Bugonia - Review: This Is Your Brain on Bugs

 

Never one willing to let us wait for too long, a little over a year after his previous work, Yorgos Lanthimos (“The Favourite,” “Poor Things”), Emma Stone (“Easy A,” “Zombieland”), and Jesse Plemons (“Game Night,” “The Power of the Dog”) have all reunited once again for a film that certainly fits the oddball wheelhouse of each of their previous works together and apart. With Lanthimos’s uncomfortable directing style and ample source material to dive into, “Bugonia” is yet another adventure that will head in directions you simply won’t expect. However, whether or not that means it's any good is a different matter.

A remake of the 2003 South Korean film “Save the Green Planet,” this film follows paranoid conspiracy theorist Teddy Gatz, played by Plemons, and his cousin Don, played by Aidan Delbis in his film debut, as they kidnap Teddy’s boss and pharmaceutical CEO Michelle Fuller, played by Stone. Teddy is convinced, through years of internet research and his own supposed evidence, that Michelle is an alien sent to Earth to slowly poison it by killing off the bee population. And he’s determined to force her to help himself and Don find a way to fix it.

Almost entirely shot within Teddy and Don’s claustrophobic ramshackle home, Lanthimos and cinematographer Robbie Ryan (“C’mon C’mon,” “Poor Things”) keep things close and tight and nerve-wracking throughout this misadventure. Even when venturing outside of the house, the slight fish-eyed look to the 1.33:1 frame of the film sets everything up with odd angles and purposefully disconcerting feelings. It’s an intricately constructed location, and it becomes a character in and of itself, with each new camera angle and lighting cue giving way to the possibility of some hidden camera or device made by Teddy. It might just be the best use of one location in a mainstream film since “Parasite.”

Stone is fantastic, nailing the pseudo “we’re all a family here” corporate speak expected from someone in a position such as this. She wavers back and forth throughout the film between victim and aggressor and she works together with Plemons to create a ridiculously entertaining ping pong game of tension. Their performances are great, but the scene stealer is the quiet presence of Delbis. He has a simple naivety to him, which gives him a wonderful sense of calm and kindness that pierces through the noise and absurdity of the film’s narrative. It’s a delightful little role and one of the most memorable aspects of the film.

Without getting into spoilers, Will Tracy’s (“The Menu,” “The Regime”) script maitains a tight tense atmosphere and mystery without every taking itself too seriously or losing its bizarre sense of humor and style. The mixture between the upper- and lower-class perspectives, as well as just generalized corporate doubletalk, is mined for perfect comedy here, and Plemons in particular gets to deliver some true gems. It never tips its hand too early, and you’ll be guessing what exactly is going to happen right up until the film’s final moments. The paranoia is also perfectly underscored by Jerskin Fendrix (“Poor Things,” “Kinds of Kindness”) with a musical score that mutates between something deeply guttural and alien and something right out of a Broadway instrumental score.

If there’s one aspect to the film that feels the most at odds with its absurd sense of humor and generally oddball tone, it's the film’s conclusion. Without spoiling anything, it inadvertently reveals a nihilistic streak throughout the rest of the writing that hurts the overall idea rather than helps it. It’s hard to imagine someone like Lanthimos wanting something more ambiguous or less dark. This is a pitch-black dark comedy after all and how far it pushes into this nihilism is an element to the absurdist sense of humor. But it nevertheless leaves it all feeling a bit like a lead balloon in the end. The same goes for two random flashback sequences that feel completely out of place with the rest of the film’s world and tone, drawing you out for brief, crucial moments.

“Bugonia” is a smartly written, exceptionally crafted, absurdist and funny film that somehow dances around complicated ideas without becoming a drag or a downer. Featuring three excellent performances all housed in a gorgeously shot and constructed set, it’s yet another oddball hit for Lanthimos, delivering an adventure that will leave you feeling bugged out. 4.5/5 

Black Phone 2 - Review: A Chilling Reception

 

In the world of horror sequels, there are two schools of thought on how to approach a follow-up film: doing everything virtually the exact same as before or mixing it up completely. After the smash-hit success of 2021’s “The Black Phone,” Blumhouse has reteamed with that film’s director Scott Derrickson (“Sinister,” “Doctor Strange”) and co-writers Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill (“Sinister,” “Doctor Strange”) for a sequel that certainly sets itself apart from the original in setting and temperature.

