TRASH IN MY EYE Reviews: Movie review

Showing posts with label Movie review. Show all posts

Sunday, November 23, 2025

Review: "JURASSIC WORLD REBIRTH" Hugs Up on "Jurassic Park"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 41 of 2025 (No. 2047) by Leroy Douresseaux

Jurassic World Rebirth (2025)

Running time: 133 minutes (2 hours, 13 minutes)

Rating: MPA – PG-13 for intense sequences of violence/action, bloody images, some suggestive references, language and a drug reference

DIRECTOR: Gareth Edwards

WRITER: David Koepp (based on characters created by Michael Crichton)

PRODUCERS: Patrick Crowley and Frank Marshall

CINEMATOGRAPHER: John Mathieson (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Jabez Olssen

COMPOSER: Alexandre Desplat

SCI-FI/ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLER

Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey, Rupert Friend, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Luna Blaise, David Iacono, Audrina Miranda, Philippine Velge, Bechir Sylvain, and Ed Skrein

SUMMARY OF REVIEW:

-- Spiritually, “Jurassic World Rebirth” is closer to the original, 1993 “Jurassic Park” film than it is to any other “Jurassic World” film

-- Writer David Koepp humanizes the characters giving us their hopes, dreams, conflicts, and grief that helps us connect us with the characters. Director Gareth Edwards uses this to deliver an monster movie that is as dramatic as it is adventurous

-- I highly recommend this film to anyone who enjoyed any “Jurassic World” film and especially to anyone who hasn't approached this franchise since the original trilogy

Jurassic World Rebirth is a 2025 American science fiction, action-adventure, and dinosaur film from director Gareth Edwards. It is the fourth film in the Jurassic World movie franchise and is a standalone sequel to Jurassic World Dominion (2022). This film is also the seventh entry overall in the Jurassic Park franchise. Rebirth focuses on a group of people stranded on a former island research facility where three types of massive dinosaurs and their monstrous mutant brethren reside.

Jurassic World Rebirth finds formerly extinct dinosaurs in trouble. By 2025, most of Earth's climate is unsuitable for them, and most of the new dinosaurs have died. The remaining animals survive in a tropical band around the equator that is similar to the climates in which dinosaurs lived tens of millions ago. The governments of the world have turned these areas into “exclusion zones,” to which humans are forbidden to travel. Thus, the “Neo-Jurassic Age” has begun. However, there are always people who want their way...

The pharmaceutical company, ParkerGenix, wants to collect blood samples from three colossus dinosaur specimens: the Mosasaurus, the Titanosaurus, and the Quetzalcoatlus, in order to develop a revolutionary new cardiovascular disease treatment for humans. These animals can be found on the Atlantic Ocean island of Ile Saint Hubert, which is 260 miles from French Guiana (South America).

One of the company's executive, Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend), enlists Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson), former black ops who specializes in retrieval missions and “situational security and reaction.” Zora will accompany Krebs and paleontologist, Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey), in order to collect the samples from the dinosaurs. Zora recruits longtime associate, Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali), to lead the expedition with the aid of a group of security experts and mercenaries.

As the mission gets underway, there is a complication. A civilian father, Reuben Delgado (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), is sailing in nearby waters with his daughters, Teresa (Luna Blaise) and Isabella (Audrina Miranda), and Teresa's boyfriend, Xavier Dobbs (David Iacono), whom Reuben openly disdains. Fate will find both groups shipwrecked on an island of mutants and monsters. First, they must survive. Then, they must escape.

I didn't expect much from Jurassic World Rebirth, especially as it arrived only three years after the final film in the original Jurassic World film trilogy, Jurassic World Dominion. I assumed that it would be a few more years before we'd see a new film in the series. However, Universal Pictures and executive producer Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment hired the right people. First, this film's screenwriter is David Koepp, who co-wrote Jurassic Park (1993) with author Michael Crichton, whose 1990 book, Jurassic Park, was the basis for the film. Koepp's screenwriting in Rebirth recalls the tone of the first Jurassic Park trilogy by focusing on the characters and delving into the underlying desires and doubt of the characters. In the case of Rebirth, it makes it easier to embrace the characters and actually see them as people rather than as character types waiting to be dinosaur food.

Gareth Edwards is also a great choice as the director for a dinosaur movie that emphasizes the personality of the human characters. His 2010 film, Monsters, and his 2014 film, Godzilla (the opening salvo in the Legendary Entertainment's “Monsterverse”), showed his deft touch with enticing characters and breathtaking monster movie action. Edwards helms hot dinosaur action in the scenes involving the Mosasaurus, the Titanosaurus, and the Quetzalcoatlus, and especially so in the breathtaking scenes featuring a romantic Titanosuarus couple. Also, race-with-the-devil scenes featuring the mutant dinosaurs froze me to my seat.

This film's cast genuinely conveys the interpersonal relationships of these characters, but Scarlett Johansson as Zora and Mahershala Ali as Duncan are the stars here. They make a great team, so I hope to see them doing the Jurassic thing again. I don't think that I've supported Jurassic lead actors this much since Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), and Jurassic Park III (2001).

Jurassic World Rebirth made me appreciate what the original Jurassic Park films brought to the world of cinema more than I have in a long time. As a standalone film, Rebirth stands on its own very strongly. I found myself thrilled and chilled and appreciative of each character's arc (at least the ones that lived). If Gareth Edwards and David Koepp don't return for the next film, I hope that the newcomers can capture Edwards and Koepp's lighting in a bottle that is Jurassic World Rebirth, which is a true rebirth of the best elements of this film franchise.

8 of 10

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Sunday, November 23, 2025

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Thursday, November 13, 2025

Review: "THE RUNNING MAN" is Still Running Like it's 1987

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 40 of 2025 (No. 2046) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Running Man (1987)

Running time: 101 minutes (1 hour, 41 minutes)

Rating: MPAA – R

DIRECTOR: Paul Michael Glaser

WRITER: Steven E. de Souza (based on the novel by Richard Bachman)

PRODUCERS: George Linder and Tim Zinnemann

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Thomas Del Ruth (D.o.P.)

EDITORS: Mark Roy Warner, Edward A. Warschilka, and John Wright

COMPOSER: Harold Faltermeyer

SCI-FI/ACTION

Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Richard Dawson, Maria Conchita Alonso, Yaphet Kotto, Jim Brown, Jesse Venura, Erland van Lidth, Marvin J. McIntyre, Mick Fleetwood, Professor Toru Tanaka, Dweezil Zappa, and Sven-Ole Thorsen

The Running Man is a 1987 American dystopian science fiction-action film and black comedy directed by Paul Michael Glaser and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. The film is based on the 1982 novel, The Running Man, from author Richard Bachman (a pen name of Stephen King). The Running Man the movie focuses on a wrongfully convicted policeman who gets a shot a freedom if he participates in television game show where he must avoid death at the hands of professional killers.

The Running Man is set in a world where the United States has become a totalitarian police state following a worldwide economic collapse in the year 2017. The U.S. government now maintains control of the population through state television propaganda and through sanctioned entertainment such as the TV show, “The Running Man,” the nation's most popular show. Hosted by the slick-talking Damon Killian (Richard Dawson), “the Running Man” features convicted criminals who are “runners” and who must avoid death at the hands of lethal professional killers known as the “stalkers.”

One of the latest runners is Benjamin A “Ben” Richards (Arnold Schwarzenegger). He was a police officer, and he was wrongfully accused and convicted for an incident called the “Bakersfield Massacre,” in which Ben allegedly killed 60 men, women, and children during a “food riot.”

