When we were first setting up the Blind Spot films for 2025 putting Rush on the same month as the release of F1: the Movie made a lot of sense. They are both Formula 1 movies and one could assume they are quite similar. Now after seeing both they are actually quite different with merely the shared background of professional racing.
You can read more of my thoughts on F1 here but I really enjoyed it as a piece of underdog sports entertainment (a favorite genre of mine.) I l0ve how visceral and exciting the racing sequences are and found Brad Pitt to be charming and easy to root for.
In contrast, Rush has a different appeal. It can’t be an underdog sports movie because it’s a true story and that narrative just isn’t there. It’s more a rivalry between racers James Hunt and Niki Lauda in the 70s. The problem is Hunt won a race in the rain under controversy and then gave up racing so there isn’t the dramatic victory (or even epic fail) like we see in underdog sports racing. Instead we see these two men as they battle it out largely in the world of public relations and are left to wonder are they friends at all?
Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl play the two racers and they are believable in the roles. Brühl has a more compelling arc as he marries and tries to start a family. His relationship helps him have a more grounded understanding of life compared to Hunt but there is still something off-putting about his character. It really is a character piece more than it’s a racing movie.
The racing scenes by Ron Howard are fun enough but largely shown from the perspective of people watching TV of the races instead of in the drivers seat like in F1. It is interesting that both films have the same composer Hans Zimmer which is probably their greatest similarity.
I enjoyed the experience of watching F1 more than Rush but like I said they really are quite different films. The journey is still compelling in Rush and worth your time but more for the characters than the entertaining sports movie of it all. Make sure you check out the podcast for more of my thoughts (Manda disagreed with me on both of these films so don’t miss the fun discussion!)
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Hi everyone! I hope you are having a great summer and enjoying some fun at the movies. I have a few reviews to catch you all up on but make sure you are following me on instagram and on youtube to catch my out of theater reactions and more.
I’m a huge fan of the original Pitch Perfect film. I love pretty much everything about it including the cast. The sequels are more mixed especially the 3rd but they had their moments. It is for this reason that I held out some hope for Bride Hard starring Pitch Perfect allums Rebel Wilson and Anna Camp. Unfortunately this lame action comedy wastes its talented cast (and it’s not just Camp and Wilson but Anna Chlumsky, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Sherry Cola and more.) The only real question I’m left with after watching it is why was this deemed as theatrical worthy? It’s so weird.
This movie also earns its R rating with some pretty violent sequences that do not fit the tone at all. At one point a bad guy is skewered with a party platter and it’s played off as a big joke- like look how funny it is this person was skewered through the stomach? Camp and Wilson have nice chemistry and they try (along with Randolph) to save it but it’s a hopeless endeavor. This one is a definite skip.
Frown Worthy
Megan 2.0
Believe it or not I actually enjoyed the first Megan film. It was campy and much like Happy Death Day it balanced horror, comedy and social commentary very well. Now we have M3gan 2.0 and while its definitely weaker than the first film I was entertained enough to recommend it.
The biggest change they made from the first film is to practically abandon the slasher roots it had established. I’m a pretty easy scare so if this didn’t feel like a horror movie in any way than it’s a problem. In fact, M3gan 2.0 is more of a sci-fi thriller/comedy than it is a horror film.
That said, M3gan 2.0 not only leans into the camp of the first film but then adds to it. It is a very silly movie but it owns that cheese and still manages to be entertaining. Your mileage may vary.
It’s always interesting when a new entry in a franchise comes out but I haven’t seen any of the movies in said franchise. This is most likely to occur in the horror genre because I have the most horror blind spots. Usually I ask around if the movie is stand alone enough and if my friends say it is I give it a shot. One example that worked out great this summer is Final Destination Bloodlines, which I’d never seen before and really enjoyed. I took a similar risk in seeing 28 Years Later (a franchise I’ve never seen any of the films before) without as much payoff.
I honestly struggle with what score to give this film as it has some positives. I like how unhinged it can get and that director Danny Boyle isn’t afraid to try different things. It also looks great and his actors are all up for whatever he throws at him particularly young Alfie Williams as Spike and Jodie Comer playing his Mom. Ralph Fiennes isn’t in the movie as much as I thought he would be but he’s very good as a mysterious doctor in the time of zombies.
