The Fall Guy (2024) Film Review

After leaving the business one year earlier, battle-scarred stuntman Colt Seavers springs back into action when the star of a big studio movie suddenly disappears. As the mystery surrounding the missing actor deepens, Colt soon finds himself ensnared in a sinister plot that pushes him to the edge of a fall more dangerous than any stunt.

The Fall Guy is directed by David Leitch director of Atomic Blonde (2017), Deadpool 2 (2018), Hobbs & Shaw (2019) and Bullet Train (2022). The Fall Guy is loosely based on the 1980s TV series of the same name.

The Fall Guy is definitely one of the bigger surprises of the year so far, that’s mostly due to the trailer being incredibly underwhelming and Leitch’s last movie Bullet Train being a huge disappointment. The Fall Guy definitely has its flaws but I think a lot of what the movie is going for works pretty well.

The performances are a lot of fun, Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt and Aaron Taylor-Johnson in particular. All give pretty charming and exciting performances that do lead to the movie being a pretty solid crowd pleaser, the characters are also quite entertaining especially when the film explores stuntmen and how pretty incredible they really are in film. Gosling really does a fantastic job in particular here and completely captures the actions and heart of a stuntman quite well.

Although the humor is on the weak side outside of a few chuckles, there’s this sense of a certain level of charm that works. David Leitch’s humor is often a very hit or miss with me but it for the most part works here, why that’s the case I’m not exactly sure maybe it’s due to the subject matter, the joy of seeing a bunch of characters create a film and celebrating stuntmen or Ryan Gosling’s charm whether the case may be it works well enough to leave you with a smile.

There’s a few stunts here that are quite incredible as well, I would even go as far as to say they are probably some of the best in any of David Leitch’s films. Mainly due to just how grand they are and the context of which they are used, a film about celebrating stuntmen and shows the passion of these stunts, how hard they are to execute and much more.

I don’t think The Fall Guy is one of the best films of the year, but it is a surprisingly fun one that I’m glad I watched. I can easily this film gathering a dedicated fanbase in the next couple years which is always a great thing.

The Fall Guy is available on all VOD platforms.

7/10 B

Poolman (2024) Film Review

Los Angeles pool cleaner Darren Barrenman is approached by a femme fatale to help uncover corruption in a shady business deal.

Poolman is directed by Chris Pine which is his directorial debut.

I heard about Poolman from the many walkouts and terrible reviews that came from the Toronto Film Festival in 2023. I was very interested to see just how bad this could really be and well…it sure is bad that’s for sure. Maybe not as horrendous as expected but still quite baffling.

I actually found the supporting cast to be decently fun, Danny DeVito, John Ortiz and Annette Benning are pretty entertaining in their own ways, plus I do think the movie’s bizarre atmosphere that for the most part often misses actually works well for their characters. There’s a few line deliveries from the three that are genuinely pretty funny and did get some laughs from me.

Outside of that however Poolman is a very baffling mess, it’s clear Chris Pine wanted to make this some sort of Chinatown (1974) and The Big Lebowski (1998) style noir comedy which sounds like an idea that could be fun. However the main issue here is that it’s quite dull, the movie very early on is very hard to follow on what exactly is going on and definitely not in away that makes the viewer want to explore the movie. The humor outside of a few moments is just not funny at all, a lot of the jokes are very overwritten or are just cobbled together and have very little build up.

Chris Pine clearly does have love for the noir genre as there are several references to it throughout the movie, but references really don’t cut it when your movie is very poorly written and your viewer has long checked out by the time the movie is over. Chris Pine’s performance is very unremarkable, there has definitely been far worse, but what a way to make the viewer instantly not care what is going on from the start.

Overall Poolman is a mess, while it’s not as bad as expected. That really isn’t saying all that much, this might be a “so bad it’s hilarious” type of movie for some but definitely not for me.

Poolman is available on all VOD Platforms.

3/10 D-

Babes (2024) Film Review

Pregnant from a one-night-stand, Eden leans on her best friend and mother of two, Dawn, to guide her through gestation and beyond.

Babes is directed by Pamela Adlon which is her directorial debut.

Look I’m most definitely not the target audience of this film, but even if you aren’t I still think there is so much to like about this one.

For starters I do love Ilana Glazer and Michelle Buteau, the performances the two give are truly exciting and actually quite raw. Especially the two’s friendship in the film. You really do buy their friendship throughout the film especially from their characters Eden (played by Ilana Glazer) and Dawn (played by Michelle Buteau), they bounce off of each other incredibly well and really do come off like best friends.

