Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers review

CHIP ‘N DALE: RESCUE RANGERS: 

DISNEY’S LOVABLE CHIPMUNK DUO FOLLOWS IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF ROGER RABBIT WITH A PRETTY DARN ENTERTAINING CAPER! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

DISNEY+

Chip and Dale are on the case in Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers

 

            Chip and Dale make their feature film debut in Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers, the new live-action/animation hybrid based on the titular Disney Channel animated series of the same name. I’ll be completely honest; I didn’t really grow up with Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers or most of the Disney Afternoon shows as most of my cartoon-watching was from the late 90s-2000s, but I’ve seen a few episodes and got the basic gist of it. 

            For those who don’t know, Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers was a TV series on the Disney Channel from the late 80s-early 90s and was a spin-off of the Chip and Dale characters from the Mickey Mouse cartoons where they go on adventures as detectives with the help of their friends, a mouse inventor named Gadget, a mustachioed, adventure-loving mouse known as Monterey Jack, and his housefly friend, Zipper. I’m not a purist on this show, but from what I’ve seen it’s a very enjoyable kids’ cartoon and was part of the holy trinity of Disney shows back then which also included DuckTales and Darkwing Duck. 

Also, fun fact for newcomers, the outfits Chip and Dale wore in the series were based off Indiana Jones and Thomas Magnum from Magnum P.I.

Now, we have this live-action/animated hybrid film which at first, I was very skeptical about because Disney already rebooted another one of their animated shows into a live-action film with the 2019 version of Kim Possible and it…wasn’t very good to put it lightly and was concerned it was going to be another botching of a beloved Disney property. I quickly changed my mind when the trailer first came out for the movie and was basically like a spiritual successor to the 1988 film, Who Framed Roger Rabbit which remains the best mixture of live-action and animation to this day. 

Honestly, when the trailer dropped the hype surrounding this film was almost as huge as Spider-Man: No Way Home because it seemed like anything was possible. A bunch of characters from Disney shows and movies, Marvel heroes, and even a handful of non-Disney characters making appearances like The Mane Six from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and the Ugly Sonic design from the original Sonic the Hedgehog movie trailer. 

Now that the film is finally out on Disney+, I can gladly say that I had a really good time watching this movie. I don’t think it’s quite on par with Who Framed Roger Rabbit or Wreck-It Ralph, it does follow in those films’ footsteps and gives a very unique, meta, and thoroughly entertaining caper that often satirizes Hollywood filmmaking fads like Robert Zemeckis-style motion capture animation and a lot of references and callbacks to various shows and movies in yet another universe where toons and people co-exist. 

The film follows Chip (voiced by John Mulaney-Saturday Night Live, Documentary Now!, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) and Dale (voiced by Andy Samberg-Saturday Night Live, Hot Rod, Hotel Transylvania franchise), the chipmunk duo who was once on the top of the world thanks to the success of their show, Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers. But after the show’s cancellation, the two of them fell on hard times, Chip is now an insurance salesman while Dale has gotten the “CGI surgery” and has been spending his time on the fan convention circuit. 

However, when their friend and former co-star, Monterey Jack (voiced by Eric Bana-Black Hawk Down, Hulk, Hanna) suddenly gets captured, Chip and Dale must reunite, solve the mystery, and save him with the help of a rookie LAPD cop, Det. Ellie Steckler (KiKi Layne-If Beale Street Could Talk, The Old Guard, Coming 2 America). Along the way, they encounter Ugly Sonic (voiced by Tim Robinson-Detroiters, I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson, Saturday Night Live), hideous CGI abominations from the Uncanny Valley, and the boy who never grew up…except he did…and is now a fat, middle-aged crime boss named Sweet Pete (voiced by Will Arnett-Arrested Development, Blades of Glory, The Lego Movie franchise)…and wants to kill Chip and Dale. 

The film also features the voices of Flula Borg (Ferdinand, Tangled: The Series, The Suicide Squad) as DJ Herzogenaurach, Seth Rogen (Superbad, Kung Fu Panda trilogy, This is the End) as Bob the Viking and reprising his role as the voice of Pumbaa from The Lion King (2019), J.K. Simmons (Spider-Man franchise, Whiplash, Zootopia) as Captain Putty, Keegan-Michael Key (Key & Peele, Tomorrowland, Keanu) as Bjornson the Cheesemonger, and Tress MacNeille (Animaniacs, Tiny Toon Adventures, Futurama) reprising her role as Gadget. 

Overall, Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers may not be the movie longtime fans of the series probably wanted, but for those looking for a very funny satire of the film industry with a lot of meta humor in the same breakfast club as Roger Rabbit, you will have a blast with this movie. Much like Roger Rabbit and Wreck-It Ralph, there are so many characters and references scattered all throughout the film that you probably won’t be able to catch them all in one viewing. 

