The Devil Wears Prada 2

 

This review may contain spoilers!

The Devil Wears Prada 2 is the sequel to The Devil Wears Prada (2006) and rejoins our main characters twenty years on. When Runway magazine experiences a disastrous PR nightmare, Andy (a now award-winning journalist) is rehired to restore the company's reputation.

I actually really forgot how much fun Andy Sachs was as a character. I imagine, like most, the draw to watch Miranda Priestly once again was a huge pull to see this sequel. Yet, I could not help but fall into Andy's journey. This is a character who has grown by being an advocate, who chases stories of human struggle. She is still quirky, a little awkward and does not fit squarely into the mould of Runway magazine as Miranda styles it. But Andy is a very sincere fighter for justice, and loves Runway in her own way. Seeing how Andy, Miranda and some of the other characters fight for Runway is a really significant part of this movie. In a broader sense, thematically, this film uses the characters we know to explore the media industry's current struggles. From award-winning journalists being fired at the top of this film, to Runway facing mass layoffs, it is clear that the media as we know it has been distorted and changed. The idea of a physical magazine has all but perished, and the digital narrative is more about views than the content of the narrative. This sense of helplessness is perfectly capped off by one of the tech billionaire antagonists admitting A.I. and the like are much like the fires of Pompeii. Impossible to outrun, better to accept the lava. I really felt this film managed an endearing, comedic tone while also having so much to say about the media landscape of today in a very starkly honest way. Across the whole feature, the thing that sat so well with me and the large audience I was sat with was how nice it was to see these characters again, still themselves, just slightly matured. Watching Nigel and Andy befriend one another all over again, or Emily's own insecurities lash out against Miranda and Andy, felt like I had stepped through a portal back to the mid-2000s. This was a sequel that completely understood where it had come from and then proceeded to work itself for the modern day in a manner that made sense.

If you're going to do a The Devil Wears Prada sequel, it pays to go big or go home. From a visual design perspective, this film really understood how to frame these grandiose settings of luxury, spotlight the incredible costuming work and transport the audience to the world of designer fashion. I found the editing had an incredible, fun sense of pacing within a scene, especially when it could toy with multiple sequences running parallel to each other. It also has a soundtrack boasting some of the more interesting celebrity female musicians today, with Miley Cyrus, Dua Lipa, Laufey, Lady Gaga and Doechii all lending music to this ensemble of brilliant tracks.

Anne Hathaway, who played Andy Sachs, leads this film superbly; her character is so emotive that it's very hard not to connect with her. Emily Blunt, who played Emily, has that same cold edge that worked so well for her the first time; Blunt has this fragility going on beneath the surface, which I felt enhanced the role. Stanley Tucci, who played Nigel, very well stole the show countless times; I think Tucci is just a wonderful, heartfelt performer. Justin Theroux, who played Benji Barnes, is this ridiculous tech bro billionaire who is charmingly goofy at first; Theroux then adds this depraved worldview about AI and the future, which was a chilling moment. Kenneth Branagh, who played Stuart, is in one of his more domesticated roles here; Branagh and Streep are entirely sweet together. B.J. Novak, who played Jay Ravitz, is quite fun as a finance bro; there is a certain satisfaction in how ignorantly callous he can be. Lady Gaga, who played herself, is an absolutely stunning performer, to no one's surprise; watching her spar with Streep was a delight for me. 

However, the best performance came from Meryl Streep, who played Miranda Priestly. This role is the iconic element of The Devil Wears Prada films. Some parts just seem to come so naturally to Streep, bringing Miranda's superior presence to life. The almost comical way Miranda is such an elitist figure at the top of the world, meting out her worldview on others while also adjusting to change herself. Yet, I really found Streep came into her own in the back half of the film, where we really got to see under the surface of Miranda again. Watching her seethe and vie for power as Runway and all its staff are being ripped away is interesting. I also really enjoyed seeing her navigate the moments of betrayal from Emily, seeing that cunning edge of her character come to life. Streep then really gets to play this role as a bit of a mastermind, working alongside Hathaway and Tucci to make a thrilling and emotional final act. That scene of Miranda and Andy in the car together, talking about the book at the end, is why Streep makes this movie; it's why I will always come back to these movies.