The problem really comes in Alex Garland‘s unfocused script. The movie starts off being a father/son dynamic and then that is abandoned for a son/mother journey to find the doctor. Then when they find the doctor it’s another story. Plot points are brought up in the beginning that go nowhere, characters are introduced to be nothing but zombie fuel and I’m honestly not sure what Garland is trying to say with this script (good zombie movie should be about something. Right?)
Evidently this is the beginning of a new trilogy of films which should be interesting as the ending of this film is bizarre and makes no sense. It will be fascinating to see what they do with that choice in future films. At the end of the day, 28 Years Later has some compelling elements but it doesn’t quite come together.
Speaking of unfocused films, let’s talk about Jurassic World: Rebirth. I must admit I was not super hopeful with this film as the sequels to my beloved Jurassic Park have mostly been underwhelming. They just can’t seem to capture that mixture of dino action and compelling characters that you had in the first film- I mean and not even close. Unfortunately Rebirth continues with that trend.
The frustrating part of this film is the main story with Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey could have went somewhere. They are scientists trying to get to the dinosaurs to get DNA for a miracle cure drug that’s going to cure heart disease. Mahershala Ali joins them along with the obvious villain in Rupert Friend. All this could have worked but the movie makes the bizarre choice to cut away from this group to a family that is marooned on a boat with a teenage boy who’s whole personality trait is to be annoying.
It honestly felt like 2 movies wedged together and every time they went back to the family the momentum is sucked out of the story and we couldn’t build up tension or investment in the characters or anything. At least with Jurassic Park 3you’re with the same characters most of the movie (plus it’s 45 minutes shorter!) There are a couple decent dinosaur scenes but they are less fun than they would be because we don’t care about the characters and the tension hasn’t been built appropriately.
I must admit I hope this movie isn’t a big hit because the franchise really needs a reset. The original film meant so much to me and it’s sad to see it be treated so poorly again and again. Sadly I’m sure it will do very well and so we will just keep getting more of the same. Alas I wish they could spare no expense on the writing (this even has original writer David Koepp at the helm of this one, so maybe it’s just a lost cause?) Nevertheless, a movie with this many mutant dinosaurs shouldn’t be this boring… (Also literally nothing is rebirthed in this film…)
Frown Worthy
This is what I would do if I was given the chance to pitch a Jurassic movie
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Since the release ofMaterialists I’ve had a lot of discussions online and in person about the film. Some people agree and others disagree with me about the problems with the script and characters but the majority seem to agree that it is at the very least not the romantic comedy the promotion sold it it as. There have been some who push back on me (which is totally fine. Love the discussion) and argue it should be included and that we should have a wide understanding for the category. On one hand this is semantics and categories for all genres can be quite nebulous (I’ve yet to have anyone adequately explain to me the difference between a horror and thriller for example) but on the other hand it does matter because far too often traditional romantic comedy fans are left abandoned with nothing to enjoy at the cinemas.
If we were living in a thriving age of cinema where all kinds of comedies and romance were being released on a regular basis I would have less squabbles about whether a film is more a straight comedy than a romantic comedy. Many films have been debated over the years such as Legally Blonde, which is minimally about the endgame romance or Breakfast at Tiffany’swhich is definitely a romance but the comedy is a smaller role with the dramatic moments sticking out more prominently.
Again, I wouldn’t complain if the studios were giving everybody what they want at the cinemas but that’s just not the case. Let’s look at 2024. The only romances released in theaters were genre mashups like Love Lies Bleeding,Challengers, Your Monster, and Lisa Frankenstein. The closest we probably got was Fly Me to the Moon but that was arguably more a workplace comedy than a rom-com but it has enough of the tropes of the genre to count in the category.
One movie! There is no more underserved genre. Sure there were other rom-coms released last year like The Idea of You,Irish Wish, Musica, Hit Man. All went straight to streaming.
