The Odyssey review

THE ODYSSEY: 

CHRISTOPHER NOLAN CRAFTS A TRULY MONUMENTAL EPIC! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: **** out of 4

UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Odysseus facing off against an army of giant soldiers in The Odyssey

 

            Director Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, Oppenheimer) brings Homer’s epic poem to life like never before in his latest film, The Odyssey. It’s pretty obvious this was going to be one of my most anticipated movies of the year; I love Christopher Nolan and think he’s a wonderful filmmaker who always pushes the envelope of what he’s able to capture with a camera while also delivering some truly gripping and epically powerful stories. 

            The Dark Knight, the second of his Batman films, remains one of my all-time favorite theater experiences I’ve ever had, and his last movie, Oppenheimer, was a haunting and exhilarating cautionary tale about creating destruction and the guilt that comes with it; the latter even won the Best Picture Oscar. So, yeah, The Odyssey has a lot to live up to after the cultural impact that Oppenheimer had. Was Nolan able to capture lightning in a bottle twice? The answer is yes! 

            While it’s hard to say it’s on par with The Dark Knight or Oppenheimer, The Odyssey is a damn impressive movie from both a filmmaking and storytelling perspective, and just like most of his films, it demands to be seen in IMAX. The giant screen and crystal clear sound make a huge difference with this film even if you don’t see it in 70mm. 

            The film is set in Ancient Greece and chronicles the long and perilous journey home of Odysseus (Matt Damon-Bourne franchise, The Departed, The Martian) after the Trojan War. Meanwhile his wife and queen of Ithaca, Penelope (Anne Hathaway-The Devil Wears Prada 1 and 2, Rachel Getting Married, Les Miserables; who had previously worked with Nolan on The Dark Knight Rises and Interstellar) is having a conflict with suitors in her husband’s absence while his son, Telemachus (Tom Holland-Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Lost City of Z, Uncharted) sets off on his own voyage to find his father and figure out who he is. 

            The film also stars Robert Pattinson (The Twilight Saga, The Batman, The Drama; who had previously worked with Nolan on Tenet) as Antinous, Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave, Black Panther 1 and 2, Us) in a dual role as Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra, Samantha Morton (Sweet and Lowdown, In America, The Whale) as Circe, John Leguizamo (Regarding Henry, John Wick 1 and 2, The Menu) as Eumaeus, Zendaya (Spider-Man franchise, Dunetrilogy, The Drama) as Athena, and Charlize Theron (Monster, Young Adult, Mad Max: Fury Road) as Calypso.

            Overall, The Odyssey is pure Christopher Nolan filmmaking at its most epic and a riveting cinematic spectacle. This is a 2-hour and 53-minute movie (Just a little shorter than Oppenheimer), and it doesn’t feel its length even when it slows down to do character development and explore mythological and psychological ideas; it’s never dull. 

            I was locked in, blown away by what Nolan shot on camera, and captivated by the characters and their adventures throughout this near 3-hour epic. The big selling point is the fact that this is Christopher Nolan retelling The Odyssey, and he makes the best damn retelling of The Odyssey he can, and he f*cking succeeded. 

             The movie looks fantastic, with the majority of it filmed practically and captures the size and scope of Homer’s Odyssey that’s in equal parts mythical and real. It is a fantasy movie, but through Nolan’s filmmaking, it feels like a real environment that you could reach into the screen and interact with- no green screen, CGI, or digital bullshit, just Nolan and his crew pouring their blood, sweat, and tears into every epic shot of the film (Did I mention, see this in IMAX?). 

            Given the massive cast attached to this film, of course, the acting is going to be excellent, with Matt Damon giving a superb and surprising performance as Odysseus. Damon is probably the last person I’d expect to play Odysseus, but he nailed it perfectly and carried a ton of emotional weight to the film. 

            Tom Holland is also great as Odysseus’ son, Anne Hathaway is incredible as the queen trying to deal with all these suitors, and Robert Pattinson is wonderful as this suitor you just want to punch in the face every time he’s onscreen, and no, it’s not because Pattinson was in Twilight. However, the performance that truly shocked me was John Leguizamo as Eumaeus; he is magnificent in this. I thought he would have been overshadowed by Damon, Holland, Hathaway, etc. and given a very minor role, but he is prominent when the film needs him, and he gives some of the best acting I’ve ever seen from him. Leguizamo has really come a long way since Luigi Mario from the Super Mario Bros. movie. 

