Review by Cole Groth

As far as franchises go, the Transformers series of films may be one of the worst. With the exception of a solid first installment and an excellent spinoff in 2018’s Bumblebee, Michael Bay’s billion-dollar series of films about robots that transform into cars is a bunch of junk. Too often, Bay gets wrapped up in the visual noise of these massive fight sequences, losing the emotional grounding that keeps audiences with something to care about. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts looks to steer the series in a new direction, and while it’s mighty effective for a Transformers film, there’s still a lot of messiness to get through for this to be a good film.

Rise of the Beasts is a standalone sequel to Bumblebee, a prequel to 2007’s Transformers and the rest of the series. In 1994 Brooklyn, we follow Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos), a hard-working adult supporting his struggling mother and sick younger brother. One day, he tries stealing a car only to find out that it’s an Autobot named Mirage (Pete Davidson), who recruits him to retrieve a key that holds the fate of the world. Elene Wallace (Dominique Fishback) is an intern at a local museum who uncovers part of the key that the Autobots and the dangerous Terrorcons are trying to find. The hunt for the other half sends them on an adventure across the world.

The Transformers series has always focused on large action set pieces that’ll keep general audiences entertained. While they mostly fail, Rise of the Beasts does a decent job. There are huge fight scenes that feel like visual noise, but they’re at least interesting enough to be entertaining. It helps that we’re presented with good character moments between the human characters (who have always been a struggle for the franchise) and the Autobots. This world feels much more lived in this time, and while most characters could use more depth, it’s a step in the right direction.

Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback were great casting choices to lead what appears to be the future of this series. They both bring a fun energy to the role that elevates them beyond the incredibly generic leading men previously seen in Shia LaBeouf and Mark Wahlberg’s characters. Noah and Elena have stronger character motivations but still struggle with somewhat boring stories that could definitely use some edge going forward. The voice acting for most of the Transformers is good, but Pete Davidson stands out as a particularly great new addition. He brings a lot of charm and personality to Mirage, adding some much-needed levity to the mostly uninteresting robots.

Still, while the action will appeal to many die-hard Transformers fans or people looking for generic action sequences, it’s simply not good enough on its own. Each beat feels ripped out of a template, and the story is painfully predictable. It’s almost impossible not to know where the story is moving next, making this viewing experience all too familiar. Most of the jokes fall somewhat flat, and this ultimately feels like a studio-driven installment rather than something interesting. Bumblebee took a bold new approach to these films, and Rise of the Beasts seems to fall back into the basic story that made the previous entries lame.

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts breathes new life into a tired franchise of studio-driven slop. It’s undoubtedly one of the best in the now seven-film-long series, which isn’t saying very much. Paramount would be much better off if they gave more creative control to actual creatives. Unfortunately, this feels like it’s more of the same, and while it works pretty well in comparison to its peers, it feels like the continuation of a weak series. Should this receive sequels, there’s plenty of room to improve. If this is all, it’s still a decent enough journey to be worth the watch.

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts releases in theaters starting June 9.

Rating: 3/5

Review by Cole Groth

Follow Her starts out as an average social media-based psychological thriller, but over the course of its 92-minute runtime, it takes twists and turns that ultimately add up to one hard-to-follow movie that’s about as confusing as it is interesting. With a script penned by Dani Barker and direction from Sylvia Caminer, there are plenty of exciting moments focusing on increasingly common parasocial relationships, and with an erotic twist, this’ll satisfy moviegoers looking for something unique.

Follow Her follows Jess (Dani Barker), a snarky streamer who secretly records oddball interactions (think Craigslist ads but creepier) with strangers on the internet. She’s looking to crack into the top ten on a generic streaming website since, to gain monetization, you have to stand on the podium for whatever reason. One day, she’s hired by a man (Luke Cook), who promises a hefty payday for her to help him complete a screenplay he’s been writing. Once she realizes that the script is about her life and that her character will be getting killed, she must find a way to get out with her life.

With an interesting enough premise, it’s nice that Barker’s script lives up to a lot of its potential. There are plenty of little moments that explore our relationship with social media that function beyond a surface level. The first two acts take plenty of twists and turns that are ambitious, to say the least. It’s a shame, though, that the last act couldn’t live up to the somewhat high standards set by the previous two.

