Joker: Folie á Deux (2024) Film Review!

Struggling with his dual identity, failed comedian Arthur Fleck meets the love of his life, Harley Quinn, while incarcerated at Arkham State Hospital.

Joker: Folie á Deux or Joker 2 is directed by Todd Phillips director of The Hangover trilogy, Due Date (2010), War Dogs (2016), Old School (2003), Joker (2019) and a few others. This film serves as a sequel to Joker (2019). 

Joker (2019) was a mega hit when it released, despite being a very divisive film it made a billion dollars at the box office making it the very first R-rated film to do so. Whether that success is deserved depends on who you really ask, I personally still really like it. It was incredibly strong when it comes to character study and Joaquin Phoenix really did a fantastic job and brought something new to the character. The build up to the finale was excellent and it was just an overall fantastic film. 

When a sequel was announced I was a bit confused mainly because of really how you go from the ending of the first movie, but there was some promise with Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn. The musical aspect was questionable but maybe they found some creative ways to put it into the story….unfortunately this turned out to be a gigantic mess. 

To start with the positives, I do think the performances are overall quite great. While Joaquin Phoenix’s performance as The Joker isn’t as good as it was in the first film, he still does a solid job in a lot of scenes, there’s a few moments in particular that standout quite well. Lady Gaga is solid but unfortunately very underutilized, despite what the trailers might have you believe she really does not appear very often in the movie. While her performance is great, she is not Harley Quinn. Despite her character being called Harley, it’s very much Lady Gaga playing herself the only thing that’s shared is the name Harley, I get the movie changed the character to fit with the world of Joker (2019). But a lot of the changes are lazy, uninspired and completely defeats the purpose of the character. What your left with is a very dull character who we the viewers never end up learning much about at all. 

Leigh Gill gives a quick but very strong performance, it’s only for a couple of minutes but this is one of the glimpses of what could have been with this movie. Unfortunately this moment comes way too late had the movie done a lot more moments like this one where it feels raw, powerful and fits with the atmosphere the first film established, we might be having a very different conversation about this movie. 

The cinematography is undeniably beautiful, cinematographer Lawrence Sher manages to capture the look of the first film while adding in his own spin on it, there’s a handful of shots here that are very compelling to look at it’s just a shame what these shots are attached to is a huge mess. 

The rest of the movie results in a complete and total mess that really seems like Todd Phillips did not care at all, first off the musical numbers which could have been creative and integrated into the story in a meaningful way are very uninspired. There’s the occasional visual that looks pretty neat, but the songs do very little to standout and all just blend into each other very poorly. It doesn’t help that Phoenix’s singing voice was not good here at all, it doesn’t mix well with Lady Gaga’s and when he’s doing solos it’s incredible noticeable how bland his voice is. Lady Gaga is a fantastic singer but the lyrics really hold her back from performing anything memorable, which is a bit baffling to me. If you are going to have Lady Gaga in your film why on earth would you give her lyrics that are so forgettable that the viewer will immediately forget about them as soon as the movie is over? 

There’s one scene in particular that really seems like it was put there for shock value, it’s a scene that has no build up, nothing to suggest that this would happen and completely botches Arthur Fleck as a character. It’s horrid, disgusting and piss poor writing. Let me make it clear that obviously I’m not saying a scene like this cannot be in a movie, but it needs to have some sort of build up you can’t just throw a scene like that into a movie and expect the viewer to be okay with it. This scene question is made worse when it suggests this was some sort of character moment due to what happens the next day in the movie. 

Lastly there’s the movie’s ending which is one of the most “I don’t give a crap endings” I’ve seen in a movie this year, not only does it make absolutely no sense narratively especially when you factor in the first movie (honestly that’s the whole movie) and even what happens previously in this movie. But it makes the entire first film seem completely pointless, I’m all for films like this to take big swings but this is to the point where Phillips is trying to come off as this genius who thinks he pulled off this fantastic ending. When in reality its not smart, its not creative and its most certainly not well written. You took the first film and basically said “oh that’s just meaningless oh by the way I’m moving on from Joker so here’s a terrible ending” and you know what? An ending like this could have MAYBE worked if it was actually well written, had much more build up. 