Some of my favorites included Ugly Sonic, which had me laughing hard whenever he appeared onscreen, and I was so grateful that he’s in the movie more than you’d think. Also, this monster Chip and Dale fight during the climax that’s made up of different toon body parts like a Transformer leg, Woody the Cowboy’s leg, an arm cannon, Wreck-It Ralph’s fist, and…the head of a certain villain from the original show. 

There’s also this brilliant subplot about famous characters getting “bootlegged” where they alter their designs and ship them off to star in those knock-off movies you always find at your local thrift store. I think that’s somehow a lot eviler than melting Toontown with a bunch of Dip…by the way, there’s also a brief reference to the Dip from Roger Rabbit in this movie. 

The animation is great and it’s neat to see a bunch of different animation styles, live-action people, and puppetry interacting with each other. It reminded me a lot of the Cartoon Network show, The Amazing World of Gumball as I was watching it. 

The voice acting is excellent, John Mulaney and Andy Samberg are the perfect picks to voice Chip and Dale in a meta-universe, their banter is quite funny, and they do sell the heartfelt moments. Not to mention, they cleverly work in the original Chip and Dale voices in a similar way they worked the original Pikachu voice into Pokémon: Detective Pikachu. 

I was, however, very disappointed that the other Rescue Rangers, Gadget, Zipper, and Monterey Jack weren’t utilized that much in the film. I’m glad they weren’t cut from it, but I felt they could have done more with them especially since the movie is called “Rescue Rangers”. 

Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers isn’t a perfect film, but it’s a very fun movie that fully embraces nostalgic and modern animation with a clever and witty premise to boot. 

Men review

MEN:

ALEX GARLAND DELIVERS ONE MESSED UP FILM! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

A24

Rory Kinnear in Men

 

            A widowed woman goes on holiday in a mysterious village but soon transforms into a living nightmare in Men, the new film from writer-director, Alex Garland (Ex-Machina, Annihilation) in his third directing effort. I’ve been a huge fan of Garland’s work whether as a writer and/or director, Ex-Machina I thought was a brilliant sci-fi film with a very unconventional look at artificial intelligence as well as being one of the best films I saw in 2015, and Annihilationwas a fascinating and suspenseful creature feature. 

            Naturally, I was intrigued to see what he was going to do next and once it was finally announced as Men, I made it a top priority to go see it. It’s…not as good as Ex-Machina or Annihilation, but that doesn’t mean I dislike it. 

            This is still a well-made movie with an otherworldly and foreboding atmosphere, beautiful yet haunting music score, superb performances by its cast, and a jaw-dropping, mindf*ck of a final act, but it doesn’t quite have the thought-provoking storytelling or emotional weight of Garland’s other films. It’s also one of those films that’s extremely difficult to describe, but I will certainly do my best. 

            The film follows a woman named Harper Marlowe (Jessie Buckley-War & Peace, Fargo, The Courier) who decides to spend a holiday alone at a cabin owned by a man named Geoffrey (Rory Kinnear-James Bond franchise, Wild Target, The Imitation Game) in the village of Coston, following the suicide of her husband. However, as she explores the village and woodlands Harper notices a bunch of strange-looking men that appear to be stalking her and quickly realizes that something is up with this village…something horrific. 

            Harper will need to survive the night and outsmart the men if she hopes to escape from this living nightmare. 

            The film also stars Paapa Essiedu (Murder on the Orient Express (2017)) as James Marlowe and Gayle Rankin (The Greatest Showman) as Riley. 

            Overall, Men may not be Alex Garland’s best film, but it certainly takes the cake for being the strangest and craziest film he’s made so far. I should make this perfectly clear for those going into this expecting a traditional horror movie with a ton of jump scares and gore, it’s not that kind of movie, there is gore and a lot of horrific imagery, but it’s also a very slow, atmospheric film that takes its sweet time before getting into the really suspenseful moments. 

            The first half of the film has a similar tone to The Night House and even follows some of the same beats, a woman with a troubled past goes to a cabin or old house in the wilderness and a bunch of subtle creeps start to happen. However, by the time the climax begins it goes from somber and artistic to full-on exploitation film with a bunch of gore, body horror, and one of the most batshit crazy final acts I’ve ever seen in any movie…and I’ve seen a movie that ends with animated, anthropomorphic food having sex with each other! 

            The music effectively sets this beautiful yet foreboding tone that’s carried until the end of the film and these haunting operatic pieces make it sound like you’re about to enter the great unknown. It makes perfect sense that this movie has excellent music given that it’s an A24 film and most of them usually have awesome music scores. 

