science fiction Archives – Page 3 of 12

Review: ‘Megalopolis’ (2024), starring Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight and Jason Schwartzman

October 7, 2024

by Carla Hay

Adam Driver and Nathalie Emmanuel in “Megalopolis” (Photo courtesy of Lionsgate)

“Megalopolis” (2024)

Directed by Francis Ford Coppola

Culture Representation: Taking place in the fictional U.S. city of New Rome, the sci-fi drama film “Megalopolis” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few Latin people and African Americans) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: A property mogul causes controversy over his development of an urban mega-complex, as he juggles various problems in his personal life.

Culture Audience: “Megalopolis” will appeal mainly to people who are fans of filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola and many of the movie’s headliners, but celebrity name recognition does not save this disastrous and ill-conceived movie.

Aubrey Plaza in “Megalopolis” (Photo courtesy of Lionsgate)

“Megaflopolis” is a more accurate title for the bloated and idiotic “Megalopolis,” which is drunk on its own pretension and fails miserably to tell a coherent and interesting story. A star-studded cast can’t save this mess. This is the type of movie that can only be described as a giant waste on many levels: production budget, talent and a potentially intriguing concept.

Written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, “Megalopolis” has been an idea of Coppola’s since 1977. The movie’s production budget was reportedly $120 million to $136 million, much of which was independently financed by Coppola, whose best work is still considered to be his Oscar-winning films from the 1970s, such as 1972’s “The Godfather,” 1974’s “The Godfather Part II” and 1979’s “Apocalypse Now.” Coppola has been coasting on his reputation for being an “auteur,” so “Megalopolis” came with a certain standard of expectations. “Megalopolis” had its world premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.

Unfortunately, the end result of all the years and money it took to make “Megalopolis” (which takes place in a futuristic fictional city of New Rome, inspired by New York City) is a movie that looks like a hack job on an over-inflated budget. This 138-minute catastrophe has a lot to show but doesn’t have much to say. Here’s the gist of the plot: An ambitious and frequently dour property mogul named Cesar Catilina (played by Adam Driver), who prefers to be called Catilina, causes controversy because of his high-priced plans to build a mega-complex called Megalopolis in the middle of the city. Meanwhile, Catilina gets involved in a love triangle, he has struggles with “mother issues” because his mother dislikes him, and he deals with various other people who come in and out of his orbit.

Catilina is getting a lot of criticism for displacing low-income people from their housing because of his development of Megalopolis, which includes business buildings, a shopping center and a giant recreational park. Years ago, Catilina went on trial for murder after he was accused of poisoning his wife. He was acquitted of the charges, but the scandal still affects his reputation.

One of Catilina’s biggest enemies is Mayor Franklyn Cicero (played by Giancarlo Esposito), who was the prosecuting district attorney in the murder trial. Mayor Cicero still thinks Catilina is guilty. Catilina calls Mayor Cicero “the chief slum lord” and doesn’t understand why the mayor is opposed to Catilina’s plan to “beautify” the city with Megalopolis. Another person who doesn’t get along well with Mayor Cicero is his hard-partying, sexually fluid daughter Julia Cicero (played by Nathalie Emmanuel), a medical school dropout, who is frequently in the tabloid media for her antics. Teresa Cicero (played by Kathryn Hunter), who is Mayor Cicero’s wife/Julia’s mother, is the calm counterpoint to Mayor Cicero’s fiery personality.

“Megalopolis” opens with a captioned statement in Latin (with subtitles): “Our American republic is not that much different from Old Rome … Will we fall victim, like Old Rome, to the insatiable appetite for power from a few men?” All this means is that “Megalopolis” has a lot of people looking ridiculous as they wear togas and other clothing that are supposed to be inspired by Old Rome. But then, the movies bizarrely drops in some references to William Shakespeare, such as in an early scene in “Megalopolis” when Catilina utters the famous line “To be or not to be” from “Hamlet.”

In the beginning of the story, Catilina has been having a casual fling with a TV talk show host named Wow Platinum (played by Aubrey Plaza), who has grown frustrated that Catilina won’t commit to a more serious relationship. In a TV interview, Wow Platinum asks him: “What’s it like to be rich?” Catilina answers, “You can scare people.” Get used to the cringeworthy dialogue, because “Megalopolis” is full of it.