Here’s where the problem comes in. Hollywood knows the market is there for rom-coms but they aren’t making them. So their solution is to market films that don’t really qualify as being in the genre leaving fans disappointed when they actually see the films. This can be seen in marketing for many films such as Materialists this year and last year’s The Fall Guy. When both films underdeliver on both the rom and the com people feel justifiably let down. Why do you think Materialists had such a low Cinemascore? Cinemascore shows the level of satisfaction audience had with the film they were given. With Materialists audiences rightly went in hoping for a love triangle romantic comedy and instead got a cynical piece with sexual assault at its center.
Some people will say ‘it’s just a phase’ and rom-coms will be back in cinemas and to that I say ‘I hope so… If a movie like the recent Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy can’t get a release I’m skeptical. That’s a franchise with a proven track record at the box office and it couldn’t even get a limited run over Valentines weekend with nothing else in theaters (it still tripled its budget internationally which is amazing so at least other places are acknowledging the genre.) And it’s not like this is just a momentary phase. When Crazy Rich Asians came out in 2018 it was viewed as somewhat of a miracle. Not only did it have a diverse cast and subject matter but a big budget Hollywood rom-com with a wide release was so rare- even then and it’s only gotten much worse in the last 7 years.
And it’s not just streaming vs wide release. It’s that the entire genre has been relegated to television-sized budgets with very little of the fun and spectacle we used to get from the genre. Even reliable filmmakers like Nancy Meyers, who has almost never had a commercial flop, isn’t able to get the budgets and the casts a similar director in another genre would be able to get. Almost all the rom-com directors of the past have been relegated to television or streaming in the last few years. Amy Heckerling, for example, hasn’t made a movie since 2012. All television directing from her lately. It’s just sad.
And the depressing part is they could make money. The rare unicorn of a release with Anyone But You, which wasn’t even that good, made $220 million on a $25 million budget. You would think this might inspire copycats but nope almost everything since has been straight to streaming even Hit Man starring Glen Powell!
We as genre fans are then left with only Hallmark and Hallmark-sized films and as much as I love Hallmark that isn’t all I want. I want it all!! It’s so discouraging to go to the cinemas and never see the kind of movies we used to get all the time, and when I say never I mean virtually never. Whether the offerings are good on their own outside of the genre disappointment is up for debate but the loss of the cinematic rom-com should be acknowledged.
Pretending like the category hasn’t been abandoned isn’t helpful or productive. This is why I stubbornly fight this fight. The romantic comedy was a genre worthy of saving- a genre that provided a lot of joy to a lot of people especially women. It deserves more than only on our televisions…It just does.
(For the record, something counts as a romantic comedy in my opinion if you can’t remove either the romance or the comedy from the story and it still work. They are fundamental elements to the success of the film, but that’s just me)
My patrons keep me honest and able to see and review as much as I do. Make sure you check out the patreon for perks, exclusive reviews and to be part of our monthly events and watch alongs. If you value honest criticism check it out. Find out more here.
As a film critic I like to think of myself as being able to bring new insight into a conversation about a movie I am reviewing. To elevate the discussion beyond what the average filmgoer might see (surely seeing 500+ movies a year should account for something? Right?) On the whole I’d say I’m successful in this goal (my readers would be the ultimate judge in this regard but I do try.) That said, sometimes insight fails me and my response is admittedly more basic. Such is the case with Pixar’s latest film Elio. It’s perfectly serviceable piece of family entertainment but not much beyond that. In a weird way I almost wish it was made by Illumination because they would try harder for the jokes. This is very sincere and sweet, kids will enjoy it but nothing about it is memorable or special. It’s just an ok movie for kids.
I’m actually really torn on what score to give Elio because is it even right to hold Pixar films up on a pedestal any more? There was a time where a ‘just ok’ film from the studio would have been a colossal disappointment. Now it’s more par for the course. It was cute but I was a little bored is how I felt coming out of the theater and you could do a lot worse than that in mainstream animation these days.
If you are unaware of Elio‘s existence (highly likely with the weak marketing campaign) this latest entry from Pixar is about a little boy named Elio who is an orphan (of course he is) who through various contrivances ends up communicating with aliens and visiting their planet as a representative from Earth. While there he meets an alien named Glordon and they become friends. Eventually the have to stand up to Glordon’s Dad who doesn’t understand him (of course he does) and they save the day before heading home to be with his astronaut in training aunt Olga.
