The Roses

 So, what do you think of when I bring up The War of the Roses?

Do you think of that one war between two English Royal Houses? Do you think of that one movie that Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner did with Danny DeVito in 1989? Or do you think of that one novel by Warren Adler that sourced the aforementioned movie?

I'll bet when you watch Jay Roach's take on the novel, simply titled The Roses, you'll think of the older movie. Is Tony McNamara's loose adaptation just as funny as Michael J. Leeson's faithful approach for the 1989 film? Is it funny, period? Let's take a look.

Theo (Benedict Cumberbatch) & Ivy Rose (Olivia Colman) are the couple that most would envy. He's a successful architect, and she's an aspiring chef who's also a successful stay-at-home mom. He eventually buys her a lot for a restaurant, which she calls We've Got Crabs! Everything changes when the storm of the century hits; his dream Nautical Museum falls pathetically to pieces, while her restaurant hits it big thanks to a visiting food critic (Caroline Partridge).

A few years later, he's the stay-at-home dad and she's the breadwinner. This new arrangement slowly, but surely, drives them apart with resentment. They try to hide it with playful banter, but everyone immediately sees the writing on the wall. It takes a memorable jog before Theo finally decides to divorce Ivy. Problem is, neither of them want to part with their smart house. Will someone blink in this War of the Roses, or will they destroy each other? I'll bet you know the answer already.

But you'll have to wait a while for the "festivities." It's 102-minutes long, and the war officially kicks off about an hour in. Theo & Ivy partake in childish pranks, most of which are told in a montage. Their attorneys, Barry (Adam Samberg) & Eleanor (Allison Janey), have an entertaining verbal sparring session. It gets pretty nasty in the climax, when both sides resort to all-out attempted murder. The last few seconds all but spells out their fate, a memorable "oops" moment if I've ever seen one. All the fun of the older movie in this one's last half-hour. "Where's the fun in that?" you might ask.

An answer might be how it eviscerates the whole "till death you part" thing. Their friends, including the aforementioned Barry and his wife Amy (Kate McKinnon), point out the obvious tensions. Their marriage counselor, Janice (Belinda Bromilow), deems their marriage unsalvageable after one session. Their kids, Hattie & Roy (Hala Finley & Wells Rappaport), applaud them for finally pulling the plug. Naturally, the film doesn't think highly of obviously contentious couples. If divorce is a parachute, then the Roses should hurry up and use it yesterday. I mean, they had their chance. Several, actually...

The Roses start off as pretty good parents and partners. As the film went on, however, I found myself siding with Ivy way more than Theo. She, at least, tries to be sympathetic to him, but he counters with needlessly cruel jabs (particularly when he finally starts the divorce). We can sympathize with him - when we're not laughing profusely - when the museum collapse goes viral. We can also slightly sympathize with him when Ivy slanders him with AI. But his climactic attempt to kill Ivy with food allergies renders their reconciliation a little flat. It's admittedly fun to watch Cumberbatch act like a petulant brat, though. He and Colman get some marvelous insults, so there's some levity there.

What else do we have here? Ivy's skills in pastry architecture are nothing less than outstanding. You got to see her house cake, at least until she throws it around during a contentious dinner party. I don't know who actually made the dishes, whether it was Colman or someone else on the staff, but they were appealing (ignore some "extra" ingredients). Their smart house looks pretty nice, thanks to production designer Mark Ricker. Its opening credits, set to a cover of Happy Together, are visually imaginative. Finally, Theodore Shapiro adds to the soundscape with an exquisite score.

It's an amusing deconstruction of marriage, even if it's not as vicious as its predecessor (I don't miss the older film's dinnertime surprise, though). I think some of the film's new gags are pretty good. I don't think the film's pathos is proficient, but it has some moments. Overall, it might be worth seeing this peculiar film even once. If it gets you to look at the older versions, then it's done something right.

The Toxic Avenger

 A few years after its festival run, The Toxic Avenger, Macon Blair's reinvention of Troma Entertainment's signature superhero, has finally started playing at theatres near us. Should we dump it back in the sewers? Or should we let it rise? Let's find out.

Winston Gooze (Peter Dinklage) is a janitor trying to live a simple life Tromaville (St. Roma's Village). That life ends when he's diagnosed with a brain tumor, and his insurance won't cover him. He tries appealing to his employer, CEO Bob Garbinger (Kevin Bacon) of the BTH company, for help. Unbeknownst to Winston, BTH is a snake-oil company, and is singularly responsible for the town's poor health. Unsurprisingly, Bob and his henchwoman Kissy (Julia Davis) throw him out. 

Winston then tries corporate burglary, only to run into crusading reporter J.J. (Taylour Paige), and a murderous rock band called The Killer Nutz. The Nutz throw him into toxic waste, which mutates him into a creature nicknamed Toxie (Luisa Guerreiro, with Dinklage voicing the part). As Toxie bloodily cleans-up crime, Bob's benefactors at the mob start breathing down his neck. So, he concocts a scheme to extract Toxie's blood for scientific reasons (like superpowers). In the midst of this, Toxie has to reconnect with his stepson, Wade (Jacob Tremblay).

Everyone with me so far? 

The hardest thing to analyze is its sense of humor. It's unapologetically vulgar and gleefully gruesome, but then again, so are the Deadpool movies. What novelty is there when ultra-violent superhero media is now more common? Sure, it purports to be unrated, but it's actually rated R, released as the director intended. Oh, I think I explained the joke ...

Still, much like Deadpool, it still has fun stomping on cliches. Various parts of Tromaville are introduced with ridiculously gloomy names; some characters don't instantly die violently; an angry mob immediately forms after Toxie; Wade's appeal to Toxie's better nature - during the final battle - quickly falls apart. Its gruesomeness is admittedly still amusing; one particularly vulgar gag actually saves the day. I could go on, but that would ruin some of the fun. Indeed, it's all fun to watch, but I think it works best if you're watching with a crowd (I was the only one there!). 

Winston's plight is played for laughs as much as good taste allows. On one hand, his initial diagnosis is drowned out by an inconvenient construction crew. On the other, his talk with an uncaring insurance rep (Jane Levy) is hilariously maddening. His literal Save the Cat moment, even as onlookers ruthlessly mock him, gets us on his side right away. It's quite nice when he's celebrated as a hero by grateful onlookers at the end (including his creator, Lloyd Kaufman). Nothing seems amiss when Dinklage is switched out with Guerreiro; the suit work and dubbing are flawless. Toxie's makeup job, as well as those for his rogue's gallery, is perfectly freaky.

That rogue's gallery is perfectly headlined by Bob, who's so entertainingly, bombastically evil that he literally turns into the devil later on. Now, I made the mistake a few folks assumed with Toxie and thought it was Bacon underneath that makeup. That's actually Spencer Wilding (who also doubles as the Punk chicken masked Him Under the Hood), and he nails Bacon's mannerisms perfectly. Kissy, who seems to flip-flop between reluctant and willingly villainous, is all-out entertaining when she embraces evil. Fritz (Elijah Wood), Bob's brother, is a pitiable enough sad sack who turns good. Finally, we have Thad Barkabus (Jonny Coyne), the head mob guy, who doesn't add much for a secondary big bad.

J.J., in any other movie, would just be the deuteragonist. She's that, and the film's straight man, and it's quite amusing to see her confront the strangeness. She and Wade get a nice scene together as they bond over their recent bereavements (her sister, his mom). Wade, meanwhile, is decently likable, and is equally sympathetic in his strained relationship with Winston. Sean Dooley has a memorable cameo as J.J.'s boss, Mel Furd (the same name as Toxie's previous civilian identity), who gets one of the aforementioned prolonged deaths. The biggest supporting star, however, is David Yow, as Guthrie Stockings the Wise Hobo, Toxie's heroic mentor.

Now for the technical stuff. It gets pretty obvious whenever it utilizes CGI gore. Some might complain, but I'll let it slide considering this film's delightful unreality, which unless I'm mistaken, is also consistent with the Troma style. Practical effects aren't completely abandoned; there's an animatronic mutant bird who pops up for a few gags. Excellent production and costume designs further help visualize this unreality.

This movie, much like Troma's filmography, isn't for everyone. It's not only crass and violent, but Toxie doesn't show up until about thirty-minutes in. If you can tolerate that, you'll find yourself with a delightfully bizarre matinee. Maybe I'm wrong, but it's still messy fun. That's it for now.

Freakier Friday

Disney has adapted Mary Rodgers' novel Freaky Friday to film four times already. Some might remember the 1976 film with Jodie Foster & Barbara Harris but even more remember the 2003 take with Lindsay Lohan & Jamie Lee Curtis, the latter now has its own sequel. So, what happens in Freakier Friday?

It’s been years since Tess & Anna Coleman (Curtis & Lohan) had their Freaky Friday. These days, Tess is a successful podcaster and author, while Anna is a music producer and single mom to Harper (Julia Butters). Harper and her new classmate, the British Lily Reyes (Sophia Hammons), hate each other. The same can’t be said for Anna and Lily’s dad, Eric (Manny Jacinto); they’re about to marry after six months.

As the future stepsisters dread their lives together, they and the elder Colemans get separate seances with the eccentric Madame Jen (Vanessa Bayer). These seances instigate another Freaky Friday, where Anna switches with Harper, and Tess switches with Lily. As their elders go back to school, the stepsisters navigate the adult world. The girls also scheme to split their parents apart, which involves bringing in Anna’s High-School boyfriend Jake (Chad Michael Murray). Of course, things go wrong until they go right again. That’s pretty much it. 

This sequel only requires a tertiary knowledge of the first film's plot. If you haven't seen the first film, this one will give you enough context to know the returning supporting cast. Besides Jake, we have an antagonistic teacher (Stephen Tobolowsky's Mr. Bates), Anna's stepfather Ryan (Mark Harmon), and Anna's high-school bandmates Maddie & Peg (Christina Vidal Mitchell & Haley Hudson). Pei-Pei (Rosalind Chao), whose mother's (Lucille Soong) magic fortune cookies caused the previous body-swap, only appears during the fateful bachelorette party. But since they're uninvolved with a plot, something they point out, you won't feel lost if you don't recognize them.

Director Nisha Ganatra, who replaces the first film's Mark Waters, works with a script by Jordan Weiss & Elyse Hollander. There's plenty of hilarity as the four leading ladies work out their body-swap situation. It's kind of fortunate that they're kept in pairs following the switch, otherwise it might be way difficult to discern them all. Instead, it's slightly confusing. Anna-as-Harper and Tess-as-Lily goof around when they're not accidentally irritating "their" classmates (long story). Harper-as-Anna & Lily-as-Tess, however, get a pivotal subplot as they lend sympathetic ears to Ella (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), one of Anna's clients. It's quite devastating when the breakup scheme succeeds, but again, it all ends well.