Wow tells Catilina that she’s “bored” with being his casual lover and declares that she wants to be “one-half of a power couple.” She’s tired of waiting around for Catilina to propose marriage to her. And so, gold digger Wow has a quickie wedding with elderly billionaire Hamilton Crassus III (played by Jon Voight), who is Catilina’s uncle and who obviously has a lot of influence in the city. Hamilton’s sister is Cesar Catilina’s widowed mother: Constance Crassus Catilina (played by Talia Shire), who doesn’t hide her disdain for Cesar. Constance openly tells Cesar that she wish he had been born a girl.

Hamilton is a lot like dying prey, with vultures circling to wait until he can die and fight over his fortune. These vultures include his heirs and his new wife Wow. Hamilton has four grandchildren who are all spoiled siblings: Clodia Pulcher (played by Chloe Fineman), Clodio Pulcher (played by Shia LaBeouf), Claudine Pulcher (played by Isabelle Kusman) and Claudette Pulcher (played by Madeleine Gardella). Claudine is a party girl who is a lover of Julia, the mayor’s “wild child” daughter.

Supporting characters drift in an out of the story, some with more purpose than others. A pop music superstar named Vesta Sweetwater (played by Grace VanderWaal), who has an image of being a teenage virgin, performs at the wedding reception for Hamilton and Wow. Fundi Romaine (played by Laurence Fishburne) is Catilina’s loyal driver/butler/flunky. Nush “The Fixer” Berman (played by Dustin Hoffman) briefly scurries in and out of the movie like a rat scrounging for scraps. Nush is opposed to Megalopolis because he says it’s built on a waste foundation. Jason Zanderz (played by Jason Schwartzman) is a “yes man” in Mayor Cicero’s entourage.

It should come as no surprise that Julia (because she’s got “daddy issues”) decides to work for Catilina, her father’s biggest enemy. One thing leads to another, and Julia and Catilina become lovers, much to the horror of Mayor Cicero. “Megalopolis” has a tired, catty subplot of a jealous Wow trying to break up the relationship between Julia and Catilina (even though Wow is now married to Hamilton) because Wow can’t stand to see Catilina be in love with another woman.

“Megalopolis” lurches from scene to scene and puts forth some not-very-original futuristic ideas (such as cars that travel by air) that are clumsily plopped into the story but never fully developed. Many of the scenes are mind-numbingly bad and embarrassing for the people in these scenes, as well as for Coppola, because of all the substandard acting and terrible dialogue. If you waited your whole life to see disgraced actor LaBeouf in drag as he says, “Revenge tastes best when wearing a dress,” then “Megalopolis” is the movie for you. For people with good taste in cinema, “Megalopolis” should definitely be left off of the menu.

Lionsgate released “Megalopolis” in U.S. cinemas on September 27, 2024. A sneak preview of the movie was shown in U.S. cinemas on September 23, 2024.

Review: ‘Slingshot’ (2024), starring Casey Affleck and Laurence Fishburne

September 17, 2024

by Carla Hay

Casey Affleck and Laurence Fishburne in “Slingshot” (Photo courtesy of Bleecker Street)

“Slingshot” (2024)

Directed by Mikael Håfström

Culture Representation: Taking place mostly in outer space, the sci-fi drama film “Slingshot” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few African Americans) who are connected in some way to a space mission.

Culture Clash: A captain and two other astronauts have disagreements with each other during a claustrophobic and disorienting mission to find methane in outer space.

Culture Audience: “Slingshot” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and don’t mind watching a dull outer-space movie that is poorly conceived.

Emily Beecham and Casey Affleck in “Slingshot” (Photo courtesy of Bleecker Street)

The sci-fi drama “Slingshot” starts off with a flimsy concept (a claustrophobic outer-space mission seeking methane to save Earth) and flounders in the middle of the movie. The story’s divisive ending seems like a rushed and lazy cop-out among plot twists. There are any number of ways that “Slingshot” could have ended. The ending that was chosen for this disappointing dud of a movie comes across as the cinematic equivalent of throwing spaghetti against a wall and seeing what sticks. It still leaves an unpleasant mess.

Directed by Mikael Håfström and written by R. Scott Adams and Nathan C. Parker, “Slingshot” takes place almost entirely on a spaceship that’s floating in outer space. (The movie was actually filmed in Hungary.) “Slingshot” also has a very small number of people in the cast. Three astronauts on the ship get most of the focus, while the lover of one of the space travelers is mostly seen in flashback memories. Everyone else who’s in the movie either has a short amount of screen time to speak and/or is a background extra.

“Slingshot” begins on December 23 in an unnamed year. On the spacecraft Odyssey 1, three astronauts are tasked with a mission called Titan, to find an overabundance of methane that could save Earth. (No reason is given for this nonsensical plot that methane can save Earth.) The Slingshot in the movie refers to a breathtaking display of orbital mechanics.

