Movie Trailer Reviews

If you’re unfamiliar with the plot of Broadway stunner, Wicked, fear not, director Jon M. Chu’s (Crazy Rich Asians) big screen adaptation is a splashy note-for-note faithful interpretation of the acclaimed musical. If your gateway is Gregory Macguire’s book by the same name, however, expect more committment to the musical’s book than his source material.

Wicked, a prequel to the Wizard of Oz, tells the backstory of the classic’s central villian Elphaba, The Wicked Witch of the West and it’s symbol of goodness, Glinda the Good Witch of the South. It’s story opens with a Glinda arriving in Munchkinland in a glimmering bubble. To confirm for the citzenry that the witch is dead. It’s a majestic start complete with a spectacular ensemble number. 

Under Chu’s stewardship OZ comes to sparkling life. There are recognizable set pieces as well as a more expansive look at the land of OZ.  The film adaptation retains the “PG” light touch by inferring much more than showing the darkness decending upon the land. Cynthia Erivio and Ariana Grande-Butera are hands down a triumph as the film’s Elphaba and Glinda. Both their vocals and dramatic interpretation of the characters distinguish their performances previous iterations. In this meticulously built world the duo lead their talent-packed ensemble to create one of the best film-adaptation of a stage production ever. Wicked offers plenty for those longing for bright and colorful escapism. You’ll laugh, gasp, and be amazed at each cinematic success (perhaps enough to forgive its varied visual effects shortfalls). 

The narrative leans heavily on its cast for its emotional peaks and valleys and they than more ably respond. Christopher Scott’s propulsive choreography delivers again and again. Erivo’s blend of stoicism and defensive boldness aid a growing necessary edge. While Grande’s pitch perfect switches between self-absorption, ambition, and perky benevolence adds the bounce and flair. Each balancing out the other in a delightful chemistry. But Holzman and Fox’ decision to add only hints of the novel’s deeper themes, and darker direction, expose a script that fails to fully serve the narrative underpining all the visual pizzazz.

Every shallow plot point and thin (secondary) character development between musical numbers turns into glaring oversight in the spotlight of Wicked’s exhaustive runtime. So. if you were hoping that 2 hours 40 minutes – and cutting the story into two films – meant more (extremely important) parts of Macguire’s Wicked would find its way into the screenplay, well then you’ll likely come away disappointed. Perhaps the second half of this story coming November of 2025 will fill in those gaps. But despite this missed opportunity hindering Wicked from truly defying gravity, its technical prowess behind and in front of the camera are worth a watch. Chu’s sprawling production brings this origin story to life such verve and vibrancy your inner song-and-dance loving kid will not leave dissatisfied.

Wicked opens in theaters Friday, November 22.

♦♦

Director: Jon M. Chu

Starring: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum

Synopsis: Misunderstood because of her green skin, a young woman named Elphaba forges an unlikely but profound friendship with Glinda, a student with an unflinching desire for popularity. Following an encounter with the Wizard of Oz, their relationship soon reaches a crossroad as their lives begin to take very different paths.

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Director Josh Cooley’s (Toy Story 4, Inside Out) Transformers One weaves the vast (and varied) backstorys and lore into a top-tier re-introduction that sweeps away all previous attempts to repackage this longstanding property. And the best part? This orign story blends unique characters and set peices into a engrossing friends-to-enemies journey into exciting, yet familiar, galaxy-spanning territory. Live-action could never. Seriously, Transformers One follows best friends, a low-ranking minors, Orion Pax (Chris Hemsworth) and D-16 (Bryain Tyree Henry) as they uncover their society’s hidden history and the real reasons for its class divisons. Each revelation sets the duo on collision course with their enemies, and each other. 

Whether you’re steeped in the lore, a fan of the live-action franchise, or a coming in with zero knowledge, Transformers One is a vivid adventure certain to capture – and keep – your attention until the credits roll.

Listen and Ro and DPalm discuss how Cooley – and this suprisinging fitting A-list voice cast – perfectly threads the action-comedy needle turning an epic bromance gone wrong into an incredibly immersive parable about liberation, friendship, and the cost of losing faith. 