Of course, the four leading ladies' performances sell the body-swapping. As soon as they wake up, each pair feels like the other. I wasn't watching Lohan & Curtis as Anna & Tess; I was watching them as Harper-as-Anna & Lily-as-Tess. The same goes for Anna-as-Harper & Tess-as-Lily. Lohan gets believably silly when Harper-as-Anna tries to impress Jake (who, for his part, doesn't antagonize Eric). Curtis gets some of the best acted moments as Lily-as-Tess comes to terms with her late mom's death and realizes her selfishness. It's believably heartwarming when the "elder" Colemans connect with the "girls." Let's move on before it gets actually confusing.

What else does it have? When the body-swaps happen, everything spins around for a good while. It's quite dizzying, but it's also pretty impressive how seamless it all looks. For all I know, maybe it was done in-camera! Amie Doherty gives us a decent score, but you'll most likely remember the various pop songs on the soundtrack. A few highlights include Better Than the Last One, which is deliberately tasteless in context, and Baby, which is pivotal for Harper & Anna's reconciliation. Finally, we have a pretty likable supporting cast, with Eric & Ella being notable highlights. Particularly, Eric is sympathetic when he breaks up with Anna, while Ella is endearingly bathetic when she sulks over a breakup while dressed as a strawberry (long story?).

A lot of the jokes in Freakier Friday especially tickled the seniors in my audience. You won't need any body-switching to get their perspectives; there's something for everyone in this sequel. There's plenty of hilarity, yes, but there's plenty of resonant themes, too. This will surely join the first film on the watchlists of many a household in no time. You might see why if you check it out now.

BTW, did you know that the original novel had its own sequels? Two of them, A Billion for Boris and Summer Switch, actually have their own obscure film adaptations. Who knows if the third, Freaky Monday, might ever get considered for an adaptation? Are their legal issues involved?

War of the Worlds

 When Orson Welles broadcast his take on HG Wells’s The War of the Worlds in 1938, mass panic followed. If those same audiences were somehow able to watch director Rich Lee’s take, which Universal just released through Amazon Prime, mass confusion would follow instead. It certainly won't fool modern audiences either. Let's see why.

Will Radford (Ice Cube) keeps tabs on everyone for the Department of Homeland Security. As a side-project, he also keeps tabs on his adult kids, Faith (Iman Benson) and David (Henry Hunter Hall). A normal workday is disrupted by a worldwide meteor storm, followed by an alien invasion. As mechanical Tripods blast away, it’s up to Will to get his kids to safety. That’s practically it.

Oh, yeah, everything unfolds from the comfort of Will’s monitor. We see Will look through security cameras, Zoom-conference with family & co-workers, watch choppy footage of the Tripods’ attacks, and even scroll through Amazon in the climax. It’s not the first film to do this, but it’s probably the first of these films based on a famous novel. It’s a fine approach heat-rayed into oblivion by its execution.

First, let me talk about the visual effects. The ultra-storms that precipitate the Tripods’ arrival are appropriately freaky. The visualization of the Tripods, however, pale in comparison to the effects utilized by Byron Haskin and Steven Spielberg for their films’ alien war-machines. The obviously CGI Tripods’ rampages are made worse by city-scenes that barely acknowledge their existence. There's barely any mass panic or destruction, just an average Sunday. When Will hacks into a Tesla for Faith, the video feed shows nothing out of the ordinary. Even the ineptest monster movies have characters who actually believe they're being attacked by something unspeakable. What does this have?

Now, let’s talk about the characters. Will reacts to just about everything, even several fake-out deaths, with mild annoyance. He’s slightly more emotional when the invaders delete his late wife’s Facebook page (more on that later). He gets rather animated when Earth fights back, then zips back to dull disappointment when the invaders counterattack. Meanwhile, Faith, a science major who creates an anti-invader virus, takes a rebar to the leg at one point, and decides taking it out will stop the bleeding. Surprise, it doesn’t, but she survives with plot armor! Most of the other supporting cast, including Clark Gregg as the DHS director, and Eva Longoria as Will’s NASA contact, are not much to write home about.

Midway through the movie, it’s discovered that the invaders eat data! Yes, you and your loved ones’ Facebook pages are just four-course meals, as Will finds out. Their data munching even renders military vehicles and passenger planes useless! It later transpires that they're specifically here for Goliath, a MacGuffin of a Surveillance Program. So, why did they need to open their invasion with their war machines? It sounds more like a job for extraterrestrial subterfuge. The film never bothers to explain how any of this works. 

So, what does work? I'll have to admit that its climax, where Will races to upload the kill virus before bombers blow-up DHS headquarters, is pretty tense. Sure, most of the movie kept me detached from Will's situation, but the climax had me on edge. The sound design, at least, tries to sell us on the impending apocalypse as air raid sirens fill the air. The Tripods' war cry is nice and loud, even if I prefer the mechanized digeridoo which vocalized Spielberg's Tripods. Finally, it's pretty nifty how the film works in both the novel's Tripods and Flying Machines, rather than keep them to one type. It might not make a difference for some, but I find it a good touch.

And finally, should you watch it? Spielberg's film is infinitely more competently made, but it's one of the most harrowing sci-fi films ever made. This film is worth a few good unintended laughs. See it with a few friends and you might get a few good heckles in. It's a quick and easy ninety minutes, which is slightly longer than Haskin's film. But I'm sure you might have better uses of that time. I'll understand if you do.

Weapons

As you may recall, I skipped out on Companion when it opened earlier this year. That film's producer, Zach Cregger, is back already with Weapons, which he wrote, directed, produced and co-composed the moody score with the Holladay Brothers. I didn't skip that one.

One morning, at Maybrook Elementary School, Mrs. Justine Gandy (Julia Garner) walked into her third-grade class, and found only one student, Alex Lilly (Cary Christopher). Hours earlier, at 2:17 am, the rest of the class all ran out into the night. Naturally, most of the adults have questions, and they think the mousy Justine has all the answers. A month later, Principal Marcus Miller (Benedict Wong) places Justine on leave, partially for her own protection. An unseen stalker harasses her at one point, while a creepy clown lady haunts her dreams. She soon turns to alcohol ...

Meanwhile, Archer Graff (Josh Brolin), the father of one of the missing kids, starts sleuthing around. He eventually realizes the kids may have all been running in the same direction. Justine, meanwhile, notices Alex has been acting strangely for a while. It seems Alex knows a lot more than what he's telling the police. It seems that someone, or something, is behind it all. Justine and Archer team-up to get the answers.

The screenplay is divided into six chapters, each with a different main character. Besides the aforementioned, we also get chapters for Paul Morgan (Alden Ehrenreich), a police officer and James (Austin Abrams), an inept burglar. Throughout it all, certain events play out at least twice, while each chapter is usually capped off by an enticing cliffhanger. Each shocking turn sits with you while the mystery unfolds over the course of 128-minutes. It's a fun experience, even if I'm a bit bemused not all aspects were explained by the credits. No, I don't mean some of the supernatural stuff, I mean some of the mundane stuff. But that's just me.

The film also arms itself with a great cast. Justine quickly levels-up in assertiveness to cope with the madness but never loses her audience likability. She tries to check on Alex's well-being, despite rules on decorum, so there's that. Archer, meanwhile, is quite compelling as he manages his grief, even in misdirected ways. I almost thought Brolin would have the best acted scene in the movie, where Archer lets out his insecurities in a nightmare scene. That was before the film brought along its big bad, Gladys (Amy Madigan), who owned every single second of her screentime. Alex, meanwhile, is quite compelling once we realize him as the true hero of the piece.

Did you know that it's also pretty funny? Paul and James's animosity is played up more like a one-sided sitcom rivalry than a serious police procedural. By that, I mean that it's mainly due to Paul's bad luck and ineptitude. It's pretty good comic relief, which is made sillier when James almost becomes the accidental hero. Further levity is provided by Marcus and his husband, Terry's (Clayton Farris) happy home life, until Gladys comes calling. Marcus makes for a reasonable and likable authority figure, which makes his fate rather disturbing. But the film sometimes plays its scares for ridiculousness. It makes it enjoyable, in more ways than one, when Gladys is finally defeated.

What else do we have here? Whether they're being serious or silly, the film's scariest moments are constructed perfectly by editor Joe Murphy. You'll be on edge as Justine is harassed by the stalker, whose identity is all but spelt out a while later. The cinematographer, Larkin Seiple, gives us some wonderfully eerie visuals, the best of which come when he leaves the camera running. These moments are perfectly accentuated by the aforementioned score, as well as a pristine sound design. I must also take time to highlight the makeup team for their hard work in evolving Gladys and devolving her possessed victims. I might have said too much already.

Weapons' spectacular use of selective omission and overall craziness makes it a unique horror film. If anything, Gladys might be one of the best new horror villains ever. I struggled to avoid giving too much away when I wrote this review. So, I'll just leave it to you to see it all for yourself. I was impressed with what I saw, and I think you might be too. 

That's it for now.

The Naked Gun

Have you ever thought about life’s little mysteries?

Who was Jack the Ripper? What’s the meaning of life? Or, one of the newest ones, why does Lt. Frank Drebin Jr., who’s apparently in his thirties, look like 73-year-old Liam Neeson? Have any of them crossed your minds?

Fortunately, I have answers for the last one. The first is that it’s who director Akiva Schaffer and producer Seth MacFarlane cast in their new legacy sequel, The Naked Gun. The second is that it’s funny, the same logic that the Zucker Brothers and Jim Abrahams used throughout their works, including the film’s source show Police Squad.

Anyway, Frank is on the case when a dude turns up dead in an electric car. He thinks it’s suicide, but the dead man’s sister, Beth Davenport (Pamela Anderson), disagrees. A little, actual police work leads Frank to the dead man’s employer, Richard Cane (Danny Huston). Cane, unsurprisingly, is the big bad, whose literally named P.L.O.T. Device makes people needlessly violent. It’s up to Frank to stop Cane from using the device on New Year’s Eve. It’s also up to Frank to, maybe, convince city hall from shutting down Police Squad. Yeah, that’s also a thing.

These filmmakers, much like the ZAZ trio, never waste an opportunity for a joke. Whatever's funny, even a tangent with a killer Frosty the Snowman, is the logic of the day. A take-off on a certain scene in Mission Impossible: Fallout was especially enjoyable. Speaking of Mission Impossible, longtime series composer Lorne Balfe's often serious score is great contrast to the lunacy. Granted, not all of them can be winners (a variation of a certain Austin Powers gag went on too long), but nearly all of them hit. I can't give away too many of them, because, as The Joker once said, "if you have to explain a joke, there is no joke!" You'll have to see them all for yourself.