Set four years after the events of the first film, this tale follows teenaged boy Finney, played by Mason Thames (“How to Train Your Dragon (2025),” “Regretting You”), the only known survivor of the serial killer known as the Grabber, played by Ethan Hawke (“Training Day,” “Before Sunset”), and his teenaged sister Gwen, played by Madeleine McGraw (“Outcast,” “Secrets of Sulphur Springs”). After Gwen begins to have dreams of communicating with her deceased mother at her old mountain Christian youth camp, Finney, Gwen, and Gwen’s crush Ernesto, played by Miguel Mora, venture to the camp. After arriving, Finney finds himself once again haunted by a disconnected ringing phone allowing him to talk to the spirits of the deceased with Gwen’s dreams becoming more violent as the Grabber attempts to kill her and Finney from the dream world and beyond the grave.

Derrickson’s experience with this world and set of characters leads to a particularly confident second outing. There’s little time spent winding things up or establishing characters. He and Cargill assume that you’re already up to speed, which means the film’s first act has very little fat on its bones. Things get creepy from the start, taking a much more supernatural turn than the first film’s comparatively grounded reality. The film is fantastically atmospheric, spending a lot of time establishing the vibes of Gwen’s dreams versus reality and the youth camp. Thick blankets of snow and a massive frozen lake allow for a completely different vibe than the dingy basement and suburban streets of the first film, setting it apart in the best way.

Thames is turning in a reliably good performance here, delving into the trauma of the first film’s events on him and his role as an overprotective big brother. Mora adds to the supporting cast well with a reliable bit of banter, but the side characters of Armando, the camp supervisor played by Demián Bichir (“The Hateful Eight,” “A Better Life”), and his niece Mustang, played by Arianna Rivas (“A Working Man”), are veritable scene stealers once they appear. The gruff warmth they bring to the film is welcomed and works as a character rebuff against Finney’s anger and Gwen’s supernatural fears.

Hawke is expectedly great, having a lot of fun with the menace of the role and playing up the Freddy Krueger-esque dream invasions. It’s more of a vocal role than a physical one this time around, but he’s still exceptionally terrifying and a highlight of the project. However, the biggest boon this time around is McGraw as Gwen. If the first film was Finney’s journey, this one is very much hers. She gets the most interesting character material to delve into, and her performance is exceptional. She’s easy to become attached to and her arc through the film, while it may be basic, is nevertheless effective and exciting.

Derrickson’s control of the scares feels different this time around, delving hard into flashback dream sequences thick with chunky film grain. It’s exceptionally unsettling the first time it happens, and even as the immediate unease wears away, it's a great calling card for when things are about to crank up the spooks. There are a handful of moments that even break conventional structure, with cinematographer Pär M. Ekberg (“Polar,” “Lords of Chaos”) smudging out the grain and purposefully obscuring the time and place. It’s a great little stylistic distinction that attempts to discomfort more than scare, coupled with a startling, squeaky electronic musical score from Atticus Derrickson (“V/H/S/85”).

Where the film does unfortunately falter is in its more serious dramatic moments. For as effective as the scares and atmosphere are, the drama just falls flat. It’s fairly routine familial strife, dealing with anger and fear and letting go. A monologue from McGraw in the third act sounds like every other speech given in other films with similar plots smushed together. Finney and Gwen’s father Terrence, played by Jeremy Davies (“Justified,” “Rescue Dawn”), also reappears here, but its almost as if Derrickson and Cargill forget about him for about half of the film. When the drama and these familial elements are tied into the scares, they really work. When they try to break out and have more “serious” conversations, they border on sleep inducing.

"Black Phone 2” definitely mixes things up from the first film, changing setting and tone to turn into something more brutally supernatural than quiet and grounded. It’s different for sure but still delivers on the scares and tension with Madeline McGraw commanding control of the film alongside Ethan Hawke. The stylized dreams and snow-covered locals lend it a differing visual identity as well, helping to overcome the less interesting dramatical elements. It’ll be a frightfully good time for anyone looking for a little snowfall with their spooks. 4/5 

Frankenstein (2025) - Review: Man Made Monster

 

If there was ever a director perfectly made to take on tales of monsters, it’s Guillermo del Toro (“Pan’s Labyrinth,” “The Shape of Water”). A long and illustrious career spanning horror and drama films to animated adventure flicks has led to this, an adaptation of Mary Shelley’s classic novel and the original science fiction tale. If del Toro’s own words are anything to go by, he’s been trying to get this film made in some fashion since 2007. Now, with a massive budget courtesy of Netflix and a completely game cast, del Toro’s tale of the monster and the man he created has finally arrived.