Overall Joker: Folie á Deux has great ideas but incredibly awful execution, while I don’t think it’s the worst movie of the year as there are positives. It’s most certainly one of the most disappointing and one that just leaves you frustrated. 

Joker: Folie á Deux is currently in theaters. 

4/10 D+

V/H/S/Beyond (2024) Film Review!

Six bloodcurdling tapes unleash horror in a sci-fi inspired hellscape, pushing the boundaries of fear and suspense.

V/H/S/Beyond is the seventh installment and ninth overall (if you count the spin offs SiREN (2016) and Kids vs. Aliens (2023) of the V/H/S franchise. 

The V/H/S franchise is a series I always look forward to, even if last year’s installment V/H/S/85 didn’t quite do it for me I was still very excited for Beyond and it definitely delivered, as much as I really liked 94 and 99 this film is the best of the franchise since V/H/S/2. The theme this time around is aliens and other sci-fi elements and while that may seem like it could get redundant at first, each of the segments manage to do something quite different. 

As per usual when it comes to anthology films, I’ll be talking a little about each segment and then at the end give my final thoughts. There’s definitely going to be some overlap with positives so keep that in mind, anyway let’s start with…

Abduction/Adduction which is directed by Jay Cheel director of Beauty Day (2011) and How To Build a Time Machine (2016). 

This is the frame narrative of the film and well it exists, look I’m just going to blast right through this one. While this film does have some of my favorite segments of the franchise, it also has one of the most dull frame narratives. It’s a bunch of interviews, conspiracy theories and basically tying aliens to a lot of events, at the very least the segment doesn’t last very long at all after each of the main segments. Not much else to really say here…let’s move on to the first main segment which is…

Stork which is directed by Jordan Downey director of Thankskilling (2008), Thankskilling 3 (2012) and The Head Hunter (2018). 

I never expected Downey the director of Thankskilling (2008) to create a short that has a lot of Resident Evil type of vibes, Stork is an excellent opener of the main segments. It follows a a police unit called W.A.R.D.E.N. as they go through a building after many disappearances of babies. This segment has everything zombies, blood and a zombified stork that has some excellent creature design. That’s a common theme with these segments the creature designs are top notch as well as the gore being a lot of fun, the atmosphere is excellent and combined with the point A to point B plot line that works in the segment’s favor it’s incredibly successful. It’s simple yet a huge amount of fun that will have you at the edge of your seat!

Dream Girl is directed by Virat Pal director of Recapture (2016).

Dream Girl follows Arnab and Sonu paparazzi who try to get footage of the latest Bollywood sensation Tara. This is definitely an interesting one, despite a few rough couple minutes the segment quickly builds steam and suspense. We get clues about everything doesn’t seem to be right with Tara, which ultimately builds into a very chaotic finale to the segment. While yes it might be a bit predictable it’s still an incredible amount of fun, once again with excellent gore and makeup effects that really do help build this segment. There’s some very nasty kills here which is amplified by the build up from the segment, this is another really good one! 

Live and Let Die is directed by Justin Martinez director of a segment from V/H/S 10/31/98 and a segments from Southbound The Way In and The Way Out. 

This segment is perhaps the weakest of the main segments but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. The segment follows Zach who is celebrating his 30th birthday with his wife Jess, best friend Logan and many other people via skydiving which ultimately goes horribly wrong after they see a UFO and crash on to an island where they fight for survival. The first half of the segment is on the plane and the other half is the characters fighting for survival, the build up is definitely worth it in the end and once again more excellent creature design and great kills. It just takes a bit to get to the fun stuff, but ultimately does a great job. 