Of course, Neeson's ridiculous attitude and dead-serious delivery is the film's best joke. To put it one way, it's as if his Frank thinks he's in Taken instead of The Three Stooges. He's hilariously petulant when Chief Davis (CCH Pounder) reprimands him for his cowboy cop ways ("since when do cops have to follow the law?"). Still, that moment is surprisingly profound - even for a minute. I would complain about his tragic backstory being just exposition if the film didn't treat it as a joke. It's an amusing one, by the way. He has great chemistry with Anderson, who makes for an equally silly femme fatale parody. Huston, meanwhile, is a wonderfully smug villain who thinks he's all that, but he's really not. 

What else do we have? Well, it's semi-disappointing that the older films' police car opening gag wasn't reprised here. In its place, however, there's a great title gag, and an impressive end credits gag. We also get a few good supporting players with cop Ed Hocken Jr. (Paul Walter Hauser), henchman Sig Gustafson (Kevin Durand), and a nameless bartender (Cody Rhodes). That's not going into all the celebrity cameos, including one blink and you'll miss it cameo in the end. Sadly, I blinked.

 I was already watching the first Naked Gun plenty of times before I was ten. Sure, I didn't understand most of it, but I understood its wackiness a bit. Now that I'm older, I think that this Naked Gun does right by its famous franchise and its creators. Some folks might disagree, but anyone who wants nothing but laughs for 85 minutes will get their money's worth. And then some. Now, I can say that's it for now.

Sit back, because next time, I don't think I'll be reviewing something funny.

The Bad Guys 2

 Here come The Bad Guys, again.

That’s right, Aaron Blabey’s literary animal crew is back for another kid-friendly crime caper. Let’s see what they have to offer in The Bad Guys 2.

The film opens with Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina) on her first mission with The Bad Guys - Mr. Wolf (Sam Rockwell), Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson), Mr. Snake (Marc Maron), and Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos). You’d think that she’d be the main character with that spotlight. But, no, it’s just a way to introduce the crew, as well as some guy who shows up for another scene. Okay.

After that, we see the now Good Guys trying and failing to get legitimate jobs. A Phantom Bandit starts up a crime spree, and everyone thinks that maybe the former Bad Guys did it. They decide to help now-Commissioner Luggins (Alex Borstein) find the real crook. They suspect, with good reason, that it’s Mr. Snake, but soon find him with his new girlfriend, Susan (Natasha Lyonne). Alas, Susan is a mean bird who nabs the crew for her cohorts, Kitty Kat (Danielle Brooks) and Pigtail Petrova (Maria Bakalova).

Kitty Kat and her Bad Girls want The Bad Guys to help them steal the Moon-X Rocket. Otherwise, they’ll leak Gov. Diane Foxington’s (Zazie Beetz) former secret identity as the nefarious Crimson Paw. Mr. Wolf, who’s semi-dating Diane, can’t let that happen, so the crew’s in. The Bad Guys try to outwit The Bad Girls, but they’ll have to settle their differences in space. That’s pretty much it.

The screenplay, by returning writer Etan Krueger and his new accomplice, Yoni Brenner, offers up some clever twists in a seemingly formulaic kid's movie. Some of them involve the cons within cons The Bad Guys pull on their targets, whether they be Mr. Moon (Colin Jost) or The Bad Girls. I was admittedly taken in by Mr. Snake being a red herring, so that's a good twist. It kind of strains when Mr. Wolf breezes through the commonality of the "Phantom Bandit's" loot. It's not that the commonality is called - get this - MacGuffinite, but how he suddenly realizes it. Maybe I'm overthinking it too much. 

The Bad Guys are still the same likable crew from the last movie. It’s fun watching them pull of a few capers during the film’s 104-minutes. It’s also fun watching Diane pull a few capers of her own to investigate the Phantom Bandit. It’s even more fun watching her and Wolf’s relationship play out. But it can’t all be fun and games. You'll feel bad for them as they come up short during a montage of unsuccessful job interviews. You'll feel especially bad for them, and Diane, when they all reach their darkest hour. It makes it all the more satisfying to see them one-up the Bad Girls. One final dark swerve is actually part of the film's best joke.

What can I say about the antagonists? Kitty Kat's smooth voice, ferocious temper, and lack of "thieves' honor" makes her a suitably menacing villain. She gets out of her depth a few times, though the film doesn't dwell too much on the inherent flaw of her masterplan. As for her cohorts, Petrova is considerably nicer than Kitty, while Susan (aka Doom) takes quite a bit longer to show her good side. Overall, the Bad Girls are all right, while returning villain Rupert Marmalade (Richard Ayoade) has a few surprises. Commissioner Luggins, while not truly evil, is very much an antagonist. But, in due time, we see how much a big lug she can be.

What else do we have here? The first film's 2D-style CGI aesthetics are alive and well in this installment. Heck, some of the best gags involve sudden art shifts to plain-old 2D. The action scenes, from the opening car heist to the later wedding heist, are as entertaining as the accompanying Daniel Pemberton score. When the climax hits, we are treated to perhaps the best visualization of outer space in an animated film. It had me thinking of Gravity as a fully animated film, which is a pretty exciting prospect. Still, I don't imagine that film would involve flatulence, which Mr. Piranha supplies plenty of here, but these jokes didn't bother me too much. It's surprisingly as relevant as Mr. Shark's jumpiness.

After nearly a year's wait, The Bad Guys 2 is out to steal your time. Let it, and you might be impressed by its clever twists. Let it, and your kids will surely be amused by its cartoon antics. Let it, and you'll distract yourself from the heat with a fun family action matinee. It's a harmless film, so I say go right in. Is that it for now?

No, for as you see, this film and the next one I'm reviewing were short enough that I doubled-up on them a few days ago. The second feature of my second ever theatrical double feature is coming soon. It might even come just seconds after I post this one. Wait for it, and ...

Shari & Lamb Chop

After a few years of playing the festival circuit, the documentary Shari & Lamb Chop finally makes its public theatrical debut. Lisa D'Apolito's chronicle of a woman and her puppet is pretty much worth the wait. So, how about we get to it?

Shari Lewis, the children's entertainment pioneer, grew up in a loving Jewish home in the Bronx. She wasn't raised on fairy tales like Cinderella, as her mother Ann wanted her to be her own woman. Her father, Abraham Hurwitz, meanwhile, was a professor, who was also the magician Peter Pan the Magic Man. He taught her showmanship, up to and including ventriloquism. She eventually took her act to the Captain Kangaroo show, which is where she conjured up her other half, the puppet Lamb Chop. 

Over several TV shows, Shari introduced Lamb Chop’s other puppet friends - Charlie Horse, Hush Puppy and Wing Ding. Her self-titled show, in particular, beat Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and Sesame Street to the air by nearly a decade. But NBC didn't give her much credit; they didn't even tell her in-person when they cancelled the show in 1963. Afterwards, Shari and Lamb Chop took their act wherever they could. Shari sometimes went without Lamb Chop, but not for long. It all culminates in their triumphant return to TV in 1992 with Lamb Chop's Play-Along.

How about a few highlights? For starters, its chronicle of Abe Hurwitz gives us a fascinating look into his organization, F.A.M.E. (Future American Magical Entertainers), a club for aspiring magicians. It makes it look like a rather fun after-school program, and all the more essential for it. Its history lesson on ventriloquism, as well as watching Shari work, makes the craft enticing, even for a few minutes. An interviewee tells us how she performed a full act at a carnival to a less than packed house. As much as it's cool to watch her operate two puppets at once, or even dance with a full-puppet Fred Astaire, it's even cooler watching her professionalism at work. 

 I have residual memories of Play-Along, particularly from its intro and its entertainingly annoying outro, The Song that Doesn't End. I don't think I've ever realized how funny Lamb Chop could be outside of children's entertainment until now. It's quite unforgettable as we watch Lamb Chop drunk or even sass her own puppeteer! A few interviews with Mallory Lewis (Shari's daughter and Lamb Chop's current puppeteer) and Megan Piphus (muppeteer for Gabrielle on Sesame Street) paint a good picture of the duo's significance. Its most profound moment comes late in the film, as we look behind the scenes of Shari's final TV episode (this past Saturday marked twenty-seven years since her death).

What else do we have? I went in knowing a little about Shari's second husband, Jeremy Tarcher, a publicist and author. I didn't know much about their married life, particularly how they made it last forty-years. I knew even less about her first husband, Stan Lewis, a major figure on several TV quiz shows until that scandal. Suffice to say, I found the pictures painted of both her marriages to be rather vivid. There's quite a bit of ground that the film doesn't cover, such as the time she and Tarcher wrote an episode of Star Trek (Season 3's The Lights of Zetar). Still, what we get out of her life and career here is already thorough enough, so any omissions aren't that bothersome.

There's quite a lot to learn about Shari & Lamb Chop in this documentary. When it's all done, you might not help but tap your foot once The Song that Doesn't End kicks in at the credits. That's what I did; I didn't even move from my seat until the song finally ended. Whether you've last played-along with its subjects sixty, thirty or even ten weeks ago, Shari & Lamb Chop makes for quite a compelling documentary. It's worth a watch at any price. Tune-in soon.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps

 It’s reviewin’ time!

Say what you want about Tim Story’s Fantastic Four movies, but I think they’re pretty entertaining. Granted, it’s been a while since I’ve seen them, but I do remember them being better than the 2015 film. Even the first film’s teaser trailer, which I saw theatrically with Elektra, was much better than that cinematic disaster.

It took a long while, but Marvel’s first family finally makes their MCU-debut with The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which certainly lives up to that adjective. Let’s get to it.

It’s 1964 on Earth-828, as opposed to modern times on the main Earth-616. There, the Fantastic Four - Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Susan Storm-Richards/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn), and Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) - are celebrating their fourth anniversary as superheroes. Not only that, but Reed and Susan are expecting a baby, which is cause for celebration and alarm. After all, who knows if the cosmic rays that mutated the Four will affect the newborn?

One night, the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) announces that Earth is now the next course of her planet-eating master, Galactus (Ralph Ineson). The Fantastic Four visit Galactus to ask him to go away. The Big G agrees, just as long as he gets the Richards Baby, whom he realizes will be one of the universe’s most powerful beings. He’ll just transfer his insatiable hunger into the newborn and that’s that. Oh, and just to emphasize his point, he speeds up the delivery process. 

Naturally, the Four refuse the trade, which means Earth is still on the menu. But with Reed’s scientific abilities, Susan’s gift for diplomacy, Johnny’s interstellar detective work and Ben’s super strength, the Fantastic Four work up alternatives to drive off the Big G. I think that about sums it up.

