Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths Part Three (2024) Film Review

The Anti-Monitor attacks the remaining Earths and their inhabitants. Heroes and villains across time and space join the Justice League for a final stand against the epitome of evil.

Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths Part Three is directed by Jeff Wamester who previously directed Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths Part One (2024), Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths Part Two (2024), Justice League Warworld (2023), Legion Of Super-Heroes (2023), Green Lantern: Beware My Power (2022) and Justice Society: World War II (2021). 

Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths Part Three serves as the third part of the eighth and final installment to the Tomorrowverse, well it sure is better than the last two parts that’s for certain…look I had very expectations going into this one. The last two parts especially part two were incredibly lacking mainly due to just how rushed the Tomorrowverse really was and a lot of the exact same problems apply with part three unfortunately. 

I will say that at the very least this movie had some sort of emotional depth when it came to it’s characters, although these scenes are very far and few in between there was at least some level of attempt to get the viewer to actually care for these characters. The scene that people are rightfully talking about and will probably be the most memorable is Kevin Conroy’s Batman and Mark Hamill’s Joker towards the end of the movie. It’s a very nice tribute to Kevin Conroy who sadly passed away in 2022, this movie is his last performance as Batman (despite what clickbaiters would tell you that Suicide Squad video game is NOT his last performance as Batman) and he does a really good job here. Although the script isn’t very strong he makes the most of it and actually really does land tons of great moments. 

Everything else about the movie kind of reflects the exact problem with the trilogy, a great story taken from the comics but just adapted so lazily that it fails to make the viewer care what is exactly going on. The animation is again a hit or miss, sometimes it looks okay and other times it really makes you question why they went with this style. As far as an ending to a film series and universe goes it’s not exactly as grand as you would expect. Sure it does wrap up some plot points and the ending pretty much does confirm “yes this is the ending of the Tomorrowverse. But it really does seem tact on as an excuse to just end the series, which considering what has been going on with the DC division at Warner Bros lately I’m not exactly surprised. 

Overall this part is far better than the last two but like I said shares a lot of the exact same problems. Definitely not as bad as you would expect, but definitely not a worthy finale. 

Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths Part Three is available on all VOD platforms.

4/10 D+

Frogman (2024) Film Review

In 1999, a 12-year-old named Dallas Kyle captures footage of the mythical creature, Frogman, but no one believes it is real. Twenty years later, he returns to the same place with his friends to obtain irrefutable proof that it exists.

Frogman is directed by Anthony Cousins which is his directorial debut (although he has directed a segments for other movies such as Scare Package and Fat Fleshy Fingers). 

I never heard of Frogman until I saw a few friends of mine on Twitter talking about it and saying they quite liked it (if you guys are reading this shoutout to you guys) I already love films about cryptids Frogman heavily reminds me of the Loveland Frog a cryptid that was supposedly spotted in Loveland, Ohio back in the 70s. 

The film itself undeniably shares a lot with The Blair Witch Project (1999), Cloverfield (2008) or even Marble Hornets having that said I do think the film manages to stand on it’s own especially during the third act. First off the found footage style combined with a 90s 35mm camera absolutely helps make the film much more authentic. It’s a much more dirty and grittier looking film that really does a good job of capturing every moment of the characters and their search for Frogman. This especially kicks in when the third act kicks in and we get to see the quite incredible practical effects and Frogman who’s pretty gross looking especially combined with the style of the camera. 

Admittedly the dialogue is not anything grand neither is the acting however I actually think that benefits the film in the long run, the writing does actually feel quite authentic same with the acting. The characters are decently fun and the story while a bit barebones when it comes to the found footage genre absolutely moves the film along at such a nice pace, the film itself is only 77 minutes long and moves at a fast paced which corrects a lot of mistakes that other found footage films tend to make. 

It does admittedly take some time to get to Frogman but once it does it’s a blast of fun, there’s so much creativity and classic movie magic that really went into this film, the atmosphere combined with the setting during the last 15-20 minutes is truly a blast that you really can’t help but love. 

Overall Frogman is a blast of fun, if you don’t like the found footage genre this will probably not change your mind about the genre. But any fan of the genre will get a kick out of this one. 

Frogman is available on all VOD Platforms.

8/10 B+

Handling The Undead (2024) Film Review

On a hot summer day in Oslo, the dead mysteriously awaken, and three families are thrown into chaos when their deceased loved ones come back to them. Who are they, and what do they want? Handling the Undead is a drama with elements of horror about three families, a story about grief and loss, but also about hope and understanding of what we can’t comprehend or control.

Handling The Undead is directed by Thea Hvistendahl director of The Monkey and The Mouth (2017). 

Handling The Undead was a movie I was definitely excited for having a horror film with Renate Reinsve in it plus the premise itself sounded quite interesting..while there is a decent amount to like here there’s just as much not to really like as well. 

The performances are easily the best part about this movie especially Renate Reinsve who goes all out with her performance, Anders Dainelsen Lie is also pretty solid here as well. Both Lie and Reinsve are both compelling and show some emotional layers of depth even if the movie itself does not take advantage of these layers a lot of the time. 