Review by Cole Groth

The Boogeyman is simply remarkable. Not since A Quiet Place has a PG-13 horror movie managed to be as terrifying, emotional, and powerful as Rob Savage’s first big-budget directorial effort. Like Savage’s previous efforts — Host and DASHCAM -- The Boogeyman makes efficient work of a short runtime to make a horror film that’s relentlessly terrifying and satisfyingly quick. With a terrific leading performance from Sophie Thatcher, some fantastic drama, and an all-time monster, this is a movie that demands to be seen in a crowded theater on a big screen.
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Based on a short story from none other than Steven King and a script from Scott Beck, Bryan Woods (the two writers of A Quiet Place), and Mark Heyman, The Boogeyman tells the story of the Harper family. High school student Sadie (Sophie Thatcher) and her younger sister Sawyer (Vivien Lyra Blair) are reeling from the tragic passing of their mother. Their therapist father, Will (Chris Messina), isn’t doing much better, and everything gets a whole lot worse after a man brings a malevolent force into the lives of the Harpers, a demon that feeds on their suffering and is hunting them down.

Before anything about the story is analyzed, praise must be given to this cast. Sophia Thatcher is phenomenal and will no doubt have a successful career once this reaches a broader audience. Vivien Lyra Blair is an incredibly talented child actress, bringing the energy of a little kid with the emotional maturity of a seasoned actor. Chris Messina has already established himself as an excellent actor, but his performance here is one of the best of his career.

If you’re looking for scares, The Boogeyman delivers on all accounts. It’s full of intense set pieces that will have you on the edge of your seat and never lets up after its first scare. Almost every scene ends with some sort of terrifying moment, and while jumpscares are typically annoying, Savage’s direction makes them feel earned. The actual Boogeyman itself is a stellar monster, with its design standing out as one of the best in horror history. Instead of showing the whole monster, we only see it lurking in the shadows, forcing our minds to imagine a threat that's probably much more terrifying than what would've happened if we saw all of it.

Plenty of horror movies explore grief, but this film does it exceptionally well. Every character acts like a normal person, and it’s refreshing to watch a paranormal horror film where every character isn’t an obnoxious skeptic. The family dynamic here will surely resonate with audiences because it adds so much depth to the story. Will is a particularly likable character because of how ready he is to help his daughters out. He’s also going through a painful period in his life, and it’s nice that we see how he struggles with his wife’s death while ensuring his daughters are doing well. It’s a touching story from start to finish that makes each scare even more effective.

Eli Born’s cinematography is perfect. Every shot is thoughtfully composed and creatively designed to make you feel squeamish. Patrick Jonsson’s fantastic score supports the beautiful cinematography, seamlessly blending the emotional highs and lows of the Harpers' family drama with the tense scares. From a production standpoint, this is one of the most competent horror films, and it seems like it was made on a budget of much more than the $42 million that was used.

Initially scheduled for release on Hulu, this was pushed to a theatrical release after positive test screenings. While the screening I attended didn’t have a large audience, which surely would’ve made it even better, seeing it on an enormous screen in a pitch-black theater made the experience all the better. Hopefully, Disney will learn the right lesson from this and send even more films to theaters because seeing this on a small screen wouldn’t have been nearly as impactful. There’s a sense of theatricality that makes this film much better than its parts.

If you’re a die-hard horror fan, you will love The Boogeyman. If you don’t love scary movies, you might enjoy The Boogeyman even more. It’s a perfect blend of horror and drama that’s as satisfying to watch as terrifying. Good horror movies have a visceral energy that makes you incredibly uncomfortable, and the disquiet this film makes you feel is thanks to a phenomenal story that will resonate with audiences of all kinds. See this with as many people as possible because horror movies this great are so infrequent, and this will hopefully be the start of a horror renaissance.

The Boogeyman releases in theaters on June 2.

Rating: 4.5/5

Review by Cole Groth

Review by Cole Groth

As distrust in the police rapidly grows, documentaries about the failures of the people we’re supposed to trust are becoming more critical than ever before. Victim/Suspect, Netflix’s latest documentary, shows how false reports of rape — which are so actively broadcast throughout the nation — are frequently the result of rampant abuse by police officers. It’s a film that will make your blood boil, and although it sometimes misses its own point, audiences of all kinds would do well to educate themselves by watching this.

Victim/Suspect is led by reporter Rae de Leon, who is seeking to uncover the truth of why many women who were raped and went to the police about it were instead arrested for making false accusations. Her journey starts with Emma Mannion, a woman berated by Investigator Jared Akridge into recanting her case.

Jared Akridge is one of the many despicable police officers responsible for ruining women’s lives. Throughout the documentary, we’re painted a picture of the rampant abuse police officers take and how they so frequently let the accused rapists off. We’re also shown many people who help these women when they have no other options.