Unlike Superman, this film, at least, gives us a tangible context for the Fantastic Four. We get a quick rundown, thanks to Ed Sullivan-esque TV host Ed Gilbert (Mark Gatiss), of how they got their powers, their adventures, and how they became the most important people on the planet. It's pretty much everything you need to know about this world in just a few minutes. You won't even feel lost at sea when Reed name-drops a few villains at one point, particularly because you'll have seen them fight several more. One of their villains, Harvey "Moleman" Elder (Paul Walter Hauser), even becomes a somewhat reluctant ally near the end. That's some great world building, to say nothing of the stunning retrofuture world "built" by production designer Kasra Farahani.

What can we expect from this team? Susan's role as the team diplomat gives her plenty of justifiable focus. She may have brokered world peace but watch out if you make her mad. Johnny's not too far behind, as he pieces together the Silver Surfer's backstory with good ol' linguistics. Reed is a bit callous and insufferable, but he rises to the occasion more than once. Ben, meanwhile, has some body issues, but he's mostly come to terms with his mutation. His relationship with a schoolteacher, Rachel Rozman (Natasha Lyonne), helps emphasize his moniker of the Ever-Lovin' Blue-Eyed Thing. Their familial chemistry feels real whether they engage in petty squabbles, fight villains, or quarrel over how to protect the planet. Their robot buddy, H.E.R.B.I.E., is not only funny, but a pretty good ally when he needs to be. What else can I say? It's a Fantastic bunch, and they get slightly better when baby Franklin finally appears.

Our heroes are accompanied by some great villains. Galactus was previously depicted as a giant storm cloud in 2007's Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, much to many a comic fan's dismay. I'm sure those same fans will relish this Galactus's literally gigantic presence, as well as the practical depths used to visualize him. That's right, Ineson wore an actual suit that was only slightly modified with CGI. Galactus is a menacing villain, in more ways than one, but he's understandably driven by a cosmic role he detests. Sure, how he tries to remedy that is pretty selfish, but we can kind of pity him. It helps that neither he, nor his herald, indulge in their villainy. In fact, getting through the Silver Surfer's cold CGI-exterior proves to be the key to stopping the Big G. That's where Johnny's detective work comes into play.

What else do we have? Hauser makes the most of his minimal screentime as the egomaniacal, yet pretty cordial, Moleman. The Red Ghost, a name-dropped adversary, was cast with John Malkovich, who even appeared in the trailer, but he got cut from the film. It's a shame, but a fight with one of the Red Ghost's Super-Apes is a highlight in the opening reel. The film's biggest moment comes when the Four escape Galactus's ship, with the Surfer in pursuit, Susan heavily in labor, and our heroes flying through a blackhole at one point. It's a masterpiece in tension and visual effects, which is matched by the final battle with Galactus. These moments are accentuated by a stellar score by Michael Giacchino, who gives the film a rousing heroic theme as memorable as John Ottman's theme in the Story films.

Perhaps its biggest moment comes during the credits, where we get a sort-of prelude to Avengers: Doomsday, and a preview of the MCU's gutsiest casting choice ever. I know it's coming soon, but after spending nearly two hours with this Fantastic Four, I'm already waiting for their next standalone film, whenever that is. Hopefully, it will be worth the wait. In the meantime, why not take the first steps to watch The Fantastic Four: First Steps? I think they'll be worth it.

'Nuff said.

Superman

This looks like a job for ... another reboot!

I'm not complaining.

It has been twelve years since the DC Extended Universe began with Man of Steel. It has been a few years since it finally ended with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. It has been half-a-week since James Gunn's Superman, the starting point of the new DC Universe, came out. It has been a few days since I saw it. Let's get to it.

Perhaps realizing how ubiquitous his origin story is, Gunn instead drops us in Superman's third year of heroics. As the text recaps, Superman (David Corenswet) caused an international incident by intervening in the invasion of the country of Jarhanpur by their neighbors, Boravia. Boravia sends The Hammer of Boravia, an armored "metahuman," to trounce Superman, a fight whose aftermath opens the film. He does slightly better in the immediate rematch, though.

The Court of Public Opinion comes for Superman when Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) leaks his parents' last message. So, it turns out that Jor-El & Lara (Bradley Cooper & Angela Sarafyan) actually wanted their son to conquer Earth. He didn't know that; the playback didn't get that far. It's part of Luthor's scheme to help Boravia continue the invasion of Jarhanpur. With Superman locked away in Luthor's interdimensional prison, it's up to Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) to rally a few allies, human and metahuman, to save the day. They'll have to hurry, for Luthor's interdimensional warp is about to tear the planet apart.

Who else is in the story? We get the Justice Gang, which consists of Green Lantern Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi), and Hawkgirl (Isabella Merced), who are later joined by Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan). Jimmy Olson (Skyler Gisondo) has a substantial subplot with Luthor's gal, Eve Teschmacher (Sara Sampaio). A few other names include Vasil Ghurkos (Zlatko Burić), the President of Boravia; Jonathan & Martha Kent (Pruitt Taylor-Vince & Neva Howell); and, of course, Krypto the Superdog, who's simply a good boy. I haven't scratched the surface of this cast; I'd be here all day if I went further.

Despite its mammoth cast, the film's plot is generally easy to follow. Its most substantial supporting players fit their narrative or thematic roles rather well. The Justice Gang, in particular, are presumably more seasoned heroes, and aren't as idealistic as Superman. Superman's goodness grows on them throughout the film, even if Mr. Terrific's character growth is the most noticeable. I actually enjoyed Jimmy's subplot, as it not only gives him his biggest spotlight in years, but also an enjoyable scene partner with Eve. Lots of other names pop up here and there, though you don't need to read nearly ninety-years of comics to understand them. 

We're told that Jarhanpur has an "authoritarian" leader that Ghurkos wants to "liberate" the country from. Thing is, we don't really meet that leader, whoever they are. On the other hand, we're not supposed to trust Ghurkos, and we're given plenty of reasons why as the film goes on. When the Boravian army breaks through the border, a Jarhanpurian crowd calls out for Superman, which is answered in spectacular fashion by the Justice Gang. It's a crowd-pleasing moment, though it could've been more profound if we had seen - not just told of - Superman's first intervention. It's fine that it skips through Superman's origin, though it's less fine that it delegates most of its backstory to "tell, don't show."

Thankfully, there's plenty of stuff to see here. In this iteration, Lois is not only Superman's secret keeper, but they're dating as well. Corenswet and Brosnahan have excellent chemistry together, whether in good times or in bad. Their "breakfast-for-dinner" date is charming, though it turns tense when she grills him on his intervention. You'll feel it when Superman exasperatedly justifies his intervention with "people were going to die!" Still, that's not enough to sour anyone's perception of this relationship. It gets better from here.

What else do we have here? Superman saving various civilians and pets from collateral damage is just as awesome as his punch-ups with bad guys. His final showdown with Luthor lets him outline his persistent dedication to good in spectacular fashion. This Luthor, meanwhile, is beyond arrogant and morally loathsome, but he's quite entertaining when he gets his comeuppance. It's these moments that help make Corenswet perhaps the best Superman since Christopher Reeve. While the film's makeup work is impressive, its biggest highlight is Metamorpho's otherworldly visage. It's quite captivating to watch Metamorpho go from one of Luthor's victims to superhero. While the film has impressive visuals, it also has several impressive variations of John Williams's iconic march, courtesy of composers John Murphy & David Fleming.

I'm sure a lot of people might recognize a few political parallels as they watch this Superman. I'm sure a lot of them might profoundly object to them. Those people have clearly missed the precedence for such parallels (Superman IV ring a bell?). Why should that bother them? Why, in this movie? I mean, Gunn has made it fun to believe that I man could fly. Check out this Superman and you might have fun, too.

That's it for now.

Jurassic World: Rebirth

Welcome back to Jurassic World. Enjoy it while you can.

It turns out that dinosaurs can’t survive modern Earth, save for the equator, which is where Jurassic World's dinosaurs have moved to. Martin Krebs (Rubert Friend), a big pharma guy, figures out he can cure heart disease with DNA samples from three certain dinosaurs on the island of Ile Saint-Hubert. So, he puts together a team consisting of mercenaries Zora Bennett (Scarlet Johansson) & Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali) and paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey), to hunt for those prehistoric MacGuffins. 

The team saves a shipwrecked family, the Delgados, from their first target, a Mosasaurus. Their other targets, a Titanosaurus and a Quetzalcoatlus, reside further in-land. The whole party is stuck, so they might as well enjoy the view. Things get further complicated when our heroes discover hybrid dinosaurs, specifically the Mutadons (winged raptors) and the Distortus Rex. It turns out the island was InGen's dumping ground for dinos, normal or hybrid, too dangerous for their theme parks. Oh yeah, and Krebs isn't really a good guy. 

That basically sums up Jurassic World: Rebirth. It doesn't sound like much, but after all the narrative fronts and one needless subplot in the last film, it's refreshing to have something so basic. While Team Zora's quest is to "get the MacGuffins and get out," the Delgados trek through the wilderness to safety. It's pretty concise, narrative wise, even if its 134-minutes are a bit excessive. It doesn't do much with the D. Rex, who gets introduced in the cold open, and only pops up as the final boss. The Mutadons, at least, are introduced jumping actual velociraptors before their intended target even notices them. But I think it could've helped the film if our heroes realized the island's purpose a lot sooner. 

Early on, we see that people are getting bored with dinosaurs. Basically, they thought de-extinct dinosaurs were better when they were new. It's kind of comparing that to people getting bored of the CGI effects Jurassic Park pioneered. The problem is that metaphor was fresh when Jurassic World used it for the Indominus Rex plot. Not so much here. Still, it's easy to feel Henry's joy when he comes across a Titanosaurus herd, a moment accentuated by John Williams's iconic theme (as incorporated by Alexandre Desplat). They may be all CGI, but the dinosaurs are as tangible as their human co-stars. Some animatronics work exists, but it's that hard to tell when and where they are. Those expecting some dino action will not be disappointed.

So, who are the Delgados, you might ask? We have Reuben (Manuel Garcia-Rufio), his daughters Teresa & Isabella (Luna Blaise & Audrina Miranda), and Teresa's boyfriend Xavier (David Iacano). All they want to do is survive, which is an understandable motivation, to say the least. At one point, they out-raft a T-Rex on a raging river in a scene adapted from the original Jurassic Park novel. When Rexy catches the raft, we know but Reuben doesn't, that Isabella got away in time. You'll be happy for him when she catches up with him. Overall, they're a lot more compelling than most of the dinosaur's actual kills, who are mostly just there. 

