Two aimless young women inadvertently gain telepathic abilities after ingesting an experimental drug, pitting them against dangerous rivals pursuing the same powerful substance
The Wrong Girls is directed by Dylan Meyer which is her directorial debut.
Not a whole lot to report on here, if you love stoner comedies that you absolutely dig this one. What mainly helps The Wrong Girls is Kristen Stewart and Alia Shawkat going all out with their performances.
The two are genuinely hilarious and have really strong comedic timing that can actually surprise the viewer at times, Seth Rogen and Kumail Nanjiani voicing the two cats are also quite fantastic as well and add to the film’s humor quite well.
I think the best part here is the friendship between Frankie (played by Stewart) and Molly (played by Shawkat) and how natural it feels, this is the type of friendship that feels incredibly real and has this quite charming atmosphere attached to it. It brings the viewer along for the ride from beginning to end and truly never lets you go at all.
Some of the jokes can be a hit or miss and admittedly the plot does get a bit too bizarre for its own good, however it is still an incredibly fun time that is well worth the watch.
The Wrong Girls is available on all VOD platforms.
A woman comes to realize she has a child no one remembers, including herself, whose disappearance is related to a forgotten 1990s-style children’s television show.
Buddy is directed by Casper Kelly director of Adult Swim Yule Log and its sequel (2022-2024). Kelly has also made the horror short Too Many Cooks (2014) (I bring this up because this is going to be relevant to the review.)
We have seen several takes on the “kids show that is evil” premise before, however Buddy perhaps is the best take on this and that simply comes down to the execution and the film knows it exactly what it wants to be. There are a few hiccups here and there, however for a majority of the film it’s an incredibly bizarre ride from beginning to end that works tremendously.
First and foremost the performances are shockingly really great. Keegan-Michael Key as Buddy is both disturbingly funny and thrilling, what I especially love about Keegan-Michael Key’s performance is you can quite easily tell when Buddy is upset or happy without seeing Key’s facial expressions. How he is able to go from being all happy and child friendly to a sadistic killer is both hilarious and quite intimidating. Buddy himself is a parody of those old kid show mascots such as Barney The Dinosaur, and the film does such a great job of capturing that energy especially during the first 20 minutes or so (which I’ll get to when I talk about the writing.)
The child actor performances really capture the sort of acting you would see on Sesame Street or Barney The Dinosaur, it’s actually quite impressive how identical the sort of acting really is. Delaney Quinn and Caleb Williams are definitely the standouts which is mainly due to them being more plot involved, but the rest of the child actors are excellent as well.
Finally there is Cristin Milioti which while I do wish we got a lot more of her character and went a little further with the dramatic moments involving her. Milioti still lands a quite strong performance, her eyes are incredibly expressive and do a lot of the talking when she isn’t speaking. Milioti’s character Grace’s long pauses when trying to discuss what’s wrong with her or trying to explain her case to Ben (played by Topher Grace) is truly heartbreaking and you genuinely feel for her. So although her character is not explored all that well, it’s still just enough to care for her character.
The writing is quite hilarious and actually ends up being quite thrilling, as I mentioned earlier, the first 20 minutes or so brings you in with the familiar kids show elements and the film does such a fantastic job of bringing them all together. You have the child acting as mentioned previously, Buddy as well as other character mascots like Betty Bunny, Mr. Mailbox, Strappy and so on, you also have the look of it all. It’s this analog type of horror combined with the natural look of a kids show you would have seen when you were a kid.
As the film goes on it moves towards the more bizarre nature of the atmosphere but still retains the kids show type of atmosphere it established early on. This is something a lot of these types of films seem to mess up on, they go all in on the horror but are missing the earlier established kids show atmosphere, so it is quite refreshing to see the tone of the film be consistent and not completely ditch what made it so interesting.
The practical effects, the film’s world and the direction are all fantastic. The practical effects with the gore is a lot of fun and really brings in the bizarreness of the film. The film’s world is truly fascinating, not every piece of lore is explored, however what we got is quite interesting. Director Casper Kelly really does such a great job of really bringing the viewer into it all, the film’s world feels a lot like something you would see on Adult Swim which makes a lot of sense given how Too Many Cooks (2014) was on Adult Swim. If you have seen that one and liked that then you are going to adore Buddy. Casper Kelly’s attention to detail with the film is truly creative and makes your eyes want to search the entire screen for details you may have missed.
