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JESUS REVOLUTION Starring: Jonathan Roumie, Joel Courtney, Kelsey Grammer, Anna Grace Barlow, Nicholas Cirillo, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Mina Sundwall, Charlie Morgan Patton, Julia Campbell, and Jolie Jenkins Directors: Jon Erwin and Brent McCorkle JACOB Jesus Revolution doesn’t quite have the problem most religion-based movies do in terms of being poorly constructed or having weak performances, but that doesn’t mean it’s free from some of the same old clichés. The two different storylines don’t really line up, the “issues” the characters face are magically cured once their faith starts, and the speaking cast is – you guessed it – all white except for two people. That said, it does more to address the dangers of hyper-charismatic religious movements than most films of its kind do, even if it ultimately fails to actually confront those dangers. JOSEPH Jesus Revolution caters to both the secular and faith-based communities…until it doesn’t. It paints a nuanced but sanitized picture of the anti-war hippie movements, while also showing the often unspoken dangers within those communities. Kelsey Grammer does a solid job, but it’s Jonathan Roumie who steals the show with his performance as a censored version of Lonnie Frisbee. Unfortunately, the film loses focus towards the end, making it feel more like an advertisement for church rather than the exploration of a movement. Overall, Jesus Revolution mostly preaches to the choir, so it will resonate with evangelicals, but for others, it’s likely a hit or miss.

THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING Starring: Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton Director: George Miller JACOB I’m not sure if I liked Three Thousand Years of Longing , but I’d certainly recommend it to anyone who asked. George Miller’s fantasy odyssey is constantly grappling with interesting ideas surrounding story, life, desire, and purpose; however, its presentation isn’t as fulfilling as it hopes to be. Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton have great chemistry, and the film is always engaging, but its adherence to lengthy flashbacks removes the audience from the things that work best. There is much to admire…the costuming, the design, the look of it all…but not much to fall in love with. ADRIANO Three Thousand Years Of Longing definitely looks great, and it also has some original concepts that are buried underneath a whole bunch of nonsense. However, writer/director George Miller’s latest sees him having full creative freedom, and, unfortunately, that freedom is wasted on a script full of underdeveloped characters and plot points. I genuinely couldn’t tell who I was supposed to root for or what the objective was, which are two pretty important aspects of a movie. And the third act? My God. I’m not exaggerating when I say it gave me whiplash like nine times. It’s very disappointing, to say the least.

THE SON Starring: Hugh Jackman, Laura Dern, Vanessa Kirby, Zen McGrath, and Anthony Hopkins Director: Florian Zeller NICK Director Florian Zeller undoes all of the goodwill he garnered with his debut film, The Father, with this shallow and manipulative offering. Zeller fails to show even a basic understanding of mental health issues, and his attempts at showing familial ones lack authenticity. It’s genuinely shocking that both films are by the same director. Hugh Jackman has his moments, but no one is at their best here, particularly Zen McGrath, who just isn’t up to the task of leading this film. There’s no point in sugar coating it: The Son may be part of the awards conversation, but it’s nothing more than melodramatic bullshit. QUENTIN When you have a movie about teenage depression called The Son , you need to nail the casting of the titular offspring. Sadly, this movie really dropped the ball on that. Zen McGrath doesn’t have what it takes to make you sympathetic to his character’s state of mind. Instead, he comes off as bratty and annoying. Admittedly, the writing does him no favors, giving so little backstory that it’s hard to even feel empathy for him while almost making him a side character since the son is just a pawn to examine the father. Granted, there’s a good idea in there somewhere, but it’s not on screen. ADRIANO Director Florian Zeller’s follow-up to the Oscar-winning The Father , The Son , is a horrible, sadistic, and exploitative abomination. This movie is about a parent who doesn’t understand his son’s depression, which oddly mirrors the movie’s writing. Zeller just has such a narrow idea of what teenage depression is that it’s embarrassing. The cast, besides Vanessa Kirby, feel less like genuine performances and more like actors on their knees begging for an Oscar, and the ending is a series of messed-up manipulative ploys that had me sprinting out of the theatre once it finished. It’s an absolute trainwreck. DARRYL In time, The Son may ultimately go down as the worst film of director Florian Zeller’s career. What could have been a complex, nuanced look at mental health, its impact on the family, and advocating proper care for those who need it, ends up as a hackneyed, overly simplistic story with spotty acting and the reinforcement of harmful stereotypes. Hugh Jackman’s performance alone isn’t enough to salvage the weak screenplay or one-dimensional characters. While Zeller’s technical direction is fine enough, the overall disappointment of the film and its messages makes this so far one of the most discouraging movies of the year. JACOB From the director of one of the best movies of 2020 comes one of the worst of 2022. Florian Zeller’s The Son is a miss on just about every level it can be, though not for lack of trying. The writing feels hackneyed and surface-level at best, the performances are made worse by having to utter some truly terrible dialogue, and beyond all of that, it’s a bore to look at. The Achilles heel of it, though, is Zen McGrath, whose one-note performance indicates that he is not ready to be a crucial figure in any film any time soon. This film was reviewed by Nick and Adriano as part of Bitesize Breakdown's coverage of the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival.

GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE Starring: Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, Kaylee Hottle, Alex Ferns, and Fala Chen Director: Adam Wingard CALEB I mean this as both a compliment and a critique, but Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is the cinematic equivalent of a little kid smashing action figures together. It’s two hours of fan-service with bright colors and big monsters performing wrestling moves on each-other. If that sounds appealing, then you’re probably a kaiju shill like me…and if you are a kaiju shill like me, then you’ll probably love this. As far as the cinematography, writing, and action goes, this is a noticeable downgrade from Godzilla vs. Kong , but it’s still an entertaining addition to the MonsterVerse. AMARÚ While Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is very silly, it’s a fun time. Director Adam Wingard knows the MonsterVerse’s strengths, and he delivers action-packed Kaiju battles featuring the most interesting Titan of them all, Kong (who is 100% an old black man). The humans are there, with Bryan Tyree Henry being ridiculous in not the best ways, Dan Stevens being ridiculous in all the best ways, and Rebecca Hall and Kaylee Hottle’s relationship providing a small bit of emotion. But again, Kong is the reason to watch these films, and if he comes back to ride again with Godzilla, I’ll be back too. ADRIANO I'm just so unbelievably tired of movies like Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire . Films that suck the life out of what made the IP so beloved and iconic in exchange for an MCU-style slopfest and exposition machine. Now, you might be saying, "it's not that serious, I just want to see Godzilla and King Kong team up and fight." You don't get that for a full 90 minutes, and whatever kaiju stuff happens is too cartoonish and toothless to be entertaining. I want this style of blockbuster to go away so badly. QUENTIN Finally, they get it! Godzilla x Kong is exactly what I’ve been asking for with the MonsterVerse entries, in that it’s mostly a movie about giant monster fights with a small human story instead of the other way around. That said, is it good? Absolutely fucking not. It’s dumb as hell, but it’s fun as hell too. It doesn’t matter that none of it makes a lick of sense becau…wait, is Godzilla sleeping like a cat in the Roman Colosseum? Sold. As big turn-your-brain-off franchises go, this one has surpassed and supplanted the Fast franchise as the best one going. Give me more.

THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH Starring: Denzel Washington, Frances McDormand, Kathryn Hunter, Corey Hawkins, Brendan Gleeson, Harry Melling, Bertie Carvel, Moses Ingram, and Ralph Ineson Director: Joel Coen ADRIANO It rarely gets as good as The Tragedy Of Macbeth , as director Joel Coen’s Shakespeare adaptation is a soaring technical marvel. Every single department is firing on all cylinders, from the sound work to Carter Burwell’s score to Bruno Delbonnel’s stunning cinematography. When it comes to the performances, Frances McDormand never fails to deliver, but Denzel Washington is ferocious and mesmerizing as Lord Macbeth (Kathryn Hunters also is a stand out). Sadly, the film leans hard into the Shakespearean dialogue, so if you’re not in tune with the Old World way of speaking, this may not be for you. JACOB There aren’t many new elements that separate director Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth from other straightforward adaptations of Shakespeare’s work, but for fans of the source material, it is as rich as candy. The cinematography by Bruno Delbonnel is amongst the most stunning 2021 has to offer, simultaneously emblematic of both traditional theater and film, and the performances it captures only elevate its power. Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand turn in typically world-class work, but it’s Kathryn Hunter’s take on the witches that gets under one’s skin, along with the stellar score and indissoluble sound design. I loved it.

THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER Starring: Corey Hawkins, Liam Cunningham, David Dastmalchian, Chris Walley, Jon Jon Briones, Stefan Kapicic, Aisling Franciosi, Woody Norman, Martin Furulund, Nikolai Nikolaeff, and Javier Botet Director: André Øvredal JACOB For a film set almost entirely on the water, it’s a disheartening thing to witness just how dry The Last Voyage of the Demeter actually is in nearly every respect. Apart from some neat creature prosthetics (which are seldom seen) and a so-so action sequence (which lasts all of one minute), the film is essentially two hours of waiting for something interesting to happen, only to cut to the next scene every time something does. The bones of a solid creature feature are there; there’s just no meat on them. Even the largely solid cast can’t overcome bad pacing. PRESTON With The Last Voyage of the Demeter , I felt like I was also on an excruciatingly long and uncomfortable voyage across the vast sea expanse of a cherry-picked Bram Stoker excerpt, whose primary merit is that it substitutes itself perfectly in this particular trope. The dialogue is strained while the storytelling flip-flops between the protagonist’s search for meaning and a confusing epistolary narration that only adds to the inconsistency felt from beginning to thankful end. The haphazard attempts at character development simply fail, and I found myself rooting for the “demon,” if only to get closer to the journey’s conclusion. QUENTIN While The Last Voyage of Demeter isn’t a must see, I’m not as down on it as my cohorts. Sure, it drags at times, which is to be expected when a single book chapter is stretched out to fill a 119-minute movie, but it does decently well in maintaining an atmosphere of dread and foreboding throughout. This is mostly thanks to director André Øvredal’s use of light and shadows to successfully build upon the notion that the scariest thing is the thing you can’t see. Don’t read into this as a comparison of quality, but it’s kinda like Alien on a Victorian-era merchant ship. ADRIANO The Last Voyage of the Demeter squanders so much potential that it’s borderline tragic. A horror movie about Dracula (Javier Botet) massacring folks on a boat? Sounds like a blast, right? Well, unfortunately, director André Øvredal made the idea just way too bland to enjoy. Its talented cast is mostly wasted, and the scares rely less on tension and more on Dracula jumping at the screen, hoping to God that counts as scary. And above all, I was just bored, which is the last thing I should have been for this movie. A fun idea that never once sets sail. CALEB As a fan of André Øvredal’s direction, I had high hopes for The Last Voyage of the Demeter . I love the idea of Dracula (Javier Botet) massacring sailors, but I can’t deny how bored I felt throughout most of its runtime. The one-note characters keep the film from having any stakes, which isn’t great when you’re dealing with a vampire. Dracula’s skeletal design was spooky, but poorly lit cinematography, quick cutting, and muddy effects really takes the wind out of his sails. I was hoping to give Demeter the benefit of the doubt, but I just couldn’t sink my teeth into this one.