The movie is shown from the perspective of an American astronaut named John (played by Casey Affleck), who is on the spacecraft with a stern leader named Captain Franks (played by Laurence Fishburne) and a rebellious French astronaut named Nash (played by Tomer Capone), who all occasionally check in by satellite with their supervisor Sam Napier (played by David Morrissey), who has a British accent. The movie’s story has a non-linear timeline which reveals that John has been going through hibernation training to prepare for the mission. The beginning of the movie shows him emerging from a hibernation session, where he is told that the side effects can include confusion, nausea and dizziness.

Most of “Slingshot” consists of John on the spacecraft (1) getting into conflicts with Captain Franks or Nash and (2) having flashbacks to his romantic relationship with Zoe Morgan (played by Emily Beecham), one of the Odyssey’s designers. The movie intends to make the time as disorienting to viewers as it is to John, but it’s really all just muddled screenwriting.

After a while, everything drags with repetition until the last 20 minute of the film crams in several plot twists that have some plot holes. None of the acting is particularly special; the visual effects are competently basic. “Slingshot” doesn’t have much to say about what created the situation where Earth is desperate for methane. The movie is called “Slingshot,” but it ends up missing the mark in too many ways.

Bleecker Street released “Slingshot” in U.S. cinemas on August 30, 2024.

Review: ‘Alien: Romulus,’ starring Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn and Aileen Wu

August 16, 2024

by Carla Hay

“Alien: Romulus”

Directed by Fede Alvarez

Culture Representation: Taking place in the year 2781, mostly in outer space, the sci-fi/action/horror film “Alien: Romulus” (part of the “Alien” movie franchise) features a racially diverse group of people (white, black, Asian, Latin) who are young space colonizers.

Culture Clash: During an unauthorized mission, the space travelers encounter an army of vicious and deadly alien creatures.

Culture Audience: “Alien Romulus” will appeal mainly to people who are fans of the “Alien” franchise and movies that skillfully blend suspense with science fiction and gory horror.

Xenomorph and Cailee Spaeny in “Alien: Romulus” (Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios)

After a slow and somewhat jumbled start, “Alien: Romulus” gets better as it goes along. It’s one of the most suspenseful and visually striking movies in the “Alien” franchise, with a nearly perfect mix of science fiction and horror. The movie leans into some nostalgia for the first two “Alien” movies, but it does so in a way that seems like the right amount of fan service instead of being lazy and pandering.

Written and directed by Fede Alvarez (who co-wrote the “Alien: Romulus” screenplay with Rodo Sayagues), “Alien: Romulus” is the type of franchise movie where viewers don’t need to see any of the other movies in the franchise. Viewers who don’t know anything about the best “Alien” movies—including the original 1979 “Alien” film and the 1986 sequel “Aliens,” starring Sigourney Weaver has chief heroine Ripley—might enjoy “Alien: Romulus” slightly more than viewers who already know what to expect.

The story is essentially the same as the first “Alien” movie: People are trapped on a spaceship with deadly alien creatures that are spawned from a “mother” alien, who’s the most dangerous of all. “Alien: Romulus” is at its weakest in the beginning of the movie, because it could have done a better job of establishing who these characters are. All of the principal “Alien: Romulus” characters make their first appearances in the “Alien” franchise in this movie.

In “Alien: Romulus” (which takes place in the year 2781), the main protagonist is Rain Carradine (played by Cailee Spaeny), who is obviously supposed to be the “new” Ripley. Rain has an adoptive brother Andy (played by David Jonsson), who is soon revealed to be an artificial person, also known as a synthetic. The movie has several scenes that show how there is human prejudice against synthetics, which is a commentary on how some humans perceive artificial intelligence.

Rain and Andy live on the Jackson Star Mining Colony on a planet far away from Earth. The personal backgrounds of almost all of the characters are very vague. The only things revealed about the backstories of Rain and Andy are that they grew up together, and Rain’s parents died three years ago of an unnamed lung disease. It’s a post-apocalyptic world where human survivors are looking for new planets to colonize.

Rain and Andy soon get pulled into a scheme with other young colonizers from Jackson Star Mining Colony to raid and steal items from a decommissioned space station consisting of two modules: Romulus and Remus. The other space travelers are compassionately brave Tyler (played by Archie Renaux), who has a mutual attraction to Rain; Kay (played by Isabel Merced), who is Tyler’s friendly sister; Bjorn (played by Spike Fearn), who is Tyler and Rain’s mean-spirited cousin; and androgynous Navarro (played by Aileen Wu), who will remind some people of the Private Vasquez character (played by Jenette Goldstein) in “Aliens.”