            Despite a very small cast, the acting is superb from just about everyone, Jessie Buckley really sells her performance as this woman whose life pretty much came crashing down and looking to heal from her traumas. Rory Kinnear is surprisingly the standout role in this movie as he does an excellent job flipping back and forth from being charming, creepy, and a little funny, but saying more would require going into spoilers so let’s just say this is Rory Kinnear’s equivalent to Jim Carrey from A Series of Unfortunate Events. 

            While I praise a lot of aspects of this film, it does have its share of flaws, one is that the story, while fascinating is very uneven at times and does a lot of telling rather than showing. Also, the themes and subject matter can be very hit-or-miss and I kind of predicted that one of the themes was going to be mistreatment of women and granted, that is a very serious and important issue in the world, I felt it was handled a lot better in the 2020 version of The Invisible Man. 

            Men is probably one of the most divisive movies out in theaters right now as I have no idea whether or not people going into it are going to like it very much. There’s a lot of great aspects of it, but all the unsettling and disturbing sequences or bizarre storytelling might not sit well with everyone. 

            It’s definitely the kind of film that sparks conversations with film purists and analysts and if you’re someone who loves talking in great detail about a movie’s subject matter, then this is one to watch. Those looking for a more traditional horror movie or thriller should probably check elsewhere. 

Firestarter review

FIRESTARTER:

SECOND FILM VERSION OF STEPHEN KING NOVEL GOES UP IN FLAMES! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: * out of 4

UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Ryan Kiera Armstrong in Firestarter (2022)

 

            A young girl with pyrokinetic powers and her dad must outrun a shady organization out to catch them in Firestarter, the latest film adaptation of a Stephen King novel and the second Firestarter movie following the 1984 version. I’m not familiar with the original book, but I did watch the 1984 film prior to watching this one and it’s…average. 

            The original movie definitely isn’t one of the strongest Stephen King film adaptations and has a lot of pacing issues, but the performances by Drew Barrymore, David Keith, and George C. Scott carry the entire movie and it leads to an incredible final act, not to mention the music by Tangerine Dream is legendary. 

            Now we have this second adaptation of the story produced by Jason Blum (Get Out, Halloween (2018), The Invisible Man (2020)) and directed by Keith Thomas (The Vigil), which seemed like a good idea when it was announced because a remake could potentially improve upon the original and fix most of the flaws the first time around. Yeah, that’s not what we get here and if anything, this movie makes the original look like Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining by comparison. 

            This is a very dull slog of a movie devoid of just about everything that made the original somewhat watchable. It’s an example of a remake that should have been great but ultimately ends up going up in flames faster than the character herself. 

            The film follows Charlie (Ryan Kiera Armstrong-American Horror Story: Double Feature, The Tomorrow War), an eleven-year-old girl with an extraordinary gift…the power to create fire. She and her parents, Andy (Zac Efron-Neighbors 1 and 2, The Greatest Showman, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile) and Vicky (Sydney Lemmon-Helstrom, Succession, Fear the Walking Dead) have been on the run for more than a decade from a shadowy federal agency that wants to harness Charlie’s powers and weaponize it. 

            Charlie’s powers are triggered by anger and pain and Andy has taught her how to control it, but as gets older, the flame gets harder and harder to defuse. To make matters worse, the organization deploys a mysterious hitman known as John Rainbird (Michael Greyeyes-Fear the Walking Dead, True Detective, Wild Indian) to hunt the family down and seize Charlie for good, but Charlie has other plans. 

            The film also stars Kurtwood Smith (Star Trek, RoboCop, The X-Files) as Dr. Joseph Wanless, John Beasley (The Sum of All Fears, Walking Tall, The Purge: Anarchy) as Irv Manders, and Gloria Reuben (ER, Lincoln, Cloak & Dagger) as Captain Jane Hollister. 

            Overall, the new version of Firestarter is another prime example of how not to do a remake and serves as another entry to the long list of Stephen King adaptation misfires. What should have been a film that improves and expands upon the ideas from the original ironically takes away a lot of what made it endearing and fascinating. 

            Say what you will about the original, but at least it took time to establish the characters, story, and ideas in a mostly effective way. This version feels like it’s on autopilot and tries to condense all the key moments from the original down minus the humanity and passion to the point where you just don’t care what’s happening onscreen. 

            I think what hurts this film the most is how underdeveloped the villains are this time around. While the villains in the original were the stock, shady laboratory scientists who want to get Charlie and her family, they at least had plenty of scenes to establish their reasoning behind it. 

             This one has like a scene or two where the head of the laboratory and the hitman talk about their plan, but that’s all we get. I’m also very disappointed there wasn’t much of a connection between Charlie and the hitman (who pretended to be a friendly janitor in the original and eventually betrays her), the hitman is sent to catch the girl, kills the mother, captures the dad while the girl runs into the forest, and at the end of the climax he takes her in his arms and carries her across the beach…then the credits roll (WTF!?!). 

