Dogman (2024) Film Review

As a child, Douglas was abused by a violent father who then threw him to the dogs. Instead of attacking him, the dogs protected him. Traumatised and leading a life on the margins of society with his dogs, Douglas descends into a murderous madness.

Dogman is directed by Luc Besson who has directed Lucy (2014), Léon: The Professional (1994), The Family (2013), The Fifth Element (1997), Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017) and a few others.

As strange as the premise of Dogman might be it strangely almost works, unfortunately this is yet another one of Luc Besson’s misfires that doesn’t quite live up to the potential that the movie had. Caleb Landry Jones is what makes this movie at the very least stand on it’s legs, he gives a pretty twisted and intimidating performance as Doug Munrow a man who is being interrogated by a psychiatrist (played by Jojo T. Gibbs) he gives his backstory when he was a child, why he became obsessed with dogs and tells a lot more about his life such as him being a drag queen in a cabaret act.

The first act and even some of the second act are quite decent I must say, Caleb Landry Jones as I said before gives a very solid performance and the backstory of Doug is actually pretty interesting. The score is quite nice (might be my favorite thing about it outside of Jones’s performance) and the trained dogs are quite impressive as well especially combined with the shots of the dogs doing some quite impressive tricks and perfectly matching each of the movie’s scenes tone.

Unfortunately the rest of the movie takes itself way too seriously and ultimately turns into another version of The Joker (2019) and Taxi Driver (1976) the third act is very rushed and has trouble really blending it’s themes together to create something interesting. There are some decent enough kills but the group Doug ultimately goes against are completely bland and have very little character to them outside of wanting to kill Doug.

There is definitely something interesting here with Dogman and I think if the writing had more work on it this could have at the very least been a decently fun movie.

Dogman is available on all VOD Platforms.

4/10 D+

Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths Part Two

An endless army of shadow demons seeks to destroy all realities. What mysterious force drives them; and do Monitor and Supergirl’s secrets threaten to crush the heroes’ last defense?

Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths Part Two is directed by Jeff Wamester who previously directed Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths Part One (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 Two serves as the second part of the eighth and final installment of the Tomorrowverse, a lot of what I said about part one can be applied here. What’s baffling here is part two is a step down from part one which was already a poor opening to the trilogy.

There is a few fine enough action scenes and much like the first part the voice acting is serviceable, but they are so far in between that it ultimately doesn’t matter. We are yet again shown characters who we haven’t been able to really connect with since the Tomorrowverse is ending in the next and final part. One problem throughout the movie that becomes very noticeable is it really can’t decide who our main protagonist should be between Jensen Ackle’s Batman, Darren Criss’s Superman or Meg Donnelly’s Supergirl the movie constantly jumps back and forth between subplots with none of the characters actually getting any real time to shine.

It’s not just the main characters either, the side characters get no real development here either, which is baffling considering how many heroes and villains the movie has access to. The whole movie really seems like it’s not interested in exploring these characters (outside of some very cliched backstories) and if the movie isn’t interested why should the viewer?

I really don’t know what else I can say without repeating my issues that I had with the first part. Part two somehow ends up being far more messy, disjointed and lacking than part one. At least part one had some good moments with The Flash and at the very least attempted to try and say something, part two is as if somebody put something together at the very last second and called it a day. Will this trilogy end on a high note? Guess we will wait and see with part three which is expected to come out later this year.

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

2/10 F

Monkey Man (2024) Film Review

An anonymous young man unleashes a campaign of vengeance against the corrupt leaders who murdered his mother and continue to systemically victimize the poor and powerless

Monkey Man is directed by Dev Patel which is his directorial debut.

Monkey Man is a film that was nearly flat out going to have it’s release cancelled by Netflix after feeling the film would be too gritty for Indian audiences and was concerned the reaction to the film’s political commentary. Luckily Jordan Peele and Universal stepped in and acquired it and we now have the film released…which is excellent because Monkey Man rules.

I already knew Dev Patel was one hell of an actor, he’s given some quite strong performances over the years. However his directing here is outstanding especially as the film goes on you really start to see a lot of Patel’s strengths as an actor be reflected in the director’s chair. Monkey Man is a revenge tale which obviously isn’t anything new, with that being said the way this film tells that tale and uses the revenge element is what makes this interesting.

Throughout the film you can feel Bobby’s (played by Dev Patel) anger it’s much more quiet in certain parts of the film but it’s always there. Even with the action scenes that get progressively more violent and gory as the film goes on you can feel the anger getting more and more heated as it goes on and the closer the film reaches Bobby’s goal. His anger at the beginning starts as grief and not really knowing where to start or even to really do, but once he figures it out and has a plan set hell breaks loose from there and it’s truly satisfying to see all of this go down especially in stylistic action scenes that truly thrilling.