The humor while not every single joke lands is decently funny, there’s this whole inside joke type of feel which I do think captures the spirit of what this film is going for. The whole best friend type of feel that you can make so many different type of jokes, that included plenty of raunchy jokes which will be a hit or miss depending on who the viewer is.

The film absolutely does have that Bridesmaids (2011) feel as well, but at the very least the film only borrows from Bridesmaids and puts it’s own twist on it. The only major flaws here are the movie running for a bit too long and it does sort of start to become a bit repetitive towards the end which in turn doesn’t really allow the film to stick a great landing.

Having that said I enjoyed Babes for what it was, it’s decently fun with a charming friendship that does leave the viewer satisfied.

Babes is available on all VOD platforms.

7/10 B

The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024) Film Review

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and a group of military officials hatch a daring plan to neutralize Hitler’s fleet of German U-boats during World War II. Made up of a motley crew of rogues and mavericks, the top-secret combat unit uses unconventional techniques to battle the Nazis and change the course of the war.

The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare is directed by Guy Richie who previously directed The Gentlemen (2019), Aladdin (2019), The Covenant (2023), The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015) and a few others.

The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare sure is Guy Richie movie, this time around Guy Richie attempts to go for an Inglorious Bastards (2009) type of style which I will admit makes for a decently fun movie. In a lot of ways someone can easily see this as diet Inglorious Bastards and you would be absolutely correct, the movie does have a lot of what made Inglorious Bastards so great such as the action. But doesn’t quite pull the same punch.

The performances are pretty decent all around Henry Cavill, Alan Ritchson, Alex Pettyfer, Eiza González, heck even Hero Fiennes Tiffin manages to pull a solid performance. Nobody here gives a bad performance they do what they’re supposed to and it gets the job done well enough to keep the viewer engaged with what’s going on screen. What is great is that the cast does seem like they are having a blast on screen, which is always extra nice to see!

I definitely think the movie goes on for a bit too long being just 2 hours long and you can really feel that with the pacing during the first act of the movie. Which is painfully slow at times, but the movie does pick up the pace as it goes on. Plus the action scenes really do help the pacing in the long run, they have this special flare to them that makes them energetic which in turn gives it a bit of a way to standout.

Honestly the best way to describe this movie is it’s one of those first person shooter games that has shoot a ton of bad guys and that’s really about it, it is not trying to be anything more than that or say anything impactful it’s just there to be fun. Sometimes that’s just what you need and The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare does that incredibly well. It’s not one of my favorite movies by Guy Richie but it’s still quite a fun one and I appreciate him going for a different action style.

The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare is available on all VOD platforms.

6/10 C+

Space Cadet (2024) Film Review

Rex, a Florida party girl, turns out to be the only hope for the NASA space program after a fluke puts her in training with other candidates who may have better resumés, but don’t have her smarts, heart, and moxie.

Space Cadet is directed by Liz W. Garcia who previously directed The Lifeguard (2013) and One Precent More Humid (2017).

Every now and then during the year you get those handful of movies that come out and are universally mocked online or in general such as Madame Web, Unfrosted, Nightswim or Atlas. Well Space Cadet is one of those movies and it’s not hard to see why.

For starters this entire movie really seems like it was originally supposed to be a Disney Channel original movie but somehow adults got casted instead of kids and Amazon decided to release it. Second this movie is a Legally Blonde (2001) wannabe it tries to capture what made the movie so likable but fails miserably. It’s as if you took out all the personality, likability or fun that Legally Blonde (2001) had and you get this movie.

The performances are not good here including Emma Roberts which is just another addition to her long line of terrible performances from the last several years. The movie doesn’t even bother to tell an interesting story as you can already guess what happens within the first 10 minutes, the movie tries to have emotional depth towards the end with Rex’s deceased mother but completely forgets to make the viewer actually care about Rex (played by Emma Roberts). She’s about as interesting as a terrible Disney channel movie main character and often times really feels like she was supposed to be one when you look at the writing.

There’s maybe one or two enjoyable moments in this movie them being Emma Roberts wrestling an Alligator and making a girl fall off a treadmill by singing Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen. Is that exactly funny? Not really, is it far more entertaining than anything else in this disaster? Absolutely which is probably the reason why it gave me a laugh, which kind of shows the exact problem with this movie. It has to rely completely random events to get some semblance of a good moment.

I really got nothing else to say here, Space Cadet is exactly what you think it’s going to be. A movie that uses the whole “follow your dreams” type of plot but doesn’t do anything meaningful or interesting with it. You are better off watching a bad Disney Channel movie.

Space Cadet is available on Amazon Prime Video.

