|
Review by Adam Donato  Some movies make a name for themselves before they even come out and for reasons that don’t really have much to do with the context of the film. More people can recount the behind the scenes drama with the cast of Don’t Worry Darling than they can the actual details of the narrative of the film. A few years ago, Warner Bros tried to shelf a new live action/animation hybrid film about Wile E. Coyote suing the Acme Corporation for their faulty products. The film was to be deleted as a tax write off just like Batgirl. This corporate malpractice naturally upset artists and fans everywhere, until the film was purchased by Ketchup Entertainment, who also released The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie. Now everybody can rejoice as Coyote vs. Acme is getting a proper theatrical release. The question is: was Warner Bros right to shelf the movie? Seeing Coyote vs. Acme feels like a form of cinema activism. The man didn’t want you to see this movie. The fans don’t see any of the money from a corporate tax write off. We just get one less good movie in the world. For us, it’s an absolute victory. The unfortunate thing about the situation is that it’s also a win-win for Warner Bros. If the movie is good, they produced a good movie. If it’s good and successful, then it grows the Looney Tunes brand that Warner Bros owns. If it fails either critically or financially, then Warner Bros will feel emboldened by the initial decision to shelf the movie. Regardless, they still save face with talent that may have been weary of working with the studio if they have a reputation for shelving movies (or has that bridge already been burned?). The average cinephile doesn’t know what Ketchup Entertainment is and will just assign credit to Warner Bros for the movie being released. The movie cost $70 million, was bought by Ketchup Entertainment for $50 million, and is tracking to make $3-10 million at the domestic box office opening weekend. Unless there’s a huge cult following for the film, it appears we won the battle, but will lose the war. Forget about the business side of things, Coyote vs. Acme is tons of fun. The film delivers on all the zany cartoon gags that one would expect a Looney Tunes movie to provide. Wile E. Coyote has never been this fleshed out on the big screen. He’s equal parts chaotic hilarity and inspirational persistence. You will feel for Wile E. Coyote. The human cast is clearly having tons of fun here. The concept is comedically ridiculous and puts these overly familiar characters in a unique situation. The kids will enjoy the silly cartoon fun and the adults will be entertained by this parody of a courtroom drama. This could easily be considered the best live action/animation hybrid film since Who Framed Roger Rabbit? So if the movie is good, then why would Warner Bros want to bury it?  The easy answer is the financial benefit, but let’s get romantic for a second. The person that resonates with the concept of cinema activism will really connect with the themes of Coyote vs. Acme. It’s a story about a mistreated underdog who stands up against a mega corporation to stand up for what’s right. The metatextual read on the movie writes itself. Wile E. Coyote is Coyote vs. Acme and Acme is Warner Bros. Fans and artists demanded the movie just how Wile E. Coyote demands justice. One could wonder if Warner Bros wanted to avoid a message like that being spread, but as established earlier, this movie resonating with people is still a net positive. It’s more likely that this whole drama around the release of the movie is manufactured controversy to garner interest in the film. They want you to feel like you’re taking a stand by seeing the movie. Love it, hate it, or ignore it, Warner Bros wins. Luckily, Coyote vs Acme is so good that it makes it easy to take off the tin foil hat and just enjoy the movie.
There’s an interesting subgenre of performance that Will Forte does here. A comedian actor leads a movie with an ensemble of colorful characters. Forte is certainly capable of going full cartoon with his comedic performances, but his performance here is more of an every man who is dragged into this wacky legal battle. His schlubby appearance is so well contrasted by John Cena’s cartoonishly manly features as the antagonist of the movie. It’s also well contrasted by the innocent optimism of Lana Condor, who is most known for the To All the Boys movies on Netflix. Shoutout to a couple standout comedic supporting performances from Martha Kelly and P.J. Byrne. The movie is real and now it is in the hands of the public. Coyote vs. Acme is the latest example of the power of the court of public opinion. Artists deserve to see the fruits of their labor and audiences deserve to see good movies. Don’t tell a person you know something when you’re not allowed to tell them. They’re gonna want to know even more and hold it against you for teasing them with it. Well now we know and the secret is juicy. So please check out Coyote vs. Acme in a theater with the whole family for a raucous good time. Just like Wile E. Coyote, cinema persists! Coyote vs. Acme rocket skates into theaters August 28th! Rating: 4/5
0 Comments
