Heart of the Beast review

HEART OF THE BEAST: 

BRAD PITT TEAMS UP WITH A DOG IN RIVETING SURVIVAL ADVENTURE! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

PARAMOUNT PICTURES

Brad Pitt and Odin in Heart of the Beast

 

            A retired veteran and his combat German Shepherd must navigate the Alaskan wilderness after a plane crash in Heart of the Beast, the new film from director David Ayer (Fury, Suicide Squad, The Beekeeper) that reunites him with Brad Pitt (Fight Club, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Inglourious Basterds), who have worked together on the war movie Fury in 2014. The movie looked promising when I first saw the trailer, though I almost got it mixed up with the latest Ridley Scott movie, The Dog Stars, which was also a survival film about a man and his dog,g though radically different in terms of story. 

            David Ayer’s filmography is pretty hit-or-miss.s, I thought End of Watch and Fury were fantastic and gripping movies; The Beekeeper was enjoyably stupid; and Suicide Squad, despite some solid performances from Will Smith and Margot Robbie, was sadly a huge disappointment and a desperate attempt at copying Guardians of the Galaxy and Deadpool. Well, after various ups and downs, Ayer rejoins Pitt to bring this canine-themed adventure to the screen, and I gotta say, Heart of the Beast is easily his best film since Fury. 

            This is a riveting and compelling story of survival with an endearing Brad Pitt performance and an equally captivating dog with a lot of tension and heart throughout. It’s not really trying to do anything groundbreaking; it’s just an exciting and emotionally rich adventure that had me invested and engaged. 

            The film follows retired Special Forces veteran James Belmont (Pitt) and his dog Odin,n who are both suffering from PTSD and find themselves stranded in the Alaskan wilderness after a harrowing plane crash. Together, they are forced into an intense fight for survival against the elements. 

            The film also stars J.K. Simmons (Spider-Man trilogy, Juno, Whiplash) as Watkins. 

            Overall, Heart of the Beast is an epic and touching adventure that effectively blends suspense and sweetness. Sure, this movie isn’t giving The Revenant a run for its money, but I was engrossed in Pitt and Odin’s journey and found it very captivating. 

            The movie looks fantastic, ic especially on the big screen, with absolutely breathtaking shots of Alaska. Every time the film cut to a shot of the mountains or an overhead drone shot of the forests or rapids, I was marveling at what I was looking at on the screen and could easily see this getting at least a Best Cinematography Oscar nomination. 

            The plot is a pretty standard survival story and hits the beats you’d expect from a film like this, but it’s Brad Pitt and the dog’s charm that carries the entire movie. Brad Pitt gives probably the most heartfelt performance I’ve ever seen from him; he is fabulous in this movie and gets you emotionally wrapped up in what he and his dog are going through. 

            The dog actor playing Odin, Uber, is also great,t and I’m so freaking grateful that the film has an actual dog on set instead of using CGI (The Call of the Wild movie from 2020 is a prime example of how not to do that). He is expressive, captivating, phenomenally trained, and commands the screen to the point where Uber kind of upstages Brad Pitt during the film. 

            J.K. Simmons is only in the movie for a short period of time, but he makes do with the time given to him as a semi-comic relief and leaves an impact, though nowhere near to the extent of Pitt and the dog. 

            Given that this is a survival movie, the film is very suspenseful, from the intense plane crash that leads into the plot to an incredibly tense sequence where Pitt and Uber are climbing a wooden bridge with rapids down below. It is rated PG-13, so there isn’t any super graphic imagery, but there are a fair amount of scenes where Pitt is severely injured that made me wince in my seat. 

            Not sure what else to say, Heart of the Beast is a thrilling and heartwarming adventure about a man and his dog braving the odds and fighting for survival. It’s gripping, well-acted and directed, and has plenty of emotional depth. This movie just blows Ridley Scott’s The Dog Stars out of the water because, unlike that film, there’s actually a good movie on top of the pretty cinematography,s and it's worth seeking out on the big screen. 