Now known as “the Bakersfield Butcher,” Ben is joined by two comrades, Laughlin (Yaphet Kotto) and Weiss (Marvin J. McIntyre), and the trio has three hours to escape to freedom by running through four quadrants. Standing in their way are such stalkers as “Professor Subzero” (Professor Toru Tanaka), “Dynamo” (Erland van Lidth), and “Fireball” (Jim Brown). And the stalkers have weapons, while Ben and his fellow “running men” don't.

I remember not liking whatever amount of The Running Man I had seen in the past. I decided to watch it in its entirety in anticipation of the director Edgar Wright's remake, The Running Man (2025), starring Glen Powell. I was shocked to find out how much I really enjoyed watching the 1987 film. Truthfully, The Running Man can still pop its 80s action movie coochie, and it's still running strong. Also, the extent to which the authoritarian U.S. government in the world of this film goes to maintain control is comical. In its bid to watch and to control everything and everyone, They inevitably miss something and some people – with comical results. The Running Man is genuinely a funny black comedy.

There are also a number of things that make The Running Man charming and likable. Before she became a right wing harpie, actress Maria Conchita Alonso, who plays Ben's sidekick (more or less), “Amber Mendez,” hit her peak in the mid to late 1980s. I find her to be a delight in The Running Man, and her star quality, though short-lived as it turned out to be, is obvious.

The late, great film and television actor, Yaphet Kotto (1939-2021), gave the films and TV series in which he appeared a little more credibility, which he also does in The Running Man as “Laughlin.” However, actors and pop culture figures, Jesse Ventura and the late NFL legend, Jim Brown (1936-2023), make appearances in this film, in which they are woefully underutilized.

The late actor Richard Dawson (1932 to 2012) was best known for two things. First, there was his role as con man, safe cracker, and thief, “Corporal Peter Newkirk” in the former CBS sitcom, “Hogan's Heroes” (1965-71). Next, was his stint hosting the American game show, “Family Feud,” from 1976 to 1981 and again from 1994 to 1995. Dawson brings the best of those two performances to his role as the host of “The Running Man,” Damon Killian. It is standout performance mixing the charming rogue that was Corporal Newkirk with the roguish charm Dawson showed on “Family Feud.”

Despite mouthing a basket of deplorable one-liners and quips, Arnold Schwarzenegger is still Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Running Man. What can I say? He truly is a real Hollywood movie star and is really a true cinematic icon. I believe there are other actors who could have played Ben Richards in a contextually different version of The Running Man. However, in The Running Man that we did get in 1987, only Arnold Schwarzenegger could have saved this film from becoming straight-to-cable, late night trash. Only Arnold could have made it an 80s action movie that won't go away.

6 of 10

★★★ out of 4 stars

Thursday, November 13, 2025

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Saturday, November 8, 2025

Review: "WEAPONS" is a Brilliant, Crazy-Ass Movie

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 39 of 2025 (No. 2045) by Leroy Douresseaux

Weapons (2025)

Running time: 128 minutes (2 hour, 8 minutes)

Rating: MPA – R for strong bloody violence and grisly images, language throughout, some sexual content and drug use

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Zach Cregger

PRODUCERS: Zach Cregger, Roy Lee, J.D. Lifshitz, Raphael Margules, and Miri Yoon

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Larkin Seiple (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Joe Murphy

COMPOSERS: Zach Cregger and Hays Holladay & Ray Holladay

HORROR/THRILLER/MYSTERY

Starring: Julia Garner, Cary Christopher, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, Benedict Wong, Austin Abrams, Amy Madigan, Whitmer Thomas, Callie Schuttera, June Diane Raphael, Toby Huss, Justin Long, and Scarlett Sher (narrator)

SUMMARY OF REVIEW:

Weapons is one of the best horror movies I have ever seen. Thrilling and chilling, it actually gets scarier and crazier the deeper we get into the story

It features a number of strong performances, led by Julia Garner, Cary Christopher, Josh Brolin, and Amy Madigan, which an unusual film story needs

Weapons has an exhilarating, cathartic ending for the ages. I get that some people did not like the ending, but I can't stop thinking about it or most of the rest of this film.

Weapons is a 2025 American horror thriller and mystery film from writer-director Zach Cregger. The film focuses on a community mystery in which every child except one from the same elementary school class disappears on the same night at the same time.

Weapons is set in fictional McCarren County, which is the location of a terrible mystery centered at Maybrook Elementary School. Seventeen of the 18 children in the fifth grade class of Justine Gandy (Julia Garner) all disappeared one Wednesday morning at 2:17 am. All 17 children ran from their homes into the darkness of the early morning.

One month later, not one of the children has been found. The community and the parents – led Archer Graff (Josh Brolin), one of the parents of the missing children – are blaming Justine for the disappearances. Justine believes that Alex Lilly (Cary Christopher), the child from her class who did not disappear, may know something. The key to unraveling the mystery of the disappearances is something people don't discover. It's something they stumble onto... if they don't end up dead first.

Like writer-director Zach Cregger's second feature film and breakthrough movie, Barbarian (2022), Weapons is presented as a nonlinear narrative. What Cregger's screenplays for Barbarian and Weapons do well is to give each major character his or her own chapter within the films. Both films are like anthologies or short story collections that eventually reunite the surviving characters for a hellified final act, and Weapons' final act is a helluva thing. For me, Weapons may the most cathartic ending since Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019).

As much as I want to praise Cregger, I also have to throw it up to his film editor, Joe Murphy, for his contributions to the wicked flow of this film's narrative. This review would be remiss if I did not shout out Cregger's cinematographer, Larkin Seiple, for this film's haunting atmosphere and for the way Seiple makes the night in Weapons seem like another character in the film.

Julia Garner, Cary Christopher, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, Benedict Austin Abrams, and Amy Madigan give stellar performances. Julia Garner brings steadiness to the craziness and weirdness of Weapons, continuing her stellar 2025 after performances in Wolf Man (2025) and in The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025).

By now, many people know the secrets and lies of Weapons, but still, I am loathe to spoil things. I think Weapons is one of the greatest horror films that I have ever seen, and it has given me Weapons-themed nightmares. It is a crazy-ass work of film-storytelling brilliance. I could not believe what I was seeing in this film's last act, but Weapons has me laughing and cheering, even as it is chilling me.

10 of 10

Saturday, November 8, 2025

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Saturday, October 25, 2025

Review: "KPOP DEMON HUNTERS" - They Will, They Will Rock You!

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 38 of 2025 (No. 2044) by Leroy Douresseaux

KPop Demon Hunters (2025)

Running time: 95 minutes (1 hour, 35 minutes)

Rating: MPA – PG for action/violence, scary images, thematic elements, some suggestive material and brief language

DIRECTORS: Chris Appelhans and Maggie Kang

WRITERS: Danya Jimenez & Hannah McMechan and Chris Appelhans and Maggie Kanga; from a story by Maggie Kang

PRODUCER: Michelle L.M. Wong

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Gary H. Lee

EDITOR: Nathan Schauf

COMPOSER: Marcelo Zarvas

ANIMATION/MUSICAL/FANTASY

Starring: (voices) Adren Cho, May Hong, Ji-young Yoo, Ahn Hyo-seop, Yunjin Kim, Ken Jeong, Daniel Dae Kim,Liza Koshy, Ejae, Audrey Nuna, Rei Ami, Andrew Choi, and Lee Byung-hun

SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW:

KPop Demon Hunters is one of the best and most unusual animated musical films I have ever seen

Sterling characters, jukebox rocking music, and stellar animation make it a winner

KPop Demon Hunters will not only entertain its target audience – young viewers, but it will also capture that imaginations of older folk (like me) as well

KPop Demon Hunters is a 2025 American animated musical fantasy film from directors Chris Appelhans and Maggie Kang and produced by Sony Pictures Animation. The film is a “Netflix Original” and began streaming on the service June 20, 2025. It also received two-day limited theatrical release on August 23rd and 24th. KPop Demon Hunters focuses on the members of a world-renowned K-Pop girl group, who are also secret demon hunters, as they confront the rising popularity of a new boy band whose members are also demons.

