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Review by Adam Donato  In an age of franchise requels and multiverse movies, fans just want to see all their favorite stuff from the past come together. The Karate Kid franchise has expanded so far. There’s An original trilogy with Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita. Then Marita came back for The Next Karate Kid with Hilary Swank. The original was then remade starring Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan. Followed by a Cobra Kai YouTube show that moved to Netflix. Now we have Karate Kid Legends, which takes Jackie Chan from the remake and Ralph Macchio in the originals and puts them together as they are both masters to a new karate kid. Not unlike how Obi Wan and Yoda trained Luke. This melding of the franchise is the weakest part of this new film. Strip away all the legacy characters and this is a cute little remake of the original. The new characters and setting are fun. It feels like a modern American take on the story. Jackie Chan is a pro and still holds his own, but Ralph Macchio doesn’t need to be here. At least Chan’s character is related to the new karate kid. For a movie that’s only 96 minutes long and is trying to accomplish so much in that timespan, there can’t be any wasted time on cheap fanfare. It’s a testament to how enjoyable the new elements are that the old elements feel like it’s weighing the whole piece down. Especially since nothing new or interesting happens with the legacy characters.  Ben Wang stars as Li Fong, also known as Stuffed Crust. His character is relatable and full of personality. He has a cute chemistry with Sadie Stanley, former star of the live action Kim Possible. It’s odd because Li Fong gets roped into training his new girlfriend’s dad on how to utilize Kung Fu in his boxing, but isn’t supposed to practice fighting because of his mother who moved him to New York. It’s an interesting dynamic to see the karate kid be the teacher, but this quickly reverts back to the fact that the karate kid needs to fight the bully in the big tournament. That’s what has to happen because this is a Karate Kid movie and not because it makes sense in the narrative. Just entirely obligatory, but expected. It’s interesting that this film follows a television series because this narrative does seem like that of a season of television that was condensed into the shortest movie possible.
Karate Kid: Legends is New York propaganda with a nonstop Sony soundtrack to maximize profits. Fans of the extended franchise will enjoy the curtain call that this movie is. The uninitiated will not need any catching up to watch this new one because it’s the exact same movie every single time. Luckily the new characters are enjoyable enough and the action is fun. Not unlike the Cobra Kai show, this legacy sequel can wait to be seen on streaming as it’s an okay time at best. Karate Kid: Legends will be in theaters on May 30. Rating: 3/5
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FEAR STREET: PROM QUEEN -- Stepping Back Into the '80s for a Slasher That's a Bit Too Goofy5/23/2025 Review by Jon Berk  Few authors have as much cachet with ‘90s kids as R.L. Stine. Whether you were a fan of Goosebumps or Fear Street, there is a good chance that he was an author that you’ve read. His film and TV adaptations have been mixed over the years, but in 2021, Netflix dropped three pretty solid films inspired by the Fear Street brand. The connected trilogy spanned three decades, but skipped over the ‘80s. Well, Director Matt Palmer’s Fear Street: Prom Queen fully embraces the ‘80s style, hair, music, and slasher films. Teenager Lori Granger (India Fowler) has lived in Shadyside with a bit of a horrible element hovering over her. The “It” girls, led by Tiffany Falconer (Fina Strazza), have made her life a living hell. Lori’s best friend, Megan (Suzanna Son), is the only thing making this existence bearable. However, it's senior year, and Lori has thrown her name into the mix for Prom Queen. As if fighting with the popular girls wasn’t bad enough, some of the nominees vanish as the big day approaches. The film leans into the ‘80s camp a little too hard at times, making it feel quite silly. There are moments early in the film that immediately made this feel like an outlier compared to the first three films. While the original trilogy has some flaws, it felt like a great entry into the horror genre overall. For the most part, the new film feels more like an homage to the genre, rather than a stand-alone entry. Still, there is enough here as the film moves on to justify its addition to the Netflix catalog.  The cast is committed to delivering this tribute to the campy horror films of the past. Fowler, Strazza, and Son are all really great in their roles. Fowler has the charm to carry the film in the lead role. Megan is a horror fanatic, and the movie plays with that in some fun ways. One such way that stood out was this kind of dumb scene that still manages to find a laugh… however, part of that laugh was due to the teacher’s reaction, played by Chris Klein. Rounding out the cast, we find Lili Taylor, an ever-present force in horror, as the righteous principal of the high school, Katherine Waterston as Tiffany’s mother, and Ariana Greenblatt as one of the other surprise prom queen nominees. All of the performances work for the story being told, but that’s the other part that doesn’t fully connect.