MY DEAD FRIEND ZOE Starring: Sonequa Martin-Green, Natalie Morales, Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman, Gloria Reuben, Utkarsh Ambudkar Director: Kyle Hausmann-Stokes ROBERT War and family drama often coincide as worlds bleed over and compartmentalization becomes impossible. My Dead Friend Zoe expertly overlays each side for Merit (Sonequa Martin-Green) to unveil a complete mosaic of trauma. Zoe (Natalie Morales) anthropomorphizes that for Merit as the part of her subconscious that won’t let go and forgive herself, but not for the reasons you think. With the gravitas of Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman buoying the peripheries, this is a story made by soldiers, with soldiers, but is ubiquitous in its message on easing the struggle with support. PAIGE Kyle Hausmann-Stokes' beautiful directorial debut, My Dead Friend Zoe , is based on a true story about his experiences after serving in the military that sheds light on those that hold onto the past and struggle to push through the pain. Despite the film's weighty subject matter, Hausmann-Stokes handles it in a surprisingly lighthearted and wholesome way. Because of Sonequa Martin-Green and Natalie Morales' sincere performances, you will laugh and cry throughout this movie. All in all, even though the movie has a somewhat inconsistent tone, I didn't mind because it has a satisfying emotional payoff that makes it worthwhile to see. BRYAN Kyle Hausmann-Stokes’ directorial debut, My Dead Friend Zoe , showcases a devastatingly raw turn from Sonequa Martin-Green in a heartbreaking yet surprisingly heartfelt tale about a military veteran battling PTSD and regret. Tackling a story with this subject matter requires a lot of thought and care, which Hausmann-Stokes thankfully does. It was impressive to see the balance of making one laugh one minute and cry the next, even if the tone does come off as inconsistent at times. A solid debut from a filmmaker with lots of promise. I definitely won’t be listening to a certain Rihanna song the same way again. NICK My Dead Friend Zoe was firmly on my radar due to the overwhelming praise of Ed Harris’ performance, and although he is very good here, I was more impressed with Sonequa Martin-Green. She’s tasked with balancing a range of different emotions as a post-war veteran and comes off incredibly honest throughout. Director Kyle Hausmann-Stokes injects levity into the darker subject matter to keep it from ever feeling too heavy. This in turn gives you a film which is less about grieving and more so about healing. Even without being a veteran myself, it makes for quite a cathartic watch.

THE PLATFORM 2 Starring: Milena Smit, Hovik Keuchkerian, Natalia Tena, Óscar Jaenada, and Ivan Massagué Director: Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia PRESTON I pride myself on being able to tease out a movie’s allegorical message or meaning. Even so, I don’t know what the point of The Platform 2 is, or what it’s attempting to convey. As a sequel to the fantastic original, it is bolstered by a supremely unique and interest-commanding plot. The story is continued, rather successfully I might I add, until the absolutely nonsensical end. If that type of thing is something you can’t deal with, then maybe it’s best to avoid this one and just rewatch the original. Otherwise, it’s entertaining, intense, and a great way to brush up on your Spanish. QUENTIN In 2020, when Netflix dropped The Platform as the world shut down, it was an incredibly original and, more importantly, timely horror movie. It was near-perfect lightning in a bottle, and honestly, it didn’t need a sequel. However, nearly five years and a “healed” world later, here we are with a prequel that doesn’t hit the same. It doesn’t help that it’s basically a retread, except replacing economic themes with religious ones. It fails to give background on the premise of the setting or justify its own existence. I’d still highly recommend the first one, but lightning certainly didn’t strike twice (especially without the pandemic backdrop). PAIGE While its predecessor served us some delicious concepts to chew on, The Platform 2 was not as appetizing as I’d hoped. It felt like a rehash of the first film, but with an undercooked story. I couldn’t connect with these new characters as the plot didn’t dive deeper into the intriguing themes presented in the original, and the ideas it tries to tackle this time around felt hollow, which leads to some unresolved questions being left on the table. I have to say that, despite highlighting certain positive aspects of the first film, The Platform 2 didn’t have the same impact and felt wholly unnecessary.