            Even the climax, which was arguably the best scene in the original feels half-ass and lazy this time around. She goes in to rescue her kidnapped father, incinerates a bunch of scientists, and (Barely) burns the whole place down, significantly less exciting and epic than the original where she was pretty much a walking, talking, time bomb. 

            I will highlight some positives regarding this film, most of the acting is decent and the musical score is awesome, especially given the fact that John Carpenter composed some of it. Also, I appreciate how this version does try to give Charlie and the family more of a backstory before they get hunted down, whereas the original begins and they’re already on the run. 

            Sadly, those are the only positive things I have, this was not a fun watch at all and it’s easily the worst Stephen King film adaptation I’ve ever seen. Even the worst films based on his work have at least some entertainment values, but this isn’t like Maximum Overdrive or Dreamcatcher and instead falls more in the same breakfast club as The Dark Tower movie…but even that movie had more things I liked about it. 

            I would say stick with the original, but even the original wasn’t that great to begin with either so…just stick with Brian De Palma’s version of Carrie, a far superior Stephen King film adaptation about a girl with powers. Watch that and throw this version of Firestarter into the flame. 

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness review

DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS: 

SAM RAIMI MCU FILM LIVES UP TO ITS TITLE! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

MARVEL STUDIOS

Benedict Cumberbatch in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

 

            The multiverse is unleashed upon the Marvel Cinematic Universe (again!) in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the latest installment of the MCU and follow-up to 2016’s Doctor Strange. Despite not knowing much about the character, I really enjoyed the first Doctor Strange movie and thought it was a very interesting installment of the MCU that explored the world of wizards and sorcery. 

While a lot of MCU films can be formulaic at times, Doctor Strange had a unique visual style and energetic action sequences that felt like the superhero movie equivalent of Inception and The Matrix while also exploring a lot of fascinating ideas about the possibilities of magic and of course, other universes, not to mention the perfect casting of Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, The Imitation Game, The Courier) as the titular sorcerer himself. 

Now we have this sequel following the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, which also featured Doctor Strange and revolved around the multiverse. Cumberbatch once again reprises his role as Dr. Stephen Strange and in the director’s chair this time is Sam Raimi (Evil Dead franchise, Darkman, Spider-Man trilogy), who is no stranger to directing Marvel movies as he had previously directed the Spider-Man film trilogy from 2002 until 2007…and there was a Doctor Strange namedrop in Spider-Man 2, so it all comes full circle. 

When Raimi was announced as the new director after Scott Derrickson stepped down, I was excited and curious to know how it would play out. Was it going to be a director on hire scenario like a lot of Disney and Marvel projects have been like lately or would he have the freedom to do whatever he wants and make a Marvel movie in the style of Evil Dead, but still in the PG-13 realm? I am happy to report that the latter is exactly what this movie is, and I love it because of that. 

This is very important when going into this movie, it’s a Sam Raimi movie first and an MCU film second and it takes full advantage of that. The film has several of Raimi’s signature directing tropes especially when it comes to the visuals and camera angles, dark humor, and even some downright disturbing moments, it’s a film that earns its PG-13 rating but not in the same way Avengers is PG-13, this is a Drag Me to Hell PG-13 movie. 

Following the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Dr. Stephen Strange has been having the same dream repeatedly every night where he and a mysterious girl are fighting to save the multiverse. It turns out that dream he was having was actually going on in an alternate universe and this girl named America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez-The Baby-Sitters Club) has the power to travel through the multiverse who befriends Strange after he rescues her from a monster that was hunting her for her multiverse traveling powers. 

Strange enlists the help of Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen-Martha Marcy May Marlene, Godzilla (2014), Wind River) who has witnessed alternate universes already during her time in Westview (The town from WandaVision). However, Wanda has been corrupted by an ancient artifact known as the Darkhold (Basically the MCU equivalent of the Book of the Dead) and is becoming the Scarlet Witch. 

Wanda believes that Chavez’ powers can be used to reunite with the children she created in Westview which causes a conflict between Strange, Chavez, Wanda, and the entire multiverse. It becomes a race against time as Strange, Chavez, and Sorcerer Supreme Wong (Benedict Wong-Marco Polo, The Martian, The Personal History of David Copperfield) must travel to different universes with surprise characters, evil versions of the heroes, zombies, etc. and find a way to save the multiverse and hopefully Wanda as well before the Scarlet Witch takes over. 