One of the most significant issues with this documentary is that it dramatizes the investigative process too heavily. There are moments when de Leon makes the film more about her journey than the women’s. I can’t blame deLeon, for her story took years of her attention to uncover, but it sometimes distracts from the overall story. As a piece of investigative media, there are times when the documentary doesn’t go deep enough or force the audience to ask tough questions. It could be much more of an indictment than it chooses to be.

At one point, de Leon gets a very fortunate interview with Detective Walberto Cotto Jr. Like Akridge, his abuses of power are exposed throughout the documentary. Unlike Akridge, however, he’s foolish enough to give an interview. He’s grilled on his failures as a police officer, and his conversation with de Leon reveals that although he went after the woman who accused another man of assault, he overlooked that he was accused of another assault just a month prior. His mix of confusion and fluster is a fantastic moment of entertainment and shows top-notch reporting skills from de Leon.

Victim/Suspect shines when it reveals the uncomfortable truths of sexual assault survivors. The most tragic story is that of University of Alabama student Megan Rondini, who took her life after being charged with false reporting of sexual assault. The documentary powerfully showcases the combination of incompetence, aggression, and laziness that many police officers show to victims of assault and can hopefully shift the conversation in the right direction.

Make no mistake — this documentary is not easy viewing. It is, however, a powerful combination of important storytelling and gripping narrative focus. Change needs to be made in the accountability of police officers, and films like this must put a blazing focus on many of the specific people involved. Officers like Jared Akridge and Walbert Cotto Jr. are just two cogs in a machine of injustice. They will hopefully face consequences for their actions after the publication of their cases.

Victim/Suspect releases on Netflix on May 23.

Rating: 4/5

Review by Cole Groth

Outpost tells a familiar story: a woman with a troubled past tries to escape the demons of her past, only to find them boiling over as her sanity drifts away. With snappy production and a solid first hour, it’s a huge letdown when the already generic premise gets wasted in an unusually mean-spirited series of twists and an ending that’ll leave a sour taste in your mouth.

Writer/Director Joe Lo Truglio’s screenplay tells the tale of Kate (Beth Dover), an abused woman who seeks solitude by volunteering for the local fire watch job. She’s recently left her husband and is supported by her friend Nickie (Ta’Rea Campbell), whose brother, Earl (Ato Essandoh), gets Kate the job. While the first few weeks provide the solace that Kate was looking for, her sanity begins to slip away after uncomfortable interactions with her peers, hallucinations, and her inner demons coming back for her.

Lo Truglio’s script does an excellent job of exploring the grief of Kate’s character. Instead of taking a dramatic approach, though, he turns the film into a psychological thriller that undermines the character development of Kate. While some good scares and creepy moments will keep horror fans intrigued, he leans too heavily into the thrills and turns a fascinating character study into an over-the-top mess. The biggest disappointment is the last twenty minutes. To stray away from spoilers, I won’t discuss any of the specifics, but it’s important to note that many viewers will tune out after a final twist turns the film into an intense slasher.

On the technical side of things, Outpost succeeds. Beth Dover is excellent and perfectly balances the wide array of Kate’s emotions. The rest of the cast does a great job in their respective roles, as well, with Becky Ann Baker’s performance as Bertha being a standout. Frank Barrera’s cinematography is excellent, showcasing both the beauty and horrors of nature with ease. The pacing is solid, and while the last 20 minutes are unpleasant, they at least don’t feel very long.
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As far as horror goes, Lo Truglio has directed a genuinely horrific film. Many moments will send chills down the spines of viewers, and each moment of gore is as shocking as the last. Lo Truglio does a great job of disarming the viewer, only to jolt them back into a state of disgust. Those squeamish to gore will want to look away.

It’s a shame that a lackluster third act ruins Outpost because the rest of the film is a solidly entertaining thriller with good emotional undertones. Fans of psychological thrillers won’t find anything too new in this, but as somebody who doesn’t enjoy films about people losing their sanity, this one felt like more of the same unpleasant experience.

Outpost releases on VOD May 19.

Rating: 2/5

Review by Cole Groth

I knew nothing about Knights of the Zodiac, nor the manga it’s based on, Saint Seiya, before watching it. While I won’t be able to comment on how faithful this is to its source material, I can confidently say that if you’re looking for an entertaining fantasy/adventure film, this has delivered. With fun art direction, a solid cast, and a fascinating story, Tomasz Bagiński’s directorial debut is a worthwhile watch.