Forgotten Island review

FORGOTTEN ISLAND: 

LATEST DREAMWORKS FILM WON’T BE FORGOTTEN ANYTIME SOON! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: **** out of 4

UNIVERSAL PICTURES AND DREAMWORKS ANIMATION

Jo, Raww, and Raissa in Forgotten Island

 

            Two best friends enter a portal to a magical island in Forgotten Island, the latest film from DreamWorks Animation and writer-directors Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado (The Croods: A New Age, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish). Aside from the occasional Boss Baby and Trolls movie, I’ve been very impressed with DreamWorks’ releases in recent years. The Bad Guys and its sequel were entertaining nods to heist movies; Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is spectacular and revitalized the Shrek franchise…only for them to get hideous redesigns in the upcoming fifth movie, and The Wild Robot is hands down one of my new favorite DreamWorks movies that cranks up the emotion almost to Pixar level. 

            This movie looked interesting when I first saw the trailer and definitely seemed like it was going to have that zany, fast-paced animation style that Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse made popular. Well, the same people already dabbled in this animation and art style before with Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, so I had much confidence that they would once again put out a high-quality and enjoyable product…they did! 

            Forgotten Island is fantastic and stands among the best DreamWorks films; yes, this is How to Train Your Dragon 1 and 2, Shrek 1 and 2, The Wild Robot, Kung Fu Panda 2, and Puss in Boots 2 good. I found this movie very engaging, with charming characters and a witty and incredibly touching story within the vibrant, stylized animation. 

            The film follows best friends from the Philippines, Jo (voiced by H.E.R.-Yes Day, The Color Purple (2023), Earth, Wind, & Fire (To Be Celestial VS That’s the Weight of the World)) and Raissa (voiced by Liza Soberano-Got to Believe, Forevermore, Lisa Frankenstein,) who have grown up hearing stories about a magic island known as Nakali from Jo’s grandmother. When Raissa prepares to leave for America to attend Caltech, she and Jo hang out at the beach and discover a magic sand dollar that’s actually a portal to Nakali. 

            They enter and find themselves in the fantasy world of the forgotten island where they befriend a were-dog named Raww (voiced by Dave Franco-Neighbors 1 and 2, The Disaster Artist, Together), a giant baby demon known as Bungi (voiced by Manny Jacinto-The Good Place, Top Gun: Maverick, The Acolyte), and a merman named…Mermahn (voiced by Kevin McCann) on their quest to get back home while outsmarting the most feared creature in Nakali, Manang (voiced by Lea Salonga-Aladdin, Mula, Mulan), and a tree-dwelling demon that specializes in memories known as Batiba (voiced by Jen Slate-Bob’s Burgers, Zootopia, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On). 

            The film also features the voices of Dolly de Leon (Triangle of Sadness) as Lola Fatima Yunson, Jo Koy (Easter Sunday, Leo, The Tiger’s Apprentice) as Datu, and Ronny Chieng (Crazy Rich Asians, Wish Dragon, M3GAN) as Truffle Wuffle. 

            Overall, Forgotten Island is a gorgeously animated, funny, and emotionally powerful DreamWorks movie with a captivating story and solid cultural representation to go along with its imagination. The animation is breathtaking and captures the feel of Spider-Verse, KPop Demon Hunters,d and Puss in Boots 2 with a ton of different art styles and fast-paced editing. 

            Sometimes it’s like a computer-animated anime, other times it’s like a graphic novel or comic book, or it’s like a wacky, slapstick cartoon; you never know what the animation is going to do as you’re watching it, and I love it. While the Spider-Verse movies will always be the gold standard for this style of animation, it’s very energized, kinetic, and looks incredible on the big screen. 

            The creatures Jo and Raissa encounter on their adventure are very imaginative,e like a tribe of cute little Duwende warriors, rs but don’t let their cuteness fool you: a Batibat that collects memories, who reminded me a lot of the old witch from Spirited Away, and one of the most terrifying DreamWorks villains since Death from Puss in Boots 2. I’m serious, Manang is a genuinely scary villain, especially for an animated movie for children made in the 2020s,s with a creepy appearance, an eerie voice done by the singing voice for Princess Jasmine and Mulan, and the ability to disembowel herself (There’s no blood, but still); she was pretty unsettling at times. 