The film also stars Rachel McAdams (Mean Girls, Sherlock Holmes 1 and 2, Eurovision Song Contest) reprising her role as Christine Palmer, Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave, The Martian, The Lion King (2019)) reprising his role as Mordo, Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man, Lincoln, Steve Jobs) reprising his role as Nicodemus West, and of course…Bruce Campbell! 

Overall, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness offers a chaotic and wildly entertaining throwback to Sam Raimi’s glory days and one of the few MCU movies that rightfully earns the PG-13 rating. This is definitely not anAvengers: Endgame PG-13 where it’s a somewhat edgy PG movie with a 13 at the end because PG-13 superhero movies make bank, this is basically a late 80s/early 90s, practically R-rated PG-13 where characters die in horrific ways (There’s no blood though!) and a lot of the imagery shown in this film can be quite disturbing at times to the point where the tone shifts from an MCU movie to a straight up horror movie. 

I will say the first film is debatably the better crafted movie, but the one I was most entertained by is easily this one. It’s definitely one of the most ambitious and weirdest MCU films that’s really thinking out of the box with its ideas and Sam Raimi is the perfect choice to direct something this crazy and out there. 

There’s a scene in particular that involves Doctor Strange battling a villain literally with the power of music and the visuals and darkly quirky tone of the situation are so odd you can’t help but love it, and another sequence where Strange takes the form of a zombie version of himself with black angelic demons surrounding him that talk like the Deadites from Evil Dead. It’s pure Sam Raimi chaos consuming this MCU movie, and I welcome that wholeheartedly. 

Benedict Cumberbatch is once again great as Strange and has a lot of charm and his character has a strong dynamic with America Chavez. Elizabeth Olsen on the other hand steals the show as this hero turned villain who was corrupted by an evil force and just wants to see her children again, it’s a very tragic and heartbreaking concept and there’s even quite a few times where she’s pretty damn frightening as Scarlet Witch (Yeah, Elizabeth Olsen and frightening, that’s a sentence I never thought I’d say!), she’s the standout performance in the entire film. 

The visuals and action sequences are stunning and very imaginative, it also takes full advantage of the IMAXformat. With a movie this bizarre and filled with eye-candy, it kind of warrants a watch on the largest screen possible. 

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness delivers the Sam Raimi goods while also being an entertaining MCU entry. Whether you’re watching it on IMAX, IMAX 3D, or as a double feature with Everything Everywhere All at Once (Which is honestly, not a bad idea!), this is a relentlessly entertaining and wild film that shows off the “Stranger” side of both the multiverse and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The Bad Guys review

THE BAD GUYS: 

THESE GUYS MAKE “BAD” LOOK GOOD…AND SO IS THE LATEST DREAMWORKS FILM! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

UNIVERSAL PICTURES AND DREAMWORKS ANIMATION

Mr. Wolf, Mr. Piranha, Mr. Snake, Ms. Tarantula, and Mr. Shark are The Bad Guys

 

            A group of notorious criminals try to go good in The Bad Guys, the new film from DreamWorks Animation and follows in the footsteps of other animated features about villains becoming heroes like Despicable Me, Wreck-It Ralph, and even DreamWorks’ own, Megamind. The film is based on a series of children’s books and while I’m not familiar with the source material, you can see it through the animation and art style which has this very stylized, almost comic book-like feel to it. 

            I will admit, I haven’t been the biggest fan of some of DreamWorks’ latest releases (I think the last film they made that I really enjoyed was Abominable back in 2019), but I found films like The Croods: A New Age, Trolls: World Tour, and The Boss Baby: Family Business to be serviceable but easily disposable. This one however, I was curious to see when I first saw the trailers and it looked like a kids’ movie version of a Steven Soderbergh/Ocean’s heist film with a team of misfit animal criminals. 

            After seeing it, I can gladly say that I had a blast with these “Bad Guys”, this is a very entertaining film with a lot of energy and fast-paced animation, a good balance between genuinely hilarious jokes and silly humor for the kids, an incredibly funny voice cast, and a surprising amount of heart. In a month where big blockbusters like Morbius and Fantastic Beasts disappoint, I got to be perfectly honest, two of the best movies I saw recently were Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and this, and they’re both mostly marketed towards the family demographic so there you go. 

            The film follows five friends, Mr. Wolf (voiced by Sam Rockwell-Moon, Iron Man 2, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri), Mr. Snake (voiced by Marc Maron-GLOW, Joker, DC League of Super Pets), Ms. Tarantula (voiced by Awkwafina-Crazy Rich Asians, The Farwell, Raya and the Last Dragon), Mr. Shark (voiced by Craig Robinson-Hot Tub Time Machine 1 and 2, The Office, This is the End), and Mr. Piranha (voiced by Anthony Ramos-A Star is Born (2018), Hamilton, In the Heights) who have turned to a life of crime and pretty much made a living out of robbing banks, stealing belongings, and avoiding the police. However, on one fateful day when Mr. Wolf unintentionally stops an old lady from falling off a set of stairs and one of their heists goes wrong, the Bad Guys decide to do one of the most unthinkable acts ever…become “Good Guys” with the help of a guinea pig philanthropist known as Professor Marmalade (voiced by Richard Ayoade-The IT Crowd, Soul, Disenchantment) and a beautiful red fox governor named Diane Foxington (voiced by Zazie Beetz-Atlanta, Deadpool 2, Joker), but it won’t be easy to turn these villains that nobody loves into the heroes everyone needs. 