As noted, the film leans into the '80s slasher tropes. There is a murder, and it’s a solid enough kill scene. Despite these elements, the motivation and the following aftermath don’t really work. In fact, the motivation and pacing are part of the problem. The film takes a while with a few too many montages before establishing the mystery or any additional killings. While the audience is aware of the murder, the characters just shrug off the missing character as an unusual thing. However, it takes them quite a while to realize there is something worth investigating. The 90-minute film manages to drag on for a stretch before it really gets going. Fear Street: Prom Queen finally comes into the genre. The mystery mostly works, and the finale is solid enough. There are a few story elements that feel a little unresolved by the time the credits roll. The fact that it felt like it dragged too long, and yet leaves story elements unfinished, is bothersome. Fortunately, there is enough here to make it worth investing a view in, especially if you were a fan of the first three. Fear Street: Prom Queen is on Netflix May 23. Rating: 2.5/5 Review by Daniel Lima  There is something inherently interesting about a big budget vanity project, an artist who uses the prodigious resources at their disposal to create a monument to themselves and their hubris. Mission Impossible – Final Reckoning puts that notion to the test. On a certain level, it is impressive to see such a vast canvas used to create something so vapid, so empty, so deluded and lost in its self-importance as both the latest in a franchise spanning three decades, and as Tom Cruise’s claim on the modern cinematic landscape. It is hard to get to energized by that, however, when it is so painfully dull. Beginning only a couple months after the previous entry, the film sees Cruise’s government agent Ethan Hunt reuniting with his team as they attempt to stop The Entity, a sentient AI set on destroying the world by taking control of every nuclear state’s arsenal. In the face of this existential threat, Cruise must both negotiate both a paranoid political landscape and perilous environments in order to obtain the means to destroy the computer program. If you’re at all confused by this synopsis, fear not, because you will hear it spelled out for you ad nauseam. Final Reckoning continues one of most egregious flaws of the last one, beginning with a torrent of exposition that continues almost without interruption through to the credits. Every conversation reiterates that this is a dangerous foe the likes of which the world had never seen, that only Tom Cruise can stop it, that he needs the key to submarine and the submarine holds the key to stopping the Entity and the Entity wants total annihilation and if they get the key to the submarine they can get the key in the submarine to stop the Entity that wants total annihilation. There are even flashbacks to help make things clear, not only to past entries, but to scenes that passed mere minutes before.  The constant establishment and reestablishment of what is at stake bogs down the momentum of the film, with agonizingly long stretches of people sitting in rooms talking to each other about what needs to happen next. Past films in the series were content to give the barest possible justification to get from one set piece to the next; here, the justification is the set piece, and it’s every bit as thrilling as it sounds. It’s as if the script doesn’t trust that the audience can follow the goals of the characters, and so it proceeds to spend so much time laying them out that the explanation itself becomes white noise. The time not spent on plot is spent on the characters. Not fleshing out their histories, or building up their personalities, or giving them some dimension to make them feel like people. Instead, the film takes the legacy sequel approach of making the audience care about the characters by reminding you of all the time you’ve spent with them. It is assumed that since you’ve seen Ving Rhames in eight of these movies across thirty years, you must have an emotional attachment to him, even though he has no discernible personality trait beyond being friends with Tom Cruise. Angela Bassett was in one of these, so now that she’s playing the president we’ll spend ample time as she decides whether to preemptively nuke the world (this is a non-spoiler review, so I’ll leave you in suspense). Not to mention the guy who’s apparently the son of one of the previous villains, and the guy who popped up at the end of an iconic scene in the first movie but didn’t have any lines. One person gets a dramatic death scene, and they aren’t ever even named. When these movies are operating as fun thrill rides, it’s harder to fault the lack of effort that’s put in developing the characters. Final Reckoning instead takes on an air of dour seriousness, and so the emphasis it places on some idea of emotional pathos lays bare how horribly shallow they all are. This is made even worse by the insufferable callbacks to series lore, a blatant appeal to nostalgia that is more likely to go over the heads of even longtime fans than actually make the audience care about what happens.  