The start of this sequel does take a while to get going; the world initially feels quite different. There are a lot of working pieces going on, blended with a lot of new faces; it's not a smooth transition to a fresh feature in that first act. I also felt this film was a little more prepared to play to a simple gag at times. There were some jokes here that felt a bit more on the nose or exaggerated than they would have been in the original feature.

I found this film very stylish with a strong eye behind the framing of the camera, but it wasn't without some points of weakness. I particularly hated how the lighting was captured in this film. There were entire scenes where the shadows dropping over characters concealed good acting or brought the visual quality of a scene down. 

Simone Ashley, who played Amari, barely feels like a character; the new, fashionable assistant just completely bereft of personality. Lucy Liu, who played Sasha Barnes, is quite a figurehead but not much of a role; Liu is here for the plot to reach a goal and not to really flex her acting chops. Tracie Thoms, who played Lily, is a returning friend character for Hathaway that felt poorly revisited; Thoms is a moment of nostalgia in a film that has moved past her. Caleb Hearon, who played Charlie, actually yanked me out of the film a bit; Hearon barely felt like an actor, and it was clear that his social media presence was why he had a role. Patrick Brammall, who played Peter, is quite an odd romantic pairing for Hathaway; I found his particular brand of humour struggled to mesh with the film. Rachel Bloom, who played Tessa, is quite an outlier in this; Bloom's publishing friend is often frenzied and running at a higher pace than she needs to be. Helen J Shen, who played Jin Chao, was the quietly charming side character that felt like a bad sequel move; Shen's role could be a bit too obvious in her comedic delivery. Tibor Feldman, who played Irv Ravitz, was a powerful role that had no gravitas; Feldman just wasn't commanding enough for the part. Larry Mitchell, who played Mack, was one of Andy's friends too many; he added nothing of value to this feature.

The absolute thrill I had watching a top-tier mid-2000s dramedy make this kind of a comeback. I would give The Devil Wears Prada 2 an 8.5/10.

Exit 8

 

This review may contain spoilers!

Exit 8 is an adaptation of the video game The Exit 8 by Kotake Create. It is a liminal space horror about a man who becomes caught in the same repeating underground subway corridor. He must spot anomalies as he walks through the tunnel, or risk becoming trapped forever.

This is a film that thrills by drumming up the fear where it can. What I enjoyed the most about Exit 8 was the introduction of the corridor itself, this liminal space that our leading characters found themselves trapped within. Those early scenes where our protagonist stumbles into the corridor are a sinking feeling, a moment of dread as you realise what is unfolding moments before he does. From here, we come to be thoroughly immersed in this sinister passage and are shown all of the horrors that it can yield. Those moments where our characters fail or guess wrong weigh heavily upon the audience. I think the ability to place you in the experience of those living this 'purgatory' is an impressive narrative feat.

I found I really enjoyed how this film captured a quite limited urban space. This is a very contained film by nature, and yet the camerawork always had you exploring the space with the same level of scrutiny as the main characters. The score for the film really ramped up the tension and the sense of helplessness. I adored the intensive use of 'Bolero, M. 81' to lurch us into the horror's repetitive nature.

Naru Asanuma, who played The Boy, was quite good as this young and stoic protagonist; he conveyed a lot early on without even needing to say anything at all. Kotone Hanase, who played the High School Student, was a deeply unsettling role; the way her role's personality twisted and turned was tough to watch.

However, the best performance came from Kazunari Ninomiya, who played the Lost Man. This was our leading protagonist for this film, and he helps pull us into what he's experiencing. When we first meet this role, he seems a bit muted, neither courageous nor firm in his sense of self. Ninomiya plays a man who is wrestling with the prospect of becoming a father, often terrified of the very idea. The course of the film forces him to confront the responsibility behind the thought, and take courage in the face of supporting his ex-girlfriend. Ninomiya's best quality in this film is how we see his character come to realise that he is trapped. It is a slow realisation, a terrifying one. Watching this Lost Man become tortured by the loop he finds himself trapped within is the significant element that has to work in all of this.