            The film also features the voices of Alex Borstein (MADtv, Family Guy, The Lizzie McGuire Movie) as Misty Luggins and Lilly Singh (Ice Age: Collision Course, Bad Moms) as Tiffany Fluffit. 

            Overall, The Bad Guys may not be on par with some of DreamWorks’ best films like Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, or How to Train Your Dragon, but in terms of delivering a fun and delightfully wacky romp for the whole family, it’s a near-perfect heist. The film is essentially a sendup to a lot of those Guy Ritchie and Steven Soderbergh heist films except for kids, and that’s not at all a disadvantage to it. 

            It starts with Wolf and Snake sitting in a diner that’s eerily similar to the diner from Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction and then it quickly leads into a bank robbery. What I find humorous is that they don’t spend any of the money they stole instead they’re hoarding it in their loft, all because the public labels them as “The Bad Guys”. 

            When they start their heists or car chases with the police, then it becomes what you’d get if the Looney Tunesgot a hold of a script for a Steven Soderbergh or Guy Ritchie film. Lots of slapstick, witty jokes, and some of the most energetic and fast-paced animation since Hotel Transylvania, which is showcased in great detail during the action sequences. 

            Some of the best gags came from Mr. Shark, who is a supposedly a master of disguise, but he puts on the most obvious costumes, and everyone falls for them. Not only does this shark put Bugs Bunny to shame but King Shark from The Suicide Squad would be very happy to hear that his plan isn’t all that crazy. 

            Also, it gave me one of the best lines I’ve ever heard in any news story, whether we’re talking in fiction or reality. The fact that you can judge a book by its cover and that all stereotypes are true, and change can never happen, despite it being during a more dramatic part of the movie, that line cracked me up and kind of sums up parts of the world in our modern society. 

            The animation is dazzling to look at and especially on the big screen, as previously mentioned it has sort of this stylized comic book vibe to the animation and art style. While the animation is in 3D some of the characters’ faces and movements have feel two-dimensional which gives it a unique look that perfectly fits the tone and style of the film. 

            The plot isn’t all that original, because we’ve seen this kind of movie several times before, to the point where I figured out who was going to be the big baddie in the end pretty early on, but like what all great capers do, it throws you for a loop a few times. What starts off as the Bad Guys trying to redeem themselves and learning to do good things suddenly turns into a movie where they have to get a powerful meteorite with mind control powers that comes right out of nowhere and it’s one of the craziest things I’ve seen in a movie since the wedding scene from Sonic the Hedgehog 2a couple weeks prior. 

            The voice acting is spot-on, Sam Rockwell is perfectly cast as this smooth, cocky wolf, Marc Maron as the snake also gets a lot of great lines and moments in the spotlight, Awkwafina is basically a tarantula version of her Ocean’s 8 character, and Craig Robinson is just as great as a dim-witted shark as he is a man with access to a time traveling hot tub. 

            The Bad Guys was a very pleasant surprise and one of the best DreamWorks films I’ve seen in a while. It gave me a cool caper, a movie where misfit bad guys become heroes, and a climax involving a bunch of mind-controlled guinea pigs that’s a lot more entertaining and fun than anything in Morbius, go seek this movie out whether you got kids, families, or just looking for a good time with some “Bad Guys”. 

The Northman review

THE NORTHMAN: 

ROBERT EGGERS SUCCESSFULLY MAKES THE LEAP FROM INDIE HORROR MOVIES TO LARGE-SCALE SWASHBUCKLING EPICS! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

FOCUS FEATURES

Alexander Skarsgård in The Northman

 

            Director, Robert Eggers (The Witch, The Lighthouse) takes a “stab” at historical epics in The Northman, the third film in Eggers’ filmography and based on the legend of Amleth. This film is being released alongside The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, which I had just posted a review for, and after seeing this I got to say, this is a really good weekend to go to the movies. 

            I’ve really enjoyed Eggers’ previous films, from the chilling and atmospheric, The Witch to the absolutely chaotic, The Lighthouse. Naturally, I was intrigued to see his take on a swashbuckling epic with this movie. 

