Smile

Smile is a 2022 psychological horror film written and directed by Parker Finn in his feature film debut, based on his 2020 short film Laura Hasn't Slept, which was awarded the Jury Award for Midnight Short at the 2020 SXSW film festival. Taking a unique approach with the marketing budget, people were planted at a variety of crowded venues including several sporting events, and just sitting or standing 3+ hours with the creepiest smile you have ever seen on their faces. If you don’t believe me, Google it.

After witnessing a bizarre, traumatic incident involving a patient, Dr. Rose Cotter starts experiencing frightening occurrences that she can't explain. As an overwhelming terror begins taking over her life, Rose must confront her troubling past in order to survive and escape her horrifying new reality.

The film stars Sosie Bacon (Mare of Easttown, As We See It), Jessie T. Usher (The Boys), Kyle Gallner, Robin Weigert, Caitlin Stasey, Kal Penn, and Rob Morgan.

Smile made its debut in theaters on September 30th, courtesy of Paramount Pictures.

THE GOOD

Smile was one of the rare horror movies destined for a theatrical wide release that somehow snuck up on me. I was actually at the movie theater seeing something else and was chatting with the crew when someone mentioned the movie to me and I immediately assumed it was yet another under-the-radar horror that would get a VOD release or find its way onto Shudder. Now I’m not saying those movies don’t have the potential to be good because they absolutely do, but theaters putting their faith in horror movies these days is fairly rare. So of course I immediately started digging in to this movie and found that it was still without the first official trailer at the time, but once it dropped I was sure to have a preview posted immediately. I doubt I need to point out this obvious fact, but the trailer for Smile was legit. It felt fresh, original, and more than anything else it seemed brutal and well deserving of the R-rating, as any horror movie worth its salt should be. So needless to say I was pumped to check this out opening day. So, was it worth the excitement? Keep reading to find out!

It sure was! Smile is a damn good horror movie, and one heck of a debut for writer and director Parker Finn, allowing audiences the opportunity to experience the feature-film version of his terrifying 2020 short film on the big-screen. It was gloriously dark and brutal, the score was terrifying and oh so satisfying, the cinematography and camera work were clutch, and more than anything else the story quenched my insatiable thirst for horror. This is a fantastic example of how a horror movie is supposed to leave a lasting impression.

But, before I get ahead of myself, it wasn’t perfect and I will touch on that later in the review. For me Finn’s story blended elements of horror films like The Ring (2002), and the classic indie horror film It Follows (2014), to perfection without feeling like a blatant ripoff of either classic horror film. Its just that resounding sense of dread that creeps in and never leaves you that makes movies like Smile leave such a lasting impression. The fact that the film is based on an original story from Finn is impressive to me because it did feel like it could have been a remake of a Japanese horror similar to The Ring, which is a credit to the story. Speaking of the story, I loved it. Horror movies are supposed to leave you feeling uneasy and on the edge of your seat with your mouth wide open as the credits role, and that was surely the case with Smile. And speaking of mouth wide open, those smiles are sooooooooo damn creepy.

I thought the final act was fantastic, and in many ways reminded me of the mindfu*k of an ending that we got with The Night House, which is a great horror thriller if you haven’t seen it and is now streaming on HBO Max. Now that I think about it, Smile has quite a bit in common with that movie. Finn put together a story that is relatable in a depressing and traumatic way, very dark, and more than anything else uniquely immersive. Oh and if you are one of those people who are especially susceptible to jump scares, you better buckle up because otherwise you might end up on the floor of the theater. I keep bringing it up but the story is obviously the star of the show, and like many of the more successful horror films as of late like Ari Aster’s 2018 film Hereditary (our review here) as a great example I like to use, it felt relatable in a grounded in reality sort of way. I mean sure, the basis of the film is far-fetched as it should be, but the core of the story is rooted in unresolved trauma, and let’s be honest this is precisely why therapists make the big bucks. It does make you wonder though how many therapists choose that career path as a way to deal with their own issues.

Actress Sosie Bacon leads the way for the cast and I thought she was fantastic. If you think her last name sounds familiar you would be onto something. She is the daughter of legendary actor Kevin Bacon, who had her with actress Kyra Sedgwick. Now that is some solid acting roots right there. A spitting imagine of her dad, Bacon is most recognized for her recent role in the HBO limited series Mare of Easttown. A ton was asked of her character in Smile, and I felt like she answered the call every single time. She reminded me a bit of Rebecca Hall in The Night House, a woman brought to her knees by tragedy holding on by a thread. Bottom line, this movie does not work without her and I look forward to what she does in the future. I won’t talk too much about the supporting cast here as I have a few thoughts later in review, but my favorite supporting roles were played by Caitlin Stasey as the troubled patient that starts it all, Robin Weigart who plays Dr. Madeline Northcott, and Kyle Gallner who plays Joel, the ex boyfriend turned detective.

THE BAD

Few things grind my gears more than a movie making stupid and unnecessary missteps keeping it from being great. Now if you have been paying attention I have made it very clear that Smile is a top-tier horror movie that I genuinely enjoyed, but the reality is it could have been better. I won’t spend too much time talking about the issues I have with the movie mainly because they are relatively inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, but sometimes as a reviewer of movies you have to nitpick a bit. First, I had issues with the writing and the editing decisions that were made. At just shy of 2-hours, I feel like they could have easily cut about 15-20 minutes out of this movie. I can think of at least three scenes that served literally zero purpose that could have been scrapped. They just felt forced and if anything took away from the impact of the film.

Now I have to talk about the casting, first I love me some Kal Penn, the guy is great and will be a legend forever thanks to Harold & Kumar and those delicious little White Castle burgers. But, what is he doing in a horror movie with no comedic element whatsoever you ask? Great question. It just felt like a weird decision to have such a recognizable guy play such a small yet important role. If I’m being honest, I just kept waiting for him to crack a joke. Next in line of bad casting decisions is the role played by Jessie T. Usher. Usher plays Trevor, the fiancé of Sosie Bacon’s character, a pivotal role in terms of the overall impact of the story. But man, I did not like his character at all. It started off okay, but once we start to learn a bit more about Rose Cotter and her “demons”, it becomes pretty clear that these two couldn’t be less compatible. The trend of passive and dare I say pansy ass men in this movie felt like a weird dynamic to say the least that did more bad than good. As the film got darker and more intense, Usher’s character became more of a joke than a quality character. I thought Usher was great in The Boys, but this role was not for him.

THE VERDICT

An unsettling and immersive urban legend style horror film blending elements of The Ring and It Follows, Smile gets the hooks in you early and delivers a very satisfying final act you won’t soon forget. I thought the tone was fantastic throughout, and the film absolutely delivered on the technical side of things which can be rare for wide-release horror movies. I loved Parker Finn’s original story, and felt like as a director he prioritized the elements that mattered most ensuring he delivered a horror experience that would stand the test of time while satisfying hardcore and casual genre fans.

Unfortunately a few poor casting decisions and questionable writing at times kept the film from moving into the upper-echelon of horror, but luckily these issues were not detrimental to the final product. Smile satisfied my hunger for quality horror, and is without a doubt the movie horror fans need to be seeing on the big-screen this Halloween season. I can’t wait to see it again, and I am looking forward to keeping an eye out for what Finn does next.

TED TAKES RATING - 8.1/10

Smile is now playing only in theaters. Check out the latest trailer below.

Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile

Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile is a 2022 live-action animated musical comedy directed by Will Speck and Josh Gordon, from a screenplay by William Davies. It is an adaptation of the children's story of the same name and its prequel The House on East 88th Street by Bernard Waber.

When the Primm family moves to New York City, their young son, Josh, struggles to adapt to his new school and friends. All of that changes when he discovers Lyle, a singing crocodile that loves baths, caviar and great music. The two become fast friends, but when evil neighbor Mr. Grumps threatens Lyle's existence, the Primms must band together to show the world that family can come from the most unexpected places.

The cast includes Shawn Mendes, Javier Bardem, Constance Wu, Winslow Fegley, Scoot McNairy, and Brett Gelman.

Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile made its debut in theaters on October 7th, courtesy of Columbia Pictures via Sony Pictures Releasing.

THE GOOD

My trip to the theater to see Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile was an overwhelmingly positive experience for several reasons. First, I was excited that I finally had another chance to take my almost 4-year-old little guy to see another movie, allowing me an opportunity for some great father son bonding time. He had been asking me when he would be able to see another movie in theaters, and needless to say I wasn’t about to bring him to see Bros (our review here) or Smile. My wife and I also had the crazy thought to try and take our almost 2-year-old, who is admittedly a mini-me, to see his first movie. Both boys watched the trailer and just kept running around the house yelling “Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile”, and I’m not gonna lie it was pretty damn cute. We even grabbed the book from the library to read to them before bed earlier in the week.

As our youngest climbed into his seat and looked at the giant bucket of delicious popcorn and the glorious illuminated screen in front of him, all he could say was “wowwwwwwwwww”. It was at that very moment that I knew I could forego the DNA test, he was definitely my kid. In all seriousness, both boys loved the movie, and our youngest sat through the entire thing and only became slightly distracted towards the end. Bottom line, Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile was a very successful trip to the theater for our little family. So, did the adults enjoy the movie? I’m glad you asked!

We did! I personally had a lot of fun with this movie, and more than anything else appreciated its ability to appeal to both kids and parents. It tells a very simple yet effective story, and also takes full advantage of the fact that it is partly a musical as well. I wouldn’t consider myself to be a musical fanatic necessarily, but I love when a movie can seamlessly blend musical elements within the story to where it doesn’t quite feel like a full-blown musical. The songwriting team from The Greatest Showman returns for Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile and you can feel their energy right away.

Having a talent like Shawn Mendes as the voice-actor for Lyle was a massive casting move, but the performances needed to jump off the screen, and in my opinion they absolutely did. I looked forward to the next time Lyle graced us with his angelic vocal chords, and that is saying a lot for someone who usually has a take it or leave it attitude when it comes to musicals. Bottom line, the performances were fun and exciting and kept my eyes glued to the screen as we were treated to a great soundtrack. Oh and little Lyle was so damn cute, I almost wanted a pet Crocodile of my own. Almost.

I was also genuinely pleased with the cast, lead by musician Shawn Mendes as Lyle and Javier Bardem. The two of them are just electric on screen. I really liked Winslow Begley who plays Josh Primm, and thought that he delivered a very solid performance. Begley was able to develop a unique bond with Lyle, and I felt like his difficult transition to a new home and a new city felt authentic and got audiences invested. Constance Wu and Scoot McNairy played Josh’s parents, and I really enjoyed both characters.

One of the scenes in the film that garnered the most laughs in the theater included McNairy’s character reliving his days as a championship wrestler. Having read the book to my kids before bed several times before seeing the movie, I knew it was important to cast the right person to play the films antagonist, Mr. Grumps, and comedian-turned-actor Brett Gelman was absolutely the right choice. The veteran actor is simply hilarious in his super odd role in one of my favorite comedies The Other Guys, and even though this role isn’t quite as over-the-top, he still plays it to perfection.

THE BAD

Andrew and I sort of have an unwritten rule where we don’t shred children’s movies, unless they are deserving of course, especially when they are based on popular books. But before you start questioning our thoughts on these movies, rest assured they will still receive the rating they deserve. To be honest, Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile met and exceeded my expectations. It was fun, never boring, and didn’t reach the cheesy status that it easily could have considering well, it is based on a children’s book about a singing and dancing crocodile. I felt like the film stayed fairly grounded all things considered and told a story with substance. I will say that I had hoped it would tug on the old heart strings a but more than it did, but that is just me sort of nitpicking. Instead of dragging out the third act of the film the writers decided to focus on the root of the story, and I do feel like it was the right decision.

THE VERDICT

An energetic and heartwarming family comedy featuring some great musical performances thanks to the talented duo of Shawn Mendes and Javier Bardem, Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile serves up something for the entire family making it well worth a trip to the theater. Family movies, especially those for younger kids, seem to be few and far between the last few months so jumped at the opportunity to see this with the family and it was well worth it. As I touched on earlier in the review, I am hard pressed to pick apart or be critical of Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile for the simple fact that it did what it set out to do, and then some.

Do yourself a favor and take advantage of a seemingly rare opportunity to get the littles ones out to the theater, you won’t regret it. Also pro tip, lots of delicious popcorn always helps too.

TED TAKES RATING - 7.2/10

Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile is now playing only in theaters. Check out the latest trailer below.

Blonde

By: Andrew Wing

Blonde is a 2022 American fictionalized biographical drama film written and directed by Andrew Dominik (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Killing Them Softly), based on the 2000 novel of the same name by Joyce Carol Oates. The film stars Ana de Armas (Blade Runner 2049, Knives Out) as the American icon and actress Marilyn Monroe. The cast also includes Adrien Brody (The Pianist, The Darjeeling Limited), Bobby Cannavale (Spy, Ant-Man), Xavier Samuel (The Twilight Saga: Eclipse), and Julianne Nicholson (August: Osage County, Mare of Easttown).

This reimagined fictional portrait of Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe follows her from her volatile childhood as Norma Jeane through her rise to stardom and romantic entanglements and blurs the lines of fact and fiction to explore the widening split between her public and private selves.

Along with shifting aspect ratios, most of the film is presented in black and white. Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Tracey Landon, Brad Pitt, and Scott Robertson produced the film, which, after a lengthy period of development that began in 2010, entered production in August 2019 in Los Angeles. Production wrapped in July 2021, following the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The film also garnered controversy and notoriety for its lead casting, graphic sexual content, and status as the first NC-17-rated film to be released via a streaming service.

Blonde premiered at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on September 8, 2022, and began a limited theatrical release in the United States on September 16, 2022, before its streaming release on September 28, by Netflix.

THE GOOD

The time has finally arrived. Blonde has without a doubt been one of the most highly anticipated movies of the past couple of years, and it finally hit Netflix a little over a week ago. Why was it anticipated so highly you might ask? Well, for starters it’s a biopic, albeit fictional, on the life of American screen icon Marilyn Monroe played by one of the most talented young actresses working today in Ana de Armas. Also, it is the Australian filmmaker Andrew Dominik’s first feature film in a decade, so people were excited to see what he has spent all this time working on. Despite those good things, this film was also highly anticipated because since early press screenings it has garnered a lot of controversy due to the way it portrayed Monroe and also with the fact that it earned an NC-17 rating due to its graphic sexual content. So was the inclusion of two talents in de Armas and Dominik enough to make this a great biopic, or was this the absolute dumpster fire a lot of critics have been saying it is? Keep reading to find out!

I take no pride in saying that it was the latter. Trust me, I will touch on all of the things wrong with this movie, but with this being the good section, that will just have to wait. But for now, there is only one way to start this review and that is by praising the beautiful and incredibly talented Ana de Armas. If there’s one thing to take away from this film, it is that she is going to be a star. It is obvious from the very first scene that she absolutely devoted herself to this role and despite the fact that people want to give her a hard time because her voice didn’t perfectly match that of Monroe’s, I would definitely call this a transformative performance. I thought the voice was more than fine, and I truthfully didn’t find it as distracting as other critics. And lastly when it comes to Ana de Armas, I just applaud her for her bravery in doing some of these very hard to watch scenes that I’m sure a lot of other actresses wouldn’t have done and I wouldn’t have blamed them, but de Armas just continues to impress me with whatever she does and I can’t wait to see where her career goes from here.

Now onto the director Andrew Dominik. I unfortunately don’t have a lot of good to say about him as I thought I would going into this review, but he is still worthy of some praise. I shame myself for one not having seen his feature film Chopper, but more for not yet having seen his 2007 Western The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. However, I have had the pleasure of watching his most recent film Killing Them Softly and one thing I took away from that was that Dominik is an incredible visual stylist and he absolutely puts that on display in Blonde. This movie is an incredible visual achievement. The black-and-white is about as impressive as it gets and Chayse Irvin’s cinematography was phenomenal.

Other than de Arma’s performance and the film’s visuals, there is nothing else I would say is great about Blonde. Despite that though, I did like all of the supporting performances we got here even though I think a lot of the side characters you could make the case were underwritten. I was specifically impressed by Bobby Cannavale who is definitely more known for his comedic roles but I think is one talented dramatic actor. I was also blown away by Julianne Nicholson who plays Monroe’s mentally unstable mother. She, like de Armas, really takes some risks with her performance and I was just left speechless a couple times at what she was able to do on screen. And lastly, me being a big music guy, I was a big fan of what Nick Cave and Warren Ellis brought to this movie in that department and I enjoyed hearing all of Marilyn Monroe’s hits at times throughout the film.