Set in the early 1800s, the film sees a bloodied and beaten Victor Frankenstein, played by Oscar Isaac (“Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” “Ex Machina”), telling his tale of monstrous creation to a ship captain, played by Lars Mikkelsen (“Star Wars: Rebels,” “Devils”). He recaps his expulsion from the Royal College of Surgeons and meeting of Henrich Harlander, played by Christoph Waltz (“Inglorious Bastards,” “Django Unchained”), a wealthy arms manufacturer and uncle to Elizabeth Harlander, played by Mia Goth (“Pearl,” “Infinity Pool”), the fiancé of Victor’s brother William, played by Felix Kammerer (“All Quiet on the Western Front (2022),” “All the Light We Cannot See”), which leads to the elder Harlander funding Victor’s research and eventual building of his once dead man, known as The Creature, played by Jacob Elordi (“euphoria,” “Saltburn”).

Del Toro has stated multiple times that Netflix was the only studio willing to fund the budget and scale he wanted for this tale, and he’s certainly made fantastic use of that $120 million budget. Towering laboratories and intricate manor houses, draped with all manner of gothic architecture and designs litter the film. It’s an exceptionally gorgeous looking film and cinematographer Dan Laustsen (“Crimson Peak,” “The Shape of Water”) makes fantastic use of this bend on 18th century life. Alexandre Desplat (“The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “The Shape of Water”) brings a musical score that brings everything to life even further, resulting in a wholly excellent technical package that looks as gothically delightful as it feels.

Isaac’s performance really makes the titular mad scientist come alive in a way that feels far more fleshed out and conflicted than we’ve seen before. He’s a constantly maddening, infuriating, and complex individual that is easy to feel for as much as it is to rage against him. The surrounding supporting cast props up his crazed behavior and science well; Goth is a far more subdued twist of her darkly obsessed previous roles, Kammerer turns a possibly thankless brotherly role into a painful sibling relationship, Waltz chews up plenty of scenery without any of the baggage associated with that description, and the minor roles from Mikkelsen and David Bradley (“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” “The Strain”) are delightfully done and a spotlight of pure warmth in the film's sometimes cruel humanity, only bitter in their brevity.

The lone actor not yet mentioned is Jacob Elordi, and that is for good reason. For what could initially seem like a thankless role, draped in prosthetics and heavy costuming for the entirety of the runtime, he turns in what is, without a doubt, the finest performance in the film. The way he’s able to delve into the most monstrous aspects of the character and his physicality, while also delivering on the most humanizing aspects is incredibly impressive. You’d almost be convinced that it was two different actors given the stark contrasts between the deliveries, but it’s Elordi through and through. This is a wholly impressive performance from an actor who, to put it bluntly, hasn’t had the most challenging filmography thus far. But this role and the skill, empathy, and depth on display showcase really bright things for Elordi going forward.

Bolstering the excellent cast and production design is the script, written by del Toro himself, which might just be the most interesting and book-accurate interpretation we’ve seen yet. Beyond that accuracy, del Toro is most interested in the pseudo-parental aspects between Victor and his Creature, as well as the internal questions that evolve from the idea of being human. While on paper they might be trite or played out, the structure of del Toro’s film allows for it to feel fresh and new. The amount of time we spend with the Creature is longer than one might expect, and it allows for some exceptionally emotionally cathartic events to play out.

As previously stated, the film looks exceptional, but the individual makeup and creature effects are positively phenomenal. Led by creature designer Mike Hill (“The Shape of Water,” “Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths”), it's not only a different take on the creature’s construction, but a visually stunning interpretation as well. Forget the sewed-on head and neck bolts; this is a far more elegant and crafted version of Victor’s beast. There’s plenty of fantastic bits of beautiful bodies and gore peppered throughout, accompanied by excellent puppetry. It’s a seamless blend of practical and digital effects, and it results in a work of gorgeous gothic beauty.

