Friendship

 

This review may contain spoilers!

Friendship follows Craig, a rather inept and lonely suburban Dad who finds his whole world changed when he makes friends with his neighbour, Austin. As Craig poorly navigates the world of adult friendships, we come to see his personal failings and poor character tarnish his life.

This is a fresh comedy from A24 that really leans on the brand of humour you will be accustomed to from Tim Robinson if you have seen his body of work. Scattered throughout this feature are wildly absurd scenes that feel like contained skits, blips of humour that will have you rolling. These moments of comedy might be camouflaged as a group of guy buds handing out before tilting into a perfectly rehearsed chorus rendition of 'My Boo' by Ghost Town DJs. Likewise, we get a classic American comedy drug trip scene, but this film makes me think of films like Booksmart in how it makes this moment unique. The protagonist quietly drifts into a Subway eatery, orders a sandwich from Paul Rudd and suddenly comes back to his senses an instant later. This movie is riddled with some wild points and sincerely fun comedy concepts.

This film is surprisingly sharp-looking for a comedy, transforming American suburbia into this insular and claustrophobic world that is Craig's life. I also have a real sweet spot for a comedy that uses its soundtrack for full punchline material; I mentioned 'My Boo', which steals the show, but putting Slipknot in for the punk rock stage was brilliant as well.

Paul Rudd, who played Austin, seems a little off the beaten path at times, but is clearly having fun here; Rudd really leans into the charming and charismatic aspects of his role keenly. Kate Mara, who played Tami, is probably playing this whole thing the most straight-edged, which works surprisingly well; Mara is a very sobering presence that counters Robinson's antics nicely. Billy Bryk, who played Tony, is a deceptively heavy hitter when it comes to comedy; Bryk gives us the toad scene, which is one of the best parts of the film. Josh Segarra, who played Devon, is in a fairly two-dimensional role, but he fills it very notably; Segarra just has to be the most captivating person in the room for a moment, and it works perfectly. Conner O'Malley, who played Patton, played a small role that stole the show for me; O'Malley turns a small interaction between himself and Robinson into the most side-splitting interaction of the feature. 

However, the best performance came from Tim Robinson, who played Craig. This film is almost exclusively built around Robinson's brand of comedy so there is little surpise he shines the best within that. This is an off-kilter character who wanders away from good intentions at every turn in favour of his own self-interest. Robinson builds a good gag here around making Craig a sort of 'everyman'. We could bump into this guy on the street easily, and the humour lies in watching this everyman figure alight his whole life so easily. Robinson is a loud, destructive force who can play with jokes that subvert expectations or aim to make the viewer uncomfortable. I like how clear it was that his character was a complete narcissist who would happily toast his chances at a good life for one single second of self-satisfaction. A bizarre and captivating time from Robinson.

The moments where we get to sit in the comedy are great, but they're so brief and often swallowed by long sweeping moments of discomfort. This film is hooked around a character who is quite bad at being a husband and a father, he feels immense dissatisfaction and loneliness in his own life. You might think the 'friendship' element that is so titular might be the hinge on which this film swings for dealing with that. But not so! After a brief, failed stint at making friends, Craig just impulsively torches his life. We get an over-the-top comedic figure who is innately unlikable, marching through scenes, blowing up his life. He's a jerk, people don't like him, and the rest of the supporting characters aren't exactly underdogs worth rooting for either. This film basically generally points at middle-aged middle-class guys and says you're the problem, and then fails to evoke much more substance than that. It's a perfectly fine comedic theme, there are some good jokes, but the story and characters presented aren't easy to connect with. I also felt really pushed to the edge of my comfort levels when Craig started chewing on soap or when his teenage son kissed his mother on the lips; it felt like an attempt to be provocative just for the sake of it. There may have been a push for this to fit the A24 portfolio in terms of narrative style more than there needed to be.

The way this film is edited sets a sluggish pace that really ambles us along, considering how energetic Robinson can be; this is quite surprising. I also didn't like some of the circle wipes and other dated transitional effects that were scattered throughout. The score for the film was downright wild tonally. There was this low-toned chorus that sang across several scenes that didn't work for me. I felt like the score was intended to paint this film as a little more thought-provoking than it actually managed to be.