            But what really brings the movie home are its leads, Jo and Raissa, who are the emotional core of the film; everything going on revolves around their friendship, and there are some truly heavy and heartfelt scenes that I found very effective,e particularly during the climax. I bought them as best friends and was invested in both their literal and intellectual journeys; I even came close to shedding a couple of tears during some scenes, which doesn’t happen often when I’m watching a movie. 

            I think Puss in Boots: The Last Wish has a tighter narrative, but Forgotten Island is a fun and moving adventure for the entire family and my favorite “Fully” animated film of the year. It blends its wildly creative ideas with endearing characters and a sweet, emotion-heavy story at its core; this is certainly an animated feature I won’t be forgetting anytime soon. The fact that it’s a completely original idea is an added perk. 

Primetime review

PRIMETIME: 

ROBERT PATTINSON TAKES A SEAT AS CHRIS HANSEN! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

A24

Television history is about to be made in Primetime.

 

            Robert Pattinson (The Batman, The Drama, The Odyssey) transforms himself from teenage heartthrob and bloodthirsty predator to…Chris Hansen, the host of To Catch a Predator in Primetime, the new film from A24 and director Lance Oppenheim in his narrative feature directorial debut. I should make this clear before I get started: my knowledge of Chris Hansen is paper-thin. I never watched To Catch a Predator, and most of my awareness of him came from parodies, specifically the South Park episode, Le Petite Tourette, where Eric Cartman pretends to have Tourette syndrome so he can say whatever he wants without consequences, which culminates in him being scheduled for an interview with Hansen on Dateline. 

            I understand what Hansen and the show are like: his crew lures pedophiles into a home, Hansen catches and publicly embarrasses them on television, and they get arrested by police. It was definitely a huge risk, especially for a network like NBC, but clearly it was successful, and people still remember and reference the show and Hansen today. 

            Which brings us to this film that chronicles the production of To Catch a Predator,r and the trailers certainly got my attention, especially when it was revealed that Pattinson was going to play Chris Hansen. I think Robert Pattinson is one of the most prolific and exciting actors working today, and this year alone really highlights that. Between this, The Drama, The Odyssey, and the upcoming Dune: Part Three, the Edward from Twilight days are long gone. 

            So, I was more than ready to see him portray Chris Hansen, and I gotta say, I found this film very fascinating and terrifying. I was on the edge of my seat with my skin crawling but also captivated by the story and people involved. 

            The film is set in 2006 and follows journalist Chris Hansen (Pattinson), who hosts the show To Catch a Predator on NBC and conducts sting operations to lure would-be predators into a house where they expect to engage in sex with a minor but are ultimately confronted by Hansen and exposed. NBC head Jeff Zucker (Played by himself) acknowledges the show’s success and moves it to primetime, putting it up against ABC’s Lost, which fuels Hansen’s determination to make To Catch a Predator the biggest television show,n whatever it takes. 

            The film also stars Merritt Wever (Nurse Jackie, Marriage Story, The Gilded Age) as Chris’ producer Andie Bender, Skyler Gisondo (Booksmart, Licorice Pizza, Superman (2025)) as aspiring actor Dan Plum, Matthew Maher (Dogma, Captain Marvel, Our Flag Means Death) as Perverted-Justice founder Xavier Von Erck, Anna Faris (Scary Movie franchise, The Dictator, Mom) as Chris’ wife Mary Joan Hansen, Bokeem Woodbine (Ray, Fargo, Spider-Man: Homecoming) as Cortland Gunn, Alex Winter (The Lost Boys, Bill & Ted trilogy, Freaked) as Rockwall County district attorney Bill Conradt, and Phoebe Bridgers (Between Two Ferns: The Movie, I Saw the TV Glow) as decoy actor Del Harvey. 

            Overall, Primetime is an exhilarating and unsettling look at the world of late-night television and how far people will go to achieve success. I found the movie very fascinating, not just as a dramatization of how Hansen and his crew caught these predators, but as a film that shows people doing the right thing for the wrong reason and, in this case, ratings. 

