Música (2024) Film Review

A young man with synesthesia faces an uncertain future while navigating the pressures of love, family and his Brazilian culture in Newark, N.J.

Música is directed by Rudy Mancuso which is his directorial debut.

Música is yet another pretty huge surprise so far this year, much like The Greatest Hits I was quite honestly not expecting all that much. To say that I’m kind of impressed with what the end result is would be an understatement.

Rudy Mancuso creates a coming of age story as well as a romantic comedy that blends in music in quite creative ways, while there are some familiar story beats and the third act doesn’t work quite as well as what came before it. There is so much to appreciate here, including Mancuso’s direction that captures a lot of genuine moments between the cast.

Camila Mendes is an actress I’ve quickly become a fan of, I haven’t seen Riverdale so I was largely unfamiliar with her before Palm Springs (2020). But ever since then she’s done a pretty solid job between Do Revenge (2022), Upgraded (2024) which came out in February and now her performance in this film, which could be argued that it’s her strongest. Her performance as Isabella feels incredibly genuine and the chemistry between her and Rudy Mancuso’s character Rudy is filled to the brim with charm. The script by Mancuso and Dan Lagana truly captures the film’s heart and the character’s bond between one another. It really makes these character’s seem like actual people that the viewer can grow attached to.

Maria Mancuso who is the mother of Rudy Mancauso and is his mother in this film as well just adds to the film’s heart, her performance isn’t anything groundbreaking but it’s still incredibly sweet and she brings her own charm that only adds to the film’s strength.

The music portions I think are quite fun, there’s definitely arguments to be made that they could have been a bit stronger and I definitely agree in some areas. But I do think for the most part the film does a great job of combining music with the story and doing something a bit different than other films.

Overall Música definitely surprised me, there’s so much to really like here that I actually do recommend giving this one a look.

Música is available on Amazon Prime Video!

8/10 B+

Woody Woodpecker Goes To Camp (2024) Film Review

After getting kicked out of the forest, Woody thinks he’s found a forever home at Camp Woo Hoo, until an inspector threatens to shut down the camp.

Woody Woodpecker Goes To Camp is directed by Jonathan A. Rosenbaum who has directed a bunch of TV series and TV movies and Benchwarmers 2: Breaking Balls (2019).

Hey do you remember that 2017 Woody Woodpecker movie? You know the one that went straight to VOD, people were kind of baffled how bad it was for about a day and then quickly forgot about it? Well for some reason it got a sequel and it’s not much better.

The one thing Woody Woodpecker Goes To Camp has over its predecessor is that it uses some other Woody Woodpecker characters in this Who Framed Roger Rabbit style. The characters being Buzz Buzzard who’s voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson and Wally Walrus who’s voiced by Tom Kenny (yes you read that right). Granted they aren’t good performances as there is only so much you can do with one of the most unfunny scripts imaginable, but at the very least there’s a bit more Woody Woodpecker elements something that was very noticeably absent in the last movie.

With that being said this is a complete and total disaster and a huge endurance test to get through, I get Woody Woodpecker is supposed to be annoying. It’s part of his character, but there’s only so much a person can handle. Between constantly trying to break the fourth wall, name dropping Minecraft out of complete nowhere (as well as using it as a verb). The acting doesn’t help either, everyone set sounds bored out of their minds while delivering their lines, Mary-Louise Parker is for some reason in this movie and gives a bad performance, the child actor performances are the very definition of flat and the characters are walking cliches.

The plot goes exactly how you think it’s going to go, the messaging in the movie is very on the nose and doesn’t even attempt to try and be somewhat interesting. By the end of the movie it really makes you question what was the point in all of this?

Woody Woodpecker Goes To Camp is available on Netflix.

1/10 F

Fitting In (2024) Film Review

A coming-of-age “traumedy” that follows 16-year-old Lindy (Maddie Ziegler) who is unexpectedly diagnosed with a reproductive condition, MRKH syndrome. The diagnosis upends her plans to have sex, her presumptions about womanhood and sexuality, her relationship with her mother (Emily Hampshire), and most importantly, herself

Fitting In is directed by Molly McGlynn director of Mary Goes Around (2017).

Fitting In is a quite interesting one, the film centers around Lindy (played by Maddie Ziegler) a 16 year old who is diagnosed with a rare reproductive condition called MRKH syndrome. The diagnosis disrupts her understanding of womanhood and sexual identity. Plus it hurts her relationship with her boyfriend, friends and mother.

What makes Fitting In quite great is how the film approaches its subject matter, it does it in such a pretty authentic way. Which mostly comes from Maddie Ziegler’s excellent performance, she really makes the film work due to her capturing the mannerisms and speech of a 16 year old. The panic and not knowing what to do when you find out you’re diagnosed with a rare disease at such a young age is felt throughout the film. Sure the film does have its comedic moments but for the most part the movie focuses on Lindy’s thoughts of what the hell is going on.

