Review by Sean Boelman

Mel Brooks’s History of the World: Part I was never intended to have a sequel, but over forty years later, we are getting more historical comedy skits from the mind of one of the greatest living comedic geniuses. Although mileage may vary with History of the World: Part II, there’s plenty of gut-busting laughs to be found, even if a few of its skits don’t turn out quite as well as one would hope.

Like its film predecessor, this series presents skits that offer an alternative perspective on history through the hilarious and idiosyncratic lens of the legendary Mel Brooks. The series format is certainly conducive to Brooks’s skit comedy like this, even if it does lead to some moderately long stretches that don’t have quite enough laughs.

The ensemble of the series is absolutely star-studded with some of the greatest comedians working today. Some of the actors who have several roles across different skits include Ike Barinholtz and Nick Kroll, and they are both excellent. However, many of the guest stars can steal the show, including Ronny Chieng, Johnny Knoxville, and Jay Ellis.

Ultimately, some of the skits do fall flat in the series — more so than usual for Brooks. However, when the segments are good, they are *extremely* good in a way that only Brooks’s work could be. The first episode is the weakest of the show, as it is largely the set-up for the recurring skits, but once it finds its rhythm, it becomes extremely effective.

What is perhaps most surprising about this show is that it often struggles with the balance between satire and goofiness, which is something that Brooks has never had an issue with. Many of the skits are either really insightful and perceptive, or really fun and absurd, but only a few ever manage to capture the perfect balance between both.

Of course, one of the strongest aspects of Mel Brooks’s comedy are his original songs, and this show has plenty of them. There’s one satirical song in the “Civil War” skit that is one of the funniest comedy songs that has been released in years. And one skit, “The Last Supper Sessions,” provides plenty of opportunities for great new songs.

The absolute highlight of the series is a recurring sketch called “Shirley!” in which Wanda Sykes plays a ‘70s sitcom version of Black congresswoman Shirley Chisholm. In addition to being one of the most consistently funny sketches in the show — and being a perfect homage to classic sitcoms — this bit shines thanks to Sykes’s hilarious and endearing, perhaps even Emmy-worthy performance.

There are some weak spots in History of the World: Part II, but there are far more hits than misses, and the hits are so good that this is still a great series despite its shortcomings. Even this many years into his career, Brooks still has it and his comedy is still as funny as ever.

History of the World: Part II streams on Hulu beginning March 6 as a four-night event. All eight episodes reviewed.

Rating: 4/5

Review by Dan Skip Allen

Review by Sean Boelman

It’s always nice to see a film by an up-and-coming filmmaker and starring a cast composed mostly of unknowns. Unfortunately, these movies don’t always live up to their promise. The Park isn’t unwatchable, but that doesn’t mean that there is much of a reason to watch this largely underwhelming and underdeveloped dystopia.

The film is set in a near-present alternate future in which a virus has killed all of the adults on Earth, and several warring factions of children are left to fight for control. It’s a premise we’ve seen done a million times before, but filmmaker Shal Ngo’s vision seemed to be more fun and creative. In reality, it’s a carbon-copy of so many other works of cinema and literature with a similar premise.

At a merciful 76 minutes including credits, it’s hard to say that the movie outstays its welcome, but it also hardly earns it. It feels like the first half of the first third of a sci-fi YA series. In other words, as set-up, it would have been passable; but as a self-contained feature film, it feels as if they ran out of money to make the third act.

The character development is as weak as one would expect with such a short runtime. There just isn’t enough time for us to get to know the characters beyond their archetypes. It’s initially intriguing to see all of these archetypes that are typically applied to teenagers seen in younger kids, but this novelty wears off extremely quickly.

Ultimately, the biggest shortcoming of the movie is its dialogue, which is often borderline atrocious. Of course, no one comes to a post-apocalyptic film about a dystopia ruled by children to experience realism. However, it isn’t outside of reason to ask for something that at least resembles the sharpness of Lord of the Flies — even if it doesn’t come close to touching Salinger.

And while that may be the biggest weakness, the biggest disappointment is that the movie doesn’t do anything particularly interesting with its world-building. The setting is immediately compelling — a dilapidated amusement park — so for the film not to do anything with that potential is enormously frustrating. The story just as easily could have taken place in a cityscape, meaning that the post-apocalyptic world of the movie is entirely nondescript.

The young actors do a decent job considering the caliber of material they are given to work with. Yes, the performances often feel like a more sick and twisted version of Disney Channel stars, but that seems to be exactly what Ngo is going for (and in some cases, that’s their actual background). Some of the performers, like Chloe Guidry and Carmina Garay, could have bright futures ahead of them.

Thankfully, with it being as short as it is, it’s hard to fully hate The Park, if only because its pacing is so quick that you’ll never get bored. Still, it feels like a waste of potential due to its generic world and story that feels frustratingly incomplete.

The Park hits VOD on March 2.

Rating: 2/5

Review by Camden Ferrell

​The circumstances surrounding a thriller movie are already frightening enough, but this intensifies when our protagonist finds themselves without one of their senses. This has been explored in movies like Hush and Bird Box, and Unseen is aiming to be another entry into this subcategory of film. In their feature directorial debut, Yoko Okumura delivers some exciting and brief thrills even if it is content to never test the limits of the genre.
 