THE BAD

Before we dive too deep into the critiquing of this film, it should be known that this movie is adapted from Joyce Carol Oates 2000 novel of the same name. Dominik then adapted the screenplay, and while I respect his total commitment to whatever he was trying to achieve here, I have no fucking clue what he was going for here. Whatever it was was truly disappointing. I feel rude saying this but it also felt at times to be a little brain dead and I only say that because of how troubling the film is. From what he was trying to say about Marilyn Monroe and the life she lived, to femininity, to middle-century America, he just swung and missed here. I will say I haven’t read the novel, and I just might need to now, but there is just no debating that this movie doesn’t work and is a black mark on Dominik’s resume.

My next big problem with Blonde is the absurdly long runtime. It clocks in at a whopping 167 minutes and I’m usually one who is fine with longer movies and one who wishes some movies were longer, but that was absolutely not the case here. Once I came to terms with what this movie was, I just wanted it to end. The film is an imagining of Monroe's life and while I’m okay with a conspiracy theory here and there, this film just takes so many, and I would argue too many creative liberties with what was this woman’s life. And with that being said, the movie is pretty uncomfortable at times and the last thing I enjoy is being uncomfortable for almost three hours, so yeah, I would’ve liked this to be much shorter.

Continuing with that uncomfortable feel, it has to be said that there are A LOT of scenes in this film that I found to be unnerving, and I strongly believe that women will have a hard time watching this because well, there’s no other way to say it, this film is incredibly demeaning to females. From nudity, rape, attempted murder, attempted suicide, physical abuse, mental abuse, abortion, this film really has it all and it certainly earns its NC-17 rating. In conclusion, aside from all of the complaints I’ve made, I would argue the biggest one is that this film is just not entertaining in the slightest and I have a hard time recommending someone to check this out.

THE VERDICT

Andrew Dominik’s Blonde is a visual achievement and it also features what I found to be a pretty remarkable transformative performance from Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe, but that’s about all the good I have to say about it.

I truly don’t know what Dominik was trying to say or accomplish with this film, but whatever it was, it absolutely didn’t work. The way he portrayed Monroe’s life was exploitative, sexist, and dehumanizing, and more than that, the movie as a whole was just demeaning to women in general. At the end of the day, Dominik’s passion project is a failure that clocks in at a brutal runtime of 167 minutes.

TED TAKES RATING - 4.2/10

Blonde is now streaming exclusively on Netflix. Check out the latest trailer below.

Emily the Criminal

By: Andrew Wing

Emily the Criminal is a 2022 American crime drama film written and directed by John Patton Ford. It stars Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation, Safety Not Guaranteed), Theo Rossi (Sons of Anarchy), Megalyn Echikunwoke (Night School), and Gina Gershon (Bound).

Emily (Plaza), who is saddled with student debt and locked out of the job market due to a minor criminal record, gets involved in a credit card scam that pulls her into the criminal underworld of Los Angeles, ultimately leading to deadly consequences.

It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2022, and was released in the United States on August 12, 2022, by Vertical Entertainment and Roadside Attractions.

THE GOOD

Ever since premiering at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Emily the Criminal has been one of my most anticipated movies to check out mainly because of the widespread positive reviews it has gotten. Another reason for my excitement was the inclusion of Aubrey Plaza, an actress I am a huge fan of. Plaza is largely known for her hilarious role in Parks and Recreation, but for the past five years I have been really impressed with some of her dramatic performances in small indie films like Ingrid Goes West and Black Bear, so I was pumped to see if she could go up another level with her performance in Emily the Criminal. So with that said, was this Plaza’s career-best performance? Keep reading to find out!

IT WAS! I mentioned some of her other performances, but I really do think this is the best. Plaza’s character is a woman who gets slowly integrated into a world of crime, specifically credit card fraud, and the way she portrayed this character’s descent into madness if you will call it that, was remarkable. It was so fun as we got to discover what this character had up her sleeve the deeper we got into the story, and it was just so fun to watch Aubrey Plaza become an absolute badass in this world of crime. She just continues to stretch her limits as an actress in these indie films, and I’m just buying all the stock in her. She carries this film with ease, she has the range to do anything, and it’s not surprising the legendary Francis Ford Coppola recently cast her to be in his highly anticipated Megalopolis, which will feature her starring alongside my favorite actor Adam Driver. 

There’s no denying that Plaza stole the show here thanks to her performance, but this is just a solid crime drama film at the end of the day. It was written and directed by John Patton Ford and I was just really impressed by what he did with his feature film debut. The movie is a thriller that starts in a really grounded place which I was a fan of. That grounded feel made the way the story unfolded surprising when things started to escalate and it was just a very good script full of well-written characters. As good as his writing was, the direction though was great. The film is very tense and anxiety-inducing and Ford just did a fantastic job of heightening the tension at all the right spots

I usually don’t dive super deep into my movie reviews, but for this one, I will. So continuing with my praise for Ford, I liked the film’s commentary on how once someone is labeled a criminal and has a criminal record, no matter how small and harmless the crime might have been, you are forever deemed a criminal by society and that makes it extremely hard to get a job and make a living. We obviously see this firsthand with Plaza’s character Emily, who believes more in being a criminal than capitalism because she’s drowning in student loans. I don’t know, I’m not saying I’m pro-being a criminal, but I just thought it gave the film another layer of depth and made the character of Emily extremely relatable despite her criminal nature.

Before I wrap up the good, there are some more things I want to give some love to when it comes to Emily the Criminal, the first being Theo Rossi. I remember Rossi from his small supporting role in Sons of Anarchy, but he just crushed it here. His character was given a lot and Rossi’s performance just made you like his character who was also a criminal and made you see him as this warm, genuine person. The editing too here from Harrison Atkins was awesome. I was locked in from the start and the 93 minutes runtime was perfect. The cinematography was solid too and being a big fan of close-ups, I loved all of the close-ups we got in this film, so shoutout to cinematographer Jeff Bierman.

THE BAD

As much as I enjoyed this movie, the reason for my score which you’ll see shortly is simply because I don’t know if I can say the movie did anything exceptionally. Don’t get me wrong, this is a solid straightforward thriller with great performances, but I just can’t put it in that upper echelon of crime drama films which there are aplenty. Also, and I say this a lot when I critique movies, but I just wanted to see them dive a bit deeper into the world they were showing to us. I just wanted to see this movie try to take things a step further and I think it not doing that is why I didn’t totally love the ending. Other than that small gripe of mine though, there’s nothing bad about this movie and I have a hard time seeing anyone not enjoy Emily the Criminal.

THE VERDICT

Behind a career-best performance from Aubrey Plaza, Emily the Criminal is a thrilling crime drama from John Patton Ford in his feature film debut. It’s not groundbreaking, but it’s rock solid and just such an easy-to-watch film that you’re going to be locked into from start to finish thanks to both its crisp editing from Harrison Atkins and its perfect runtime of 93 minutes.

TED TAKES RATING - 8/10

Emily the Criminal is now available for rent or purchase on demand. Check out the latest trailer below.

Bros

Bros is a 2022 romantic comedy film directed by Nicholas Stoller from a screenplay he co-wrote with Billy Eichner, who also stars and executive produces. Stoller and Judd Apatow are producers of the film. Stoller has quite the resume in the world of comedy, having previously directed Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008), Get Him to the Greek (2010) (which he also wrote), and Neighbors (2014). Bros had its world premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2022.

Bobby Lieber, an "out and proud but also scared and self-doubting" New York museum curator, is hired to write a romantic comedy about a gay couple. Along the way, he meets—and eventually falls in love with—Aaron, a "macho" lawyer.

The cast includes Billy Eichner, Luke Macfarlane, Bowen Yang, Guy Branum, Harvey Fierstein, Ts Madison, Dot-Marie Jones, Monica Raymund, Eve Lindley, Guillermo Díaz, Amanda Bearse, Miss Lawrence, Ryan Faucett, and Jim Rash.

Bros made its debut in theaters on September 30th, courtesy of Universal Pictures.

THE GOOD

Once I hear the name Judd Apatow, I am already reaching for my debit card ready to buy a ticket. The guy does not miss in my mind and is the man when it comes to comedies with substance and a real story you can get behind. Granted he is only attached to the project as a producer, but his name means something in the business. After watching the initial trailer for the movie I was genuinely excited, it just felt like an Apatow movie. And after the incredibly positive feedback from earlier screenings, I was all in. Plus, life is hard sometimes so we need to jump at the opportunity to escape for around two hours by seeing a comedy like Bros in theaters. So, does it do the Apatow name justice or fail to meet expectations? Keep reading to find out!

I had a ton of fun with this movie, and I can say without a doubt it met my expectations. Once again Judd Apatow’s name is worth its weight in gold. I laughed out loud a ton, but more than anything else I had a really good time from start to finish, and the movie absolutely flew by. I will say right out of the gate Bros will likely divide audiences which I will talk about later in the review, but I thought it was hilarious, well-intentioned, and just an enjoyable escape to Provincetown (a gay reference, obviously). I really enjoyed the characters and all of their erratic personalities and felt like the story was intriguing enough to get me invested even though it was formulaic and fairly predictable as are most romantic comedies, although I think that may have been the point. I really liked the New York setting, although it was filmed in New Jersey. I also liked the references to Hallmark movies and the Hallmark Channel in general which my wife is next-level obsessed with. Star Luke Macfarlane, a straight man in real-life, actually got his start in Hallmark movies although my wife isn’t sure if she has seen any of them. The film is packed full of great one-liners, a surprising amount of depth when it comes to navigating relationships, and the undeniable fact that men will do anything to avoid talking about anything emotional with each other, and this is regardless of sexual preference.

I thought the writing was fantastic and without a doubt the primary reason why Bros is getting so much praise from critics. Director Nicholas Stoller co-wrote the screenplay with star Billy Eichner, a very openly gay comedian and New York native who seemingly plays himself in the movie. Stoller is extremely talented when it comes to putting together a quality story for a comedy, and love him or hate him Eichner plays to his strengths here and essentially adds his own level of expertise when it comes to the subject matter of the film. Bros perfectly mocks all sexual orientations, from straight, to bisexual, to transexual, but it especially rips gay people in hilarious fashion. I know women often feel like they are getting looked at like they are nothing more than a piece of meat, but I have visited gay clubs before (long story) and I have never been more uncomfortable, so I get it. Gay people have no filter, absolutely LOVE to party and hit the club scene, and they really are hilarious more often than not.

Bottom line, all of the funniest comedians are great at making fun of themselves, which allows for infinite material as they tend to refer to their own personal experiences. This felt like an opportunity for Eichner to mock the absolutely ridiculous world of gay men, from Tinder to Grindr, and to point out why the perception of gay men is often all wrong. Also, the portrayal of what Tinder is like is pretty spot on (I had a short and fairly successful run myself), but I will say that the ladies are far less aggressive than the men. Not to say I didn’t have a scenario or two where a very aggressive female asked to include their boyfriend 5-minutes before I left to meet her, but that is ancient history. Spoiler alert, I stayed home. But seriously, Bros makes fun of literally everything. Men of all sexual orientations, lack of commitment, meathead guys and working out in general (specifically CrossFit which I thought was hilarious), and anything and everything that has to do with how uncomfortable dating can be. The bread and butter of Bros is the mocking of pretty much every stereotype you can think of, and in my mind, that is a big part of what makes it so damn funny.

I touched on it briefly but I thought the cast was great. Eichner is perfect in his role, although he is annoying at times but that is likely by design. He often mocks straight men playing gay men in movies, and I can say without a doubt that he was able to become this character because as I mentioned, it is basically him in real life. I really liked Luke Macfarlane and thought the chemistry he had with Eichner was perfect. I assume a straight man playing a gay man, alongside a gay man basically playing himself, is not easy and probably uncomfortable at times, but he was great. The relationship between the two felt genuine, which allowed the story, as predictable as it was, to hold that much more weight. I honestly enjoyed the majority of the supporting cast, especially Guy Branum as that token friend you go out to bars with, but my favorite supporting character even though he had limited screen-time was Oscar-winning actor Jim Rash. He was hilarious during the constant back-and-forth bickering as he played the “underappreciated” bisexual man, and this role was just perfect for him. I won’t go too in-depth on the supporting cast as the leads definitely steal the show, but I thought everyone did a great job. Dot-Marie Jones crushed it as the no-filter lesbian of the group, and one scene in particular towards the end of the film was just perfect. Plus, Will & Grace star Debra Messing playing herself was just glorious. And lastly, I just have to give a shout-out to director Nicholas Stoller who continues to serve up hilarious content.

THE BAD

I mean, the reality is Bros is not for everyone. If you have any sensitivity at all to sexual situations involving gay men, you better steer clear. If you are homophobic, I wouldn’t even drive by the theater while the movie is playing. Am I being a bit ridiculous? Sure, but this movie does not hold back although to be fair you get more full-frontal male nudity in Game of Thrones. The majority of what you will see is fairly classy I guess you could say, most of the “hardcore” sexual nature of the film takes place off-screen or makes viewers use their imagination. But if you are uncomfortable with half-naked men who can’t seem to keep their hands off each other, this will be a difficult watch. I don’t want to go down this rabbit hole too deep, but I find it interesting how fired up people are getting about this movie.

First, you have the homophobic demographic who had zero interest in seeing the movie from the start, then after the movie bombed at the box office opening weekend, you have comedian and star Billy Eichner basically calling out straight people on Twitter for refusing to see the movie, and more or less accusing them of being homophobic. Now listen Billy, you were great in the movie but you do essentially portray the cocky persona you have on social media (and seemingly in real life), and calling out straight people is not a good way to get butts in the seats, pun intended. People saying that seeing a romantic comedy about gay people would be weird for a straight couple are idiots because for one I tried to get my wife to see it with me (sort of glad she didn’t because she would have been drooling over Macfarlane) but she was willing to, and I know for a fact that Andrew and his girlfriend were hoping to (and likely will) see it together.

Am I more comfortable with my sexual orientation than most? Can I appreciate a movie for what it is and ignore the BS surrounding it? Honestly, at the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter. In the era of social media basically running our lives people just like to get angry about things just to add meaning to their mundane existence, and sorry to say but Billy is playing right into the hands of these idiots (and by idiots I am referring to all sexual orientations, for the record). If they can keep this guy off social media for a few weeks and people stop pissing and moaning for a change, I think Bros will end up doing just fine at the box office.

THE VERDICT

Taking every opportunity to mock all sexual orientations equally while providing a ton of laughs along the way, Bros is a very well-written romantic comedy that plays to the strengths of its leading men while offering a surprisingly relatable albeit predictable story. The more I think about this movie, the more I appreciate the writing and all of the little details. As funny as it is, the ability to hang on to a story that has genuine substance in the face of rom-com predictability is an achievement. But again, are we really that surprised considering Judd Apatow’s involvement?

Do you need to sign a waiver saying you are comfortable with your sexuality before seeing the movie? Absolutely not, but if you are narrow-minded or homophobic it will be difficult to watch (refer to the “bad” section). But listen, two older ladies who were easily in their late 60s were in the theater and they had a blast, and I don’t need to tell you how things were “back in their day”. Bombing at the box office opening weekend has been a big topic and I do believe that releasing during horror movie season and not let’s say Valentine’s Day was a weird decision, but if you can ignore the noise and appreciate this movie for what it is, Bros is absolutely worth seeing in theaters and I may even see it a second time.

TED TAKES RATING - 9.1/10

Bros is now playing only in theaters. Check out the latest trailer below.

Don't Worry Darling

Don't Worry Darling is a 2022 psychological thriller film directed by Olivia Wilde. The screenplay was written by Katie Silberman, based on a story by Carey van Dyke, Shane Van Dyke, and Silberman. The film is produced by New Line Cinema and Vertigo Entertainment.

In the 1950s, Alice and Jack live in the idealized community of Victory, an experimental company town that houses the men who work on a top-secret project. While the husbands toil away, the wives get to enjoy the beauty, luxury and debauchery of their seemingly perfect paradise. However, when cracks in her idyllic life begin to appear, exposing flashes of something sinister lurking below the surface, Alice can't help but question exactly what she's doing in Victory.