The movie works best in the time before and after Elio goes to the planet. It’s very sweet getting to know Elio and the struggles with Olga are easy to relate with. On the alien planet it looks pretty with bright and colorful alien design but it has the pacing and story designed for kids rather than appealing to adults. Usually Pixar threads that needle of family entertainment for all better than they do here. That said, there was nothing off-putting in these ‘let’s have fun in space’ sections like say Lightyear or Turning Red had in their clunky metaphors and plots.
I hate to say it but I understand why some are waiting for Disney Plus for Elio. It’s fine but just not the kind of film that demands the big screen unless one is solely seeing it to bolster original storytelling. Unfortunately that can only get a studio like Pixar so far in this day and age. Yes we want to support originality but the entertainment factor still needs to be there. On letterboxd I gave Elio a 3/5 which I guess is technically a fresh score. Now that I’m writing the review I’m trying to decide whether ‘cute but boring’ is good enough for fresh (or smile worthy by my rankings?) It’s really hard!
At the end of the day, if people are going to be putting down their hard-earned money I just don’t think Elio is good enough…
My patrons keep me honest and able to see and review as much as I do. Make sure you check out the patreon for perks, exclusive reviews and to be part of our monthly events and watch alongs. If you value honest criticism check it out. Find out more here.
If you’ve been following my reviews for any amount of time you know I am a sucker for an underdog sports movie. It’s funny because I’m not much of a sports person aside from open water swimming, but I love the inherent drama of sports on the big screen. Knowing my tastes I was pretty excited sitting down for F1: The Movie, the latest racing movie, and to my delight it was a blast. It’s probably the best studio blockbuster since Wicked last year.
This film is directed by Top Gun Maverick’s Joseph Kosinski, and in many ways he just transitions what works in that film from jets to racing cars here (please forgive me if I use incorrect words. I literally know nothing about F1.) The action scenes are propulsive and exciting. The dynamic between the older veteran driver played by Brad Pitt is very similar to Tom Cruise in Maverick. Same thing with Damson Idris here as the young driver and Miles Teller in Maverick getting schooled by the more experienced yet rebellious professional.
The movie can get a little convoluted in the wild ways of Pitt’s character on the track. He crashes on purpose to slow things down and things like that but I didn’t really care. I just needed to know if things are looking good, bad, moving forward, which was communicated enough to keep me invested.
The racing scenes in F1: The Movie are thrilling and so much fun to watch. Pitt has charisma in spades to make the out-of-car sections work and the supporting cast are fantastic with Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem (who has rarely been more charming,) Tobias Menzies and more. In the end, it’s just a super entertaining film. I don’t know what else you could want from a summer blockbuster. It’s the kind of movie I’d see multiple times and probably will do so. Definitely see it in the theaters while you have the chance because the racing sequences will not be the same on the small screen. Don’t miss it!
My patrons keep me honest and able to see and review as much as I do. Make sure you check out the patreon for perks, exclusive reviews and to be part of our monthly events and watch alongs. If you value honest criticism check it out. Find out more here.
I hate to do another catch-up post but sadly sometimes there just isn’t time for long full reviews of everything I’m seeing. Make sure you are following me on youtube and instagram as I post all of my out of theater reactions on both sites.
So here goes:
Things Like This is a cute enough queer rom-com, but I wish the characters were more likable and the dialogue snappier. The Phoenician Scheme is more of the same from Wes Anderson although this is more coherent than his last few projects. If you’re still on the Wes train you’ll love it if not give it a pass.
Jane Austen Wrecked My Life isn’t the subversive rom-com I hoped for and even more disappointing is how little insight it has on Jane Austen or romance in general. A real letdown. Raising the Bar is too schmaltzy even for me and I’m a huge softee when it comes to underdog sports movies.
Fans of the John Wickfranchise seem to be loving the Ballerina spinoff. It’s ok if you’re just looking for action but even that I found to be largely dark and cloudy with little innovation to the individual action set-pieces. The same night I saw Ballerina I saw the indie film Tornado which surprisingly has a very similar story to Ballerina and yet is a much more compelling film. Tornado will be too much of a slow burn for some but it’s very well made with compelling characters. Worthy of your time.