The film might not officially be titled “Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein” but it might as well be. This is a deeply emotive, empathetic take on Mary Shelley’s novel in a way that only someone like del Toro could deliver. An exceptionally beautiful looking and sounding film, packed with a top-tier cast and a career defining performance from Jacob Elordi, this is a truly unique and excellent film. It’s hand crafted, man-made, and gloriously human. 5/5 

Good Fortune - Review: Touched By An Angel

 

Religion and movies have been going together like peanut butter and holy jelly since basically the very first moving images across a screen. There have been decades upon decades of comedic and serious takes on the concept, successful and otherwise. The last major comedic attempt was Kevin Smith’s “Dogma” in 1999 and this film, the feature film directorial debut for writer/director Aziz Ansari (“Master of None,” “Parks and Recreation”), has quite a bit in common with that. Another irreverent take on angels with some social commentary thrown in as well, “Good Fortune” is here and ready to grant your miracles.

The film stars Ansari as Arj, a down on his luck average joe who sleeps in his car and scrapes by doing odd jobs for other people, like the rich tech bro Jeff, played by Seth Rogen (“Superbad,” “The Studio”), via a Doordash like app. After a particularly rough night, Arj is visited by a low-rent guardian angel Gabriel, played by Keanu Reeves (“The Matrix,” “John Wick”), who wants to show him that money won’t solve all of his problems. He switches Jeff and Arj’s lives to do so, hoping to help Arj better his life. The problem is that Arj now doesn’t want to switch back, seeing that money has indeed solved virtually all of his problems.

Ansari leads the ensemble with a pretty good comedic performance that plays directly to his strengths. He’s built a career out of playing characters that straddle the line between being annoying and endearing, and he delivers a similar kind of work here. There’s a smidgen of more emotional material for him here, but it's nothing particularly groundbreaking. Rogen is also playing into more of his typical shtick, but there’s a bit more meanness and edge to his character, leading to him getting the more interesting material to work with. A large stretch of the film focuses on his character and it's when things are at their more satirically layered and interesting.

Reeves is the absolute standout. His portrayl of Gabriel blends a genuine heart with a layer of himbo naivate that plays excellently to his wide-eyed persona. It's the most interesting and comedically rich performance of the entire film, and his sequences with Rogen have the best chemistry of the film as well. The pair’s scenes are the standout of the entire project by far. Keke Palmer (“Nope,” “One of Them Days”) also appears as Elena, a hopeful employee trying to start a union at her hardware store and a romantic interest for Arj. Their chemistry is fine enough, but somewhat flat, and her material is fairly surface level stuff. Sandra Oh (“Grey’s Anatomy,” “Killing Eve”) pops up as Martha, Gabriel’s angel boss in a borderline cameo that allows her to inject her smooth, calm charms briefly into the project.

A film about struggling economically can be a bit of a tough sell in the modern economy, but Ansari’s script goes to great lengths to show the ins and outs of both halves of the L.A. economy with heart and laughs. Multiple moments that could have easily been just excuses for jokes are played with serious, actual care for the characters. It’s more sincerely portrayed than one might initially expect, and it allows the film to be far more than just a fluffy comedy. Even the ending commits to its grounded terms, working as a more character-driven, emotionally satisfying resolution rather than a fantastical “wish fulfilment” result.

The film’s cooler, darker aesthetic leans heavily into the nighttime dark corners and neon drenched streets of Los Angeles, with naturalistic lighting setting the “down on their luck” vibe for the overall project. It’s an interesting look and it allows the film to establish a specific “larger than life, smaller than life” vibe. For every moment in Jeff/Arj’s mansion, surrounded by excess and bright fake lights, there’s a casual, dirty backside of a restaurant where characters steal a few moments of peace for themselves. It’s a varied and interesting aesthetic, backed up by a great and equally varied musical score from Carter Burwell (“A Goofy Movie,” “The Banshees of Inisherin”).