This extends to the antagonist of the film. The simple fact is an enemy with no physical presence, that the hero barely interacts with, who has no personal ties to the hero, who doesn’t ever directly affect what the hero is up against in any given scene, is a terrible villain. Regardless of how much breath is spent on how dangerous the Entity is, it is less dramatically compelling than any foe in any of the other movies precisely because the degree of remove it has from what is unfolding. Even Esai Morales, the bland human henchman of the AI from Dead Reckoning, has been cut loose from it. That leaves the primary driver of the plot an amorphous, impersonal, invisible threat, which hardly suffices for a big action blockbuster.
For many, the action has been the highlight of this franchise, and it has generally risen above the low standards of most Hollywood studio fare. Sadly, it has never been less impressive. Depending on how you stretch the definition of “action”, there are four set pieces, amounting to maybe a half hour over the course of three hours. Two of these are unremarkable brawls, decently choreographed and captured but unimaginative and brief. One sequence sees Cruise cautious moving through a downed submarine on the edge of an ocean floor cliff, easily the highlight of the film, yet reminiscent of the last. The climax has him dangling off some propeller planes, an impressive stunt, but even that is crosscut with, what else, people standing in rooms talking. After so many grueling hours of nothing happening, it is too little too late. The exposition, the weak characters, the flimsy emotional appeals, the limp villain, the middling action, there is something underpinning all these issues: this movie isn’t fun. There are other films in the franchise that are weak in one area or another, but they all have the tone of a rousing summer crowd pleaser. The plot moved quickly, characters had identifiable personalities beyond their role in the story, they laughed and argued and felt distinct. It is only with these last two entries, pitched as series finales, that an air of operatic grandiosity has suffocated all the verve, instead insisting on a gravity and weight that goes unsupported by what’s actually on screen. This shift can be partially attributed to the fact that the Reckoning films are positioned as a finale, though time will tell if such an identifiable IP will be allowed to lay dormant. It also folds neatly into the current studio obsession with legacy sequels, constantly attempting to forge an emotional connection between old media and modern consumers, no matter how forced. More than anything, however, it’s worth looking at the man powering the entire franchise: Tom Cruise. After a decade of bad press, a career slump, and losing his family, Cruise managed to completely turn around his image. Where he was once seen as a cultist with an army of slaves who eats placenta and jumps on couches, he is now the Entertainer-in-Chief, the President of Movies, devoted entirely to pleasing a global audience any way he can. Climbing the Burj Khalifa, learning to HALO jump, taking on financial burdens to make real movies that shoot on film and are made to be seen in a theater a reality, these actions have completely rehabilitated his image in the eyes of the public. The Mission Impossible series has been a large part of that, and as audiences and critics have responded with such glowing praise to these films, it seems that the acclaim has affected how he and his creative have approach them. These can no longer be larks, frivolous and light-hearted romps punctuated by intense action. Tom Cruise — Ethan Hunt — is bigger than that. Suddenly, the events of these middle action films become the stuff of myth and legend. Every character, every frame, every word must now take on an almost religious importance, and this “final” entry must take on a stately affect, lest the audience get led astray in thinking that they are supposed to be having fun. Perhaps it’s unfair to lay this at the feet of one man, but given how central he has been to the marketing, the stylistic similarities between all his recent creative endeavors, and his own demeanor when producing and promoting them, it’s near impossible to not see a movie like this as a monument to himself. The most interesting way to evaluate Dead Reckoning is as the most expensive vanity film of all time. For it to succeed on those terms, it would need to offer a level of sophistication and depth in the storytelling to complement how po-faced and self-serious it is. For all its posturing and dreary