STOPMOTION Starring: Aisling Franciosi, Caoilinn Springall, Stella Gonet, Therica Wilson-Read, and Tom York Director: Robert Morgan KATIE Robert Morgan’s feature debut, Stopmotion , tells a familiar tale of an artist being consumed by their work in a similar vein to Saint Maud and Censor , but it is elevated by the deeply unsettling use of stop-motion animation combined with compelling live-action performances. The stop-motion creations are the stuff of nightmares, and they imbue the film with a distinctively creepy quality, emphasised by its spine-tingling sound design. Aisling Franciosi is amazing as Ella, delivering a performance that embodies her character’s emotional journey and anchoring the viewer’s engagement with the story. Overall, Stopmotion delivers on both style and substance. PAIGE Stopmotion is a nightmarish film directed by Robert Morgan that explores the psychological agony of an artist's fixation with pouring too much of oneself into their work. Even though the concept is intriguing and has the potential to be thematically rich, the delivery of the ideas is often too obvious, dull in dialogue, and missing pieces of the narrative. The story just isn’t developed enough to feel like a coherent movie. In my eyes, this would’ve worked much better as a short film. However, I will say that the stop-motion animation used throughout the movie is really eerie. CALEB For a scrappy, low-budget horror flick, Stopmotion manages to pull off some really impressive sequences. All the stop-motion scenes are wildly creative, so it’s a shame that the rest of the movie pales in comparison to them. The acting ranges from decent to mediocre, the cinematography is drab (outside of the animated sequences), and some of the editing and sound mixing decisions are frustratingly tacky. The narrative itself is rather uninspired too, delivering on most of the “elevated” clichés that you’d expect from a horror movie about a tortured artist. While Stopmotion has some great ideas, it never fully manages to take shape. NICK Although, conceptually, it's a fun idea, Stopmotion - much like the execution of the film's subject - is very tedious. I was all in on the eerie wax characters and every second that the film used stop-motion animation, but those moments were sadly fleeting. Instead, I got a film bogged down by one dimensional human characters, a muddy plot, and an unnecessary hallucinogen-fueled cut scene. All director Robert Morgan had to do was tell the story of an animator trying to make a spooky film as it begins to take hold of her, and we were set. Sometimes less is more.

DEVOTION Starring: Jonathan Majors, Glen Powell, Thomas Sadoski, Christina Jackson, and Joe Jonas Director: J.D. Dillard QUENTIN Other than being bland and formulaic, not to mention that Maverick definitely stole some of its thunder (Glen Powell being in both doesn’t help), there isn’t anything inherently wrong with Devotion , but there isn’t anything particularly remarkable about it either. The emotional beats elicit little feeling in the viewer, while the dogfight scenes don’t generate many thrills. The acting is fine, even if the characters are fairly standard archetypes, but the film lacks the gravitas that this true story deserves. And I get the story is what it is, but the ending just doesn’t hit all that hard. It’s only slightly better than Flyboys . NICK One has to think Devotion would have been far better received had it come out in 2021. As it stands, it’s a film that pales in comparison to Maverick in virtually every way. That doesn’t make it a bad film, though. Devotion takes some time to find its footing, but once it does, it settles into a nice story of friendship. Jonathan Majors and Glen Powell (who is much more subdued than in Maverick ) carry the weight of the story admirably, while the visuals are still nothing to scoff at. So, sure, Devotion can’t match up to Maverick , but that’s not really its fault. ADRIANO Devotion , or as I like to call it, Mid Gun , is extremely average. Glen Powell and Jonathan Majors both make for great leads, and it’s well shot, especially the aerial sequences; however, from a story standpoint, it’s nothing groundbreaking and it’s not very engaging. It’s a great true story that truly deserves to be told, but it feels like it’s missing a backbone. And I must address the elephant in the room, but coming out months after Maverick does it no favours whatsoever. It makes the movie’s spinelessness even more apparent. JACOB As war films go, Devotion rides the line about as close to center as one can get while still having a little something more to offer. Even with some awkward pacing and a borderline average sense of stakes, the film still boasts terrific performances from Glen Powell and Jonathan Majors, whose on-screen chemistry is what gives the movie its much-needed verve when it slows down. Not everything works to that level, though, and as good as the action sequences often are, they’re too short to make much of an impact. That said, this one is worth a watch. This film was reviewed by Nick, Adriano, and Quentin as part of Bitesize Breakdown's coverage of the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival.