Without giving away too much information, it’s enough to say that “Alien: Romulus” has several plot developments that happen because of what type of module is inserted into Andy, whose actions are affected by the programming in each module. Bjorn is bitter that his parents were killed by a synthetic, so he mercilessly bullies Andy. Meanwhile, Kay has a big secret that she tells Rain, and she makes Rain promise not to tell anyone else.

Jonsson gives Andy a soulful personality for a being that is supposed to have no soul. The heart of the movie is the close sibling bond between Rain and Andy, who have loyalty to each other that gets tested at least once in the film. Spaeny does a very capable performance as the main hero. But is the performance instantly iconic, like Weaver’s depiction of Ripley? No.

“Alien: Romulus” has some very formulaic elements of a creature feature horror movie. And there are a few scenes with elements that are directly copied from “Alien” and “Aliens.” However, where “Alien: Romulus” really excels in the last 20 minutes, which has a few surprises and some of the best scenes in the film. “Alien Romulus” has no mid-credits or end-credits scene, but there’s no doubt that this movie was made with a sequel in mind.

20th Century Studios released “Alien: Romulus” in U.S. cinemas on August 16, 2024. The movie will be released as a special collectible VHS on December 3, 2024.

Review: ‘Deadpool & Wolverine,’ starring Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin and Matthew Macfadyen

July 23, 2024

by Carla Hay

“Deadpool & Wolverine”

Directed by Shawn Levy

Culture Representation: Taking place in various universes, the sci-fi/fantasy/action film “Deadpool & Wolverine” (based on Marvel Comics is the first “Deadpool” and “X-Men”-related movie that is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe) features a predominantly white cast of characters (with some African Americans and Asians) portraying superheroes, supervillains, powers and regular human beings.

Culture Clash: Bickering superheroes Deadpool and Wolverine team up to stop certain villains who want to make Deadpool’s universe disappear.

Culture Audience: “Deadpool & Wolverine” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners, superhero movies and action films that have some bawdy comedy with self-referencing jokes.

Emma Corrin in “Deadpool & Wolverine” (Photo by Jay Maidment/20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios)

“Deadpool & Wolverine” takes a joke-filled grenade and throws it at previous perceptions of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This hyperactive superhero sequel goes all-in with meta references, surprise appearances, and male homoerotic flirting. There are so many references to previous MCU movies, Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, executive decisions for superhero movies, and some of the cast members’ personal lives in the real world, it would be easy for anyone not familiar with any of these references be confused or not understand at last half of the jokes in the movie. “Deadpool & Wolverine”(based on Marvel Comics characters) is still an adrenaline-packed, crowd-pleaser for anyone inclined to like superhero movies, even if the movie is overstuffed with “surprises” to bulk up what is essentially a very thin plot.

Directed by Shawn Levy, “Deadpool & Wolverine” is the first MCU movie starring Marvel Comics characters from 20th Century Fox Studios (now known as 20th Century Studios), which was acquired by Disney (also owner of Marvel Studios) in 2019, about two years before the acquisition was announced. As a result, Marvel characters that have had movies from 20th Century Fox, such as Deadpool, the X-Men (which includes Wolverine), the Fantastic Four, Blade, Daredevil and Elektra, are among the characters who can now be part of the MCU. “Deadpool & Wolverine” was written by Levy, Ryan Reynolds, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick and Zeb Wells.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” is also the first MCU movie to have a movie rating that is recommended viewing for people at or close to adult ages. The movie gets this rating because of the bloody violence and cursing. “Deadpool & Wolverine” also has some sexual comments/innuendos that are intended for mature/adult audiences. Do people need to see any of 20th Century Fox’s previous superhero movies to better understand “Deadpool & Wolverine”? Yes. The best ones to see before “Deadpool & Wolverine” are 2016’s “Deadpool,” 2018’s “Deadpool 2” and 2017’s “Logan.”

In the very beginning of “Deadpool & Wolverine” wisecracking superhero Deadpool (played by Reynolds) is seen digging up a grave in a snowy wooded area. He’s trying to find and resurrect surly superhero Wolverine (played by Hugh Jackman), a human-wolf mutant also known as Logan, who died in the “Logan” movie. Wolverine is one of the main characters in the “X-Men” series of movies and comic books. Deadpool, whose real name is Wade Wilson, is a Canadian mercenary nicknamed Merc with a Mouth. Wade was disfigured by tumor-like scars that he received from being in a hypobaric chamber, and he has superhuman regenerative healing abilities. Wade’s main weapons are his guns and swords, while Wolverine’s main weapons his retractable hand claws that are very large blades.