KPop Demon Hunters is set in a world, where long ago, demons preyed on humans and fed the souls of humans to their ruler, Gwi-Ma (Lee Byung-hun). Eventually, three women became demon hunters and sealed the demons away with a magical barrier called the "Honmoon." The legacy of these women warriors continued across the generations. With each new generation, three new women arose and used their singing voices to maintain the Honmoon. The goal was and is to eventually strengthen the Honmoon into the “Golden Honmoon.” which is the final seal that would banish demons from the human world permanently. Also, when demons masquerade as humans, they can be identified by marks known as “demonic patterns.”

In the present day, the new generation of demon-hunting young women are the members of the K-pop girl group, “Huntrix” (stylized as “Huntr/x”). Huntrix is comprised of three young singers. Rumi (Arden Cho with Ejae providing Rumi's singing voice) is the lead singer, and her hunter's weapon is a “saingeom” sword. Mira (May Hong with Audrey Nuna providing Mira's singing voice) is the dancer and rapper, and her hunter's weapon is a “gokdo” polearm. Zoey (Ji-young Yoo with Rei Ami providing Zoey's singing voice) is the singer-songwriter, and her hunter's weapons are “shinkal” throwing knives.

One of the members of Huntrix has a dark secret. Rumi has a secret demon heritage, and she has demonic patterns that are slowing spreading over her body. Rumi's foster mother, Celine (Yunjin Kim), has told her that turning the Honmoon gold (the Golden Honmoon) would cause the erasure of her demonic patterns.

However, trouble arrives in the form of a new rivals in the world k-pop for Huntrix. In the demon world, Gwi-Ma has grown enraged at the failure of his minions to defeat Huntrix. He creates his own K-pop boy band, the “Saja Boys,” featuring four demons and a lead singer who is a former human named Jinu (Ahn Hyo-seop with Andrew Choi providing Jinu's sing voice). The Saja Boys begin to steal Huntrix's fans, but it is Jinu's affect on Rumi that could turn the fate of the world over to Gwi-Ma. And the “International Idol Awards” is where the final showdown will occur and where Rumi, Mira, and Zoey's fates will be decided.

Korean popular music or “K-pop” emerged in the 1990s in Korea and was heavenly influenced by American music, especially R&B, dance music, rock music, and, of course, rap and hip-hop. [In the 1980s, many white people insisted that rap was a fad, and now, hip-hop and rap, specifically, are omnipresent and influence music and culture all over the world.] I like K-pop, but I am really not a fan... yet. However, after watching the deliriously entertaining KPop Demon Hunters, I could become something of a fan.

The film's characters are an utter delight, and I found myself mesmerized by Huntrix's trio and by Juni. Juni's Saja Boys mates are also quite fetching – in their human forms. If fiction needs interesting characters, then, KPop Demon Hunters has that in an embarrassment of riches, thanks to sparkling voice performances and sterling singing voices.

Sony Pictures Animation basically always turns out high-quality computer-animated films. KPop Demon Hunters may be Sony's best animated film outside of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) and its sequel, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023). In terms of character movement, backgrounds and environments, colors, and special effects, KPop Demon Hunters rivals the films of DreamWorks Animation, which is also known for vibrant and their visually rich worlds and for their expressive and emotional characters.

KPop Demon Hunters is a winner. I love it. Its unexpected and breakout success apparently made it Netflix's most-watched title ever. I highly recommend that you feel the music.

9 of 10

A+

Saturday, October 25, 2025

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Friday, October 3, 2025

Review: In "THE GRUDGE," That Ghost Bitch is Really Mad

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 216 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Road to Halloween 2025

The Grudge (2004)

Running time: 91 minutes (1 hour, 31 minutes)

MPAA – PG-13 for mature thematic material, disturbing images/terror/violence, and some sensuality

DIRECTOR: Takashi Shimizu

WRITER: Stephen Susco (based upon the Japanese film Ju-On: The Grudge, written and directed by Takashi Shimizu)

PRODUCERS: Taka Ichise, Sam Raimi, and Robert G. Tapert

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Hideo Yamamoto (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Jeff Betancourt

COMPOSER: Christopher Young

HORROR with elements of thriller and mystery

Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jason Behr, William Mapother, Clea DuVall, KaDee Strickland, Grace Zabriskie, Bill Pullman, Rosa Blasi, Ted Raimi, Ryo Ishibashi, Yoko Maki, Yuya Ozeki, Takako Fuji, and Takashi Matsunaga

The Grudge is a 2004 American supernatural horror film directed by Takashi Shimizu. The film is a remake of Shimizu's 2002 Japanese horror film Ju-On: The Grudge, and it is the first installment in The Grudge film series. The Grudge focuses on an American nurse living and working in Tokyo who is exposed to a mysterious supernatural curse.

When a person dies in the grip of a powerful rage, a curse is born. If that person dies in his house, then, the curse stays in the house like a stain making the house death itself. Any person who goes into the house is touched by death and will be killed by the curse, usually in the form of an angry spirit. So goes The Grudge, the latest American remake of a Japanese horror film, but unlike 2002’s The Ring, the writer/director of the original Japanese film, Ju-On: The Grudge, Takashi Shimizu helms the remake. Does that make a difference? Very likely, it does.

The Ring and its forefather, Ringu, were similar, but The Ring clearly showed American sensibilities, as well as being set in the U.S. The Grudge, like the original, is set in Japan, and Shimizu apparently treats the film as a sequel rather than as a remake. And The Grudge certainly comes across as a kooky, as weird, and as very, very creepy horror movie, fitting right in with other Japanese horror films.

Sarah Michelle Gellar is Kare Davis, an American exchange student who somewhat reluctantly moved to Japan with her boyfriend Doug (Jason Behr), also a student. When a fellow student who is working as a nurse doesn’t show up for work, Kare gets the fill-in assignment of going to a home in a Tokyo suburb to care for an invalid older woman. What she doesn’t know, nor apparently does anyone else, is that the house has a horrible curse on it due to a double murder and suicide committed within its walls. The curse touches anyone who enters the house, and Kare unwittingly unleashes a diabolical supernatural killing machine.

The Grudge is one of the scariest pure horror films that I’ve seen in awhile. It’s unabashedly about the evil dead, wicked spirits, and mysterious supernatural curses that come and go with no explanation. Some audiences may be put off by the fact that the curse doesn’t really follow the rules. That’s because humans are explaining something they only halfway understand; like explaining the unknown and unknowable in human terms. The may not be steadfast rules to how the curse in The Grudge works, and Japanese filmmakers seem to understand that capricious nature of the supernatural, or at least they aren’t always trying to order it like Western filmmakers.

There’s almost zero characterization in this film, and the fact that the audience doesn’t really get to know the characters keeps this from being a great horror movie. Ms. Gellar, however, is now without a doubt, a great screen star of horror and thriller genres. She centers this film and keeps the kookiness from getting out of hand.

The Grudge is certainly peculiar. As frightening as I found it, I can easily see where some people might find the concept of the curse and the film itself farcical and utterly hilarious. Be warned; it could be your cup of tea or have you rolling your eyes in disgust.

