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Review by Jonathan Berk  Wes Anderson's new film, The Phoenician Scheme, is full of his familiar style and flair. Despite the similarities his twelfth film shares with its predecessors, Anderson takes the time to experiment with the addition of new elements to liven up his impeccable production design. Much like his style, the film is full of familiar faces, but even there, we discover the inclusion of a new actor among his usual suspects that feels like a long-lost love. Fans of Anderson should find his newest film to be a triumph, and walk out feeling satiated. Zsa-zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro) has survived many plane crashes. The latest one felt a little too close, and he decides it's time to embrace an heir. He looks to his estranged daughter, Liesl (Mia Threapleton), to take over his vast empire. However, her eyes are set on a different kingdom: that of heaven, as she plans to take her vows in the coming weeks. The two set out to acquire funding for his greatest plan to date, which will secure his legacy and wealth for years to come. While Anderson is often praised for his set design, costumes, staging, and overall camerawork in his films, he rarely tackles action. Often settling for witty dialogue between characters, the few moments of action in his new film apparently opened the path to some new ideas. On multiple occasions, a POV camera is utilized to show the impact of some hits that have a similar comedic tone to the often biting sarcasm found in the dialogue. It was fun seeing the established auteur try some new things. Anderson clearly has a strong rapport with many actors who have worked with him over the years, based mainly on their frequency of return. Del Toro's section of The French Dispatch was one of the stronger elements of that anthology-style story. He fits into the quirky spaces that Anderson builds perfectly, and this pairing really finds its footing here. The deadpan delivery and odd timing fit del Toro's style perfectly. Not only is he a compelling screen presence easily able to carry the film, but he's just a total blast as this character.  Threapleton is a new player in Anderson's troupe, but feels like an instant fit. The chemistry – or intentional absence of it, in moments – with del Toro truly works well. Their relationship is the centerpiece of the story, and if you didn't buy their connection, the film would fall apart. Fortunately, they work together perfectly throughout the film, and they are dynamite on screen together.
While Threapleton is incredible, the true shock was seeing that Michael Cera had never worked with Anderson before. If ever there was a match made in Heaven, it is this one. Cera's natural awkwardness feels like it is the mold in which Anderson used to craft many other characters in his oeuvre. Cera is the tutor that Zsa-zsa keeps around, who gets a promotion to assistant when the journey begins. He is ever present and used perfectly to interject a variety of emotions. It's great seeing Cera flex his comedic chops and acting prowess in a Wes Anderson world. There are many familiar and famous faces sprinkled throughout the film. Some are clearly visible in the marketing, while others may be a welcome surprise. The film is a globetrotting epic set to a svelte 102 minutes. Some of those faces show up for mere seconds, while others play integral moments that people will walk out talking about. It's likely everyone will have that one scene that really clicks because you just couldn't stop laughing. Similar to Asteroid City, Anderson employs a B-story that is black and white. It's by far one of the most layered elements of the film, and will require some true reflection to decide what, if anything, Anderson was thinking about. The scenes have the potential to have deep, existential meanings, but also offer some of the best cameos. The Phoenician Scheme is Anderson's best film since The Grand Budapest Hotel – and I liked Isle of Dogs, The French Dispatch, and Asteroid City. This film is so propulsive and full of laughs, it’s undeniable. The characters have depth, the jokes pay off, the cast is on point, and Anderson's aesthetic is immaculate as ever. There are allusions to films of the past and a world long forgotten; yet, at the heart, it's about a father and his daughter. The Phoenician Scheme will be in theaters on May 30. Rating: 4.5/5
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Review by Adam Donato  In hindsight, it’s crazy they never made a sixth installment in the franchise until now. The fifth film had the best reviews in the franchise up until that point and still made almost four times its budget. For a franchise that isn’t overly concerned with the overarching storyline, what’s stopping them from conjuring up more elaborate deaths to make up a movie. Delays and a writers strike contributed to this gap in the franchise. Over a decade later, how will the franchise fare with audiences? The opening sequence of the film is the best of the entire franchise. It’s so well laid out and utterly epic. People come to these movies to have fun with these death sequences. It’s scary for the paranoid and superstitious, gross out for the sickos, and funny for the morbid. The third act has some big time deaths, but the second act is really where the film slows down with its scares. Obviously, the Final Destination franchise is pretty low bar and formulaic, but one way that it stands above the rest is there are some likeable characters and interesting ideas at play. A particular standout character is played by Richard Harmon. He literally takes over the movie to a good bit in the middle. A moderately funny character with an amount of depth. This is the first major theatrical role for Kaitlyn Santa Juana and she held her own as the lead. It would be criminal to not shoutout the late Tony Todd. His scene in the film is hands down the most genuine moment of the entire franchise.  The story plays out pretty much the same as the entire franchise, but this is clearly a system that works. Our main character starts having the same horrific dream every night and goes on a journey to uncover the traumatic past of her family. It’s effective seeing this already damaged family absolutely crumble from within. It’s not an ocean, but the Final Destination movies have been swimming in one of those small plastic dog pools so we will take it.