The cast includes Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Olivia Wilde, Gemma Chan, KiKi Layne, Nick Kroll, and Chris Pine.

Don't Worry Darling released in theaters on September 23rd, courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.

THE GOOD

Andrew and I have both been chomping at the bit for Don’t Worry Darling to hit theaters, and unless you live under a rock you are surely familiar with the pre-release drama surrounding the film that was stirred up during the promotional press tour, and the inevitable gossip that plagues our society today. But considering the box office success for the film so far, I would say that the idea of any press is good press rings true. I won’t bore you with the details of the aforementioned drama, but I will admit that I was annoyed by it mainly because it took away from the films highly anticipated release. Nonetheless, I ignored the noise and made it a point to see Don’t Worry Darling in theaters as soon as I could, So, was it worth my time? Keep reading to find out!

Let me just say that proving the naysayers wrong felt like a breath of fresh air, and boy was it satisfying. Seriously, Don’t Worry Darling is a damn good movie, and what I would consider to be one of the more unique and original psychological thrillers in recent memory. What intrigued me about the film in the first place was the overall concept, and the fact that it was obvious something wasn’t right, but you just couldn’t quite put your finger on it. Just like the trailers, the film does a fantastic job of keeping you guessing, and it wasn’t until the very end that I was greeted with what I would consider to be the big reveal which absolutely caught me off guard.

Now I can easily compare Don’t Worry Darling to other films that fall within the sci-fi thriller genre, but that would likely give things away and as you should know, I am not one to spoil a movie for someone. Katie Silberman’s screenplay in collaboration with Carey and Shane Van Dyke’s story deserves its time in the sun, because this movie thrives on feel and that element of mystery and intrigue. I couldn’t get enough of it. I also really enjoy the 50’s era as far as the clothes and the colors, and especially the cars. I also really liked all of the subtle elements of the film, like what the heck was Pugh’s character watching all the time on the TV while she was vacuuming?! And the visions that her character experienced were just awesome, and terrifying at the same time. What a unique balance.

Aside from what I considered to be a uniquely captivating story, Don’t Worry Darling has a stellar cast and it all starts with Florence Pugh. The English actress has absolutely exploded on the scene ever since a strong year in 2019 where she starred in the horror thriller Midsommar (our review here) as well as the period drama, Little Women. She snagged a starring role as a real badass in Marvel’s Black Widow in 2021, and here she is lighting up the screen in 2022 as she delivers arguably one of the best performances of the year. No joke, Pugh is simply THAT GOOD in this movie. Each and every scene she is in is electric, and I found myself in constant awe of her performance.

Oh and did I mention how insanely sexy she is in this? Sorry if I made it weird. Pugh stars alongside pop star turned actor Harry Styles, who in my opinion delivers a solid performance. Now I have read the criticism of his acting in the film, but if anything he was at a disadvantage trying to match the absolute clinic put on by Pugh. Bottom line, Styles is making a name for himself in movies and for my money is doing a damn good job, but to try and be overly critical of his acting in Don’t Worry Darling feels like a lazy and jealous attempt to get him to focus on music. He is here to stay folks, deal with it. Oh, and get ready for his next big role in My Policeman (preview and trailer here) set for a limited theatrical release on October 21st before a streaming release on Prime Video.

Yet another unreal performance is delivered by talented actor Chris Pine, who damn near gave me chills as the films primary antagonist. The amount of mystery surrounding Pine’s character is a big driver for the films backstory, and I thought he was just fantastic in this role. The supporting cast was pretty solid all around in my opinion, but I especially enjoyed Nick Kroll playing his usual a-hole role he is so damn good at. Director Olivia Wilde also plays an important supporting role in the film, and I thought she was great as usual. I also enjoyed the role played by Timothy Simons, and felt like he made quite an impact in his limited screen-time. Gemma Chan is phenomenal as Pine’s authoritative and intense wife.

Don’t Worry Darling really shines on the technical side of things. First and foremost, composer John Powell’s score is simply epic. So much of the score helped immerse me in the excitement and intrigue of the films story, and for me this made for an exciting and rewarding experience. The film puts a premium on what I would consider to be the big three of film as far as giving viewers everything they want and need, which is music, cinematography, and quality editing. Matthew Libatique handled the cinematography duties and crushes it, and Affonso Gonçalves hits a home run on the editing side of things. One scene in particular towards the end of the film had this crazy Mad Max vibe to it, and the overall feel just made me want to stand up and clap with excitement. The final act of the film was fantastic, and much of that is attributed to the overall technical prowess. As a follow-up to her 2019 hit film Booksmart, Olivia Wilde has proven that she is a talented director and someone worth keeping an eye on.

THE BAD

Don’t Worry Darling is a very effective and extremely entertaining psychological thriller. Is it perfect? No, but in my mind the good far outweighs the bad. Some of the acting isn’t great at times, but as I touched on earlier I believe much of that is the disparity between Florence Pugh and the rest of the cast, minus Chris Pine and Gemma Chan, as far as overall acting ability. I know I said Harry Styles delivered a solid performance, which he did, but he did flutter at times but luckily it was not detrimental to the film mainly because Pugh carried the more dramatic scenes. I can’t really think of many issues with the screenplay or story as it kept me guessing and never dragged. Long story short, I was too busy enjoying Don’t Worry Darling and must have forgotten to pick it apart. As the cool kids say, ignore the haters. Plus, at the end of the day the overall impact of the film and whether or not it “works” depends on two performances, which is the tense game of tug-a-war between Florence Pugh and Chris Pine’s characters, and as a great sports analogy, they leave everything out on the field.

THE VERDICT

Anchored by a tremendous score, a captivating screenplay, and a career-defining performance from actress Florence Pugh, Don’t Worry Darling is a psychological thriller that will stick with audiences long after the credits roll. I can’t get this movie out of my head, and I am so glad I ignored the pre-release drama and the out of touch critics because this movie hit hard. I talked about how excited I was to see it earlier in the review, but I am still amazed that it was able to meet my expectations. It may not be perfect and the supporting cast sometimes struggles to match Pugh and her pure acting talent, but in no way does it take away from the overall impact of the film.

I just love when a movie is able to become an experience that you can take home with you, and that is what happened for me here. Plus, at just over 2-hours this movie flies by. Do yourself a favor by ignoring the behind-the-scenes gossip and give Don’t Worry Darling a chance in theaters, you won’t regret it.

TED TAKES RATING - 8.3/10

Don’t Worry Darling is now playing only in theaters. Check out the latest trailer below.

See How They Run

By: Andrew Wing

See How They Run is a 2022 mystery comedy directed by Tom George, written by Mark Chappell, and produced by Damian Jones and Gina Carter. The film stars Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, The Green Mile), Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird, Little Women), Adrien Brody (The Pianist, King Kong), Ruth Wilson (Locke, Anna Karenina), Reece Shearsmith (Shaun of the Dead), Harris Dickinson (The King’s Man), and David Oyelowo (Selma, Rise of the Planet of the Apes).

In the West End of 1950s London, plans for a movie version of a smash-hit play come to an abrupt halt after a pivotal member of the crew is murdered. When world-weary Inspector Stoppard (Rockwell) and eager rookie Constable Stalker (Ronan) take on the case, the two find themselves thrown into a puzzling whodunit within the glamorously sordid theater underground, investigating the mysterious homicide at their own peril.

See How They Run was theatrically released by Searchlight Pictures in the United Kingdom on September 9, 2022, and in the United States one week later on September 16, 2022.

THE GOOD

Ever since Rian Johnson’s Knives Out hit the scene in 2019, I have been a huge fan of the whodunit genre. They are just so much fun and because of my fascination with the genre, I of course went ahead and consumed some of the classics of the genre like the legendary Sidney Lumet’s 1974 Murder on the Orient Express, Jonathan Lynn’s 1985 classic Clue, and recently Kenneth Brannagh’s Death on the Nile (see Ted’s full review here). All that said, once I saw the trailer for See How They Run, I was pumped. Not only because it was another whodunit, but also because it featured two of my favorite actors in Sam Rockwell, and arguably the best young actress right now in Saoirse Ronan. So was I right to be so excited, or was I rather let down? Keep reading to find out!

I can’t say that it matched my expectations, but it definitely did not let me down. Tom George’s feature film directorial debut was to put it simply, a good time. There was a lot I enjoyed about his direction here and I’m excited to see what he does next. I also was quite impressed with Mark Chappell’s screenplay. It is so hard to keep an audience on their toes and engaged nowadays and thanks to Chappell’s script that kept me guessing, I was locked in from start to finish and I was totally surprised by the epic conclusion this film had. I was pleased overall with what I got from them, and there were other smaller things I could touch on like the editing, production design, and music, but let’s dive into what put my butt in the seat in the first place, the cast!

It’s only right that I start with the woman who just fails to give a bad performance in anything she is in, and that is the extremely talented Saoirse Ronan. I obviously knew she had the comedic chops after watching her in Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird back in 2017, but I was blown away by how funny she was in this. You can ask my girlfriend who I saw it with, but I was literally chuckling at every line of dialogue her character had. Her chemistry with Sam Rockwell, who actually gave a great performance that was honestly unlike anything I’ve seen from him before, was amazing and the two of them definitely carried the film in my opinion.

Despite me having that sentiment, there were a number of other performances I enjoyed here. First with Tim Key, who played Commissioner Harrold Scott. Similar to Ronan, every line of dialogue he had made me laugh, and I was just really shocked at how much I enjoyed his presence in the film given that this was the first I had seen of him. I was also a big fan of Harris Dickinson’s small supporting comedic performance in this as the one and only Richard Attenborough, and I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, but I think Harris Dickinson is a star in the making and I absolutely cannot wait to see him in Triangle of Sadness (watch the preview here) which comes out in just over a week. Oh and lastly, just like he did in The French Dispatch (see my full review here) from last year, Adrien Brody was just fantastic in his limited screen time.

THE BAD

Alright, this is difficult because there is no denying that See How They Run is a good movie. It’s a breezy watch with a unique story, but there was just something missing from me putting it in that upper echelon of the whodunit genre like the aforementioned Knives Out, which just so happens to be getting its own sequel, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (watch the preview here).

I don’t know what it was, but some of the jokes fell flat for me, and maybe that’s because this film is very British when it comes to its sense of humor, and it was also just pretty cheesy if I had to be completely honest. More than that, there were some performances I just wasn’t a fan of, especially David Oyelowo’s. Now I think Oyelowo is an amazing actor, but I just didn’t love him in this particular film and I think it’s mainly because it’s a comedy and I strongly believe that Oyelowo is better suited for dramas.

THE VERDICT

Thanks to fantastic performances from the leads Sam Rockwell and Saoirse Ronan, Tom George’s See How They Run is a good time from start to finish thanks to an engaging script full of perfectly dry British humor, making it a great addition to the whodunit genre.

Sure, it’s no Knives Out, but it’s still a breezy and bouncy watch that is well worth you making the trip to the theaters for!

TED TAKES RATING - 7.4/10

See How They Run is now playing at Smitty’s Cinema. Check out the latest trailer below.

Pearl

Pearl is a 2022 horror slasher from director Ti West, co-written by West and Mia Goth. The film is a joint-venture production of A24 and Little Lamb, and is the prequel to X (see our full review here), a film that was released earlier this year. The film is directed by Ti West, co-written by West and Mia Goth, who reprises her role as the titular character, and co-stars David Corenswet, Tandi Wright, Matthew Sutherland, and Emma Jenkins-Purro. Pearl, which had its world premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on September 3rd, was secretly filmed at the same time as X, which is pretty damn cool in my opinion.

In 1918, Pearl is a young woman living with her German immigrant parents on their Texas homestead while her husband, Howard, is serving in World War I. Pearl's father is infirm and paralyzed, and her domineering mother, Ruth, insists that she help care for both him and the farm. Pearl, longing for a more exciting life, is captivated by the films she sees at the local cinema leading her on a dangerous journey as she finds herself.

If the name Ti West doesn’t ring a bell, you may not be alone. Even if you have heard of him, you might think he is fairly new to the world of movies, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. I can’t be the only person who for a hot minute thought he was new to the game when the first trailer for X made its debut, but lets be honest, if I see the A24 logo, I am immediately preordering my ticket without a second thought. Either way, I owe him an apology because as a horror fanatic, it is simply inexcusable on my part.

A horror lover at heart, West has dabbled in a bit of everything since he began his directing career back in 2001 with a few short films. In 2009, he wrote and directed the critically acclaimed horror film The House of the Devil, now streaming on Peacock and AMC+ if you are interested, as well as a segment of the 2012 anthology horror V/H/S, which is really good. West now has joined up with the crem de la crem of production companies and is making history with a fresh new throwback horror franchise.

Pearl was released in theaters on September 16th, courtesy of A24.

THE GOOD

I touched on a bit of his history, but Ti West is my guy. I feel like in many ways he is like my spirit animal as we both seemingly share a raw and passionate appreciation for throwback horror films. When I saw X in theaters, I was smiling from ear to ear the entire time. This guy just gets it, and as far as I can tell A24 is allowing him free reign as he builds this new horror franchise of his. The digital ink hadn’t even dried on my X review before I learned about the prequel, which was filmed back-to-back. Like what?! So crazy, but man was I pumped about this. Mia Goth and her dual performance was a big reason why X worked so well, and she was appropriately rewarded with a leading role in a main character’s origin story. So, after all of the buildup and anticipation, was Pearl all I hoped it would be? Keep reading to find out!

As expected, Pearl was fantastic. Right from the opening sequence, I was in awe of Ti West and his ability to give us that genuine feel of a story that takes place in the 1920s. West again goes with that technicolor style and what I would consider a dull yet vibrant color scheme throughout, which really had that throwback feel to it. The look perfectly matched the feel of the film, which was oddly upbeat when it came to Pearl and her odd and erratic behavior, while still very bleak and depressing as it relates to her feelings of being trapped in a life she desperately wants to escape. We have a pretty good idea of what to expect from Pearl as a character after watching her in X, but nothing can truly prepare you for the level of insanity she exhibits.

The film's core is a power struggle between Pearl and her overbearing mother Ruth, played by Tandi Wright. You feel for Ruth as she describes the unfairness and cruelty of what life dishes out as she is forced to care for her husband who due to an illness is now a shell of himself and confined to a wheelchair. Ruth makes it very clear that she expects Pearl to take on this massive burden as well, which leads to a very odd and often cringeworthy relationship between the troubled young lady and the man who raised her. The trajectory of Pearl’s character was simply amazing, which speaks to the writing collaboration between West and Goth. I also really liked the claustrophobic feel of the film which helped to make Pearl seem somewhat relatable, at least in the first half of the film. You will feel sympathy for Pearl early on, but trust me when I say that by the end, you will see her in an entirely new and terrifying light.

The bread and butter of the film is without a doubt the acting, and Mia Goth is simply phenomenal as Pearl. She was literally on another level and embodied the character to the point where we may never see her as anything other than the odd and psychotic woman living with her parents on this rural farm in West Texas. If you’ve been reading up on this movie at all, you surely heard about Goth’s 5-minute monologue at the conclusion of the film, and wow. Just wow. Goth, a native of Southwark, London, is incredibly talented and has a very bright future ahead of her. I touched on the performance of Tandi Wright briefly, but she was great as Pearl’s mother Ruth. The fact that she is not German in real-life blows my mind because of how convincing she was. You can feel the despair oozing from her facial expressions and mannerisms, and it is clear that she is a woman defeated yet unwilling to give up on the vows she made to her husband, while desperate to convince her daughter to share the same outlook. To say that it is a troubling family dynamic would be an understatement.

Although she played a supporting role, Emma Jenkins-Purro was crucial in her portrayal of Misty, Pearl’s sister-in-law, as she helped to reinforce the fact that something was very wrong with Pearl. I really liked David Corenswet in his role as The Projectionist and felt like his character offered a unique carefree attitude and outlook on life which just reminded Pearl of all that she was missing. He was also the person responsible for bringing out Pearl’s deepest desires leading to the character that we see in X. Matthew Sunderland was great as Pearl’s Father, especially considering that all he had at his disposal was facial expressions, and he made the most of them during the films final act.