What else do we have here? We get a pretty good main trio with Zora, Duncan and Henry. Henry chewing Altoids maybe an overly long gag, but it's certainly a funny one. Zora and Duncan not only have great chemistry together, but they get some stand-out moments against the hybrids. Krebs is an okay big bad, even if he does get a pretty memorable end. Williams (Adam Loxely), an InGen scientist, is trapped with the D. Rex for the film's cruelest death. You'll almost forget the silly circumstances that led up to that moment. You won't forget, however, John Matthieson's cinematography, when the D. Rex emerges from red smoke. 

I wonder if Dominion was even necessary, given what we learn of the dinosaurs here. But, nah, going from Fallen Kingdom to Rebirth would've been worse. Still, judging by the box-office results, I don't think that people are tired of Michael Crichton's dinos just yet. It's a decent matinee, and if a later sequel expands on the island plot, then it will be worth more than that. That's what I think, anyway. 

Up, up and away to the next reviews. 

F1

 I’ve just found out that Jerry Bruckheimer is planning a sequel to his 1995 thriller Crimson Tide. This is in addition to talk of a sequel to his 1990 racing movie Days of Thunder. If director Joseph Kosinski has his way, the latter sequel would also sequelize his - and Bruckheimer’s - current racing movie, F1. Let’s get on track to that current movie, shall we?

Stop me if you’ve heard any of this. Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt), a racing veteran, was once a rising star in Formula One. That is, until he crashed during the 1993 Spanish Grand Prix. Nowadays, he races elsewhere, but he’s still chasing those glory days. One day, his former teammate, Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem), who now owns the APXGP F1 team, offers Sonny a spot. Sonny eventually takes it.

Sonny’s fellow racer is Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris), a bigshot rookie. Part of Sonny’s new job is to help mentor “JP” as the next big racer. Of course, they become allies. Sonny also wins over Kate McKenna (Kerry Condon), the team’s technical director. As the team travels the world, they deal with inefficient car designs, calamitous crashes and even a threat of a corporate takeover. Their biggest issue, however, is Sonny’s lingering health problems from the earlier crash. Oh, what will happen next?

Yes, a lot of Ehren Krueger’s screenplay runs a familiar track. In fact, a few narrative turns, like Sonny's rivalry with Joshua, are especially familiar for those who've seen the Top Gun movies. Joshua's crash is treated with the same gravitas as Goose's death in Top Gun, though Joshua actually survives his. It could've been a shocking swerve if Sonny didn't survive his, but he actually does, and of course, wins the big race. Still, the revelation of Sonny's lingering health problems is a good jolt. Its cliches aren't a dealbreaker, but its massive 155-minute lap might as well be.

Its likeable cast helps make the overlength bearable. Sonny, in particular, maybe a typically charming Brad Pitt character, but he's still a fun guy. The previous crash adds some gravitas to his typical comeback story. As Ruben, Bardem's exuberance is fun, but he's quite impactful when he's forced to be serious. As Kate, Condon has some great chemistry with Pitt, even if the film glosses over her character's profession. Joshua's character arc is pretty good, but one line read stands out. Early on, when he's asked about his motivations for racing, he responds "money, fame and free clothes." It's sarcastically weary, as if he's asking, "what else do you want me to say?" He doesn't elaborate on that, but he gets some more good moments later on. 

Amongst the supporting cast, we get Joshua's mother and cousin, Bernadette and Cashman (Sarah Niles and Samson Kayo), and Kaspar (Kim Bodnia), the team's Principal. They're pretty likable, unlike Peter Banning (Tobias Menzies), the team board member behind the takeover threat. Thing is, while the takeover is a looming threat, Peter being the big bad is treated like an afterthought in the final stretch. It's not enough time to take him seriously.

But I bet you came here for the racing. Its races are why the film is so long, but they're also when the film is at its best. Claudio Miranda filmed much of the F1 action during actual races, and he gets some impressive views both inside and outside the cockpits. As with Top Gun: Maverick, the visual effects team perfectly obfuscate the differences between actual cars and any digital ones. These races are neatly edited together by Stephen Mirrione and accentuated by Hans Zimmer's cool score. 

I could hear some audible reactions, even applause, during F1's dynamic action. I kept to myself, but it was tempting to join the crowd here and there. See it soon and you might have the same reaction. Otherwise, you might have to keep it to yourself when it inevitably drives off to Apple TV+. I think it might be fun.

But that's it for now.

M3GAN 2.0

Miss me?

It depends, M3GAN, are you on your best behavior?

You saw my new movie. You tell them by telling me.

Please welcome back everyone's favorite new killer robot doll in M3GAN 2.0.

...

A few years after the M3GAN fiasco, her creator Gemma (Alison Williams) is now an advocate for the regulation of AI. Her niece, Cady (Violet McGraw), now practices aikido and even studies computer science. M3GAN (on-set by Amie Donald/voice by Jenna Davis), while seemingly destroyed in the first film, actually uploaded herself into Gemma's smart house. Meanwhile, the US Government deploys AMELIA (Ivanna Sakhno), an android built from M3GAN's blueprints, as its newest operative. It doesn't take long before the android turns against her masters.

Col. Sattler (Timm Sharp), one of those masters, blames Gemma for AMELIA's revolt. M3GAN offers to help stop the new model if Gemma can build her a new body. It takes a while, but Gemma complies with that request. Our heroines, plus Gemma's former co-workers Cole & Tess (Brian Jordan Alvarez & Jen Van Epps), discover that AMELIA is looking to merge with the Motherboard of the world's first killer robot. Just imagine if the Ark of the Covenant worked the way the Nazis wanted it to in Raiders of the Lost Ark, and you'll realize the stakes. They can't let that happen.

With director Gerard Johnstone promoted to writer, this sequel genre shifts from sci-fi horror to sci-fi action. We get a few shoot-outs, a car chase, and a final battle set in an exploding lair, among others, in its nearly two hours. It’s also a lot sillier than its slick predecessor, with jokes flying as much as punches. Its Steven Seagal references, for example, are amusing at best and groan-worthy at worst. It also has a few good moments between M3GAN and her humans, such as her reunion with Cady as a Terminator/Johnny 5 hybrid. Whether M3GAN is actually turning good is a mystery stretched out a bit too long. Still, I think it’s a fine heel face turn even if others might consider it a downgrade.

So, who are the actual antagonists? The actual big bad is Christian (Aristotle Athari), the pretentious scumbag pulling AMELIA’s strings. He’s a jerk, yes, but he’s not as memorably menacing as M3GAN in her debut. AMELIA herself is creepy, but she doesn’t have much of a personality, though there is a reason for that. Col. Sattler is obtuse and a bit egotistical, but at least he helps our heroes track down AMELIA. Meanwhile, we have Alton Appleton (Jemaine Clement), a tech dude who shows off by blacking out San Francisco for a spell. Any villainous ambitions for him end memorably once he meets AMELIA.

What else do we have here? The robotic effects, both animatronic and digital, are as good as those in the first film. A few highlights include AMELIA unzipping herself within two suitcases, and the "plastic Teletubby" M3GAN is initially downloaded into. Both robots also have some good costumes designed for them by Jeriana San Juan. The action scenes are cool, even if the final battle has one too many overdrawn "all is lost moments." At least they're accentuated by a nifty score by Chris Bacon, as well as a beyond excellent sound design. Finally, let's back in front of the camera to mention Cole & Tess, both of whom are not only great comic relief, but are great allies to our main heroines.

I think you'll do fine with M3GAN 2.0 if you can adjust to the genre shift. There's nothing wrong with a sequel doing its own thing, much like Aliens and Terminator 2: Judgment Day did years ago. It does retain some of its predecessor's audacity, if that helps. Time will tell, though, if it becomes as renowned as those aforementioned sequels. It won't hurt if you check out some of the surprises here, especially before that other Universal sequel comes out this week. That review is coming soon.

KPop Demon Hunters

So, Jethro, when did you get into KPop?

I haven’t, Buck. I am, however, into KPop Demon Hunters, whose very title speaks for itself. I bet you want some elaboration, do you?

I sure do, Jethro!

Conceived by co-director Maggie Kang, the backstory sees the evil demon lord Gwi-Ma (Lee Byung-Hun) and his minions hunt humanity for their souls. They're opposed by demon hunters who moonlight as girl groups. In this generation, our heroines are HUNTR/X (or Huntrix), consisting of Rumi (Arden Cho), their leader; Mira (May Hong), the tough one; and Zoey (Ji-young Yoo), the peppy one. As with their ancestors, HUNTR/X maintains the Honmoon, the barrier between the human and demon worlds, with their popularity. Once it turns gold, the Honmoon will keep the demons vanquished forever.

One of Gwi-Ma’s followers, Jinu (Ahn Hyo-seop), pitches the idea of a new boy band to steal HUNTR/X’s popularity, and with it, their fans’ souls. Jinu and a few other demons take to the surface as the “Saja Boys” and become Korea’s next big thing. Our heroines see through the act and plot to upstage them. Rumi, however, is part-demon, and starts doubting her mission. She falls for Jinu, who also has a dark secret, but how long can she keep her band mates in the dark?

I don’t know, Jethro! You tell me!

You figure it out as I discuss the music. The songs, which are composed by too many people to name, are all pretty nifty, whether they’re sung on stage or during battle. A particular highlight is Golden, the ballad central to our heroines’ golden mission. It’s pretty dramatic when Rumi sings it by herself, revealing the tell-tale markings of her demonic heritage. The fact that none of the cast sings for themselves doesn’t diminish the impact. However, I’m a bit bemused that Lea Salonga was cast as the singing voice of the girls’ mentor, Celine (Yunjin Kim), and she’s barely in it. 

What did you think of the cast?

Our heroines are quite likable, even when they're wildly immature over things like the Saja Boys' popularity. Rumi is pretty much the main character, and she gets a compelling arc as she comes to terms with her demonic heritage. It's hard to feel nothing when she's hit with the "all is lost moment." Of course, it makes it all the better when she bounces back in the finale. Her demonic heritage, meanwhile, isn't thoroughly elaborated on, as if the filmmakers were saving it for a sequel (which they should make). Zoey and Mira, meanwhile, have their backstories largely delegated to the opening. A little more focus could have intensified the finale, but it's still good. 

Now we get to the villains. Gwi-Ma's casually sardonic sense of humor is pretty refreshing for a Big Bad. But the film never forgets to remind you how evil he is, particularly near the end. Jinu, the film's other main character, tells Rumi and the audience a decently tragic backstory early on. While one may sympathize with him then, they'll really sympathize when he tells her the truth. Let's just say he's had a lot of time to think about what he's done. His fellow Saja Boys are just there to look handsome, even as demons, and nothing else. They have less personalities than Jinu's sidekicks, a demonic magpie and tiger, the latter of whom is quite the neat freak.

And the technical stuff?

