiences. Both films continue an ongoing saga, but also treat newcomers to stories and characters with which they can genuinely engage. Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution, anime’s hat trick of 2025, does no such thing.

From what I could gather, Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution tugs at ongoing threads from Season 2 while setting up Season 3, beginning with The Culling Game. The result is a violent compilation of scenes that dazzle the eye but leave little for uninitiated audiences to latch onto. As someone new to Jujutsu Kaisen, this movie was incomprehensible to me.

After what I assume is directors Shouta Goshozono and Yôsuke Takada putting a bloody bow on the final six episodes of The Shibuya Incident storyline, we find Yuji Itadori marked for execution by Jujutsu HQ. The spectacle that led to this thread, though confusing, is thrilling to watch. If I’m going to give Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution its flowers in any capacity, it’s in the movie’s ability to display eye-popping animation at almost every turn. I don’t think I took my first breath since the movie’s start until 37 minutes in. Only then was I able to pause the film, collect my frazzled thoughts, and prepare myself for the next chapter.

Am I at a disadvantage because I haven’t seen the Jujutsu Kaisen series? Absolutely. Does this make me less qualified to enjoy the film? Hell no. Still, when I watched Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, my lack of foreknowledge about the series didn’t keep me from enjoying the movie. In fact, I’m catching up on Demon Slayer now, prompted by my enjoyment of Infinity Castle. In the case of Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution, I’m only mildly curious to double back, do my homework, and hope to meet Execution on its terms.

My chief complaint about the film stems from my almost complete lack of an emotional response to it. Save for two brief moments involving characters I recognize from the core series, I felt nothing. Because the movie moves so quickly, leaping in time and logic from one battle to another, I often found myself feeling disoriented with no time to process what I’d just seen. There was little to no time to digest anything, let alone feel sorrow for a fallen comrade or contemplate the magnitude of Yuji Itadori’s next task. Believe me when I tell you I tried.

I’ll give Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution this: it’s at times a visual feast. I enjoy the film’s dynamic camerawork, slick editing, and atmospheric sound design, with some action sequences feeling as kinetic and super-charged as the best parts of Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc. For someone like me who felt lost for the film’s duration, the visual presentation went a long way to keep me entertained. Jujutsu Kaisen‘s style is well-suited to the type of anime it is, and every frame gets executed with confidence and purpose. Execution wants you to feel the impact of its fists and taste the copper of blood on your tongue from its relentless displays of violence.

Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution feels like a movie made for fans, and that’s 100% alright. For all my hemming and hawing, the latter part of the movie, The Culling Game setup, feels like the start of something I could maybe sink my teeth into. Like anything else, I want to understand the groundswell around Jujutsu Kaisen. I was hoping Execution would be my ticket in, but it looks like I’ve reached the back of the line and have to do my homework like everyone else if I want to appreciate the film to its fullest. Such is the curse of an anime fan with not enough time on their hands.

Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution

BELOW AVERAGE

5

The post Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution Review – A violent rush of eye-popping spectacle that’s as arresting as it is incomprehensible appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: One year has passed since the supernatural nightmare at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. Former security guard Mike has kept the truth from his 11-year-old sister, Abby, concerning the fate of her animatronic friends. When Abby sneaks out to reconnect with Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy, she sets into motion a terrifying series of events that reveal dark secrets about the true origin of Freddy’s.

REVIEW:  The first Five Nights at Freddy’s movie may have been slammed by critics, but it still ended up a major win for Blumhouse, even with a same-day streaming/theatrical release. Fans showed up in droves. Fandom carried it like a badge of honor, and whether critics got it or not, the franchise was officially alive again.

When Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 rolled around, expectations were naturally high, especially for fans like me. I’ve been obsessed with this universe since playing the first game one late night in October 2014.  I spent many a late-night watching security cams, jumpscares which made me throw my controller, endless lore holes on Reddit, and MatPat videos at 2AM.  I’ve been there for all of it. I know the difference between Toy Chica, Nightmare Chica, and regular ol’ Chica.  I even 3D-printed a Plushtrap (check it out at the bottom of the article).  Let’s be honest, this already puts me in one of two audiences this movie is catering to. That’s really what these movies do: split viewers from the superfans who speak fluent Fazbear, and everyone else who just wants some solid scares without needing a wiki open.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 feels like it wants to be built for both groups at once, for better and worse. If you know the history, you’ll catch references and Easter eggs and let out a little cheer once you see it. If you don’t know the deep cuts, the movie attempts to reward that ignorance by simplifying big chunks of backstory and exposition rather than diving deeper. It keeps newcomers afloat, but at the cost of depth.