7 of 10

B+

★★★½ out of 4 stars

RE-EDITED: Thursday, October 2, 2025

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Sunday, August 24, 2025

Review: "FINAL DESTINATION BLOODLINES" is a Deathly Frightener

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 37 of 2025 (No. 2043) by Leroy Douresseaux

Final Destination Bloodlines (2025)

Running time: 110 minutes (1 hour, 50 minutes)

Rating: MPA – R for strong violent/grisly accidents, and language

DIRECTORS: Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein

WRITERS: Guy Busick and Lori Evans Taylor; from a story by Jon Watts and Guy Busick & Lori Evans Taylor (based on characters created by Jeffrey Reddick)

PRODUCERS: Craig Perry, Toby Emmerich, Dianne McGunigle, Sheila Hanahan Taylor, and Jon Watts

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Christian Sebaldt

EDITOR: Sabrina Pitre

COMPOSER: Tim Wynn

HORROR/THRILLER/MYSTERY

Starring: Kaitlyn Santa Juana, Teo Briones, Rya Kihlstedt, Richard Harmon, Owen Patrick Joyner, Anna Lore, Alex Zahara, April Amber Telek, Tinpo Lee, Gabriel Rose, Brec Bassinger, Max Lloyd-Jones, and Tony Todd

SUMMARY OF REVIEW:

-- “Final Destination Bloodlines” is the best “Final Destination” film in over 20 years. It has a great opening, a 19-minute prologue, and the rest of film takes on a race against time as Death stalks a bloodline.

-- The film gets two solid scream queen performances from Kaitlyn Santa Juana and Brec Bassinger, good enough to make us feel sad about their ultimate fates...

Final Destination Bloodlines is a 2025 supernatural horror film from directors Zach Lipovsky and Adam B Stein. It is the sixth entry in the Final Destination film series. Bloodlines follows a young woman whose recurring nightmares are warnings of the horrific fate that awaits her family.

Final Destination Bloodline introduces college student Stefani Reyes (Kaitlyn Santa Juana). Recently, she has been plagued by recurring nightmares about a disaster from some time in the past. It involves her maternal grandmother, Iris Campbell (Brec Bassinger), and her then-boyfriend and later husband, Paul (Max Lloyd-Jones). Almost six decades ago, Iris and Paul attended the grand opening of the Sky View Tower (which is similar to the real-life “Space Needle” in Seattle Washington).

Stefani's nightmares usually end in tragedy with Iris, Paul, and the others at the opening dying horrible deaths. However, Iris and Paul did attend the grand opening of the Sky View Tower and lived. Now, Stefani wants to find Iris, her grandmother, whom she has never met, but her father, Marty Reyes (Tinpo Lee), is resistant to the idea. He barely even wants to speak about Stefani and her brother, Charlie's (Teo Briones), estranged mother, Darlene Campbell (Rya Kihlstedt), who is both Iris' daughter and Marty's wife; Darlene abandoned the family long ago. Dysfunctional family aside, Stefani knows that she must find the now elderly Iris (Gabrielle Rose) if she is going to discover the cause of her nightmares. Stefani will have to hurry, as Death is already stalking her family.

Final Destination Bloodlines is set about a decade and a half after the events depicted in the series' fourth film, The Final Destination (2009). The fifth film, Final Destination 5 (2011), actually takes place around the same time as the events depicted in the original film, Final Destination (2000).

I did not realize how long it had been between the fifth film and the arrival of Final Destination Bloodlines. The Final Destination franchise is one of the few horror film franchises that have been consistently good, with only 2006's Final Destination 3 being a slight misstep. The first 19 minutes of Final Destination Bloodlines had me mesmerized, and I can call this prologue (of sorts) heart-pounding because it certainly had my aging ticker pounding in my chest.

The rest of the film does not have the same edge-of-your-seat thrills, but its focus on death stalking one particular family and bloodline makes the entire film seem crazy, surreal, and creepy. The entire film is braced by two pitch perfect horror film performances. Brec Bassinger as young Iris Campbell in the first 19 minutes and Kaitlyn Santa Juana as the heroine in the film's present day turn in tight and riveting “scream queen” performances.

As a side note, Final Destination Bloodlines is dedicated to the late actor, Tony Todd (1954-2024). Although best known for playing the lead role the 1992 horror film, Candyman, and its two sequels, Todd is also known for playing the recurring role of “William Bludworth” in the Final Destination franchise. Todd died of stomach cancer in 2024, but he was able to film all his scenes for Bloodlines before his passing. He appears gaunt in this film, likely due to the ravages of his cancer, but I was happy to see him. Todd got a good send off for his character. Also, as movie fans, we have been gifted one of the series' best entries in Final Destination Bloodlines.

7 of 10

B+

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Sunday, August 24, 2025

There is a six-film Blu-ray and DVD collection of the six "FINAL DESTINATION" films available at Amazon.

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Amazon wants me to inform/remind you that any affiliate links found on this page are PAID ADS, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on affiliate links like these, BOOKS PAGE, GRAPHIC NOVELS, or MANGA PAGE and BUY something(s).

Thursday, August 21, 2025

Review: "THE DAY THE EARTH BLEW UP" is a Pure "Looney Tunes" Movie

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 36 of 2025 (No. 2042) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie (2025) – animated

Running time: 91 minutes (1 hour, 31 minutes)

Rated: MPA – PG for cartoon violence/action and rude/suggestive humor

DIRECTOR: Pete Browngardt

WRITERS: Darrick Bachman, Pete Browngardt, Kevin Costello, Andrew Dickman, David Gemmill, Alex Kirwan, Ryan Kramer, Jason Reicher, Michael Ruocco, Johnny Ryan, and Eddie Trigueros

PRODUCERS: Michael Baum (line); Alex Kirwan (supervising)

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Sam Register and Pete Browngardt

EDITOR: Nick Simotas

COMPOSER: Joshua Moshier

ANIMATION/SCI-FI and COMEDY/FAMILY

Starring: (voices) Eric Bauza, Candi Milo, Peter MacNicol, Fred Tatasciore, Carlos Alazraqui, Kimberly Brooks, Laraine Newman, and Wayne Knight

SUMMARY OF REVIEW:

-- Fans of traditional, hand-drawn animation and fans of the “Looney Tunes” will want to give “The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie” a try for the simple fact that it is a traditional, hand-drawn, Looney Tunes animated film

-- However, it is good, not great, but it goes down like nostalgia-infused hot cocoa.

-- Eric Bauza's voice performances as both Porky Pig and Daffy Duck are so pitch perfect that I would swear that Looney Tunes voice legend, Mel Blanc, had performed the roles

The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie is a 2025 American animated science fiction comedy from director Peter Browngardt. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation and distributed by Ketchup Entertainment, the film stars two classic “Looney Tunes” characters, Porky Pig and Daffy Duck. In The Day the Earth Blew Up, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig try to save the Earth from an alien invasion involving a creepy new flavor of chewing gum.

The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie opens in the town of Grandview. There, The Scientist (Fred Tatasciore) discovers an asteroid heading towards Earth, and then, he discovers a UFO hurtling alongside the asteroid. When the UFO crashes onto Earth, The Scientist goes to investigate the crash site, where he vanishes.

The story moves to Daffy Duck (Eric Bauza) and Porky Pig (Eric Bauza), and the story of how they were raised by Farmer Jim (Fred Tatasciore). When Daffy and Porky become adults, Farmer Jim leaves everything to the duo under the promise that they would learn the power of responsibility through relying on each other. Now, however, Daffy and Porky are in danger of losing the home Farmer Jim left them because they fail a city home inspection.

In need of cash for home repairs, the duo gets a job at the “Goodie Gum” factory, where they meet Petunia Pig (Candi Milo), a Goodie Gum scientist who is trying to develop the perfect chewing gum flavor. Porky falls in love with Petunia, while Daffy keeps causing disasters. That is all interrupted when the trio discovers that their is an alien conspiracy, initiated by “The Invader” (Peter MacNicol), and assisted by The Scientist, who is now possessed. The Invader seemingly wants to control the world, using the launch of Goodie Gum's new flavor, “Super Strongberry.” Are Daffy, Porky, and their new pal, Petunia, up to the challenge of saving the Earth from being... blown up?