“Good Fortune” could’ve used a slightly tighter script to turn it into something truly heavenly, but don’t let that downplay the film’s success. It’s a thoroughly entertaining and funny riff on some particularly tricky subject matter. The ensemble is great with some true standouts, and it allows the city of Los Angeles to breathe in a grounded way. “Good Fortune” might not be perfect, but there’s something to be said for a film that seeks to entertain as well as going for some heart without taking the easy way out. 4/5 

After the Hunt - Review: Yale-ing About Nothing

While he’s always had a stable career, Luca Guadagnino has gained a new level of attention in the public consciousness over the last few years. What kicked off with “Call Me by Your Name,” and further expanded with “Bones and All,” really came to a head with the double billing of 2024’s “Challengers” and “Queer.” Safe to say, any new film directed by him is now an event for more than hardcore film fans. Hence the fervor surrounding his latest, star-studded project “After the Hunt.”

Set in 2019, the film follows Yale philosophy professor Alma Imhoff, played by Julia Roberts (“Erin Brockovich,” “Pretty Woman”), as she works with her protégée Maggie Resnick, played by Ayo Edeberi (“The Bear,” “Bottoms”) and fights for tenure against her friend and fellow professor Hank Gibson, played by Andrew Garfield (“The Amazing Spider-Man,” “The Social Network”). One night, Maggie comes and tells her that after a party at Alma’s house a few days prior, Maggie invited Hank to her apartment where he then made advances and assaulted her. The film then follows the ensuing fallout, Hank’s termination, and the tenuous of Alma’s relationships with Maggie, Hank, and Alma’s husband Frederik, played by Michael Stuhlbarg (“Call Me by Your Name,” “The Shape of Water”).

Needless to say, regardless of the social climate, material like this is of a kind that should be handled with a deft hand. Luckily, Guadagnino is a director who knows how to work with his team and get the best out of his actors. Roberts and Garfield are completely magnetic, commanding attention every time they’re on screen. Roberts in particular is entrancing throughout the film, and the scenes she has opposite Edeberi are really something special. The pair have a back and forth that’s multilayered and engrossing to watch. Stuhlbarg’s role feels less consequential than the others, but he employs the same big smile and character actor charm that’s helped his career flourish across blockbuster cinema and independent film.

Given the setting of a school with as rich a history as Yale, it makes sense then that the film’s cinematography is as rich as the faculty. Shot by cinematographer Malik Hassan Sayeed (“Clockers,” “Belly”), the film plays with light and dark corners constantly. Numerous moments have characters half hiding in shadows, faces obscured, with varying degrees of cold, grey rooms and bright warm evenings. It’s a gorgeous looking film, with a decidedly more uneven musical score. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (“Tron: Ares,” “The Social Network”) can craft a unique score, and their material here is certainly unique. It’s a more classical piece that fades into the background more often than not, before shattering the illusion with a bombastic motif or musical cue. The problem is that those cues sound closer to a Looney Tunes bit than a piece of dramatic musical technique. Regardless of any other elements of the film, the performances and gorgeous cinematography make it exceptionally watchable.

If that last sentence sounds like there’s a catch, it’s because there is. For as gorgeous as the film looks and as good as the performances are, the script from first-time writer Nora Garrett is, to put it bluntly, not good. It certainly sounds fancy, injecting a lot of flowery language and educational prose into its various monologues and discussions that allow the actors to run wild with the material. Given the talented people working with the material, they’re able to elevate it a good amount, making it seem better than it is. But anytime you stop and think for a moment about the words and logic being said, it mostly falls apart. This especially becomes apparent in the third act as everything comes to a head as the logic slowly begins to collapse in on itself.

A drama with this kind of subject matter, from a director like this, should be cause for acclaim and excitement. Instead, “After the Hunt” is a distractingly well-acted and good-looking film with virtually nothing of substance to say that slowly falls apart as things continue onward. It certainly is fun to watch a cast of actors play some deliciously messy characters, but the film overall is a lot like its prissy Yale students: gorgeous and talking with plenty of fancy language, but with nothing to truly say. 2.5/5 

Roofman - Review: Raise the Roof

People love an underdog. They love an antihero even more. And boy howdy do they love a “based on a true story” story. Mix all of those elements together and give it to a charismatic leading man, and you’ve got a film any studio would jump at the chance to greenlight. That’s the tale behind “Roofman,” the latest film from director Derek Cianfrance (“Blue Valentine,” “The Place Beyond the Pines”), which represents a bit of a tonal shift from his previous works, as well as a welcome return to the spotlight for Channing Tatum (“Magic Mike,” “21 Jump Street (2012)”).