The rest of the cast do a phenomenal job as well, Ziegler’s interactions with each of them feels very natural and quite powerful at times as well. There’s some genuinely touching moments that are made truly special thanks to the screenplay by Molly McGlynn, what’s especially great is McGlynn explores each of Lindy’s relationships in great detail. Each of which feel like different chapters that go on at the same time, each of which having their conclusion.

I can easily see some people relating to this film incredibly well which is always a positive and really does make me happy the film exists. While I may not be able to relate to it, I can say that it’s a very well acted and written film that uses its
subject matter in very interesting ways.

Fitting in is available on all VOD platforms.

7/10 B

The American Society Of Magical Negroes (2024) Film Review.

A young man gets recruited into a secret society of magical Black people who dedicate their lives to making white people’s lives easier. Although initially enamored with his new powers, he begins to question the value of using supernatural means to do the very thing he’s felt obligated to do his whole life.

The American Society Of Magical Negroes is directed by Kobi Libii which is his directorial debut.

The American Society Of Magical Negroes is what happens when you have very little understanding on how satire works, it’s unfortunate because there are some decent performances here particularly from David Alan Grier (easily the best part in the entire movie) and An-Li Bogan (who gives a very sweet performance).

Satire is a tool that can make someone laugh but also provoke someone, make them look at an issue more carefully under a different lens that they may have not of done before. Unfortunately with this movie it fails to do both, the writing comes off as way too awkward to be funny that’s especially evident with Justice Smith’s character Aren who is clearly going for this awkward type of character. While Justice Smith tries his best, the performance almost immediately falls flat due to the writing and Aren just being flat out annoying, unfunny and uncomfortably (not in a good way) awkward.

Then there is the out of place romance subplot, which quite honestly has no reason to be here. It doesn’t help that the chemistry between Justice Smith and An-Li Bogan is about as bland as you can get, which is mainly due to the writing. It doesn’t offer any investing character growth or development that could potentially make these characters interesting. Instead we are presented with some incredibly dull satire that the viewer forgets after viewing.

The American Society Of Magical Negroes is available on all VOD Platforms.

3/10 D-

Drive-Away Dolls (2024) Film Review

In search of a fresh start, two women embark on an impromptu road trip to Tallahassee, Fla. However, things quickly go awry when they cross paths with a group of inept criminals along the way.

Drive-Away Dolls is directed by Ethan Coen which by himself and not with his brother Joel Coen he previously directed the documentary Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble In Mind (2022).

Drive-Away Dolls is a very bizarre one, it has a lot of what make the Coen brothers films so great but also feels like it’s in it’s own world. I can easily see why this one is quite divisive however I came out of this one quite liking it, but will say there are parts of it that didn’t quite work for me.

The best part of the film hands down is the cast, everyone here turns in absolutely bizarre and quite energetic performances that I can’t help but love. Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan have this natural chemistry almost immediately at the film’s beginning moments, the comedic timing between the two is excellent, they bounce off of each other incredibly well and their overall performances range from being goofy (in a good way) to being highly energetic and genuinely hilarious. The rest of the cast like I said earlier are just as great, Colman Domingo in particular who although doesn’t get a lot of screentime is still quite solid and actually delivers quite a few laughs throughout the film.

Drive-Away Dolls goes for this bizarre and energetic feel which for the most part works quite well, it’s a very fast paced film that’s only 84 minutes long and manages to wrap the story up in a fair amount of time. That being said I do think choices such as the screen transitions that look like something out of Microsoft Word are a bit too much. I get that the joke is that it’s supposed to be bad and you can absolutely make the argument that it fits the film, however I do think the joke runs dry after the first time or two it’s used. Granted this isn’t really something that completely ruins the film (far from it) as the strong performances and solid humor overshadow it, it’s just something worth pointing out.

The character’s personalities are quite entertaining, you have a lot of characters who are so out there and can go completely insane in a matter of minutes that it actually fits the world Ethan Coen and Tricia Coen wrote and want the viewer to explore. Granted outside of Jamie (played by Margaret Qualley) and Marian (played by Geraldine Viswanathan) we don’t get the most character writing however I do think the fact the viewer doesn’t know too much about the other characters outside of the leads actually benefits the film’s whole bizarre nature.

Overall Drive-Away Dolls is bizarre and quite a lot of fun, as I said before it’s definitely not for everyone. But I think it really works as a breezy and entertaining comedy.

Drive-Away Dolls is available on all VOD platforms.

8/10 B+

French Girl (2024) Film Review

Gordon is a hopeless romantic whose proposal plans are put in jeopardy when his girlfriend gets swept away to Canada by a job offer from her ex. Determined to keep their love alive, he leaves Brooklyn, N.Y., for her hometown, only to find himself out of his depth while trying to charm her hard-to-impress, French-speaking family.