exposition, however, this film is no more interested in actually exploring tangible ideas than any of the previous ones. In spite of Cruise’s own professed disdain for AI, the film offers only the most surface level commentary on how it affects our own world. While the heroes are subverting the will of the government in attempting to destroy the program rather than deliver it to their superiors, the film confines all misgivings about the US security state to one character, with chunks of this movie that play more like a recruitment ad for the military and intelligence agencies than a summer blockbuster. Even that insistence that the AI needs to be destroyed can be interpreted as skepticism about a radical restructuring of the world. Even that requires interrogating the premise with more intellectual rigor than anyone who worked on it. Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning is many things. An action epic bereft of action, a political thriller with shallow politics and few thrills, corporate IP that asserts its place in the culture with no emotional foundation. It is a mask for a man whose own identity has become that mask, even though his efforts to make that facade meaningful in and of itself are in vain. One crucial thing that this movie is not, however, is good. Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning is now in theaters. Rating: 1.5/5 Review by Adam Donato  Talk To Me was quite the surprise hit for first time Australian directors Danny and Michael Philippou. It took a familiar horror setup and made it feel fresh. The second time around they get a legit actor to star in their film. Sally Hawkins headlines Bring Her Back as an unsettling foster parent who has dark secrets of her own. The story follows two children, an older brother played by Billy Barratt who feels responsible for taking care of his blind younger sister played by Sora Wong. With a mystery movie debut, can this sophomore feature continue the momentum for the Philippou brothers? Bring Her Back also deals with a familiar horror setup, but where it stands apart is just how far it is willing to go and the performances from the three leads. This movie is disgusting in all the best ways for a horror movie. There are multiple scenes that will have audiences covering their eyes from the screen. It’s all purposeful within the narrative as well. The fact that they were able to pull off some of these sequences with children is impressive. While the scares overall aren’t very lasting, this movie will have you squirming in your seat with how uncomfortable it is.  Sally Hawkins is a wonderful actress. It’s really cool seeing her in this type of role because it really contrasts the image that she has for herself right now, especially after her work with Paul King on the Paddington movies and also her iconic lead role in The Shape of Water. She’s such a loving and quirky actress, but seeing her utilize that side of herself for evil is haunting. While some of her antics are unbelievable, there are other things that are so crazy over the line. She steals the movie by the third act and doesn’t let go. It’s important for actors to subvert their image from time to time as it can be very effective.
Barratt has some major projects under his filmography, but definitely isn’t a name yet. He does a good job here, but the big shoutout is to his two younger costars. Wong as noted before, but also Jonah Wren Phillips who plays Hawkins’ other child are both great. There’s a lot of makeup involved in Phillips’ character and he pulls it off. There’s a specific sequence where he utilizes a knife in such a horrific manner of self harm that is not to be missed. It’s crazy that kids can pull off scenes and situations like this. Child actors are usually the worst part of movies, but here they’re an extra feather in the movie’s cap. Bring Her Back delivers the goods for a gross out horror movie and has some admirable performances. The scares lean more uncomfortable than anything else, making for a rough viewing experience. It is also similar in flavor to Talk To Me so it will be interesting to see if these two will evolve going forward. They are attached to a sequel to Talk To Me, but whatever they do after is sure to be a big swing that will be anticipated. Horror is great genre to get a start in and they’re on a solid track going forward. Bring Her Back is in theaters on May 30. Rating: 3/5 Review by Adam Donato  The 2025 box office is about to do a hesitation move on Disney. First Snow White bombs both critically and financially prompting the studio to reconsider all further live action remakes. Now Lilo & Stitch is poised to be a hit with a prime Memorial Day release date. It also helps that Lilo & Stitch isn’t littered with controversy. People love Stitch. The vibe is fun. The destination is beautiful. The themes about family are universal. This is a layup of a live