We pick up after the first film with Mike (Josh Hutcherson) quietly holding it together.  He fixes up the house, takes care of Abby (Piper Rubio), and doing his best to move forward. Abby, though, misses the spectral kids she befriended. She’s more tech-savvy now, more ghost-obsessed, drifting away from everyone at school, even frustrating her science teacher played by Wayne Knight. Meanwhile Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail) is still drowning in trauma tied to her father, William Afton (Matthew Lillard), who created the animatronics and left a trail of dead children behind. She’s arguably the most psychologically interesting character here, yet the script doesn’t let her breathe, which hurts her performance.

And that’s where the world of Freddy’s gets weirdly bigger. The town embraces Fazbear mania like a pop-culture event. Enter a crew of ghost hunters led by Lisa (the criminally underused Mckenna Grace), with her co-hosts tagging along. They get invited to the original Freddy Fazbear’s location by a mysterious figure named Michael (Freddy Carter). You already know how that goes. They poke around, things creak, spirits stir, and The Marionette is unleashed, bringing a whole different flavor of nightmare to the table.

Now here’s the sad part: on paper, this should be awesome. The new animatronics look fantastic.  The shiny Toy versions, the Withereds and even the OG’s all are wonderfully brought to life by the magic of Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.  You feel the weight of them when they move. The Newton Brothers’ score slithers through scenes like static on a monitor, weaving in familiar series motifs. Josh Hutcherson shows real depth when he’s given space. And even the voices of Toy Chica (Megan Fox), Toy Bonnie (MatPat), and Toy Freddy (Kellen Goff) are inspired.  Performances aren’t the issue… to an extent.

The writing is.

Scott Cawthon took on solo screenwriting this time, and while I respect the creator wanting full control over his story, the script plays like someone trying to cram every game, book, and theory into one movie. It jumps from 1982 flashbacks to modern-day (2002) trauma to ghost kids to new animatronics to side characters with barely any connective tissue. Scenes feel like puzzle pieces forced into shape with duct tape. Characters enter with intrigue and exit forgotten.  Some choices swing from confusing to unintentionally funny. There’s a robotics-fair scene with Abby that feels ripped straight from FANT4STIC 4’s awkward opening.  It’s frustrating knowing how good this could be with tighter focus. Watching talents like Matthew Lillard and Skeet Ulrich (one of the BEST stunt casting I’ve seen in years) reduced to glorified cameos is borderline criminal.

And when the story finally builds toward something meaningful, instead of payoff, we get setup. Not a closure.  A damn tease. The Marionette plot resolves like someone saying, “Don’t worry, the real story is in the next movie.” It’s a problem with franchises these days, by ending a movie like a cliffhanger to a TV show.  Fan service becomes the main course instead of the seasoning.

As a ride through nostalgia, sure, I had fun. I smiled at the animatronics. I jumped once or twice. I felt that old Freddy dread crawl back up the spine like it used to. But when the credits rolled, it didn’t linger. It didn’t haunt. It didn’t stick.  I sat in my seat as the screen went black, baffled it ended the way it did.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 isn’t as terrible as the beating it’s going to receive from other critics.  It’s simply a messy film that loves its mythos but struggles to shape it into something compelling. It needs sharper writing, stronger pacing, and characters with emotional weight. Video games thrive on mystery and interactivity even when plot is thin. Movies don’t have that luxury. They need clarity.

If there’s one takeaway, it’s this: Scott Cawthon built a fantastic world over the years.  But next time, the screenplay should return to a collaborative writer’s room where ideas can breathe and structure can tighten. 

For fans? It’s worth the watch.  Knowing me, I’ll see it again.
For casual viewers? Probably not so much.

It’s frustrating because the potential is right there.  And damn, I hope the next one sticks the landing.

Five Nights at Freddy's 2

BELOW AVERAGE

5

The post Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 Review: Help Wanted in the Writer’s Room appeared first on JoBlo.