The meta references in “Deadpool & Wolverine” start from the very first scene. Deadpool can be heard saying in a voiceover about resurrecting Wolverine/Logan: “Marvel is so stupid. How are we going to do this without dishonoring Logan’s memory? We’re not.” There’s an amusing fight scene that Deadpool has with some soldiers the wooded area, where Deadpool dances to *NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye.” And then, there’s a flashback to Deadpool’s life in 2018 and in 2024, before he ended up in this fight.

The flashbacks show that Wade has retired his Deadpool superhero persona and is working as a salesperson for a company called Drive Max, which is a lot like the real-life automobile sales company CarMax. Wade is close to a middle-aged co-worker named Peter (played by Rob Delaney), who is also a salesperson at Drive Max. A flashback to 2018 shows that Wade is unhappy in this dead-end job, so he interviews with Happy Hogan (played by Jon Favreau), Iron Man’s former chauffeur, to see if he can get back in the superhero business. Deadpool says he needs to join the Avengers (Marvel’s most famous group of superheroes), but Happy tells Wade that people aren’t Avengers because they need to be but because people need the Avengers.

In 2024, Wade is living with elderly roommate Blind Al (played by Leslie Uggams), who mentions several times that she’s a cocaine dealer. (The cocaine comments in the movie are played for laughs.) On his birthday, Wade goes home and gets a surprise birthday party, whose guests are Blind Al; Wade’s ex-girlfriend Vanessa Carlysle (played by Morena Baccarin); and various superhero friends who were introduced in 2018’s “Deadpool 2”: Dopinder (played by Karan Soni); Negasonic Teenage Warhead (played by Brianna Hildebrand); Yukio (played by Shioli Kutsuna); Colussus (played by Stefan Kapicic); and Buck (played by Randal Reeder). At this party, Vanessa tells Wade that she has a new boyfriend. Wade (who’s still in love with Vanessa) is visibly disappointed that she has moved on to someone else.

After this birthday party, Wade suddenly finds himself transported to the headquarters of the Time Variance Authority (TVA), which is responsible for various timelines in the multiverse. Wade meets a pompous TVA official named Mr. Paradox (played by Matthew Macfadyen), who informs Wade that when an anchor being dies in a universe, the universe and its timeline will eventually fade from existence. Mr. Paradox tells Wade/Deadpool that the universe of Wade/Deadpool and all of Wade’s loved ones will eventually cease to exist. Mr. Paradox has been tasked with overseeing this extinction.

Wade/Deadpool finds out that the “anchor being” for this universe is Wolverine/Logan. And so begins a race against time to find Wolverine/Logan (there are several in the multiverse) who is alive and team up with Wolverine to save Deadpool’s universe. “Deadpool & Wolverine” has a flurry of alternate Wolverines/Logans who make quick appearance in this search, including one played by an actor who is famous for starring as a DC Comics superhero.

The Wolverine/Logan who ends up teaming up with Deadpool/Wade is dealing with massve guilt over the death of millions of beings in his universe. The movie’s chief villain is Cassandra Nova (played by Emma Corrin), the twin sister of “X-Men” character Charles Xavier. She lives in a place called The Void, which “Deadpool & Wolverine” is quick to self-referentially point out is the movie’s ripoff version of what’s in the “Mad Max” movies. Cassandra has extremely powerful telekinesis abilities. She can also take her hands to go inside bodies and grab onto people’s organs. When she takes a hold of someone’s brain, she can read their mind and enter their thoughts.

The movie’s visual effects are above-average but they’re not groundbreaking. “Deadpool & Wolverine’s” soundtrack songs lean heavily into nostalgia. In addition to *NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye,” other songs featured prominently in the movie are Madonna’s “Like a Prayer”; John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John’s “Grease” duet “You’re the One that I Want”; and Huey Lewis & the News’ “The Power of Love” and “If This Is It.” This isn’t a soundtrack that will have an award-winning hit original song written for the soundtrack.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” also mines nostalgia in other ways, such as plenty of surprise superhero appearances—some that are more predictable than others. Some of these superhero appearances are played by the same cast members who were these superheroes in other movies, while other superhero appearances are from cast members playing these superheroes for the first time in a movie. Perhaps the biggest surprise is the appearance of someone who seems to be one superhero but then is revealed to be another superhero.