Jack Dylan Grazer, who played Steven, doesn't really serve much purpose here; I found he didn't play his part for comedy, and he added nothing to the overall story.

A phenomenal cast and some skit-like moments of hilarity don't salvage a film that is too busy trying to make you uncomfortable and unsettled. I would give Friendship a 4.5/10.

Superman

 

This review may contain spoilers!

Superman marks the first feature in the new DC cinematic universe. We join the titular hero amidst his third year of being a superhero as he comes up against the intellect of his adversary, Lex Luthor.

One thing I strongly feel about this film is that it's nice to see a Superman who is just a good person. He is motivated by his positive values, and he acts on them; that's the character at his core. It also felt like Superman was genuinely immersed in a comic book world already full of heroes and villains, which is much more interesting than anything done with the DC superheroes in a few years.

Mikaela Hoover, who played Cat Grant, embodied the flirty gossip columnist well; Hoover really plays up her role's curiosity and hunger for juicy info. Skyler Gisondo, who played Jimmy Olsen, was made to play this character; Gisondo manages to be nerdy and awkward while also entirely confident within himself. Frank Grillo, who played Rick Flag Sr., genuinely gives off the impression of a man who has seen conflict; Grillo is quite interesting as a character at the top who is trying to speak to the good side of heroes. Edi Gathegi, who played Mr Terrific, is a real scene stealer; Gathegi has this stoic detached thing going that makes his character one of the most badass. Milly Alcock, who played Kara Zor-El, is only in one scene, but it's a massive show of talent; her more reckless Supergirl was a lot of fun and presents an upcoming film I'm much more excited about.

However, the best performance came from Nathan Fillion, who played Guy Gardner. At first, this outwardly grumpy and arrogant superhero figure is an abrasive one. But the longer you sit with him, the more you realise that's kind of the point. Guy Gardner has always famously been one of the worst Green Lanterns when it comes to attitude, and this iteration gets right to the heart of that. Fillion's Guy is entirely self-obsessed, paints himself the leader of the 'Justice Gang' and is constantly butting heads with his team. His cocky, derisive air results in some brilliant and funny moments of dialogue. Even within all that tough-guy bluster, Fillion presents a hero with a heart of gold at his core. Seeing the worst Green Lantern shine as one of the very best live-action Lanterns was a spectacular treat.

Superman was an unusual superhero film experience to me; it felt like someone I didn't know particularly well had tossed episode seventeen of a random cartoon onto the TV for me to watch. This is a film that hurtles you smack dab into a superhero universe that is well underway, but there's nothing much to the padding in that worldbuilding. There are so many characters here, and so many things going on, that it becomes so very easy to actually lose Superman in all this. The dialogue for many of the characters also feels unnatural and a bit forced to evoke a style or era of comics. This just didn't feel like the best story to reintroduce Superman with. The whole film hinges on Lex Luthor essentially 'cancelling' Superman in the court of public opinion, via talk shows and social media. We even get a weird scene where Lex has trained a bunch of monkeys to hurl insults about Superman onto the internet. Given that the film's director was cancelled online and fired from projects he was involved in a few years back, this is all pretty on the nose stuff; but even removed from all that, why waste the big new Superman film on a commentary about cancel culture? Why are online trolls and incel billionaires so present here? This Superman has been hyped for bringing the good-natured, classic Supes back, but it also presents some very ugly and uninteresting elements of our current society that don't feel particularly necessary to the character of Superman. The humour and moments of parody in this film are bizarre or downright uncomfortable. The film feeds us a global conflict between two sovereign nations that is very clearly an oddball parody of the Israel/Palestine conflict. Meanwhile, other characters are making jokes about their ex-girlfriend's weird toes, or we have scenes of Lex musing that Superman has a space harem of Earth wives. I guess a part of me wonders who all of that is for? Sometimes the humour gets downright simplistic. We all know Krypto is here for this film outing, and he's fun for a couple of scenes. But the Superdog is just here to be badly behaved and played for comedy, so when his presence hinges on winning the final act conflict, I felt quite disappointed as a viewer. I also thought the final act devolving into a simple Superman vs. Superman brawl was ridiculously lazy. If you thought the pseudo-science problems of Jurassic World: Rebirth were shocking, you are in for a real treat here. 

