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Review by Adam Donato  Celine Song made a strong impression with her debut film, Past Lives. Getting a best picture nomination on your first try is special. Her follow up is a romance film starring a love triangle of Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, and Pedro Pascal. Materialists has the opportunity to easily become the top grossing A24 movie as Warfare holds the lead with $26 million domestically. With big movie stars and a prime June release date, Materialists should take advantage of a theatrical landscape devoid of films targeted towards women specifically. It’s also just nice to see an original movie out in theaters, especially when the summer is packed with remakes and sequels. Still, a movie like this needs to have good word of mouth to sell tickets so can it win the hearts of audiences? By all means, Materialists delivers and should become a summer hit. While it may not snag a best picture nomination, it’s clear that Celine Song is no one hit wonder. She has a clear handle on creating relatable characters and having something meaningful to say about relationships. Hopefully the film’s critical success is met with box office success so Song can make whatever she wants going forward. Easily one of the best new filmmakers in the game right now.  Dakota Johnson is in desperate need of a big win after Madame Web crashed and burned. Her performance here is arguably her best ever. Her character is so proactive and relatable. It’s clear she has a passion for her profession and is also a very jaded individual personally. There’s several monologues for her character about dating and love that really hit home. Even when faced with adversity that isn’t directly her fault, her feelings are so understandable and heartbreaking.
Evans and Pascal are welcome additions to this romance film as audiences with crushes on these two have been clamoring to see them in something that isn’t just a blockbuster. Evans does more of the heavy lifting here, but Pascal’s character is more subdued. This does give way to a great moment of vulnerability for Pascal’s character though. Evans has had a tumultuous stretch post Avengers: Endgame so seeing him pull off a real human being performance in an actual good movie is refreshing. Superhero movies and franchise films sometimes monopolize the time of the biggest actors of the day so it’s great to see them doing something different here. Materialists is certain to create discourse about the dating world, which will hopefully inspire couples to go out to the theater. It’s certainly worth their time as the film is as sweet as can be. It is like a more upscale version of the hit Will Smith rom com, Hitch. Big Hollywood actors being in movies that aren’t covered in special effects are a necessary part of the cinematic landscape and Materialists is a must see summer romance. Celine Song is a must watch director going forward. Materialists will be in theaters on Jun 13. Rating: 4/5
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Review by Adam Donato  Dreamworks saw what Disney was doing and thought they would copy their playbook. Universal clearly believes in the How To Train Your Dragon heavily because there’s a whole new theme park with an Isle of Berk section. There is a lot of precedent being set with this live action remake. If the plan is to remake the whole trilogy in live action, then the failure of this first remake would cancel those plans, but you can’t tear down a brand new theme park section. If it succeeds, will Dreamworks explore live action remakes of other beloved franchises? There’s enough distance in the release date between Lilo & Stitch and Jurassic World: Rebirth so How To Train Your Dragon should clean up at the box office. How safe of a bet is How To Train Your Dragon for Universal? The safest a live action remake can be in 2025. There’s minor changes, but for the most part it’s a shot for shot remake. There isn’t a Disney live action remake that is as faithful as this one. Unfortunately for Universal, Disney has oversaturated the live action remake market so there is an element of fatigue, especially since Lilo & Stitch and Snow White are fresh in our memories. How To Train Your Dragon is certainly better than the majority of the Disney live action remakes, but it’s less interesting to explore because there’s really nothing new here. The story and everything is more or less the same. One place where the live action remake is different is in the cast, excluding Gerard Butler. He is the best part of the cast though. Butler in his career has such little range that it’s funny to see him just redo a performance of his own straight up. The biggest glow up in the cast has got to be Nick Frost as Gobber. The look and utilization of his tool like appendages is well done. He is a lot funnier and more heartfelt than Craig Ferguson’s animated version. The biggest downgrade is Ruffnut, played by Bronwyn James. Part of the appeal is that she is twins with Tuffnut and they look nothing alike here. Her sense of humor is also less comically gruff.  The main couple of the film played by Mason Thames and Nico Parker feel like Tom Holland and Zendaya were the blueprint. Thames doesn’t pull off geeky quite like Jay Baruchel did, especially with a lack of that iconic voice. Still a very serviceable performance. Unfortunately, the topic of conversation around Parker has been more about the color of her skin than anything else. It seems foolish to complain about a black Viking when dragons definitely don’t exist. She embodies the character well and her role is beefed up as her character aspires to be chief. The entire handling of Astrid’s character is the most “woke” aspect of the remake, but aren’t actual problems at all. Both of these characters are too cute. All of the other Vikings are properly ugly so the couple definitely stands out weirdly.