            That’s not to say Hansen doesn’t care about what he’s doing; he agrees that these pedophiles are horrible people and need to be stopped, but because of his ego and determination to be the best, he’s doing it for the ratings. The movie also explores Hansen’s psyche and how he became the man he is and decided to do what he does, and in true A24fashion, it’s never fully made clear (As if one of their horror movie scripts somehow ended up in this).  

            Robert Pattinson is magnificent as Chris Hansen and really captures his mannerisms, speech, and appearance. Again, most of my Chris Hansen knowledge came from his South Park depiction,n and I very much saw and heard Pattinson recapturing that whether it was intentional or not. 

            I also found Skyler Gisondo very endearing as the aspiring actor who’s hired to play a decoy on the show, with Pattinson’s Hansen trying his damnedest to keep him on the show because of how good he is,s even though he wants to branch out and do other things. I like how he’s essentially someone who had absolutely zero idea what he signed up for initially, gets thrown into an awkward situation with a pedophile, and has no time to properly prepare for what the crew told him to do. 

            The movie looks fantastic but not in a pleasant way; the film is shot like it’s a grainy, overexposed exploitation movie with video cameras and bright lights attached to the camera, where everything’s all washed out and gives this unpleasant look to the movie, which is entirely intentional. The low-quality VHS-style filmmaking is cleverly utilized here to really sell the unnerving feeling of what’s happening onscreen; this, and the horror-comedy Buddy, which I saw recently,y understood the importance of old-school VHS filmmaking without making it seem like a gimmick. 

            Yeah, Primetime is a solid movie with gripping, spine-tingling scenes and amazing performances, especially from Pattinson. It’s a compelling and disturbing look at the production of To Catch a Predator and explores very heavy and relevant subject matter in an effective way; certainly not a crowd-pleaser, but if you know what you’re getting into, it’s quite a ride. 

Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom review

SHAUN THE SHEEP: THE BEAST OF MOSSY BOTTOM: 

A SPOOKY TREAT FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

GKIDS

Shaun and friends are back in Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom.

 

            The lovable sheep returns for a new adventure in Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom, the latest film from Aardman Animations and the third movie based on the Shaun the Sheep franchise. For those of you who don’t know, Shaun the Sheep actually originated from the 1995 Wallace & Gromit short film, A Close Shave, which saw the titular characters rescuing a herd of sheep from a sheep-rustling operation. 

            This led to the character getting his own spin-off show in 2007 and three feature films, with Shaun the Sheep Movie being released in 2015. I really like the first Shaun the Sheep movie, though I wouldn’t say it’s on the same pedestal as Wallace & Gromit or the first Chicken Run, but it’s a very charming movie for both kids and adults with a ton of visual humor that appeals to both and plenty of heart. 

            The second Shaun the Sheep movie, Farmageddon,n which had a difficult release history, partially due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ic I finally watched for the first time on Netflix and found it hilarious, with a lot of callbacks to science fiction and alien invasion movies and shows like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Doctor Who. It might actually be my favorite of the Shaun the Sheep movies; it made me laugh hard. 

            Now we have this third movie released in theaters, making it the first Aardman feature to get a wide theatrical release since Early Man in 2018. I didn’t really have any expectations going into this one and only saw the trailer once in theaters, but I found the first film very charming and the second one after finally watching that one, s, I gave it a shot and…yeah, it’s really good. 

            I personally consider this the weakest of the Shaun the Sheep movies in terms of story, as it is very derivative of other movies,s even another Aardman film, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, which I’ll get into in a moment. But I was still laughing often and charmed by the characters even if the dialogue just consisted of animal noises and gibberish from the humans. 

            The film follows Shaun (voiced by Justin Fletcher) and his sheep friends at the Mossy Bottom farm getting their pumpkins ready for Halloween. But when the pumpkin patch is accidentally destroyed by their clumsy Farmer (voiced by John Sparkes), they turn to mad science in hopes of regrowing them via a growth potion inside a Hair Growth bottle. 