Finally there is the cinematography from cinematographer Zach Kuperstein, who does such a beautiful job. There are some genuinely gorgeous shots here that took me aback simply because I did not expect them at all, the cinematography also adds to the film’s world quite wonderfully and makes the color really pop out.
Overall, Buddy is a disturbingly funny and thrilling film that is a lot of fun, it’s a fun film to explore and really captures the atmosphere it’s going for in such a well done way. This is one I highly recommend giving a go!
Three buddies drive cross-country in a van, causing mayhem and mischief while racing to LA for their big break: opening for Green Day on New Year’s Eve.
Nimrods is directed by Lee Kirk director of The Giant Mechanical Man (2012) and Ordinary World (2016). The film is inspired by the early touring days of Green Day.
Green Day is a band that I’ve loved since I was a teenager, I’ve seen them twice in concert and both times were truly magnificent. My first exposure to them was random top 10 videos on YouTube (remember when those were popular?) I remember “Holiday” being used and from there I became a fan.
Nimrods might just be a coming of age story with Green Day coating but that is most certainly not a bad thing at all. The film is a celebration of the band as well bringing in the most charming and beautiful parts of a coming of age film front and center. This is truly some of the most fun I’ve had with a film so far this year.
The performances are all quite great, Mason Thames, Kylr Coffman and Ryan Foust all have wonderful chemistry between one another. They really do feel like a group of friends who care for one another, Thames in particular is quite strong and shows he can tackle more dramatic moments. Jenna Fischer has a small role here but leaves such a charming impression on the viewer, then there is McKenna Grace who although has limited screen time is quite great here. Thames and Grace have excellent chemistry (I mean they are actually dating so that makes a lot of sense), plus Grace’s performance makes an impression on the viewer and remains that way throughout the rest of the film.
Underneath the film’s chaos is this genuinely sweet story about growing up, we see that with Tommy (played by Thames), Fred (played by Coffman) and Chad (played by Foust) they want to spend as much time together as they can before going off on their separate paths to adulthood, it’s something almost everyone has went through with their friends and it’s just explored and told in such a earnestly way here. Between all of this we get chaotic moments as well as hilarious ones that only add to the film’s fun nature.
The use of Green Day’s music is phenomenally done, there’s a few standout moments in particular that I won’t spoil here. But I will say that these moments really build such a beautiful atmosphere that just screams “coming of age story” this could have easily been a very basic advertisement for Green Day and their music, but that is not the case here. They went the extra mile to make sure that these moments are full of triumph, they might not be large in scale moments. But they do leave such a huge impact on the viewer.
Charm is most definitely the right term to use here when describing this film, even if you are not a fan of Green Day you can still feel the charm coming from this film. The film embraces this youthful and immature nature of the characters which gives them a lot more depth and in turn gives this film a lot more strength.
Overall, Nimrods is quite fantastic and whether you are a Green Day fan, coming of age films, both, or neither there is something here for everyone with this film.
Every night a shepherd reads aloud a murder mystery, pretending his sheep can understand. When he is found dead, the sheep realize at once that it was a murder and think they know everything about how to go about solving it.
The Sheep Detectives is directed by Kyle Balda director of Minions (2015), Despicable Me 3 (2017) and Minions: The Rise Of Gru (2022).
When you first look at The Sheep Detectives you might be thinking that this is just going to be a cute CGI talking animal movie made for kids, but shockingly enough the film actually ends up being far more than that. There is some genuinely strong writing here mixed with exploring the themes of death and grief in this beautiful way that ultimately brings the film together.
The cast does such a fantastic job here, Hugh Jackman, Nicholas Galitzine and Molly Gordon do a solid job as the live action cast. While the voice work from Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston, and Chris O’Dowd are excellent and give these sheep personality and actually make the viewer feel connected to their characters. As a whole the cast works wonders together and really builds on the film’s world which makes it feel more complete, even the characters who aren’t given a whole lot to do end up being incredibly charming.
The main weapon in The Sheep Detectives arsenal is how it goes about exploring its themes, the exploration of grief, death and the complexities of life is nothing new at all especially in film. However the way this film goes about exploring these themes has this passion behind it, there is this compare and contrast of the old sheep and the younger sheep. The way they communicate with one another and talk about these subjects that might be a bit heavier for younger audiences, but they do this in such a way that is very reminiscent of Pixar’s older films, the film feels like that one family member who first told you about the concept of death. It’s a powerful and devastating feeling but at the end of it all you can’t help but have some closure, sure the film’s exploration of these themes might not exactly be anything brand new. But I think in this sort of entry-level way it’s incredibly effective.