There have been Looney Tunes films for several decades. Those include The Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie (1981), Daffy Ducks Quackbusters (1988), and the live-action animation hybrid, Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003). However, The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie is the first fully animated and theatrically released Looney Tunes film that consists of entirely original material. I hope that it is not the last, but The Day the Earth Blew Up isn't a great film.

Don't get me wrong. It is entertaining, visually inventive, full of clever sight gags, and energetic. The voice performances are exceptional, and Canadian voice actor, Eric Bauza, matches the sound and spirit of classic Looney Tunes voice actor, the late Mel Blanc (1908-89). Two of Bauza's three Emmy Award wins are for his Looney Tunes work, and he should win some awards for his work in this film.

The Day the Earth Blew Up is charming and also respectful of its Warner Bros. animation roots and cartoon legacy. For all its energy (mostly in the second half) and novel story elements, this film feels a bit too long. Too much of the movie feels forced, and I get why Warner Bros. Pictures passed on distributing this movie itself. The Day the Earth Blew Up is niche entertainment, and its limited box office appeal probably wasn't worth the time and costs of distributing it theatrically.

Luckily, Ketchup Entertainment didn't feel that way, and it gave this film a theatrical release, both domestically and internationally. The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie deserved that, because despite my reservations, I believe it can start something. Maybe, Looney Tunes can again be a really big thing with the youngest generations the way it once was with the oldest generations.

6 of 10

★★★ out of 4 stars

"THE DAY THE EARTH BLEW UP" is available on Blu-ray and DVD at Amazon.

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Saturday, August 16, 2025

Review: Kurosawa's "HIGH AND LOW" Remains a Superb Police Thriller

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 35 of 2025 (No. 2041) by Leroy Douresseaux

Tengoku to Jigoku (1963) – Black and White

High and Low – English title

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Japan; Language: Japanese

Running time: 143 minutes (2 hours, 23 minutes)

Rating: Not rated

DIRECTOR: Akira Kurosawa

WRITERS: Hideo Oguni & Ryuzo Kikushima and Eijiro Hisaita & Akira Kurosawa (based on the novel by Ed McBain)

PRODUCERS: Ryuzo Kikushima and Tomoyuki Tanaka

CINEMATOGRAPHERS: Asakazu Nakai and Taiko Saito

EDITOR: Akira Kurosawa

COMPOSER: Masaru Sato

DRAMA/CRIME/THRILLER

Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Kenjiro Ishiyama, Kyoko Kagawa, Tatsuya Mihashi, Isao Kimura, Yutaka Sada, Takashi Kato, Takashi Shimura, Jun Tazaki, Nobuo Nakamura, Yunosuke Ito, Masahiko Shimazu, Toshio Egi, and Tsutomu Yamakazi

Tengoku to Jigoku (Heaven and Hell) is a 1963 Japanese drama and crime thriller from director Akira Kurosawa and starring Toshiro Mifune. The film is best known by its English release title, High and Low (which is the one I will use for this review). The film is a loose adaptation of the 1959 novel, King's Ransom, which was written by Evan Hunter (a pen name of the American crime and mystery fiction author, Ed McBain). In High and Low, a Japanese businessman becomes a victim of extortion when his chauffeur's son is kidnapped by mistake and held for ransom.

High and Low introduces wealthy Japanese businessman and executive, Kingo Gondo (Toshiro Mifune), who lives in an elegant hilltop house with his wife, Reiko (Kyoko Kagawa). He is currently engaged in a struggle to gain control of the company where he works, National Shoes. The board of the company is split between executives seeking to make cheap and low-quality shoes and the “Old Man,” the company's largest shareholder who who wants sturdy but unfashionable shoes. Gondo rejects both sides. He has envisioned a strategy of requiring high production costs for long-term profitability by producing high-quality shoes. Gondo has secretly set up a leveraged buyout to gain control of the company, mortgaging all his property for the money he will need for the buyout.

Just as he is about to put the plan into action, Gondo receives a phone call from someone claiming to have kidnapped his elementary school age son, Jun (Toshio Egi). The kidnapper demands a ransom of 30 million yen, which Gondo is prepared to pay, but he soon dismisses the call as a prank when Jun returns home from playing outside. However, Gondo learns that the kidnapper has mistakenly taken Shinichi (Masahiko Shimazu), the child of Gondo's chauffeur, Aoki (Yutaka Sada).

The kidnapper has realized his mistake, but he still wants the ransom. Gondo is forced to make a decision whether to use his millions to complete the buyout of National Shoes or to pay the ransom to save Shinichi. Meanwhile, the police arrive, led by Inspector Tokura (Tatsuya Nakadai), who becomes the chief investigator of the kidnapping case, and who is ably assisted by his partner, Chief Detective “Bos'n” Toguchi (Kenjiro Ishiyama). Can the police discover the identity of the kidnapper before Gondo is forced to pay the ransom, which would lead to his financial ruin?

High and Low apparently was and still is a big influence on films belonging to the crime sub-genre known as the “police procedural,” which focuses on the investigative procedures of law enforcement officers and agencies with them also being the protagonists. [This genre excludes private investigators (P.I.).] High and Low has been remade and adapted into other films and has also influenced other films and televisions series. It is currently the subject of a reinterpretation by director Spike Lee in his upcoming film, Highest 2 Lowest, starring Denzel Washington.

High and Low are like two mini-movies joined into one longer feature film. The first half of the film focuses on Toshiro Mifune's Kingo Gondo and his conflicts and struggles. Most of the first half takes place in the living room of his home, with Gondo stalking the space like a caged lion or besieged king. Akira Kurosawa constructs this part of the film like a stage drama, and here, he shows a remarkable sense of staging and in film blocking (facilitating performances in a film via the precise arrangement of the actors). Kurosawa seems to be composing his action as if each moment is a painting.

The second half of the film fully embraces the police procedural. Kurosawa moves Gondo a little to the side and the police's chase and hunt of the suspect kicks into high gear. Lead by Inspector Tokura and Chief Detective “Bos'n” Toguchi, the police attack the case at every angle they can imagine. They race across the region, working a series of clues involving geographical vistas, background sounds and noises, and a variety of locals connected to the street life and roads in and around the city. I got the biggest kick out of watching this part of the film. I followed the the lead investigators as they pound the pavement and as the young police officers chase the suspect, who wears one of the eeriest pairs of reflective sunglasses I have ever seen in film. There is a trip into the underground lair of zombie-like heroin addicts that is as chilling as any found in a horror movies and as breathtaking as a jaunt through the most sumptuous set.

I loved the actors' performances which emphasize action, procedure, and personality more than narrow characterization. As usual, I adore seeing Toshiro Mifune, especially when paired with the great director, Akira Kurosawa. I have seen Kurosawa's great films, such as Rashomon (1950) and The Seven Samurai (1954), which also star Mifune. I think High and Low should join these two films as being among the great Kurosawa's best works.

9 of 10

A+

Friday, August 15, 2025

The "Criterion Collection" Blu-ray of HIGH AND LOW is available at Amazon.

NOTES:

1963 Golden Globes, USA: 1 nomination: “Best Foreign Film” (Japan)

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Tuesday, August 12, 2025

Review: Shocking and Astonishing "BARBARIAN" Screams "Get Out!"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 34 of 2025 (No. 2040) by Leroy Douresseaux

Barbarian (2022)

Running time: 102 minutes (1 hour, 42 minutes)

Rating: MPA – R for some strong violence and gore, disturbing material, language throughout and nudity

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Zach Cregger

PRODUCERS: Roy Lee, J.D. Lifshitz, Raphael Margules, and Arnon Milchan

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Zach Kuperstein (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Joe Murphy

COMPOSER: Anna Drubich

HORROR/THRILLER

Starring: Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgard, Justin Long, Jaymes Butler, Matthew Patrick Davis, and Richard Brake

Barbarian is a 2022 American horror thriller film from writer-director Zach Cregger. The film focuses on a woman who discovers that her Airbnb has not only been double-booked, but is also a house that has deep, dark secrets within it walls and foundation.