There really isn’t a whole lot more to say about this one as it is very straightforward. 

Fur Babies is directed by Christian Long and Justin Long both of which directed Lady of the Manor (2021).

This segment follows a bunch of animal rights activists investigating a doggy daycare center and its owner Becky that keeps taxidermies of her past dogs. The group ultimately discovers the dark truth about the daycare. This is my favorite of the segments, not only is it absolutely bizarre but it goes in a direction you do not expect. It’s actually quite disturbing with some very cursed looking makeup and designs that are truly horrifying, the suspense is absolutely well done and delivers the satirical feel incredibly well. 

This is very much in the same vein as Tusk (2014) only much more effective and doesn’t overstay its welcome at all, excellent short that I won’t say much more about as it’s more effect the less you know about it.

Stowaway is directed by Katie Siegel which is actually the very first project she’s directed! 

Stowaway follows Halley a woman who documents her findings in the Mojave desert which she believes are possible extraterrestrial findings. This is excellent closing segment, it’s suspenseful and uses the found footage style in a very old school way that heavily reminds me of The Blair Witch Project (1999). It’s a segment that takes its sweet sweet time building suspense and makes sure the viewer explores the desert with Halley. Combined with Siegel’s direction and the script written by Mike Flanagan the segment ends up being one of the very best!

Overall V/H/S/Beyond is a fantastic installment to the franchise, it’s suspenseful, atmospheric and has excellent creature designs, makeup and gore. The segments are creative and bring something unique to the film and to the franchise as a whole. I’m very excited to see where they go with this franchise next! 

V/H/S/Beyond is available on Shudder!

9/10 A

Speak No Evil (2024) Film Review!

A family is invited to spend a whole weekend in a lonely home in the countryside, but as the weekend progresses, they realize that a dark side lies within the family who invited them.

Speak No Evil is directed by James Watkins director of Eden Lake (2008), The Woman in Black (2012) and Bastille Day (2016). This film is a remake of the 2022 Danish-Dutch horror film of the same name. 

I’ve talked a little about this before but American remakes of disturbing films almost never go out very well Oldboy, Martyrs, Inside and a few others have had American remakes that were all quite terrible. But on the other hand there’s cases like Funny Games where all though it played out exactly like the original it was still pretty great. 

Speak No Evil (2022) was a disturbing movie that had a simple set up and ended up with shocking results, the film heavily relied on its atmosphere and the build up to certain moments that really worked in its favor. It helps that the performances felt incredibly natural, so I was very hesitant when an American remake was announced soon after combine that with Blumhouse’s recent track record that just spelled disaster. 

However I must say Watkins (who actually directed a disturbing movie himself which was Eden Lake.) despite some issues with the third act, this was a pretty solid remake. Sure it might not be as terrifying and the atmosphere is definitely a bit different, but the movie manages to make those changes work pretty well.

What really holds this film together is the performances from James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis, Scoot McNairy and Aisling Franciosi. The four do such a great job here and each bring something to the film, they all capture the natural feel of the performances from the original and deliver them in their own ways. Especially McAvoy who really gives one hell of a performance, the moment he enters the film he is automatically intimidating the atmosphere is set in and the film is ready to go. Throughout the whole film you are waiting for his character Paddy to just explode, he’s a ticking time bomb that’s incredibly terrifying and could do anything in a matter of seconds.

The cinematography from Tim Maurice-Jones is quite beautiful which makes an interesting mix with a pretty terrifying story, it might not completely work for some but I think it works effectively and really grabs the attention of the viewer so the atmosphere can get under your skin later on. As I said earlier the atmosphere is quite different from the original, where as the original went for a more bleak and incredibly dark type of atmosphere. The remake goes for a much more traditional thrilling atmosphere…that is at first, eventually the atmosphere evolves into something much more sinister and while it doesn’t quite reach the disturbing nature of the original. It still is quite effective and manages to really pull you into the film. 