1/10 F

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2024) Film Review

After his daughter’s life is threatened, wisecracking Detective Axel Foley teams up with a new partner and some old pals to turn up the heat on a conspiracy

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is directed by Mark Molloy which is his directorial debut. The film is the fourth installment in the Beverly Hills Cop series and serves as a sequel to Beverly Hills Cop III (1994).

After the disaster that was Beverly Hills Cop III (1994) the series stayed dormant for 30 years and luckily Axel F is a far better film than it’s predecessor, it’s more in line with the first two films and does a pretty decent job of complimenting and celebrating said films.

Admittedly this is a nostalgia fueled legacy sequel but that really does not take away from it at all. First off the performances are quite great, seeing Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Paul Reiser and Bronson Pinchot again is just truly exciting and they all do excellent in their respective roles. Even if some are given more to do than others it’s still great to see them interact and only adds to this installment’s celebration of the series in general. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Taylour Paige and Kevin Bacon are great additions to the series and are able to easily blend in with the rest of the cast, together this cast is really strong and is just overall a lot of fun.

The humor, camerawork and soundtrack were all pretty strong as well, granted they weren’t anything groundbreaking but they all fit the nostalgia theme and celebration of the series the movie was going for. They even got Crazy Frog into the mix which usually would be a negative but in this case it’s used well and the movie puts its own twist on it.

The action scenes are quite great here as well, for a first time director Mark Molloy manages to really give some quite solid action scenes and keeps up with Axel’s rapid fire repartee it’s fantastic stuff and moments like those that really do make this installment special.

Overall there really isn’t much else to say about Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is a very solid installment to the series, it might not be doing anything for the series or anything groundbreaking. But at the very least it’s fun, well acted and greatly crafted.

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is available on Netflix.

7/10 B

Ezra (2024) Film Review

Divorced stand-up comedian Max Bernal struggles to raise his autistic son, Ezra. Forced to confront difficult decisions about the boy’s future, Max and Ezra embark on a cross-country road trip that has a transcendent impact on both of their lives.

Ezra is directed by Tony Goldwyn who previously directed Conviction (2010).

Credit where credit is due they casted William Fitzgerald who actually is autistic to play an autistic character which does end up making the film a bit more grounded and can connect more with the viewer as well.

The performances are quite solid, William Fitzgerald is a lot of fun and delivers some quite humorous lines plus is overall incredibly charming as well. Although his character Ezra is admittedly used as a plot device to move things a long in the later half of the movie, which is quite unfortunate and does end up hurting the movie in the long run. Bobby Cannavale and Robert De Niro are both solid here as well, Cannavale has lot of moments where his character Max bonds with his son and those moments do end up being charming. De Niro as usual delivers a great performance that is quite raw, it’s not heavy performance that has a lot to it but it works in the context of the movie.

The writing is decent, there’s definitely some inspiration porn cliches thrown in there but it isn’t nearly enough to really take away from the movie. Although the subplot of Max landing a spot on Jimmy Kimmel is very out of place for a movie like this, it ended up feeling like a setup for a mid-credits joke which doesn’t work (the joke itself is not even worth it). Having that said I do think the performances truly make this film and really make the script come together. There’s this earnest feel to the performances that’s present throughout the movie you can’t help but love and that ends up being the case with the script as well.

Overall Ezra is a perfectly passable drama that I’m glad exists, although it’s heavily flawed I do appreciate the careful attempt by everyone involved!

Ezra is available on all VOD platforms.

6/10 C+

IF (2024) Film Review

After discovering she can see everyone’s imaginary friends, a girl embarks on a magical adventure to reconnect forgotten imaginary friends with their kids.

IF is directed by John Krasinski director of Brief Interviews with Hideous Men (2009), The Hollars (2016), A Quiet Place (2018) and A Quiet Place Part II (2020).

I really do not have a whole lot to say about IF it’s a kids movie that is very well intentioned and even has some genuinely heartfelt moments, but is surrounded by some clunky execution especially during the last half of the movie.

Steve Carell is by far the standout here, while not every single joke lands and the character of Blue is sort of standard. Carell still manages to be entertaining as well as charming, it’s sort of hard to really mess up when it comes to Steve Carell (heck I don’t a lot of the Despicable Me movies but really like Gru) plus I do think he fits the charming imaginary friend feel the movie is going for. Cailey Fleming is also not bad here, while she isn’t perfect, much like Carell she gives a sweet and charming performance that is effective and matches the tone of what the movie is going for. Ryan Reynolds strangely feels miscast here, he sort of just exists and his character Cal is incredibly forgettable who while does have a few strong scenes really fails to connect with the viewer.