Similar to X, Pearl shines on the technical side of things. From the unique directing style to the cinematography, right down to a fantastic score and soundtrack, everything came together nicely. I touched on it briefly but I loved the overall feel and look of the film, from something as simple as the way the cast and director credits hit the screen at the start, to the overall old-school look which just felt genuine. Eliot Rockett, who worked with West on the House of the Devil as well as X, returns as the film’s cinematographer. He took full advantage of the gorgeous New Zealand setting, and just created a very immersive experience. Composer Tyler Bates, who also worked on X, returns to share music duties with veteran Tim Williams. The score and soundtrack are pivotal for what West is trying to do and they come through yet again. I have to touch on the editing which is so damn good yet again. Ti West, who serves as director and co-writer, is also the editor for the film which makes a huge difference mainly because he has such a unique signature style. I could go on and on talking about the editing, but a specific sequence during the film’s final act was especially spectacular. The bottom line, you need to experience it for yourself. I was also impressed with the script which was a collaboration between West and Mia Goth, her first writing credit.

THE BAD

Pearl is a fantastic movie, but it is very different from X and for that reason not quite as enjoyable in comparison, although thankfully it does retain that signature style. But, let me be clear when I say that does not take away from what the film accomplished. Pearl is meant to be an origin story leading to the events that unravel in X, and it does that to perfection. The character development is mind-blowing in so many ways and speaks to a very effective screenplay. The reason why I am talking about this in the bad section is the fact that I don’t feel like Pearl is quite as enjoyable on a mainstream level.

This is very much a slow-burn character study, capped off with the amazing monologue I mentioned. Now even though X had its fair share of hard-to-watch scenes, unless you are into sex-crazed old ladies which I say to each their own, Pearl ups the ante in many ways. Although it could have been much worse. If you have an issue with the mistreatment of the elderly you may have a difficult time with this movie. The strain Pearl’s father puts on the family as he is confined to a wheelchair and unable to eat or bathe on his own is a primary driver of the story, and also very triggering in many ways as well. Even though Pearl claims to love her father, he is seen as nothing more than a major inconvenience. So I guess what I am saying is that what the film does so well is also what will likely make it a difficult watch for some people. Also, if you have an issue with subtitles they pop up throughout the film as Pearl and her mother often talk to each other in German. I’m not a fan of subtitles in general but they didn’t bother me.

THE VERDICT

A tense and well-crafted origin story showcasing a memorable performance from talented actress Mia Goth, Pearl is yet another successful collaboration between visionary director Ti West and A24. Although I didn’t like it as a whole quite as much as I did the first film, getting the much-needed backstory on this character was great. What West is doing with these movies is incredible to me, essentially building a brand new franchise in the span of 12 months. X was a real treat for horror fans, and the fact that it was just scratching the surface has me beyond excited for what is to come next.

Now even though Pearl doesn’t have a post-credit scene in the traditional sense, it does offer a sneak peek at the 3rd film in the franchise, Maxine, if you haven’t seen it already. So yeah, I am all in for what Ti West cooks up next. At this rate he may end up with more films than the Friday the 13th franchise, especially considering I have been waiting for another movie since 2009. Be sure to get out and support the glorious horror genre by seeing Pearl in theaters.

TED TAKES RATING - 8.6/10

Pearl is now playing only in theaters. Check out the latest trailer below.

Barbarian

Barbarian is a 2022 horror thriller film written and directed by Zach Cregger (starred in Date and Switch, Opening Night). It stars Georgina Campbell (Flowers, Krypton), Bill Skarsgård (It, It Chapter Two), and Justin Long (Dodgeball, Live Free or Die Hard). Arnon Milchan, Roy Lee, Raphael Margules, and J.D. Lifshitz produce.

A young woman traveling to Detroit for a job interview books a rental home. But when she arrives late at night, she discovers that the house is double booked, and a strange man is already staying there. Against her better judgment, she decides to spend the evening but soon discovers that there’s a lot more to fear than just an unexpected house guest.

Barbarian made its debut in theaters on September 9th, courtesy of 20th Century Studios.

THE GOOD

I’m a bit embarrassed to admit this, but as a horror fanatic Barbarian somehow snuck up on me. I knew it was slated to come out early September and that it had a great cast, but for some reason I sort of initially dismissed it as yet another more thriller than horror film which we seem to be getting a lot of lately. Now don’t get me wrong, Jordan Peele’s Nope (our review here) for example, which was fantastic, I wouldn’t really consider horror although it does have horror elements. It definitely lands more in that sci-fi thriller genre that borders horror which is fine, but still does not satisfy my craving for true horror. Now as September 9th fast approached early reviews began surfacing for Barbarian, and I was speechless. Without reading too much into them and just more or less looking at the general summary, it seemed this could be the true horror film I had been searching for. At this point I had the release circled on my calendar and I was antsy with anticipation. So, did Barbarian satisfy my horror craving or did the hype get the best of me? Keep reading to find out!

Barbarian filled me up like a productive trip to the Chinese food buffet, minus the stomach ache or night sweats. I’m talking 5 to 6 plates of food, and that is not even counting dessert. Seriously, this movie impressed me at every turn and always kept me guessing. From the score/soundtrack, to the acting, to the camera work, right down to the screenplay, it all came together. Going in without a real understanding of what the film would bring to the table was a genius move on my part, and boy did it pay off. I was on the edge of my seat from throughout trying to figure out who or what posed a threat to the characters, and the journey to that answer was quite an unpredictable and entertaining ride. Barbarian felt like a breath of fresh air, and it transported me back to the age of old-school horror. At times, I got 1995 B-movie horror Castle Freak vibes, and that movie literally contributed to 50+ sleepless nights during my youth. It is rare for a movie that makes it to theaters to push the envelope as far as what you would consider to be the difficult to watch content, but they did not hold back here. As a massive fan of the genre, I loved so many things about this movie.

A horror film can survive with average to below average acting, which of course is not the case here, but what it absolutely needs to have is an effective and engaging story, a tone that becomes synonymous with its identity, and a certain element of fearlessness in terms of how far to push things. Well, Barbarian has all of that, and then some. I can’t stand when a movie spoon feeds viewers assuming we can’t put the pieces of the puzzle together ourselves, but the screenplay forces and rewards you for paying attention and that was huge for me. I also have to mention what I felt was seamless and incredibly effective editing work as the film never missed a beat as this layered and fairly complex story was told.

I touched on it briefly, but the cast was a big draw for me. Obviously the biggest name that stands out is Pennywise himself, Bill Skarsgård. If he is playing a leading role in a horror film, you can pretty much bank on the fact that something extremely messed up is about to happen. But seriously, Skarsgård is awesome as usual, and definitely a big bright spot for the cast as expected. I wasn’t super familiar with English actress Georgina Campbell who takes on the lead role of Tess, but man she was fantastic. I was bought in to her character immediately, and without her ability to match the sheer acting talent of Skarsgård, Barbarian just does not work as well as it does. I really liked her character, and I thought she did a really nice job expressing a wide range of emotions during this wild ride.

The unsung hero for the film has to be my guy Justin Long, man it was great to see him in another big role. The Connecticut native has been a bit quiet as of late in terms of big movies, but he shows up here. I enjoyed his super weird character in the sitcom New Girl, but I will also picture him as Justin in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, or Dean in Waiting…, or even Bartelby in the comedy classic, Accepted. We can’t forget the 2001 horror cult classic Jeepers Creepers as well. Oh, and if you haven’t seen the 2012 coming-of-age comedy drama Best Man Down, it is worth checking out. Bottom line, Long usually plays a certain goofy big-hearted character which has always worked for him, but I was a huge fan of the fact that he plays a very different character in Barbarian. The supporting cast was great from top to bottom, and as far as Matthew Patrick Davis is concerned, just wow man, wow.

The technical elements of the film had me in awe from start to finish, they were just that good. The opening sequence set the tone for the rest of the film, making it very clear that score and overall feel would dominate as far as the technical side of things. The opening sequence is a dark and rainy night with the ominous score dominating the speakers, and all of a sudden the camera moves inside the car as we meet the first character in the film, and all of a sudden all we hear is what is the sound of the windshield wipers and the engine. This is a small thing of course, but it was a sign of things to come and had me smiling from ear to ear.

Aside from the A24 horror film X it’s been awhile since I have seen a horror film that placed such a premium on the finer technical elements. Plus, I absolutely loved the creative and intimate feel we get from the camera work. The way each shot transitions feels like you are right there with the characters, creating a genuine feel of unease which I thought was fantastic. So yeah, kudos to director Zach Cregger, composer Anna Drubich, cinematographer Zach Kuperstein, and editor Joe Murphy. They crushed it.

THE BAD

With a film like Barbarian that is such an original concept, its hard to criticize it for several reasons. Now the horror genre is unique on general, mainly because you either love horror, or you hate it, no real in between. I’m not talking about slashers or the typical jump scare horror films, I’m talking about the makes you feel a little dirty and sends chills up your back sort of horror. That is where Barbarian falls within the horror genre. This movie does everything extremely well, and has such a unique and complex identity that I was personally blown away by the more than meets the eye element of the film.

But, with all that being said, this is not an easy watch. I will literally watch anything no matter how messed up it is, and I was cringing during certain scenes. The film just sticks with you in such a way that if you are susceptible to nightmares after watching a horror movie, good luck because it is going to be a long night. I want so badly to be scared, and Barbarian made my skin crawl serving up an experience that I really needed. I feel like the bad section sort of got away from me, but bottom line, this is a tough watch but you will not catch me criticizing what they accomplished with this movie.

THE VERDICT

An unsettling and atmospheric throwback horror film more concerned with genuine terror than it is cheap jump scares, Barbarian is a breath of fresh air and will keep viewers uncomfortably on the edge of their seats. As I talked about in the review, I really didn’t quite know what to expect going into the theater, and there is no better feeling than the satisfaction I felt as the end credits hit the screen. The horror genre has been widely disrespected as of late, but Barbarian is a great reminder that it is still possible to deliver effective and satisfyingly original content that leaves a mark.

I want so badly to go into detail about the story and its many layers, but I refuse to spoil anything. You simply need to experience it for yourself, because this movie will stick with you. If you are a fan of quality horror films, get out there and see Barbarian in theaters sooner than later. I can’t wait to see it again.

TED TAKES RATING - 9.3/10

Barbarian is now playing only in theaters. Check out the latest trailer below.

Me Time

Me Time is a 2022 buddy comedy film written and directed by NYC native John Hamburg, the cousin of The Bourne Identity and Edge of Tomorrow director Doug Liman. Hamburg is no stranger to comedy as he previously wrote and directed I Love You, Man (2009) and Why Him? (2016), and also wrote the screenplays for classic comedies like Meet the Parents (2000) and Zoolander (2001), to name a few.

Sonny, a stay-at-home dad, finds himself with some "me time" for the first time in years while his wife and kids are away. He reconnects with his former best friend Huck for a wild weekend that nearly upends his life.

The film stars Kevin Hart, Mark Wahlberg, Regina Hall, Che Tafari, Amentii Sledge, Andrew Santino, Luis Gerardo Méndez, Naomi Ekperigin, Michelle DeShon, Jimmy O. Yang, and Ilia Isorelýs Paulino.

Me Time released exclusively on Netflix August 26th.

THE GOOD

Somehow I was caught off guard by the lack of marketing for this movie, at least from my minimal vantage point, especially considering the star power of Kevin Hart and Mark Wahlberg. It seemingly came out of nowhere, on the heels of another Hart Netflix movie, The Man from Toronto which I recently reviewed (full review here). I planned to watch it regardless for obvious reasons, but I wouldn’t say I was necessarily excited or had it circled on my calendar. Once it released, I was floored by the overwhelmingly negative reviews. I didn’t expect a direct-to-streaming comedy to be a hit with critics, but saying it is basically unwatchable is a far cry from a fun popcorn movie with enough laughs to keep you entertained. Plus to be fair, critics hammered The Man from Toronto pretty hard as well, and I found most of their issues to be unfounded which I talk about in my aforementioned review. Nonetheless, the harsh criticism actually moved Me Time up my watch list. Were the critics actually right this time, or did they once again overstep and let their seemingly miserable lives spill over into their supposedly unbiased reviews? Keep reading to find out!

Spoiler alert, Me Time is not nearly as bad as these critics want to lead you to believe. Is it a rudimentary buddy comedy that lacks substance and relies on brainless and sometimes borderline raunchy humor and corny dad jokes? You can bet your ass it is, but that’s okay. Maybe part of it is my low expectations going in, or just my love for Mark Wahlberg and Kevin Hart, but I actually enjoyed this movie. I laughed out loud more times than I expected to, and if I’m being honest to movie kept me mostly engaged from start to finish. The jokes that would likely be considered offensive by some people had me smiling ear to ear. For me the movie thrived just with the jokes, and the back and forth banter between characters, which often felt like it was unscripted which I am sure was the case. Director John Hamburg has been around long enough to know that sometimes it is okay to rely on your actors especially when you have this level of talent at your disposal. Hamburg’s direction and a strong cast lead to what I would consider to be a very watchable and easy to enjoy comedy.

As I mentioned already, a big pull for me with this movie was the cast. I love me some Mark Wahlberg and Kevin Hart, and I thought they were great together in this. The Dynamic was solid as far as a good buddy comedy, and the chemistry they shared was well above average. They both took advantage of their opportunities. Aside from Hart and Wahlberg, I loved the addition of my guy Andrew Santino, who those of you will likely recognize from the Lil Dicky series Dave. I really enjoyed his character, and for me he provided a ton of additional comic relief. Even though he plays a supporting role, the film does not work as well as it does without his character. I had a lot of fun with the back and forth dad jokes between Santino and Hart. Regina Hall was great as expected, and had genuine chemistry with Hart’s character.

It was a bit strange seeing Luis Gerardo Méndez in the film as I have been watching him in the Peacock series The Resort, but I liked his character. His accent is great. As far as the other supporting roles, Ilia Isorelýs Paulino cracked me up as the Uber Driver who becomes part of the crew. I don’t know if it was her effective use of dry humor, or the fact that she was big enough compared to Hart to pass as his babysitter, but her character fit nicely and helped to effectively move along the story. As far as the roles generally played by the kids in films like this, I was pleasantly surprised by Che Tafari, who played Hart’s son. Instead of just being sort of a placeholder character going through the motions, he had a certain on-screen presence that I was very impressed with and could see him flourishing if given the right roles in the future. He is slowly making a name for himself after playing a role in the 2021 HBO Max original comedy 8-Bit Christmas, and I look forward to watching him in the future. I also have to give a shout out to my guy Jimmy O. Yang, who I will always view as his Silicon Valley character Jian Yang. He has been on a bit of a hot streak playing these random supporting roles with Me Time, and also Easter Sunday which I recently reviewed (full review here).

THE BAD

Listen, I could talk all day about the issues with Me Time. It is often sloppy, many of the jokes are hit or miss dependent on your sense of humor, the plot is very cookie cutter, and the emotional element of the film is basically non-existent. But, the big question is do these issues ruin the movie or make it unwatchable, and if you have been paying attention during this review you already know the answer. This is a turn your brain off buddy comedy with two actors who can basically do whatever they want at this point in their careers. The special effects were cheesy as expected, but that wasn’t a big deal to me. The chemistry between Hart and Wahlberg alone makes it worth checking out, and as I have said time and time again, if you appreciate goofy comedies you will enjoy this movie. I could see the “sensitive generation” getting a little upset over some of the jokes, but that is probably what made me enjoy the movie even more.

THE VERDICT

A buddy comedy with a star-studded cast that admittedly lacks substance and misses as many jokes as it hits, Me Time still had me laughing out loud and isn’t nearly as bad as critics want to lead you to believe. Maybe it just appeals to my likely stunted and admittedly immature sense of humor, but I had fun with this movie and would have no issue watching it again or recommending it. Plus, the jokes that are likely offensive to some people are just that much funnier to me, and I am okay with that. I actually watched it solo and kept telling my wife about some of the funnier parts, which to be fair she seemed to be half listening and rolling her eyes, but that’s nothing new. She has a hard time appreciating my well-rounded sense of humor. Me Time is yet another easy to enjoy comedy from director John Hamburg, so do yourself a favor and check it out on Netflix.

TED TAKES RATING - 5.9/10

Me Time is now streaming on Netflix. Check out the latest trailer below.