The murder mystery side of the film is also quite a lot of fun, it’s very Knives Out (2019) like when it comes to some of the humor. But it works incredibly well, Craig Mazin’s script really does such a great job of capturing the film’s atmosphere and building the ton of laughs throughout the film. The mystery itself isn’t anything that crazy, but it is just such a fun ride to look around for clues as well as looking at the film’s world.
Overall The Sheep Detectives is definitely one of the biggest surprises of the year, there was clearly a ton of heart and passion poured into this film that truly makes this one such a fun and beautiful experience.
The Sheep Detectives is available on all VOD platforms.
Two New Yorkers search for love on the one night of the year when pre-marital sex is legal.
One Night Only is directed by Will Gluck director of Easy A (2010), Friends With Benefits (2011), Peter Rabbit and its sequel (2018 and 2021), Anyone But You (2023) and a few others.
Right off the bat this one has a bizarre premise, it’s been dubbed the “Sex Purge” movie online and yeah there’s parts of it here where that name feels appropriate. One Night Only has just the right amount of decent moments to be quite fun even if the movie bizarrely does not take full advantage of its premise.
Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner are doing a lot of the heavy lifting here, particularly Barbaro who has excellent screen presence and actually has great comedic timing. Her chemistry with Turner is quite great and moves the story along at a nice pace, there’s a few moments here that the two do such a great job of bouncing off of each other from the movie’s script. I don’t think this movie is the best representation of Callum Turner as an actor (I think Emma, Eternity and Rose Of Nevada do a far better job of showing his talent), but he turns in a decent performance here and does what he can with the script.
The cameos are also decently fun, they don’t take away from the movie. In fact a lot of them are the “blink and you miss it” types. The New York City setting also compliments the movie in this sort of sweet away during a few particularly moments, It also does compliment the more bizarre ones as well and really makes it all a fun ride from beginning to end.
What mainly holds this one back just comes down to the movie not really going far enough with its premise. The writing only gives the viewer very vague information about the bizarre world the characters are living in, it almost feels like we are thrown in a conversation that has been going on for 20 plus minutes and instead of catching you up to speed the conversation just keeps going. It’s frustrating because there are moments where the movie is about to elaborate but quickly jumps to another scene or joke.
There really isn’t much else to say here, as it stands One Night Only is fun enough but feels like a missed opportunity in a lot of areas. I still do recommend giving this one a go especially if you have 102 minutes to kill.
Follows the Jackass crew as they perform their final series of dangerous stunts and pranks, marking the end of the franchise
Jackass: Best and Last is directed by Jeff Tremaine director of the Jackass series (2002-2026) and The Dirt (2019).
It’s quite hard to exactly review Jackass: Best and Last simply due to the film being essentially a mix of old and new stunts, you cannot really fault Johnny Knoxville and the rest of the crew for this as they are now in their 50s making what they can do physically limited. But weirdly enough the old footage actually works quite well here, there is some never before seen footage that is quite hilarious and really works as this final goodbye to the Knoxville and his crew.
The new stunts are also quite exciting as well, some of them might not be as grand as stunts from the past. But they still have the entertainment value still in tact as well as the many laughs. As I’ve said in past reviews of the Jackass films it does just feel like a group of friends that are hanging out and having a good time, that’s a main reason why so many people feel connected to Knoxville and his crew and that really shows here.
I also do think the use of old footage does this nice compare and contrast of how far Knoxville and his crew have come and how much the stunts have grown. You go from someone being in a box and pushed down the stairs to being in a buffalo ring.
Lastly Jackass as a whole represents the idea of anyone can pick up a camera and try to make a film, there’s this earnestness in these films to really want to have a lot of fun and represent this group of friends just doing what they love.
Overall Jackass: Best and Last is an incredibly strong send off to the series, I do hope in the near future we get to see Knoxville and his crew again in some sort of project.
Jackass: Best and Last is available on all VOD platforms.
A group of shoplifters take aim at a cutthroat fashion maven by stealing her clothes and reselling them at a lower price, what they call “fashion-forward philanthropy.”
I Love Boosters is directed by Boots Riley director of Sorry To Bother You (2018).
Boots Riley makes his return after a fantastic directorial debut and while I Love Boosters does not quite reach the heights of Sorry To Bother You (2018), this film is still quite fantastic in its own ways. When you mix incredibly fun performances, well executed messaging and a bizarre yet beautiful visual style, you get some very satisfying results.