            However, the Farmer obtains the bottle containing the potion and lathers it over his bald spot; Shaun and the animals unintentionally transform him into a giant, hairy monster and have to race through the town to change him back with the help of a veterinarian (voiced by Nina Sosanya-Teachers, Last Tango in Halifax, Good Omens) whom the Farmer has a crush on. 

            Overall, Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom isn’t giving Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit a run for its money anytime soon, but it’s a spooky Halloween treat in its own right that both kids and adults will find something to enjoy. The movie is essentially a satire of classic Universal Monster movies, most notably Frankenstein and The Wolf Man, with some nods to Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho among a few others, and they’re all done well and get big laughs. 

            The plot is very derivative of the first Wallace & Gromit movie where the main human character accidentally transforms into a monster, the townsfolk want to catch him, and the animal(s) have to race to turn him back. There’s even a big event that said human is trying to attend; in Wallace & Gromit’s case, it was a vegetable competition, and in this movie, it’s a Halloween Hoedown, but the humor and heart are what carry it. 

            As mentioned before, the film continues the trend of not having any of the characters speak actual dialogue, with it consisting of animal noises, grunts, and gibberish, so the characters and their personalities come out through the animation, which is very unique, especially for a modern animated movie aimed at children. The Shaun the Sheep movies are almost like a return to silent cinema à la Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, with a lot of reliance on visual storytelling and slapstick,k and in these films’ case, done with stop-motion animation. 

            Speaking of which, the comedy is very funny, with solid comedic timing and humor that ranges from visual gags to slapstick. For a movie that’s mostly for kids, I found myself laughing hard quite a bit,t with some of my favorites being a scene where the Vet thinks the transformed Farmer is Bigfoot and looks on a map to find Bigfoot Island, which is literally in the shape of a giant foot that’s also across from another island shaped like a hand pointing,g called Big Hand Island; another scene where a car on a foggy road accidentally hits a sign that reads “Fog”, and the climax where an angry mob uses Halloween props from a costume store to chase the Beast.

            The silliness is also balanced out with a ton of heart, with a cute little romance between the Farmer and the Vet and,d of course, the family dynamic between the Farmer and his sheep. The characters are as simple as you could get, but there is a lot of sweetness to them amidst all the wacky chaos. 

            Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom is an entertaining Aardman feature and a good entry point for children to get into horror without it ever trying to actively scare them. It’s spooky, silly, and bursting with charm,r m and not once does it feel like it’s pandering or talking down to its audience;ce, definitely a good family watch for Halloween if the wee ones are too young for Resident Evil. 

Resident Evil review

RESIDENT EVIL: 

AFTER TWO DECADES OF MISFIRES, ZACH CREGGER FINALLY CRACKS THE CODE OF THIS VIDEO GAME FILM FRANCHISE! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: **** out of 4

COLUMBIA PICTURES

Something terrible has been unleashed in Resident Evil (2026)

 

            Director Zach Cregger (Barbarian, Weapons) brings his take on Resident Evil to the screen in…well, Resident Evil, the second reboot of the Resident Evil film series based on the popular Capcom video game franchise of the same name. Resident Evil hasn’t always had the best luck outside of video games; there were seven live-action movies released between 2002 and 2017 starring Milla Jovovich, a few CG animated Resident Evil films that were decent, a CG animated series, Infinite Darkness, that I barely heard anyone talk about, a terrible Netflix series, and a 2021 live-action movie reboot, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City,y that tried to recapture the spirit of the source material, but failed in a lot of areas. 

            For the longest time, it seemed like Resident Evil only truly thrived as a video game and couldn’t quite be adapted in other forms of media, but then, Zach Cregger stepped in. I have been very impressed with Cregger’s work. I enjoyed Barbarian a lot and freaking adored Weapons, with the latter being one of my favorite films from last year. I was confident that he’d be able to finally give Resident Evil a proper film adaptation…and he did. 

            While I don’t think it’s as good as Barbarian or Weapons, this is an exceptionally crafted movie that’s in equal parts frightening and funny and both honors the source material and injects it with some fresh blood of its own. This isn’t a straight-up adaptation of a specific game or storyline from the universe; it’s its own thing with different characters that just happens to be set in the Resident Evil universe, which was a bold choice, but Cregger pulled it off. 

