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Review by Adam Donato  A24 is back at it again doing what they do best, giving an aspiring filmmaker an opportunity to show what they got. Eva Victor is the writer, director, and star of Sorry, Baby. She plays a young woman who is the victim of a crime and goes on an internal journey to cope with her trauma. The film appears to be slated for a limited release later this month, so it will take good word of mouth to get this movie to spread. Especially with no major movie stars involved. Maybe it will have to wait until awards season to get some recognition. That is, if it’s good enough to garner awards nominations. Sorry, Baby is produced by Barry Jenkins, who apparently discovered Victor. He got to work closely with her during post production. Victor also got to shadow Jane Schoenbrun on I Saw The TV Glow. It’s clear that Victor was surrounded by talented people and their efforts clearly bore fruit here. This film really acts as a solid foundation for the rest of Victor’s career. This entire movie is on her shoulders and she delivers a story that feels vulnerable and genuine. The character feels autobiographical and she has plenty of personality to carry the film. It will be interesting to see what direction she goes in going forward because she seems to have a good handle on contrasting tones. While the subject matter here can be very dark sometimes, there’s a defensive sense of humor that keeps the audience going throughout. Some audiences may have a hard time finding the humor in the film due to the dark subject matter, but it’s done with a purpose and tastefully.  There’s some wonderful supporting performances here. Naomi Ackie already made her mark in 2025 with Mickey 17, but her role as the best friend here keeps the ball rolling well for her. The duo share good chemistry and feel like they’ve been friends forever. Kelly McCormack steals every scene she’s in as this stress riddled peer of our protagonist. Lucas Hedges is similarly awkward and hilarious in the film. John Carroll Lynch has a lone scene that helps put the entire film into perspective. Louis Cancelmi has little to do and is the weakest element of the film.
The film explores themes about the inadequacy of the systems at bay to handle complicated situations like the one depicted in the film. There’s two impactful scenes in particular where the protagonist goes to the doctor and goes to jury duty. These scenes expertly highlight how futile our efforts for justice can feel. There’s a dark sense of humor in these scenes that feels sarcastic. It’s terrible the position that women like this are put in on a regular basis and calls to attention how we as people can feel powerless. This is an uncomfortable film that puts you in the shoes of a victim put in an impossible situation. It wouldn’t be surprising to see this film mentioned in people’s best of the year list or get some nominations. Movies like this are why it’s important to take a swing at new filmmakers with new stories. Check it out in theaters if you have the chance. Sorry, Baby will be nationwide on July 25. Rating: 4/5
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Review by Camden Ferrell  In this new age of nostalgia-fueled cinema, yet another horror franchise is taking a stab at new life. The latest in a recent trend of legacy sequels (or “requels” depending on your persuasion) is the new movie I Know What You Did Last Summer. Directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, this horror movie is heavily flawed but still provides decent summer thrills with better kills and more daring narrative choices than the original film. Much like the original, this movie follows a group of friends who accidentally cause a car crash that results in a fatality. Together, they make a pact to never reveal what happened on that fateful night. One year later, they find themselves being hunted by an anonymous killer, seeking revenge for what happened that night. It treads very similar ground to the original even down to the character archetypes, so it imposes on itself the need to subvert expectations lest the audience lose interest. And even though it still remains a mostly predictable thriller, one must acknowledge the conscious effort taken to give viewers a different experience than the original. Written by Sam Lansky and Robinson, the movie excels most when it leans into its gruesome deaths and twist reveals. When adapting a modern horror favorite, there's a delicate balancing act in honoring the original while also keeping audiences guessing. For the most part, Lansky and Robinson deliver on this goal despite some painfully noticeable missteps that might ruin the movie for astute viewers. However, the main weakness of this movie comes in its attempt to appeal and relate to this new generation of movie goers. For this new generation, they made sure to mention crypto, life-coaches, memes, podcasters, and many more Gen Z-isms. This attempt to speak to a new generation comes off as disingenuous and exacerbates some of the writing problems that occur in between the admittedly cool kill scenes.  Unfortunately, this new cast lacks the talent and charisma that the original had. It’s unclear who is to blame for this, but this new ensemble of characters delivers some mediocre performances, some of which teeter towards caricature. While it’s not the entire foundation of the movie, it’s hard to feel fully invested when the performances stand out for less than stellar reasons. Being a legacy sequel, we are treated to some supporting performances from the original cast, and they are easily the highlight as far as acting goes. They seamlessly step back into their roles and provide a beacon of light in an otherwise forgettable ensemble.
