Slutty, Zaddy, Dancing, Monkey, Alien & Bob

JURASSIC WORLD REBIRTH | Universal Pictures
Director Gareth Edwards | Writer David Koepp

Out of all the subsequent movies of the Jurassic franchise, this feels the closest to the awe & majesty found in the original JURASSIC PARK. It captures that Spielbergian spine-tingling wonder of man standing face-to-face with creatures long extinct. Except, rightfully, it starts with society being bored and over dinosaurs. Most of the species brought to the city have died off and there’s no longer interest in the museum or the park. But Big Pharma has figured out that certain species provide the materials to create a drug that will all but eliminate heart disease. However, using dead dinosaur DNA is not cutting it, they need the live samples from 3 specific species only found on the Jurassic Island near the Equator.

Enter Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) an “Extraction Expert”/ Mercenary with a heart. Dr. Henry Loomis, (Jonathan Bailey) a sexy nerd paleontologist wrestling with science’s darkest compromises. I don’t know who came up with the term “slutty” to describe his eyewear, but that is so on target! And Mahershala Ali adds a steady, magnetic presence as Zora’s second-in-command and ship captain.

Director Gareth Edwards (Rogue One) brings his usual flair for scale and environmental immersion, plunging us into a dense, tropical hellscape teeming with mutated and hybrid dinosaurs. The script by David Koepp (returning from the original Jurassic Park) cleverly weaves commentary about genetic exploitation and corporate greed without sacrificing thrills. Rupert Friend’s Big Pharma villain never goes too cartoonish, but his cold pragmatism makes you look forward to his dino-fated demise.

The mission team intersects with a father (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) on a sea faring vacation with his two daughters Teresa (Luna Blaise) and Isabella (Audrina Miranda), and Teresa’s boyfriend Xavier (David Iacono) who adds not only additional sex appeal, but organic comic relief.

In true Jurassic fashion, all the non-stop action and near escapes had me squirming in my seat; whether it’s a predator in waist-high swamp water or an aerial escape from a winged predator that seems part-bat, part-bird-of-prey, the tension is palpable throughout. Edwards knows how to build suspense—not just with jump scares, but with sustained dread and emotional investment.

Obviously, after over 30 years, this franchise has no definitive end in sight. Which is why I rather resent the pretense that JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION was portrayed as wrapping things up and putting a bow on it, when we’re right back 3 short years later. But I’m not surprised.

That being said, I feel this new era of Jurassic storytelling wisely evolves the franchise without forgetting what made it resonate: the thrill of discovery, the terror of consequence, and the bittersweet wonder of life, uh, finding a way. Rating: 4 outta 5

MATERIALISTS | A24 | Writer/Director Celine Song

Celine Song follows up her “Past Lives” triumph with a wry, at times perfectly cynical, modern fable about needing love, life partnerships and checking boxes. Set against the backdrop of a sleek, hyper-Instagrammable New York City, the film centers on Lucy (Dakota Johnson), a driven matchmaker who spends her days engineering perfect unions for others—while struggling to navigate her own romantic entanglements. (side note: her character’s name was also Lucy in “Am I OK?” a little indie worth watching).

Lucy is caught between two suitors: Harry (Pedro Pascal) a charming, second son, born into his family’s wealthy world of finance. He’s attracted to Lucy, but mainly admires her pragmatism and sees she could be a smart choice for a wife. On the other hand, Lucy has unexpectedly run into her ex-boyfriend John (Chris Evans) an aspiring actor, whose aspirations have not gotten very far from when they used to date years ago. He’s still living with the same roommates and working as a cater waiter in between auditions and off, off, off Broadway plays.

If this wasn’t John’s lifestyle, there’d be no impediment to their relationship, but Lucy admits to wanting to live very well. She makes a decent salary at Adore, the Matchmaking service which praises her for her 9th match resulting in marriage. But she doesn’t want to do this forever and she likes nice places, clothes and good restaurants. There’s more to her character than this shallowness; yet she’s knows herself well enough to admit money matters.

That’s fine, but where I feel the movie takes a wrong turn is in casting Evans, undeniably handsome and affable as always, he’s simply too charismatic and attractive to push aside. Okay he’s poor, but that’s basically his only flaw. The character should have been portrayed by someone who felt, at least on the surface, below Lucy’s league—someone unattractive and super awkward, but who connects with Lucy on a deeper, ineffable level. As it stands, it’s hard to buy into Lucy’s conflict because the two options feel like versions of the same fantasy.