Knights of the Zodiac tells the story of Seiya, an orphan with a knack for fighting who is recruited to save the universe. He’s tasked with a mission: protect a young woman, Sienna, the reincarnated form of Athena, the goddess of war. Sounds easy enough, right? In this world, a plethora of generic bad guys will do whatever they can to stop this from happening. Seiya has to go on a wild quest of self-discovery to be the mighty Pegasus Knight he’s destined to become.

With this film posing itself as the first in a potential franchise (in Japan, it’s titled Saint Seiya: The Beginning), it’s essential to settle down with a good group of actors. With Japanese actor Mackenyu as the lead, they’ve already done a good job. His acting can be somewhat spotty at times, but that seems more of a fault of the screenplay and its clunky dialogue rather than his performance. Madison Iseman, Jamke Beumer Janssen, and an ever-wonderful Sean Bean support him. This cast isn’t perfect, but it’s certainly better than most young-adult-oriented fantasy films.

The special effects are a standout. Working on a $65 million budget and with my low expectations of Marvel/DC movies with $200 million budgets, I wasn’t expecting the large amount of CG to look good. I was wrong. The talented crew of visual effects artists did a stellar job at making the world come to life. The fantasy elements required a lot of perfection to work, and it looks fantastic. Another shout-out belongs to the stunt crew and cinematographer. It takes a lot to bring the energy of a manga or anime to live-action, and both the stunt choreography and great camerawork make this transition a very smooth one. It’s a good-looking film on all accounts.

Audiences loyal to the manga might find this adaptation to be sanitized. It feels like a much thinner story than what would’ve been told in even a few of the original volumes, with each story beat feeling like an amalgamation of other superhero movies. While the overall premise is good enough to keep it feeling fresh, the story doesn’t feel as fleshed out as it surely should’ve been.

Adapting manga or anime to the live-action scene has been particularly difficult for American studios. Knights of the Zodiac still suffers from the overarching problems of trying to please both a general audience and the core who loved the original content. With a decent leading cast, great visual effects, and a solid set of action pieces, this might not be perfect, but it’s a great time and will be a fun experience to see on the big screen.

Knights of the Zodiac releases in theaters starting May 12.

Rating: 4/5

Review by Cole Groth

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed a sharp focus on how employees view work. We’ve grown much more aware of the divide between workers and bosses, making satires like Véronique Jadin’s Employee of the Month feel especially pertinent. This workplace comedy takes a dark twist, and while it becomes a bit too dour to be a fully enjoyable time, it still works as an excellent satire.

At a moderately large cleaning supply company, loyal worker Inés (Jasmina Douieb) works up the courage to ask for a raise. Unlike all of her male coworkers who have received countless raises, she’s continually denied one based on her lack of experience when she first came into the job. She’s saddled with the work of five different positions, offered the pay of half of one, and now has to train a new intern, Melody (Laetitia Mampaka). As she grows closer to burnout, the people around her become increasingly frustrating, boiling over to her boss’s accidental death, which Inés quickly tries to cover up, along with the help of Melody.

What follows after the first death is a series of hilarious kills of some truly terrible people. The script is thin in its characterization, with each male character being utterly despicable. It’s frustrating to listen to a bunch of pricks belittle Inés for 45 minutes, making the series of events that follows rather satisfying.

The highlight of the show is Douieb’s performance alongside Mampaka. The two are an unstoppable force between the old and new generations of workers. Douieb perfectly personifies the meek office worker, and Mampaka shows the more boisterous spirit of a younger group of workers. The two expertly contribute to the overall satirical tone and add a solid emotional depth.

At only 78 minutes long, Employee of the Month feels satisfyingly brisk. While much more must be said, it feels paced well enough without any fat. However, the third act is somewhat contrived and doesn’t allow the messages from earlier to breathe. The conclusion is satisfying, albeit silly. It’s easy to write off the screenplay as being too unrealistic, but it’s at least fun enough to avoid most criticism.

Director Véronique Jadin has previously directed short films with a dark tone, so it’s no surprise that she takes an extra dark spin on this satirical comedy. It almost feels mean-spirited at points because of the many deaths that Inés and Melody become involved in. There are many laughs, but some moments feel over-the-top and clash with the overall tone.

Some polishing to the script would’ve made Employee of the Month a much wittier experience. As it stands, Jadin has created a film that captures the feeling of the modern workplace with a dark and hilarious turn. It’s easily accessible for English speakers looking to expand into foreign films and will surely play well with fans of dark comedy or those who want to kill their boss.