            The film follows a medical courier named Bryan (Austin Abrams-The Kings of Summer, Paper Towns, Weapons) being tasked with delivering a mysterious time-sensitive package to Raccoon City Hospital. However, Bryan soon finds himself stuck in a terrifying fight for survival as he is attacked by zombies and other monsters created by the pharmaceutical and biotechnology company, The Umbrella Corporation. 

            The film also stars Zach Cherry (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Severance, Fallout) as Dr. Carl, Kali Reis (Asphalt City, True Detective: Night Country, Mercy) as Dr. Maxine, and Paul Walter Hauser (Richard Jewell, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, The Naked Gun (2025)) as Dr. Paul. 

            Overall, Resident Evil (2026) is an exhilarating ride that more than makes up for the sins of the past and finally delivers a Resident Evil movie that’s worthy of the name. One thing I really like about this movie is how it technically does the same thing as the first Milla Jovovich film, where it revolves around a character that’s completely made just for this movie and not one of the main characters from the game, except unlike Resident Evil (2002), this one does it correctly. 

            Get this: instead of using the movie as a vehicle for the director to show how hot his wife is, there’s actually a character to get invested in here and makes you want to see them overcome their obstacles. Austin Abrams was already a standout in Weapons, and he’s great here too; he is funny and has great comedic timing without it ever feeling out of place in the film, and they make him very endearing as someone who’s trying to support his pregnant girlfriend (Who only appears through phone conversations) and survive all this chaos. 

            The first Milla Jovovich Resident Evil film is a guilty pleasure of mine, but there are very few characters I actually gave a shit about in that; this film just follows one character throughout the entire thing, and I cared more about Abrams than any of the characters from the previous movies,s including the video game-based ones. Just having a regular guy stuck in a zombie outbreak is more engaging and suspenseful than some badass superheroine with genetically enhanced powers; there are actual stakes in this. 

            The movie also looks great and really captures the look and feel of what it’s like to play the games, with a lot of care and attention to detail that fans of the source material will surely appreciate. Honestly, the way the film is structured is just like playing a level from the game, with Abrams upgrading to a better weapon, searching a house to find ammo, and even some first-person perspective. As someone who freaking adored Sonic the Hedgehog 3 a couple years ago, this might be the best example of a video game movie that honors both the game and the people who have played it. 

            The designs of the creatures are very imaginative and weird, and yeah, there are definitely plenty that are ripped straight from the game,s like the zombie dogs. But then, you have zombies and monsters that are absolutely bizarre even by Resident Evil standards, like a bunch of dismembered bodies forming together into a giant bloodthirsty abomination, a zombie that pukes acid in an elevator shaft, and a Substance-style body horror climax that I dare not ruin. 

            The gore is cranked up and definitely flaunts its R rating like a badge of honor: people getting squashed, ripped apart, devoured, shot, and an entire sequence where zombies jump off rooftops and smash into the ground with puddles of blood and flesh. Leave it to Zach Cregger to succeed where Paul W.S. Anderson failed because even though the first Resident Evil film did earn an R rating, it barely utilized it to the point where it could have been PG-13. 

            I also found the movie surprisingly funny in both the absurdness of the situation and Austin Abrams’ reactions to said situation. There’s a great running joke where he’s terrible at using guns and constantly misses his shot, which I was worried was going to get old really fast, but it ended up being one of the funniest bits in the film. 

            Resident Evil (2026) finally gives fans a Resident Evil movie that honors the source material and gives a creepy, bloody, and fun movie in its own right. Between this, Exit 8, and Mortal Kombat II, this was a pretty solid year for video game-inspired cinema, which for the longest time was considered cinematic poison, and I’m genuinely excited to see where this new franchise goes and whether or not it will introduce characters from the game like Leon Kennedy, Chris and Claire Redfield, Jill Valentine, etc.; only time will tell. 

            As for right now, we finally have a Resident Evil movie that’s worth seeking out and deserves your money. Zach Cregger did well with this. 

Rose City Comic Con 2026 Recap