I am a massive fan of James Gunn's filmography up until this point; his works are often visual treats. So it was quite the moment of whiplash for me watching the cinematography of this feature. The flying or action sequences in general looked blurry, flight motion looked awkward and the way the film shoved constant close-ups that looked like a 0.5 phone shot made this one of the worst-looking superhero films I had watched in a while. The visual effects really did very little for me either; there were several instances of CGI characters plastered badly against a CGI background. Once again, fight scenes or flight scenes just looked completely blurry and poorly rendered. The musical score was a warbling affair that didn't feel much like a homage, so much as it felt like a mismanaged imitation. It surprised me that Gunn (who is known for his soundtrack compilations) put together such poor picks for Superman. The fact that this film weirdly mischaracterises Superman as kinda liking punk to the point that the film ends with Iggy Pop is the most ridiculous ending imagined.

David Corenswet, who played Superman, lacks the presence required to really stand out as a leading man; I felt he lacked the range to flesh this character out for the more interesting moments of conflict. Alan Tudyk, who voiced Gary, is becoming a voice presence I'm getting a bit tired of hearing in all my robots and DC characters; Tudyk is a talent, but the monotonous tone played for comedy wears thin. Bradley Cooper and Angela Sarafyan, who played Jor-El and Lara respectively, were some of the most lifeless portrayals of Superman's parents yet; it's a good example of when a celebrity cameo undercuts what could have been a good character performance. María Gabriela de Faría, who played The Engineer, is a rather forgettable henchwoman role that gets buried in CGI; de Faría's over-the-top portrayal of anger and hatred makes her character more of something to laugh at. Sara Sampaio, who played Eve Teschmacher, really oversells this airhead girlfriend role; Sampaio presenting the social media addicted, lustful attache to the villain is a role that doesn't work for a variety of obvious reasons. Nicholas Hoult, who played Lex Luthor, is the same whiny Lex we got from Eisenberg that makes me wish they'd cast Lex older; Hoult's lean into the exaggerated incel billionaire feels completely off character for Luthor. Wendell Pierce, who played Perry White, is quite happy phoning in the caricature of Perry; Pierce plays the newspaper editor like he's in a cartoon. Beck Bennett, who played Steve Lombard, is some of the laziest comedic relief the film has on offer; Bennett could have been cut, and nothing would have been lost. Neva Howell and Pruitt Taylor Vince, who played Ma Kent and Pa Kent respectively, fail to really evoke an emotional connection with their on-screen son, nor seem like the origin of his morals; Pruitt Taylor Vince could win an award for really dragging out every single word of dialogue his role had. Rachel Brosnahan, who played Lois Lane, just didn't feel like she gave the role much punch; Lois is often a real fighter, but Brosnahan was used to be more of the girlfriend than anything else. Zlatko Buric, who played Vasil Ghurkos, feels like a strange parody of a real-life figure; I found the way Buric leaned into this parody of a dictator to be borderline perverse at times. Isabela Merced, who played Hawkgirl, is perhaps just too young for this role to be taken seriously; for my money, I'd say her actually shrieking like a bird might be why her performance sucked. Anthony Carrigan, who played Metamorpho, not only looked awful in this role, but his voice did not suit who he was playing; this shrill, panicked figure just comes off as a bit of a joke. 

This is one of the ugliest Superman films I have ever seen. I would give Superman a 4/10.

Jurassic World: Rebirth

 

This review may contain spoilers!

Jurassic World: Rebirth is the seventh instalment in the Jurassic series, featuring a new group of adventurers trapped on a dinosaur-infested island. Martin Krebs assembles a team of mercenaries led by Zora Bennett in an attempt to collect dinosaur bio-samples that could cure heart disease. After picking up a shipwrecked family, things start to go awry for the group, and they soon find themselves landlocked on an island abandoned to dinosaurs.

I enjoyed this film when it knew what familiar beats would actually resonate with audiences. The moments that worked, or the emotional stakes we could buy into. For example, the ragtag band of main characters soldiering about on Dino Island looking for a cure for heart disease weren't especially interesting. Still, the innocent family that got swept up into this unfamiliar landscape was. To resonate with a young family that could be anyone in the theatre made the stakes feel a little more present. I also greatly enjoyed the action sequences and horror elements present across the film. The Jurassic series is at its best when it's chasing thrills. When it allows itself to be scary? Well, that's when these dinosaur films come alive.