The third act does have some bumps in the road particularly with the third act that does result in a Hollywood-esque direction, it’s very different from the original’s much darker ending. For some this might be an improvement and for others this might be a terrible choice, I think for what this remake was going for it does make sense with the way it ended, that doesn’t necessarily mean the ending is exactly great but at the very least it doesn’t come out of left field and shows the two films were going for different feels.

Overall Speak No Evil is a solid remake, while I still do prefer the original over this film. This one is still quite strong in its own right, it’s effective with excellent performances and with a very strong script. 

Speak No Evil is available on all VOD platforms.

8/10 B+

The 4:30 Movie (2024) Film Review!

A group of teens in the 1980s spend the day theater-hopping.

The 4:30 Movie is directed by Kevin Smith director of the Clerks trilogy, Mallrats (1995), Dogma (1999), the Jay & Silent Bob movies, Tusk (2014), Yoga Hosers (2016) and many others.

The 4:30 Movie is clearly a personal film for Kevin Smith and it’s hard to not be charmed by it, the whole idea of the movie being loosely based on Smith’s experiences sneaking into movie theaters as a teenager and his earliest romantic endeavors is really neat and for the most part works well. 

The cast is quite fun, there aren’t really any stand out performances that really make this movie. But the cast still does a solid job with the material and even deliver some beautiful moments that are bound to bring the viewer into the movie. The earnestness and humor work well in the movie’s favor, while the meta jokes don’t work as well. The jokes from the fake trailers and the characters just interacting are a nice touch. 

Despite only being 88 minutes long the pacing does feel a bit sluggish at times, particularly the middle of the movie where it hits a few bumps in the road from the writing not being quite up to par of what came before it. Having that said the movie does ultimately recover and sticks the landing decently well.

Overall The 4:30 Movie is pretty straightforward and it’s like a friend telling you this memory they had as a teenager, in this case Kevin Smith telling the viewer his memory as teenager. It’s a sweet and fun little movie that’s solid enough! 

The 4:30 Movie is available on all VOD platforms.

6/10 C+

Amber Alert (2024) Film Review!

A ride-share turns into a high-stakes game of cat and mouse after it follows a car fitting the description of an AMBER ALERT.

Amber Alert (2024) is directed by Kerry Bellessa director of Amber Alert (2012) and Immanence (2022). This movie serves as a remake of the 2012 movie of the same name. 

I’ll say this, I do find it interesting that Bellessa decided to remake her own movie, that’s not something you see very often and honestly to her credit she actually improved! Amber Alert (2012) was a found footage movie that had an interesting concept but did not deliver at all, it’s one of those found footage movies that a lot of people point to when someone says “bad found footage movies”

Amber Alert (2024) drops the found footage element and goes with a more traditional thriller, which while that does mean it’s quite predictable and really does not do anything new. I would be lying if I said I didn’t have at least a bit of fun with this movie. 

Seeing Hayden Panettiere in a leading role after so many years is quite great, she does a really solid job here and works incredibly well with Tyler James Williams who is also quite solid. The two definitely are the movie‘s strongest parts, sure their characters aren’t really anything to write home about and their character arcs go into very familiar territory. But the undeniable charm that Panettiere and Williams have make the characters work and ultimately do make the viewer at least care about them. 

The rest of the movie is on the predictable side of things as I said before, yet it remains quite fun and has this 2000s straight video thriller energy that is incredibly entertaining. A lot of it is very much like The Call (2013) admittedly especially with the found footage element gone, however the movie does manage to build tension and even if you know where it’s going it still works decently well. 

Overall there really isn’t much to say about Amber Alert (2024) it’s a competent thriller that doesn’t overstay its welcome and is a decent time. This is certainly not one that I would ever go back and watch but it’s a great time killer! 

Amber Alert is available on all VOD platforms.

6/10 C+

The Platform 2 (2024) Film Review!