Exit 8 is an interesting premise; the liminal horror is a nice draw. However, it is a film that just keeps doing the same conceit over and over again. You wind up settling in as an audience member, because the same space and where the film is going with its use of this horror setting is very clear. There's not even very much fear that our protagonists won't escape, which is probably the missing piece to making this puzzle better. While I think Ninomiya does an incredible job with what he has, I also found the Lost Man a horrendous character to have to follow across the feature. He's inherently rather pathetic, and bumbles around being tortured by a sense of duty that doesn't seem so agonising. In fact, the way he internalises and really rakes himself over this thought of becoming a father gets to a point where you even lose a bit of sympathy for him. Even the fact that he is upset at himself for not confronting bad behaviour on the train is a hard moment to connect with. I didn't always find this film consistent; the Lost Man's asthma being a significant issue, then never really being one again, bothered me a lot. I don't feel like the Lost Man even changes enough as a person by the end of the film; he merely seems to have found common decency.

The visual effects for Exit 8 just weren't good enough for the space they took up. The rat scene alone was absolutely hilarious.

Yamato Kochi, who played the Walking Man, was really here to be more creepy than he was a character; he played a bit too strongly in the moments he got to break away and do his own stuff. Nana Komatsu, who played the Lost Man's Partner, never felt like a role; she was more of an impending question hanging over the narrative.

Exit 8 is a fairly unsubstantive film video game adaptation. I would give Exit 8 a 4.5/10.

Michael

 

This review may contain spoilers!

Michael is a biopic about the early career of Michael Jackson up to his final performance with the Jackson 5 on their Victory Tour.

Michael is a film that really comes down to portraying Michael's own insecurities. He was beaten significantly as a child, had an imbalanced relationship with his father and sheltered in childish fantasies. His rise to fame here is depicted as an effort to escape and believe in himself; to essentially break away from the Jackson family mould. Michael is oppressed by the control Joseph Jackson has over his family; there's a sense of fear there that permeates across the film. It's an interesting duel watching the pair try to resist and control the other. 

This is an Antoine Fuqua-directed film, so you know there's going to be a bit of style at play. There's a shot in this film of Jackson standing atop a car outside the CBS studio, which I think immortalises the visual nature of this feature. But if that's not enough, you can see just how much fun Fuqua had stitching the 'Thriller' music video scene together. The editing here is quite slick and sets an even pace to a film that could have otherwise felt slow. The strength of the film should be the music, and it often is. The selection of songs here might be obvious, but they are also clear staples of Michael Jackson's musical genius.

Jaafar Jackson, who played Michael, is a capable lead who has clearly worked hard for the role; his physicality as Michael Jackson showed him to be an incredible study. Nia Long, who played Katherine Jackson, is a quieter mother figure; the way Long built up Katherine's strength and resistance to Joseph across the film, I found admirable. Larenz Tate, who played Berry Gordy, shows a great reaction to Michael's rising star; the way Tate is a positive figure to Michael at an early point in the film is a nice note. Miles Teller, who played John Branca, is a real straight-shooter in this; Teller keeps a level playing field and guides Jackson well across their scenes together. Mike Myers, who played Walter Yetnikoff, has a great standout scene in this film; watching Myers play the part of strongarming MTV is a real blast.

However, the best performance came from Juliano Valdi, who played Young Michael. I don't think there will be a more powerful child performance this year. Which is a crazy thing to feel after I watched the NZ premiere of Hamnet earlier in the year (if you know, you know). Valdi's take on Michael Jackson as a child is electric; this is a young boy who feels the music he is performing to his very core. He moves about a set effortlessly; the dancing here will blow you away. But I loved how gentle and earnest he was. Valdi established that Michael is a bit off-kilter but also sincere. I also think he portrayed the struggle between father and son the best out of all the performers working that storyline. Watching Valdi barely hold himself together after a moment of abuse was like walking on crushed glass. This is a young actor who should go a long way; there's talent here in spades.