Luck

By: Andrew Wing

Luck is a 2022 computer-animated fantasy comedy film directed by Peggy Holmes (Secret of the Wings, The Pirate Fairy) and written by Kiel Murray who co-wrote the story with Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger (best known for writing the Kung Fu Panda movies), based on an original concept by Rebeca Carrasco, Juan De Dios, and Julián Romero. Produced by Skydance Animation, the film features the voices of Eva Noblezada (recently starred in Easter Sunday - see Ted’s full review here), Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, Mission: Impossible franchise), Jane Fonda (Klute, Grace and Frankie), Whoopi Goldberg (Ghost, Sister Act), Flula Borg (Pitch Perfect 2, The Suicide Squad), Lil Rel Howery (Get Out, Free Guy), Colin O'Donoghue (Once Upon a Time, The Rite), and John Ratzenberger (voiced Hamm in the Toy Story franchise).

The film follows the unluckiest person in the world, Sam Greenfield (Noblezada), who suddenly finds herself in the never-before-seen Land of Luck. There she must unite with the magical creatures to turn her luck around.

Luck premiered in Madrid on August 2, 2022, and was released on Apple TV+ and in select theaters in the United States on August 5, 2022.

THE GOOD

The busy summer of animated movies continues! First, there was Lightyear (see our full review here), then Netflix’s The Sea Beast which I recently reviewed (see my full review here), and also Warner Bros. Pictures’ DC League of Super-Pets which Ted recently reviewed (see his full review here). That said, Luck sort of came out of nowhere. But nevertheless, after watching the trailer I was intrigued, and the fact that it was Skydance Animation’s first feature film and also was going to premiere on Apple TV+, I was excited to check it out! So was this a promising start for Skydance Animation? Keep reading to find out!

I’m going to make you wait for a little bit before I answer that question, but just to get the ball rolling on the review, I need to say that all of the voice acting here was solid. First with Eva Noblezada, the young actress who voiced the main character, Sam Greenfield. Now I mentioned Noblezada’s performance in Easter Sunday, a movie that was quite bad if you ask me. But despite that, I liked her in that and I really liked what we got from her in this. She’s a young actress who hasn’t done much, but after this performance, I think she will be getting a ton of calls and I think this won’t be her last voice acting job because she really brought that character to life for me.

Aside from her though, there were a lot of other voice performances that I thought were really good. Simon Pegg voiced the black cat, Bob, who had a brilliant Scottish accent. I might be biased because I love Pegg in everything he does. Whether he’s arguing with Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible - Fallout or killing zombies in Shaun of the Dead, I’m 100% on board. I also enjoyed the legendary Jane Fonda’s voice performance as the female dragon who serves as CEO of the Land of Luck, Flula Borg cracked me up as he always does with his German accent, and the iconic John Ratzenberger stole the show in the end as he quite often does in animated movies as he voiced Rootie, a root monster who runs a tiki bar.

Aside from the voice acting, there really wasn’t much about Luck that I was over the moon about, unfortunately. However, I did like the animation style of the real world that we got to see a lot of in the first third of the film. The animation style of the Land of Luck was rather uninspiring to me, but I still think that Skydance Animation has the right animators in place there to give us some visually stunning films in the years to come. They just have to learn from this and they’ll be just fine.

THE BAD

Alright, now is the time for me to not be so nice. First, I just got to say that it is extremely hard to critique animated films and I really do love the majority of them, but there was just something missing with Luck. I already addressed the lackluster worldbuilding that I really think hurt the movie overall, but what was worse than that was the subpar storytelling that we got. The premise to this is super interesting, and I just think that Skydance didn’t select the right people for this one unfortunately.

Back to the worldbuilding element though, it just needed to be better. I mean look at a film like Inside Out, a film I consider to be one of the best Pixar films ever released and honestly one of the best animated movies of all time. The worldbuilding inside the main character Riley’s mind in that movie absolutely took that film to another level, and I was hoping for something similar with Luck but it just never came. It was just a tough watch because a lot of the movie just reminded me of better animated movies and the sluggish pacing of the film didn’t do itself any favors.

THE VERDICT

Despite some great voice acting from the entire cast, Luck is an uninspiring start from Skydance Animation due to a myriad of reasons, all of which just made me want to watch better animated movies.

I still have faith in Skydance Animation because they did some things right here, but next time they just need to focus less on getting huge name actors to voice their characters, and more on storytelling and worldbuilding because that is what people want out of an animated kids movie in my humble opinion.

TED TAKES RATING - 5.4/10

Luck is now streaming exclusively on Apple TV+. Check out the latest trailer below.

Beast

Beast is a 2022 survival thriller film directed by Baltasar Kormákur from a screenplay by Ryan Engle, based on a story by Jaime Primak Sullivan. Kormákur is no stranger to hard-hitting films, previously directing the survival thriller Everest (2015), as well as the action thriller 2 Guns (2013) starring Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg. On the writing side, Engle previously penned the screenplays for Non-Stop (2014), as well as three action thrillers in 2018, including The Commuter, Rampage, and Breaking In.

A recently widowed husband returns to South Africa, where he first met his wife, on a long-planned trip with his two young daughters to a game reserve managed by an old family friend and fellow wildlife biologist. Soon a ferocious, man-hunting lion begins attacking them and devouring anyone in its path.

The film stars Idris Elba, Sharlto Copley, Iyana Halley, Leah Sava Jeffries, and Riley Keough.

Beast made its debut in theaters on August 19th, courtesy of Universal Pictures.

THE GOOD

Beast sort of snuck up on me when the first trailer released, but anything with Idris Elba will always catch my attention. Plus I love a good survival thriller as much as the next person, maybe even a bit more. I am also a big fan of the seemingly underrated South African native Sharlto Copley, who stars alongside Elba. If you haven’t seen Copley’s mesmerizing performance in the sci-fi thriller District 9, you need to. The trailer for Beast was pretty much perfect, appealing to fans of the classic summer movie that begs to be seen in theaters. So naturally, I made my way over to the theater to see if it was in fact worth the price of admission. Now that I’ve appealed to your curiosity, keep reading to find out what I thought!

Beast is a very enjoyable, tense, and well-acted survival thriller. Now it doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel or anything which is fine of course, and I’ll talk about my issues with the film later, but I won’t be spending to much time trying to pick apart what is a fairly straight forward film. The initial allure for me was the setting, and it did not disappoint. It is absolutely beautiful. I don’t know about you, but I have always imagined how cool it would be to go on a real African safari, and Beast is as close as I have been able to get to that reality. I’d prefer to skip the survival thriller element of my safari if possible. I really liked how seamless the story felt in terms of why the characters landed in the situation they find themselves in, and I also really appreciated the emotional element of the film.

Aside from the setting, the other primary strength of the film which was yet another draw for me was the cast. Idris Elba is easily one of the best actors of our generation, even if he may not get the recognition of the Tom Cruise’s or Brad Pitt’s of the world. Elba is a very versatile actor, and tends to shine when he plays very intense and dramatic roles, which is a testament to his intimidating presence. I thought he was amazing in the Netflix original film The Harder They Fall, which Andrew reviewed a few months back (full review here). He plays a fairly complex character in Beast, having to navigate the death of his estranged wife while doing his best to raise the two daughters they share together. I thought his character had great depth, and his performance in general was top notch. Acting alongside Elba was South African native Sharlto Copley, who plays a longtime close friend to both Elba’s character and his late wife. I really enjoyed Copley’s character, and the fact that he plays such an important role in the film. Although they struggled at times, I did really like Iyana Halley and Leah Sava Jeffries as Elba’s daughters. Screenwriter Ryan Engle and Jaime Primak Sullivan are able to team up to provide an engaging and impactful story to give viewers the substance they need.

The technical elements of Beast are fantastic as expected. I have touched on the South African setting several times, but it allowed for some eye-popping cinematography compliments of a collaborative effort between Philippe Rousselot and Baltasar Breki Samper. Pulling equal weight was the soundtrack from Steven Price, helping to infuse each and every action scene with just enough adrenaline to keep audiences nervous and engaged. The film also touches on a backstory of Elba’s late wife being a great photographer, allowing the film the opportunity to tie that in to the great setting and also develop that as a story arch with her connection to her daughters.

As as as the lions themselves, man they did some cool things here. We are treated to a pretty incredible scene involving Copley’s character and a few of the real-life animal actors early on, but our attention is soon diverted to that of the films primary antagonist, a seemingly hell bent on revenge killer lion. Now at times it feels over-the-top of course, but man did they do one heck of a job with the CGI and special effects. The lion is absolutely terrifying, and never once felt cheesy as far as the special effects. They crafted a very formidable foe.

THE BAD

I really don’t have many issues with Beast because as far as survival thrillers go, mainly because I felt like in general it did what it needed to do. But, as you can probably imagine a few of the more intense action sequences feel very over the top. Now that isn’t to say they aren’t entertaining, but as badass as Idris Elba may be I doubt he is lasting very long while engaged with a lion hell bent on ripping his throat out. I thought the acting was very good overall but the supporting cast, primarily the two playing the daughters of Elba, struggled with believability during some of the more dramatic scenes. I won’t harp on that too much mainly because it wasn’t detrimental to the film, and acting alongside two greats in Elba and Sharlto Copley is no easy task.

THE VERDICT

Edge-of-your seat entertaining and beautifully shot thanks to the stunning South African setting, Beast is a well crafted survival thriller that benefits from two top-tier lead actors in Idris Elba and Sharlto Copley. The chemistry between Elba and Copley is undeniable, and their performances alone made the film worth it for me. I thought Iyana Halley and Leah Sava Jeffries did a nice job as Elba’s daughters, but as I mentioned his acting talent is difficult to match during some of the more dramatic scenes. Beast doesn’t necessarily do anything new and groundbreaking, but it still has one of the more intriguing storylines as far as survival thrillers go and does a great job getting viewers invested. Plus, at just an hour and 30 minutes, the film flies by and makes for an experience well worth revisiting. If you enjoy the genre and can appreciate great cinematography, Beast is well worth checking out in theaters,

TED TAKES RATING - 7.4/10

Beast is now playing only in theaters. Check out the latest trailer below.

Bodies Bodies Bodies

Bodies Bodies Bodies is a 2022 black comedy slasher film directed by Halina Reijn. It is only the 2nd film directed by the Amsterdam native, an accomplished actress turned director. The screenplay was a collective effort between Sarah DeLappe, Kristen Roupenian, Chloe Okuno, Josh Sharp, and Aaron Jackson. The film had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 14, 2022.

When a group of rich 20-somethings plan a hurricane party at a remote family mansion, a party game turns deadly in this fresh and funny look at backstabbing, fake friends, and one party gone very, very wrong.

The cast includes Amandla Stenberg, Maria Bakalova, Pete Davidson, Rachel Sennott, Myha'la Herrold, Chase Sui Wonders, and Lee Pace.

Bodies Bodies Bodies made its debut in theaters on August 12th, courtesy of A24.

THE GOOD

If you have been reading our reviews over the last several months, or for me specifically the last several years, you know that our obsession with can’t miss film production and distribution company A24 runs as deep as the Pacific Ocean. We just love these guys, and if a movie is coming out that they are involved with, we are usually fighting over who gets to review it. Whether you prefer horror, comedy, romantic dramas, or even coming-of-age films, they do it all. So when the trailer dropped for Bodies Bodies Bodies with the famed A24 logo appearing at the start of the trailer, I was giddy with anticipation. Plus, the dark comedy slasher genre is 110% right up my alley. Unfortunately, the film was a limited release to start, but once it made it over to my go-to theater I was all over it. So, did it stand up to the greatness I have come to expect from the holy grail? Keep reading to find out!

I absolutely enjoyed this movie, and even though I had very high expectations, I was not disappointed in the least. Now I had a few issues with the film which I will touch on later, but the good news is the positives far outweigh the negatives. Bodies Bodies Bodies is a unique and modern twist on dark comedy slashers with a bit of murder mystery mixed in, and the feel sucked me in right away. The writing is smart and edgy, putting the microscope on the social media generation that can’t put down their phones for two minutes to have an actual face-to-face conversation. Even though I am guilty myself, I honestly despise how reliant we are on our phones. The underlying theme for the film is how out of touch with reality technology has made us, while also making us more anxious and untrusting of one another. The characters consist of a group of close friends who have known each other for years, with a couple of outsiders brought in to mix things up a bit. What starts as a hurricane party, which is actually a real thing just much less interesting than what happens in the film, quickly takes a turn. The friends decide to play a game they refer to as Bodies Bodies Bodies, and let me just say the fun for the night ramps up to 1000 real fast.

My favorite part of the movie is definitely the stylish vibe that makes for one of the more engaging dark comedy slashers in recent memory. You could feel the tension between the characters as everything started to fall apart, and thanks to smart writing you are kept guessing right up until the very end. And speaking of the end of this movie, it was fan-fucking-tastic for so many reasons. Now you don’t have to have the most elaborate and thought-provoking ending to truly satisfy viewers, sometimes you just need that “whatttttttt I did not see that coming!!” ending to really seal the deal. It was just satisfying in a way that I can’t really explain without spoiling it, and I refuse to do that. Plus, the ending somehow found a way to rekindle that infectious energy the film had throughout even though we were winding down to what was clearly the end of the movie. After that final scene when we are finally treated to the Bodies Bodies Bodies title screen, I nearly jumped up and clapped. To be honest, I didn’t want to leave the theater, but as per usual I did have to pee. It was a business decision of course. But seriously, hats off to the team for an ending that reminded me why I was so damn excited for this movie in the first place.

I thought the cast for Bodies Bodies Bodies was perfect. First, I have to talk about what is the most recognizable name, which is none other than the pink sweatsuit-wearing ex-Kim Kardashian dating comedian Pete Davidson (too soon?). Davidson is always a welcome addition in my personal opinion, and I think the guy is really developing as an actor. Sure, he can’t help but be typecast but it allows him the opportunity to play to his strengths, and he is perfect for this role. Trust me when I say you wouldn’t mind giving him a big slap across the face. Amandla Stenberg, who absolutely knocked it out of the park in the 2018 drama The Hate U Give, leads the way as the films primary protagonist. I really like Stenberg a lot, who sort of reminds me of a young Stacey Dash, and I think she has a bright career ahead of her. She plays a complex character and remained believable throughout the film. Maria Bakalova, who many will recognize from Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, stars alongside Stenberg. I personally think the Bulgarian actress is beautiful, and I thought she was great as the girlfriend of Stenberg’s character and one of the two outsiders at the party.

I genuinely enjoyed Rachel Sennott’s character, as she played the girl that you either like or can’t stand. Chances are throughout the film you will feel all kinds of ways about her, which is a testament to how well she played her role. She was recently in the comedy Shiva Baby (full review here), which Andrew reviewed, and said it is absolutely worth checking out. That is currently streaming on HBO Max. Chase Sui Wonders plays Emma, the sweet but ultimately too trusting girlfriend of Pete Davidson’s character. I thought she did a nice job with the role she was given. Myha'la Herrold was really good in her role, and sort of had that Michonne from The Walking Dead confidence about her. From the start it was clear that if things go south, you better keep a close eye on her. Last but not least, one of my favorite characters who actually plays a very subtle yet impactful role, is actor Lee Pace. Tall dark and handsome as the ladies say, Pace is the other outsider who is brought in to the friend group by Sennot’s character, and half of the fun is trying to figure out what to make of him. He is very difficult to read as far as whether he is dangerous or harmless, which made his character that much more interesting. Plus, the jealousy Davidson’s character has for him is a big driving force for the overall story.

I touched on the direction and the writing a bit already, but I have to give a ton of credit to director Halina Reijn. I thought she did a fantastic job, and after reading an interview she did with Variety, I want to see the movie again even more than I already did. Without giving anything away, Reijn had a clear underlying theme in mind which she knocked out of the park, but she also left so much of the film open for interpretation which I personally like because I enjoy breaking things down. She more or less set the stage with a certain dynamic as far as the characters, and after reading her interview so much of what transpired made even more sense. As with any great movie, the second viewing is often that much better as the pieces of the puzzle fit together that much faster and you can pay more attention to certain details. Bottom line, Reijn proved herself a very creative and talented director who was able to work seamlessly with the writing team, consisting of a collaboration between Sarah DeLappe, Kristen Roupenian, Chloe Okuno, Josh Sharp, and Aaron Jackson. Kudos to all involved for crafting a damn good film.