I had the chance to see Wicked again so I could watch the Wicked: For Good trailer debut with a crowd. That was probably the best time I’ve had in a theater this year. So much fun to see such a quality blockbuster again and have the enthusiasm of a trailer debut with a crowd.
The How to Train Your Dragon remake will test your desire to see a live action remake of the animated film. If that is something you want it is fine. If you are hoping for something even slightly creatively challenging than you’ll be sorely disappointed. It’s ok for what it is, but I would never watch it over the animated film. I just don’t get the appeal of these live action remakes that don’t try anything new.
I appreciate the swing The Life of Chuck takes and that it gives theater-goers a lot to talk about but I still can’t recommend the sappy, heavy-handed metaphor of a film. I’ve seen it twice now just to give it a fair shake and I was left unmoved by the experience both times. It’s honestly not any more insightful than those Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff memes. It’s like they took the most cheesy self-help book you could imagine and threw in a little mystery and it’s supposed to be life-changing. The middle section is particularly lame. We get it. Dance to the beat of your own drum (I’m not being facetious. They literally have dancing and a drummer.) How profound…
The Good Night, and Good Luck live stream was a historic moment for Broadway with the first time I Broadway show has been live streamed directly to network television. I enjoyed this play and think George Clooney is quite compelling as Edward R Murrow. They are very smart to include a little side romance and other supplementary plots which help keep the play from feeling preachy and one note. It was better and more entertaining than I expected.
Materialists by Celine Song was one of my most anticipated films of the year. I was so hopeful from interviews she’d given and the trailers it would be a fun, if indie, romantic comedy. Sadly that is not the case. Instead we get another treatise on the woes of modern dating and how cynical singles are in New York City. This is the kind of story we used to get from Woody Allen except without the humor or witty banter. Literally a major plot point of this movie revolves around a single woman getting sexually assaulted. It does have a nice style to it but even that feels derivative and uninspired. Chris Evans is pretty charming but the other leads fell completely flat for me and nobody has any chemistry. Just a big old disappointment.
So there you have it. My update on the latest new releases. What have you seen? What do you think is worth watching? Let me know!
My patrons keep me honest and able to see and review as much as I do. Make sure you check out the patreon for perks, exclusive reviews and to be part of our monthly events and watch alongs. If you value honest criticism check it out. Find out more here.
Hi friends! We have another month of blind spot to tell you about. This month it was a fun one for me because we looked at both Heathers the cult film from 1988 and the more recent Heathers: the Musical which is getting an off-Broadway revival this June.
Manda and I had a great discussion about both projects, and I’d recommend both. Naturally I love the musical more because I love musicals but they both make interesting choices. The movie must have been incredibly shocking for 1988 audiences. It’s a hard R rating and very cynical in its humor and it let’s you know that right away with an opening sequence with Veronica’s head in the grass during a game of croquet.
The musical tries to give everything more humanity where the movie is more of an outright horror story which makes sense especially because the musical is an hour longer. I saw the musical last November at Mad King Productions in Salt Lake (see review here) and it was an incredible experience. I loved the songs and found the whole thing fresh and exciting. My favorite of the songs are probably “Candy Store,” “Dead Girl Walking” and “Lifeboat” with the weaker songs being “My Dead Gay Son” and “You’re Welcome.”
Still I think both are wildly creative and definitely worth checking out. There is a pro-shot of the musical but evidently it wasn’t very good so it is very difficult to track down. You can find slime recordings of the off-Broadway production online but I recommend seeing it for yourself live. You won’t regret it. The movie I also recommend. Just prepare yourself for something sick and twisted.
It’s always an interesting thing to see what films resonate with different people and why. Everyone knows a lot of blockbusters or studio films have been underwhelming for me in the last few years. This summer I’ve already been disappointed by Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning and Lilo and Stitchwas predictably bland. Now we have Karate Kid: Legends and most of my friends seem to be dogging on it, so it might surprise you to hear I quite enjoyed it! Go figure.
