May movie reviews

In theaters:

THE ACCOUNTANT 2

This nearly decade after sequel to the Ben Affleck film is mostly...fine. Instead of being a kind of unusual spy thriller, this is more of just a standard shoot em up action flick. Jon Bernthal gets an expanded role and steals the movie. 

FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES

I'm really glad this franchise is back, since it is one of my favorite horror franchises. And this one has been a big hit, so expect more. But I was kind of disappointed by this one, and would rate it my least favorite of the six. Some of the acting in this is borderline embarrassing for a major studio release, and while the film had the requisite creative kills, some of them have just awful cgi. The best scene is the surprisingly poignant sendoff for Tony Todd. The odd number FD films are the best ones, so the next one should be great. 

HURRY UP TOMORROW

I honestly didn't know what this was going in. I saw it was from the director of the sublime Waves, and Jenna Ortega is in it. Turns out though it was basically a feature length music video for The Weekend (fuck him, spell it right), and it's one of the worst movies I've seen in a long time. Not a story to be found, other than The Weekend basically jerking himself off to his supposed artistic brilliance, and having every other character talk about what a genius he is. This man is also an absolute zero as far as screen presence. Only watchable scene has Ortega dancing around to the music. 

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: THE FINAL RECKONING 

Time will tell if this is truly the last Mission Impossible film. These days no franchise is every for sure done. But if this is the end, they went put with a bang. The Final Reckoning is a really sensational mix of everything this franchise does at its best.

Still a part 2 to Dead Recknoning, if not in title, again we have Ethan Hunt battling for control of the AI "the entity."

The film has a pair of fantastic setpieces. One has Hunt aboard a sunken submarine, in a virtuoso sequence that marries scale with suspense. And then we get the big Tom Cruise stunt, this time during a plane chase. Amazing stuff. 

But the table setting, the actual spycraft, that works really well too. And the film even manages to have fan service that works well within the story, even retconning one plot point from 5 movies ago in a neat way.  

FRIENDSHIP

When they talk about cringe comedy, THIS is what they mean. A kind of harmless suburban guy (Tim Robinson, who I was unfamiliar with) becomes friends with the cool new guy in the neighborhood (Paul Rudd, in full Brian Fantana mode), but things quickly get super weird and unbearably awkward. This IS a pretty funny movie, but most of the laughs have you wincing. It completely succeeds at what it is trying to do, although I'm not sure it's one I would ever want to re-visit. 

Everything else:

TURTLES ALL THE WAY DOWN

Kind of on an Isabela Merced run after The Last Of Us. I'm surprised this one went straight to streaming with little fanfare (I had literally never heard of it). It's from a book by the same guy who wrote The Fault in Our Stars, and this has a lot of the same qualities. It takes its issues seriously, and the romance at the center of the film is involving. Merced is fantastic, but almost has the movie stolen from her by the magnetic Cree Cicchino. 

THE ELECTRIC STATE

Okay, I'm calling bullshit. There is no fucking way this movie cost $300 million to make. Somebody is lying. This big Netflix extravaganza from the Russo Brothers looks fine. Solid fx and all that, as it shows a world post-robot uprising. But no, it didn't cost that much. And the script is very pedestrian, stranding a game Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt. It's not AS BAD as some say though. Watchable, but forgettable. 

FATHER OF THE BRIDE (2022)

Sort of a remake of the property (the Steve Martin one was itself a remake), this one involving mostly Latino characters. I thought this was light, breezy and charming. Andy Garcia is really a good fit in this and it's a shame he mostly has done serious roles all his career. Lively supporting cast, including Adria Arjona and, again, Isabela Merced. 

THIS IS SPINAL TAP

Well this is disappointing. Somehow I had never seen this one, which more or less invented the mockumentary format (which has led to many comedies I liked). But this one I really didn't find many laughs from.