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Review by Sean Boelman  (L-R): Auli'i Cravalho as Capri and Riele Downs as Darby Harper in 20th Century Studios' DARBY AND THE DEAD, exclusively on Hulu. Photo by Marcos Cruz. © 2022 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved. It doesn’t take much for a teen comedy to work — a charming lead, some witty dialogue, and characters that feel genuinely relatable. Unfortunately for Darby of the Dead, the film lacks two out of three of those qualities, letting down its potentially great lead in an almost embarrassing way. The movie follows a high school outcast who has the ability to communicate with the spirits of the deceased, as she meets her match when the school’s most popular girl dies in a tragic accident. It’s an intriguing premise that, at minimum, should have made for something cute, but the script is so full of cliches that it’s difficult to enjoy. The film’s painfully obvious metaphor becomes clear in the second act, as the protagonist gives up her invisible life and her foil has to learn to cope with not being seen by anyone else. The movie clearly thinks that it's a refreshing, innovative take on the teen comedy, but it’s simply derivative of much better films that have come before. As one would expect, much of the humor in the movie is the typical fish-out-of-water material that we see in the genre time and time again. We are supposed to laugh at the fact that this “dorky” girl is doing things typically reserved for the popular girls, like cheerleading and dating, and showing them up. And honestly — it’s more frequently cringe-worthy than it is funny.  (L-R): Riele Downs as Darby Harper, Asher Angel as James and Auli'i Cravalho as Capri in 20th Century Studios' DARBY AND THE DEAD, exclusively on Hulu. Photo by Marcos Cruz. © 2022 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved. It’s hard not to feel bad for Riele Downs, who is clearly a talented actress, but the role gives her absolutely nothing to do. This could have been a star-making turn for her, yet the movie and character are so insufferable that her career could be over before it even really begins. It’s a shame because she shows true potential.
In terms of the more established names in the cast, only Auli’i Carvalho (Moana) isn’t wasted. Although she’s playing a generic mean girl, she’s at least moderately fun to watch in the role. On the other hand, screen legends Wayne Knight and Tony Danza show up for small bit parts and are completely insignificant in the film. One would hope that the movie would have leaned into the horror-esque aspects of the premise, but it’s shot like a generic comedy. There’s nothing particularly ghostly about the spirits the protagonist interacts with, and even as little as a bit of makeup and costuming work could have given the film more of a personality. Darby and the Dead is, unfortunately, one of the worst teen comedies in recent memory. So insultingly cliche-ridden that it feels like it was made by an algorithm rather than actual people, the movie seems unlikely to appease even the teenage audience it was designed to appease. Darby and the Dead streams on Hulu beginning December 2. Rating: 1/5
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Review by Dan Skip Allen  (L-R): Dove (Ellie Bamber), Kit (Ruby Cruz), Boorman (Amar Chadha-Patel), Graydon (Tony Revolori) and Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis) in Lucasfilm's WILLOW exclusively on Disney+. ©2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved. Willow was a fantasy-adventure movie made by Lucasfilm and directed by Ron Howard, not George Lucas or Stephen Spielberg, which in this era of Lucasfilm was a surprise. The Star Wars and Indiana Jones films were a part of the bedrock of this studio. Willow, on the other hand, was a fun movie with breakout performances from Val Kilmer and its title actor Warwick Davis. It brought me and others my age to a place and time like no other. When Disney bought Lucasfilm, I had no idea we would return to the magical world of Willow. I'm very glad we are in the form of a Disney+ Series. Willow follows a group of unlikely heroes on a journey across many lands to find a young prince kidnapped by the evil Croan, the leader of a band of malformed men. She wants to bring darkness to the land. Kit (Ruby Cruz) is a princess with a fighting spirit, Jade (Erin Kellyman) is her trusted friend and companion, Dove (Ellie Bamber) is a kitchen hand with a secret, and a few others are led by Willow Ufgood (Warrick Davis). Together, this band of misfits goes on a paralysis mission. I never knew I would ever get another trip to the wonderful world George Lucas and Ron Howard created all those years ago, but I have. The episodes I have seen so far were enough for me to be fully invested in this show. It has gotten off to a good start. A series like this needs to hook those watching it, and this one did that in two different ways. The first is by giving some backstory between the film and the new series, and the other is by creating a new adventure I can get behind involving some new and exciting characters.  (L-R): Kit (Ruby Cruz), Jade (Erin Kellyman), Boorman (Amar Chadha-Patel) and Graydon (Tony Revolori) in Lucasfilm's WILLOW exclusively on Disney+. ©2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved. With a series like Willow or any fantasy adventure film or television series, you have to have a beautiful world to create if you are the showrunner or filmmaker. The writer must expand on the mythos of the world in which the show or film exists. In this case, the writer and creator of the series, Jonathan Kasden, has added new threats to these characters and tried to expand on this wonderful world created by Lucas and Howard. The show was filmed in Wales, adding an element of beauty to a series that already has enough going for it.