The performances all around are quite great. Keke Palmer as Corvette gives an electric and raw performances that is able to balance the film’s humor and this magnetic emotional anchor that the atmosphere requires. Demi Moore taps into a Devil Wears Prada style tension as fashion mogul Christie Smith who has this fierce and cutthroat energy, the interactions between Moore and the rest of the cast are a whole lot of fun and build the film’s world. Naomi Ackie as Sade and Taylour Page as Mariah have this incredibly believable on-screen friendship, plus the comedic timing of the two is truly fascinating and elevates the material they are given even more.
The writing is quite clever, while the film does take a little bit to get going. It is most definitely worth the wait of it all due to the film’s execution of its themes, the film is anti-capitalist and it makes that known from the start. There’s exploration of wage suppression, fashion billionaire exploitation and very absurd realities of modern wealth gaps, these are all explored with this surrealist humor and heist elements which paint the picture quite wonderfully of what director Boots Riley is going for.
When it comes to the film’s visual style there is a whole lot of attention to detail, it’s colorful which gives the film’s world a lot of life. The cinematography from cinematographer Natasha Braier compliments the visual style further by giving this popping like approach, it’s like looking at a painting that moves, you feel like you are walking around with the characters in this colorful world that has a lot to it.
Overall I Love Boosters is a fantastic film that only further shows how talented Boots Riley really is as a director. It’s a fun and actually kind of heartfelt ride that I recommend giving a go if you haven’t already.
I Love Boosters is available on all VOD platforms.
When fresh-faced Elliot (Cooper Hoffman) lands an exciting job for renowned artist, icon and provocateur Erika Tracy (Olivia Wilde), his fantasies come true as Erika taps him to become her sexual muse.
I Want Your Sex is directed by Gregg Araki director of Mysterious Skin (2004), Nowhere (1997), The Living End (1992), Three Bewildered People In The Night (1987), White Bird In A Blizzard and a few others.
Gregg Araki makes his return and it was definitely worth the wait, Araki mostly sticks with what he does best when it comes to his filmmaking style. However he also brings a bit more to make the experience differentiate itself from the rest of his work. You also have some very committed performances as well as this commentary on sex and how often people see it merely as performance rather than expression. All of this together creates such a fun and investing time.
The performances are why this film works as well as it does, Cooper Hoffman does such a fantastic job of playing this submissive goof and truly works well with the rest of the cast. His commitment to the role is truly phenomenal and really does bring this sense of passion to his performance. Olivia Wilde is just as fantastic, right from the beginning of the film she automatically commands the screen with so much confidence and sharpness that really brings her performance together. It’s definitely a unique performance from Wilde which truly works due to the commitment she has to the role.
But together, Hoffman and Wilde truly elevate the film’s material. There are comedic moments and serious ones that the two really bounce off of perfectly. The two personalities of their characters makes for very entertaining moments that bring this natural chemistry that really gives the film the atmosphere it needs to truly shine.
The supporting cast is also quite great, Chase Sui Wonders is great and works well with Hoffman, Charli xcx has a small yet genuinely funny performance and Mason Gooding gives what is perhaps his best performance of his career thus far. This is the first time where Gooding actually manages to bring something a bit more to his performance and while he does not really play an incredibly important part here. There is something about his performance that feels genuine here, plus he works well with Hoffman and manages to bring in a few laughs.
The film’s writing is quite clever, admittedly there’s a few predictable moments. But the film makes up for it with its commentary on sex and how some people see it as performance rather than expression as I mentioned before. It’s very well done and gives Erika Tracey (played by Olivia Wilde) and Elliot (played by Cooper Hoffman) some strong character writing that almost feels like this compare and contrast situation that is pretty well done.
Something Araki does tap into is the modern youth’s outlook on sex and relationships as well. There is a lot of nuances here that Araki points out especially a scene that is earlier on in the film where Erika and Elliot have a brief but interesting conversation. There’s a lot of nuances of just growing up in general no matter what generation you are from, it’s very well done and really shows how much thought is put into what Araki is saying rather than just barging into an argument with no knowledge of the subject.
Overall I Want Your Sex is a very campy yet strong film that is a whole lot of fun. The amount of commitment and passion put into this film can be felt through the screen. This one might not be explosive as some of Araki’s previous work, but it still has what makes Araki such an excellent director.
Through unlikely bonds formed during night shifts at a local aquarium, Tova, an elderly widow, learns of a life-changing discovery that may bring her joy and wonder once again.
Remarkably Bright Creatures is directed by Olivia Newman director of First Match (2018) and Where the Crawdads Sing (2022).