Which sort of becomes the first main issue with the movie, it presents layers of depth but does very little with them. It heavily relies on symbolism which although it’s a much different approach to a the zombie genre that I do respect, it doesn’t add up to making a compelling narrative. The use of the theme of grief is fine here but it’s being told in a way that’s been seen and explored numerous times before, it attempts to give the zombies a much more human approach in terms of emotions and feel. What I mean by this is although said person is a zombie who are usually depicted having lost their minds in most films, here the zombie still has their mind and are able to be connected with. 

Which is such a fantastic idea on paper and actually does work well a few times during the movie especially when combined with the gorgeous cinematography and the undeniably haunting yet beautiful atmosphere. But unfortunately a lot of the emotional weight due to how slow the pacing really is starts to wear off on the viewer, I can absolutely see what Hvistendahl was going for here but unfortunately as I said before the movie itself doesn’t add up to making a compelling narrative.

Handling The Undead is available on all VOD platforms.

5/10 C

Wildcat (2024) Film Review

The lines between reality and imagination begin to blur when writer Flannery O’Connor is diagnosed with lupus.

Wildcat is directed by Ethan Hawke who previously directed Chelsea Walls (2001), The Hottest State (2006) and Blaze (2018). 

Wildcat is a case where I respect the movie more than anything else, it’s a film about American novelist Flannery O’Connor. While the movie is indeed a biopic at the very least the movie attempts to go about it in a different way. There’s actually a few pretty bizarre moments here that somewhat worked strangely enough, mainly due to the atmosphere the movie was going for. 

The performances all around are pretty good, Maya Hawke is by far the standout and it’s nice to see yet another interesting role from her, even when the movie shows traits of a very generic biopic. Maya Hawke’s performance makes the movie a bit more interesting to follow. Although Cooper Hoffman isn’t in the movie for very long he gives a fun performance. 

As far as the rest of the movie goes it’s mostly fine, the structure of the movie can easily lose the viewer as it does end up being a bit of a mess when it comes to trying to explain what’s O’Connor’s fantasy and reality. The writing while effective in some areas definitely needed a bigger punch to be more impactful. 

I really don’t have much else to say about Wildcat it’s a mostly fine biopic that goes for something different but doesn’t quite reach it in the end.

Wildcat is available on all VOD Platforms.

5/10 C

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

Exhuma (2024) Film Review

The process of excavating an ominous grave unleashes long hidden secrets and dreadful consequences buried underneath.

Exhuma is directed by Jang Jae-hyun director of The Priests (2015) and Svaha: The Sixth Finger (2019).

Exhuma is an interesting one, it’s built around exorcism and possession with a complex mythology that truly is very interesting. But it also attempts to be this epic of the supernatural horror genre, which even if that doesn’t quite work I absolutely respect Jae-hyun for the commitment. 

The performances are all quite fun to watch, the interactions they have with each other are engaging, the character moments aren’t anything grand but they are solid enough to give a really good idea about who our main characters are. The script is also pretty solid, there is definitely some issues with the third act which mostly stems from the running time being way longer than it needed to be. But there are some really well written moments here that have this whole mystery to it that’s pretty satisfying. 

I definitely think this film is a case where the build up is stronger than the actual reveal, but that doesn’t really stop the movie from being a whole lot of fun. 

Exhuma is available on all VOD platforms.

7/10 B

The Strangers: Chapter 1 (2024) Film Review

After their car breaks down in an eerie small town, a young couple is forced to spend the night in a remote cabin. Panic ensues as they are terrorized by three masked strangers who strike with no mercy and seemingly no motive.

The Strangers: Chapter 1 is directed by Renny Harlin director of Die Hard 2 (1990), A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988), Cliffhanger (1993), Deep Blue Sea (1999), Devil’s Pass (2013), The Legend Of Hercules (2014), The Bricklayer (2024) and many others! 

The Strangers: Chapter 1 is the third film in The Strangers series and the first installment of a standalone trilogy not having anything to do with The Strangers (2008) or The Strangers: Prey At Night (2018). So The Strangers movies have always been divisive, The Strangers (2008) definitely has a lot of fans but there’s a lot of people who really did not like it. I’m someone who really loves it all though over time I do have my criticisms of it. The Strangers: Prey At Night (2018) at the time when it came out was torn to shreds (outside of everyone agreeing the pool scene was excellent). Which I could see why, it had a drastically different atmosphere than the first movie, where as the first movie was going for this brutal, dark and more grounded approach Prey At Night went for more of an 80s slasher approach. Luckily over time Prey At Night has gotten its flowers and it’s become a cult classic in its own way, I personally liked it when it first came out. But now I really like it even more. That leads us to the first of a trilogy The Strangers: Chapter One a movie that attempts to take the series back to its roots by going for an atmosphere more like the 2008 movie…only problem here is by doing that it’s just the 2008 movie all over again but somehow so much worse.

The couple we follow in this movie are just not interesting at all, Madelaine Petsch really tries her best with such a bland script but it’s ultimately nowhere near enough to save this movie from being a disaster. There’s a few fun chase sequences that are solid, but that’s all you can really say about them. They really have nothing going for them at all and are serviceable at best. That in itself really shows just how little care or creativity went into this mess. 