As with the Spiderverse films, KPop Demon Hunters is a frenetic blend of 3D and 2D animation styles. Our heroines frequently emote like anime characters, usually when they're at their most immature. The visual gags are weirdly amusing, such as a bit where popcorn comes out of nowhere. The battles are just as energetic as the soundtrack, which also includes a pretty good score by Marcelo Zarvos. We also get some appealing character designs for both the humans and the demons. Both the demon and human realms look nice thanks to some equally impressive production design.

Well then, it's off to the cinema for ---

No, Baxter, KPop Demon Hunters is on Netflix. Did I not mention that?

No ...

Don't worry, this will make for another memorable home matinee. It's infectious fun watching our heroines bust a beat as they bust some demons. While its story isn't thorough, what we get is enough to make one interested in its unique lore, as well as Korean mythology. I'm pretty interested in a sequel, whenever that is, and the filmmakers have already said they have ideas. Hopefully, with enough time, those ideas will develop into something great. I think I said enough.

Elio

As with Mickey 17, the theatrical release of Pixar's latest film, Elio, was held up a year by the double strikes. However, the film also had its writer & director, Adrian Molina, suddenly depart the project, which got slightly revised by new directors Domee Shi & Madeline Sharafian. Molina has since been reassigned to Coco 2, which is supposed to come out in a few years. But let's look at the film we have now.

Ever since his parents died, Elio Solis (Yonas Kibreab) has felt alone in the universe. Sure, he now lives with his aunt Olga (Zoe Saldaña), an Air Force Major, but their relationship isn't that great. He spends his days trying to get himself abducted by aliens, whomever they are. One night, Olga's base is contacted by an unknown intelligence responding to the Voyager 1 space probe, and Elio sneaks in a reply. It takes a while, but the intelligence finally beams Elio up in the nick of time (more context later).

Elio is taken to the meet the Communiverse, a society representing every race in the universe, under the assumption that he is the leader of "uh, Earth." Lord Grigon (Brad Garrett), the actual warlord of the insectoid Hylurgians, is rejected for membership at the same time. When Grigon threatens war, Elio decides to bluff his way to get the big bully to leave everyone alone. It gets a bit easier when Elio makes friends with Grigon's son, Glordon (Remy Edgerly), who doesn't want to be an intergalactic conqueror. Elio's bluffing makes things worse, but they eventually get better. 

Julia Cho, who co-wrote the screen story with the directors, wrote the actual screenplay with Mike Jones & Mark Hammer. It's not that narratively complex a story, but its heart is in the right place. Early on, Elio accidentally antagonizes two older boys, Bryce & Caleb (Dylan Gilmer & Jake Getman), who later attempt revenge just as the Communiverse shows up. At the climax, Elio contacts Bryce by ham radio, and they both apologize for their animosity. It's so much greater than letting one side take all the blame, that's for sure. Not only that, but Grigon later reveals that he is not as villainous as he seems. If there's a message besides "you're not alone in the universe," it's that "you can easily befriend your enemies." Who would hate a message like that?

The audacious sense of humor that made Turning Red fun is also present here. Elio's enthusiastically calling out to the stars is both concerning and goofy, especially when they finally respond. There's some good humor as Elio realizes he's in way over his head over the Grigon issue. On Earth, Elio is tagged in for a clone, "Other Elio," who's quite chipper and prone to body horror. It's quite silly, rather than grotesque, when Other Elio emerges from the cloning machine as a misshapen mess before he finally normalizes. It's no big deal for Other Elio whenever he gets injured or even destabilizes in the climax. Still, it's amusingly charming when normal Elio thanks his clone for his service at the end. I think you might too.

Needless to say, I find Elio a likable and sympathetic character. We can easily understand his loneliness in the opening, where he loses himself at a Voyager 1 exhibit. Him accidentally antagonizing Bryce & Caleb is pretty understandable given it was out of nervousness. Glordon, meanwhile, is simply the cuddliest space-bug you will ever see. The friendship between the two kids is enjoyable, and it's hard to feel nothing when Glordon nearly dies of hypothermia in the climax. Olga, who was initially conceived as Elio's mom (America Ferrera), is also quite sympathetic as she struggles with her new responsibility. It doesn't dwell too much on Elio's parents, not even explaining how they died, which results in a few missed opportunities. What we see of Elio and Olga's relationship is mostly good, but it gets great near the end. I think I already said enough about Grigon, so let's move on.

There's so much to love about its depiction of space. One can easily lose themselves among the stars, near Jupiter and Mars, at the aforementioned Voyager 1 exhibit. The Communiverse headquarters, spaceships and even their gadgets, are luminescent wonders. The other ambassadors are a fascinatingly eclectic bunch of creatures, even if the only discernable names among them are Ambassadors Helix & Questa (Brandon Moon & Jameela Jamil). OOOOO (Shirley Henderson), Elio's shapeshifting supercomputer, has no trouble standing out in this cast. Meanwhile, the Hylurgian spaceships and mechanized & weaponized carapaces are imposing, but they're no less fascinating. All of the splendor, melancholy and excitement of it all is accentuated wonderfully by Rob Simonsen's score.

So, what do I think of Elio now that it's finally on Earth? I think it's one of Pixar's most enjoyable films of recent years, right up there with - no surprise - Turning Red! You'll barely sees signs of its production issues as you gaze upon the screen for its 99 minutes. Any narrative blind spots are made up with its overall charm and sincerity. Give this film a chance and you'll be in for a stellar matinee, or beyond.

Onward to the next review.

Oshi no Ko - The Final Act

 By far, one of the biggest manga smashes in recent years is Oshi no Ko, a collaboration between manga creators Aka Akasaka (Kaguya-Sama: Love is War) and Mengo Yokoyari (Scum’s Wish). How big? When the first season of its anime debuted in 2023, its theme song Idol was featured in an act on America’s Got Talent.

Last November, a live-action series debuted on Amazon Prime, shortly after the manga wrapped up its story. A live-action movie, Oshi no Ko - The Final Act, wrapped up the show’s story in December. That movie is ready to watch stateside on Amazon Prime. Sit back, because the story is wild.

Dr. Goro Amamiya (Ryo Narita) and his recently deceased patient, Sarina Tendoji (Kurumi Inagaki), bonded over superstar Ai Hoshino (Asuka Saito) of the J-Pop band B-Komachi. One day, Goro gets the shock of his life when Ai turns out to be his next patient. Ai’s having twins, which could seriously jeopardize her career if word got out. Goro agrees to help her deliver in secret, but a loony fan (Kazuto Mokudai) kills him the night it happens. 

Goro finds himself reborn as Ai’s son, Aqua (Kaito Sakurai). His new twin-sister, Ruby (Nagisa Saito), is eventually revealed to be a reborn Sarina. All’s well and good for the new family until the same fan kills Ai at her apartment. Suspecting that his new “father” doxxed Ai to the killer, Aqua decides to get into acting so that he may lure out the old man and eventually kill him. All of this is summed up within the first fifty minutes.

By the time act two begins, Aqua has revealed his and Ruby's maternal secret to the press, much to her outrage. He has also figured out that fellow actor Hikaru Kamiki (Kazunari Ninomiya) is the culprit. So, he decides to get his revenge the only way he knows how: by making Ai’s biopic, The 15-Year Lie. If you’ve seen Hamlet, you’ll understand Aqua’s logic for the plan. Anyway, Aqua casts himself as Hikaru, while Ruby, who is now a J-Pop star herself, lobbies to play Ai. It’s now just a matter of getting it made. Still, Hikaru, who’s also a serial killer, might not take the plan lying down…

Everybody got that? There might be a quiz later.

What we have here works as a good summary of the source material, which even edits a few scenes from the show, but it misses a few key steps in adaptation. You may have asked, upon reading my summary, why Aqua doesn’t take revenge on the loony fan. The show, unlike the movie, properly explains that said fan killed himself after the crime. In fact, most of the missing plot points are covered in the show. The biggest exception is the climax, which reworks the circumstances, but not the outcome, of the manga’s extremely contentious climax. In it, a random proxy of Hikaru’s shows up to crash the movie-within-this-movie’s premiere. Who is she? No time for that! 

The first act is buoyed by the stellar performances of Narita, Inagaki and especially Asuka Saito. Goro and Sarina's chemistry is quite moving, and it's hard to feel nothing when Sarina finally passes away. On a lighter side, Goro has an over-the-top freakout when he realizes who his next patient is. He still proves himself a stand-up guy as he bonds with Ai. Meanwhile, we see Ai's unhappy childhood, and her being scouted by her manager, Mr. Saitou (Kotaro Yoshida). Ai, who basically lives by "fake it until you make it," struggles under the weight of her dual identity a few times. Still, her radiance shines through whenever she's allowed to be happy. Although Ai doesn't live long, her presence is felt with her poignant video wills to her kids.

Now for the second act. Although Aqua and Ruby's relationship isn't as sweet as that of their former selves, we do see that he cares in his own, yet somewhat harsh way. It's unambiguously nice, though, when they finally mend their relationship after he reveals his former identity to her. There's plenty of intrigue as Aqua puts his movie plot in motion, especially when he interviews Hikaru. Hikaru is quite unnerving during his fairly limited screentime, even when he seemingly agrees to turn himself in, though he does have hints of a sympathetic backstory. It's quite uncanny as the film blurs the lines between a flashback and a recreation; it's hard to tell which scenes are which. 

Who else do we have here? Ruby gets some great moral support from her bandmate, Kana Arima (Nanoka Hara), who eventually retires from the act. Their bandmate, a YouTuber named Mem-Cho (Ano), is mostly just there, but she gets a nice coda. Another major supporting character, the young method actress Akane Kurokawa (Mizuki Kayashina), gets her best scene when she and Ruby audition for Ai. Mr. Saitou is a great father-figure for not only Ai, but her twins, and that's matched by his wife, Miyako (Kana Kurashina). The Saitous' reunion is well-acted, even if you have to watch the show for context. We also have Nobuaki Kaneko as Aqua's filmmaker friend, Taishi Gotanda, and Moemi Katayama as Airi Himekawa, a major figure in Hikaru's backstory. While Taishi is decently likable, Airi is anything but that.

Despite some story issues, Oshi no Ko - The Final Act, much like its source material, spins a compelling drama out of a fairly loony premise. Indeed, it gets pretty goofy when babies Aqua and Ruby are shown talking. But you'll pretty much forget the silliness once it gets to the revenge plot. That's how I experienced the franchise as I followed its story up until its conclusion. Its finale is perfectly dramatic even as it stretches plausibility to entertaining lengths. This might keep fans entertained until the third season of the anime debuts next year, even if that might stick closer to the story. I'll be waiting, either way.

How to Train Your Dragon

 When Roger Ebert reviewed the 2011 remake of Footloose, he observed that the film was so similar to its 1984 original that he was tempted to just reprint his original review. "But that would be wrong," he said.