The issue with Michael is that it often feels safe, but more than that, it feels like it holds a substantial amount back. Biopic films that focus on musicians have been a constant staple of late, and Michael is one of the more basic ones I've watched. This is a simple rags-to-riches story, with minimal roadblocks and some mild interpersonal struggle scattered in. It's not trying to be inventive like Bohemian Rhapsody or Better Man were. The whole story feels quite condensed or even edited down. Chunks of life story have been ripped clean out, and what's left feels like the Michael Jackson story they're okay with telling us. Michael is a surface-level deep film that struggles to find detail in its narrative. It is also clear that Michael is an unusual protagonist. Yet the things that make him strange feel oddly taboo and like they can only be talked about so much. He hides in childish things, but the film seems afraid of examining the why there too closely. Michael really could have been a strong character study, but in truth, it just wants to celebrate the rise of Michael Jackson's celebrity.

Michael Jackson bought a range of animals in his time, and this film lightly covers this. The result of this is some absolutely uncanny CGI animals completely ruining the flow of this narrative from time to time.

Colman Domingo, who played Joseph Jackson, hits a pretty singular note across this; the mean-spirited, selfish father figure gets quite played out. Laura Harrier, who played Suzanne de Passe, is a figure who is there to be the tantalising door to the music industry; but Harrier isn't really playing much of a character here at all. KeiLyn Durrel Jones, who played Bill Bray, is framed as an odd father figure substitute to Joseph throughout the film; this is a performance that awkwardly observes but rarely feels vital to the scene. Kendrick Sampson, who played Quincy Jones, is entirely irrelevant to the plot of this film; Sampson and Jackson don't even pair nicely together in their scenes. 

There are pieces of a good story here amid the formulaic, bizarre musical biopic. I would give Michael a 6/10.

Fuze

This review may contain spoilers!

Fuze is a heist thriller following a military bomb disarmament unit locking down a few city blocks in London to disarm a recently unearthed WWII bomb. At the same time, a band of opportunistic thieves use the lockdown to perform a bank heist.

I found this an incredibly interesting thriller, one that was prepared to change itself to keep the audience hooked. At first, what we have is quite an operational high-stakes glimpse into a major event that forces military, law enforcement and other units of government to come together to protect innocent lives from this bomb threat. The additional element of a band of thieves steadily working throughout this lockdown also contributes to the tightly paced delivery, with their heist proving extremely methodical. At precise moments, you wonder whether this is the time the thieves would be caught, while at others, the risk of the bomb detonating escalates. The film is stacked with tiny micro-conflicts that shift things into tenser or more unpredictable spaces. Once the large pivotal shift of the film transpires, the dangerous elements really unravel, and our focus lies with the heist. Seeing double crosses play out, secrets become revealed and intensive shoot-outs play out, leave you guessing to the very end who our final triumphant characters will be. There is a strange sense of satisfaction in watching who walks away, regardless of how likable the characters themselves are. Fuze is a thriller where you might notice the cards it has up its sleeve, yet it spins its story very well.

This film has a very simplistic, everything precisely in the frame approach. We move and hold with the characters who lead the screen; this is a film that invites you to observe as it all unfolds steadily. The editing for Fuze is absolutely tight; it keeps an incredible pace and moves through scenes in a way that only serves the story that is being told. The score might not be the most impressive of 2026, but it manages to keep a tense feeling of anxiety going in crucial scenes.

Theo James, who played Karalis, is a pretty slippery criminal mastermind here; James' role is riding the stress and high of this caper the most out of anyone. Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who played Chief Superintendent Zuzana, is a very stoic leader; Mbatha-Raw does a good job at showing a reserved and effective figure of authority. Saffron Hocking, who played Military Sergeant Dootsie Keane, is a strong foil to Taylor-Johnson's more aloof lead; Hocking banters with her lines impressively while switching into a more abrasive military manner when called for. 