Transformers One released in theaters September 20, 2024 and arrives on VOD and digital Tuesday, October 22, 2024. 

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Quick Take: Deadpool and Wolverine is the unlikely team-up that makes all Deadpool’s most fervent wishes come true. From the irreverent fourth-wall break that sets the stage for both the rather straightfoward quest to come and hyper-meta poke at the superhero character’s past as prologue.  Longtime collaborators Ryan and Reynolds and director Shawn Levy enter the MCU with a song in their hearts and sway in their hips. If you’re expecting being under the Disney mantel to tone down the violence, raunchiness, or Deadpool’s sexpest ways, go on ahead and put that notion aside. Reynolds and the rest of the writing team cagily stare the Disney “no-no” list in the face then kick it in the shin.

Despite some pacing issues, unfortunate visual ticks, and more than a few songs that stay past far past their usefulness, Deadpool and Wolverine tells a slippery story that underutilizes its original ensemble choosing instead to traverse the multi-verse as only Deadpool can. The narrative holding this buddy comedy being suprisingly straightforward it refuses to abandon the cheekiness what this franchise is best known for. So, if you’re looking for a Deadpool adventure that’s unabashedly madcap and makes the most of its leads then you’re in the right place. 

♦♦♦

Director: Shawn Levy

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Matthew MacFadyen, 

Synopsis: Deadpool’s peaceful existence comes crashing down when the Time Variance Authority recruits him to help safeguard the multiverse.

Deadpool & Wolverine opeans nationswide (US) theaters July 26, 2024

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Quick Take: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is both the origin story Citdal renegade, Furiosa, and volatile trek across the wasteland.  The fifth installment revolves around laying the ground work to how, the Furiosa of Mad Max: Fury Road came to be and the unveiling of the major settlements across the wasteland. Furiosa throttles down the action, just a notch, to make room to understand the true dysfunction of this dystopian hellscape. In typical George Miller fashion, chronology matters less than the homeretic journey through the world of Max. It’s bold, violent, and emotionally complex. The trails and tribulations of Furiosa are equally matched by the havoc and upheaval between the wasteland factions. Buckle up because Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’s one hell of a ride. 

Director: George Miller

Runtime: 2h 28m

Synopsis: Snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers, young Furiosa falls into the hands of a great biker horde led by the warlord Dementus. Sweeping through the Wasteland, they come across the Citadel, presided over by the Immortan Joe. As the two tyrants fight for dominance, Furiosa soon finds herself in a nonstop battle to make her way home.

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Richard Donner’s The Omen (1976) follows American diplomat Robert Thorn (Gregory Peck) as he investigates his adopted son’s, Damien, background once tragedy befalls those close to him. Thorn’s quest for answers ultimately leads him to Italy and the unsettling revelation that his son may be the Antichrist. Sadly the subsequent installments never quite duplicated the impact of the first chapter in this genre-disrupting religious horror saga. So he idea of a compelling legacy-prequel seems like a non-starter. Well, director and co-writer Arkasha Stevenson would like a word. Because, The First Omen is an absolute master class on how to create a stunning in-canon prequel to a horror classic.

Stevenson’s feature debut follows Margaret (Nell Tiger Free), a young American novitiate, as she arrives in Rome, Italy (1971) to complete her probationary period at a Roman orphanage before taking vows. For those new to the Omen universe, this prequel is a fresh-eyed, gnarly lure into the dark and twisted world of religious horror and one of the foundational storylines in the genre. Margaret encounters Carlita (Nicole Sorace), a troubled orphan, living in practical isolation. Reminded of her own turbulent childhood, she befriends the young girl in the hopes of acting as her champion. As increasingly disturbing happenings swirl around Carlita, Margaret stumbles into a dark and gruesome unfolding conspiracy. Just as Margaret connects with Carlita, a rogue priest (Ralph Ineson) approaches, demanding her help. He’s on the hunt for proof of a plot by a corrupt sect within the Church. Margaret soon second-guessing herself. Nowhere is safe.