            The movie isn’t super gory or anything, though there are some bloody images during the battles, but the film has some surprisingly terrifying moments like the sequence where Odysseus and his men encounter a giant cyclops that starts eating people, smashing them, and ripping them apart; that’s pretty brutal and frightening. Probably the most unsettling scene in the film to me was the whole bit involving Odysseus’ men meeting Circe that makes the pig transformation from Spirited Away look like Winnie the Pooh. 

            Christopher Nolan knocked it out of the park once again. The Odyssey is a monumental and epically powerful movie that deserves to be seen and experienced on IMAX or whatever the largest theater screen you have. Go out and see this film and let Hollywood know you want to see more movies like this, Project Hail Mary, and most likely Dune: Part Three, and less recycled and manufactured bullshit. 

The Invite review

THE INVITE: 

A COMEDY FUELED BY AWKWARDNESS!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

A24

Penélope Cruz, Seth Rogen, and Edward Norton in The Invite

 

            A dinner in an apartment gets incredibly awkward in The Invite, the new film directed by and starring Olivia Wilde (House, Tron: Legacy, Booksmart), and is an English-language remake of the 2020 Spanish film, The People Upstairs by Cesc Gay. I was interested when I saw the trailer; I enjoy Olivia Wilde as an actress and thought her first directing effort, Booksmart, was one of the best films from 2019. 

            However, her second directed feature, 2022’s Don’t Worry Darling, was a big letdown despite it having a fascinating premise. This seemed like she was going back to basics after that movie, and I was onboard for it. 

            I’m happy to report that The Invite is significantly better than Don’t Worry Darling and one of the wildest comedies I’ve seen this year. I found this movie very funny throughout and laughed a lot while also being in shock over what was happening in true A24 fashion. 

            The film follows Joe (Seth Rogen-Superbad, 50/50, This is the End) and Angela (Wilde), whose marriage is rocky as they constantly bicker with one another. But when Angela invites their upstairs neighbors, Pina (Penélope Cruz-Volver, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Ferrari) and Hawk (Edward Norton-Fight Club, The Incredible Hulk, Moonrise Kingdom) over for dinner out of the blue, the night spirals into complete and total chaos as their marriage is put to the test. 

            Overall, The Invite is an uproariously funny comedy that completely subverts your expectations. Despite its simple premise, I had no idea where it was going and was laughing and gasping at just about everything it threw at me. 

            This is a hard movie to talk about without going into spoilers, but it definitely throws you for a curveball at several points in the film that leave you laughing and with your jaw hanging open once you figure out what’s actually going on. It’s a rollercoaster ride about relationships being challenged and what happens when a marriage’s passion begins to dwindle, though it’s not exactly an emotional powerhouse like Marriage Story or something along those lines. 

            Seth Rogen is great as the man who’s out of the loop when his wife invites the neighbors over without telling him. It’s amusing to see him on edge and freaking out over what’s going on and rightfully pointing out that it’s crazy to invite complete strangers over for dinner at the last minute without telling him. 

            Olivia Wilde is also excellent, and this film really showcases her comedic talents whether it’s a witty remark or a simple facial expression. Edward Norton is as charismatic as ever as one of the upstairs neighbors, and Penélope Cruz is incredibly sexy and funny as Norton’s wife with some steamy surprises of her own; all four of them together was a blast. 

            One thing that is absolutely brilliant about this movie is you’d expect Rogen and Wilde to be the ones with the failing marriage while Norton and Cruz are the flawless and cool couple, but neither one of those couples is perfect. Both are very flawed in ways I can’t even discuss without going into spoilers, which would ruin the fun of the film. 

            The filmmaking is top-notch; Wilde puts her all into the production. The movie is technically set in just four or five rooms, but she makes this San Francisco apartment look big through her direction and very clever camera work and editing. Also, mad props for giving the film a more retro look and some graininess reminiscent of movies being projected on film. 

            The Invite is a wildly funny and steamy comedy that’s fueled by the cast’s performances and the awkwardness of the film’s plot. I don’t think it would please everyone, but regardless of what you thought of it, this will surely be a night to remember. 