French Girl is directed by James A. Woods and Nicolas Wright which is both their directorial debut.

The only reason why I know French Girl exists is because I saw a few people on Twitter poking fun of the trailer and trust me the trailer makes the movie look like one of those movies where you watch it just to see how much of a disaster it is. Unfortunately this movie is very forgettable and is basically another meeting the parents type of romantic comedy.

Performance wise Zach Braff, Evelyne Brochu and Vanessa Hudgens are all okay. They do what they can with such a very dull script there’s a couple moments where there is a bit of comedic potential but unfortunately a majority of this movie is filled to the brim with cliches.

If you have seen any movie where someone is meeting the person they are dating parents and then trying to impress them, then you have already seen French Girl. You could probably take a good guess what ends up happening in this movie and you would probably be correct.

Honestly if it hadn’t been for the cast I definitely feel like French Girl would not be talked about at all, it’s a very stale romantic comedy that really has nothing going for it.

French Girl is available on all VOD Platforms.

3/10 D-

Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024) Film Review

Po must train a new warrior when he’s chosen to become the spiritual leader of the Valley of Peace. However, when a powerful shape-shifting sorceress sets her eyes on his Staff of Wisdom, he suddenly realizes he’s going to need some help. Teaming up with a quick-witted corsac fox, Po soon discovers that heroes can be found in the most unexpected places.

Kung Fu Panda 4 is directed by Mike Mitchell director of Sky High (2005), Shrek Forever After (2010), Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (2011), Lego Movie 2 (2019) and a few others. Kung Fu Panda 4 is the fourth installment of the Kung Fu Panda franchise and is a sequel to Kung Fu Panda 3.

Kung Fu Panda has a been a consistently great series, it might not be some of my favorite animated films but they are always a blast and work mainly due to the mix of jokes, action and the cast. The third movie is definitely the weakest of the trilogy but it still had its charming moments and was honestly a nice wrap up to the story.

Kung Fu Panda 4 is what happens when you try to replicate what the trilogy did but somehow fall short, what mainly works here is Jack Black, Viola Davis, James Hong and Bryan Cranston turning in great performances. Jack Black of course does a fantastic job as Po, even if the writing is much weaker this time around he still manages to squeeze in his charm. Viola Davis plays the villain of the movie which while Davis gives a strong performance the villain “The Chameleon” is just such a disappointing villain. Kung Fu Panda has always had some really solid villains in the past so it’s huge let down to see this one go to waste. The Chameleon is lacking in personality despite Viola Davis’s best efforts.

The action scenes are quite neat combined with the animation complimenting them quite well, there’s no denying the movie looks great. Unfortunately what hurts Kung Fu Panda 4 is the writing issues and the many odd decisions this movie went with. For starters a lot of character absences are very noticeable, which while they are technically in the movie they are turned into nostalgia bait and cameos. Particularly The Furious Five who are pretty much cameos as well as Tai Lung being used for nostalgia bait.

The main idea of the movie is Po deciding who will be his successor unfortunately Zhen (played by Awkwafina is the one, I like the idea of the character but the character development is just not there at all, it doesn’t help that yet again Awkwafina turns in another lacking performance that really just feels like she’s playing herself.

It’s really no wonder there was so much behind the scenes drama with the script and which characters were going to be used in the movie. Because a lot of the decision making feels incredibly rushed and last minute, which is such a huge disappointment because the previous three movies had such great pacing and never felt poorly put together.

Overall there is really nothing that standouts with Kung Fu Panda 4 it has it’s positives and isn’t the worst movie out there, but when you compare it to the trilogy it’s a huge let down.

Kung Fu Panda 4 is available in theaters.

5/10 C

Irish Wish (2024) Film Review

When the love of her life gets engaged to her friend, Maddie puts her feelings aside to be a bridesmaid at their wedding in Ireland. Days before the wedding, Maddie makes a spontaneous wish for true love, only to wake up as the bride-to-be.

Irish Wish is directed by Janeen Damian who previously directed Falling For Christmas (2022).

While I was watching Irish Wish I kept thinking to myself “was I too soft on Falling For Christmas?” The real Lindsay Lohan comeback movie (not Among The Shadows) but then when the credits rolled….I realized I wasn’t soft Irish Wish is just somehow worse.

At the very least Falling For Christmas was a very cheesy Christmas movie that you can put on during the holidays and have a decent time with it. Irish Wish is if you took every single romantic comedy element, blended it into one movie and somehow made each one more forgettable than the last. It’s the equivalent of a Hallmark movie that has nothing new to say or add to the romantic comedy genre.

Lindsay Lohan turns in a fine enough performance as does everyone else, but there’s nothing about their characters that invests the viewer at all. I’m not expecting deep and rich character development from a Netflix romantic comedy, but at the very least make your characters more than walking talking cliches because that’s all they really are here.