Unlike in The Omen, the women carry the bulk of the plot development. Tiger Free’s Margaret is a convicing mix of ingénue and fervent acolyte. Shifting the story progression to her point of view adds layers to the terror of being in a new city, trying to integrate into an established social dynamic and feeling unsettled by a sense of danger dogging your every step. Stevenson relies less on the obvious jumpscares and more on discomfort, paranoia and the pay off is utterly next level. 

Under Stevenson’s direction The First Omen comfortably resides at the intersection of fanatical secret societies and unholy dark arts. From the period-accurate production design and costuming, to the religious iconography and symbolism deftly sets the stage for a harrowing spiral into the heart of darkness with precision. Cinematographer Aaron Morton employs an earthy color palette and savvy use of light, shadow, and scene staging ably assisting Stevenon’s unabashed commitment to blending its paranoid-thriller and supernatural horror roots into a trauma-inducing story. Through a combination of awkward physicality, unworldliness, and bouts of inexplicable agitation Tiger Free creates a captivating picture of a woman pushed to the absolute brink.  There’s an increasingly demented energy of danger driven by the score and sound desighn that, alongside her character development, that acts as razor then thin tether to realty and a visually entralling fever dream. 

The First Omen opens in theaters, April 5, 2024

Director: Arkasha Stevenson

Synopsis: A young American woman is sent to Rome to begin a life of service to the church, where she encounters a darkness that outs her own faith in jepardy, 

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Quick Take: Dev Patel‘s directorial debut, Monkey Man, is a full-throttle, heartbreaking, brutal quest for vengeance. Patel and his co-writers weave ancestral lore and a biting challenge to the socio-political status quo into a underdog tale that wears its cinematic influences and cultural aesthetic on its sleeve. What starts as tale of a street-smart grief-striken man living only for revenge slow morphs into the journey of a man who learns to stand for something greater than himself. Monkey Man pulls no punches and takes no prisoners. Although far from technically flawless and clearly not attempting to reinvent the revenge tropes, in Monkey Man Patel firmly establishes his ability to straddle the line of action star and beguiling leading man with an almost supernatual grace. 

Come for the fights and stay for the intense character arc. 

Monkey Man opens (wide) in theaters, April 5, 2024

Director: Dev Patel

Synopsis: After years of suppressed rage, Kid discovers a way to infiltrate the enclave of the city’s sinister elite. As his childhood trauma boils over, his mysteriously scarred hands unleash an explosive campaign of retribution to settle the score with the men who took everything from him.

Note for podcast episode: Monkeypaw Productions and Jordan Peele came on board towards the end of shooting. 

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Director: Denis Villeneuve

Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler

Synopsis: Paul Atreides unites with Chani and the Fremen while seeking revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family.

Kriss, Ro, Brandon review Dune Part 2.

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Quick Take: Madame Web should’ve been a fun and fantastical origin story for a dynamic comic character with real spin-off potential. Instead it’s a mishmash of barely interesting plot points, disjointed visual trickery, and underwhelming performances. More than anything else, Madame Web proves it’s not enough to throw all the “expected” set pieces in a movie, you actually need to know what to do with them.

**

Official Synopsis: Cassandra Webb develops the power to see the future. Forced to confront revelations about her past, she forges a relationship with three young women bound for powerful destinies, if they can all survive a deadly present.

Director: S.J. Clarkson

**

Madame Web, Sony’s third standalone spin-off of a Marvel comic character, opened the door for the studio to fully reimagine the origins of its titular character and set the stage for robust worldbuilding in its Spider-Man Universe. The Cassandara Webb of the comics is an elderly woman, with a neuromuscular disease, connected to a life support system that resembles a spider web. She’s fully in control of her clairvoyance and precognition.  Webb’s an exceptionally powerful mutant and infrequent supporting character in the Spider-Man comic book series. There’s very little known of her beginnings. When carving a lane for future stories, it doesn’t get much better than having firm grounding in source material but an otherwise clear field to play. 