Evil Dead Burn review

EVIL DEAD BURN: 

LATEST EVIL DEAD FILM IS ANOTHER GORY, GROOVY GOOD TIME! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

WARNER BROS. PICTURES, NEW LINE CINEMA, AND SCREEN GEMS

Every Family Has Its Demons in Evil Dead Burn

 

            The demons of the infamous Book of the Dead have risen again in Evil Dead Burn, the latest installment of the Evil Dead film series and follow-up to 2023’s Evil Dead Rise. I thought Evil Dead Rise was a good entry in the franchise, though I personally felt it paled in comparison to the original three films that Sam Raimi directed (Evil Dead 1 and 2 and Army of Darkness) and even the 2013 remake, but it had some gnarly and gory scenes and even some genuine heart with its family dynamic. 

            Which brings us to the sequel with the original trilogy’s director, Sam Raimi (Darkman, Spider-Man trilogy, Drag Me to Hell) as a producer and Sébastian Vaniček (Infested) taking over directing duties from Lee Cronin. I didn’t really have any expectations going into this; I knew what I was getting into after seeing the last film, and this one seemed like it was going to be more of the same…yeah, pretty much. 

            Out of the Evil Dead movies, I do consider this one to be the weakest, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t have fun with Evil Dead Burn. It doesn’t try to evolve the Evil Dead franchise or take it anywhere new, but as a movie that just wants to entertain and give audiences the gory goods they come to expect, I think it does it well.

            The film follows Alice (Souheila Yacoub-Climax, Savages (2019), Dune: Part Two), who, after the tragic and sudden death of her husband, Will (George Pullar-Playing for Keeps, Home and Away, It Only Takes a Night), goes with her grieving in-laws to a rickety, old lake house for a family reunion. It turns out Will was infected by a Deadite, and now the curse has fallen onto the family, with each member gradually turning into bloodthirsty demons. 

            The film also stars Tandi Wright (Shortland Street, Love and Monsters, Pearl) as Will’s mother Susan, Hunter Doohan (Wednesday, Daredevil: Born Again, The Wilderness) as Will’s brother Joseph, Luciane Buchanan (Filthy Rich, The New Legends of Monkey, The Night Agent) as Joseph’s girlfriend Thya, and Erroll Shand (The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep, Safe House, Wolfram) as Will’s father Edgar. 

            Overall, Evil Dead Burn gives what it promises: over-the-top and bloody deaths, swearing Deadites, and hammy dialogue from the latter. Where Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness leaned more into comedy and the 2013 Evil Dead was a return to form for its horror roots, this and its predecessor aren’t exactly trying to push the envelope; they’re just kind of giving people exactly what they want. 

            Like every Evil Dead movie, the Deadites are a lot of fun as these pure evil, shit-talking demons that taunt their victims before killing and torturing them. It’s hard not to laugh at how over-the-top the actors playing them get. 

            Unlike Evil Dead Rise, which had some standout performances by the two sisters (One of whom becomes a Deadite), nobody who isn’t a Deadite really stands out in this, though I guess all the characters are acted fine. When you’re coming off of a franchise that initially had Bruce Campbell as the lead, that’s a difficult act to follow. 

            The gore ranges from over-the-top comical to wince-inducing, a Deadite drinking molten hot wax from a candle, someone accidentally falling onto a dishwasher drawer with a bunch of forks and knives facing up, flesh getting ripped off, and blood spurting all over the place. All that Evil Dead goodness. 

            The movie also has more of those camera shots reminiscent of the original films with tons of sweeping shots, spinning shots, and intense zooms when something bad is about to happen. Sam Raimi didn’t direct this outing, but you can tell Sébastian Vaniček has a lot of love for his work while he’s behind the camera directing this. 

            The narrative is pretty weak, though. I get that the movie is trying to tackle subject matter like toxic relationships and family drama, but the characters just aren’t that interesting, so it doesn’t really have much of an effective punch to it. The Invisible Man movie from 2020 did this thing infinitely better and was a lot more unique with its approach. 

            Evil Dead Burn is objectively the weakest of the Evil Dead films and doesn’t quite recapture the glory days of Raimi’s original three movies, but I still enjoyed my time with it. It isn’t the Evil Dead II or Army of Darkness of these new films, but fans should get what they want out of this.  