Review by Adam Donato  The summer movie season has fired all its big guns, but August has plenty of fliers that have a chance to stick with audiences. Contrary to what appears to be the case, Universal does not have a copyright on dinosaurs. Much like how Jaws was the shark movie to end all shark movies, Jurassic Park did the same for dinosaurs. Despite the clear waning of quality, the Jurassic World franchise still prints money. There is something about that brand name recognition as dinosaur movies are not a lock whatsoever. The recent dinosaur picture 65 was a total failure. Even when Pixar gave their take on dinosaurs, it was arguably their worst feature to date. The End of Oak Street takes one look at the abysmal odds of success and never says die. In a summer movie slate full of remakes and sequels, The End of Oak Street is one of the few original hits. While the box office remains to be seen, it’s certainly got the quality part of the equation down. It’s really embarrassing for the Jurassic franchise for a dinosaur movie to get totally mogged like this. Turns out all one had to do was keep it simple. This movie stars one family of four and develops them as relatable characters so when these characters are running from the dinosaurs, the audience is not just afraid of the dinosaur, but for these characters they’ve grown to care about. It’s not a bloated mess that’s over two hours. It’s an efficient and brisk 100 minute romp. Oh, and The End of Oak Street costs about a hundred million dollars less to produce. Forget about brands because this original dinosaur movie may be the best dinosaur film since Jurassic Park.  David Robert Mitchell is back and with a curious new direction in his career. It Follows is a defining horror film of the 2010’s, but Under the Silver Lake is a niche mystery thriller. Eight years later, he’s back with a family dinosaur flick? It’s nice to see a director be able to handle different genres throughout his career. He also delivers a very handsome movie that isn’t afraid to show off a sick split diopter shot every now and then. The End of Oak Street feels like a very personal movie for Mitchell by the end of it. What he’s able to deliver with the dramatic family scenes in this movie is what makes the film work. That and his fun sense of humor. There’s a joke in this movie that is just so outrageous and really adds to the heart of the film. Even if the box office just breaks even, he should still be given the chance to do whatever he wants next as he’s an exciting filmmaker who has proven he’s not just a one trick pony.
Anne Hathaway is having a year to remember. She’s fresh off what looks to be an Oscar nominated performance in The Odyssey. The Devil Wears Prada 2 kicked off the summer box office. Mother Mary didn’t leave an impression and Verity is yet to be seen, but that’s a heck of a lot of work. While she’s not quite to the level of her performance as Penelope, Hathaway carries this movie. She’s such a strong character that handles both the dramatic and lighter fare in the movie. Ewan McGregor does his fair share here too and it’s just what the doctor ordered as he’s been mostly known for falling back on Kenobi this decade. The daughter is played admirably by My Old Ass’s Maisy Stella, despite getting the least to do in the family. Ironically, The End of Oak Street opens opposite of another dinosaur feature, PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie, and the voice of Chase in the previous installment plays the son in this movie. Christian Convery’s character seems to be the director insert here and while he can be irrational, he does have his trusty bow and arrow to keep him in the fight. A side character standout would be P.J. Byrne as the annoying neighbor. The End of Oak Street delivers the fun dinosaur scares that audiences want, but also gives you a reason to care about the people who are running away from the dinosaurs. It’s an absolute blast of a film that can hopefully carve itself a decent slice of the box office pie, which will be difficult with the likes of Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey still going strong. Regardless, David Robert Mitchell is back in the directors chair and that’s something that’s worth celebrating. The End of Oak Street chases into theaters August 14th! Rating: 4/5 Review by Adam Donato  Cinephiles, rejoice! The cinema event of the year is finally here. Three years after finally tasting Oscar gold, Christopher Nolan is back with The Odyssey. Of course, the film has a star studded cast led by Matt Damon as Odysseus. The film is poised for box office success as the major movies of the last three weekends: Moana (2026), Minions & Monsters, and Supergirl, all underperformed. No major players are to follow until Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Just think about how many tickets for The Odyssey have already been bought before the movie even opened. Nolan is truly an event filmmaker to the highest degree. Even the great Spielberg struggled to have a non franchise summer blockbuster hit just last month. With such lofty expectations, is it possible for Nolan not to disappoint? It’s like watching prime Barry Bonds, but without all the controversy. The Odyssey is an excellent adaptation of the epic poem. Think about how silly Nolan’s cap must look with so many feathers on it. It’s such a distinct entry in his filmography. He’s known for these in depth, futuristic science fiction films that are dark, gritty, and grounded. With The Odyssey, Nolan perfectly translates his distinct style to the realm of mythology. All of Nolan’s movies have such a high floor, that ranking The Odyssey among the rest of his works really does just come down to a matter of subgenre preference. It’s easily one of the best movies of the year as a whole and yet another shoo-in for a slew of award nominations as well as obnoxious box office success for such a mature movie as this.  So of course the five star restaurant delivered a satisfying meal, but do detractors to the might of The Odyssey hold any validity? One could complain about the three hour run time, but the film has excellent pacing that makes the audience feel like they just went on an epic journey and don’t feel like it took all of their day. Some could complain about how grounded the movie is, preferring the bombastic likes of the Clash of the Titans franchise, but they would be wrong. The fantastical elements of the story stand out more and have more impact due to Nolan’s ability to hold back. One could argue that the movie is too dark and boring, but one of Nolan’s better attributes is his ability to include comedic moments that don’t feel forced or cringe. There’s several moments that had the audience busting up. The film ends with such a satisfying sequence that created a raucous audience reaction. Movies are subjective, but this is as unsubjective as it gets.