I can usually excuse dumb decisions in horror films as long as it doesn’t generally hurt the movie so much it never recovers or if the movie itself isn’t trying to be realistic. The couple in the 2008 movie made some dumb decisions but it wasn’t enough to hurt the entire movie. In this case however there is so much dumb decision making that it almost becomes a parody, one thing I will say is the kills here aren’t that bad. They definitely have this brutal nature to them this pretty nasty which is probably the most fun this movie has to offer. 

The major issue here is that there really isn’t much of a difference from the 2008 film and Chapter 1, both have the same sort of atmosphere yes but the 2008 film has the suspense, build up and strength to push through to the finish line. The couple in the 2008 film while yes flawed when it comes to the writing, were at the very least interesting enough for the viewer to follow. Heck at the time the film creeped out a lot of people so that has to count for something. Chapter 1 however comes off as trying to replicate what made the 2008 film great but completely forgets a lot of key parts, the atmosphere doesn’t have the suspense since we have really seen this all before. The couple in this movie as I said before are not interesting at all and lack so much personality that fails to connect with the viewer. Finally the build up is incredibly lacking, we get some fine enough chase scenes but that’s it. We don’t get anything we haven’t seen before anything worthwhile.

Overall The Strangers: Chapter 1 is not a promising start to the trilogy, I’m not entirely sure how they are going to be able to really recover from this mess but I guess we will see.

The Strangers: Chapter 1 is available on all VOD platforms.

3/10 D-

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-

I Saw The TV Glow (2024) Film Review

A classmate introduces teenage Owen to a mysterious late-night TV show — a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own. In the pale glow of the television, Owen’s view of reality begins to crack.

I Saw The TV Glow is directed by Jane Schoenbrun who previously directed We’re All Going To The World’s Fair (2021). 

Ever since I saw We’re All Going To The World’s Fair back at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival I was incredibly excited to see what Jane Schoenbrun would do next as that film become one of my favorites of 2021 and over time I’ve loved it even more. I’m really happy to say that I Saw The TV Glow is truly fascinating and absolutely breathtaking in every single way possible. 

I’ll start with the performances which are all fantastic but Justice Smith and Bridgette Lundy-Paine are the two that really shine here. Justice Smith gives a career best performance, this is a drastically performance by him than the viewer is used to and it’s incredibly effective. There’s a few particular moments where Smith’s character Owen is just broken and you the viewer feel that shattering moment especially during the final of the moments of the film where it hits you like a truck. Speaking of which Owen is such an interesting character, he seems like any other teenager yes but strangely enough he has that familiarity feel, like you might have known a person like Owen when you were growing up. Perhaps in your school, neighborhood ect it helps that Owen is written quite realistically as well, I completely buy what’s happening to him, his issues or when he talks to the viewer it’s a storytelling device that really works well here. 

The other half of this film is Bridgette Lundy-Paine they truly give a fantastic performance that really compliments the film’s tone. The many exchanges they have with Justice Smith are investing and incredibly raw, exchanges you would hear from friends just hanging out, talking about TV shows and much more. There’s also the monologue Paine gives which is truly beautifully done, it’s a meaningful monologue that hits you like a truck the more you think about it and is quite important to the film’s many themes. Together Justice Smith and Bridgette Lundy-Paine are a striking duo who really go all out with their performances, they both do as much as possible to connect to their characters Owen and Maddy and never go down from there. No doubt two of the best performances so far this year. 

There’s many themes going on here, I Saw The TV Glow is one of those films where there can be several different interpretations of what exactly is going on here. There’s a sense of nostalgia like reflecting on the past and how things might not be as good as you remember them being, there’s figuring out your identity whether you are trans, gay, bisexual ect there’s a lot of beautiful and meaningful moments that share this and then there’s this sense of loneliness a favorite of mine which might be a bit biased since I’ve said in the past that I really do love this theme and use it a lot in my photography. 

The whole sense of loneliness theme really comes into play during the middle portion of the film, there’s definitely a few moments where Owen talks to us the viewer with fourth wall breaks which shows this ominous and sad nature of the film, this theme of loneliness really kicks in during the film’s last moments that really do show this lonely world that Owen lives in. The final moments of the film actually made me shed some tears due to just how powerful they really were, it’s definitely one of my favorite endings from a film so far this year so I won’t say much more about it as I do think it’s that more effective when you see it for yourself. One last thing about loneliness in this film is the world the film takes place in really does seem like a small place, from the atmosphere, the cinematography and the VHS feel to it you really start to get that feel throughout the film. 

Finally there’s the technical parts of the film such as the score, cinematography and creature designs all of which are top notch, the creature designs have this classic power rangersesc feel to them which is incredibly charming and the score completely matches the tone of the film. The atmosphere is beautiful yet sad at the same time which all adds up to such a beautiful experience. 

Overall I Saw The TV Glow is a masterpiece, this is truly one of the best films of 2024 so far and one of the best films of the 2020s. It’s such a beautiful film that I am
So happy exists. Make sure to watch this one! 

I Saw The TV Glow is available on all VOD platforms. 

10/10 A+

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