action remake. They’ve just copied everything, right down to the crossover ads where Stitch interacts with other Disney properties. Box office aside, how does this live action remake shape up? The problem with most of these live action remakes is that these characters and this story were specifically designed to be represented in animation. The Princess entries kind of get away with that as most of their central characters are human so they’re not as jarring of an interpretation. Anything that focuses on fully cgi lead characters loses a lot of personality and charm in contrast to the animated version. It often looks wrong. The way Pleakley looks in this movie is one of the ugliest character designs in recent memory. No wonder they felt like they couldn’t make Pleakley in a dress work. With Gantu being absent from this remake, Jumbaa is given an extended and more antagonistic leaning role. His design is also disgusting. These two characters are the most changed from the original animated movie. While the animated version of the character is better, the interpretation in this film by Billy Magnussen does feel distinct and succeeds in its own way. Jumbaa on the other hand becomes less interesting and more annoying. Constant lame assertions about his own genius and a total lack of dominating presence in comparison to the animated version. It works having the aliens cosplay as humans in the animated version because it’s a cartoon and the suspension of disbelief is higher. That being said, Stitch looks fine. Nothing great, but nothing that torpedos the movie. There’s not a lot of new bits with Stitch. He’s mostly just doing the exact same thing he did before. There’s a whole liar revealed cliche added into this version’s climax. There’s no ugly duckling storybook relatable appeal. Stitch was intended to be portrayed in animation and just telling the exact same story only twenty years later is underwhelming and a waste of one of Disney’s most iconic characters.  Child actors are usually not good. Maia Kealoha does not buck this trend. Sometimes it’s hard to understand what she’s saying in the movie. It’s easier in animation because all you need is the voice of the child which can be done by an adult. It would've been nice to see Lilo remain a brat if she wasn’t so annoying. Kealoha fails to land many of the classic jokes. For most people it will just be enough that she just a cute little kid who loves her dog thing.
It wouldn’t be a Disney live action remake if we didn’t need to beef up some of the female roles. In this adaptation, Nani is a genius who is being offered full ride scholarships to colleges for marine biology. The main struggle of the film is Nani trying to keep their family together with the social workers breathing down her neck. It’s understandable to want to take care of your sibling at all costs, but this unnecessary change in her situation makes her conflict less interesting. How is she smart enough to be offered a full ride, but ignorant enough to force herself to stay home to poorly raise her sister while she financially drowns. The performance by Sydney Agudong is solid. Courtney B. Vance as Cobra Bubbles is a much smaller and more mustachioed this time around. His role in the script is kind of minimized here too as there’s multiple social workers on their case. Tia Carrere is the initial social worker who acts as a mentor figure for Nani helping her set goals to maintain her guardianship. This role feels redundant as there’s another new character who has a similar female role model vibe to her as well. Amy Hill plays Tutu who is an old lady character from the original. Nobody is more beefed up as a character here than her. She’s also the funniest character in the movie. The jokes she makes aren’t incredibly funny, but in contrast to the rest of the jokes in the movie her jokes are new. Every other joke is straight out of the original so it’s refreshing to see something I haven’t already seen in a better movie before. She’s also made into the parent of David, Nani’s romantic interest. David is made dumber here because it’s important for these live action remakes that the men are dumber and the women are smarter than they were before. Take that, patriarchy! It’s impossible to watch this live action remake and not compare it to the original. Especially when the movie is so desperately trying to recreate the original as opposed to making it their own. Families will enjoy this because the parents like the original and the kids will enjoy the little blue alien guy. It just feels like a lifeless adaptation that is a complete waste of time. Luckily there’s a Mission Impossible movie out this weekend so if you have a brain then you should go see that instead. Save this one for a lazy at home Disney plus half watch while you’re on your phone. That’s what it was made for. Lilo & Stitch will be in theaters on May 23. Rating: 1/5 |