Review: There have been countless actors who have transitioned behind the camera once they reached a point in their career, allowing for a creative stretch to direct a passion project. While some have turned it into a second phase of their career, others have faced criticism that advises them to stick to acting. Kristen Stewart‘s career has afforded her a quicker opportunity to tackle her feature directorial debut, The Chronology of Water. Based on the memoir of the same name, The Chronology of Water has been in development since 2022, with Stewart also writing the screenplay. An artistic and impressionistic film, Stewart brings an elegiac eye to tell this deeply personal story, which is transformed into a lyrical poem anchored by a fantastic performance from Imogen Poots.

A popular book since its publication in 2011, The Chronology of Water is a tale of sexual and substance abuse told through the writing of Lidia Yuknavitch. Played by Imogen Poots, Lidia’s journey from being molested as a child to attending college on a swim scholarship, followed by struggles with relationships and addiction, unfolds across several years, presented in a semi-linear fashion. From the outset, the film stutters to life, making me question whether there was something wrong with the copy of the film I was watching, but it was a deliberate choice by Stewart. There are numerous flourishes throughout the film that are intended to demonstrate that Stewart is not merely passively adapting the source material, but instead actively directing this film as a work of art. The nuances of her approach to making the film are tangible and something I expect some viewers will find self-indulgent. I found them to work more often than not.

At the center of what makes The Chronology of Water work is the powerful performance from Imogen Poots. There is a lot to take in during this two-hour film, including incest, abuse, and exploration of sexuality through bondage. But, while some of the sexual content is explicitly described, Stewart shies away from showing any controversial acts on screen. For the vast majority of the film, the camera lingers on Poots’ face, letting her eyes and facial expressions do the heavy lifting. Aside from Poots, the most supporting screen time comes from Michael Epp and Susannah Flood as Lidia’s parents. Stewart’s stutter steps the film back and forth through time in the first chapters of the movie before settling into a linear stride in the second half. The tone and rhythm echo the unbalanced early years of Lidia’s life with her more stable adulthood. Poots also echoes that stability as her performance shifts from volatile and emotionally intense to a calmer and accepting state by the film’s end.

Other than Epp and Flood, the supporting actors in the film weave in and out at different junctures of Lidia’s journey. Earl Cave, Jeremy Ang Jones, Tom Sturridge, and Charlie Carrick portray various partners from Lidia’s life while rock icon Kim Gordon appears as a BDSM teacher. Thora Birch plays Lidia’s older sister, who also experiences sexual abuse as a child, and much of the connection between Poots and Birch is unspoken but comes through clearly on screen. Esme Creed-Miles appears as a close friend who helps Lidia on her literary journey by introducing her to a project run by Ken Kesey, the author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, played by Jim Belushi. This project opens the creative floodgates that lead to the publication of the memoir this film is based on. Belushi rarely secures roles like this, and he excels in portraying Kesey as a father figure and mentor while retaining his counterculture approach to life.

While The Chronology of Water would be a worthwhile watch regardless of who directed it, the name recognition of Kristen Stewart will hopefully open it up to a broader audience. Stewart has worked with many acclaimed filmmakers over her career, but this film most closely feels influenced by her time with Pablo Larrain, director of Spencer. There are moments throughout the movie that echo the dreamy and surreal tone that Larrain often employs. Some new filmmakers overuse concepts and techniques that audiences write off as pretentious, but Stewart doesn’t push them too far. There are moments peppered throughout The Chronology of Water that connect back to cues from the start of the movie. At times, the second and third acts of the movie adhere to a traditional style, which is enhanced by the film being shot on 16mm. Lidia’s return to drugs or alcohol shifts the style back to the erratic early scenes. It is a practical approach that may signal a bright future for Kristen Stewart as a director.

While not defined by the sexual and substance abuse sequences on screen, The Chronology of Water starts as a challenging portrait of psychological trauma. It transforms into a drama about psychological growth and triumph over the demons that haunt our past, a theme inherent in Lidia Yunkavitch’s writing that is reflected in the recitations throughout the movie. This movie should not be viewed merely as Kristen Stewart’s directorial debut, but rather as a faithful adaptation of a poetic memoir that would not have worked as a traditional biopic. The film is also an impressive showcase for Imogen Poots, who delivers a standout performance that ranks among her best. The Chronology of Water is a solid directorial debut for Stewart, featuring one of the best performances of the year.

The Chronology of Water is now playing in theaters.

The Chronology of Water

GOOD

7

The post The Chronology of Water Review: Kristen Stewart makes a compelling directorial debut appeared first on JoBlo.