There’s something to be said for nostalgia in movie styling (we won’t talk about those reshoot blunders). Setting a story in the recent past opens the way for the sleight-of-hand of soft revisionist storytelling often beneficial when telling a story with supernatural elements. For audiences, everything feels familiar and contemporary but the edges are just blurry enough to make way for a world full of magic, mystery, and untold danger existing alongside the mundane. What Madame Web gets right(ish) is blending an intentionally pulp-esque vibe into a recognizable version of the contemporary New York City circa 2003. The story moves at a digestible (and thankfully relatively quick) pace of a thriller. So it’s a shame that absolutely nothing else; not direction, editing, character arcs, visual effects, cast performances, or story direction, amounts to more than a “comic movie” checklist neither the screenwriters nor the director knew how to navigate.

The movie opens with a flashback, because of course it does, of a pregnant Constance Webb (Kerry Bishé) deep in the Peruvian Amazon in 1973. She’s on the hunt for a spider said to have miraculous healing properties. She’s whip smart, driven, and desperate. So desperate she misses all the glaring red flags that her impatient head of security, Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim), isn’t really there to protect her waving in her face. Through hamfisted dialogue, a lore info-dump about a secretive indigenous people with powers, known as Las Aranas, (that would’ve carried more weight as naturally occurring revelations), and scenes of a furtive tent search practically lifted from Tomb Raider, it’s obvious Sims’ intends to acquire the spider for his own ends. The action sequences that follow shortly after the expected doublecross are a reminder that staging and filming action and stunts is a skill not all directors possess. Director S.J. Clarkson relies on quick cuts, odd camera angles, and bouncing shots of rustling foliage and blurred glimpses of people leaping from great heights to simulate action and fast-moving “spider people” traveling through the trees coming to the rescue. It’s the first sign, of many, that Madame Webb’s practical and visual effects are a detriment to an already poorly conceived storyline. And although the flashback is a smart entry point for Webb’s origin story, it’s also the movie’s first failure.

Ezekiel Sims, a character also pulled from the comic Spider-verse, and his connection with Constance Webb offer a rational way to introduce the various mystical rites and ceremonies associated with the arachnid-based superpowers. In the comics he’s proven to be knowledgeable about spider-derived powers and resourceful, if selfish. His powers are stolen and that theft carries far-reaching consequences. But instead of taking a beat to really dig into both his background and the society whose secrets he’s hunting, Madame Web sloppily paints Sims with an imminent “villain of the week” energy and yada-yadas Constance Webb’s first (and last) contact with Las Aranas; reducing it to a failed attempt to save her life that manages to spare her child. 

Even without knowing Sims’ background – or his importance – in the comics, it’s painfully obvious that his character’s poorly thought out. The script written by Clarkson, Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless and Claire Parker never fleshes out his motivations beyond increasingly annoying rants about needing to “protect” all he’s built. The storyline sheds absolutely no light on how he escaped the jungle without incident thereby wasting an opportunity to: 1) reveal more about Las Aranas and/or the rites involving the spider and 2) explain how and why this French-speaking mercenary is even in Peru hunting superpowers to begin with. This failing, regrettably, is a hallmark of all the character development and worldbuilding from this point forward. Brace because it becomes intrusively tiresome. There are other important elements along the way treated as throw-aways moments rather than touchstones essential to sticking the landing in the second and third acts.

The timeline soon jumps to 2003 and a thirty-year-old Cassandra Webb (Dakota Johnson). Cassie’s an EMT with attachment issues and a fast-approaching future as a Manhattan cat lady. She’s cynical, reckless, and, after (an unexplored) childhood in foster care, purposefully emotionally unavailable. Everything she knows about her mother fits in a suitcase kept under her bed. Johnson’s portrayal of Cassie does a barely serviceable job of embodying a woman who actively avoids personal connections outside work. There are a few scenes – and relationships – intended to be both Spider-verse easter eggs and demonstrate Cassie actually does care about her circle of friends particularly her EMT partner Ben Parker (Adam Scott) and his family despite her aversion to fully being present as a friend.