One of the more interesting aspects of this movie was how it capitalized on its potential as a requel to discuss the generational impacts of trauma and legacy. It doesn’t dive deep enough for my liking, but I was pleasantly surprised with how poignantly it illustrated the ways in which the events of 1997 still bleed into the present day for this town, whether its characters want to acknowledge it or not. Pair this with some significantly more gruesome violence and some bold narrative swings, and you have a legacy sequel that feels like just a little more than a nostalgia cash grab. I Know What You Did Last Summer will definitely please fans of the original while also justifying its existence more often than not. It has some glaring flaws that are impossible to ignore even for a summer slasher, but it’s still a fun time at the theaters for fans of the horror. Now, we shall sit back and see if time is as kind to this legacy sequel as it was to its predecessor. I Know What You Did Last Summer is in theaters July 18. Rating: 3/5 Review by Adam Donato  The superhero genre has gone through a lot since the last Superman solo film. Marvel fatigue and DC’s reset button have had people questioning the future of the genre. James Gunn is now becoming a main character in the history of modern superhero movies. From the surprise hit of the Guardians of the Galaxy to the firing over insensitive tweets to joining the opposition with The Suicide Squad. After Gunn was allowed to finish his Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, he was given the keys to the DC castle. His first big move being a solo Superman film written and directed by himself. There’s a ton of pressure on Gunn to deliver here. The future of the superhero genre hinges on the success of Superman. May God have mercy on our souls. Superman is a home run of a film. It perfectly captures the essence of the character that Christopher Reeve brought, but with the new age special effects of Snyder Superman. It’s crazy how the reaction to both iterations is inherently baked into the new movie that we got today. This movie is shorter and more action heavy than the Reeve Superman. It’s also more fun and relatable than Snyder's Superman. It really feels like the perfect balance was struck here. While Marvel feels like they’re scraping the bottom of the barrel this year with a successor Captain America and a new Avengers lineup solely made up of super soldiers with depression, Superman is a glowing reminder of what the foundation of superhero movies are. After a dark and gritty Superman in the DCEU, Gunn needed to deliver something fun and likable, which he delivers in droves. The cast is wonderful. David Corenswet will undoubtedly replace Reeve as their Superman for some people. He’s vulnerable and above all, human. He’s funny in a dork boy kind of way. His costume pops and is very bright. It’s similar to The Batman in that since this movie focuses mainly on the superhero side of the alter ego, we don’t get to spend much time with the standard human counterpart. What scenes we do get of Clark Kent are cute, but we’re not too worried about fleshing out that side of him here. This Superman feels straight out of the cartoons and comics. People come to these movies to see super-powered characters in cool costumes fighting bad guys. That’s all this movie is.  Rachel Brosnahan slips into the Lois Lane role perfectly. Her private moments with Superman are some of the best stuff in the movie. She’s very headstrong and beautiful in the way that the character should be. There’s a great chemistry between Brosnahan and Corenswet that adds a steamy layer of romance to this fun popcorn flick. Nicholas Hoult also has a featured role as Lex Luthor. He’s not as nutty as Jesse Eisenberg, not as whimsical as Gene Hackman, but more active than Kevin Spacey. He’s got this cartoonish intensity to him the whole time. Since the world is more lived in at this point, his villainous plans are more in depth. There’s sequences where he’s fighting Superman like he’s playing a video game. He’s shouting combo moves for his goons to control the super powered monster Lex has created. The more unhinged he gets as the movie goes along, the better his performance is for it.