REVIEW: There’s really nothing quite like a good comedy, and it seems like we rarely get one in the modern era. Often relegated to streaming, they may be good for one or two chuckles, but rarely do they provide consistent laughs. It doesn’t help that theaters just don’t seem to be showing them, which takes away from that communal experience of laughing with an audience. I’m happy to report that Fackham Hall is the funniest movie I’ve seen this decade, and one you definitely want to make sure you check out in theaters.

Fackham Hall follows the Davenport family during the wedding of their eldest daughter. There are all sorts of hijinks that ensue, and we’re treated to a large ensemble of endlessly funny characters. Thomasin McKenzie‘s Rose and Ben Radcliffe‘s Eric get a lot of the story’s focus, and they have a very fun dynamic together. Damian Lewis and Katherine Waterston‘s Lord and Lady Davenport contrast each other in such a fun way, and completely embody the heads of the family that we often see in more serious period pieces. Tom Felton‘s Archibald plays into the villainous quality that we’re used to seeing from the actor, but he falls more into the silly oaf category versus someone who’s outright evil. Honestly, the whole cast is spectacular and nearly everyone gets a moment to shine.

There are times when Fackham Hall feels like two movies: one a period set drama with beautiful sets and wardrobe, and the other a complete farce where everything is there for a joke. I think this is why the comedy lands so hard, because the authenticity of the time period makes the absurdity going on within it feel even more outlandish. There may be a serious moment happening in the foreground, and something completely insane is going on behind them, without any acknowledgement whatsoever. They also do a great job of playing off standard tropes from more serious films set during this time. There are even some connections to modern-day items such as Siri and Alexa, and it just adds to the over-the-top nature of it all.

One of the funniest bits in the film is when Jimmy Carr doesn’t know how to properly read and mixes up when sentences should end, resulting in a bunch of ridiculous things being said at the wedding. It’s this kind of wordplay that is often present in the film and is infinitely entertaining. I’m really only comfortable with talking about that gag, as it’s shown in the trailer. Otherwise, I think this is one that you really must experience for yourself, as there are so many jokes, there’s really a little something for everyone.

For a comedy, Fackham Hall is like a breath of fresh air, as it’s jokes-per-minute is absolutely relentless. It will take repeated viewings to even catch everything. It’s far sillier than I ever expected it to be and it has more in common with The Naked Gun or Airplane than it does other films set during the same time period. This is genuinely one of the funniest experiences I’ve had with a film in quite some time and I can’t wait to revisit this and pick up on all the jokes I probably missed. Because this is one that’s sure to reward with repeat viewings, which feels rare in the comedy space.

Fackham Hall is playing In Theaters on December 5th, 2025.

Fackham Hall

AMAZING

9

The post Fackham Hall Review: One Of The Funniest Comedies Of The Year appeared first on JoBlo.

Review: Christmas comedies tend to come in two flavors: light and breezy fare that are easily forgotten, and the solidly memorable ones you look forward to all year. The new comedy Oh. What. Fun. from director Michael Showalter is an ode to the underappreciated moms who do everything to bring their families together at the holidays, only to find themselves left to celebrate themselves. Christmas movie moms have taken a backseat in most holiday flicks. If you think back to your favorite yuletide movies, the mom is usually a supporting player rather than the protagonist. Oh. What. Fun. puts Michelle Pfeiffer right at the center of a story that gives matriarchs their due while also providing some satisfying family drama and humor. With a solid ensemble of actors, including Felicity Jones and Chloe Grace Moretz, Oh. What. Fun. lives up to its title.

Oh. What. Fun. follows Claire Clauster (Michelle Pfeiffer) as she prepares another family Christmas that brings her three kids back home after a year away. Eldest daughter Channing (Felicity Jones) is an author working on a new novel and brings her kids and husband, Doug (Jason Schwartzman). Middle daughter Taylor (Chloe Grace Moretz) comes home with her annual tradition of a new girlfriend, this time in the form of Donna (Devery Jacobs). Youngest child Sammy (Dominic Sessa) is unemployed and has recently been dumped by his girlfriend, Mae-bell (Maude Apatow). As the family reunites with Claire and Nick (Denis Leary) for a big Texas celebration, Claire wants nothing more than to be recognized as part of a contest for appreciating mothers on her favorite talk show hosted by the Oprah-esque Zazzy Tims (Eva Longoria). Claire also has a standing feud with neighbor Jeanne Wang-Wasserman (Joan Chen) that adds more stress to the already hectic days leading up to Christmas.