That said, Johnson is magnetic as always. I read someone describe her as having “languidly charged charisma”. I think that’s the perfect description. Pascal oozes confidence and a kind of weary sadness beneath his character’s polished surface.

Visually, the film is a stunner—Song and cinematographer Shabier Kirchner drench every scene in golden-hour light and cool urban textures, making New York feel like both a playground and a cage. The screenplay is witty, with moments of genuine insight about modern relationships and the transactional nature of desire in a city obsessed with status. I love a scene where one of Lucy’s clients, a man in his early 40’s, admits to not having anything in common with the women he’s been dating in their early 20’s. Lucy is happy to introduce him to clients in their early to middle 30’s; but he adamantly insists on someone 27. Exactly 27 as if they will remain that perfect number throughout their lifetime.

Ultimately, “Materialists” shines when it leans into those insights, even if its central romantic stakes feel a bit too evenly matched. The overall watch-ability of the movie is a worthy entry in Song’s growing body of work.

Rating: 3.5 outta 5

THE LIFE OF CHUCK | Neon | Writer/Director Mike Flanagan Writers

Based on the Stephen King novella from “If It Bleeds”, “The Life of Chuck” joins the canon of King adaptations that explore the emotional and philosophical undercurrents of human life, more in the vein of “Stand By Me” or “The Shawshank Redemption” than his horror fare. It’s a film that challenges the traditional structure of storytelling, a genre-bender that unspools one man’s life—backwards—and dares to ask, “What makes a life worth remembering?”

Mike Flanagan directs from his own screenplay and structures the story in three chapters, moving from Chuck’s death at the edge of global collapse back to his quiet childhood filled with math, music, and mystery. The world is ending—or so it seems—in Act III, where Chuck’s image eerily populates billboards and broadcasts thanking him for “39 years of service.” But no one knows exactly what that means. Is Chuck a metaphor? A memory? A messiah? The mystery lingers, but the point becomes clear: this isn’t a story about why we live, but how.

Tom Hiddleston leads the cast with aching sincerity as Chuck, particularly in the middle chapter when an impromptu street dance with Janice (Annalise Basso) turns a dreary business trip into something almost holy. That six-minute scene, choreographed with abandon by Mandy Moore, might just be one of the most joyful things Flanagan’s ever put on screen. And it works—it moves you. It’s not just Chuck dancing, it’s a man reclaiming his life from the numbness of routine. It’s a literal act of living.

The film also boasts a tender, end-of-the-world pairing in Chiwetel Ejiofor and Karen Gillan, whose opening phone call, steeped in cosmic musings and former affection, gently guides us into the film’s philosophical terrain.

Visually, Flanagan and cinematographer Eben Bolter employ shifting aspect ratios and distinct color palettes to reflect the mood of each act, from the wide and off-kilter dystopia of the future to the golden intimacy of Chuck’s childhood.

Although, Chuck’s retirement signalling the end of the world never feels explained, I prefer this opening Act, which if told in order would be Act 3, to the last Act, which if told in order would be Act 1 – the childhood section, while sweet and anchored by strong performances from Mark Hamill (who is now the new Wilfred Brimley) and young Benjamin Pajak, it dips a bit too far into sentimentality; and that old Disney trope that every hero’s journey is shaped by the fact that they lost a parent or two early on in life.

Still, “The Life of Chuck” is brave in its quietude. Reminding us that our lives are a mosaic of fleeting, but often beautiful moments which can include dance steps, math problems, missed chances and late-night calls.

contention. Rating: 3.5 outta 5

SUNLIGHT | Anyway Content | Writer/Director Nina Conti

In SUNLIGHT, the acclaimed British ventriloquist, Nina Conti, trades the stage for the open road in her riotous, vulnerable, and wildly original feature debut, and the result is something of a furry fever dream.

Conti stars as Jane, a woman mid-breakdown, mid-breakup, and mid-morph into Monkey — Conti’s long-standing, unfiltered stage persona who here takes on full physical form. Because it’s a while into the film that we learn where Jane got the monkey suit, I won’t spoil it with explanation. The main premise being that the hot, shaggy costume is more a suit of armor than a disguise. But I found it’s the voice of the Monkey, sounding like an Austrian holding marbles in their mouth, that makes the Monkey much weirder than the idea of a woman hiding inside. I also like the dirt smudge on the Monkey’s head above the lip like a half pencil mustache.

Unexpectedly Jane meets Roy (played with quietly chaotic charm by Shenoah Allen), a suicidal late-night radio host living out of his Airstream/RV whose life is saved by Monkey/Jane.