The film tells the true story of Jeffrey Manchester, played by Tatum, a former military man turned robber known as the “Roofman,” named after his technique of breaking into fast food locations via their roofs. After escaping from prison after being arrested for robbing 45 different McDonald’s, Manchester hides in a local Toys R Us store run by the antagonistic Mitch, played by Peter Dinklage (“Game of Thrones,” “The Station Agent”). He slowly begins to involve himself in the local community, even starting a relationship with one of the Toys R Us employees Leigh Wainscott, played by Kristen Dunst (“The Power of the Dog,” “Spider-Man (2002)”), attending church with her and befriending her daughters, all while attempting to evade police attention.

If Cianfrance at any point during production felt uncomfortable with the lighter tone hee, you’d never know it from the final film. His directorial style here fits the material quite well, focusing on Manchester’s character and what kind of a man he is, rather than the “so crazy it must be true” aspects. It’s not the most technically complex film in the world, but its basic components instead allow ample room for Cianfrance’s actors to dig into the character work. It’s the sort of clear-eyed, adult drama we don’t see much of anymore.

Cianfrance and Kirt Gunn’s (“Lovely by Surprise”) script help exemplify the internal conflict stirring within Manchester, taken to its full potential by Tatum’s performance, while letting his character actors have fun room to play with their more minor roles. It’s the sort of film where you walk away remembering something about each character, even if they’re on screen for just a few moments. This especially makes the later melancholic moments hit much harder as well, but more on that in a moment. The musical score by Christopher Bear (“High Maintenance,” “Past Lives”) is exceptionally calm and melodic, playing up the somber notes throughout the film and hitting just a bit harder as things come to a close.

Tatum’s performance here seems simple, but it’s an incredible hat trick of a role. He weaponizes his everyman charms and ease of charisma to develop Manchester into more than a stereotypical “handsome thief” kind of persona. It's legitimately some of his most impressive work in recent memory, and a great showcase of his talents. Dunst’s performance is arguably even better, with a grounded emotional role that plays excellently off of Tatum. The pair have instant chemistry and are borderline charm factories whenever they’re opposite each other. Leigh’s daughters Lindsay and Dee, played by Lily Collias (“Good One”) and Kennedy Moyer (“Task”) respectively are scene stealers when they do appear, and just like Dunst, they play off Tatum’s warm sensibilities to great effect. Dinklage is clearly having fun playing the “bad guy” boss, but his role doesn’t have any real emotional material to play with.

Given the “true story” nature of the film as well as Manchester’s escapades, you can see where this story is going almost as soon as it gets underway. It’s not a bad thing; it’s just the nature of a tale like this and the way it’s being told. Instead, Cianfrance and Gunn use this to slowly twist the knife with the characters. Tatum and Dunst make you easily fall for Manchester and Leigh, leaving you sitting, gripping the armrests of the seat, practically screaming at the screen for characters to turn around, walk the other way, or stop what they’re doing. It's the kind of emotional investment and reactions normally reserved for horror films. It’s such an easy tale to get into though, that the intensely melancholic last thirty minutes are drenched in dread and exhaustion in the most cathartic way.

“Roofman” is a simple film with a simple premise and simple techniques that’s catapulted into excellence thanks to its immensely great performances and cast. Tatum and Dunst are turning in some work that’s at the top of their recent work at least. Backed up by a great musical score, it's a surprisingly somber treat for those looking for an emotionally rich melancholic adult drama. 4/5

TRON: Ares - Review: As Alive As You Need Me To Be

It's funny that, as iconic as the film's visuals and aesthetics are, “TRON” as a franchise has almost always been the black sheep of the Disney IP factory. The original film made some decent money at the box office, but it took almost thirty years for a sequel in the form of “TRON Legacy.” Despite the deluge of merchandise seeming to signal a new age for the franchise, the modest box-office success resulted in Disney putting the series on ice for yet another extended period. Which is why it’s taken fifteen years and quite the development hell to bring “TRON: Ares” to fruition.