Sadly, Johnson’s perpetual smoothed-faced delivery results in an emotionally dead and inauthentic portrayal. Her middling efforts can’t overcome the script’s flimsy dialogue, joyless quips, glaring worldbuilding inconsistencies (like a New York cab without lojack or CPR that never includes clearing an airway) and constantly unfinished looking and/or awkwardly executed visual effects or stunts. Johnson lacks the range to play a character that simultaneously requires make believe to bring the story/world to life and the ability to make us believe in them. 

Compounding the errors baked into the opening, Madame Web skips over everything related to showing how Ezekiel Sims actually fits into the world in the present day. Beyond a few moments meant to show the lengths he’ll go to preserve his power; including plotting murder based solely on a vision. His entire part of the story lacks depth. That might not be so unforgivable had the time been spent adding texture to this world through the story arcs of the teenage (future) dynamos: Julia Cornwall (Sydney Sweeney), Anya Corazon (Isabela Merced), and Mattie Franklin (Celeste O’Connor).

But again, Clarkson barely expends the energy to make these characters two dimensional. Every bit of their portrayal feels sketchy; paint-by-numbers (from bad tween flicks) at best. Which is a real shame because Merced, Sweeney, and O’Connor bring the only chemistry and dynamic energy to be had. Each does what they can to make these shallow personalities even slightly believable in spite of spouting insipid one-liners, obnoxious teen antics, and being reduced to multiple instances of over-explaining to make up for “the show” that never happens. Unfortunately their contributions to the plot were never going to amount to anything noteworthy. Their storylines are woefully threadbare and not strong enough to weave into anything beyond muddled “side characters.” 

So, transitioning from the, Cassie’s spidey senses activate, portion of this adventure to Cassie not only embracing her powers but becoming the type of person who selflessly leaps in to save three teenage strangers, never really clicks the way it needs to. That misfire leads to an entire latter half that requires a level of belief suspension not even amnesia can accomplish. The stakes don’t feel real. The journey lacks the kind of compelling grit to keep you invested and rooting for anyone’s survival. This might be the first time that including a training montage – instead of a wholly unbelievable and lackluster trip back into the jungle – might’ve served to better bridge that gap.  But alas, no. The end result is a tangled and fragmented narrative that trips over its own plot holes on a joyless slog to nowhere.

The anticipatory energy of the movie’s final moments is entirely unearned. No one’s buying this as the origin story for a person meant to assume the role of mentor and powerful oracle to those destined to wield powers in the Spider-verse. Because Madame Webb’s built on the type of shoddy character development and disjointed storytelling often blamed on the “shortcomings” of comics as source material. But in reality, is indicative of a weak pen-game, a complete lack of respect for the genre and no vision, creativity, or talent behind the scenes. 

**

Distributor: Sony/Columbia

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Director: Todd Haynes

Starring: Natalie Portman, Charles Melton, Julianne Moore, Gabriel Chung, Andrea Frankle

Synopsis: Twenty years after their notorious tabloid romance gripped the nation, a married couple buckles under pressure when an actress arrives to do research for a film about their past.

2023 was really the year of the terrible parent when it comes to movie. In May December, Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman have a “terrible off” to see which one plays the worst person. Charles Melton’s character unfortunately is the one taking the brunt of just how terrible those other characters are. This is a very solid film that’s bound to make your skin crawl because of just how realistic it is. The gaslighting and victimization that Julianne Moore’s character Gracie does in this film is top notch. You’re definitely going to need to take a shower after this one.

Listen as the crew review May December.

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Director: William Oldroyd

Starring: Thomasin McKenzie, Shea Whigham, Anne Hathaway, Sam Nivola

Synopsis: A woman’s friendship with a new co-worker at the prison facility where she works takes a sinister turn.

Who doesn’t love a “leave them crazy white women alone” film? Eileen is a great film that uses the alway fantastic Anne Hathaway perfectly by pairing her up with Thomasin McKenzie who does a great dead-face, on the cusp of crazy (right about to head over the deep end) young woman looking to impress. Eileen is short, simple and hits all the right notes. Listen as the crew review this film.

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