Going into Remarkably Bright Creatures I knew very little, all that I knew was Sally Field and Lewis Pullman were in the cast. On the surface this might seem like a very nothing special about it Netflix movie that involves an Octopus. Surprisingly enough however there is a whole lot more going on here and when you combine that with some strong performances and actually well written dialogue, you have yourself something to really sink your teeth into.
What is mainly holding this film together is the cast, Sally Field who plays Tova is just so endearing and lovely, her chemistry with Lewis Pullman is genuinely charming and by her own she is just such a brilliant actress. Sally Field has always been fantastic and that continues to show here, she is the heart of the film and due to her beautiful personality and charisma it naturally works and brings the viewer into the film.
Lewis Pullman is also quite fantastic here, Pullman is an actor who has been quickly becoming more and more of a star and his performance here continues to show why that is. Seeing his character Cameron slowly have this friendship with Tova is truly beautiful and really fits into the film’s whole theme of making connections in all sorts of places and those connections can lead us to places we never could imagine. It’s truly beautiful and the character work (even if there are parts of it that does feel a bit incomplete) for Cameron plus how Pullman executes it with his dialogue and acting is truly fascinating.
Finally there is Alfred Molina who voices Marcellus the octopus, much like how one of Netflix’s other films Spaceman (2023) had Hanuš an empathic spider played by Paul Dano. Remarkably Bright Creatures has Alfred Molina voice an octopus who observes the connection between Tova and Cameron plus solidifies it. Molina does such a fantastic job here whether it was intentional or not that he was cast since he played Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man 2 (2004). The scenes we get of Marcellus talking to the viewer or about what is currently happening are truly fascinating and it mainly just comes down to Molina’s tone and how he really executes the dialogue. There are moments that actually did make me tear up quite a bit as well.
The film’s script is shockingly strong, as mentioned before we get the whole theme of connections and where they can take us. It’s beautifully done in this very natural way that you can very easily tell the cast and crew poured their heart into, there is a mix of sad, dramatic and genuinely funny moments that really bring the whole film together in the end. I definitely think a few more scenes with Marcellus would have made the narrative a bit stronger, but from what’s presented with the script it’s quite strong.
Olivia Newman’s direction is incredibly charming and really brings the whole film together in a nice little bow, the film is a very human story about connections and Newman does such a fantastic job of capturing this feeling especially when combined with the atmosphere. The film can be a bit predictable at times but that is not nearly enough to stop it from being genuinely charming.
Overall Remarkably Bright Creatures is a very solid film that has strong performances from Field, Pullman and Molina plus beautiful direction from Newman to back it up. The theme of connection is well executed and the film is just a blast to watch, give this one a go if you haven’t.
Remarkably Bright Creatures is available on Netflix.
Jill leaves voice messages to her deceased sister telling her about her chaotic life in San Francisco. Unwittingly, a mysterious Austin TX real estate agent begins to receive their confessions..
Voicemails For Isabelle is directed by Leah McKendrick director of Scrambled (2023).
Every once in a while you get a Netflix romantic comedy that surprises you due to how solid it really is. Voicemails For Isabelle is one of those films, it definitely has its flaws and some usual genre cliches. However you can’t help but fall in love with this one simply due to its charm, performances and a few note worthy scenes that really tie the whole thing together.
The performances here are all pretty solid, Zoey Deutch continues to find her home in the romantic comedy genre, Ciara Bravo’s performance is filled with emotional depth and Nick Robinson is just fantastic. It’s great to see Robinson in a leading role after so long because the wait was well worth it. The cast do such a great job of balancing the film’s humor and the more dramatic moments as well.
Right from the start this film comes out swinging with one of the best uses of Robin’s song “Dancing On My Own”, it’s very much an Up (2009) style beginning but it’s effective and works beautifully. The film also ends with “Dancing On My Own” that scene in particular made me tear up, the film’s build up was well worth it and really completes the journey that Jill Shaw has experienced.
As for the rest of the film? It’s quite great, as I said there are definitely some genre cliches that get a bit in the way of the experience. But I do think for the most part the character writing is handled quite well, the whole theme of love between sisters is beautifully done and told in a quite raw way. What really helps the film in the long run is the strong chemistry the cast has between one another, it makes the film far more real and pop out a bit more.
Overall Voicemails For Isabelle is one of the better Netflix romantic comedy films in recent memory, it has its flaws but it makes up for them with some strong act, great writing and beautiful moments.
Jerome Reviews... 