Barbarian introduces a young woman named Tess Marshall (Georgina Campbell). She arrives at an Airbnb on 476 Barbary Street in a rough-looking neighborhood in Detroit. It is the evening before a big job interview, and Tess is ready to relax in the home. However, she finds the Airbnb has been double-booked and is already occupied by an odd young man named Keith M. Toshko (Bill Skarsgard). Although, she is initially wary, Tess decides to take Keith up on his offer that they share the house, at least for the night while he sleeps on the couch.

Although she is unnerved by a peculiar incident during the night, Tess goes for her interview where her potential employer warns her about the neighborhood where she has the Airbnb. Upon her return to 476 Barbary Street, a series of upsetting situations leads Tess deeper into the house where she discover the unbelievable – all the while not knowing that the house's supposed owner is heading her way.

I had planned on seeing Barbarian a long time ago, but had been putting it off. Surprisingly, I pretty much ignored any articles about the film that I came across, and I don't really remember reading much about it on Twitter/X, which is where I often come across spoilers about films. Thus, I am going to do you a similar favor, dear readers. I will post a relatively short review about this film that will be scant on details.

Barbarian is the kind of film that benefits from a novel and unusual script, which is what writer-director Zach Cregger fashioned for this film. However, what it really needs is strong directing, which it gets from Cregger, and also superb film editing, which the film definitely gets from editor Joe Murphy. Barbarian also deals bluntly and cleverly with a familiar theme of horror films: characters – especially female characters – not being more trusting of their intuition that something is wrong where they are and so they should “Get out!”

Barbarian also gets a number of fresh or unusual performances, especially from Georgina Campbell, who reminds me of recent Oscar-winner, Zoe Saldana (Emilia Perez). Campbell is a star in the making, as far as I'm concerned, and I hope to see more of her.

I think Barbarian is a treat that moviegoers who are dedicated to films will certainly want to see. It is pure shock cinema, one of those visionary horror films that arrive to ignore the status quo and to also wreck expectations of what a horror film should be. This is just what Jordan Peele's Get Out (2017) did five years before Barbarian was released. Barbarian actually holds onto a number of mysteries, things that don't quite add up or make sense in its story. That's okay because Barbarian is meant to unsettle the viewer before, during, and after the experience of watching it.

9 of 10

A+

Tuesday, August 12, 2025

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Friday, August 1, 2025

Review: "THE NAKED GUN: From the Files of Police Squad!" is Still Comedy Gold

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 33 of 2025 (No. 2039) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)

Running time: 85 minutes (1 hour, 25 minutes)

MPAA – PG-13

DIRECTOR: David Zucker

WRITERS: Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker & Pat Proft

PRODUCER: Robert K. Weiss

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Robert M. Stevens (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Michael Jablow

COMPOSER: Ira Newborn

COMEDY/CRIME

Starring: Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, O.J. Simpson, Ricardo Montalban, George Kennedy, Susan Beaubian, Nancy Marchand, Raye Birk, Jeannette Charles, Tiny Ron, “Weird Al” Yankovic, and Reggie Jackson

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! is a 1988 American crime comedy film from director David Zucker. The film is also known simply as The Naked Gun (the title I will use for most of this review). It is a continuation of the short-lived ABC sitcom, “Police Squad!” (1982), which was created by the team of David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker, the comedy filmmaking trio known as “ZAZ.” The Naked Gun the movie focuses on the sitcom's lead character, the bumbling and incompetent police lieutenant, Frank Drebin, as he attempts to foil an assassination plot against Queen Elizabeth II.

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! reintroduces Lieutenant Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen), a member of “Police Squad,” a special division within the Los Angeles Police Department. Frank returns from a mission in Beirut to hear some bad news from Police Squad Captain Ed Hocken (George Kennedy). Drebin's best friend and Police Squad colleague, Detective Nordberg (O.J. Simpson), is in a coma after his attempt to bust a heroin operation turned disastrous.

Drebin's investigation of what happened to Nordberg brings Vincent Ludwig (Ricardo Montalban), a highly-successful businessman, to his attention. Drebin soon learns that Ludwig may be involved in a plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II (Jeannette Charles) during her visit to Los Angeles, one of the three stops on her American tour. Drebin's investigation is complicated by the fact that he falls in love with Ludwig's assistant, Jane Spencer (Priscilla Presley). Can Drebin save the Queen, or will his bumbling and incompetence lead to an international scandal?

I first saw The Naked Gun in the old Bon Marche Cinema 11 at the Bon Marche Mall in Baton Rouge, Louisiana during a midnight showing. I went with some friends, and we laughed until we cried, doubled-over, chocked, and coughed. Since that first time, I think that I have only seen the film in its entirety once, and that was well over thirty years ago. Paramount Pictures just released a “legacy sequel,” also entitled The Naked Gun, from director Akiva Schaffer and producer Seth MacFarlane (“Family Guy”), with actor Liam Neeson playing “Lt. Frank Drebin, Jr.” So I decided to give the 1988 film another watch, and I found myself laughing out loud again from start to finish.

The fast-paced slapstick comedy has not slowed with age; in fact, The Naked Gun has not aged, at least to me. It doesn't feel like an “old movie,” and the visual and verbal puns and sight gags are as sharp as ever. The team of Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker, and their frequent collaborator, Pat Proft, deliver a film full of gags that are shamelessly unapologetic, goofy, brilliant, and truly hilarious. As the film's director, David Zucker, does superb work, but it is clear that his film editor, Michael Jablow, also does some fantastic work here.

The Naked Gun also has a great cast with Leslie Nielsen as the center of this comic force of nature. Nielsen reinvented himself as the star of parodies and satires during the last three decades of his prolific Hollywood career. As Lt. Frank Drebin, he made The Naked Gun the crowning achievement of his career as comic lead. Priscilla Presley is excellent in her turn as the dry and droll Jane, and George Kennedy is smooth as a kind of straight policeman to Nielsen's Drebin. Every chance he had in his career, actor Ricardo Montalban showed his range, as he does here as the delightful villain, Vincent Ludwig. Even future killer, O.J. Simpson, makes the most of his small role here, six years before the world would look at him differently.

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! is one of the greatest American film comedies of the last quarter of the 20th century. I hope this new film encourages audiences to see The Naked Gun for the first time or to see it again for the first time in a long time. The original will make your laughter laugh.

8 of 10

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Friday, August 1, 2025

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THE NAKED GUN, the original trilogy, is available as a set on Blu-ray at Amazon.

Wednesday, July 30, 2025

Review: "THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS" Focuses on Family

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 32 of 2025 (No. 2038) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)

Running time: 115 minutes (1 hour, 55 minutes)

Rating: MPA – PG-13 for action/violence and some language

DIRECTOR: Matt Shakman

WRITERS: Josh Friedman, Eric Person, and Jeff Kaplan & Ian Springer; from a story by Eric Pearson, Jeff Kaplan & Ian Springer, and Kat Wood (based on the Marvel Comics by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby)

PRODUCER: Kevin Feige

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jess Hall (D.o.P.)

EDITORS: Nona Khodai and Tim Roche

COMPOSER: Michael Giacchino

SUPERHERO/SCI-FI/ACTION and FANTASY/DRAMA

Starring: Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn, Ralph Ineson, Julia Garner, Natasha Lyonne, Paul Walter Hauser, Sarah Niles, Mark Gatiss, and Matthew Wood (voice)

SUMMARY OF REVIEW:

-- I found the lead characters, “The Fantastic Four” to be a bit too mild-mannered, and things do seem to come too easily for them. However, this quartet is quite lovable and adorable, and when he comes along, the baby starts to steal the show.