Let's go back a year earlier. How to Train Your Dragon was the last new theatrical release I saw before Clash of the Titans, whose review kicked off this very blog, so I could have reviewed it. This new remake sticks so closely to the original that it might make an older review redundant. If its upcoming sequel, and yes, they are already making it, is that close to How to Train Your Dragon 2, I wonder if that review will be redundant.

Even then, let's put in some work in reviewing this movie, any sequels, or even Disney's too-soon Moana remake. So, let's train some movie dragons.

So, in case you need reminding, we have a Viking village on the Isle of Berk that has a dragon problem. As in, dragons show up at night to steal livestock and burn everything. Hiccup (Mason Thames), son of the Viking Chief Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler, back from the animated trilogy), tries to be as formidable a dragon killer as the adults. But his inventions leave a lot to be desired. Still, during the opening attack, he accidentally strikes down the rarest dragon of them all, a Night Fury. Later on, Hiccup tracks down the wounded dragon, but he spares the creature, while the dragon doesn't kill him.

Hiccup starts sneaking out of the village to study the Night Fury, whom he names Toothless. His findings help him get by in Gobber the Belch's (Nick Frost) dragon-hunting class. He also realizes that dragons aren't as bad as their reputation suggests. Meanwhile, Stoick and his warriors are hunting for the dragons' hidden nest. Hiccup has to get Stoick to listen to reason so that no more lives, Viking or dragon, will be lost.

As with the animated sequels, Dean DeBlois takes on the writing & directing credits that he shared with Chris Sanders on the first film. It runs nearly a half-hour longer than the first film, partially thanks to some added story material for Hiccup's dragon-hunting classmates. But it recreates so much of its predecessor shot-for-shot and nearly line-for-line that even people who haven't seen it in ages might notice. I'm one of those people, and I noticed how tangentially familiar this "new plot" is, even down to Hiccup's opening narration. One major new plot point is that the supposed death of Valka, Hiccup's mother, lingers heavily on his and Stoick's relationship. It's pretty suspenseless considering that she shows up in the sequels (though, I wonder if they'll bring back Cate Blanchett next time).

I'd be lying if I said this was a total wash. The photorealistic renderings of the dragons, from the two-headed Hideous Zippleback to the demonic Monstrous Nightmare, are all appealing, but none more so than Toothless. He barely looks any different than his already cuddly animated counterpart. The film really sparks when he and Hiccup interact, whether it's in hostility or in friendship. It's hard to feel nothing when Toothless and Hiccup take to the air, accentuated by John Powell's returning score. After a while, you might forget that the dragons are all digital creatures; the integration is just that good. It's quite seamless when the film switches to animatronics a few times.

What else does it have? There are a ton of practical sets, visualized by production designer Dominic Watkins, to visualize Berk. A few particular highlights include the dragon-hunting arena, the dragons' nest, and Toothless's grotto. Any CGI-enhancements, or even CGI sets, are as seamless as the dragons. It helps to have a great cinematographer in Bill Pope, whose credits include Spider-Man. Costume Designer Lindsay Pugh does a decent job recreating the cast's animated wardrobes, though her most striking design is that of the mute Elder Gothi (Naomi Wirthner), who is unrecognizable in live action. A bit more recognizable is Butler's Stoick, who is just as bombastic here, for better or worse, as he was in cartoon form. Hiccup's dragon hunting classmates are fine, but none are as memorable as Astrid (Nico Parker), who gets a few great moments with him.

I don't hate How to Train Your Dragon, far from it, but I am perplexed on how to conclude this review. On one hand, if you've seen the first film, then you'll have seen this one already. On the other hand, it's a good incentive to check out the first film, even if it's just for comparison purposes or to embrace Powell's Oscar-nominated Score. What do I make of it all? Despite its rigid adherence to its predecessor, it's still got some spirit compared to something like the remakes of The Lion King or Psycho. It's a harmless matinee, and that's fine. I think I said enough.

Cells at Work!

Last December saw the release of Cells at Work!, the film version of Akane Shimizu's massively popular edutainment manga, in Japanese theatres. It debuted stateside on Netflix this past weekend, and I must say the wait was mostly worth it. Let's see if I can explain why.

On the surface level, this follows highschooler Niko Urushizaki (Mana Ashida) and her father Shigeru (Sadao Abe). Niko tries to keep her messy father healthy, while she pines for her upperclassman Shin Takeda (Seishiro Kato). But she's suddenly diagnosed with leukemia just as things look up for her ...

Meanwhile, the real action goes on inside her body. The trillions of cells navigating her circulatory system are represented by color-coded people running around a Disneyland-esque city. The Red Blood Cells are couriers, the White Blood Cells are soldiers, the Killer T Cells are essentially SWAT, the Helper T Cells are mission control, etc. A Red Blood Cell, designated AE3803 (Mei Nagano), has a terrible sense of direction, but she also has an ally in a White Blood Cell, designated U-1146 (Takeru Satoh). He mostly bails her out from attacks by several villainous maladies, but they must work together if Niko is to survive Leukemia (Satoshi Fukase).

What kind of visual metaphors can we expect here? U-1146 and his fellow cells fight over-the-top battles with the maladies, who are depicted as freaky and colorful supervillains. One bacterium, Pneumococcus (Ainosuke Kataoka), is expelled by an exploding sneeze rocket! Niko getting flustered results in a sudden dance number! The influenza virus is represented by a zombie apocalypse. We also see inside Shigeru, which is a dystopian society of junk and squalor. At one point, Shigeru is afflicted with the trots, which results in one of the tensest and grossest action scenes you'll ever see. This is still a visually appealing science class, thanks to some excellent production values and the kindly Macrophage's (Wakana Matsumoto) handy exposition. 

One of the best things that director Hideki Takeuchi and writer Yuichi Tokunaga did was to create Niko's storyline. The manga, as well as its countless spin-offs, only concerned itself with the inner world of a nameless body. Every malady was just as monster of the week, and if Niko existed, we wouldn't know it. All of these episodic lessons, both from the manga and its first spin-off Code Black, flow nicely in this new vessel. When Niko comes down with leukemia, not only will you feel badly for her, but for the cells trying to fight it off. Shigeru's laziness maybe funny, but he proves himself a spectacular dad when Niko needs it most. Takeda, meanwhile, is decently likable, but that's good enough. 

How about we meet some of these cells at work. Amongst the trillions, we have two likable co-leads with AE3803 and U-1146. Both of them have great personalities, which makes it fun to watch them interact, and it's quite compelling when they step up during the leukemia apocalypse. Meanwhile, the leader of the Killer T Cells (Koji Yamamoto) is not only a blowhard, but he's a good guy. An NK Cell (Riisa Naka), represented as a lone wolf monster hunter, might be the coolest character in the film. She has competition with the Macrophage, who proves quite handy with a cleaver. Another Red Blood Cell, designated AA2153 (Rihito Itagaki), is the protagonist of Shigeru's body, and is just as likable as our main heroine. The Platelets, represented by a bunch of little kids, are the film's biggest one-scene wonders.

This now brings me to Leukemia himself. In his villain origin story, he was just a youngling White Blood Cell until the big guys judged him defective. Then, he turned older and bad. It's quite a sympathetic backstory, but the film doesn't dwell on sympathy for him, even if his defeat is practically a mercy killing. He's even sympathetic when he embraces his villainy during his final battle with U-1146. This has been a point-of-contention in the manga for years, and I kind of understand why here. He, as well as the other cellular actors, do such a great job personifying their characters that it makes the ending a bittersweet pill to swallow. Let's just say it involves lots of chemotherapy. 

Still, a bittersweet pill is better than a dour tablespoon. Cells at Work! runs the gamut from goofy, to charming and emotional, which makes it a memorable Netflix experience. Who knows if it's entirely medically accurate, but it's absolutely edutaining, which makes it a good springboard to check its notes. I definitely recommend this movie to anyone and everyone curious. It's an absolute crowd-pleaser, as long as you don't let the ending bother you too much. See it soon to see what I mean.

As for me, I got to prepare for a few other reviews, which might even include another live-action anime film. Wait for it.

The Phoenician Scheme

By now, you should know what to expect from a Wes Anderson production. What else can you expect when you see his massive ensemble of quirky characters enact The Phoenician Scheme. Let's see if I can explain it.

Dateline: 1950. Anatole "Zsa-Zsa" Korda (Benicio Del Toro), a world-class tycoon, narrowly survives his sixth assassination attempt by plane crash. After this attempt, Korda starts seeing God (Bill Murray) and His heavenly court (including Willem Dafoe as his heavenly attorney). So, he decides to mend his relationship with his novitiate daughter, Liesl (Mia Threapleton), which includes naming her as his heir. He also decides to enact a scheme to renovate the infrastructure of the Middle Eastern region of Modern Greater Independent Phoenicia. Sounds well and good, but it does involve slave labor and famine.

Spurred on by his big business rivals, Korda heads off to get his big business allies to help foot the bill. He's joined by Liesl and Prof. Bjørn (Michael Cera), who is ostensibly the tutor of Liesl's nine younger brothers. Anyway, they travel the world meeting these potential investors, which include Leland & Reagan (Tom Hanks & Bryan Cranston), Marty (Jeffrey Wright), and Marseille Bob (Mathieu Amalric), as well as Korda's cousin Hilda (Scarlett Johansson) and estranged half-brother Uncle Nubar (Benedict Cumberbatch). Will Korda complete the scheme? Or will his survival habit finally expire?

It makes quite an impression with its opening scenes. It seems like a normal flight for Korda, Alexandre Desplat's intense score notwithstanding, until an unlucky dude (Truman Hanks) pops like a balloon and takes some of the plane with him. Korda ejects the unlucky pilot (Stephen Park) and takes the controls himself. We're treated to some delightfully cheesy effects for everything but impact, which happens off-screen. That scene is enough to get one anticipating the next crash. 

By contrast, the opening credits gives us an eloquent birds-eye view of Korda taking a bath (as filmed by Bruno Delbonnel). The marble floor, which sometimes blends in with each name, is quite a sight. A few more great locales include Korda's estate, Reagan & Leland's tunnel, the Heavenly Court and Uncle Nubar's palace. Once again, Adam Stockhausen has helped Anderson envision a cinematic world that's just as fascinating to watch as it is to read about.

Once we get to the scheme, it becomes episodic as Korda and company meet their investors. Anderson and Roman Coppola pack their screen-story with some enjoyable running gags in each meeting. A few highlights include Korda politely offering a hand grenade to an investor, their inevitable shouting match, and a host of familiar assassins. They're tied together by a few good plot threads, which include Korda and Liesl's strained relationship; Prof. Bjørn's big secret; Korda's heavenly visions; and the impending confrontation with Uncle Nubar. It's actually quite easy to follow this plot, even if one major plot point has a convolutedly deadpan explanation.