The real strength of Jurassic World: Rebirth lies in its impressive visual presentation. Gareth Edwards is no stranger to shooting for monolithic visual effects while also immersing the audience in stunning environments. The special effects just continue to look better and better. I was in awe of how detailed and expressive the dinosaurs were as beasts in this one. Alexandre Desplat weaves a beautiful musical score for this film, and I really felt the moments of danger just as strongly as the moments of wonder.

Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, who played Reuben Delgado, is quite a comforting role as the signature Dad of the film; this is a character who can be quite high-strung but has so much care for his family at all times. David Iacono, who played Xavier Dobbs, is the strongest point of comedic relief in the feature; I actually enjoyed watching Iacono take his character from slacker to protector. Audrina Miranda, who played Isabella Delgado, is quite a strong performer for someone so young; Miranda does an especially good job at showing a child who is riddled with fear come out of that state.

However, the best performance came from Jonathan Bailey, who played Dr. Henry Loomis. I've really been enjoying Bailey's rise to the big screen; he has a lot of talent to give. This is our scientist hero, often the smartest character in a scene, but also the most naturally at home with the dinosaurs. I found Bailey's ability to grandstand and play to the wonder of the Jurassic series highly infectious. This is the sort of character who feeds your excitement of seeing dinosaurs brought to life. I also loved the chemistry Bailey built with Johansson; there was something very playful in their dialogue with one another. I like characters like Henry in the Jurassic series because it just grounds the viewer in a role who loves the very thing we have all turned up to see.

Jurassic World: Rebirth has possibly one of the worst scripts of the series to be frank. When it actually manages to land something right in the story, it is often because the visual and musical production elements are working overtime to lift that moment up. When this film isn't set against an action sequence, there is a very stark reminder that these storylines and characters don't have much bones to them. The whole film hinges on our characters hunting for a cure for heart disease; they need dinosaurs to do it for some reason, and it has to be the biggest earth, sea and air dinosaurs because they have the biggest hearts (the earth, sea and air aspect is still kinda hazy). This driving thing pushes a very odd band of roles together, who fail to become an intriguing main cast of characters. The main mercenary barely feels like a soldier, the financier is the same evil businessman we've had in many other films, the boat captain is here to weep over every character death we experience, and the rest of the roles could be easily described with the words: 'cannon fodder'. These characters could have been made interesting, perhaps even a little three-dimensional, if they didn't fire backstory/character-defining information at one another like it was a one-liner quip. The film fails to really make you buy into it a lot. For example, the opening scene shows a dinosaur laboratory fall into chaos because a Snickers wrapper (woohoo product placement!) gets sucked into an automated door system. The movie also bares no teeth at the end, by cheating the audience out of a semi-decent main character death. This is a film about dinosaurs that has an opening title sequence that states, "The world has begun to lose interest in dinosaurs". Perhaps after this film, that might be true.

Scarlett Johansson, who played Zora Bennett, is in one of her worst leading roles to date; Johansson puts no work in to making us reasonably think her character is even capable of a mercenary occupation. Mahershala Ali, who played Duncan Kincaid, really struggles to make himself known in this; the fact that Ali is playing to quite a tacked-on backstory point makes him difficult to connect with. Rupert Friend, who played Martin Krebs, struggles to get out from the stereotypical qualities of his role; Friend is comfortable in the sleazy, selfish nature of the role and doesn't add any dimension to that. Luna Blaise, who played Teresa Delgado, is the weak link in the family storyline; the obstinate teenager who lashes out shtick wears pretty thin.

It may be time for the Jurassic series to go extinct. I would give Jurassic World: Rebirth a 6/10.

M3GAN 2.0

 

This review may contain spoilers!

M3GAN 2.0 is a sequel to M3GAN (2022) and follows Gemma and Cady a few years after the M3GAN incident. Now, a new weaponised android called AMELIA has gone rogue and is after everyone ever linked to her creation. With Gemma in the crosshairs, they must rely on an android adversary long thought to be dead.