-- “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” has two great villains in Galactus and the Silver Surfer, with the Surfer dominating most scenes in which she appears. In fact, the action scenes are hyper-intense and breathtaking. I was riveted to the screen while watching them.

-- Overall, “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” is by far the best “Fantastic Four” movie to date, and I put it ahead of the recent “Superman” and “Thunderbolts*”

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a 2025 American superhero movie and science fiction film from director Matt Shakman and Marvel Studios. The film is based on Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four, which was created by artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee and first appeared in the comic book, The Fantastic Four #1 (cover dated: November 1961). It is also the 37th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the second reboot of the Fantastic Four film franchise. In First Steps, the Fantastic Four is forced to balance their family life and their superhero life as never before when a god-like space being and his enigmatic herald arrive and mark Earth for destruction.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps opens on Earth-828 in the year 1960. It introduces “The Fantastic Four,” a quartet of astronauts turned superheroes. First is the highly intelligent scientist, Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), who as “Mr. Fantastic” can stretch any part of his body to great lengths. Next is Reed's wife, Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), the founder of the “Future Foundation,” a global demilitarization and world peace organization. As the “Invisible Woman” Sue can generate force fields and turn invisible. Then, there is the brilliant pilot, former astronaut, and Reed's best friend, Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), a.k.a. “The Thing,” whose skin has been transformed into a layer of orange rock, which grants him super-human strength and durability. Finally, there is Sue's younger brother, Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn), who as the “Human Torch,” can engulf his body in flames, control fire, and fly.

The world honors The Fantastic Four for what they have given humanity, so when Reed and Sue reveal that they are expecting a child, the world celebrates and prepares for the new arrival, while also wondering if the child will also have super-powers. However, the celebrating is short-lived. A metallic-skinned, seemingly-female alien arrives from space, riding a surfboard. This “Silver Surfer” (Julia Garner) is the herald of Galactus (Ralph Ineson), a planet-devouring cosmic being, and he is coming to devour Earth. Now, the members of The Fantastic Four face their toughest test ever, and the price they must pay to save the Earth may be too high for even them to pay.

I actually enjoyed Tim Story's two Fantastic Four films the aughts, Fantastic Four (2005) and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007). Director Josh Trank's 2015 reboot of the franchise, Fantastic Four, had a lot of good ideas, but alleged studio interference turned the film into a wreck. The Fantastic Four: First Steps is not at all a wreck. Its intense action sequences had me gripping the armrests of my seat at the local movie theater. The villains are great. Galactus is awesome and even scarier than the gargantuan “Celestials” of Marvel Studios' 2021 epic, Eternals; he seemed unbeatable. Julia Garner's Silver Surfer is 10 times the herald the one in Rise of the Silver Surfer is. This Silver Surfer, whose original name was “Shalla Bal,” is like a velociraptor on a surfboard. She chases our heroes with the unrelenting hellish fury of the “Headless Horseman” that chases Ichabod Crane in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” segment of Disney's The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949).

On the other hand, the heroes of The Fantastic Four: First Steps come across as too mild-mannered. They are so accomplished that everything seems to come too easy for them. Even when they are angry with one another, that anger lacks passion. In fact, I'd call the cast and characters dispassionate. It is as if the film's director, Matt Shakman, who does an excellent job overall, wants his leads to be inoffensive. I like the casting of the leads, but they need to breath a little more fire.

In the end, I like that Disney and Marvel Studios finally take the opportunity to honor the late Jack Kirby (1917-1994), the comic book writer-artist who created the Fantastic Four with the late Stan Lee (1922-2018). There are several nods to Kirby, and this is long overdue. That makes me love First Steps even more. It is almost a great film, and its special effects and inventive and imaginative retro-futuristic elements endlessly fascinate me. The Fantastic Four: First Steps is hugely entertaining, and these are the right first steps to bring the Fantastic Four into the cinematic prominence they deserve.

8 of 10

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Wednesday, July 30, 2025

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Wednesday, July 23, 2025

Review: Original "HAPPY GILMORE" Can Still Lead to Laughter and Happiness

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 235 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Happy Gilmore (1996)

Running time: 92 minutes (1 hour, 32 minutes)

Rating: MPAA – PG-13 for language and some comic sexuality

DIRECTOR: Dennis Dugan

WRITERS: Tim Herlihy & Adam Sandler

PRODUCER: Robert Simonds

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Arthur Albert (D.o.P.)

EDITORS: Jeff Gourson and Steve R. Moore

COMPOSER: Mark Mothersbaugh

COMEDY

Starring: Adam Sandler, Christopher McDonald, Julie Bowen, Frances Bay, Carl Weathers, Allen Covert, Robert Smigel, Bob Barker, Richard Kiel, Lee Trevino, Kevin Nealon, Verne Lundquist, Will Sasso, and Dee Jay Jackson with Ben Stiller

Happy Gilmore is a 1996 American sports comedy film from director Dennis Dugan and starring Adam Sandler. The film focuses on a ill-tempered hockey player who applies his talents to golf in the hopes of winning big tournament money that he can in turn use to save his grandmother's home from the IRS.

Like a lot of moviegoers, I’m a huge Adam Sandler fan. Sandler is generally not a darling of the critics, but his movies are hilarious. Even though most of his films display the most mediocre filmmaking and most juvenile script writing, Sandler is a genuinely fine comedic actor, and his comedic stage persona – stage, screen, wherever, comes across as both endearing and funny. Happy Gilmore is from the early period of Sandler’s film career as the leading man or star, and while the movie’s concept is juvenile and the character immature, Happy Gilmore simply works quite well.

Happy Gilmore (Adam Sandler) tries out for a local semi-pro(?) hockey team, but fails to make the cut as he does every year. On a dare, Happy discovers that he can hit a golf ball to a distance of over 400 yards (apparently a big deal). Spurred on by Chubbs Peterson (Carl Weathers), a local club pro, Happy enters a local golf tournament and wins both the tournament and a spot on the pro golfer’s tour.

When his grandmother (Frances Bay) loses her home to the I.R.S. for owing a decade’s worth of back taxes, Happy accepts the bid to join the pro tour in hopes that his earnings can save her house. Standing in the way is Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald), a golf pro jealous of the attention Happy’s unique golf skills and his volatile temper earn him. So Shooter not only sets about trying to get Happy kicked off the tour, but he also buys Grandma Gilmore’s house. Will Happy win the tour championship and get the house back into family hands?

Happy Gilmore is the David vs. Goliath, insider vs. outsider, fish-out-of-water, class conflict story that works so well when a popular star plays the underdog. Sandler has a likable sort of every man quality about him. Christopher McDonald plays a great comic villain, mostly because he has a sense of humor about himself even when he plays the heavy. His looks and demeanor says “stuffed shirt, upper class jerk,” and while he obviously takes his work seriously, he never takes himself so seriously that he can’t be the fall guy.

On the strength of a good comic villain/hero dynamic and some nice (but tiny) supporting performances, I recommend Happy Gilmore. For Sandler fans, it’s a must see.