The character development in the series so far is excellent. Focusing on the woman in the show, the creator Kasdan wants to convey female empowerment. That sort of thing is going around a lot in Hollywood these days. These three female leads have shown a lot of panache and spunk, making them all very interesting to follow in the series. Each of their arcs will be different, but it will be fascinating to see where they lead. They all have different journey's that they are on while all still being part of a fellowship together. In an era of reboots and sequels, Lucasfilm under Disney hasn't had the best track record. A few Star Wars films and streaming series have been good, but not all of them. From what I've seen, Willow is headed in a positive direction. With Kasdan, the son of legendary filmmaker Lawrence Kasdan, at the helm, this show is in the right hands. With Warrick Davis returning, it seems like he has gotten invested in this series from the start. That's a good sign. Willow is now streaming on Disney+. New episodes air subsequent Wednesdays. Three out of eight episodes reviewed. Rating: 4/5 Review by Camden Ferrell  Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, it’s time to focus on the holiday season, and that means an abundance of Christmas movies for audiences to see. One such movie is Violent Night. From director Tommy Wirkola, this promises to be a different type of Christmas movie that may surprise you in more ways than one. While on the surface, it can be a fairly basic and cheesy homage to movies like Die Hard and Home Alone, this movie doesn’t pull its punches when it comes to its gory violence or foul humor. This movie follows the one and only Santa Claus. However, this isn’t the jolly old man we loved as kids. In this movie, Santa, despite being dedicated to what he does, is a heavy drinker and a cynical and snarky person. One Christmas eve, he finds himself trying to fight off a group of mercenaries as they try and steal a fortune from a wealthy family. As mentioned before, this movie utilizes tropes and ideas from other holiday movies, but it still has a lot of fun with it. The script is hit or miss for the most part. It has the standard forced Christmas dialogue you can expect, but what was unexpected was the plethora of swears and crude jokes made between the family, the mercenaries, and Santa. It’s quite predictable with its plot, but it does have a lot of fun with its premise and inspirations and is an enjoyable basis for the movie.  The performances this from this movie may not be impressive, but it’s clear how much fun literally every person is having. The movie is led by David Harbour who finally gives us his first really solid leading performance as Santa. He is quite funny throughout and excels with all of the action and violence. The supporting cast is also surprisingly strong consisting of but not limited to John Leguizamo, Alex Hassell, and Edi Patterson. Everyone has great chemistry and is going insane on screen with the movie’s R rating.
What stands out most about this movie is how far it’s willing to push its over the top and bloody violence. There are several great action scenes and fight scenes that are hilariously and captivatingly graphic. There is no shortage of blood or creative manners of killing from Santa and everyone else. This aspect is what really made the movie enjoyable and made it stand out in the genre. There are a handful of violent moments that catch you off guard and are entirely delightful to see with a crowd of people. Take away the swearing and blood, and you’re left with an average Christmas movie, but Violent Night knows what the movie needs to be a truly fun time at the theater. It can get a bit slow towards the middle, but its exhilarating and violent final act makes up for that easily. This is definitely a movie to watch without young children, and if you go in expecting a fun and violent holiday flick, you’ll be satisfied. Violent Night is in theaters December 2. Rating: 3.5/5 Review by Cole Groth  Courtesy of IFC Films. An IFC Films release. The opening shot of Four Samosas immediately reveals what we can expect from the goofy, slightly forgettable comedy/heist film from second-time director Ravi Kapoor. His cinematic choice to opt for a 4:3 aspect ratio and his somewhat uniquely entertaining direction looks distinctly like a Wes Anderson film. The heavy Bollywood influences and a good sense of specificity to South Asian culture aren’t often found in American indie films. These elements make for an entirely original yet far-from-perfect release. The premise of this film is immediately promising. An aspiring rapper Vinny, played by a hilarious Venk Potula, gathers a ragtag crew of social rejects to steal diamonds from his ex-girlfriend’s (Sonal Shah) family. He hopes that if he can bankrupt her family, he can get them to cancel a wedding between her ex and her new, very douchey fiancée (Karan Soni). The goofy cast makes for a few laughs, but the script isn’t nearly ambitious enough to keep the comedy flowing. While the first half is a series of relatively unconnected scenes, the second half comes together in a strangely entertaining heist sequence.  Courtesy of IFC Films. An IFC Films release. The sheer ridiculousness of the heist is one of the most exciting parts of the movie. Each character cross-dresses as a senior citizen and dons a horrible accent while attempting to rob the grocery store her dad owns of an ample supply of diamonds. Since the crew’s quirkiness and stupidity are the most entertaining part of the film, it might be easy for audiences to overlook the weak motivations of any of the characters involved. Vinny has almost no chemistry with his ex, so his goal of breaking up her wedding seems pointless.