Korda, as played by Del Toro, isn't really a nice guy at the start. He uses slave labor, which is pretty bad, but according to his enemies, he's a robber baron "who provokes war, as well as peace." He gradually shows his softer side, even accidentally taking a bullet for Marseille Bob, throughout the film. He eventually completes the scheme with a surprisingly selfless act. He's matched perfectly by Threapleton as Liesl, especially as their first conversation rises with deadpan tension. Cera is delightfully awkward as Bjørn, even after his big secret is revealed. 

Amongst the supporting cast, we also have Riz Ahmed as Phoenician Prince Farouk; Richard Aoyade as Sergio the Communist Guerilla; and Hope Davis as Liesl's Mother Superior. The investors are mostly entertaining cameos, though Johansson's Hilda has a bit more plot relevance as Korda's prospective wife. She's still good, though. The same goes for the Heavenly Court, especially with Murray's God, who has to tell Korda straight up that slavery is wrong. The film perfectly builds up Uncle Nubar's "Biblical" presence each time the investors' percentages increase. Cumberbatch's subtly unhinged performance makes it all worth the wait.

I'll admit, much of the intricacies of The Phoenician Scheme's story didn't click with me at first. All the deadpan dialogue, while funny, kept me distant from the depths of Korda's character. At least the visuals were good, as always. But after some thought, I've come to appreciate how good it is. I don't know if this will replace The Grand Budapest Hotel as my favorite Wes Anderson film, but it's still a good time. So, you should definitely scheme to make it to your nearest showtime whenever it's around. It's quite worth it.

That's it for now. 

Predator: Killer of Killers

Who's ready to go on another hunt with the Predator? 

How about two?

Since Prey did pretty good on Hulu, Disney brought back Dan Trachtenberg to helm not one, but two follow-up features. While Predator: Badlands hits theatres in November, Predator: Killer of Killers is already on Hulu now. So, what can you expect from the franchise's first animated feature?

Trachtenberg and Micho Robert Rutare write three historical scenarios for the Predators to hunt in. The finale sees the Predators' human opponents fight and team up on the Predators' home world. If anyone imagined what a film adaptation of the RPG Live A Live would look like, this might be it. Let's take a look at these scenarios.

I. The Shield: Ursa (Lindsay LaVanchy) is a Viking Chieftain in 9th-Century Scandinavia. As a child, the evil Krivich warlord Zoran (Andrew Morgado) forced her to kill her father. Now, she and her warband, which includes her son Anders (Damien Haas), are out for vengeance. A Predator shows up just as they succeed.

Throughout Ursa's story, she not only fights physical opponents, but a lifetime of mental trauma that's plain as day when she confronts Zoran. Despite this, she's still a good mother to Anders, as well as a respectable Chieftain to her band. In other words, she maybe brutal, but she won't lash out on her kin. She proves her mettle during her fight with the "Grendel," as well as in her last stand. Who wouldn't want to follow her into battle? 

II. The Sword: It's now 1609 Japan. Kenji (Louis Ozawa), the disgraced son of a deceased Shogun, returns home as a ninja to fight his brother Kyoshi (also Ozawa) for the right to succeed the old man. A ninja Predator - who kind of looks like Dek, the main Predator in Badlands - ruins the fun. The intruder, however, spurs the brothers to reconcile.

This segment mostly eschews dialogue for some stylish action. Kenji spends the first half on a beeline for his brother, taking out the guards with quick ninjutsu (smoke bombs, poison darts, kunai, etc.). You don't need much to understand Kenji's resentment with Kiyoshi when they have their duel. Still, one could easily have wildly different interpretations of the events on-screen. I almost thought that the brothers' final blow for the Ninja Predator was meant for each other. But that's quickly resolved. It's quite profound when they finally talk, for the first and last time, after their duel.

III. The Bullet: It's now 1942, and the Battle of the Atlantic is underway. John J. Torres (Rick Gonzalez), a fighter pilot and aspiring mechanic, realizes that his unit isn't just fighting the Axis. A Predator Starship is literally fishing for fighter pilots, and it's up to Torres and his rust bucket plane, the Bullet, to take down the pilot before all hands are lost. 

Torres is a likable underdog, stuck with paltry weaponry, but doing his best to survive. He's got some good comradery with his squad, including CO Vandy (Michael Biehn), even if they doubt his warrior skills. But he proves his mettle during his main segment, and the finale. As cool as the seasoned warriors Ursa and Kenji are, it's just as cool to see him outwit and outlast his opponents. He even survives certain death as monster food during the Gladiator Games. I'll just have to let you see how.

Imagine a de-saturated Spiderverse movie and you have this movie's art style. We have some wonderfully exaggerated Predator designs, including the hulking Warlord Predator, as well as some stylish kills by both them and the heroes. The Viking Raids in The Shield, as well as Ursa's pivotal flashback, are appropriately nightmarish and brutal. Our heroes literally fade into Predator captivity, which is quite inventive to see. The only flaw is that the dogfight in The Bullet is a bit hard to follow. It's hard to tell who Torres's fellow pilots are, save for Vandy, when they fall. But maybe a second viewing can help. These visuals are accentuated with another good Benjamin Wallfisch score, which features some stylish renditions of Alan Silvestri's famous theme.

At 90 minutes, Predator: Killer of Killers will give you some quick action thrice. Its three main segments will never bore you thanks to their fast pace and stylish action. They come together nicely in the finale, which has a twist that puts the previous films in a rather dark perspective. Will it be addressed in Predator: Badlands, or even another sequel? I don't know, but I'm ready for both options. 

That's it for now.

Karate Kid: Legends

The Karate Kid remake was one of the first films I reviewed on this blog. It did pretty well, better than most movie remakes, but it didn't get the franchise on its feet right away. It's ready to fight once again with Karate Kid: Legends, which marks the directorial debut of TV producer and director Jonathan Entwistle. Let's get to it.

In what is perhaps a novel twist, the screenplay by Ron Lieber refactors the aforementioned remake into the continuity of the previous films. It turns out, as explained in a flashback to The Karate Kid: Part Two, Mr. Miyagi's (Pat Morita) brand of Karate has its roots in Kung Fu. As we officially open the film, Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), the Mr. Miyagi of the "remake," continues teaching Kung Fu in China. One of his students is his grandnephew, Li Fong (Ben Wang), who gets dragged off to New York when his doctor mother (Ming-Na Wen) gets a job there. Li immediately befriends Mia Lipani (Sadie Stanley), daughter of local pizzeria owner Victor (Joshua Jackson). All's good, right?

Unfortunately, Li also meets Mia's ex, Connor Day (Aramis Knight), an unhinged martial arts champion. Connor's instructor, Mr. O'Shea (Tim Rozon) is a loan shark who wants Victor to pay up or else. One night, Li fights off some of O'Shea's goons, which gets Victor, a former fighter himself, to ask Li to be his Mr. Miyagi. That's admittedly an interesting twist on the franchise's well-established formula. But eventually, circumstances force Li to get into the ring himself in an upcoming martial arts tournament, The Five Burroughs. Mr. Han and Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), the original Karate Kid himself, show up to train Li for the tournament. That's pretty much it.

So, when do the Shifu and the Sensei team-up? At least half-way through this 94-minute movie. It's kind of a long wait considering that's the selling point of the advertisements. They rush through Li into the formula in its remaining minutes; it could've been better if one or both was present at the start. They could've helped develop the conflict between Li and his mom over his taking up martial arts again. Instead, she accepts it off-screen; I'll explain the conflict a little further down. Even worse, it ends so quickly that Mr. O'Shea becomes a Karma Houdini, unless he becomes the new John Kreese in a sequel. It's not a perfect plot, but there's plenty to admire and enjoy about it.

One such aspect is the new Karate Kid himself. Throughout the movie, Li is haunted by the death of his brother, a Kung Fu champion who got murdered by an angry rival and his gang. That incident is why his mother doesn't want him taking up martial arts again. His PTSD is palpable before the reveal, and the audience can easily sympathize with his reluctant hero status. You can't blame him when he freezes up after Victor's comeback fight goes horribly wrong; neither can you blame Mia, for that matter, for being mad at him. Of course, all of that makes it spectacular when he beats the odds in the final round. 

So, who's in this new Karate Kid's corner? Well, Mr. Han proves that Jackie Chan is just as spry in his seventies as he was in his thirties. He proves that much when he breaks into Li's apartment and gives him a sudden sparing lesson. He's just as eccentric as he was in the "remake," and all the more delightful for it. His best scene is when he consoles Li over his failure to help Victor. His co-Sensei, Daniel, is quite moving when he speaks of the late Mr. Miyagi with reverence (even if it's played for laughs in the epilogue, which has a surprise cameo). Both legacy characters are great together, even if it's not for the whole movie. Li has great chemistry with not only the Lipanis, but Alan (Wyat Oleff), his student-tutor, wingman and unofficial third sensei.

This brings me to the bad guys. Connor is the type of villain whose very presence will unnerve you. What does he do to deserve that reputation? He's excessively violent to his sparring partners, punches Li on the subway and even attacks a referee or two. He barely tries to pretend to be nice; one exception leads to the subway punch. I wasn't kidding when I called him unhinged earlier. Mr. O'Shea, meanwhile, isn't nice either, which he proves when he gets Victor nearly killed at his comeback match. Unfortunately, he's out of focus for most of the film. But both he and Connor continue the series' proud tradition of villains you can't believe weren't already in jail. Again, it's still beyond satisfying when Li knocks down Connor at the end.

It doesn't disappoint with the fight scenes, even if some of them are slightly over-edited. Li saving Victor from O'Shea's goons deserves a special mention, as that one has Li swing from a fire-escape for a kick! Li's decisive move is another spectacular kick, which he practices on a subway turnstile in a very funny montage. It's beyond obvious who the mysterious intruder attacking Li is, but it's still entertaining to watch it play out. Let's not forget the tournament, even those fights just there in a montage. These fights are accentuated quite nicely by Dominic Lewis's score. The graphics used to illustrate the countdown to the tournament and its point-system were pretty nifty, too.

It has some writing issues, but at least its callbacks to the previous films aren't so intrusive. You might need some familiarity with them, but you don't need to binge them beforehand. Its new Karate Kid is so compelling that you might want to break into applause at the end (my screening did). I'm sure this might get one to check out the previous films, or even the sequel series Cobra Kai, but I've had plenty of fun with its recent video game, The Karate Kid: Street Rumble. It's a bit hard in places, but it's spectacularly entertaining, much like this film. I definitely recommend you check out both. 

That's it for now.