Set years after the events of “Legacy,” the film follows Eve Kim, played by Greta Lee (“The Morning Show,” “Past Lives”), the CEO of ENCOM as she searches for the “permanence code,” a piece of code written by Kevin Flynn years prior. At the same time, rival CEO of Dillinger Systems Julian Dillinger, played by Evan Peters (“Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,” “X-Men: Days of Future Past”), is also after the code and has decided to bring his highly advanced security software Ares, played by Jared Leto (“Suicide Squad,” “Dallas Buyers Club”), into the real world. He sends Ares and Athena, played by Jodie-Turner Smith (“After Yang,” “Anne Boleyn”), in search of Kim and the code, allowing whoever gets it first to bring their creations from the virtual world known as The Grid to the real world, permanently.

For better or worse depending on who you ask, “Ares” has been a Jared Leto project from the jump. His face has been on almost all the marketing, and he even has a producer credit on the final project. His performance therefore seems like even more of a lynchpin than it otherwise would; he's not just the lead character, but the reason the film exists. It’s somewhat anticlimactic then to learn that his performance is just fine. It’s completely serviceable. He does a good job with the more mechanical, cold aspects of the character, but the moment the film tries to push for some kind of an evolved emotion from Ares, Leto is reduced to hammy, wooden community theater acting.

The rest of the cast fares far better though. Lee is doing the best she can with the material she’s given, and she manages to turn out a pretty good performance as a result. Peters is surprisingly great as the villainous little brat running Dillinger Systems, and Smith is fantastic, stealing virtually any scene she’s in with menace and a smirk. Beyond that, the supporting cast is unfortunately filled with pretty forgettable side characters who seem to exist to say a half-decent bit of comedic relief or have the plot up until that point explained to them. Jeff Bridges (“The Big Lebowski,” “True Grit (2010)”) is back to reprise his role as Kevin Flynn in a far more interesting way than one might initially expect, and he does provide the film with a welcome shot in the arm. But he’s a borderline cameo, not a major supporting player in the cast.

A large reason that the supporting cast is so forgettable and where a lot of the film’s problems come from is the incredibly hit-or-miss script. Co-writers David DiGilio (“Eight Below,” “The Terminal List”) and Jesse Wigutow (“It Runs in the Family,” “Daredevil: Born Again”) stuff the film with far too many supporting characters that do virtually nothing substantial for the overall plot, as well as numerous concepts and subplots that have been well explored in other science fiction media over the last thirty years. From Ares learning how to “be human” to the idea of a true directive, it's all hashed up and glued back together in ways that don’t add anything new to the conversation. It doesn’t help that, again, Leto’s performance makes the film’s big emotional moments fall flat, and there are even a handful of moments where he recaps the plot and what the central emotional theme is to the camera, as if he’s stating things after the film has come back from a commercial break.

Which makes it all the more confusing that one of the biggest ideas of the film itself, what to do with the permanence code, is one of its coolest and most fascinating. It’s by far the most interesting part of the film, and it's a lasso that director Joachim Rønning (“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil,” “Kon-Tiki”) uses to keep the audience’s attention. His direction excels in the numerous action sequences and effects heavy moments, while being simply serviceable in quieter moments. The crazy camerawork from cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth (“The Social Network,” “Gone Girl”) is a reason to see the film alone, and like the previous “TRON” films, it's been conceived of as a “style over substance” affair instead of accidentally ending up as one.

That style is excellent when it’s allowed to thrive, but the film seems almost self-conscious about its origins and franchise. While the sequences within the Grid are gorgeous and inventive, they take up a fraction of the film. Not only are the scenes outside of the Grid far less interesting as a whole, but it feels like the film is almost apologizing for what it is. As if it’s “too cool” to spend too much time in the science-fiction world it made its name on. It means that the film is likely the most general audience friendly TRON film thus far, but it also robs a large chunk of the film of its identity.

With each frame of black and pulsing red stretching across the seemingly endless Grid landscapes to the contrast of bright flashing lights and colors against the real-world environments, the film is an insanely gorgeous feast for the senses. It’ll likely be the kind of proejct used to demo 4K TVs and home stereos for at least the next decade, thanks to the visuals being matched with a pulsing, grinding, crunchy original score from Nine Inch Nails. It looks so cool and sounds so cool, so instantly transporting that it almost helps make up for the film’s cliched, routine, overstuffed story. Almost.