The idea of the movie surrounding the imaginary friends is solid and isn’t as much as a repeat of the Cartoon Network show Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends as the trailer made it out to be. Having that said the main problem with IF is a lot of the Imaginary friends being voiced by Hollywood celebrities, it takes away a lot of the whimsical and magical feeling of imaginary friends and becomes a cameo fest. A bunch of moments where you point at the screen and say “oh I know that person’s voice!” Had this been one or two times it would not be so much of a big deal, however this is a common occurrence throughout the movie and that sort of becomes the imaginary friends’s whole character that they are voiced by Hollywood stars.

It’s a shame too because there are some genuinely heartfelt moments here that do actually work, but are unfortunately not exactly the main focus. The movie works best when it focuses on the bond of Bea and Blue and the more human moments, which is incredibly surprising to say given that this movie is about the imaginary friends.

I think IF will do well for younger audiences since it does immediately have bright visuals and creature designs are admittedly quite fun, IF is not necessarily a terrible movie but this is a very forgettable one that could have been a lot more.

IF is available on all VOD platforms.

4/10 D+

A Family Affair (2024) Film Review

A surprising romance kicks off comic consequences for a young woman, her mother and her movie star boss as they face the complications of love, sex and identity.

A Family Affair is directed by Richard LaGravenese who has directed P.S. I Love You (2007), Beautiful Creatures (2013), The Last Five Years (2014) and a few others.

Yet another Netflix original film from this year that completely falls flat, you would think with a pretty solid cast there would be some attempt to try and make this work. Unfortunately that’s not really the case here, while I don’t think the movie is as bad as say Madame Web, Night Swim or Unfrosted that really is not saying all that much.

The cast is fine enough and really tries the best they can with such an unfunny script, Nicole Kidman and Kathy Bates are definitely the best of the bunch. Zac Efron is really trying but unfortunately the comedic timing really throws him under the bus and Joey King while actually not terrible here (this is one of her better performances) really does not have a whole lot going on with her character.

The first 20 minutes or so aren’t bad, the movie has a decent setup and actually some okay jokes in the mix. However after that things fall apart very quickly, the movie turns into a very typical bad Netflix romantic comedy movie that throws just about every cliche in the book it possibly can until the movie ends.

There’s bound to be comparisons to The Idea With You which came out a few months ago and while the two movies are different genres (Idea Of You being a drama while Family Affair being a comedy) A Family Affair really does feel like The Idea Of You but worse, The Idea Of You was not perfect (far from it) but at the very least the performances were incredibly solid, the writing was interesting and the characters were enjoyable. You really don’t get that from A Family Affair outside of the first 20 or so minutes. Instead you get a very repetitive 114 Netflix romantic comedy that feels like it should have ended ages ago.

A Family Affair is available on Netflix.

3/10 D-

Summer Camp (2024) Film Review

Childhood best friends Nora, Ginny and Mary used to spend every summer at a sleepaway camp together. Years later, they seize the opportunity to return to the camp for a reunion filled with food fights, river rafting, and emotional revelations.

Summer Camp is directed by Castille Landon director of Fear Of Rain (2021), After We Fell (2021), After Ever Happy (2022), Perfect Addiction (2023) and After Everything (2023).

Summer Camp (2024) is one of those movies that for some reason managed to get quite a stacked cast Diane Keaton, Kathy Bates, Alfre Woodard, Dennis Haysbert, Eugene Levy, Josh Peck and a few others. Unfortunately despite having tons of talent the movie fails to utilize these actors and actresses talent in any meaningful way.

What really hurts this movie is the story and the pacing, it takes far too long for anything noteworthy to happen. What’s supposed to be a movie about three friend’s friendship as adults and wanting a reunion at a summer camp turns into such a chore to sit through. A lot of the jokes fall flat, granted there are hints at some good jokes but never reach the full punchline.

The direction from Castille Landon is a bit better here than a lot of her previous work but once again it’s filled to the brim with characters that are incredibly lacking in development, if anything is a positive here it’s Bates, Keaton and Woodard who really try their best to work with such a lacking script. They give fine enough performances that I’m sure fans of these three might get something out of their interactions, because to be absolutely fair the interactions between the three had some sort of promise. The final act shows this and there’s some decent enough dialogue towards the end, unfortunately it’s too little too late by then as the movie is basically over.

Overall there really is not a whole lot to discuss here, what you read in the plot synopsis is what you get a very bare bones comedy that has incredibly lacking execution.

Summer Camp is available on all VOD platforms.

3/10 D-