A couple standout side characters to note are Mr. Terrific and Jimmy Olsen. Mr. Terrific is played by Edi Gathegi, who previously got his role in X-men: First Class totally shafted now gets a second chance. He has a featured fight sequence that feels like the most Gunn sequence in the movie. It’s clear that Gunn was trying to limit the usage of needle drops, but when he does utilize it then it’s a lot of fun. The character of Mr. Terrific has a cool costume, fun personality, and is one of the more proactive characters in the movie. Speaking of proactive, Jimmy Olsen has never been more important. Skyler Gisondo really makes the character his own. It’s such a great choice as he’s been one of the thriving comedic character actors as of late. Olsen’s relationship with Luthor’s ditsy squeeze Eve Teschmacher is one of the funnier bits in the movie. Also, shoutout to Wendell Pierce, Isabela Merced, and Nathan Fillion. All very fun roles to fill out this new universe. Gunn clearly has his finger on the pulse of this character and universe. Superman is the savior that the genre needed. These renditions of these characters are set to rival the best that the genre has to offer. This is sure to be the movie of the summer. An absolute home run. Out of the park. Be sure to catch this in a theater on the biggest screen possible. Superman will be in theaters on July 11. Rating: 5/5 Review by Daniel Lima  “They just don’t make them like they used to.” These days I find myself thinking this about almost everything: cars, electronics, news publications, social policies. This particular lamentation feels the most powerful when I watch an old Hong Kong action movie, see the ornate choreography and death-defying stunt work, and realize that silly notions like unions and workplace safety mean these could never be made today. The closest that contemporary cinema comes to scratching that itch are the mainland Chinese streaming releases. Nine-Ring Golden Dagger is the latest example to get a stateside release from Well Go, and another solid example of recapturing a bit of that past glory. The Generals of the Yang Family is less an individual epic story, and more a collage of different fictional accounts of the life of the very real General Yang Ye and his descendants across the 10th and 11th centuries. In this particular tale, two of his daughters seek to recover his blade from the enemy forces that killed him. Pursued by this foreign army, they hole up at an inn owned by a sympathetic wine seller, and plan an escape home. It is important to note that General Yang Ye served the Han-ruled Northern Song Dynasty, and died fighting the Khitan-ruled Liao Dynasty (the Khitans being a nomadic steppe people that later assimilated into the Mongols). The film uses the term “Northern Expedition” to define the war he fought in, a term more commonly used for the war for reunification waged by the Republic of China in the 1930’s. Thus, the film makes a connection between the border wars of dynasties past, and the building of the modern nation state of China.  I freely admit that I am by no means an expert on Chinese history or culture, and plenty may have gone over my head. That being said, it is clear that this film furthers the notion of Han ethnic supremacy within China, and the idea that China is a distinct Han nation state. For centuries, the steppes people and other ethnic minorities within China have been portrayed as barbarian, and in this film the Han that administered the Han-dominated southern part of the Liao territory are treated as traitors of kind and country. It strikes me as an ahistorical way of framing this history, more interested in toeing present-day nationalist rhetoric than capturing life at the time.