While getting a new “TRON” film made starring the likes of Greta Lee and Evan Peters, shot by Jeff Cronenworth, with a Nine Inch Nails score and all the visual sumptuousness that a $180 million budget can afford seems like a dream come true, when you then mix it with a wonky creative team and an actor as polarizing as Jared Leto, you start to see where the monkey’s paw has curled its finger. While certainly not a disaster, it's not hard to see a better version of this film somewhere in another Grid. As it stands, it’s the most audience friendly “TRON” film yet and die-hard fans will gladly eat it up. But waiting another fifteen years for something just “good” shouldn’t be seen as a victory. Like one of the tracks from the soundtrack states, Disney seems to have pushed this one out just to keep the franchise “as alive as you need me to be.” 3/5 

The Smashing Machine (2025) - Review: Rock Solid

 

It’s always fun to draw parallels between an actor and their latest projects. Tom Cruise starred in two films about real people doing real things against an automated way of doing things in the midst of the Hollywood vs. AI talks, and now Dwayne Johnson (“Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” “Black Adam”) is here in a role that he also shares some similarities with. It's not surprising that Johnson saw a biopic about a man wanting to be the best in the world, stumbling at the finish line early on, and spending years working his way back up to that shot once again. After all, this is the man who once tried and kind of failed to become the biggest movie star in the world. Why wouldn’t he see himself in a role like this?

The film follows Mark Kerr, played by Johnson, an MMA fighter participating in the early years of the sport’s mainstream success from 1997 to 2000. Mostly fighting in Japan, Kerr struggles to maintain his professional career alongside his opioid addiction and relationships with his on-and-off again girlfriend Dawn Staples, played by Emily Blunt (“Mary Poppins Returns,” “Edge of Tomorrow”), and his best friend and trainer, retired fighter Mark Coleman, played by real life UFC fighter Ryan Bader in his acting debut.

Given the involvement of writer/director Benny Safdie (“Uncut Gems,” “Good Time”), it’s safe to say that most moviegoers shouldn’t expect a typical biopic formula from this project. This isn’t the kind of director who seems like he’d make a film like “Bohemian Rhapsody” after all. So, it should come as no surprise that what “The Smashing Machine” is is far closer to a tone piece in the likes of the original “Rocky” or “Raging Bull.” It’s certainly not as violent as the latter, but it deals with Kerr’s internal struggle and ends up only loosely following the three-act structure of a typical dramatic biopic. Safdie’s film may be constructed in a more unconventional way, but his script can’t escape the cliches apparent within these sorts of stories.

It’s a good thing then that his central trio of actors are all giving their all with that material. Johnson is clearly putting in more effort than he’s given since his days of weirdo films like “Southland Tales” or arguably ever. It’s not the finest performance ever seen, but it’s the sort of role that is just nice to see him do. You can actively see him trying to improve his craft and he is inarguably compelling; if there was an Oscar for “Most Improved,” he’d be a shoe-in.

Blunt is excellent in a twisted, easily hate-able way. It’s a performance that’s hard to watch given the nature of the character and her back and forth toxic nature with Kerr. She’s great almost in spite of the character. Bader meanwhile is a calm, soft spoken portrait of a gentle giant. You truly believe he and Johnson’s friendship and chemistry from the start, and he gives the sort of performance that makes you wish he was in the film more often.

On the technical side, Safdie’s creative decisions are mostly for the better. The musical score, the first film score by electronica artist Nala Sinephro, is a really interesting textual mixture of jazz fusion and electronic droning, flowing with the mental state of Kerr as the film progresses. The cinematography from Maceo Bishop (“The Curse,” “Somewhere in Queens”) is the expected handheld shakiness seen in previous Safdie films and it works well here, putting you right in the fights. What works less so is the film’s editing and pacing. Edited by Safdie himself, the movement from scene to scene can be quite odd. For example, everything about the editing seems to imply that one scene takes place in the same location and time as the previous scene, until a character says it's a completely different day and place. The film’s pace also feels like it takes twice as long in the first half and then goes twice as quick in the second half.

While much of this film has been marketed as “Dwayne Johnson’s serious acting role,” there’s plenty to like here as well. He is great, as is Emily Blunt and a surprising debut turn from Ryan Bader, and the musical score and ambitions of the film are fantastic. You can see exactly what the film wants to be, and it almost gets there most of the time. It has a lot in common with Kerr in that way, and it makes for a tale that’s absolutely interesting if not particularly exceptional. 3.5/5