She desperately needs to hit the high desert roads of Albuquerque and escape. Understandably reluctant at first, Roy eventually agrees to drive her where she wants to go, but he first has two objectives: to visit his wild-eyed, monstrous mother (Melissa Chambers), think Anne Ramsey from “Throw Momma From The Train”. And to go dig up the bones of his a-hole deceased father to give him a long delayed piece of his mind and steal the 25K watch the man took to his grave.

Conti and Allen—real-life collaborators and improvisers—have the kind of offbeat, lived-in chemistry that can only come from years of riffing in the margins. Roy and Monkey eventually settle into companionable road buddies and begin to hatch a dream for spending the money from selling the dead dad’s watch, once dug up; but with Jane’s obsessive ex-stepfather/ex-lover in hot pursuit, and, well, still being a monkey, things get messy, both metaphorically and literally.

Presented by the ever-astute Christopher Guest, “Sunlight” is like one of his best mockumentaries filtered through a post-breakdown haze. But there’s emotional weight beneath the weirdness: Monkey isn’t just a gag—he’s Jane’s mouthpiece, her id, her wounded rage, and eventually, her unexpected salvation.

With a killer indie soundtrack (Radiohead’s “Weird Fishes” has never hit harder, and Pixies’ “Hey” arrives like a spiritual slap), Sunlight pulses with DIY soul. Filmed with a lean crew in New Mexico and rooted in real improv, there’s a spontaneity that feels exhilarating—like Conti and Allen are building the movie with you, moment by moment.

“Sunlight” is a darkly hilarious road movie that lets its freak flag fly, but never loses sight of the aching humanity underneath the fur.

Rating: 4 outta 5

**THUNDERBOLTS*| Walt Disney Studios |Director Jake Schreier |
Writers Eric Pearson & Joanna Calo**

Who said Marvel’s antiheroes can’t have heart? “Thunderbolts” has all the chaos, quips, and carnage you’d expect from a team made up of assassins, ex-soldiers, and deeply traumatized weirdos. Very reminiscent of “Guardians of the Galaxy” – giving us that same sense of amusement watching an unlikely group of individuals manage to find common ground.

Jake Schreier (“Robot & Frank”, “Beef”) crafts a visually punchy, character-driven ride that knows when to hit hard and when to take a breath. Anchored by a script that juggles humor, hurt, and heroics, thanks to writers Eric Pearson (“Thor: Ragnarok” & “Black Widow:) and Joanna Calo “The Bear”), Thunderbolts becomes a therapy session in a war zone. Able to balance themes of mental illness with both humor and truth.

Florence Pugh continues to bring sardonic wit and simmering pathos to Yelena Belova, who’s the heart of the film. Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes, still quietly brooding, but far more emotionally available than he was during his Winter Soldier days. David Harbour brings back his gruff, vodka-soaked, inadequate father-figure energy as the Red Guardian. I love when Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina says ” Who’s this old Santa ?” Making a reference to Harbour’s Christmas movie “Violent Night” which I think should become a holiday classic. Louis-Dreyfus has been showing up for short MCU cameos for years! I always wondered when we’d get a bigger picture of Val’s agenda.

The team is rounded out by fake Captain America John Walker (Wyatt Russell ) always trying too hard to be relevant. Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) glitching between invisibility and emotional vulnerability, and of course, Bob.

I am still a big fan of the MCU. I haven’t yet deviated to Video Game movies; so Marvel has to make some pretty big mistakes (“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania”, “The Eternals”) for me to give a movie less than a 4 rating. But honestly, I believe “Thunderbolts” sticks the landing as a refreshingly cynical, surprisingly heartfelt chapter in the ever-expanding MCU.

Rating: 4.5 outta 5

LILO & STITCH |Walt Disney Studios |Director Dean Fleischer Camp |
Writers Chris Kekaniokalani Bright & Mike Van Waes

Disney really nailed this one. It rivals Live Action “Beauty and the Beast” ! Great pacing and rhythm. It’s been a while since I’ve seen the original, so I can’t compare updates, but the script feels tight and Stitch looks and behaves perfectly crazy and bad and loveable – it’s hard to remember he used to just be a cartoon. The two new actresses: Lilo (Maia Kealoha) & Nani (Sydney Agudong) are very winning 🤩 They, both together and separately, even over Stitch, carry the movie in an authentic and entertaining fashion.

Unlike many other critics, I do enjoy seeing these Disney classics redone as live action movies; but most don’t surpass their originals, this one for me does! Rating: 4 outta 5