A thrilling physical journey that allows an approach to the darkness, where it is scary to look. It appeals to the viewer’s civil responsibility and forces them to face the limits of their own solidarity.

The Platform 2 is directed by Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia director of The Platform (2019). The Platform 2 serves as a prequel to The Platform (2019). 

The Platform was one of those movies that blew up during the COVID-19 lockdown, basically this was a case of coming out at the right place at the right time. The film was a fun thriller with a neat idea that may have not been executed perfectly, but it was done well enough to leave the viewer satisfied. Another movie was talked about for a few years until we finally got it this year and well to say it doesn’t even come close to the first movie both quality and creativity wise would be an understatement. 

Outside of the performances, filming and the atmosphere which are all passable. The Platform 2 really seems like nobody had any idea of what to really do here. What we have here is an incredibly dull retread of the previous movie which lacks any of the elements of what made the first movie interesting. 

Repeating the exact same thing while slightly shifting a few things around is about as lazy as you can go, it doesn’t help that the final moments of the movie are incredibly stupid and don’t make a lick of sense narratively. It’s something that can easily break the movie for most people (not that the rest of the movie is that much better), what really kills this movie is its pretentiousness this is a word that I tend to not use in my reviews as I do feel like people really overuse it. 

However it applies to The Platform 2 due to the movie trying to claim that it’s doing something meaningful with its ending and throughout the movie. When in reality all it’s doing is being a bad retread of the first movie, recycles the same sort of message as the first movie only slightly changing a bit of context and attaching a terrible ending. 

That’s basically The Platform 2 in a nutshell, a dull prequel that has some positives but not nearly enough to have its own identity and doesn’t hold a candle to the first movie. 

The Platform 2 is available on Netflix. 

4/10 D+

The Killer’s Game (2024) Film Review!

When a hitman is diagnosed with a terminal illness, he decides to take a hit out on himself. But when the very hitmen he hired also target his ex-girlfriend, he must fend off an army of assassin colleagues.

The Killer’s Game is directed by J.J. Perry director of Day Shift (2022). 

The Killer’s Game is a bit more interesting than a lot of other terrible action comedies, however it still runs into some of the exact same problems. 

Dave Bautista is at the very least pretty fun here, Ben Kingsley is always good, Terry Crews actually has some decent character work and charisma here that works. There’s some stylized action scenes that are admittedly a lot of fun, they might not do a whole lot for the movie narratively but they are entertaining enough to make the movie move smoothly. 

Having that said, when you real boil down to it this is just another action comedy movie. The comedic elements are very weak in this case and quite honestly could have went without using, the movie clearly wants you to feel towards Joe Flood (played by Dave Bautista) who is diagnosed with a fatal disease. At some points it works and there’s some genuine moments, only to get slammed with some unfunny writing bits that try to be jokes. 

The CGI blood does not help at all, it ruins what otherwise are some really neat kills. The mix of stylized action scenes and the CGI is incredibly distracting and noticeable, it attempts to go for this campy feel but never reaches the mark. Especially when the movie at certain points wants you to take it seriously. 

Overall The Killer’s Game is ultimately forgettable, you can absolutely do far worse when it comes to action comedies. But it’s still a bit unfortunate this one did not deliver. 

The Killer’s Game is available on all VOD platforms.

4/10 D+

The Radleys (2024) Film Review!

It follows a seemingly ordinary family with a dark secret: they are vampires. They choose not to drink blood despite their natural cravings, but their truth is revealed one day.

The Radleys is directed by Euros Lyn director of The Library Suicides (2016), Dream Horse (2020) and a lot of TV movies. 

I really don’t have a whole lot to comment on about The Radleys. It’s a movie that attempts to mix in many genres such as comedy and horror but doesn’t do it all that well. 

The performances from Damian Lewis and Kelly Macdonald are solid and give the movie it’s best moments, the blood is actually not too bad here especially for a movie that really has the look and feel of a made for TV movie. The set up I will say is decent enough, it has an interesting idea going and manages to grab your attention for the first 30 minutes or so.