Moana (2026) review

MOANA (2026): 

YOU’RE NOT WELCOME FOR THIS ONE, DISNEY!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: * ½ out of 4

DISNEY

Catherine Laga’aia in Moana (2026)

 

            The world of Moana comes to life in…well, Moana, the latest of Disney’s live-action remakes this time, of the 2016 animated film of the same name. I really liked the original Moana and thought it was a gorgeous, animated feature with charming characters, catchy as hell songs, and, like Frozen, broke the Disney mold in various places; between that and Zootopia, 2016 was a peak year for Disney Animation. 

            The 2024 sequel, Moana 2, is…fine, but it was a massive hit at the box office, grossing over $1 billion despite it being deemed inferior to the first. So, of course, it needs a live-action remake, which I was completely against the moment it was announced, and why is that? Because the original Moana isn’t even that old and doesn’t turn 10 until November of this year. 

            I personally wasn’t much of a fan of the Lilo & Stitch remake from last year, but at least it was for a film that was over 20 years old. This just seemed too recent to me and made solely for money without any creative integrity…yeah, that’s about what I got. 

            I always try to be open-minded with these remakes, but I ain’t sugarcoating this: the live-action Moana is complete and total crap to the point where I’m going to apologize to the 2019 Lion King and 2025 Snow White. As soulless and uncanny as those films were, at least there was a legacy to tarnish with those bad remakes; this is a soulless and uncanny version of a current film that doesn’t have much of a legacy yet. 

Because I’m lazy, I’m just going to recycle the plot description from my original Moana review; if the movie itself can be uninspired, then so can my review of it. Three thousand years ago, the greatest sailors in the world embarked on a journey across the Pacific and discovered the islands of Oceania. Life was created by an island goddess called Te Fiti, and the source of her magic is her heart, which is a pounamu stone. 

            After a demigod named Maui (Dwayne Johnson-The Scorpion King, Fast & Furious franchise, Jumanji franchise; reprising his role from the animated films), who is a shape-shifter, stole her heart, the voyaging mysteriously stopped and caused the islands of Motunui to be cursed. A young girl named Moana (Catherine Laga’aia-The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart) and daughter of the chief of the Motunui Island, discovers that she is literally friends with the ocean and wonders why the adventuring stops. 

            She learns that Maui has stolen the stone, and if she can obtain it, Moana can summon Maui and help her save the village from destruction by the Gods. But she’s not alone on her journey; Maui with his mighty shape-shifting fish hook, a dim-witted chicken named Hei-Hei, and the ocean assist Moana on her quest to restore the heart of Te Fiti before the Gods destroy her village.

            The film also stars Rena Owen (Once Were Warriors, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, Siren) as Gramma Tala, John Tui (Power Rangers franchise, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, Young Rock) as Chief Tui, Frankie Adams (The Expanse, Mortal Engines, Shortland Street) as Sina, and Jemaine Clement (Men in Black 3, Avatar 2 and 3, Wildwood) reprising his role from the animated films as the voice of Tamatoa. 

            Overall, Moana (2026) is the new standard for pure Hollywood laziness and the absolute worst I’ve ever seen from the Disney live-action remakes; yes, I said that! It adds nothing to the source material; the script is almost line-for-line, and oh, did I mention that MOANA IS TOO RECENT TO REMAKE!!! 

            I controversially didn’t like the Aladdin remake when I first saw it, but this makes that movie look like Fantasia or the original Beauty and the Beast by comparison. I’d much rather rewatch Will Smith in CGI Blueface and Dollar Store Jafar over watching this film ever again. 

            All throughout the movie, I was constantly saying “Okay, here’s this scene, here’s that scene, here’s this song, here’s that song.” I even checked my f*cking phone a few times during the film it was so unremarkable and dull to me. Say what you will about the 1996 101 Dalmatians or the 2016 Jungle Book, but at least they added something unique to make them stand out from their animated originals; 101 Dalmatians didn’t have the talking animals, and The Jungle Book expanded upon the lore. This does nothing; it’s a complete waste of time, money, and talent. 