Final Destination: Bloodlines is going to gain a lot of goodwill for resurrecting the franchise, but still come closer to the middle than the front of the pack of this year's horror movie slate. It delivers the good with the stuff you pay to see and doesn’t drop dead when people aren’t actively dying on screen. The box office should be competitive with the wake of Sinners's good word of mouth, but every other horror entry out now is a dud and there isn’t another major horror release until M3GAN 2.0 in late June. There could easily be one of these every couple years. It will satisfy critics and embolden fans of the franchise already. Final Destination: Bloodlines is in theaters now. Rating: 3/5 Review by Camden Ferrell  Spending the last few years mostly directing music videos, Alex Ross Perry hasn’t made a solo feature since his 2018 film Her Smell. His triumphant return to the big screen is a perplexing movie about an equally perplexing band, and it’s a project that is unexpected but absolutely catered to his abilities as a filmmaker. Pavements is a borderline experimental documentary about the legendary indie band Pavement. It’s a creative and endlessly entertaining effort that shines a light on the band’s legacy while also intentionally clouding their history. This movie combines aspects of traditional documentary filmmaking with elements of musical biopics to tell the story of Pavement. It follows the band as they prepare for a new set of concerts, the actors who are portraying the band in a biopic, a museum exhibition for the band, and the production of a stage musical based on the band’s music. If this sounds like a lot, it’s because it is. However, among all of this chaos, Perry is able to find something beautiful and lost that he attempts to dig out for the world to see. Written by Perry, I couldn’t begin to imagine how one would craft this final product. From the initial moments of the film, it’s clear that it is an ambitious film that also still feels analogous to what the band stood for. The way he blends different styles of filmmaking while also imbuing it with biting wit and irony is impressive. He’s able to do exactly what a Pavement movie requires, and the final product is charming, eccentric, occasionally funny, and energetic.  The members of the band like Stephen Malkmus seem fully game for what the movie is aiming for, and it’s a real-world connection that allows this movie to still feel somewhat grounded amidst its madness. I found that the biopic segments benefit greatly from the meta-approach of actors like Joe Keery, Nat Wolff, and Jason Schwartzman to name a few, and it’s one of the many things that allow this movie to feel so unique. Everyone involved in this product feels like they’re all in on some joke the audience doesn’t know, and it works to strange effect.
While I am impressed with how this was actually pulled off in the end, it doesn’t necessarily forgive the fact that even the movie can feel a bit lost in its own craziness at times. Sometimes the lack of precise cohesion is an artistic choice, but sometimes it’s a flaw. Despite that, I believe we are lucky that such a movie exists especially as a fan of Pavement, and Perry has done what many other filmmakers likely couldn’t with his first feature in years. Pavements is a must-watch movie for fans of the band, and it might also prove to be entertaining for novices too. It’s an ambitious piece of documentary (this term is being used loosely) filmmaking that pokes fun at itself while also still being an earnest piece of media. It’s not the movie we expected for Pavement, but it’s the one we deserve, and we should be so lucky that it exists. Pavements is in select theaters now with a wide release on June 6. Rating: 4/5 Review by Camden Ferrell  This year, Norwegian writer and director Dag Johan Haugerud is attempting something very ambitious. He is releasing a trilogy of films that is currently being dubbed as The Oslo Trilogy. This first of the trilogy being released is Love. This movie had its premiere at the 2024 Venice Film Festival. This movie is a tender portrait of romance and connection in modern day Oslo, and it handles its themes with maturity, delicacy, and humanity. In Oslo, Marianne is a physician, and Tor is the nurse who works with her. After an encounter together on a ferry where they discuss the ways in which they seek and receive intimacy, and it sparks something in both of their respective lives. The movie is less concerned with plot and more fascinated with the minutiae of modern dating and romance as its characters, sometimes aimlessly, seek pleasure and love in their own unique ways. It’s an interesting character study that uses contemporary attitudes about sex and love to truly explore its characters. Written by Haugerud, the movie excels most when he allows himself to write, almost as if on autopilot. He is able to write in depth conversations about his main themes but in a way that is accessible, realistic, and insightful. Much like other similar movies that came before it, the movie is at its best when he gives his characters and more importantly their dialogue room to breathe. Its meandering nature is exactly what makes this such a compelling watch. Now for all of its merits, I will say that the one main flaw with this movie is that there are some scenes where the discussions aren’t particularly compelling compared to what came before, and it slightly spoils the flow of the final product.  The movie is led by Andrea Bræin Hovig and Tayo Cittadella Jacobsen who play Marianne and Tor, respectively. They both are excellent in their roles, and while they have good chemistry together, most of their scenes are with other people. Their dynamic is an interesting one that I wish was explored a little more, but I still found their chemistry with the rest of the ensemble authentic and engaging. They handle their long unbroken scenes with ease and bring natural energy to the scene without sacrificing the depth of the movie’s themes.