However the movie quickly loses you from constantly switching tones that really don’t do much for the movie at all, it also does feel like a pilot for a TV show which isn’t a surprise considering a majority of director Euros Lyn’s work is TV work. 

As far as a vampire story goes this is just okay, the lore behind it is definitely more interesting than the idea itself especially in execution. Despite that however there are moments where the acting does sell a few scenes decently well. 

Overall The Radleys just sort of exists, it’s definitely not the worst vampire movie out there but it is one of the most forgettable.

The Radleys is available on all VOD platforms.

4/10 D+

Things Will Be Different (2024) Film Review!

In order to escape police after a robbery, two estranged siblings lay low in a farmhouse that hides them away in a different time. There they reckon with a mysterious force that pushes their familial bonds to unnatural breaking points.

Things Will Be Different is directed by Michael Felker which is his directorial debut. 

Things Will Be Different on the surface seems like a simple premise but slowly becomes something much more complex. The time travel elements are much more expensive, there’s a whole lot of sci-fi elements that get introduced and the movie requires the viewers full attention or else you could get potentially lost. 

The performances are solid enough, there isn’t anything groundbreaking going on here but Adam David Thompson and Riley Dandy are both solid and play characters who do get some interesting development. When you mix this with tensions between the two and the atmosphere you do get some fascinating results that helps the film move at a decent pace. 

Things Will Be Different heavily reminds me of a film I reviewed Omni Loop another low budget sci-fi film that isn’t doing anything groundbreaking but is well done, acted and it’s written kind of beautifully. Things Will Be Different definitely follows that same sort of path, it’s a film that has emotional stakes and genre thrills that really work well in the context of the movie.

Even if the characters don’t immediately grab you at the beginning the emotional moments during the movie will slowly but surely draw you in, the location of the movie is also a nice blend to the atmosphere! 

Overall Things Will Be Different is solid, it might not be doing anything new. But it’s a fun one to watch!

Things Will Be Different is available tomorrow on all VOD platforms.

6/10 C+

Salem’s Lot (2024) Film Review!

Author Ben Mears returns to his childhood home of Jerusalem’s Lot in search of inspiration for his next book only to discover his hometown is being preyed upon by a bloodthirsty vampire.

Salem’s Lot is directed by Gary Dauberman director of Annabelle Comes Home (2019). The film is based on the 1975 novel by Stephen King and is the first film adaption of the book after the two miniseries versions from 1979 and 2004. 

After being delayed, shelved and even at one point being questioned if it would even release at all, Salem’s Lot finally releases and well It’s very easy to see why this movie took so long to release…because it’s a very empty adaption that struggles to really capture what the source material is all about. 

The performances here are passable, but nobody here is really doing any special. Lewis Pullman is the best of the bunch, but even he is struggling with a script that really doesn’t offer any strong atmospheric moments. The rest of the cast just feel kind of there, a lot of the characters have very little development and are mixed into a world that doesn’t bother to really explore them all that well. 

There’s a few neat shots and some fun scares at certain points but it’s not nearly enough to really justify how much the movie completely misses the source material, the movie might have this dark feel to it but it’s devoid of any actual thrilling atmosphere or suspense. The logic here seems to be “let’s throw a vampire in here because Salem’s Lot had vampire’s right?” 

It doesn’t help that throughout the movie it really does feel like there’s so much missing such as character arcs, important details of the plot and even lore behind the world. What this ultimately acts like is one of those “last time on *insert tv show here*” recaps now imagine that but in movie form that’s what you get a lot of the time in Salem’s Lot. 

Overall Salem’s Lot is a very messy adaption, while I’m not too huge on the 1979 miniseries. At the very least that knew what it wanted to be, I definitely think this movie would have been better as a miniseries. 

Salem’s Lot is available on HBO Max or MAX.

4/10 D+