One of the shining compliments for The Odyssey is this is in contention for Matt Damon’s best performance of his career. Odysseus’s journey home is an epic adventure, but what’s more compelling are his moral beliefs. The concept of fighting vs. hunting is such an interesting idea to play with here. He has all the support in the world here from the rest of the cast as the tenth most popular actor in the movie could lead their own movie. Standouts of the group include Robert Pattinson as the deliciously villainous Antinous and Anne Hathaway as the tragically complex Penelope. This might easily be the best performance of Tom Holland’s career. To acknowledge the silly controversy of all the “inauthentic” casting, it’s only a problem if you’re a hateful bigot. Surprise, the guy who makes exclusively awesome movies delivered yet again. The Odyssey truly dwarfs all other movies of this sort. It’s a visually stunning film full of intense action sequences and incredible performances. There are not many event filmmakers today so audiences should take advantage of this opportunity and check out The Odyssey in the biggest and best format possible as it was intended to be seen. The Odyssey is a rare type of movie experience that actually delivers in full force. The Odyssey journeys into theaters July 17th! Rating: 5/5 Review by Adam Donato  It’s a volatile world out there if you’re a Disney live action remake these days. Snow White totally bombed at the box office, meanwhile Lilo & Stitch was five million away from being the highest grossing movie of 2025 at the domestic box office. We went from cancelling all live action remakes to greenlighting them. In theory, they’re only going to get better at it with practice and there’s been plenty of practice. The latest Disney live action remake is of a movie that came out only a decade prior, Moana (2016). 2025 really opened the floodgates for how recent a live action remake can be. While Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs came out 88 years ago, Lilo & Stitch is the first live action remake of a 21st century Disney Animation Studios movie. Dreamworks pushed the boundary even further with a How to Train Your Dragon live action remake that was very successful. Guess they’re running out of classics. There was just a successful animated Moana sequel in theaters not even two years ago. If Moana is what the masses want, then why not oblige them? The best thing the Moana live action remake has going for it is that it’s so inoffensive. This is in large part because so little is changed. That does beg the question, why produce a live action remake so quickly and not have much of anything new to offer? It just screams cynical and lazy business decision. This comes right after a Moana (2016) sequel that was intended to be a Disney+ series with no Lin Manuel Miranda. It’s sad to see what started as an amazing animated movie, be so blatantly exploited solely for profit. That being said, it is a good thing that the Moana live action remake isn’t offensive. Families will enjoy that, but cinephiles won’t have as much to complain about. There is a certain acceptance that this is just the norm. The bar and the ceiling is low. Moana (2026) is a beat for beat remake of the original animated film. It made some slight changes here and there. None of them were an improvement.  Is a movie just bad if there’s a better version of it that exists? Sure, Moana (2026) is a hollow version of a widely acclaimed movie, but making such a safe movie does establish a decent floor. The goal is clearly not to improve upon the original film, but to celebrate how perfect the original film is. This establishes a low ceiling for this type of thing. If your goal is to remember Moana (2016), see what it would look like in live action, and have an inoffensive, good time, then Moana (2026) will scratch that itch.