Cecilie Semec does a great job as the movie’s cinematographer. The movie is shot in a way that makes the most use of its long takes while also understanding how to make the most of a minimalist vision. It showcases Norway in a subtle yet beautiful way to really illustrate not just the times but the location of its story. It’s a delicate job done that perfectly matches the emotions of its story. It’s simple, but it’s also undeniably reserved and tender. Love is a great project that gives me hope in the rest of the trilogy this summer. It may remind me of many great movies that came before, but it also feels wholly unique in no small part due to its cast, location, and visuals. If you surrender yourself to the director’s meticulous and slow pacing, you will likely find yourself enthralled with the characters and the sneaking ways in which love and romance reveal their complexity. Love is in theaters May 16. Rating: 4/5 Review by Adam Donato  Most social butterflies can relate to the experience of trying out a friendship with a new person and realizing you don’t click. Even more outcasts can relate to finally making a connection and then getting ghosted seemingly out of nowhere. Friendship is a film that showcases the fallout of a social situation like that. A relatable concept that will have audiences laughing because it hurts. From television director Andrew DeYoung comes his directorial feature debut. He’s lucky enough to be paired with comedic superstar Tim Robinson and timelessly likable Paul Rudd. With some duds under A24’s name this year so far, can Friendship be a breakout hit? Tim Robinson is most known for his show I Think You Should Leave. Even if you don’t watch the show, you must’ve been exposed to some of the more popular bits. He’s such an animated comedian and his delivery is second to none right now. In Friendship, he’s not doing something wildly different from what he normally does, but he perfectly masters his specific comedic shtick. This is his first major film exposure outside of his brief voice performance in Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers. Going forward, it will be interesting to see how his comedy evolves and if he can channel his raw energy into an Adam Sandler Uncut Gems type performance. His character here is so pathetic and enduring. It will have you cringing with laughter, but also sympathizing with this poor guy who just wants to have a friend.  This isn’t Paul Russ’s first A24 film of the year as Death of a Unicorn failed to score at the box office. His character is so cool, right down to the fact that he up front tells Robinson’s character politely that he doesn’t want to hang out. Nobody likes a break up and it’s admirable that he is upfront and honest. Both him and Robinson are very funny and very relatable in opposite ways. Kate Mara and Jack Dylan Grazer play the wife and son of Robinson’s character. Mara’s performance is very straight and the film is not as engaging when they’re focusing on their marriage dynamic. Dylan Grazer is totally underutilized for how funny of a young actor he is. Also a shoutout to Connor O’Malley who delivers the funniest line in the movie.
With a slow roll out release date, word of mouth is sure to carry Friendship to the promised land. It’s wall to wall funny that had the entire screening in stitches. Robinson clearly has that It factor right now and this performance should expose more people to his brand of comedy. This is a much needed win for Paul Rudd who can use the street cred right now as most blockbuster fans still have the bad taste of the Ant Man and Ghostbusters sequels in their mouth. Be sure to catch Friendship in a theater as it is far and away the funniest film of the year thus far. Friendship is in theaters now and expanding on May 23. Rating: 5/5 |