Ravi Kapoor’s direction is highly stylized. The shot composition and camera movement are a lot of fun and show that he has much promise as a director, but he’d be better off not writing his scripts in the future. While the dialogue is pretty funny, the characters are all one-dimensional, and their world feels empty. Setting the film in Little India is a good choice, but it feels like it doesn’t take place in America. It would’ve been much better to juxtapose the Indian culture with characters from other cultures. Since only one group of people is focused on, the story is compromised in scale. Although the film’s scale isn’t that great, what Kapoor gives us is still fun enough to be a commendable job. It leans too much into Wes Anderson-ian quirkiness but manages to be very charming by the end. Four Samosas is clearly a passion project from the crew behind it. It’s rough around the edges, but that’s a good comparison to the rest of the film. Each ridiculous character is unrefined yet very entertaining. If you’re a Bollywood fan or want to support solid indie filmmaking, you should check this out. Otherwise, it might be a bit unmemorable to most audiences. Four Samosas releases in theaters and on-demand on December 2nd. Rating: 3/5 Review by Sean Boelman  Gary Oldman in "Slow Horses," premiering December 2, 2022 on Apple TV+. The British spy thriller Slow Horses debuted on Apple TV+ earlier this year to great acclaim and the announcement that season two was already done, with two more seasons in the works. Returning in the fall with a bigger and better second season, the show yet again proves to be one of the most addictive watches on streaming. Compared to the first season, this season’s story is much more intricate and layered. The show follows the MI-5 reject agents at Slough House as they uncover a conspiracy that may involve Russian sleeper agents in the British ranks. Based on the second book in Mick Herron’s series, this is a fresh spin on familiar tropes. The pacing here is razor-sharp, with a much more serious tone than the first season. Now that the Slow Horses have proven that they can do some excellent spy work, we get to see them on a “real” adventure, and the results are just as exhilarating and action-packed as one would hope. There are only six episodes this season, each clocking in at around forty-five minutes, and it is probably the quickest four and a half hours of television you will see this year. It can be a bit complicated at times, but even at the points that are a bit harder to follow, it is easy to get swept up in the film’s unraveling secrets.  Jonathan Pryce and Jack Lowden in "Slow Horses," premiering December 2, 2022 on Apple TV+. Something that this season does that improves upon the first is that it expands the role of Gary Oldman’s leader of Slough House, Jackson Lamb. Oldman is delivering some of the finest work of his already excellent career here, with a performance that is somehow equally hilarious and menacing, making it the perfect combination of his talents.
The hard thing about this show is that it prides itself on being so unpredictable — you have no clue who will live and who will die — so it can be difficult to form any attachments outside of Oldman’s Lamb and Jack Lowden’s River Cartwright. There are a band of new characters introduced this season, but their subplots are held back by their uncertain fates. There are some really awesome action sequences in this season, culminating in a season finale that kicks total ass. The first two seasons of this show were greenlit and filmed together, and it’s clear that the first season was largely establishing the world and introducing us to the characters so that we could see this unfold. The second season of Slow Horses manages to be even better than the already impressive first — one of the most intelligent and entertaining espionage thrillers in the history of the genre. Subscribers will certainly be left clamoring to see more of Jackson Lamb and his band of misfits. Slow Horses hits Apple TV+ beginning December 2 with new episodes streaming subsequent Fridays. All six episodes reviewed. Rating: 4.5/5 |