            While I feel like The Witch and The Lighthouse have stronger narratives, this is a damn impressive spectacle that’s as dazzling to look at as it is unapologetically violent. I’m not kidding about the violence, they do not sugarcoat it at all, you are getting raw, nasty bloodshed that makes The Last Duel and The Green Knight look like kids’ movies by comparison. 

            The film follows Amleth (Alexander Skarsgård-True Blood, The Legend of Tarzan, Godzilla VS Kong), a prince from the island of Hrafnsey who at a young age, witnessed his father (Ethan Hawke-Reality Bites, Gattaca, Moon Knight) getting murdered and his mother (Nicole Kidman-Eyes Wide Shut, The Hours, Moulin Rouge!) being taken away by his uncle, Fjölnir (Claes Bang-The Square, The Affair, Dracula (2020)) and vows to avenge his father, save his mother, and kill his uncle. Now all grown up, Amleth has become a Viking and is out for blood as he slashes and brawls his way through Fjölnir’s forces to rescue his kidnapped mother and take his tyrannical uncle down with the aid of a sorceress known as Olga (Anya Taylor-Joy-The Witch, Emma (2020), Last Night in Soho). 

            The film also stars Willem Dafoe (The Boondock Saints, Spider-Man, The Lighthouse) as Heimir the Fool, Björk as The Seeress, Gustav Lindh (The Circle (2015), Queen of Hearts, Riders of Justice) as Thorir the Proud, Invar Eggert Sigurðsson (K-19: The Widowmaker, Everest, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald) as He-Witch, Olwen Fouéré (Mandy, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)) as Ashildur Hofgythja, Kate Dickie (Game of Thrones, The Witch, Star Wars: The Last Jedi) as Halldora the Pict, Ian Whyte (Alien VS Predator 1 and 2, Clash of the Titans (2010), Prometheus) as The Mound Dweller, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (Game of Thrones, Eddie: Strongman, Kickboxer: Retaliation) as Thorfinnr, Ralph Ineson (Harry Potter franchise, Game of Thrones, The Witch) as Captain Volodymyr, Tadhg Murphy (Alexander, Vikings, Wrath of Man) as Eirikr Blaze-Eye, and Murray McArthur (Finding Neverland, The Last Legion, Made of Honor) as Hákon Ironbeard. 

            Overall, The Northman is the kind of film that’s not afraid to go balls to the wall with its violence and heavy subject matter, to the point where I’m questioning if anything had to be cut to earn an R rating. The film is relentlessly violent and unapologetic in how cruel and depressing this world is. 

            It’s like if they took all the really messed up and disturbing scenes from The Green Knight and The Last Dueland made an entire movie about them. Given that this is basically a revenge film that just happens to be a historical epic as well, you’re gonna see a lot of carnage. 

            A lot of decapitations, people getting brutally beaten and tortured, villagers burning alive in a house, people getting shot by arrows, and there’s even a scene where someone gets slashed in the stomach and his intestines start falling out and another involving a nose that actually made me squirm a little in my seat. Unlike, something like some of the Saw films or The Human Centipede, the brutality feels warranted and sets the tone for this extremely harsh and unpleasant environment. 

The violence is excessive, but it doesn’t feel like overkill (No pun intended), nor does it hijack the story. Honestly, I consider this to be the Viking equivalent of Sin City or Mad Max: Fury Road as one of those experiments in movie violence. 

            The plot is a pretty basic revenge story that isn’t quite as character based as Eggers’ other films. However, what’s brilliant about Eggers directing this is that he’s able to take this familiar concept and make it 100% his own, it may not be a horror film, but you can see his fingerprints all over the film in terms of pacing and atmosphere. 

            As brooding and mean this world is, the cinematography is absolutely gorgeous, lots of sweeping shots of the Ireland landscapes and mountains and the dark and mysterious forests. The scenery adds to the size and scope of the film and makes it feel like a larger than life quest that could potentially rival the works of Tolkien…yeah, I just said that! 

             One of the aspects of this film I find really interesting is that there really isn’t much of a hero, not even Skarsgård. Sure, he watched his father get murdered and his mother get kidnapped, and you want him to get his revenge, but as the film goes on you start to realize that he is arguably killing way more people than the actual villains. 

            It’s one of the most unique things about the film as if it was a mainstream Hollywood production, they probably would have made him a brute Viking but with a heart of gold…definitely not the case here. This is like a brutally honest depiction of what a Viking might have been like back in those times and Skarsgård makes a perfect Viking and unlike his Tarzan movie, has a great movie to go along with his performance. 

            Nicole Kidman is also excellent in this movie with a very against-type performance, but I would have to go into spoiler territory to describe it. I’m glad they utilized her a lot more than the trailers would make you think and even side characters like Willem Dafoe make a huge impression with very minor roles. 