In typical A24 fashion, the soundtrack for Bodies Bodies Bodies is absolute fire. Composer Disasterpeace, who previously did the 2014 horror It Follows, really gets the blood flowing, and the energy the music brings is a big reason why the film works as well as it does. The music gave me a bit of a club music vibe, and perfectly matched the dark yet vibrant cinematography, compliments of Jasper Wolf. Even though the setting takes place entirely outside and inside this massive house, I loved how they took full advantage of the hurricane outside and power outages. Viewers will feel as trapped and helpless as the characters, which is a testament to the technical elements of the film.

THE BAD

Bodies Bodies Bodies has a ton going for it, but it isn’t perfect. I talked about the fact that the tone of the film was a big strength, and it was, but it also contributed to a few of the low points. It was sort of a double-edged sword as far as the combination of the tone and the acting, which needed to work in tandem for the film itself to work, and even though it does, for the most part, the two clash at times. During the second act of the film as things are really taking a turn, at times the characters attack each other without the necessary buildup.

For example, a character might be at someone’s throat one second, and 10 seconds later seemingly on their side and going after someone else. I mean I get that this is in many ways by design considering we are talking about a bunch of anxiety-ridden, drunk, and coked-out twenty-somethings partying like it’s 1999, but the sometimes off-kilter feel took me out of the zone periodically. I also felt like the film did have some minimal pacing issues, but nothing too extreme. My issues with Bodies Bodies Bodies are overshadowed by what I loved about it, but they do keep it from becoming upper-echelon as far as A24 movies go. Although it comes close especially within its respective genre.

THE VERDICT

A smart, stylish, and visceral dark comedy slasher for the TikTok generation fueled by an electric soundtrack, Bodies Bodies Bodies is yet another A24 gem and a reason to keep a close eye on talented director Halina Reijn. This film checked all of the necessary boxes for me, and as I talked about in the review, the ending was fantastic and so satisfying. I need to see this movie again as soon as possible, and I know I will like it that much more the second time around. From the tone to the underlying message, the screenplay alone was worth the price of admission. As I talked about it wasn’t perfect, and sometimes the tone and the acting did teeter a bit and felt a little convoluted, but all in all things came together nicely for what I feel is a damn good movie with a ton of replay-ability. If Bodies Bodies Bodies is playing in a theater near you, do yourself a favor and check it out.

TED TAKES RATING - 8.6/10

Bodies Bodies Bodies is now playing only in theaters. Check out the latest trailer below.

On the Count of Three

On the Count of Three is a 2021 black comedy-drama film, directed by Jerrod Carmichael, from a screenplay by Ari Katcher and Ryan Welch. The film had its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on January 29th, 2021. Annapurna Pictures and MGM's Orion Pictures acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film, which will be released through their joint venture, United Artists Releasing.

Val and Kevin, two chronically depressed best friends, make a pact to end each other’s life when the day is done. But as the two spend the day wrapping up their affairs, the volatile Kevin’s need to confront his trauma sends their orderly plan spiraling out of control.

The cast includes Jerrod Carmichael, Christopher Abbott, Tiffany Haddish, J. B. Smoove, Lavell Crawford, and Henry Winkler.

On the Count of Three made its debut on May 13th, 2022, in select theaters and VOD.

THE GOOD

As soon as the trailer dropped for On the Count of Three I was intrigued. It had the indie feel that always gets my attention, but it also felt like something different which I always welcome as well. It didn’t hurt that they did such a great job with the trailer which I did end up watching multiple times. I had seen Carmichael over the years in small roles, but the initial sell for me was my guy Christopher Abbott, who has come a long way since his role as the pushover boyfriend on the HBO series Girls. I wasn’t able to catch it during its initial limited release, but once it was available to stream on Hulu I was all over it. So, is On the Count of Three worth a watch? Keep reading to find out!

I genuinely enjoyed On the Count of Three, and I thought it was very well done from top to bottom. I’m not surprised in the least that it made such an impact as the Sundance Film Festival. It is one of those movies that when it ends, you find yourself sort of aimlessly staring at the end credits as you try and process what you just experienced. The screenplay is amazing, but for me, the performances undoubtedly steal the show. Jerrod Carmichael and Christopher Abbott have a certain chemistry rarely seen on-screen, especially when it is crucial that the actors come across as genuine otherwise the story falls apart. I thought both delivered masterful performances, but I would give a slight nod to Abbott’s performance considering his character had a bit more depth and you bought into his lifetime of struggle and heartache. It was incredible how fast he could go from calmly chatting with someone to a man who has been pushed to his limit one too many times.

Carmichael plays a complex character who is slightly more in touch with reality compared to his friend, allowing him the opportunity to be the voice of reason when necessary. I enjoyed having the opportunity to learn more about why he felt so hopeless, and I thought Carmichael was able to give the character a very real and relatable on-screen presence. Henry Winkler is fantastic as always in a supporting role, and we even get a brief but great supporting role from Tiffany Haddish. Oh, and J.B. Smoove was a welcomed addition in a rare dramatic role. I’m not sure if On the Count of Three received enough time in theaters to be considered come awards time, but Carmichael and Abbott absolutely deserve recognition for their performances here.

I touched on it briefly, but the screenplay for On the Count of Three courtesy of Ari Katcher and Ryan Welch, was great. Now first and foremost, it can be quite a challenge dealing with such a difficult subject matter. The margin for error is minimal, because once you make the decision to go this route, you can’t afford to screw it up because not only will you end up with a poorly received movie, you will anger and potentially trigger those especially sensitive to the subject matter. I thought they toed the line extremely well, and even though they didn’t shy away from the dark reality of depression and suicide, we were allowed the opportunity to see both sides of the coin. I felt like the story was fairly straight forward yet still complex, adding thought provoking elements for viewers to ponder well after finishing the film. The screenplay is centered on the two main characters and their character development, and I thought it all came together really well and added crucial substance to the story. By the end of the film, I felt personally invested in both characters and I was genuinely on the edge of my seat waiting to see how the story ends.

I have to talk about the technical elements of the film and give a huge shoutout to Jerrod Carmichael in what I feel was a very impressive directorial debut. From the creative camera angles to a raw and immersive shooting style, the guy is definitely talented. I was hoping On the Count of Three stayed true to that indie feel I love so much and it did not disappoint. Even though the driving force for the film is the acting and the dialogue, I loved the soundtrack and the score which I felt helped to add another layer to the film. I mean, Papa Roach’s ‘Last Resort’ really takes me back to my pre-high school days. Even the cinematography helped to drive the immersive element of the film making viewers feel like they are living this last day right along with the characters.

THE BAD

The bottom line, On the Count of Three, is not for everyone, but I am also hard pressed to criticize with the positives far outweighing the negatives. In many ways, this film is very difficult to watch, especially for people who have been personally impacted by depression or suicide. I am a firm believer that the best way to spread awareness is to dive into and shine a light on an issue, but that doesn’t make the experience any easier. Throughout the film the cast talks in depth about why suicide is the answer, and often carries a feeling of hopelessness. More than anything else, I want to make sure the film has a strong disclaimer for people who struggle with or have been impacted by depression and suicide. If you are looking for an easy watch with some funny moments, you may want to sit this one out. Considered a dark comedy-drama, On the Count of Three is probably 85% drama and does not pull any punches. You could argue that the overall tone of the film felt off at times throughout the film, but it was minimal in my opinion, and never took away from the overall experience.

THE VERDICT

A raw, hard-hitting, and painfully authentic look at an extremely difficult subject matter, On the Count of Three takes viewers on a unique and engaging journey while serving as an impressive debut for director and star Jerrod Carmichael. I had high expectations for this movie and it did not disappoint. The performances from Carmichael and Christopher Abbott are just so good, and even though Abbott has been in his fair share of films and television roles, I will be hard pressed to see him as anything other than this character, at least for a while. That’s just a testament to how invested he was in this role. As I mentioned the film is not easy to watch, but the authentic and real-world feel is part of the allure in my opinion.

Bottom line, On the Count of Three will stick with you, no question about it. And as far as dark comedies go, this is top-tier. I was engaged from start to finish, and I really liked how they ended the film although it did leave me with a few questions. Hopefully, I can convince Andrew to check this out sooner than later so we can break it down a bit. If you fancy yourself a well-done indie that will leave an impression on you, On the Count of Three is absolutely worth your time. I can’t wait to see what Carmichael does next.

TED TAKES RATING - 8.9/10

On the Count of Three is now streaming on Hulu. Check out the latest trailer below.

Thirteen Lives

By: Andrew Wing

Thirteen Lives is a 2022 American biographical survival film directed and produced by Ron Howard (Apollo 13, Solo: A Star Wars Story), from a screenplay written by William Nicholson (Gladiator, Unbroken). The film stars Viggo Mortensen (The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Green Book), Colin Farrell (In Bruges, The Lobster), Joel Edgerton (The Gift, The King), and Tom Bateman (Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile).

The film is based on the true story of the Tham Luang cave rescue where in June and July 2018, a junior association football team of twelve members, aged eleven to sixteen, and their 25-year-old assistant coach who entered the cave on June 23 after a football practice session, were rescued from the Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Chiang Rai Province in northern Thailand.

Thirteen Lives was released in select theaters on July 29, 2022, by United Artists Releasing, and began streaming on Prime Video on August 5, 2022.

THE GOOD

While I was clearly living under a rock back in 2018 as I don’t remember ever hearing about this, I was still excited to check out this movie. One reason is the fact that I actually first learned about this amazing true story after watching the National Geographic documentary film last year by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (Free Solo) which follows the Tham Luang cave rescue. And the second reason for my excitement about this film was some of the names attached. From Ron Howard in the director’s chair to two of the best actors of the 21st century in Viggo Mortensen and Colin Farrell, I couldn’t wait to check this out once it came to Prime Video. So without further ado, were the big names attached enough to make for a solid survival film? Keep reading to find out!

Before I begin getting into the review, I just need to first start by saying this story is truly incredible. It’s so good and it’s extremely compelling, and after watching this movie, I have no idea how everyone did what they did and saved all of those kids. But now to start the review, let’s touch on some of the big names I previously mentioned, and I’ll start with Ron Howard. Howard is a solid director who has made some pretty good movies, and while I’ll talk more about how he decided to tell this story later in the review, I commend him for just being able to pull this off. This must’ve been a rigorous shoot and just a difficult production process, but he somehow not only made a solid survival film, but he also told a story that needed to be told on the biggest screen possible so props to that.

Now onto the other big names who were responsible for the best performances we got in Thirteen Lives in Viggo Mortensen and Colin Farrell. Neither of these performances will land in the top five of their careers when it’s all said and done because of how their characters were written, but I still found both performances to be really good. Mortensen was great as he played this I-don’t-believe-in-luck negative nancy Richard Stanton and Farrell was equally as good as he played the more hopeful and positive John Volanthen. I don’t know what more there is to say, but these guys are good at their jobs and they made these guys look like the heroes they truly are.

Aside from them, I really liked all of the supporting performances we got in this. First, with Joel Edgerton, I am a huge fan of his and while he didn’t get a ton of screen time here as he comes in about halfway through, I still thought he did Richard Harris a great service. I also liked Tom Bateman as Chris Jewell and Paul Gleeson as Jason Mallinson, and I won’t name them all, but all of the actors who played those trapped in the cave and their family members were very good and I believed all of the emotions they were going through during what I can only imagine was an unbearable time in their lives.

Also, the cinematography was excellent here. It was completely shot on location in northern Thailand and it really gave me the sense that I was there. The movie was really at its best as we were going through the caves underwater in the murky water and I think a big reason why is simply because of how those were shot. And after doing some digging I wasn’t surprised that it was because it was done by the same guy who shot both Call Me by Your Name (2017) and Suspiria (2018), and that would be Sayombhu Mukdeeprom. All in all, the cinematography just made me feel extremely claustrophobic, which is something I already am via self-diagnosis, and it was just so well done.

In conclusion, the score from Benjamin Wallfisch here was awesome and it added to the feeling I had throughout the entire film. Maybe I’m biased too because Wallfisch actually, along with the legend Hans Zimmer, composed original scores for one of my all-time favorite films in Blade Runner 2049. Some of the other technical elements were fantastic here too, from the sound design to the underwater effects which provided an incredibly visceral experience. Lastly, I just thought this movie was fantastically well crafted.

THE BAD

One of my big problems with Thirteen Lives is just the fact that it was just told in a really straightforward way and it came across as disappointingly straightforward to be completely honest. Now it’s tough for a director like Ron Howard because while you want to make an entertaining film, you still need to stay true to the true story you’re telling, but as a viewer, I just needed more out of this. I don’t know, I’m sure the release of the documentary last year, which is a better overall film, didn’t help but nevertheless I was a little disappointed.

Continuing with the way this story was told, I really had a problem with William Nicholson’s screenplay. Now I already mentioned how I liked both Mortensen and Farrell’s performances in the lead roles, but their characters were still so thinly written and it really hurt the film overall. There was just so much more we could have got from them and it was just a shame to see such talent wasted like that.

And I’d say what makes that last critique I made more annoying is the fact that this movie was two and a half hours long. Now that’s a really long runtime, and I think it was too long, but that runtime just could’ve been used so much better if they did more with Mortensen and Farrell’s characters. Let us know more about what’s going on in their personal lives, give them a character arc, or any kind of motivation, but those in charge didn’t and it resulted in a movie that started off strong but slowly became very dull.

And to shut the door on this review, if you’re claustrophobic and watching people go through narrow tight caves underwater freaks you out, let it be stated that this movie might not be for you because there are plenty of those scenes.

THE VERDICT

Despite good performances from Viggo Mortensen and Colin Farrell and some amazing cinematography, Thirteen Lives is nothing more than a decently serviceable dramatization of what is a fascinating and inspiring true story.

I just wanted more from what we got from both Ron Howard’s direction and William Nicholson’s screenplay, and the film is done no favors thanks to a long runtime and a superior film, The Rescue, coming out a year prior.

TED TAKES RATING - 6.9/10

Thirteen Lives is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Check out the latest trailer below.

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday is a 2022 comedy film directed by Jay Chandrasekhar, and written by Ken Cheng and Kate Angelo, from a story by Cheng. Chandrasekhar previously directed Super Troopers (2001), and The Dukes of Hazard (2005).

Jo Koy stars as a struggling actor, comedian, and single father who attends a gathering of his loud and dysfunctional Filipino American family on Easter Sunday.

The cast includes Jo Koy, Jimmy O. Yang, Tia Carrere, Brandon Wardell, Eva Noblezada, Lydia Gaston, Asif Ali, Rodney To, Eugene Cordero, Jay Chandrasekhar, Tiffany Haddish, and Lou Diamond Phillips.

Easter Sunday was released only in theaters on August 5th, courtesy of Universal Pictures.

THE GOOD

To be honest, Easter Sunday wasn’t even on my radar prior to seeing the trailer in theaters a few months ago, and I also wasn’t all that familiar with Jo Koy as a stand-up comedian. Nonetheless, as a guy who loves a good comedy, the trailer had me intrigued and wanting to know more. I did a bit of research and learned that the screenplay was loosely based on Koy’s life and struggles as he built a successful career. I also can’t pass up an opportunity to see my guy Lou Diamond Phillips, who starred alongside Mark Wahlberg in The Big Hit back in 1998, in another movie. So, was it worth a trip to the theater? Keep reading to find out!

I would say the answer is yes, but I do say that with some hesitation which I will touch on later in the review. Easter Sunday packs lots of laughs, some great characters, and more than anything else it kept me entertained. I really liked the genuine feel of getting together with family during the holidays, and the spectacle that comes along with it. I can certainly relate to what it is like to have a dysfunctional and very difficult-to-please family, so I was able to connect to the script and the overall feel. The plot was simple but effective and watching all of these charismatic characters with big personalities interact while trying to make it to Easter dinner was fun. I also really liked learning more about Filipino American families. At the root of the story, Easter Sunday is about doing everything you can to make it in life while feeling the immense pressure of seemingly unreachable expectations, and I felt like they got it right.

Overall, the cast for Easter Sunday was great and without a doubt the driving force for the film. Jo Koy leads the way and sets the tone as he gets by far the most screen-time. As I briefly discussed in the introduction I wasn’t all that familiar with Koy prior to seeing this film, but I love his energy. It is clear from the start that the entire supporting cast feeds off his energy. I can’t really decide on who I liked most in the supporting roles, but with Easter Sunday, it really is more of a group effort as they wanted to make the big dysfunctional family believable. I did also really enjoy Lydia Gaston as Koy’s strong-willed and very old-school mother.