However, the best performance came from Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who played Will Tranter. This might be a smaller film than some of Taylor-Johnson's recent leading work, but it also reflects how much he has grown as a performer. There is no point in this film where you don't believe Will is a man of action who is seasoned in difficult scenarios such as this. Taylor-Johnson commands the military response scenes, barking orders and holding the unit together with a casual grit. Yet, it's the scenes where his command is challenged that I loved; watching him grow stubborn and upset was a nice switch. Seeing the sort of compassionate soldier he was and the path he chose in that final flashback was a great piece of acting from Taylor-Johnson to close us out.

Fuze is a well-written, precise piece of cinema that isn't too hard to follow. This is the sort of feature that signposts where it's going pretty hard, and I felt the mystery would have been richer with some more subtlety. The way this thriller becomes so heightened near the end, with a scrabble for success, felt a bit messier than the polished first half. The final flashback scene, paired with the humorous credits roll, felt a bit unnecessary. It was an endpoint that had me wishing the film just trusted the audience to be smart enough to read it. The use of comedy before a full cut to credits just seemed tonally jarring when compared to the movie we had been watching.

The soundtrack for this film had some cool tracks, but a really strange mix of genres that made no real sense. The jump from reggae to a folk-rock thing really had me scratching my head.

Sam Worthington, who played X, isn't much more than a big grunt with a few more lines than most; whatever leading man talent Worthington used to wield has abandoned him here. Elham Ehsas, who played Rahim, has his own subplot that doesn't intrigue as much as the others; Ehsas is really held on his own to tell his story, which struggles.

A tense play-by-play that turns into a lively heist thriller. I would give Fuze a 7.5/10.

Outcome

This review may contain spoilers!

Outcome follows Reef Hawk, a famous Hollywood actor who has been performing since he was six. Poised to come off a five-year hiatus after a stint in rehab, Reef is suddenly confronted with the threat of blackmail that could shatter his entire existence.

I enjoy that this film is about image at its very core. Reef is quite a fragile figure; he is held together by the thought that he is admired and thought of as a 'good' celebrity. Across Outcome, we watch Reef feverishly wrestle his cellphone out of his pocket and Google how well-liked he is, often by searching up negative things about himself. When people say damaging things about who he is in this movie, he spirals into a depressive, frenzied or rageful state. Even when face-to-face with the man who was blackmailing him, Reef asks if the guy hates him. It's the only thing Reef can understand; his own reputation and image are the very things his being revolves around.

The soundtrack for the feature serves it rather well; playing that moment of final growth out on 'How Lucky' by Kurt Vile was that light, contemplative feeling this film needed.

Keanu Reeves, who played Reef Hawk, actually really goes for it with this role; Reeves' lead protagonist is a constantly anxious and hopeless mess. Cary Christopher, who played Skylar Williams Wood, is a prodigal young talent; Christopher only has one scene here, but his parody of an overconfident young actor is hilarious. Laverne Cox, Roy Wood Jr., Atsuko Okatsuka, who played Virginia Allen-Green, Reverend Leondrus Carter and Unis Kim respectively, are a hilarious group together; they really play up the absurdity of a Hollywood image crisis team. Welker White, who played Savannah, is a biting moment of realness in all this; White's painful remarks about how hurt Reef left her and how damaging he was salted the earth of this film. Matt Bomer and Cameron Diaz, who played Xander and Kyle respectively, struggled with the material at times but really showed their experience when it counted; the scene where Diaz loses her temper and Bomer confesses why he is Reef's friend, is powerful stuff.

However, the best performance came from Martin Scorsese, who played Richie 'Red' Rodriguez. I've really enjoyed the more recent light forays into acting from Scorsese; if you haven't seen him in The Studio, that is a must-watch. What I enjoyed about Scorsese as Red, this washed-up manager for child actors, is that Scorsese makes Red feel seasoned in the industry. You believe Red isn't a big player; he's just a guy who works out the back of a bowling alley. But he has doggedly hustled at his work for years, in a way that has often felt thankless. When Scorsese admonishes Reeves and tells him that he tried his best for him, it's a real moment of vulnerability. The first this film ever really shows. Watching Scorsese confide that he tried to save his client from the drugs, all while beating himself up for not doing enough, is a genuine moment of feeling in this entire feature. But adding that confession layer from Scorsese that he is so sad that none of his clients ever reached out to him again after they left is a bit tragic. Ending the film on the reconnection between Scorsese and Reeves is the smartest thing this film achieves.