            The Northman adds another worthy entry into Robert Eggers’ catalog that is both a visually stunning and unapologetically violent. Add in some incredible performances by the cast and edge of your seat battle sequences and you got a damn good Viking epic that’s definitely worth checking out on the big screen. 

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent review

THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT: 

NICOLAS CAGE BECOMES THE MOST UNLIKELY AND UNEXPECTED ACTION HERO IN THIS WILDLY ENTERTAINING LOVE LETTER TO HIS ACTING CAREER! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: **** out of 4

LIONSGATE

Nicolas Cage is Nick Cage in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

 

            Nicolas Cage (Face/Off, Con Air, Kick-Ass) goes from iconic Hollywood actor to the most unexpected real-life action hero in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, the new action-comedy film produced by Cage and starring him as a fictionalized version of himself, very much like what Seth Rogen and Co. did in 2013’s This is the End. I’m a huge fan of Nick Cage as an actor, whether he’s hamming it up in films like Face/Off, Raising Arizona, or Vampire’s Kiss, giving powerhouse performances in Leaving Las Vegas, Adaptation, and Pig, or getting his face swarmed by bees like in The Wicker Man, this man is a talent and even if the movie surrounding him isn’t always 100% good, there’s a good chance he’ll be extremely entertaining in it and the highlight of the film, a “National Treasure” if you will. 

            So, a movie starring him as himself that openly satirizes and pays homage to several of his films is a no brainer, of course I’m going to watch it. Upon leaving the theater I can gladly say that…I freaking love the Hell out of this movie! 

            This is some of the most fun I’ve had at a movie theater recently, yeah, I had a blast with Spider-Man: No Way Home, but I kind of came into it with that expectation, whereas with this, I was excited for it and I would love the absurdity of the premise and all the callbacks to Cage’s movies, but I ended up having such a ball with the film as a whole. 

            The film follows Cage at a low point in his career, who begrudgingly accepts a $1 million to travel to Spain and attend a birthday party for his #1 fan. That fan is billionaire, Javi Gutierrez (Pedro Pascal-Game of Thrones, The Mandalorian, Wonder Woman 1984) and at first the two of them seem to get along and become best pals as they ask each other what their favorite movies are and Javi showing Cage his shrine to the actor (Including the golden guns from Face/Off and the bunny from Con Air). 

            However, when Cage is recruited by CIA agent, Vivian (Tiffany Haddish-Keanu, Girls Trip, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part) and learns that Javi is actually a notorious drug lord, he is forced to live up to his own legend by channeling his most iconic on-screen characters and become a real-life action hero in order to save himself and his loved ones from the ruthless criminal…but maybe Javi’s got a few surprises of his own unbeknownst to Cage. 

            The film also stars Neil Patrick Harris (Harold & Kumar trilogy, How I Met Your Mother, A Series of Unfortunate Events) as Cage’s agent, Richard Fink, Ike Barinholtz (Neighbors 1 and 2, Suicide Squad, Blockers) as Martin, Sharon Horgan (Catastrophe, Game Night, Together) as Cage’s ex-wife, Olivia Henson, Jacob Scipio (Bad Boys for Life, Without Remorse, Batgirl) as Carlos, and Alessandra Mastronardi (To Rome with Love, Master of None, Life (2015)) as Gabriela. 

            Overall, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent celebrates Nicolas Cage’s career in the most entertaining way possible. The plot is gleefully silly, and the situations Cage and Pascal get into are overwhelmingly wacky and are best described as like the chase scene from Raising Arizona on steroids, but the film still manages to work in some effective drama and heart within its own insanity. 

            Even though the film is ridiculous and goofy, Nick Cage does go through an arc and by the end he learns to be more responsible for his loved ones and not feel overwhelmed by his career. I also really enjoy the scenes where Cage and Pascal are just hanging out with one another and making jokes and references to Cage’s movies, as a person who has met various celebrities before, I can relate to this and their conversations sound very natural as if a fan is talking to one of his favorite actors. 

             If you’re a Nicolas Cage fan (Especially a fan of his 90s films) then you will have a ball with this movie and catching all the references. Some of my favorites were the wax sculpture of his Face/Off character holding the two golden guns, the bunny from Con Air that should have been left in the box, and several jokes about behind-the-scenes trivia from his movies like how he did his own driving stunts in Gone in 60 Seconds and that he ran extremely fast in National Treasure and none of it ever feels forced and is one of the funniest aspects of the entire film. 

            The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is what it is, a silly, over-the-top action-comedy that does a marvelous job at being such and a brilliantly crafted tribute to the career and legacy of Nicolas Cage. I had a wonderful time watching this movie and will gladly see Cage’s adventures again.