Reynolds and Jackman play up the “opposites attract and clash” personalities of Deadpool and Wolverine to the hilt. They get into some epic battles with villains and with each other. Reynolds has said in interviews that he thinks Deadpool is probably bisexual or sexually fluid, and so he portrays the character in this way. “Deadpool & Wolverine” doesn’t come right out and declare Deadpool’s sexuality, but the movie doesn’t really play coy about Deadpool’s sexuality either. There are numerous scenes that show Deadpool/Wade is still in love with Vanessa but he is sexually attracted to Wolverine/Logan.

Corrin is quite good in the role of ice-cold Cassandra, but this villain won’t go be remembered as the most fearsome or entertaining MCU villain. Macfadyen (the Emmy-winning former co-star of “Succession”) also has a role as an icy Brit villain, although prissy Mr. Paradox doesn’t have any superpowers and is a lot less menacing than Cassandra. There’s also a Deadpool dog named Dogpool who is in the movie for offbeat cuteness and comic relief. Cassandra’s minions are generic and forgettable, except for an underdeveloped character named Pyro (played by Aaron Stanford), who can make flames come out of his hands.

The movie has some snarky references to a few of the cast members’ personal lives. For example, Deadpool says that Wolverine has let his toned physique go flabby because of the divorce, which is in reference to Jackman’s own real-life divorce that Jackman going through while filming “Deadpool & Wolverine.” There’s also a joke about two real-life ex-spouses who co-starred as superheroes in a superhero movie that was released in the early 2000s, a few years before the now-divorced couple got married.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” has an overload of references to past superhero movies, pop culture and celebrity gossip. Viewers who are unfamiliar with any of the above will just feel lost but can still enjoy the action and the characters. The movie’s end-credit scene is not a preview for a sequel but is an amusing reference to a previous scene in “Deadpool & Wolverine.” As far as MCU movies go, “Deadpool & Wolverine” is a wacky and entertaining ride that doesn’t take itself too seriously. “Deadpool & Wolverine” revels in poking fun itself as much as it pokes fun at the movie industry.

Marvel Studios and 20th Century Studios will release “Deadpool & Wolverine” in U.S. cinemas on July 26, 2024.

Review: ‘Lumina’ (2024), starring Eric Roberts, Ken Lawson, Emily Hall, Rupert Lazarus, Eleanor Williams, Andrea Tivadar and Sidney Nicole Rogers

July 19, 2024

by Carla Hay

Ken Lawson, Rupert Lazarus, Sidney Nicole Rogers and Andrea Tivadar in “Lumina” (Photo courtesy of Goldove Entertainment)

“Lumina” (2024)

Directed by Gino J.H. McKoy

Culture Representation: Taking place in the United States and in Morocco, the sci-fi/horror film “Lumina” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few African Americans) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: A man and three of his friends look for his missing girlfriend, who disappeared from his home under mysterious circumstances.

Culture Audience: “Lumina” will appeal primarily to people who don’t mind watching extremely low-quality movies.

Eric Roberts and Rupert Lazarus in “Lumina” (Photo courtesy of Goldove Entertainment)

The sci-fi horror flop “Lumina” is a pathetic mess of sloppy filmmaking and cringeworthy acting. This incoherent story, which is about a woman’s disappearance that is linked to outer space, gets worse as the movie sinks into a void of irredeemable idiocy. “Lumina” is the type of stinker that’s destined to end up in shows or lists that make fun of terrible sci-fi movies or the worst movies of the year.

Written and directed by Gino J.H. McKoy, “Lumina” is his feature-film directorial debut. It’s the type of movie that was made because the director and some the director’s family members paid to get it made. The producers of this dreck movie are Gino J.H. McKoy, Lynda McKoy, Hudson McKoy and David Seychell. It’s hard to imagine real movie producers with credibility wanting to get involved in this hopelessly amateur-looking junk.

“Lumina” has more science fiction than horror. The horror part of the movie doesn’t really kick in until the last third of the film. By then, it’s a lost cause. The visual effects in “Lumina” are so cheap-looking and tacky, it makes a lot of no-budget YouTube videos look like masterpieces in comparison.

“Lumina” actually starts off looking like a boring soap opera instead of a sci-fi horror thriller. The opening scene shows a man in a space suit walking around on what appears to be another planet. Who is this person? Where is he? And why? The movie answers those questions in the last third of the story. In the meantime, it’s a slog to get there with many scenes being absolutely unnecessary or making no sense.

After the scene with the spacesuit man, the movie then abruptly shifts to six months earlier. At a Los Angeles mansion, wealthy trust-fund heir Alex (played by Rupert Lazarus) is having a house party. It’s mentioned later in the movie that Alex doesn’t have a job. He just lives off of his trust fund. (“Lumina” was actually filmed in Morocco.)