The first half of Oh. What. Fun. pulls every Christmas movie staple together, including last-minute shopping at the crowded mall, tensions between siblings and their spouses, decorating and cooking fails, and all sorts of expected speed bumps along the way to December 25th. The members of the family all seem to have forgotten their mom, who dotes on everyone and barely gets any time for herself. It comes to a head when they head to a concert Claire bought tickets for, and they fail to make sure she is with them. Fed up, Claire packs a bag and leaves on a mini-road trip that features its own mix of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles-style mishaps. During Claire’s personal journey, the rest of the Clausters face their own mistakes and pent-up frustrations with each other as Nick and the rest realize how much Claire did to keep Christmas on track year after year. Channing faces her desire to live up to her mother’s shadow, and Sammy reignites his crush with neighbor Lizzie Wang-Wasserman (Havana Rose Liu) while the rest of the family endures their own mini-breakdowns.

The back half of the movie sees Claire and the family reunite, and everyone finally comes clean with one another, restoring the Christmas season to a balanced state of pent-up animosity and familial love. Most of the cast get to stretch themselves a bit, but this is mainly a showcase for Michelle Pfeiffer to play a frazzled mom who has finally had enough. Unlike movies like Christmas Vacation or Elf, the dads are secondary, with Denis Leary getting to wax on how much he relies on and adores Claire and not much else. Chloe Grace Moretz’s Taylor has the least to do in the film, while Jason Schwartzman’s Doug is essentially comic relief. Felicity Jones and Pfeiffer get to share some emotional scenes that tie the movie together. At the same time, Dominic Sessa, who starred in the new Christmas classic The Holdovers, receives the next most substantial arc in the story. Many of the subplot elements, including shoplifting, a poorly assembled gift, and neighborly feuds, are not thoroughly explored and feel like they exist only to pad the story.

The best scenes in the film involve Eva Longoria’s Zazzy Tims, which gets to the crux of the message, Oh. What. Fun. is trying to convey that mothers are often overlooked throughout the year, but it stings the most during the holidays. Based on the Amazon Original Story of the same name by Chandler Baker, the movie benefits from director Michael Showalter’s experience with comedy films. Showalter has helmed some classics like Wet Hot American Summer and the acclaimed films The Big Sick and The Eyes of Tammy Faye, but this is his first foray into making a holiday movie. Showalter’s films have had an absurdity to them and really embrace the weirder elements of comedy, but Oh. What. Fun. is as straightforward as it comes. There are plenty of funny moments in the film, and it definitely struck a familiar chord with my own family holiday experiences. Still, the quality of the cast exceeds the material. Much of the dialogue feels like it could have been tightened up a bit with a tighter focus. Many of the holes in the plot are glossed over and hidden beneath one of the better compilation soundtracks in a while.

While it is not entirely light and breezy, Oh. What. Fun. remains a welcome addition to the holiday movie rotation. The message of appreciating moms is a long-overdue angle to telling a Christmas story from a perspective not often seen on screen, but it does not mean this is a movie bent on trashing dads, kids, siblings, or spouses. Moms will definitely relate to the core message in the film, while the rest of the family will be preparing solid gift ideas for next year’s celebration. Michelle Pfeiffer makes this movie work thanks to her performance, which is both fun and heartfelt. I enjoyed seeing the entire cast, especially Felicity Jones and Dominic Sessa, for a movie that has its heart in the right place. Oh. What. Fun. brings together a realistic blend of Christmas shenanigans into a film that will have you reminding yourself not to take anyone for granted at this time of year.

Oh. What. Fun. premieres on December 3rd on Prime Video.

Oh. What. Fun.

AVERAGE

6

The post Oh. What. Fun. Review: Michelle Pfeiffer is great as an underappreciated mom at Christmas appeared first on JoBlo.

Review: Representation of Asian Americans has improved significantly over the last decade. From the Oscar triumph of Everything Everywhere All at Once to the critical acclaim of the Netflix series Beef, stories focused on Asian culture and its connection to the American experience have shifted from being on the fringes of cinema to vital stories at its core. With numerous small-screen series, such as Interior Chinatown and American Born Chinese, and films like Pixar’s Turning Red, showcasing the comedic side, and movies like Didi delving into more serious aspects, it should come as no surprise when a new film joins their ranks. Eric Lin’s Rosemead is an intense look at a family dealing with medical and psychological trauma within a larger view of the increasing prevalence of gun violence in the United States. Produced by and starring Lucy Liu in a performance that may be the best of her career, Rosemead is not only a good movie but an important one.