At the end of the day, it’s the same complaint as every other live action remake. This story and these characters were designed to be represented in animation. Adapting it into live action and doing the exact same things only draws attention to how much of a useless downgrade this movie is. It’s not a bad film, but it provides nothing new. There should be zero sympathy for the film as it will gladly utilize the franchise recognition for box office success, therefore the film must be held to the standard of the franchise’s quality. The law of diminishing returns is strong in this one. Every movie borrows from movies that came before it, but How To Train Your Dragon doesn’t even bother making it its own in any way. This makes for a very disposable experience. It’s hard to imagine anyone preferring the live action to the animated version. This safety is good for the box office and theme park success, but its lack of ambition will make this movie fade away over time. It’s not necessarily a bad movie, but it’s not worth going out of your way to see. How To Train Your Dragon will be in theaters on June 13. Rating: 3/5 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 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 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 Adam Donato  Earlier this year, Paul Feig felt inclined to dispel rumors of the sequel to A Simple Favor getting delayed amongst the drama surrounding Blake Lively. Why not make a sequel to a film that made almost $100 million off a $20 million budget and has a cult following? Lively has seen recent box office success with last year’s adaptation of It Ends With Us. Clearly some kind of deal with the devil was made for no amount of box office success is worth all the drama she had with director Justin Baldoni. Could that dirt have influenced the decision to limit this sequel to streaming? Amazon did have to shut off the comments to the film’s trailer on social media. Then again, isn’t hot gossip what this franchise and Lively’s career is all about? Another Simple Favor conjures up a new reason why these two women would ever be in the same room as each other ever again. Lively’s character blackmails Anna Kendrick to be her maid of honor at her wedding in Capri, Italy. This sets the sequel up at a beautiful location, with pretty settings and stunning fashion. It’s a big step up from the suburban setting of the first film. Makes this entry feel bigger. The drama is also bigger here as now all these characters from the first movie have a juicy history together. Everyone seemingly has it out for one another and once the bodies start hitting the floor, it’s fun to see our crime fanatic on the case.  Lovely and Kendrick are so much fun together. Lively as the cool girl dom of the duo and Kendrick as the every girl who finds herself infatuated by the confidence of her dangerous friend. It’s that type of Mean Girls dynamic that some friends can relate to. They want to be Lively so bad as we follow Kendrick through this forest of mystery and backstabbing. The two are much more comfortable with each other this time around and make for some funny banter. Retelling this duo was a good decision.
The plot does get convoluted to the point of ridiculousness. This feels like it was done in an effort to make sure nobody could call what was happening all along, but ends up just becoming too much. The intrigue leading up to the reveal is way more fun than discovering what’s actually in the box for these movies. The villain reveal is flimsy and cheesy, but this is just a fun girls night out comedy mystery and it succeeds as being that. It’s a real shame this wouldn’t get a theatrical release. Especially when a heavy movie like It Ends With Us can do so well with Lively’s star power. Another Simple Favor is a much more fun time at the theater with the girls. It will be long forgotten in the bowels of Amazon Prime’s content library, but this unnecessary sequel isn’t worth much more than a passing good time first watch. Another Simple Favor will be streaming on Prime Video May 1. Rating: 3/5 Review by Adam Donato  The Legend of Ochi is A24’s second overtly fantasy movie of the year after Death of a Unicorn, which floundered at the box office. With minimal marketing, it’s hard to see this movie breaking through to audiences either. This is the directorial debut for Isaiah Saxson, who also produced and wrote the movie. Joe and Anthony Russo have their names attached as executive producers. They’re having a rough year after critics panned Electric State on Netflix. The cast of The Legend of Ochi is solid, but are they enough to entice audiences with this little creature feature? The story is very reminiscent of 80’s family fantasy films like E.T., coupled with a How to Train Your Dragon vibe. Basically the classic child befriends some fantastical creature that everyone believes is a dangerous enemy. This is a cliched setup so its opportunity to succeed lies in the creativity of the creature and the likability of the characters. Where this concept excels is in the representation of these little blue faced monkeys. They look practical, which goes a long way to make them feel real and therefore easier to care about. While they’re not the most original looking creatures, they’re cute and have their own unique abilities to discover. This cute little baby Ochi is the most fun part about the film. The most fun human in the movie is obviously Willem Dafoe. His character is the leader of a troupe of young boys whose purpose is to hunt the Ochi. He wears this goofy knight outfit for the majority of the adventure and it’s hilarious. While he starts out just being creepy, he becomes more interesting as his relationship with the little girl and his ex wife develop. The performance leans into the fun, wacky Dafoe that audiences know and love.  The rest of the cast is obnoxiously bland. The main little girl in the film is played by Helena Zengel, who got her biggest break in Paul Greengrass’s News of the World. This didn’t get her the proper exposure as the unfortunate timing of the release aligned with theaters struggling with COVID. A role that could’ve been for her what True Grit was for Hailee Steinfeld. Here she speaks so monotone unless she’s screaming. Instead of this child being cute and relatable, she’s annoying and unlikable. Emily Watson plays her mother and she is similarly understated in her performance. Finn Wolfhard is here for some reason. The role is so small and too close to the tone of the Stranger Things franchise so the performance just feels redundant and a waste of time.