Alex and his attractive blonde girlfriend Tatiana (played by Eleanor Williams) are in love and happy with each other. However, because Alex has the personality of a slug, you have to wonder what Tatiana sees in him. It must be his money. But there’s trouble in a paradise for this couple because of a jealous person in a love triangle.

Alex has a platonic friend named Deliah (played by Andrea Tivada), who is in love with Alex and wants him for herself. Alex has a hanger-on living with him named Patricia (played by Sidney Nicole Rogers), who doesn’t have a job either. Patricia is a platonic friend of Alex’s, but it’s unclear what led to Patricia living with Alex. It’s implied that she’s a freeloader.

Patricia is a close friend of Delilah, who asks Patricia to help her in spying on Alex and Tatiana. Don’t expect to find out what any of these so-called friends do with their lives or how they met. None of that information is mentioned in this poorly written movie.

At the house party, Patricia tells Delilah will just have to “learn how to share” Alex because Alex won’t break up with Tatiana. Delilah won’t accept that advice. Delilah says to Patricia: “He thinks he loves her, but he doesn’t. He’ll be better off without her. Actually, I know he’ll be happier.”

Almost all of the dialogue in this movie sounds like it was spit out by a third-rate artificial intelligence program. The stiff and unnatural acting in “Lumina” isn’t much better. There are robots that could be more believable than the human cast members who show a sorry display of acting in “Lumina.”

As the party ends and the guests have departed, something strange happens in the living room where Delilah and Patricia are sitting on a couch: Liquid in drinking glasses starts to float in the air. Tatiana is outside near the swimming pool when there’s a huge flash of light. Suddenly, Tatiana has disappeared.

A frantic Alex looks everywhere for Tatiana but can’t find her. And so, Alex calls police to report her as a missing person. Here’s how bad the “Lumina” screenplay is: When a cop shows up to interview Alex and asks him to describe Tatiana, Alex only gives this vague description: “5’8″, 130 [pounds], long hair, beautiful eyes.”

Alex doesn’t mention Tatiana’s hair color or eye color. And the cop never asks. The cop doesn’t ask for a photo of Tatiana, nor does Alex mention giving a photo of Tatiana to help with the search for her. The stupidity doesn’t end there.

While all of this turmoil over Tatiana’s disappearance is going on, Delilah and Patricia are still sitting on the couch. Alex walks into the room right at the moment that Delilah can be heard listening to a recording she made on her phone where Delilah says repeatedly, “I wish that bitch would disappear.”

Alex immediately has a meltdown because he knows Delilah is talking about Tatiana. He yells at Delilah: “Why would you say that?” He then shouts at Delilah: “This friendship is over! Get out of my house!” Of course, this won’t be the last time that Alex and Delilah see each other.

An unspecified period of time has passed when the movie then abruptly cuts to the next scene, which shows a forlorn Alex with a very shaggy beard. Alex mopes around his house and stares off into space a lot because he’s depressed about Tatiana, who’s still missing. A talkative and hyper acquaintance of Alex’s named George (played by Ken Lawson) shows up at the house and immediately starts spouting conspiracy theories about alien abductions. Alex starts to believe him.

George is friendly with Alex but apparently doesn’t know Alex very well, because when George arrives at the house, he’s surprised that it’s a mansion. George is a nerdy creep who often makes inappropriate comments. He’s immediately attracted to Patricia and lets her know it. This is George’s idea of flirting with Patricia: He tells Patricia within minutes of meeting her to take off her clothes. George means it as a joke, but it’s still a boorish thing to say. Patricia lets George know that she thinks he’s kind of repulsive.

The rest of “Lumina” stumbles around from scene to scene, as Alex, Patricia, George and Delilah (who convinces Alex to let her hang out with him again) search for Tatiana. The scenes get weirder more irritating. Some characters show up in the movie but have no real purpose or bearing on the plot before they go away and are never seen again.

George introduces the three pals to another conspiracy theorist named Thom (played by Eric Roberts), who hangs out in a cave-like structure with some control board equipment that looks like throwaway props from an outdated sci-fi movie. Roberts gets top billing in “Lumina,” but he’s in this two-hour movie for less than 15 minutes. Roberts’ mumbling performance is the very definition of “phoning it in,” because he looks like he could care less about embarrassing hmself in this terrible movie.

There’s a part of the story where Alex and his pals go to Morocco to visit Tatiana’s parents Teresa (played by Rachael Mellen) and Martin (played by Collin Goodwin), who have some information about Tatiana to tell Alex. Why did Alex have to go all the way to Morocco to get this information? The parents insist that they can only tell Alex this information in person.