Sam is a jaded gas station clerk, dealing with rude customers and a faulty drink machine. One day, she receives a call from Emily, a nearly blind woman who is trying to run from her abusive and murderous ex-boyfriend. Left without her glasses, Emily must rely on Sam via video call to help her escape the forest before her ex can find her. This is a simple premise that isn’t complex but has an interesting angle to make for some creative conflicts and storytelling.
 
Written by the relatively inexperienced duo of Salvatore Cardoni and Brian Rawlins, this movie has all the elements needed for an entertaining and somewhat mindless thriller. The dialogue is adequate and does the bare minimum in terms of exposition and character development. It may not be subversive with its plot, but it does have passion and genuine excitement for the premise, which is very interesting to see. It’s far from great, but this duo has a lot of potential, especially in this genre.

The cast is quite enjoyable too and does a lot of heavy lifting throughout the movie. The movie is co-led by Jolene Purdy and Midori Francis who play Sam and Emily, respectively. They have solid chemistry and are able to fit nicely within this genre. They’re able to convey strong panic, terror, and anxiety in an entertaining way, and they are usually fun to watch even when the movie might be lacking otherwise.
 
One of the highlights of this movie is Okumura’s execution of specific scenes throughout. They try and emphasize the interconnectedness of the two leads, and this is achieved through some really interesting editing. Clever split screens and great execution and timing create some cool moments that work on an aesthetic and more deep thematic level. More than anything, it looks great from a visual standpoint which helps amplify the quality of certain scenes in this movie.
 
Unseen is very short and knows exactly when to leave before overstaying its welcome. A tad too predictable, playing safely within the confines of the genre, this is still an enjoyable thriller if you ever get a chance to watch it. Maybe not a cinematic priority, this is still a movie most general audiences can enjoy just for the thrills and narrative restrictions placed on its characters.
 
Unseen is available on VOD March 7.
 
Rating: 3.5/5

Review by Dan Skip Allen

Review by Joseph Fayed

Idris Elba is as good as always, again donning his signature coat as DCI John Luther. He allows Luther to be afraid of nobody, but he can easily identify and calm the fears of others. Elba's acting serves as a good reminder that John Luther is a detective for a reason. Andy Serkis, who plays the tech billionaire turned serial killer who Luther goes after, unfortunately doesn't lean into how sadistic and unapologetic he could be. It may be due to time restraints of the film, but I wish there was much of him being unremorseful as there was of him committing heinous crimes. 

Anyone eager to see the return of John Luther should give Luther: The Fallen Sun a watch. While almost none of the previous plot lines from season five of the BBC series are addressed, the start of this new story is not very different from how each of the previous seasons have begun, with a killer on the loose. Although the tactics and criminal pursuit that normally draw detectives and killers together tend to be overshadowed here, Luther: The Fallen Sun does one thing the series did right: include lots of Idris Elba. 

Luther: The Fallen Sun is now playing in theaters and hits Netflix on March 10.

Rating: 3.5/5

Review by Dan Skip Allen

Review by Tatiana Miranda

Review by Sean Boelman

The premise of Cocaine Bear is so insane that it became a major news story when this movie was greenlit. The final product is pretty much exactly as one would expect — a fast-paced ninety-minute comedy with plenty of absurd dark humor but not much substance to build beyond its central conceit.

This is the type of movie where the title is very self-explanatory. A bear finds cocaine in the woods, and goes on a rampage, sparing no one who gets in its way. Audiences know exactly what they are signing up for when they purchase a ticket to see this film, and it delivers on the promise of insanity.

There’s no denying that the concept of this movie is pretty amazing in a purely campy way. It takes the stranger-than-fiction true story — a headline so wild that it feels like it came out of The Onion, but is somehow actually true — and makes a genuinely enjoyable (if overstuffed and shallow) creature feature out of it.

The film is at its best when it embraces the lunacy of the premise. Much of the humor is pure shock value, whether it be from the bear being on cocaine or the younger actors doing something beyond their maturity, but it’s still very funny. Unfortunately, many of the best moments are shown in the trailers, but there are still a few very funny surprises in store.

There are also some horror elements in the movie that are quite well-done. Of course, everything is made with tongue firmly in cheek, but it’s clearly influenced by classic creature features. The gory practical effects, in particular, are used impressively both for comedic and disturbing effect. 

Of course, the central bear is made using CGI, and it’s surprisingly very good. In a few of the closer shots, it becomes clear that the bear is fake, and some of the motion is a bit uncannily smooth, but it’s never particularly distracting. In fact, they do a very good job of making the bear emote, giving it more characterization than “bear on coke.”

The big shortcoming of Cocaine Bear is that its human characters simply aren’t interesting. Throughout the runtime, we meet several groups of characters that we are meant to empathize with — including the drug dealers attempting to recover the cocaine, the cop chasing them down, a mother looking for her daughter lost in the woods, a love-struck park ranger, and more. Although the ensemble is great — Margo Martindale and O’Shea Jackson Jr. are particularly hilarious highlights — viewers won’t really care about their characters’ fates. 

Ultimately, any part of Cocaine Bear that features the eponymous creature is pretty great, and anything focused on the human characters is substantially less interesting. Still, it’s an entertaining and fittingly bonkers horror-comedy, and at a brisk ninety minutes, it’s hard not to recommend this for a good laugh.

Cocaine Bear hits theaters on February 24.

​Rating: 3.5/5