The atmosphere combined with the action scenes are truly fantastic here, they really blend well with the whole revenge and anger elements I mentioned earlier. Which leaves them to be all the more satisfying to watch, I do think there are some writing issues mainly when it comes to the villains. There’s some sort of a switch of main antagonists during the film that doesn’t feel very fitting especially since this feels more of a personal revenge story of Bobby. Having that said that doesn’t stop the film in any very major ways.

The rest of the cast are quite fantastic as well, they fit the film in their own ways and help compliment the film’s world. Even if a lot of them don’t get the most character development they are at the very least important to the story. They help guide Bobby and create this building a hero type of story that’s incredibly engaging to watch. The topic of corruption and how it can get people to fall for corrupt leaders is truly fascinating, we are shown glimpses of Bobby’s past throughout the film and how he ended up where he is now. Those flashbacks do a fantastic job of really showing how much damage corruption has done and how throughout the years there’s been no change. Until it was time to create a hero to tackle corruption In any single way possible.

Monkey Man is truly a knockout directorial debut for Dev Patel, I truly hope we get to see more of his directing career because this was truly fantastic.

Monkey Man is playing in theaters

9/10 A

Hundreds Of Beavers (2024) Film Review

A drunken applejack salesman must go from zero to hero and become North America’s greatest fur trapper by defeating hundreds of beavers.

Hundreds Of Beavers is directed by Mike Cheslik which is his directorial debut.

Hundreds Of Beavers is a film that really needs to be seen to be believed, picture a Looney Tunes cartoon combined with the silent film era, throw in some Monty Python and Sin City and this is what you get an absolutely fascinating film that is quite honestly one of the funniest films I’ve seen in a very long time.

Honestly what makes the film is the amount of charm that’s shown throughout the film, every single moment is filled to the brim with it and really seems like everyone involved had such a blast making this film. The slapstick comedy is masterfully done especially with the comedic timing that Mike Cheslik, Ryland Brockton Cole Tews, Kurt Ravenwood and Matt Sablijak have in their script.

What amazes me the most about Hundreds Of Beavers is they manage to keep up the slapstick comedy and insanity throughout the film, it never once gets dull, repetitive or tiring it’s all 108 minutes of pure fun that really celebrates the art of slapstick comedy and in some ways the silent film era as well. It’s such a wonderful film that really shows incredible passion to the art form and delivers such a hilarious story while doing so.

The visuals combined with the music just make it all the more fun and much like everything else really compliment the slapstick comedy, the music captures that Looney Tunes feel incredibly and really reminds you of that era of cartoons. The visuals are truly delightful and in their own ways quite hilarious as well.

I won’t say much else because I truly do think it’s best to go into Hundreds Of Beavers knowing as little as possible, please do anything you can to support a film like this!

Hundreds Of Beavers is available on all VOD platforms.

9/10 A

Girls State (2024) Film Review

A look at what American democracy would look like in the hands of teenage girls. Young female leaders from wildly different backgrounds navigate an immersive experiment to build a government from the ground up.

Girls State is directed by Jess Moss and Amanda McBlaine directors of Boys State (2020) and The Mission (2023). Jess Moss has also directed Mayor Pete (2021), The Overnighters (2014) and a few others.

Girls State follows the exact same sort of idea as Boys State did. A bunch of teenage girls go through a week long mock government experiment, which helps them learn how to build a government from the ground up.

Much like in Boys State, seeing the girls interact with each other and sharing ideas between one another is truly fascinating, it’s worth noting that right as this week began the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v Wade was leaked. Which in turns brings a lot of interesting discussion to the documentary, seeing the reactions to the news felt incredibly powerful as well.

The girls of course give speeches which are genuinely fantastic, truly touching moments that are some of the documentary’s best moments. Jess Moss and Amanda McBlaine do such a fantastic job once again, they let everything play out without interfering which leads to every reaction and speech feeling much more powerful and raw.

Girls State and Boys State are two very interesting films that work incredibly well together, they definitely have their differences. But what they both show is young people having a genuine interest in politics and wanting to change the future.

I may slightly prefer Boys State mainly due to the idea of it being more fresh, having that said Girls State is still a really great documentary that I do recommend watching!

Girls State is available on Apple TV+

8/10 B+

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+

The Listener (2024) Film Review

Beth is a crisis helpline volunteer who gets on the phone every night, fielding calls from people who feel lonely, broken and helpless. During her latest shift, the stakes rise as she tries to save a hurting soul.

The Listener is directed by Steve Buscemi who has directed Trees Lounge (1996), Animal Factory (2000), Lonesome Jim (2005) and Interview (2007).