If it seems I’m more overly concerned with the political messaging of the film than the characters, there’s a reason for that: so is the movie. Largely a cast of unknowns and supporting players who have been working the past couple decades, the actors are given precious little to work with in bringing these people to life. The bad guys are unambiguously evil, the good guys are valiant and very concerned with honor and national pride, and the one comic relief guy bumbles around oafishly. It’s not even worth learning their names. Fortunately, a good chunk of the film is just action set pieces, and on that front it delivers. Though the film takes place almost entirely in one location, there is clear thought in differentiating the fight scenes through the goals of the fighters, the weapons they use as well as how they manipulate the environment, and the tone of the bouts. Rather than the steady, long take medium shots that have to typify the best American action direction for the past decade, the film hearkens back to an older tradition: close ups to emphasize attacks, cutting to generate a sense of momentum, a mobile camera. Most importantly, the wushu-based choreography is beautiful to behold, and every instance of wire work brought a smile to my face. It may not stand out too much among its mainland Chinese DTV peers, but it’s certainly a cut above its contemporaries here. It might seem like this is very faint praise for an otherwise problematic movie, but it must be emphasized that at about ninety minutes, most of Nine-Ring Golden Dagger is devoted to the action. The fact that it succeeds in artfully delivering some gratifying fights at a time when so few films do is enough keep it constantly engaging. Though the aims of its propaganda are insidious to say the least, even then there is something interesting in how history from over a millennia ago is adapted to reflect modern values, as defined by the CCP. Even if its hard to stomach, there’s nothing like a three-on-one spear and sword fight to provide some relief. Nine-Ring Golden Dagger is now available on digital and home video. Rating: 4/5 Review by Jonathan Berk  Five years ago, Netflix dropped The Old Guard, and it was exactly what the pandemic needed. It was pure escapism with chaotic comicbook action, directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and starring Charlize Theron, KiKi Layne, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, among others. Five years later, the core cast returns for The Old Guard 2 — but this time, they are joined by Uma Thurman, and Victoria Mahoney steps in to direct. It is Mahoney’s first feature film since Yelling to the Sky (2011), and her first action movie. Five years is a long time to wait for a direct sequel, and this one doesn’t quite reignite the joy the first film brought audiences during those dark times. That’s not to say it’s bad, but it’s not quite as impactful. Andy (Charlize Theron) and her team of immortal warriors have renewed their passion to protect the world. With Booker (Matthias Schoenaerts) — surely you still remember then entire team after waiting five years — still in exile after his betrayal, and Quynh (Veronica Ngô) out for revenge after escaping her underwater prison, Andy grapples with her newfound mortality…again…(a detail surely you remember like it was yesterday) as a mysterious threat emerges which could jeopardize everything she’s worked towards for thousands of years. Both new alliances and old must be forged if the team is to overcome the obstacles placed before them. Of course, the biggest obstacle that Mahoney has to overcome is the sheer amount of lore this property asks of its viewers to process and recall. There are many rules in this world, and if you haven’t seen the first film since it debuted on Netflix during the pandemic, then there is a good chance you’ll be scratching your head trying to remember it all. This movie attempts to bring you up to speed with what happened while introducing the relevant details for the continued adventures of this immortal squad, but it struggles to find the right balance. What it has going for it, however, is that the premise and setting for the story are inherently compelling. Additionally, Theron simply demands you pay attention.  If you’re here for the cast, then you will likely be satisfied. Theron and Ejiofor are always going to yield something worth watching when they are cast in nearly any role. Layne is committed to her performance and stands toe-to-toe with the bigger names around her. Thurman is underutilized, but very solid. I truly appreciated the nod to some of her other iconic roles with her character in this one. Ngô gets more to do in this film, but I honestly didn’t remember her much from the first. The rest of the returning cast takes a little longer to remind me that I liked them in the first film, as they just aren’t as recognizable. The other significant addition to this film is Henry Golding, who I just can’t help but keep rooting for, as his charm and presence are undeniable. He is solid here, but, like Thurman, is slightly underused. The cast isn’t quite enough to push this movie over the edge and return it to the heights of the first. There is enough action present, and a good use of the Immortal's abilities is showcased throughout. However, the noticeably lower budget and difference in the director’s style hurt the overall product a bit. Fortunately, the performances and the drama between the characters with an extensive history are compelling, especially within the fantastical world.  Yet, this film still manages to suffer from a franchise folly that has been the bane of many comic book movies: they forgot to tell a complete, satisfying story. Instead, this film is more concerned with setting up the next entry and expanding the world-building rather than focusing on creating a solid, single-serving movie.
Overall, The Old Guard 2 isn’t able to live up to the original. However, it doesn’t overstay its welcome, and delivers enough of what worked in the first film to scratch the residual itch some audiences may have had. Of course, it’s also possible that, much like masking in public, this franchise is a forgotten relic of the pandemic. I found it overall to be watchable, and not as bad as many other forced sequels have been. The Old Guard 2 is streaming on Netflix on July 2. Rating: 2.5/5 |