Outcome is the sort of film that you put on and almost immediately question who on Earth it's actually for. This film is the sort of story that feels like it's made in Hollywood for Hollywood. Jonah Hill's take on Hollywood celebrity satire is one of the more niche experiences I have had watching cinema. There is a vapid reflection on actors being afraid of being cancelled in the digital age, jumping at the sight of a cellphone camera or a tabloid rumour. Characters jape about the #MeToo movement and being a victim of sexual harassment in a way that feels like it's playing with a line that doesn't really need to be crossed. Outcome wants to be a comedy more than it wants to be a drama, but the humour feels extremely tailored to the crowd of people who are actually making the film. When it isn't the comedy often degrades itself into sex or drug-related material, with one scene putting Ira on a toilet seat while Reef continues to chat with him. This film has characters making racist jokes while then darting away from that material in the same breath to show how 'opposed to racism' they are. It's a film that feels more than a bit senseless and warped morally. There's an implication that Reef's manager, Ira, also represents Kanye West and Kevin Spacey, as there are monolithic photo frames of them all through his offices. As a character, I never found myself entirely understanding or caring for Reef very much, and the film never manages to change my mind on that. Reef is quite a shallow character with a strange life and people around him who act extremely artificially. Everything about this film is performative, and you wonder if there's even any sincerity in the message. Knowing that Jonah Hill made this, while watching him pantomime a morally bankrupt Hollywood manager, often feels more warped than funny.

The way Outcome is shot is absolutely hideous. You are either all too aware of the artifice, or you're too aware that this film has the worst lighting crew working in the big year 2026. The editing is an inconsistent series of cutting choices that often stilt or lend an awkward effect to the pacing. The score for Outcome is grating and lends no extra emotional weight to the feature.

Jonah Hill, who played Ira Slitz, is the biggest letdown in his own movie; Hill gallivants around scenes like he thinks he is the funniest person in any given room. Ivy Wolk, who played Sammy, is here to be Reeves' onscreen daughter, but the pair have no chemistry; Wolk has this dry, tinny delivery that falls on its face. David Spade and Kaia Gerber, who played Buddy Gomorrah and Oksana respectively, are important additions to the film but serve their purpose poorly; Spade looks completely washed out here. Susan Lucci, who played Dinah Hawk, really doesn't know how to ground her character at all; Lucci feels like she is often playing her character too big and fake for the scene. Drew Barrymore, who played herself, has clearly been out of the acting game too long; she just went over the top as her first instinct.

This incredibly talented cast doesn't hide the fact that this is nothing more than a thin vanity project for Jonah Hill. I would give Outcome a 1.5/10.

The Drama

 

This review may contain spoilers!

The Drama follows a happily engaged couple, Emma and Charlie, who are due to be married. At a wine tasting evening with their friends, they play a game naming the worst thing they have ever done. However, when Emma shares hers, the ramifications on all of their lives could be severe indeed.

This film has one key thing to do that ends the first act and catapults us into the second. The Drama has to tell us exactly what the drama is. If there is anything this movie did incredibly well, it was this pivotal moment. The film has given us the fluffy meet-cute, dates and relatable love story that is a little too sweet. It has also shown us that some of the characters are a bit inane, snobbish and have their own conceits. It's the perfect calamitous cocktail for a moment of confession, in which we get this varied mix of the worst things our main cast of characters has ever done. Emma admitting to planning and nearly executing a school shooting silences the room and immediately erodes that feeling of golden romance. Suddenly, tension is high, and the mystery becomes how it is all going to play out. That then becomes the solid strand moving forward; this palpable feeling of tension as you wonder how the gossip spreads and when the bubble will inevitably burst.