The film does sometimes have a quirky sense of humor. It’s not an overtly funny movie, but the audience was chuckling here and there at the cuteness. The film looks pretty as this remote island often feels like a fantasy world. The score is sometimes wonderful, but more often obnoxious and piercing. Overall it just feels like some good ingredients overshadowed by its annoying features. A24’s attempt at a family oriented fantasy adventure is a mixed bag. Some may find it cute enough, but it’s just too been there done that to be worth recommending. Not even Dafoe can save this one. The Legend of Ochi joins a crowded slate of movies at the box office so with little exposure and middling reviews, you’re gonna have to catch this one quickly before it exits theaters. The Legend of Ochi will be in theaters on April 25. Rating: 2/5 Review by Adam Donato  As time goes by it’s becoming increasingly harder to make original films. Filmmakers are trying everything from mashing up genres and keeping things current to modern times. Drop does both as it blends the horror genre with a romance setting and is centered around a tech feature that most Americans probably don’t even fully understand. Violet, played by Meghann Fahy, is on a first date with Henry, played by Brandon Sklenar, but the vibe turns sinister as Violet keeps receiving air dropped messages from a nefarious stranger. The concept itself is reminiscent of a bottle episode as the majority of the narrative takes place in one location. Christopher Landon directs as he is very comfortable in this space having already directed a couple Happy Death Day movies and Freaky. Will Drop have similarly moderate success? There is a clear hunger for the horror romance in 2025. Heart Eyes came out earlier this year with similar positive reactions and modest box office success. Drop really leans into a schtick as everything in the story revolves around random phone messages. While this is a limited concept, the movie maximizes it to fill up an entire run time. At a hundred minutes, the film feels like a breeze as the situation is clearly understandable and the characters are likable enough that you’re invested in them making it out alive. It’s really easy to question why so many hoops had to be jumped through to make this plot center around air drop messages. That being said it’s a fun enough ride that won’t have you bored enough to be asking questions.  Fahy and Sklenar have good chemistry together, which is huge because the majority of the movie is centered around a one on one conversation between the two. Fahy has experienced most of her success on the small screen, but holds her own as a lead here. Sklenar is similarly small time, but recently found success in the controversial It Ends With Us romance film. The film does a good job riding the line between shipping these two together and leaving an element of mystery as anyone within fifty feet is a suspect for our main character.
Landon is really in his sweet spot here with another solid little horror flick. It provides in multiple different ways and never feels like it’s out of options. In a busy weekend at the box office, this should have an edge since it’s a horror film. Not to mention the biggest competition is a PG family film. Drop is certainly worth the price of admission. Drop is in theaters everywhere. Rating: 3/5 Review by Adam Donato  Freaky Tales is the first feature directed by the duo of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck since Captain Marvel, a film that made bank at the box office, but sullied their street cred due to middling reviews. Since then the pair has gone back to their sweet spot directing series like Mrs. America and Masters of the Air. This film is reminiscent of their television work as it’s a collection of interconnected stories split up into chapters. There’s minor connections, but for the most part these chapters stand alone. The film sports an ensemble cast including some pretty noteworthy names. With very little marketing, can this episodic genre film catch the eye of cinephiles and put these directors on the road to redemption? The narrative touches on some serious subjects, but has little to nothing of substance to say about them. This isn’t a major problem as the film is more concerned with being a fun genre film. There’s elements of action, comedy, science fiction, and thriller all in here and it makes for a fun time. There’s a clear love for the central location of the film, which is Oakland. The setting permeates the story and the character as its essential to the whole film. It’s a fun thing when the city itself feels like a character in the movie. The format and tone is reminiscent of a movie like Trick ‘r Treat. While the stories start out very grounded, they elevate into being very high concept and everything feels like it comes together in a satisfying way.  The first of four chapters focuses on a young emo couple that is part of a rising force against this evil gang of Nazis. Jack Champion, who plays Spider in the Avatar franchise, is heavily featured in this part. It’s also shown in 4:3 format, which is fun as during the fight sequence there’s a fun moment where the blood exits the frame and sits on the borders. Just a fun little detail. Chapter two brings an 8 Mile style musical element to the film, which keeps it feeling fresh. This part is headlined by artist Normani and Dominique Thorne who has worked with a string of acclaimed directors like Ryan Coogler, Barry Jenkins, and Shaka King. Their chemistry is great and it’s the most fun sequence of the film. Also, stay for the credits as they do a musical number through the end of the film. Pedro Pascal is the most high profile name in the film and he is the star of the third chapter. This section plays up the thriller aspect of the film and is great at keeping you guessing at what’s gonna happen next. The final chapter is an eruptus sci fi action sequence that ties all the loose threads together Ben Mendelsohn is obnoxiously experienced at playing a sinister bad guy and he does it here to perfection. Jay Ellis is the star of the show here though as he plays a NBA player with this green magic power. This is a larger element that is a part of every chapter. It allows for some pretty wild action and gore that’s worth the price of admission.
Freaky Tales is definitely gonna fly under the radar, but a solid flick with no backlash is exactly what the doctor ordered for Boden and Fleck. Clearly, they’re doing just fine post Marvel and have a good enough relationship that this film is littered with MCU stars. It’s a pulpy good time and deserves more attention. Not that it’s a great movie or anything, but definitely a solid flick that’s worth a watch. Freaky Tales is in theaters now. Rating: 3/5 |