BIOSPHERE Starring: Sterling K. Brown and Mark Duplass Director: Mel Eslyn NICK Biosphere is a trip. Led by two fantastic performances from Sterling K. Brown and Mark Duplass, this film is great at subverting expectations. Brown and Duplass play off each other well, with Brown in particular giving what is his best feature performance to date. Biosphere was a late addition to the TIFF schedule last year, with little information about it, and that was the perfect way to debut, harkening back to when Cloverfield Paradox had its surprise release on Netflix (but with much better results). It’s best to keep the mystery of this film intact, but make sure you check it out. QUENTIN In what may be the most Duplass-y movie of The Duplass Brothers’ catalog, Biosphere is out there (a tremendous compliment). It’s hard to discuss details without exposing things you shouldn’t know (go in as cold as possible), but Biosphere is a strange examination of friendship, partnership, masculinity, identity, and survival. Sterling K. Brown, who continues to prove he should be elevated to A-List status, is terrific, while Mark Duplass essentially plays the same person he always does (it’s not a bad thing, but he only has one speed as an actor). This odd duck won’t be for everyone, but I loved it. AMARÚ It’s best to go into Biosphere sight unseen, but understand that Sterling K. Brown (Ray) and Mark Duplass (Billy) are the last two humans on Earth; then let their unique charm and chemistry carry you until the story kicks in. And boy does it kick in. Trust me when I say that they skillfully and hilariously navigate topics of science, politics, sexuality, friendship, prejudice, belief, gender identity, and learned behavior all in one setting, in under two hours, with just the two of them speaking and reacting to each other. This charmingly interesting look into the human psyche is nothing like you’ve ever seen before. PAIGE I’m telling you right now, Biosphere is not what you expect it to be at all. It’s an ambitious little film flowing with interesting themes that are executed in such an odd, but intriguing way. The film loses itself a wee bit with its pacing and simplicity, but I promise you this singular location flick is one worth checking out. This unique and claustrophobic gem allows Sterling K. Brown and Mark Duplass to build great chemistry between their characters, almost like they are Mario and Luigi. This film was reviewed by Nick and Quentin as part of Bitesize Breakdown's coverage of the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival.

ANOTHER SIMPLE FAVOR Starring: Blake Lively, Anna Kendrick, Alex Newell, Michele Morrone, Henry Golding, Ian Ho, Allison Janney, Elizabeth Perkins, Elena Sofia Ricci, Andrew Rannells, Lorenzo de Moor, Taylor Ortega, and Bashir Salahuddin Director: Paul Feig NICK I watched A Simple Favor for the first time a few days ago, so it was fresh in my mind leading into the sequel. Although this is certainly a step down, there's still some fun to be had, mainly thanks to the chemistry of Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick. Beyond them, the new cast members don’t add much (including Elizabeth Perkins, who replaces the sorely missed Jean Smart) and the campy story is needlessly convoluted. It’s the same thing we’ve been seeing lately: another streaming film that you can waste some time with, but is, at the end of the day, another unnecessary sequel. ROBERT You never want to believe a follow-up to a movie you loved could even hint at being bad, no matter the number of red flags staring you in the face. So, there was no caution with my optimism for Another Simple Favor , but oh boy, there should’ve been! After seven years, the story conceived was lame and like that of a daytime soap opera, so my interest waned quickly. The characters, namely Stephanie (Anna Kendrick) and Emily (Blake Lively), didn’t seem true to who they had been in the first film. It felt lazy, sloppy, and made only so they could have a production in Capri. AMARÚ I watched A Simple Favor some years ago, and while I remember the watch being impactful, it wasn’t enough to remember anything about it going into Another Simple Favor . What carries over the most is Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively’s chemistry, which holds enough weight to push through what amounts to a bad TNT television show. While I love Leverage and The Librarians , maybe that’s not what you want for a major motion picture sequel, and even those shows didn’t stoop to the campy trash in the last hour. The Kendrick and Lively sparring match was fun, but everything else around it was just dumb.