The Listener has been on my radar for awhile now, it just finally released last month and it’s quite a solid one. The main idea here is we follow Beth who is a helpline volunteer played by Tess Thompson, Thompson is the only on screen performance we see in the entire film and she gives such a strong performance. The interactions she has with the callers is truly great and the film does a good job of blending its theme of just listening to someone speak can go a long way. That’s perfectly captured with Thompson’s performance especially when combined with Buscemi’s direction that has this sort of organic feel to it. Her facial expressions and overall reactions such as taking a few seconds before responding are incredibly natural and only help build her performance.

It’s no secret that The Listener is a COVID-19 film, heck it’s even mentioned a few times in the dialogue with that being said I don’t mind that so much here. The one location setting combined with the story actually makes it work decently well here, is it sort of eye rolling when COVID-19 is name dropped? Yes absolutely but at the very least unlike some other COVID related films (looking at you Locked Down) there’s a point and it compliments the story being told.

The interactions themselves are quite great that introduce a number of topics the main ones being social life and mental health, the interactions feel incredibly raw and actually quite upsetting at times. Because there are some very real cases of COVID-19 hurting people’s mental health or social life and it’s portrayed quite well here. The downside of it is that the film doesn’t really go that in depth in the topics, there’s definitely discussion and the film for the most part gets it’s point across on why these topics are important but it’s never really anything much deeper.

I definitely think The Listener is a great post pandemic film, it’s a reflection that shows that a lot of people seemed to skim how the pandemic affected people’s mental health. It’s a shame there wasn’t a bigger conversation here but for what the film is it’s quite solid.

The Listener is available on all VOD Platforms.

7/10 B

The Greatest Hits (2024) Film Review

Harriet discovers certain songs can transport her back in time. While she relives the past through romantic memories with her former boyfriend, her time travelling interferes with a burgeoning new love interest in the present.

The Greatest Hits is directed by Ned Benson who previously directed Four Lean Hounds (2003), The Westerner (2010), Yes (2010) and The Disappearance Of Eleanor Rigby (2014).

The Greatest Hits was definitely a surprise, while the movie does follow some very familiar beats and does end up being very unnecessarily convoluted during its final moments. The film itself has a lot of charm and some surprisingly strong performances that really keep it afloat.

Lucy Boynton and Justin H. Min have great chemistry between one another and actually build a quite grounded bond over the course of the film. The film’s main theme is overcoming grief and how love can actually overcome it, this has been done in so many other films but the execution here for the most part is what helps this movie.

The little moments of Harriet’s (played by Lucy Boynton) and David’s (played by Justin H. Min) conversations truly come off as genuine and almost seems very therapeutic, there’s truly some strong acting here and really makes the viewer that much more connected to Harriet and David. The soundtrack also helps quite well, it matches the film’s quiet and slow tone that the film is going for.

The time travel stuff is definitely the weakest parts of the film, I absolutely get what’s being said here. There’s this other theme of considering changing the past to save someone you loved, on paper it seems like a good idea but in execution it’s a bit sloppily put together. It sort of just feels there and when you compare it to everything else in the movie it really sticks out like a sore thumb.

Overall The Greatest Hits is not going to break any new ground especially in terms of story, however it’s a charming enough film with some great performances with a lot of touching moments that I do recommend giving this one a look.

The Greatest Hits is available on Hulu.

7/10 B

Knox Goes Away (2024) Film Review

Diagnosed with a rapidly evolving form of dementia, a contract killer gets the chance to redeem himself by saving the life of his estranged son.

Knox Goes Away is directed by Michael Keaton who previously directed The Merry Gentlemen (2008).

Don’t have a whole lot to comment on here, what drew me in was Keaton being in the director’s chair and while I completely get what he was trying to go for. I don’t think it came together all that well.

Michael Keaton gives a decent performance here, it’s nowhere near one of his best. But it’s decently effective and matches the story being told, Al Pacino is unfortunately phoning it in for a paycheck. The rest of the performances are fine enough but ultimately don’t lead into anything memorable.

The main problem with the movie is it leaves a lot more to be desired, there’s a very interesting story about a man who is diagnosed with dementia and we the viewers sort of get to see inside his mind. The problem is the movie doesn’t do much with the characters, they are very blandly written which in turn fails to make the viewer feel anything towards them.

There are some decent moments which it’s mostly due to Keaton’s acting that really makes these moments special, there’s some genuinely interesting dialogue towards the end that leads to something interesting but ultimately fails to do anything with it.

If the film focused far more on the characters and less about the very generic investigation that goes on during the movie, I think there would have been absolutely something here.

Knox Goes Away is available on all VOD platforms.

5/10 C

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