Rodney To played such a unique and over-the-top role as Koy’s uncle, but I thought he was hilarious. I also liked Eugene Cordero as Koy’s troublemaking cousin. Actress Tiffany Haddish, who is a favorite of mine, adds some comedic relief in a sort of SNL-type role. I also have to give a shout-out to veteran actor Lou Diamond Phillips, who plays a very funny fictionalized version of himself. And lastly, even though he plays a small but important role, I love seeing Silicon Valley star Jimmy O. Yang in pretty much any role he plays. The guy just cracks me up.

Director Jay Chandrasekhar, widely known for directing and starring in comedy cult classics like Super Troopers (2001) and Beer Fest (2006), is once again a swiss army knife on Easter Sunday. I thought he was great behind the camera, making viewers feel like they were right there with the cast in sunny California. He also plays Koy’s agent Nick, which was a ridiculous yet hilarious role. Chandrasekhar, who played Thorny in Super Troopers, has an infectious on-screen presence no matter how over-the-top his character is.

THE BAD

Easter Sunday was a very funny and overall enjoyable movie, but it did leave a great deal on the table. I won’t dive in too much as the film itself has a fairly straightforward concept, but it still struggled with figuring out and sticking with an identity. I can’t say whether the issues are more with the writing or the acting, or likely a combination of the two, but the emotional element of the film fell flat for me. I mean sure, this is a comedy through and through and I wasn’t expecting an elaborate storyline, but the final act of the film attempted unsuccessfully to get viewers to feel something. I personally thought it all felt very forced, and they would have been better suited to sticking to the primary comedic element of the film. Now, this isn’t a deal breaker by any means, it just keeps Easter Sunday from making as big of an impression as it could have. Plus, I won’t name any names but a few of the supporting cast members left something to be desired as far as their acting talent.

THE VERDICT

A dysfunctional family comedy that shines a light on the humble beginnings of talented stand-up comic Jo Koy, Easter Sunday certainly missed some opportunities but still provides lots of laughs and good old-fashioned entertainment. I had fun with this movie and genuinely enjoyed all of the characters who are the heart and soul of the story. As I talked about I do think quite a few jokes missed the mark, the writing had issues, and sometimes the cast struggled, but with all that being said I have no problem recommending Easter Sunday, especially for Jo Koy fans.

TED TAKES RATING - 6.7/10

Easter Sunday is now playing only in theaters. Check out the latest trailer below.

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

By: Andrew Wing

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is a 2021 American mockumentary film directed by Dean Fleischer Camp (in his feature directorial debut), who co-wrote the screenplay with Jenny Slate (Bob’s Burgers, Parks and Recreation) and Nick Paley. It is based on a series of shorts of the same name written by Slate and Fleischer Camp.

Slate reprises her voice role as Marcel, an anthropomorphic shell living with his grandmother Connie. Fleischer Camp, Rosa Salazar (Bird Box, Alita: Battle Angel), Thomas Mann (Project X, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl), and Isabella Rossellini (Blue Velvet, Death Becomes Her) also star.

The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on September 3, 2021, and began a limited release in the United States on June 24, 2022, before its wide release on July 15, by A24.

THE GOOD

Words can’t describe how happy I am to be writing this review. Ever since I saw the original trailer for Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, I was immediately hooked. It was just oozing out with that famous A24 vibe that I love so much, and while I had never heard or seen the series of shorts of the same name before that apparently came out on YouTube in the early 2010s, I was still pumped to check this out. Unfortunately though, due to the small size of the film and just its odd premise that certainly wasn’t going to get a lot of people in the seats, I had to wait quite a while before it hit a theater near me, but nevertheless, it did and I was not going to miss my chance to check this out. So without further ado, was this another in the long line of great strange A24 movies, or was this one just too strange to make for a quality film? Keep reading to find out!

I won’t keep you waiting, this was most certainly another quality film from A24. This movie comes to us from Dean Fleischer Camp, and as previously mentioned, he came to national fame after he made the series of shorts that starred the same character that became viral back in 2011. And let me just say this to get the ball rolling, Dean Fleischer Camp is a very talented filmmaker with a unique style. Let’s be real, who thinks of something like this? A talking shell named Marcel? I mean come on! But despite the film’s never-before-seen kind of premise, the movie just worked.

I loved how Dean Fleischer Camp directed this film so much with its mockumentary style and the stop-motion characters. And I will touch on some of the more technical elements later in the review, but his screenplay here was amazing. Sure it’s a thin and simple screenplay, and while that might’ve been a detriment to some, I just thought the story we were told here was extremely sweet and it also had a great message. It just had so much charm and I fell in love with Marcel. I mean the cuteness alone of the character he created will be able to hold the entire movie together for some people. At the end of the day, I was just so impressed with what we got from Fleischer Camp and I’m so curious to see what he does next if anything at all because this was his passion project for sure.

Going off the screenplay, this movie was really funny too. There were a lot of good jokes, and running bits and the movie just had its own sense of humor. The delivery of the dialogue was amazing and the person who did that the best was undoubtedly the voice actor behind Marcel the Shell, Jenny Slate. I recently reviewed Slate’s other film that came out this year in I Want You Back (see my full review here), which I really enjoyed thanks in large part to Slate’s performance and she did it again here. She just brought this character to life in the warmest way possible. Call me crazy, but I really think years from now it could be looked back on as one of the better vocal performances ever because every word that came out of her mouth just made this one of the most endearing characters we’ve ever seen on screen. Maybe it was her improvising or it was included in the script, but there were so many ‘ums’ and other stutters that Marcel did throughout that just added to that level of charm I’ve mentioned now a couple of times.

Now onto the technical elements of this movie that I was blown away by. First with the stop-motion animation which I thought was incredible. I have no idea how they did it, but I will just say it blew my socks off and all the shells looked legitimately real and I hope they get awarded for it. Also, I thought the score we got here from Disasterpeace was really great! It blends in so well that at first I didn’t even notice it but the farther into the movie I got the more I paid attention to it and it just fit the film perfectly. And lastly, the way this film was shot was just flawless in my opinion thanks to the cinematographer Bianca Cline. The way it was shot made the house that it takes place in feel really huge, wondrous, and just big, and I thought that was so smart so we as an audience could try and put ourselves in Marcel’s shoes.

THE BAD

Spoiler alert, I really liked Marcel the Shell with Shoes On. However, to put it in simplest terms, this movie just might not work for everyone. I thought it was charming, super cute, and funny, and that made the film worthwhile for me. However, some people may need more than just those things I just mentioned. Another area of critique could be that the movie was incredibly predictable because once you learn the plot, you just know where this character is going to end up and how the film was going to end. For me though, that really didn’t take away too much from the movie for me as I still had a really good time with it.

Lastly, and this is less of a critique, but more just something I thought could’ve brought this film to the next level, and it deals with Dean Fleischer Camp. So Fleischer Camp not only wrote and directed this, but he also acts in the movie as he is the one that’s filming Marcel in this mockumentary-style movie. And to tell you the truth, I was just so interested in his character if I can even call him that, that I wanted more from him. In the third act we definitely sort of see the camera flip on him and I really liked when that happened, but it sort of didn’t go there fully and I just thought it could’ve gone a little further.

THE VERDICT

Thanks to an amazing voice performance from Jenny Slate that created one of the cutest and most endearing characters I have ever seen on the big screen, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On was remarkable and one of the most charming movies I’ve seen in quite a while.

Slate definitely stole the show, but the stop-motion animation here was fascinating too. And as for the director Dean Fleischer Camp, I thought he crushed it in his feature directorial debut. The story we got here was very simple and cute, but still I was emotionally pulled into it and I loved the lesson the film taught. It’s truly a movie meant for audiences of any age range to enjoy.

TED TAKES RATING - 8.9/10

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is now playing in select theaters. Check out the latest trailer below.

Bullet Train

Bullet Train is a 2022 action comedy directed by David Leitch, from a screenplay by Zak Olkewicz. Leitch, the accomplished stunt coordinator turned director, has proven himself in the action comedy genre with films like Deadpool 2 and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. The film is based on the novel Maria Beetle (published in English as Bullet Train) by Kōtarō Isaka.

Ladybug is an unlucky assassin who's determined to do his job peacefully after one too many gigs has gone off the rails. Fate, however, may have other plans as his latest mission puts him on a collision course with lethal adversaries from around the globe -- all with connected yet conflicting objectives -- on the world's fastest train.

The cast includes Brad Pitt, Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji, Hiroyuki Sanada, Michael Shannon, Benito "Bad Bunny" Ocasio, and Zazie Beetz.

Bullet Train made its theatrical debut on August 5th, courtesy of Sony Pictures Releasing.

THE GOOD

Bullet Train is one of those movies that when you see the trailer, your immediate reaction is fu#k yeah I’m seeing that movie! At least that was my experience. Everything about the trailer was exciting and just had that needs to be seen in the movie theater feel, which always gets my blood pumping. My immediate impression of Bullet Train after seeing the trailer was that it reminded me of another bonkers action thriller from 2006 called Smokin’ Aces, written and directed by Joe Carnahan. But did the film live up to the trailer? Keep reading to find out!

I went into the movie theater with what I would consider being high yet somehow measured expectations, mainly because I knew what to expect from the genre and I also knew the screenplay would get a little crazy. But man did I have a blast with Bullet Train, it was just so much fun from start to finish. When you have a talented stunt coordinator in David Leitch who finds his way into the director’s chair, you know things are about to be lit. I talked a bit about his previous films, but man does he have a certain style and just a propensity for well-choreographed fight scenes and as much violence as you can fit on the screen. Bullet Train is extremely over the top and oftentimes borderline corny.

Still, for me, it all worked so damn well mainly because of Leitch’s direction and his ability to have an identity from the start, and his ability to stay on the path. From the action to the story to the dialogue, everything comes at you 1000 miles an hour and you can rest assured you will never be bored during this movie. I loved how we were treated to a ton of great flashbacks as far as how the story all came together which serves as the origin stories for the characters in a way. I also thought considering the premise and just how whacky the movie is, it actually found a way to sneak a bit of heart in there towards the end which I certainly appreciated.

Touching on the screenplay a bit more, Zak Olkewicz did a stellar job adapting the story from Kôtarô Isaka’s book. Olkewicz wrote the screenplay for the 2021 Netflix horror slasher Fear Street: Part Two - 1978, but aside from that, Bullet Train is only his 2nd writing credit, which seems crazy to me. I couldn’t find much online about him aside from the fact that he is the son of the late character actor Walter Olkewicz known for his roles in television, who he cared for during his last days prior to his passing in 2021. Admittedly I haven’t read Isaka’s book but what Olkewicz is able to do here is craft an immersive story that takes full advantage of each and every character. Early on I was worried that the story was going to get a bit convoluted, but once we get to the final act of the film it all comes together perfectly. The bottom line, the screenplay perfectly matched the action and kept my eyes glued to the screen.

Now aside from the incredible work from the director and the writers of the film, the bread and butter of Bullet Train is without a doubt the ridiculously talented cast. First, my guy Brad Pitt simply crushes it as usual, and I really enjoyed his character. His character is given the code name Ladybug, mainly because he can’t seem to shake the bad luck that follows him everywhere he goes. His current job was supposed to be smooth and easy, but when he is involved, nothing ever is. Pitt is able to play this fun and charismatic character who can’t seem to get out of his own way perfectly, and every time something goes horribly wrong for him, you will have a smile on your face.

Aside from Pitt, a great deal of screen-time is afforded to the duo consisting of the great Aaron Taylor-Johnson of Kick-Ass fame, and Atlanta star Brian Tyree Henry. Taylor-Johnson is lowkey one of my favorite actors, and if you haven’t seen Tom Ford’s thriller Nocturnal Animals, you need to. It’s hard to believe that he was the same skinny kid in 2010’s Kick-Ass, but man, just look at him now. Taylor-Johnson and Henry play twin brothers known only as Tangerine and Lemon, yes you read that right, and I really enjoyed both of their characters. Whether it was Taylor-Johnson’s constant criticism of his brother’s decision-making or Henry’s ridiculous yet intriguing Thomas the Train obsession, it all just worked so well and I loved the dynamic between their characters.

Next, I have to talk about Andrew Kojo who plays Kimura, and the film actually opens with his character even though Pitt’s Ladybug is technically the main character. Each character is uniquely interwoven into the story which is part of why it all works so well. I felt for Koji’s character from the start, and man does he deal with quite the draining emotional roller-coaster of a character arch. The legendary Hiroyuki Sanada, who was a straight badass as Scorpion in the 2021 Mortal Kombat film, is arguably the most integral chess piece in this story. Sanada plays a man known only as The Elder and is the father of Koji’s character. I mean, when Sanada makes the decision to get directly involved, you know that the party is about to get kicked up about 10 notches. This dude is the kind of badass that takes on 100 people with a damn samurai sword and walks out without a scratch. At the end of the day, his character was epic and the film does not work as well as it does without him.

Next on the list is a thorn in the side of both Kimura and his father, the supremely confident and vengeful Prince played by Joey King. King, who has been building quite a career since 2006, plays what is easily one of my favorite roles from her mainly because it felt so different. She is that female character swimming in a pool of testosterone, and you never once feel like she is out of her league. I won’t give anything away of course, but she plays a vital role and does one heck of a job.

Zazie Beetz doesn’t get a ton of screen time but as per usual, she makes her presence known nonetheless. Sandra Bullock plays a supporting role too but is also great as usual. Benito "Bad Bunny" Ocasio was also awesome in a supporting role known only as Wolf. Michael Shannon, who I feel is somehow underrated as an actor and actually stars alongside Taylor-Johnson in the Nocturnal Animals film I mentioned a few paragraphs ago, plays the role of White Death. First off he is a bad guy, which should be obvious judging by the name, but man is that a cool-ass name. Shannon easily plays the most formidable and intriguing character in the film, and it was always exciting when he was on-screen. And not just because of his awesome mask which is 2nd to Jason’s hockey mask from Friday the 13th in terms of “don’t F with this guy factor”. His character was central to the story, and I don’t think anyone could have played that role better than he did. Bullet Train also has some amazing cameos, but I refuse to ruin them for you. You just have to experience them for yourself.

Okay so clearly I can’t conclude a review for a movie like Bullet Train without touching on the technical elements of the film, and boy oh boy were they glorious. Earlier I mentioned director David Leitch and the fact that he is widely known for his incredibly well-choreographed fight scenes, and he does not skimp on those here. Every fight sequence was amazing, and not a single character managed to sneak away without lots of blood and bruises, which was just par for the course aboard this train. Leitch even treats us to a fabulous Deadpool intro scene style slow-mo sequence in the final act of the film which I really enjoyed. I thought the editing for the film was money considering that even though it was over 2-hours long, I was on the edge of my seat the entire time and was never bored.

Also, considering the film took place entirely on a train, the cinematography still found a way to be eye-popping while capturing the colorful and massive feel of Japan. This was compliments of Jonathan Sela, who just did The Lost City (our review here), and also worked with Leitch on Hobbs & Shaw, Deadpool 2 (our review here), and Atomic Blonde (our review here). Plus he did John Wick, I mean damn this guy is good. Also a massive shoutout to composer Dominic Lewis who did the soundtrack and absolutely crushed it. A film like this with such a crazy packing and so much action needs a killer soundtrack, and he brings it and then some. I thought the music for the film was just so good, including a seemingly out-of-place but perfect appearance by the song Five Hundred Miles, which previously appeared in Inside Llewyn Davis (2013), where it was treated to a Justin Timberlake and Carey Mulligan performance.

THE BAD

Okay so now it is time to talk about what I didn’t like about the movie. In my personal opinion, Bullet Train is one of those movies that you can’t necessarily say is bad, but you can surely say it isn’t for you. It is extremely violent, over-the-top, and hilarious yet perhaps throws more humor at you than it necessarily needed to, and also from early on, it comes at your pretty fast. During the beginning of the movie, I felt like my head was spinning a bit and I was worried that I was missing certain elements of the story since everything seemed to be moving so fast. Luckily the story came together seamlessly by the end and I was confident that I didn’t miss anything. So yeah, in general, I really thoroughly enjoyed Bullet Train and for that reason, I can’t sit here and pick it apart.