Now I should say that none of the criticisms I’m hearing on this film are inaccurate. It is very predictable and the story takes some strange choices like becoming a boxing movie for a large chunk, but I was still over-all entertained by what was happening on screen. This is partly due to the fact that I am a huge sucker for underdog sports movies and the movie is extremely short so the problems didn’t weigh on me the way they might have. The cast is also hugely likable so that goes a long way for this kind of formula film.
I promise it has nothing to do with the fact I met Ralph Macchio 😉
This entry in the franchise follows Li Fong (Ben Wang) as he moves to NYC with his Mom (Ming-Na Wen who I adore), and he is told he cannot fight anymore. Of course, that means he definitely will fight but it is only after getting a girlfriend (Sadie Stanley) and helping said girlfriend’s Dad prepare for a boxing match (like I said that angle was weird but it’s Joshua Jackson who is so charming I didn’t mind it.) Then he must challenge bad boy Connor Day in the Battle of the Boroughs which means he must learn karate in a couple weeks (he knew kung-fu before because he is from China not Japan.)
Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio are not in the movie as much as the trailer would have you believe but they are likable enough to make me smile throughout and Wang is really endearing as Li. I wish director John Entwistle had made better choices with the fight cinematography. Everything feels choppy and weirdly edited so if you are going for great fighting than moderate your expectations.
As you can tell from my review Karate Kid: Legends is a flawed film but it hits those underdog sports movie beats well, is short and sweet and has a very likable cast so it did enough to entertain me. Your mileage may vary. I have never seen an episode of Cobra Kai so I can’t speak to anything involving that show in the movie.
I do like that this is a movie that boys and girls should be able to vibe with equally but it might have been nice if the girlfriend was also a fighter as opposed to being the prize to be won and protected by both Connor and Li. Still, it’s a crowd-pleasing movie that made me smile and at the end of the day that’s what blockbuster entertainment is all about.
My patrons keep me honest and able to see and review as much as I do. Make sure you check out the patreon for perks, exclusive reviews and to be part of our monthly events and watch alongs. If you value honest criticism check it out. Find out more here.
Way back in 2002 when Lilo & Stitch first came out as an animated film I was honestly quite mixed on the film. I felt it was overly somber and then too silly with the alien shenanigans. However, it is a movie that has grown on me, and I really appreciate how unique it is in the Disney canon of films. Here is my video on the film for my Disney Canon Project:
I love that Lilo is a weird little girl with strange hobbies like taking pictures of fat people and collecting creepy dolls. I love the relationship between the sisters and the spirit of Ohana and all the Hawaiian vibes I of course love. The watercolor aesthetic to the animation is so unique in the Disney canon that it really sticks out as a special film even if the tone doesn’t always work for me.
Now we have the new live action remake and I feel very conflicted about the film. It’s fine and the little girl playing Lilo is very cute (although they way toned down the strangeness which is a shame.) and most people will see the movie and have a pleasant enough time.
I guess my struggle is- what’s the point? As messy as the recent Snow Whiteis at least it tried new things, had new songs, took the story in a new direction. This Lilo & Stitch is the exact same movie as the animated film but in live action so the uniqueness of the animation is lost.
Director Dean Fliescher Camp has done what he can to create a cute new Stitch and the little girl playing Lilo Maia Kealoha is very cute but almost everything else is identical. Gantu is replaced by Jumba but the aliens are mostly humans Zach Galifianakis and Billy Magnussen and their antics are basically the same.
The only other change is Tia Carrere is given most of the Cobra Bubbles role and Courtney B Vance is mostly sidelined with that character. As far as scenes, this is pretty much a shot-for-shot remake of the animated film, and why would I want that when I can just watch the animated film? It just feels like a cash grab to me, and I find that frustrating especially with all the resources Disney has at their disposal.
That said, I’m sure lots of people will see this Lilo & Stitch and have a good time with it because a lot of people have a good time with the animated film. If a shot-for-shot remake sounds appealing to you than go and see it. As for me, I can just sigh and wish the world was different than it is. Can I at least ask everyone who see’s this film to also watch Fliescher Camp’s delightful Marcel the Shell with Shoes On? That would make me happy.
My patrons keep me honest and able to see and review as much as I do. Make sure you check out the patreon for perks, exclusive reviews and to be part of our monthly events and watch alongs. If you value honest criticism check it out. Find out more here.