            Thomas Kail, the film’s director, is insanely talented, as he directed the stage productions of In the Heights and Hamilton. I never saw the In the Heights musical, but Hamilton was freaking awesome, so it’s probably just a classic case of a director for hire and working under the Mickey committee. 

            I will give the film a teeny bit of credit that, for all its failures, the acting is fine; Catherine Laga’aia is a decent choice for a live-action Moana and hits those notes pretty well. Dwayne Johnson, terrible wig aside, still brings a lot of charisma to Maui even if he’s just saying the same lines again. 

            The visuals are nice and colorful and do capture the look of Moana, and some of the effects used during the song sequences attempt to bring some liveliness to an otherwise nothing film. 

            Yeah, I’m done; Moana (2026) is not worth anyone’s time; go see Toy Story 5 or even Minions & Monsters. Hell, you can just watch the original animated Moana movies at home on Disney+ instead of going out to see a lazy interpretation of it that you paid money for. 

            What can I say except, you’re not welcome for this one, Disney? Good luck with Tangled, you cheap bastards! 

Minions & Monsters review

MINIONS & MONSTERS: 

THE MINIONS GO HOLLYWOOD IN VERY FUNNY PREQUEL…TO A PREQUEL! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Something big is coming in Minions & Monsters

 

            Gru’s Minions have returned and this time, they’re invading the film industry in Minions & Monsters, the latest installment of Illumination’s Despicable Me franchise and the third Minions movie after 2015’s Minions and 2022’s Minions: The Rise of Gru. As I’ve said in my reviews for the other Despicable Me and Minions movies, the franchise is pretty hit-or-miss with a lot of reliance on silly gags and slapstick for the kids, but they’re often mixed with genuine heart, particularly with ex-supervillain Gru and his family. 

            For the most part, I think the formula works well enough, though there have been times where the tone is inconsistent and uneven, like the first Minions and Despicable Me 3 and 4. I consider these the weakest in the series, but they have their moments. The second Minions movie, The Rise of Gru, was honestly pretty funny and had decent comedic timing and visual gags; not a great movie, but a surprisingly good comedy that greatly improved upon the first Minions. 

            So, now we have a third Minions movie, and the marketing wasn’t really doing it for me; it just seemed like more of the same: Minions doing silly things with a bunch of slapstick, except now it has monsters. But I was cautiously optimistic because I did enjoy the last movie quite a bit, so perhaps the Minions in Old Hollywood might be able to recreate that magic…Actually, it does. 

            Again, Minions & Monsters isn’t a great film, nor would I consider it one of the all-time best comedies, but I found it incredibly funny with a lot of nods to silent films and classic cinema. It’s easily my favorite out of the Minions movies and right up there with the first two Despicable Me films. 

            The film is set in 1920s Hollywood and follows the Minions (All voiced by the film’s director, Pierre Coffin) on their quest to serve the most diabolical villain in the world and, through several missteps, fail at keeping a job. They find themselves mistaking a movie set for a train heist and discover the magic of cinema with help from film director Max (voiced by Christoph Waltz-Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained, Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein) who casts the Minions in several silent pictures. 

            But when the studio heads begin transitioning from silent film to talkies and the Minions are unable to speak fluent English, they are fired, with one aspiring filmmaker Minion, James, not wanting to give up his passion and begins making a film of his own. However, his production needs giant monsters, so he summons a monster known as Goomi (voiced by Trey Parker-South Park, Team America: World Police, The Book of Mormon; who also voiced Baltazar Bratt in Despicable Me 3) to recruit monsters for his big movie, only for them to run amok in Hollywood. 

            The film also features the voices of Allison Janney (American Beauty, I, Tonya, Bad Education; who also had a voice role in the first Minions) as Olivia, Jesse Eisenberg (Zombieland 1 and 2, The Social Network, A Real Pain) as Dort, Jeff Bridges (Tron franchise, The Big Lebowski, Iron Man) as Frank and Elwood Bright, Zoey Deutch (Everybody Wants Some!!, Zombieland: Double Tap, Nouvelle Vague) as Debbie, Bobby Moynihan (The Secret Life of Pets 1 and 2, DuckTales (2017), Hoppers) as Phillips, Phil LaMarr (Futurama, DC Animated Universe, Samurai Jack) as Howard, and the man who created Jar Jar Binks as himself. 