It just had 10 “hell yeah!” moments for every “hmmm not sure why they did that” sort of moments. I mean it is a certain type of genre that you either love or you don’t, but beyond that to say this is a bad movie is a ridiculous notion if you ask me. Especially when you think about the reason why we want to see movies on the big screen in the first place. Also, I honestly wasn’t surprised to see what I consider to be lackluster scores from most critics mainly because they seem to have a difficult time appreciating movies built on violence and humor in this day and age. Bullet Train has a ton of replayability which is part of why I enjoy movies like this so much. I talked about Smokin’ Aces earlier in the review, and after leaving the theater I wanted to go right to watching that again, which is streaming on Peacock Premium if you are interested.

THE VERDICT

Fast-paced action perfectly blended with laugh-out-loud humor, gratuitous violence, and an epic soundtrack matched only by the hunk of steel traveling at blazing speeds, Bullet Train is yet another reminder of why talented stunt coordinator turned director David Leitch is a force to be reckoned with. Leitch is simply a beast in the director’s chair, and this movie was an absolute blast to experience in theaters, as it kept a smile on my face from start to finish. I loved the story, the characters and cast were incredible, and the fun factor was just through the roof. Plus I laughed out loud a ton and as soon as I left the theater I wanted to tell anyone that would listen about the cameos. I mentioned in the bad section that at first things seemed to be a bit hectic as far as the storytelling element, but it all came together leaving viewers with what amounts to one heck of a wild ride. Sure some of the jokes don’t hit, but when you are free-wheeling humor during almost the entire movie, that is bound to be the case.

I absolutely plan to see Bullet Train in theaters at least one more time, and I suggest you make your way over there sooner than later because this is a movie that demands the big screen. You won’t be disappointed. Unless you hate high-energy and extremely violent yet still hilarious movies, because if that is the case, perhaps you should just stay home.

TED TAKES RATING - 8.6/10

Bullet Train is now playing only in theaters. Check out the latest trailer below.

Vengeance

Vengeance is a 2022 dark comedy crime thriller written and directed by B.J. Novak (The Office), in his directorial debut. The film had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 12th, 2022. A New England native, Novak was born in Newton, Massachusetts, and is often seen coming or going at Boston’s Logan Airport. A very intelligent guy who actually wrote several episodes of The Office, Novak graduated from Harvard with a degree in English and Spanish literature. He also went to high school in Newton with The Office co-star, the great John Krasinski, also a native of Newton. In an era of streaming services being the most enticing option and theaters harder and harder to reach, Novak was adamant he wanted Vengeance to get a theatrical release. He went to Jason Blum of Blumhouse, who is known for giving opportunities to first-time filmmakers while also giving creative control, and his dream became a reality.

The comedy crime thriller genre-hybrid tells the story of journalist and podcaster Ben Manalowitz who travels from New York City to West Texas to investigate the death of a girl he was hooking up with, landing head first in what could be his biggest story yet.

The cast includes B.J. Novak, Issa Rae, Ashton Kutcher, Boyd Holbrook, J. Smith-Cameron, Dove Cameron, Isabella Amara, Eli Bickel, and John Mayer.

Vengeance made it’s debut in theaters on July 29th, courtesy of Focus Features.

THE GOOD

A few months ago, I was sitting in the movie theater as I often am watching the previews for upcoming films. To be honest, I am often on autopilot as the trailers play mainly because I have seen all of them several times, but this time was different. A trailer played that admittedly felt unusually long at 2 1/2 minutes, but this was something that was new to me and it had me intrigued right from the opening. The trailer for Vengeance was perfectly made, even if it may have given away some of the good parts, and after watching it I knew I had to see this movie. It seemed to have everything, tons of laughs, a cool setting, and what seemed to be a spider-web of a murder mystery that was sure to keep me engaged. Plus, I love me some B.J. Novak from his days on The Office, and who doesn’t enjoy a little Ashton Kutcher from time to time? Release day was finally here and as a Focus Features release Vengeance had a slightly limited release so I had to go out of my way to be able to see it. So, was it worth my time or was I fooled by a well-crafted trailer? Keep reading to find out!

No joke, I would have driven two hours to see this movie, it was that good. Not only did Vengeance exceed my expectations, but the movie as a whole was also so much more than I had anticipated. Although the trailer had me sold, I was expecting a comedy that was maybe an action/thriller hybrid without much substance, and boy was I wrong. The writing for this film is just so, so good, and the characters are amazing and just feel uniquely authentic. I was immediately immersed in the world Novak was able to create with one of the better screenplays in recent memory, and I felt like each character played a pivotal role in the story. In many ways, Vengeance is a character study focusing on raw human emotion, and the overall disconnect between people thanks to the age of social media. Novak who plays the lead role in the film helps to drive this narrative, and he crushes it. I know I am describing a movie that doesn’t really sound all that entertaining, but I promise you it is. Vengeance felt relevant and heavy in all of the right ways, and more than anything else I felt connected to what was happening on-screen, and that is the impact a great film is supposed to have on viewers.

Alright now that I got that out of the way, I will talk about what made Vengeance flawlessly entertaining from start to finish. This film hits in all of the areas that matter, with a great screenplay as I mentioned, a talented cast bringing these characters to life, a fantastic West Texas setting, and just the right amount of calamity. Now the trailer lays the groundwork as far as why the overall backstory of the film is so intriguing, but it does come together in ways not fully shown in the trailer. From the opening scene which is simply a mesmerizing back and forth of sadness masked with insecurity and a fear of commitment between Novak and a character known only as John, played by the one and only John Mayer, we are off and running.

Novak’s character Ben is basically a poster child for what is wrong with people today, and he finds himself on a crash course that will change his life forever. Even though the plot feels a bit over-the-top, at least initially, it holds so much weight than I originally anticipated and had me captivated and wanting more. Plus, once the story unfolds you will take a step back and be like wow, I did not expect that. In many ways, this is a coming-of-age story about family, friendship, and loyalty. And even more than that, it is about the main character coming to the realization that he is living a very unfulfilled life, he is just missing the real reasons as to why that is. Plus, what an ending! I did not see it coming I will say that. Also, the pacing was fabulous and the film absolutely flew by. Andrew is our resident scout for all things relating to the Academy Awards, but I firmly believe Vengeance is deserving of at least a nomination for best original screenplay.

The cast is a huge reason why the film worked so well, and it all starts with B.J. Novak. Thanks to such a great screenplay we feel like we know Novak’s Ben character very early on, and this helps to make the connections to other characters that he meets along the way feel that much more impactful. Now because the premise of the film is that Ben is simultaneously creating this podcast and refers to everyone as the characters in the story, it adds a unique layer of depth for viewers as we see the relationships transform throughout the film. The first connection Novak makes is with Boyd Holbrook who plays the brother of Ben’s late “hook-up/girlfriend”, and I thought he was fantastic in this role. I really like Holbrook as an actor and love that he is starting to get more roles. I actually hope to watch and review last year’s horror movie The Cursed which he also starred in soon.

My next favorite character would have to be J. Smith-Cameron, who most recently broke out as Gerri Kellman on the hit HBO drama series Succession. In Vengeance, the Louisville, Kentucky native plays the loving but no-BS mother of the late girlfriend. Her chemistry with the Novak and the rest of the cast is a big reason why the film works so well. In many ways she reminded me of the character played by Jean Smart in the HBO series Mare of Easttown, which is a huge compliment. Ashton Kutcher plays a pivotal character with a great amount of depth, and I thought he was great in his role. Issa Rae, who is awesome as usual, also plays a very important albeit fairly small role in the film. The supporting cast consisting of Dove Cameron, Isabella Amara, Eli Bickel, and Zach Villa, were all fantastic. I especially liked Bickel in only his first acting role aside from a short film back in 2018. Also a big shoutout to Louanne Stephens, a native of Dallas, Texas, because who doesn’t love a badass no-filter having grandma.

Had a hard time finding an image of my guy Eli Bickel, so here he is with Ashton Kutcher at the films premiere. Credit to Getty Images.

Don’t worry, I didn’t forget about the technical elements of the film, which are a driving force in their own respect. Filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, I loved the setting which helped to make the story feel so immersive, especially considering you couldn’t help but feel the culture shock of Ben going from New York to West Texas. We get some great shots thanks to cinematographer Lyn Moncrief that allow the environment the opportunity to be expansive and lived-in which was important. I also loved the soundtrack by Finneas O’Connell as it accurately captured the raw emotion of the more pivotal scenes throughout the film. I also have to give a shoutout to the editing team as not a single scene felt wasted or unnecessary.

THE BAD

If you have been paying attention, it should be obvious that I have very little negative things to say about Vengeance. I suppose you could try and say it is a bit too woke for some viewers, but the beauty of the film is the fact that it makes it a point to show more than one viewpoint or perspective, which is why it works so well. Social commentary is sprinkled throughout, but it never feels out of place or forced. People will likely have mixed thoughts on the films ending in terms of the build-up and ultimate conclusion which is understandable, but I personally really liked it especially considering the element of surprise to go along with the other twists and turns. Plus, the pacing was just perfect in my opinion. I may take some flack for the lack of criticism especially for a debut film, but Vengeance really hit hard for me and made it very hard to pick apart. And you know what, I will take that as opposed to the latter any day of the week. So yeah, I am looking forward to what B.J. Novak does next.

THE VERDICT

An exceptional debut film from writer/director B.J. Novak that may earn him a nod for best original screenplay, Vengeance is a unique dark comedy with considerable substance and flawed yet genuinely relatable characters. I just can’t say enough about the characters that were brought to life in this film, and as far as I am concerned they exist in real life and you won’t convince me otherwise. As high as my expectations were, I did not expect the experience I was treated to when I sat down in that comfy movie theater recliner. The film is as much a comedy crime thriller as it is a raw character study of the lack of true connection in our disconnected world, and the simple fact that we are all so quick to judge each other without taking the time to learn and understand. I felt the transformation that occurred for the lead character throughout his journey of self-discovery, and in a strange way, I felt like it changed me as well. Vengeance is packed full of amazing dialogue that constantly made me take a step back and say wow, that is deep. Novak is stellar behind and in front of the camera, and more than anything else he tells a story that matters and truly resonated for me. It was clear from the beginning this was a passion project for him, and he deserves all of the credit in the world for making his vision a reality.

I know some people will say “I can’t picture Novak as anyone other than his Ryan Howard character from The Office”, but that is just the beauty of it because he perfectly encapsulates that character for this role. A guy who is so easy to dislike, yet you find yourself curious and reeled in any way thanks to his obvious intelligence albeit sometimes condescending personality traits. So many scenes from Vengeance made me feel something which to be honest I did not expect, and for me, that is what film is all about.

Jason Blum and Blumhouse took a chance with B.J. Novak’s debut film, so let’s do our part to support high-quality and original filmmaking by seeing Vengeance in theaters sooner than later, you won’t regret it. I personally cannot wait to see it again.

TED TAKES RATING - 9.2/10

Vengeance is now playing only in theaters. Check out the latest trailer below.

DC League of Super-Pets

DC League of Super-Pets is a 2022 3D computer-animated superhero comedy film directed by Jared Stern (in his feature directorial debut), based on the DC Comics team Legion of Super-Pets.

When the Justice League are captured by Lex Luthor, Superman's dog, Krypto, forms a team of shelter-pets who were given super-powers: A hound named Ace, who becomes super-strong, a pig named PB, who can grow to giant-size, a turtle named Merton, who becomes super-fast, and a squirrel named Chip, who gains electric-powers.

The film's voice cast includes Dwayne Johnson (who also produces the film), Kevin Hart, Kate McKinnon, John Krasinski, Vanessa Bayer, Natasha Lyonne, Diego Luna, Thomas Middleditch, Ben Schwartz and Keanu Reeves.

DC League of Super-Pets made it’s debut in theaters on July 29th, courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.

THE GOOD

Alright so I am a superhero movie guy through and through, I saw The Batman (our review here) and Love and Thunder (our review here) each three times in theaters, so I was pumped for the opportunity to check out DC League of Super-Pets. I have always been a fan of a good animated film, but once fatherhood happened I gained a new appreciation. I couldn’t wait until my oldest boy was able to come with me to the theater so that I could share my love of film with him, so once that day came I started circling the potential movies I could bring him to see. His first movie was Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (our full review here), which is a live-action film and he still did extremely well with it. So of course, we were off and running! Next he saw The Bad Guys, followed by Minions: The Rise of Gru (our full review here). Once he saw the trailer for DC League of Super-Pets, he couldn’t wait to see it and kept asking me when we would be going. I made it a point to get him to the theater the first opportunity we got, so was this yet another home-run for my little guy or did we have to head home early? Keep reading to find out!

First and foremost, I left the theater with a smile on my face and so did my son, who never took his eyes off the screen by the way, so that was a big victory. But let’s be honest, the primary element of this film that had me excited from the outset was the cast of voice actors which is next-level ridiculous, and they did not disappoint. The cast is in my opinion the best part of the film without a doubt, and they all delivered the goods. Kevin Hart was hilarious as expected, and Dwayne Johnson was his usual larger-than-life self even though this time around he was in dog form. I really enjoyed the two of them in the action comedy Central Intelligence so it was great to get them together yet again. Although the vast majority of quality screen-time belongs to Johnson and Hart, we get plenty of work out of the other big names.

First, John Krasinski was magical as Superman which should surprise nobody. Keanu Reeves didn’t get as much time to shine as I would have liked, but he was great as Batman. Ben Schwartz, who recently starred in the hilarious Apple TV Series The Afterparty was really good as the fire guinea pig, with Thomas Middleditch coming through as the ice guinea pig. We get a little bit of another The Afterparty star in John Early as The Flash, Jermaine Clement as Aquaman, Olivia Wilde as Lois Lane, and Kate McKinnon as Lulu. Bottom line, the voice acting was top-notch and left no stone unturned. I can’t help but think how great this cast of actors would be as the actual Justice League in a live-action film.

Obviously with a movie called DC League of Super-Pets, we are going to get more of the pets than the actual superheroes, and that was fine with me. I got a The Secret Life of Pets vibe from the film which helped to get me immersed and also ramped up the enjoyment factor. Plus it was fun to watch Superman’s dog try and toe the same line as his owner as far as trying to hide the fact that he is the famous superhero dog. The humor was consistent throughout and I laughed out loud a ton which is a testament to the writing. Admittedly most of the funnier scenes involved Kevin Hart’s character. Similar to his role in the Netflix original film The Man from Toronto which I recently reviewed (full review here), Hart is yet again trying to piece together his life that seems to fall apart at every turn. Sure, in DC League of Super-Pets he is an adult dog that nobody seems to want to adopt from the animal shelter so all he can think about is escaping his captivity, but it is funny nonetheless. It was so much fun watching all of the down on their luck pets get a chance to have superpowers of their own, and I thought the action sequences were all a blast to experience. The animation was gorgeous as expected, and I loved the amazing and hard-hitting soundtrack which helped to get the adrenaline pumping.

THE BAD

Similar to Andrew’s recent review of The Bad Guys (full review here), I’m not going to spend too much time trying to critique an animated kids movie, although it can be easy to pick apart anything from DC these days. I really enjoyed DC League of Super-Pets, but I did feel like it was missing something to really put it over the top or make it stand out as one of the best animated films of 2022. For example, The Bad Guys was able to showcase a unique style of animation to go along with a fast-paced story and great voice acting, but DC League of Super-Pets just sort of relied on the strengths of the voice cast and the superheroes. I mean as I said the animation was fantastic as expected, it just failed to do anything special. Plus, the story was pretty cookie-cutter and I expected a bit more there as well.

THE VERDICT

A hilarious and consistently fun adventure for the entire family lead by the undeniable chemistry of voice actors Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart, DC League of Super-Pets will undoubtedly appeal to superhero fans and pet lovers. I still think it could have been even better as it fails to capture the feel of an instant classic. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed it and my son never took his eyes off the screen which is a huge win for me. I guess I was hoping for a bit more in terms of memorable moments considering the talent involved with the film. Bottom line, DC League of Super-Pets is well worth a trip to the theater as it provides entertainment value for all ages which really is the most important thing, and my son has already said he can’t wait to see it again. Also I know it is tough with kids, but the film does have a pretty cool after the credits scene with Black Adam that is worth sticking around for.

Full disclosure, my son had the final say on the overall rating, which I fully support of course, and honestly I was just impressed he actually stuck with the 1-10 format I laid out for him. So yeah, do yourself a favor and bring the kiddos to check out DC League of Super-Pets in theaters.

TED TAKES RATING - 8/10

DC League of Super-Pets is now playing only in theaters. Check out the official trailer below.