They really stumbled into the right thing when they decided to make M3GAN camp and irreverent. This could very easily have been a sci-fi horror that played itself too seriously; having fun with the material is what found this film its audience. The sequel holds the exact same strength. While this film shucks the horror elements for the most part, it holds on tight to all the comedy elements that made it so beloved in the first place. Yes, M3GAN hates Gemma, and she lets her know it in what is some of the funniest dialogue in the film. Is M3GAN in a stealth operation? Sure, but you're getting a dance number. Cady just got kidnapped, so of course, M3GAN is going to serenade us with Kate Bush. This is a film that wants you shrieking with laughter now instead of fear.

I really felt like the special effects got a bit of a boost this time around, the M3GAN design still works incredibly well, and her big glidersuit scene is an impressive step up from the first outing. The soundtrack takes a little while to give something, but once it starts, you will have some hilarious additions. Though, as I previously mentioned, nothing beats M3GAN singing Kate Bush's 'This Woman's Work'.

Allison Williams, who played Gemma, seems to be having remarkably more fun with the material this time around; Williams really leans into the humorous rivalry between her character and M3GAN. Jemaine Clement, who played Alton Appleton, absolutely ran away with his scenes in this; Clement took the self-absorbed and idolised billionaire role to a hilarious place. Timm Sharp, who played Tim Sattler, was a really funny new addition to the cast; I loved how Sharp just played up his intelligence agent as a low-intelligence moron.

However, the best performance came from Jenna Davis, who voiced M3GAN. This was my favourite performance in the first film, and it is an easy pick in the second feature. Davis is naturally a bit snarky and biting as M3GAN; she is the reason this role is iconic. I often found the way M3GAN winds up on a pedestal is just how much Davis can go for it in a delivery. When the best you have is your title character, it makes sense to see who is lending all that personality to it. Jenna Davis might not be a performer hurtling through stunts, but every moment of comedy, rivalry or pure entertainment often has her at the centre.

M3GAN 2.0 is quite like the first film, with all of the same flaws, only louder and more obvious. These films have always struggled with their identity somewhat; the first film was supposed to be a horror, and this sequel might be an action sci-fi. Yet somehow, both movies are more comedy than anything else. The genre elements are quite confused, and because this follow-up isn't as sure of what it wants to be, there's not much surprise when we're left with a staggering overcomplicated film about AI threats grappling for saving or destroying the world. The film attempts to ground us with M3GAN, Gemma and Cady rather optimistically. But that's not really the light touch the film hopes for; Gemma and Cady's familial problems are even more underdeveloped than in the first film. Ultimately, the idea that M3GAN and co. are required to rout the oldest, most evil AI is a strange follow-up to 'evil toy goes rogue'. The more the film introduces M3GAN, the more it tends to lose focus on the main story that it too knows is boring. The theme is also buried somewhere along the way, it skews towards the AI is evil path again, while mumbling about technology in moderation. M3GAN feels pretty safe this time around; she is treated like a character who isn't really going anywhere, and therefore, the ending feels neither surprising nor particularly gratifying. It's a pity that the stylistic touch of the first horror outing seems to have been lost in the glamour of a big-budget Hollywood sequel.

While I felt the increased budget allowed for nicer effects, it is a pity that the visual cinematography of this film was less. Every scene had more of a lazily paced feel to it, and none of the framing was especially dynamic. I also didn't take much note of the score; the film didn't really lean on this to bleed emotional beats into the film.

Ivanna Sakhno, who played AMELIA, is quite a dull antagonist to pit against our protagonists; where M3GAN is quirky, Sakhno gives AMELIA nothing defining. Violet McGraw, who played Cady, is a young actress the series is sadly saddled with; McGraw struggles to lend her characters much emotional range, which limits any interest in this central character. Brian Jordan Alvarez, who played Cole, really stood out in the first film, but I really wish we had used him less this time around; Alvarez really tries to be the funniest in this film and comes off as a bit over the top. Aristotle Athari, who played Christian, was a letdown as the surprise human antagonist; Athari just doesn't seem to know when to play for humour or when to play a scene dramatically. Jen Van Epps, who played Tess, fell into the background in the first film and struggles with this issue once again; Van Epps just doesn't really seem equipped to make herself known amongst the ensemble.

M3GAN 2.0 is right to lean into its more comedic side, but flounders when it tries to morph into an action AI film. I would give M3GAN 2.0 a 4.5/10.