            Overall, Minions & Monsters is pretty much what you’d expect: the Minions doing silly and goofy things in the Golden Age of Hollywood with monsters. It’s not particularly deep or emotionally rich, but as a light-hearted, wacky comedy, I laughed quite a bit during this film and not just chuckles and small laughs, genuinely hard laughs.

            There are so many parodies and homages to classic films in this that just had me smiling and laughing every time one would come up, from nods to Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton, and Charlie Chaplin movies to the famous Rosebud scene from Citizen Kane. They even do an entire chase sequence with a monster that’s edited like it’s from a silent comedy film, complete with silly music. 

            There’s also an entire B-plot involving a “Robot” named Dort that a bunch of Minions ally with because he claims to be the conqueror of the world that’s probably there to pad out the runtime, but I giggled quite a bit at how strange and odd his scenes are. Also, completely forgot it was Jesse Eisenberg doing his voice; I’m shocked he doesn’t do much voice acting in animation; he’s got a perfect voice for it. 

            Speaking of voice acting, Trey Parker once again continues to be a treasure in the Despicable Me/Minionsfranchise, but where Balthazar Bratt in Despicable Me 3 sounded like a supervillain Randy Marsh, Goomi has the voice of a high-pitched South Park child voice, and his delivery is freaking hilarious. But unlike Despicable Me 3, he has a consistently good movie surrounding his vocal performance this time around. 

            There’s not a whole lot to say about this movie; Minions & Monsters is a funny movie that kids will surely enjoy, and even adults will get some good laughs out of. This is the Minions formula really working, where you put them in different situations and hilarity ensues. It knows people are there just to laugh and have fun, and it delivers just that; if you wanted something more, then you would have gotten a ticket to see Toy Story 5 next door instead. 

Jackass: Best and Last review

JACKASS: BEST AND LAST: 

JOHNNY KNOXVILLE, STEVE-O, WEE MAN, AND THEIR FRIENDS TAKE YOU FOR ONE LAST OUTRAGEOUS RIDE! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

PARAMOUNT PICTURES AND MTV ENTERTAINMENT STUDIOS

Johnny Knoxville and his team of Jackasses are back in Jackass: Best and Last

 

            Hello, I’m Nico, and this is supposedly my final Jackass movie review. Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Wee Man, and the rest of the gang return with Jeff Tremaine back in the director’s chair for one final ride in Jackass: Best and Last, the fifth main entry installment of the Jackass film series based on the MTV television series of the same name. As someone who was getting into very dumb, raunchy stuff in middle and high school (South Park, Family Guy, Beavis and Butt-Head, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, etc.), I think Jackass is friggin’ hilarious, and despite its idiotic and lowbrow exterior, there actually is quite a bit of thought put into many of their ridiculous stunts plus great comedic timing. 

            It’s a prime example of something that’s smart in its dumbness, with a TV show kicking it off followed by a series of movies from 2002-2026 and even a spin-off film, Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa in 2013, which was kind of like Jackass’ version of Borat. I’m personally not as nostalgic for the Jackass show, but I’ve watched the movies many times on DVD, and I even saw Jackass 3D in theaters with a bunch of my friends in high school. 

            Still to this day, Jackass still makes me laugh even in my late-20s, early-30s; 2022’s Jackass Forever was a great watch with a crowd, and now, Jackass: Best and Last, while I’m not sure I’d call it the best personally, gave me exactly what I was looking for. By the time the fifth Jackass movie came around, you pretty much know what you’re getting into, and outside of the shocking things they do to each other on-camera, there really aren’t many surprises. 

            But as someone who loves the franchise and the formula, this was a great time and had me laughing constantly. However, what’s interesting about this film is it’s also a collection of the franchise’s best stunts from across the previous movies and the show, never-before-seen footage, and behind-the-scenes bits with new stunts and pranks added in to make it feel like a finale. 

            The film follows Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Wee Man, Chris Pontius, Dave England, Preston Lacy, Danger Ehren, Poopies, Rachel Wolfson, Zach Holmes, Dark Shark, and Jasper Dolphin…doing what they do best, pulling off outrageously crazy and dangerous stunts, pranking each other, and breaking out the gross-out humor. Things like a Robotic Rectal Exam, The Escape Room from Hell, Poopies on a balance beam with a shock collar on his penis, and Steve-O launching a ping pong ball out of his ass. 