Despite my issues I will say you could do a lot worse than Irish Wish, there are some cute moments and the movie itself isn’t necessarily horrendous it’s just very predictable and cliched. The exact same thing I’ve said about other Netflix romantic comedies in the past can be applied here with Irish Wish.

Irish Wish is available on Netflix.

4/10 D+

Ricky Stanicky (2024) Film Review

When three childhood best friends pull a prank that goes wrong, they invent the imaginary Ricky Stanicky to get them out of trouble. Twenty years later, they still use the nonexistent Ricky as a handy alibi for their immature behavior.

Ricky Stanicky is directed by Peter Farrelly director of Green Book (2018), Dumb and Dumber (1994), The Greatest Beer Run Ever (2022), There’s Something About Mary (1998) and among many others.

After directing Green Book (2018) and The Greatest Beer Run Ever (2022) Farrelly returns to raunchy studio comedies, which could have great if it was the same level of quality as Dumb and Dumber (1994) or There’s Something About Mary (1998) but unfortunately that’s not what you get here. Ricky Stanicky believe it or not has six writers and has been in development since 2010 and both of these show in the final result.

The one positive here is John Cena who takes a script that is painfully unfunny and manages to actually get a few chuckles out of the viewer, which is mainly due to Cena’s facial expressions and entertaining performance. Zac Efron while not necessarily terrible plays a very okay performance that you quickly forget about after watching the movie. He’s given a few emotional moments and to his credit he does a decent job but the script lacking in character really holds him back.

Ricky Stanicky feels like a throwback to the raunchy comedy era but not in a good way, it uses the most tired cliches (bunch of dick jokes) a lot of it is very tired bits that you would have seen a bunch of in 2010. What does confuse me however is how a pretty straightforward movie like this was written by six people which includes Peter Farrelly himself, the movie itself is very blandly written and really has nothing noteworthy going on. Between being juvenile, bafflingly joyless and drawn out jokes that go on for an uncomfortably long time it really begs the question of what was going on in the writer’s room?

Honestly Ricky Stanicky is the type of movie where the background of the movie is far more interesting than the movie itself, you can easily sum this movie up as a raunchy comedy that missed the time when the genre was at it’s peak. Even if it came out back in the mid 2010s this movie would still be outclassed by far better movies in the genre.

Ricky Stanicky is available on Amazon Prime Video.

2/10 F

Lisa Frankenstein (2024) Film Review

A misunderstood teenager and a reanimated Victorian corpse embark on a murderous journey together to find love, happiness, and a few missing body parts.

Lisa Frankenstein is directed by Zelda Williams who is the daughter of the late Robin Williams. This film is her directorial debut!

When I heard Zelda Williams was going to direct a film I was immediately interested and after watching I absolutely can’t wait to see what she does next, because Lisa Frankenstein is a lot of fun and quite fantastic as well. The film is written by Diablo Cody who wrote Juno (2007), Jennifer’s Body (2009) and a few others. Jennifer’s Body is a film that’s gained a massive cult following over the years and I’ll start out by saying that if you loved Jennifer’s Body then you are in luck because Diablo Cody does the same sort of thing here while being a bit different.

Kathryn Newton gives her best performance so far of her career, she plays Lisa Swallows an incredibly fun character who unknowingly revives a monster which is played by Cole Sprouse, Newton completely captures the style, atmosphere and energy the film is going for. Her screen presence is just so much fun here that really compliments the story being told as well as the atmosphere. Her constant mood changes becomes a quite solid character story that is told throughout the film, granted it isn’t anything incredibly complex but it’s definitely there and works.

Cole Sprouse plays the monster and while he gets pretty much no lines, he’s actually quite great as the monster. The interactions between Sprouse and Newton are genuinely funny which really comes from both their deliveries with the script. The monster is a fun character who over the course of the movie gets a few pieces of character moments which are pretty investing.

The style of the film is fantastic, between the costumes, production design, filming and such it’s all top notch. It’s if you took Tim Burton’s film’s particular Edward Scissorhands (1990) and Warm Bodies (2013) and mixed them together, you get something quite beautiful to look at and actually ends up at the point of being bizarre. If it’s one thing Lisa Frankenstein is it’s a lot of fun, Diablo Cody’s script truly works wonders here and offers so much. Zelda Williams also has a clever eye for style that brings so much chaotic energy to a lot of scenes that end up being genuinely hilarious.

The first act does start out a bit on the slow side, which does stop Lisa Frankenstein from reaching it’s full potential, however that is nowhere near enough to stop it from being a blast of fun. I absolutely love what was crafted here and cannot wait to see what Zelda Williams has in store next.

Lisa Frankenstein is playing in theaters.

8/10 B+