Rosemead follows Irene (Lucy Liu), the owner of a print shop in the Los Angeles area, who has terminal cancer. As she keeps her prognosis a secret from her teenage son, Joe (Lawrence Shou), Irene also contends with the loss of her husband to a sudden heart attack. Irene also tries to care for Joe as he struggles with a schizophrenia diagnosis that she is ashamed to face head-on. The stigma of being mentally ill is a damning one in Asian communities, something more pronounced as Irene was born in China, making Joe a first-generation American. While Joe is medicated and undergoing therapy with Dr. Hsu (James Chen), his behavior begins to become more erratic and shows signs of bordering on potential violence. Joe’s fixation on the rash of school shootings on the news gives Irene concerns that force her out of hiding from the truth of what may be happening to her son and sets her on a path to try to protect him from himself before she loses her fight with her cancer.

With a very low budget, Lucy Liu has been working to get Rosemead to screens for half a decade, feeling that the subject matter was important enough to devote her time to making it right. Liu adopts an accent and performs a significant portion of the film in Mandarin, accompanied by a physical transformation that conveys the physical toll of a life of labor and the frailty of cancer treatments. Yet, the intensity of her acting skill remains at the forefront. Liu has been in countless physically demanding roles in her career, most of which are built around action set-pieces, but she gets to stretch her dramatic talents here, and it is impressive to behold. Some may see similarities between Liu’s performance and Michelle Yeoh’s Academy Award-winning turn in Everything Everywhere All at Once, but that is more superficial than anything. While both characters are Chinese mothers who struggle to reconcile their cultural identities with their first-generation American children, Lucy Liu’s performance is far darker and rooted in the psychological trauma of being a parent of a mentally unstable teenager. The choices Liu makes as an actor to tell this heart-rending, accurate tale are subtle and evoke emotions we have all felt ourselves.

As impressive as Lucy Liu is, newcomer Lawrence Shou delivers a moving debut performance as Joe. Actors who portray characters dealing with mental and psychological diagnoses often overlook the subtle elements of what those afflicted experience every day and tend to go with broader choices in showing these symptoms on screen. Shou has some loud and intense moments centered on Joe’s disconnection from reality, but he and Lucy Liu find a connection that echoes the bond between mother and child. The supporting cast includes Orion Lee, Jennifer Lim, Madison Hu, and James Chen, but the pairing of Liu and Shou is central to virtually the entire length of the film. While most of the actors in the cast interact, at one point or another, with Liu or Shou, their presence is intended to augment the central narrative; therefore, no one receives much development beyond serving to move the narrative forward. In some films, this would be a detractor, but Rosemead benefits from keeping the characters of Irene and Joe in focus throughout the film.

Written by Marilyn Fu (the upcoming The Copenhagen Test). Rosemead is the feature directorial debut of Eric Lin. Lin has worked extensively as a cinematographer and helmed several shorts before working with Luc Liu on this project. Bridging an indie sensibility with the eye of a director of photography, Lin allows the actors to take precedence in the frame and refrains from trying to do anything flashy. There is a workmanlike approach to how Lin filmed Rosemead that lends the story an immediacy and tension, driving the devastating subject matter home. The idea of school shootings has become so prevalent in American culture that we sometimes lose sight of how terrible they are, even before they happen. Rosemead never preaches to the audience about the dangers of firearms or the cause of violence using guns. Still, the threat that it could happen adds to the already grotesque nature they bring to our culture. The clash of American culture with Asian identity meets in Rosemead in ways you would not expect but which absolutely land their message.

Rosemead is an excellent showcase for the acting talents of Lucy Liu and a showcase for the skills of Lawrence Shou. If this were not a true story, I would have felt the direction the plot takes a little heavy-handed, but that does not detract from the horror of what these people went through. Rosemead is a small film, but it carries a big message, one that transcends ethnicity and cultural identity. This is a story about the importance of eradicating the stigmas of mental illness and embracing the challenge of caring for those who cannot do it for themselves. Lucy Liu has given a career-defining performance that deserves recognition. Rosemead may not end up at the Academy Awards, but it definitely deserves a spot amongst the most impactful and shocking films of the year.

Rosemead opens in a limited theatrical release on December 5th.

Rosemead

GREAT

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