The movie also shows the origins of Jackass via a 1998 video of Johnny Knoxville shooting himself in the chest (FYI he had a bulletproof vest on and padded it with Hustler magazines) and includes a greatest hits collection of the franchise’s best moments from the movies and the series such as the High Five from Jackass 3D, the Big Red Rocket from Jackass Number Two, Silence of the Lambs from Jackass Forever, and even a bit from the show involving Brad Pitt, I dare not say what they do to him if you’ve never seen the stunt. 

Jackasses doing dumb things, laughing at each other, and hitting each other in the nuts, all that good stuff, but there actually is something pretty heartfelt and nostalgic hearing the cast members reminisce about major moments from Jackass. All wrapped together in a blood, urine, feces, splooge, and animal bodily fluid-stained bow. 

Overall, Jackass: Best and Last is…well, a Jackass movie, and while I can’t say there’s anything in here for the uninitiated (I mean, this is movie #5 so, I’m not expecting any uninitiated people going to see this…unless they were dragged by someone who really loves Jackass), fans will surely have a great time at the theater. I was laughing, wincing, and covering my eyes very often during the film, though I wish I had a better crowd (It was only three other people and me). 

The Jackass movies are better in a theater when you have a big crowd laughing and reacting to everything, and if you’re able to see it that way, it makes a huge difference. Still, I laughed, reacted, and had a good time, which is really what these movies are all about. 

It was really neat to see all this unseen footage of Jackass, and it’s pretty crazy that Johnny Knoxville and these guys essentially risked their lives in hopes of making the show, bringing it to air, and finding an audience. Hey, in some bizarro universe, when Johnny Knoxville did the gun stunt, he actually died, and that universe never got a Jackass. 

Anyway, seeing where they started and how this franchise grew over the past two decades with old and new cast members (One of whom has passed away, Ryan Dunn) and them finding new and insane ways of pushing the envelope for what they could get away with is really fascinating. My jaw was on the floor when old footage of Johnny Knoxville dressed like an escaped convict with handcuffs on going into a tool shop to buy a hacksaw and was nearly arrested, thus putting Jackass on hiatus before MTV even picked it up; it was wild. 

It’s a good time, but I do have some issues that make me favor Jackass 3D, Forever, and Number Two over it, reusing the old stunts from the other movies and show. Don’t get me wrong, it was nostalgic seeing all those stunts again on the big screen, but we had already seen them before and aside from the occasional never before seen bit during filming, most of them play exactly the same, it was probably just so Ryan Dunn and Bam Margera (Who was fired during Jackass Forever’s production) could technically still be in the film since it’s the last…supposedly. 

I don’t think Jackass: Best and Last is the best in the films (I personally like Jackass 3D the most), but it’s a good sendoff for Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Wee Man, and all their dumb pals. Fans of the franchise will surely get what they’re looking for, and it’ll definitely be the most epic film release of 2026…*Looks over at posters for The Odyssey, Dune: Part Three, and Avengers: Doomsday*…Yup! 

Supergirl review

SUPERGIRL: 

A SUPER…FINE SUPERMAN SPIN-OFF! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

DC STUDIOS (WARNER BROS. PICTURES)

Milly Alcock as Supergirl

 

            Before anyone asks, yes, this is better than the previous Supergirl movie from 1984. Anyway, Superman’s cousin returns to the big screen in Supergirl, the second installment of James Gunn’s rebooted DC Universe and spin-off of his Superman movie from last year. I’ll be honest, I’m no expert on Supergirl. I never read any of the comics featuring her, but I knew about her and had a basic understanding of the character. 

            That’s not to say I wasn’t completely devoid of Supergirl fare, I really enjoyed the CW Supergirl TV series from 2015 that starred Melissa Benoist and was part of the ArrowVerse and…I subjected myself to the terrible 1984 Supergirl movie starring Helen Slater and Faye Dunaway before watching this one, which is like Superman IV: The Quest for Peace if it had an actual budget, but still just as awful. Needless to say, Supergirl has had a pretty shaky history when it comes to adaptations, but I was curious when this new film version of the character was announced, with Superman (2025) director James Gunn (Slither, Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, The Suicide Squad (2021)) producing, while Chris Gillespie (I, Tonya, Cruella, Dumb Money) directs. 