7 of 10

B+

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Edited for the original: Wednesday, July 23, 2025

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Tuesday, July 22, 2025

Review: "MARIA FULL OF GRACE" Remains a Timely Film

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 15 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

Maria Full of Grace (2004)

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA/Columbia; Language: Spanish/English

Running time: 101 minutes (1 hour, 41 minutes)

Rating: MPAA – R for drug content and language

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Joshua Marston

PRODUCER: Paul S. Mezey

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jim Denault

EDITORS: Anne McCabe and Lee Percy

COMPOSERS: Leonardo Heiblum and Jacobo Lieberman

Academy Award nominee

DRAMA/CRIME/THRILLER

Starring: Catalina Sandino Moreno, Yenny Paola Vega, John Alex Toro, Guilied Lopez, Patricia Rae, Orlando Tobon, Fernando Velasquez, and Jaime Osorio Gomez

Maria Full of Grace is a 2004 Spanish-language drama film from writer-director Joshua Marston. The film is a co-production between the U.S. and Colombia. Maria Full of Grace focuses on a pregnant Colombian teenager who becomes a drug mule for a trafficking ring in order to make desperately-needed money for her family.

Catalina Sandino Moreno earned a 2005 Oscar nomination in the category of “Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role” for her performance as a teenage coke mule in Joshua Marston’s Maria Full of Grace. Maria Alvarez (Catalina Sandino Moreno) is a spirited 17-year old girl who lives with three generations of her family in a cramped house in impoverished rural Columbia. After learning that she may be pregnant, Maria suddenly quits her job stripping roses at a flower plantation after her boss continually hassles her because of her morning sickness.

She meets a handsome, motorcycle-riding young man named Franklin (John Alex Toro), who introduces her to the risky and ruthless world of international drug trafficking. She meets his boss, Javier (Jaime Osorio Gomez), who pays Maria a lot of money to swallow over 50 latex pellets containing cocaine. With the pellets in her stomach, she flies to New York City with three other coke mules, including her friend, Blanca (Yenny Paola Vega) and a somewhat experienced carrier named Lucy (Guilied Lopez), where they are too deliver the drugs to men waiting in a hotel. Complications arise, and Maria must gain the grace to survive and move towards a brighter future.

Maria Full of Grace is a quiet and compelling drama, but it is also as riveting and as thrilling as the best edge-of-your-seat crime films. Catalina Sandino Moreno gives a gripping performance as a strong of heart young woman who is quiet savvy in even the worst circumstances. A lot of Ms. Moreno’s performance is shown through her face and soulful eyes, and she engages her audience without any flashy tricks. Writer/director Joshua Marston gets similar performances from all of his talented supporting cast, and his film is similar in tone to 2003’s Dirty Pretty Things, meaning that it’s a superb, taut drama that I highly recommend.

8 of 10

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Edited from the original: Sunday, July 20, 2025

NOTES:

2005 Academy Awards, USA: 1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role” (Catalina Sandino Moreno)

2005 NAACP Image Awards (NAACP): 1 nomination: “Outstanding Independent or Foreign Film”

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Friday, July 11, 2025

Review: James Gunn's "SUPERMAN" Starts a New Era

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 31 of 2025 (No. 2037) by Leroy Douresseaux

Superman (2025)

Running time: 129 minutes (2 hours, 9 minutes)

Rating: MPA – PG for violence, action and language

DIRECTOR: James Gunn

WRITER: James Gunn (based characters created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster)

PRODUCERS: James Gunn and Peter Safran

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Henry Braham (D.o.P.)

EDITORS: Craig Alpert and William Hoy

COMPOSERS: David Fleming and John Murphy

SUPERHERO/FANTASY/ACTION

Starring: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced, Skyler Gisondo, Maria Gabriela de Faria, Sara Sampaio, Wendell Pierce, Beck Bennett, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Neva Howell, Bradley Cooper, Angela Sarafyan, and Sean Gunn

SUMMARY OF REVIEW:

-- I am not crazy about the plot and narrative of the James Gunn's new Superman film, but I really like its cast and its interpretation of the characters, especially David Corenswet as Clark Kent/Superman.

-- I heartily recommend that fans of Superman movies get in on the ground floor of this new beginning

Superman is a 2025 American superhero, fantasy, and action film from writer-director James Gunn. It is the first film in the new DC Comics cinematic universe known as the “DC Universe.” The character, Superman, first appeared in the comic book, Action Comics #1 (on-sale date of April 18, 1938), and was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, who also created other characters and situations related to Superman. In Superman, the embodiment of truth, justice, and the human way must reconcile his desire to help humanity with a shocking revelation about his alien heritage.

Superman opens threes years after the metahuman, Superman (David Corenswet), revealed himself to the people of Metropolis. His alter-ego, Clark Kent (David Corenswet), works as a reporter for “The Daily Planet,” where he has a relationship with fellow reporter, Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan). Lois knows that Clark is Superman. She knows that he is Kal-El, a baby sent from the planet, Krypton, by rocket ship to Earth. Lois also knows that Clark was raised in Smallville, Kansas by his adoptive parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent (Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell), a fact he has kept secrets from others.

Superman recently stopped the country of Boravia, an ally of the United States, from invading its neighboring country, Jarhanpur. As the film begins, Superman has just received a beat-down from Boravia's own metahuman, the Hammer of Boravia. Things are not as they seem, however, as brilliant billionaire Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) has launched a secret plot to destroy Superman, whom he sees not as a superhero, but as an existential alien threat to mankind. With the help of his lackeys, Ultraman and The Engineer (Maria Gabriela de Faria), Luthor believes that he has the science and technology – the brain power – to beat Superman.

But Superman is not the only metahuman who is a superhero. He occasionally gets help from the “Justice Gang”: Michael Holt/Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi), Guy Gardner/Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), and Kendra Saunders/Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced). And Clark Kent will need all the friends he can get; a complete version of the broken message his Kryptonian parents, Jor-El (Bradley Cooper) and Lara Lor-Van (Angela Sarafyan), sent with him has come to light. Now, some of the people of the world are starting to feel differently about Superman just when they need him the most.

Superman is a good film, but not a great film. Overall, I like it, but I found myself rather cool to it as I watched it in a local theater last night. I must admit that I felt the same way about the previous two attempts to reboot the Superman film franchise, director Bryan Singer's Superman Returns (2006) and director Zack Snyder's Man of Steel (2013). Like Superman (2025), the plot and narratives of these earlier films are over-stuffed with subplots, settings, and characters that make the overall plot and narrative struggle to come together. The over-stuffings are like roadblocks that force the central plot and narrative to veer off their most obvious and productive path. I don't think the new Superman is as awkward in these areas as the aforementioned Superman reboots, but I do believe that the new film spends its first half bouncing around ideas, subplots, themes, relationships and conflicts. To me, it is obvious that Superman 2025 borrows the big action set pieces of Man of Steel and also follows Superman Return's veneration of director Richard Donner and star Christopher Reeve's respective work on the Superman film franchise (1978-87).

There are things about the new Superman film that I really like. I think the actors and the way they play the characters, for the most part, are nearly perfect. The best thing about David Corenswet as Clark Kent/Superman is that he is the first actor that I have accepted as a true heir to the late Christopher Reeve (1952-2004), who is the gold standard when it comes to a cinematic Clark Kent/Kal-El/Superman. In a way, Superman 2025 offers its audience a vision of Superman as the quintessential nice guy the way Christopher Reeve and Superman: The Movie (1978) did.

Also, Rachel Brosnahan is a true heir to my favorite cinematic Lois Lane, the late Margot Kidder (1948-2018), Christopher Reeve's co-star. I also got a kick out of Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific. I liked him in his early roles in such films as Twilight (2008) and X-Men: First Class (2011), and I'd like to see him play Mister Terrific as a lead in either film or television. I like Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, but the character is played way too over-the-top, but I think Hoult as Luther will be a huge benefit to future DC Universe films.

I obviously don't like James Gunn's Superman as much as I enjoyed his work on Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, which ended with the fantastic Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023). Still, the new Superman is both a fresh start and a start in the right direction.

6 of 10

★★★ out of 4 stars

Friday, July 11, 2025

SUPERMAN is available for order on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K at Amazon.

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