One of the more interesting aspects of these live action remakes is the casting. Moana (2026) introduces Catherine Laga’aia in the title role. She does fine in the lead role. Playing the title character in a successful Disney live action remake doesn’t guarantee future career success. Mena Massoud played the titular role in Aladdin (2019) and despite that movie making a billion dollars, he's nowhere near a household name. Laga’aia doesn’t quite capture the charisma that is the animated Moana, but delivers a decent interpretation. It’s interesting that a Moana live action remake happened before a Frozen live action remake. It’s easy to wonder how much influence Dwayne Johnson had in the quickness of this particular live action remake. It’s funny that he would be so eager to embody the live action version to Maui because he looks absolutely ridiculous. In the live action Aladdin, it was interesting (for better or worse) to see Will Smith try to play the Robin Williams Genie. Here, Dwayne Johnson is trying his absolute best to recapture the magic from Dwayne Johnson’s performance in Moana (2016). Maui is a vain douchebag, but so is The Rock’s public image these days. Is he nailing a performance that was tailor made for him or is he sleepwalking through a performance he’s totally checked out of? It doesn’t matter if you’re laughing with him or at him, at the end of the day, you’re laughing. His goofier moments are the best moments in the movie. The visuals of the film are expectedly uninspiring, but at least there’s no character designs that are detrimental to the film. Tamatoa is the worst of them, but he’s also supposed to be ugly and his sequence in the movie is brief so it’s not as bad. That’s the advantage that the live action remakes that are about humans have. Disney clearly thinks that audiences crave realism for these live action remakes so the non-human characters become very limited in their ability to visually express emotions. Not really worried about that too much with Pua and Heihei though. They’re both cute and fun enough. Moana (2026) delivers a watered down version of Moana (2016). It’s crazy that so much money was invested in such a derivative cash grab. Still, the story of Moana is an enduring one. Better movies have been remade much worse than this. Strictly for families only and Moana super fans. Everyone else can stick to the original. Y’know, the classic 2016 movie. Moana wayfinds into theaters July 10th! Rating: 3/5 Review by Adam Donato  Olivia Wilde parlayed her successful acting career into a position behind the camera with 2019’s Booksmart, which was a surprise hit. It was a Superbad type coming of age high school movie, but for the girls. After the pandemic, Wilde’s career took a complete left turn when she directed the hollywood shit show that was Don’t Worry Darling. A movie with behind the scenes drama that is more compelling than the movie itself. Not to mention the mixed reviews didn’t help. The Invite is Wilde’s opportunity to put herself back in good graces as she directs and stars this dramedy. She brings in some heavy hitters too as the story has Wilde and her husband, Seth Rogen, host their interesting neighbors, played by Edward Norton and Penelope Cruz, for a double date night in. Is The Invite just what the doctor ordered for Olivia Wilde? The Invite is a laugh riot of a movie with some serious emotional pull. The movie explores the hardships of adult relationships in a way that feels honest and relatable. The whole movie takes place at this one location and only contains these four characters. It really feels like a play in that it’s mainly dialogue and performance based. This allows Wilde to keep things simple as she’s almost making a bottle episode. The movie is very brisk at just over a hundred minutes and it’s one of those that is so enjoyable to hang out in that you almost wish it was longer. The movie ends at a logical place, but you almost want to continue forward with these characters to explore more of the aftermath of the situation that’s depicted. That being said, it is better to end the hangout too early rather than let it go on too long.  The performances all around are the highlight here. Wilde delivers her best performance in years. The rest of the cast kind of just does their stereotypical thing, but Wilde really impresses her. Her character is so funny, while also being so sympathetic as she desperately tries to hold this evening together. Arguably the best Wilde has ever been. The movie opens with the classic Seth Rogen laugh and that’s indicative of the rest of the performance. It has been interesting to see him try to point his comedic talents in a more dramatic direction. He was excellent in The Fabelmans, but The Invite is arguably his best attempt at a substantive dramatic performance specifically as a lead. He’s as funny as ever, but with this added pessimism that drives the entire offputting nature of the story. Edward Norton is excellent as this almost nauseating nice guy. His pretentious moments, like his constant attempts to speak Spanish, are some of the funniest stuff in the movie. The most acclaimed of the group is clearly the Oscar winning Penelope Cruz and she clearly has the most commanding presence in the movie. While the other three spend time running around like chickens with their heads cut off, she holds so much power within the situation. This is the most commercial and accessible movie that she’s done in years and is the most interesting casting decision of the bunch.
It’s too early in Wilde’s directing career to definitively diagnose her with things, but the picture is starting to come together. Booksmart is good, but succeeds within the format of the type of movie it's trying to be. Whereas Don’t Worry Darling is a much more ambitious almost blockbuster type film that attempts much larger themes. The Invite succeeds in its lack of ambition. We’re just hanging out in a room riffing with a collection of great actors as this basic, yet compelling topic is explored. It just feels like the ultimate path that is chosen doesn’t bear the most bountiful return. Everything is wrapped up almost too conveniently and it feels like the themes become more general, instead of pushing the boundaries of the subject. The Invite masquerades as a risque film, but isn't nearly as provocative as it thinks it is. It just feels like it’s missing that extra punch in the third act to truly seal the deal with this narrative. Wilde’s movies are developing a pattern of being surface level, which is keeping her closer to the likes of Elizabeth Banks rather than a Celine Song or Chloe Zhao. There’s not many summer movies like The Invite. It feels like an awards season hopeful that’s trying to get a head start. A very likable and mature movie for adults to enjoy at the cinemas. Wilde’s is striding into the right direction and she has a cast of pros to help her along the way. This movie will occupy a similar role in the summer lineup as Materialists, which carved out a pretty nice box office slice for itself considering its budget. While it looks pretty at the midyear, once awards season rolls around, it’s likely to be demoted to that almost realm that movies like Is This Thing On? and Jay Kelly occupied last year. Still, The Invite is a laugh a minute type of dramedy that is a good alternative to all the bombastic blockbusters this summer. The Invite delivers to theaters July 10th! Rating: 4/5 |