            I thought the movie looked fine from the advertisements, and I thoroughly enjoyed Gunn’s Superman film last year. I was hoping the cast and crew would be able to recapture some of that magic with this, and…Supergirl is alright. This is a perfectly serviceable interpretation of Supergirl with good performances and decent action, but if you’re looking for something on par with the 2025 Superman…no!

            The film follows Kara Kent/Supergirl (Milly Alcock-Upright, House of the Dragon, Sirens) partying hard on several planets with her super-dog, Krypto in celebration of her 23^rd birthday. But when Krypto is suddenly attacked by a group of space pirates known as the Brigands, Supergirl reluctantly joins forces with a young girl named Ruthye (Eve Ridley-Casualty, The Witcher, Emerald) who vows revenge on the Brigands' leader, Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts-Rust and Bone, The Danish Girl, The Old Guard 1 and 2) for murdering her father. 

            The film also stars David Krumholtz-Harold & Kumar trilogy, Oppenheimer, Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere) as Zor-El, Emily Beecham (1899, Hail, Caesar!, Daphne) as Alura In-Ze, Jason Momoa (Game of Thrones, Fast X, A Minecraft Movie; who previously portrayed Aquaman in the DC Extended Universe) as Lobo, and David Corenswet (The Politician, Pearl, Twisters) reprising his role as Clark Kent/Superman. 

            Overall, Supergirl is a huge step down from the 2025 Superman, but it’s a fine enough superhero movie and I don’t regret seeing it on the big screen. It’s a very standard comic book movie that doesn’t aim to break new grounds and is like a mix between True Grit, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Mad Max except nowhere near as good as those and even recycles plot elements from the last Superman movie with Krypto being captured or injured and now the hero has to rescue him, didn’t we just see that in the last movie? 

            I’m not kidding about the True Grit comparison because the plot is literally about a young girl avenging the death of her father, teaming up with a washed-up character (In this film’s case, it’s Supergirl), and embarking on a quest to bring the killer to justice. I’m not saying this is bad, but I don’t think this is what people wanted with a Supergirl movie. 

            Despite its recycled narrative, I will give this movie credit that the acting is pretty solid with Milly Alcock portraying a radically different version of Supergirl compared to ones we’ve seen before and adds a lot of snarky energy and wit to her performance, she’s not trying to be like Helen Slater, Melissa Benoist, or even Sasha Calle from The Flash movie, it’s her own Supergirl and she plays it well. Jason Momoa as Lobo is f*cking great and easily the best part of the film. He is funny and completely mad every time he’s onscreen. Watching him was a blast, and I hope to see him in future DC projects because out of all the characters in the film, he left the biggest impression. 

            Everyone else is fine. I can’t say anyone is bad in this, but outside of Alcock and Momoa, I didn’t find any of the other characters to be all that memorable, not even Matthias Schoenaerts’ Krem, who is sometimes fun and hammy, but most of the time he’s just a stock villain and a significant downgrade from Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor in Superman. Had he channeled more of that devilish charisma or the film made him more diabolical, he could have been a great DC villain, but as is, he’s about as memorable as Ronan the Accuser from the first Guardians movie. 

            Despite an overabundance of CGI and much of it not looking especially good, I was impressed by the practical effects and makeup on a lot of the alien creatures in this. In an age where motion-capture and computer animation are the norm with comic book movies, it’s refreshing to see aliens and monsters that are actually in front of the camera, and some of the designs were giving me Guardians of the Galaxy and Star Wars vibes. 

            The action is decent and can be pretty fun, but there is one fatal problem with the action sequences: the editing. The editing is terrible in this movie, with random cuts and unnecessary camera movements that ruin a potentially epic scene. They even go Zack Snyder slow-mo during a fight scene, and it just made me think of Man of Steel or Batman v. Superman. 

            Supergirl is a very passable comic book movie that doesn’t do anything that new or spectacular, but those looking for a decent amount of superhero fun should get what they’re looking for. It’s certainly not “Super”, but it thankfully isn’t Nuclear Man or “Save Martha!” either.