Unsurprisingly for an A24 film, this is a highly aesthetic piece of cinema. It has a very indie romance take on New York romance, but then bubbles into intensive uncomfortable shots as the plot unravels into its more foreboding back half. The soundtrack for The Drama is a light offering, but it has these gentle tracks that also suit the indie style of the film. I found 'Inside Out' by Jesse Rae to be the bright theme for everything right in Emma and Charlie's relationship.

Robert Pattinson, who played Charlie, seems to be in his element with a role like this; Charlie is a very aloof figure who absolutely crumbles across the duration of this film. Mamoudou Athie, who played Mike, is a friend character I quite enjoyed across this feature; Athie really tries to settle tensions and is often on the fringe, feeling pretty perturbed by everyone else. Hailey Gates, who played Misha, is this very impassive figure who plays well against Pattinson's ramping fears; Gates is the perfect ingredient to push Emma and Charlie's relationship over a very precarious edge.

However, the best performance came from Zendaya, who played Emma. This character is a really bright and loveable spark from the moment we meet her at the start of the film. Zendaya plays Emma as being entirely head over heels, it's almost to a point where it feels a bit dorky, as her friends indicate to her. Yet Emma is this character who seems to take action and move forward; she has her own temperaments and isn't initially swayed by others. Zendaya plays the drunken confession of admitting she planned a school shooting brilliantly; it bursts out of her in a fairly innocent and naive way. The fallout from that point is that we see Zendaya really spiral out of control from here; she overthinks every social interaction and despairs that her relationship is over. She plays to the tension of every scene, and wilts at becoming this pariah. But I also think the layer of complexity that Zendaya brings that sets her above is how she plays Emma as this redemptive figure. Even at their lowest point, Emma is the character who brings the hope that this relationship can be saved and endure.

I think the reveal of the drama behind The Drama is where the film peaks. From there, I really struggled with what this film had to say for itself. The idea that Emma committed to planning and nearly executing a school shooting as a young teenager is shocking enough to make a good twist. From here, you might expect the movie to say something, anything, about school shootings and gun violence. However, beyond Charlie noting how many shootings there are in the US in a year, this film just loosely wags its finger and says gun violence is bad. Which is really quite a simple and expected position to take. The Drama is more focused on the interpersonal nature of this confessional, asking whether Emma should be condemned for what she almost did some years ago. It's a strange moment for the plot to utilise quite a serious problem within American society, then put it to the side to make a film that is more in line with asking if people are worth getting a second chance, regardless of their actions? This film has a very stilted pacing that snaps between imaginary scenarios, dream sequences, flashbacks and jump cuts that craft a very strange type of pacing to watch. The film also wields these characters who seem to live quite an elevated life; it's very glamorous while still feeling quite domestic. There's a bit of an academia air to the whole thing that creates this superior sense when discussing morality; the characters hardly feel like arbiters of justice that an audience can relate to. When the characters confess to the worst things they have done, one of Emma's friends nearly killed someone through their actions. Yet this friend is never condemned in the same way that Emma is, a plot moment I really struggled to make heads or tails of. The film snowballs into everyone taking increasingly worse actions to muddy the moral implications of the story, with Charlie even cheating on Emma at one point. By the time the wedding implodes itself in this grotesque way, I don't think anyone felt shock so much as they felt repulsion. The film offers up crumbs of a happy ending, but I struggled to understand if I should even really care about the fate of Emma and Charlie by this point.

The editing for The Drama is a scattered nightmare, with cuts that confuse and divert the audience, constantly destroying the pacing. I also found the score for the feature to be a frenetic, droning sound that might have heaped on the anxiety of certain scenes, but had no business being described as anything 'musical'.

Alana Haim, who played Rachel, is here to be the frosty friend who is also a bit of a bitch; but Haim never really seems to grasp how to do this in a particularly grounded manner. Hannah Gross, who played Alice, is a very reserved figure who feels a bit superfluous at times; Gross' relationship with Zendaya and Haim is really poorly defined and perhaps not needed at all.

A strange, reckless movie that utilises a major systemic American issue for an edgy take on interpersonal relationships. I would give The Drama a 3.5/10.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

 

This review may contain spoilers!