Employee of the Month releases on VOD starting May 12.

Rating: 3.5/5

Review by Cole Groth

Good shark movies are incredibly hard to come by. I’d argue that it’s just as hard to find a shark thriller that isn’t terrible, and that’s where The Black Demon comes into play. With a false promise of a terrifying shark but a surprisingly interesting script, this film isn’t quite good, but it’s refreshingly not bad.

Josh Lucas stars as an employee of a massive oil company who takes his family on an idyllic vacation in Mexico. Things quickly turn sour as his family gets stranded on an oil rig with a ferocious shock who tries its all to protect its territory. Over the 100-minute runtime, they have to find ways to survive the threat, which grows deadlier with every passing minute.

The immediate biggest problem with this is that the shark doesn’t appear in the film very much. Throughout the whole runtime, it appears for a collective of maybe two minutes, making it feel like a very underwhelming threat. Characters spend most of the time talking about how dangerous the “black demon” is rather than actually showing it to us. When the shark does appear, it’s menacing, but it’s mostly too little too late, and audiences will feel frustrated by the lack of its titular villain.

Toward the movie’s end, audiences should be able to piece together that the “black demon” that everybody refers to isn’t a shark. Writers Boise Esquerra and Carlos Cisco take the villain to an environmental approach, with the demon being the product of the oil rig Paul works on. Environmental metaphors can be done well, and while this one subverts the shark thriller genre, it’s too on the nose to be anything but silly.

As far as acting goes, this is surprisingly solid. Josh Lucas, Fernanda Urrejola, and Julio César Cedillo give it their all, and the script is quite good from a dialogue perspective. I was expecting to cringe throughout most of the runtime, and while there are still a few eye-rolling moments, it’s mostly relegated to the expository stuff at the beginning.

While there are some shining moments in The Black Demon, it doesn’t blend very well. The lack of any shark action can be somewhat balanced out by an otherwise decent drama, but it doesn’t help that it’s a rather dull experience. There’s not much of a reason for this to be longer than 90 minutes. It’s a very simple premise that feels stretched out for no reason. We’re told way too much through sloppy exposition when any viewer truly wants to see action between Paul and the shark. It’s not quite a bad experience, but those expecting anything more than a moderately entertaining time will be disappointed.

The Black Demon releases in theaters starting April 28.

Rating: 2.5/5

Review by Cole Groth

Documentary filmmaking is often overlooked as a lesser medium of entertainment. As a film critic, I’m embarrassed to say that I also stray away from documentaries, but I’ll reconsider this perspective going forward after seeing 32 Sounds. From Oscar-nominated director Sam Green, this immersive experience explores the human connection of sound and stands apart as one of the best documentaries in years.

Sam Green follows up on his promise through the title of 32 Sounds. He presents the audience with 32 unique auditory experiences, ranging from sounds within the womb to the silence of the night. Some sounds are abstract, and some are incredibly common, but they’re all uniquely profound. Supported by a score from JD Samson, Green’s calm narration takes viewers on an odyssey.

It’s easy to think a documentary like this would be pretentious. Trying to capture these shared experiences often traps directors into making assumptions about the world that simply aren’t true. However, Green takes a nuanced approach to these broad generalizations and explains sound’s universality with simplicity, making it wildly entertaining.

Plenty of the 32 sounds Green explores are a lot of fun. We see the different ways that artists use sound in their works, highlighting the incredible medium that is sound. Documentaries too often feel like they’re made by people who simply find the topic interesting. Green has a connection with the use of sound that transcends this. He manipulates audio to shift tones numerous times, making this a fun and emotional experience.

Toward the film’s end, Green takes a sharply emotional twist and revisits voice memos from his deceased relatives. While the first hour is great, the last half hour is an absolute masterpiece. It’s rare to find a director so in touch with emotions; it is undoubtedly fresh air.

With sound being the core of this documentary, Samson has a lot to stand up to with her score. Fortunately, she brings magic to the calm narration from Green and enhances the experience across the board. Her synth-heavy score is endlessly engaging, and mastery shines through each piece.

32 Sounds is nothing short of masterful. It’s the type of documentary that will shift your worldview and stick in your mind long after the credits roll. It’s a joyous exploration of the power of sound that is effortlessly delightful in its presentation. This is not a film to be missed.

32 Sounds releases in theaters starting April 28.

Rating: 4.5/5