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is a direct sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023). In this feature, Bowser Jr. is on a galaxy-wide rampage and wants his father returned to him. It will take our heroes, and some new friends, to stop the Bowser family and their Koopa army.

I really liked that it felt like Princess Peach got to be active in this story. The good thing about a Nintendo property film is that all of these characters are equally exciting and can command their own story. Peach undergoes a real heroic arc, venturing throughout the galaxy to save her sister and uncover the mysteries of her past.

The one thing I have to say positively for Illumination is that they have really turned out their A game for designing these Mario movies. The colour palettes are entirely vibrant, and everything really pops with a varied colour scheme. There is plenty of background detail to look for here, and the animation team has really worked to bring the world of Mario and his friends to life. Tyler Bates' score is a real love letter to the cartoonish video games, with tribute to those original game scores woven through his adventurous musical arrangement.

Anya Taylor-Joy, who voiced Princess Peach, is really fighting a great fight this time around; Taylor-Joy gets to present Peach as a bit of a stubborn and capable warrior. Brie Larson, who voiced Rosalina, is this really gentle and motherly figure to the stars; yet Larson also makes it clear that no one in their right mind messes with someone as tough as Rosalina. Keegan-Michael Key, who voiced Toad, has a very dry wit that works well; Key's Toad is always up for adventure even when he isn't the most equipped for it. Charlie Day, who voiced Luigi, suits the plumber brother more ready to jump at his own shadow; Day's take on Luigi is rather stressed out yet full of admiration for his brother.

However, the best performance came from Benny Safdie, who voiced Bowser Jr. As far as antagonists go, Safdie has really stepped up the game in this sequel. Bowser Jr. can seem like a mean-spirited kid who lashes out in tantrum-like ways. However, Safdie does a good job of following through and actually sculpting him to be an intimidating villain. This is a Bowser who just wants the approval of his father and his father's love. Safdie leans into the playful wickedness of the role, creating an animated villain who actually stands against our heroes well.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is much like the first Mario movie; it barely has any plot to speak of. These films are made by Illumination, which famously treats its animated features like products, and less like art forms. If you don't believe me, perhaps just reflect on the fact that we almost have as many Minions movies as we do Despicable Me movies now. This is a film that starts off with hints of a grander, nefarious plot, but in reality, Bowser Jr. just wants Bowser back. Princess Peach flies all over the place to find her sister. The Mario Bros. eventually stumble after her. Yoshi is just kinda introduced and then becomes a part of the gang. Bowser's character development is weirdly stripped away, and he regresses back to being a villain. Even the final battle sidelines our main antagonists for a monster fight that didn't seem especially well set up. A lot of this movie wants you to see and be interested in the familiar locations, characters and objects of the various Nintendo games. It dangles them out in front of you with a big grin, hoping the memory of the past is enough to have you hooked. This coming out after Pixar had just released one of its most imaginative films in years is such a stark contrast.

The soundtrack for this movie has a few strange moments of hip-hop or modern tracks that just don't really mesh with the sort of story being delivered.

Glen Powell, who voiced Fox McCloud, is a moment where the actor is trying to impress upon you that his character is cool; Fox feels awkwardly stuffed into this movie to mirror what Donkey Kong achieved in the last one. Chris Pratt, who voiced Mario, just doesn't have a voice that makes me think of Mario; the accent inflection Pratt does is quite painful. Jack Black, who voiced Bowser, feels like he's only really capable of playing to this strange comedic take on the villain; Black often sounds more like himself than the character he is attempting to portray. Donald Glover, who voiced Yoshi, feels more like a marketing move than anything else; Glover voicing something as innocuous as Yoshi is a waste of time. Kevin Michael Richardson, who voiced Kamek, is quite an annoying henchman figure; his grating presence in the Bowser scenes really brings those down. Luis Guzmán, who voiced Wart, is a barely notable antagonist role; he does some remarkably unimpressive posturing to ignite a fight scene.

Mamma mia, here we go again. I would give The Super Mario Galaxy Movie a 3.5/10.