One of the most mind-boggling and time-wasting scenes in “Lumina” is when Alex, George, Patricia and Delilah encounter a couple named Sonny (played by Mohamed Nmila) and Chere (played by Emily Hall) at night in a remote area with a shallow pond near some rocks. (Don’t ask.) Chere strips down to her underwear and wades in the pond. She takes Alex by the hand and gets him to also remove his outer clothing and go in the pond with her.

Chere tells Alex, “You need to be invited, like we were invited.” Delilah predictably gets jealous and call Chere a “bitch,” which seems to be Delilah’s go-to word for a woman she sees as competition for Alex’s attention. Delilah and Chere almost have a catfight as Delilah pulls Alex away from this “temptress.” Don’t expect this scene to explain anything.

It’s at this point in the movie when you know that the “Lumina” filmmakers absolutely did not care about having an entertaining story and just threw some stupid ideas together and called it a plot. “Lumina” just exists to fulfill some people’s misguided fantasy of making a sci-fi horror movie that actually turned out to be an unintentional comedy because of how laughably bad everything is. Many viewers won’t be laughing though. The joke is on anyone who thinks “Lumina” is a good movie.

Goldove Entertainment released “Lumina” in U.S. cinemas on July 12, 2024.

Review: ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,’ starring Owen Teague, Freya Allan, Kevin Durand, Peter Macon and William H. Macy

May 8, 2024

by Carla Hay

“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes”

Directed by Wes Ball

Culture Representation: Taking place on Earth, 300 years after the events of the movie “War for the Planet of the Apes,” the sci-fi/action film “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” features a cast of characters who are apes and humans.

Culture Clash: A group of apes team up with a human to try to defeat an evil dictatorial ape that wants to take over the world.

Culture Audience: “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the “Planet of the Apes” franchise and sci-fi action films where most of the characters are not human.

Travis Jeffery, Owen Teague and Lydia Peckham in “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” (Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios)

After a slow start, “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” turns into a familiar “good versus evil” sci-fi adventure story with the expected battles. It’s not the best “Planet of the Apes” movie, but it’s not the worst either. The action sequences and how the apes are portrayed should please fans of this franchise. The movie’s biggest flaw is how underdeveloped the human characters are.

Directed by Wes Ball and written by Josh Friedman, “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” is a spinoff/continuation of the trilogy that began with 2011’s “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” (directed by Rupert Wyatt), and continued with 2014’s “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” (directed by Matt Reeves) and 2017’s “War for the Planet of the Apes” (directed by Reeves). The hero ape at the center of this trilogy was Caesar (played by Andy Serkis), who became a legendary leader. “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” takes place on Earth, 300 years after the event of “War for the Planet of the Apes.”

Do viewers need to see this trilogy before seeing “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes”? Probably. That’s because Caesar is mentioned so many times in “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” he’s an unseen character in the movie. “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” has a captioned introduction explaining that a virus has caused apes to be superior to humans. Caesar was a brave leader of apes who “stood up for his kind,” but he also believed in a world where it’s possible for apes and humans to peacefully co-exist, even if many humans try to dominate or destroy apes.

In “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” (which was filmed in New South Wales, Australia), humans are almost extinct from Earth. The “good apes” at the center of the story are from the Eagle Clan. These apes believe that they can communicate to eagles through a special ape-singing skills. The apes in the Eagle Clan look for eagle eggs to take and possible bond with when the eagles hatch from the eggs. The Eagle Clan has a rule that if eagle eggs are found in a nest, at least one egg has to be left behind in the nest.

The movie opens during one of these egg-hunting trips to show three young adult ape friends who are hunting together: earnest and intelligent Noa (played by Owen Teague); Noa’s strong-willed love interest Soona (played by Lydia Peckham); and Noa’s daredevil best friend Anaya (played by Travis Jeffery). The Eagle Clan lives in peaceful harmony with each other.

In the beginning of the story, Noa is hesitant and insecure about some things in his life. Noa doesn’t think his eagle-singing skills are up to the level of many other apes in the Eagle Clan. Noa’s parents are supportive, but his father thinks Noa should be more confident.

One day, the Eagle Clan is brutally invaded by an army of apes led by an evil dictator named Proximus Caesar (played by Kevin Durand), who orders that the Clan’s village be burned, and the surviving Eagle Clan members are forced into enslavement. In the chaos and mayhem, Caesar escapes. When he returns to the devastated and burned-out village, his family and friends are missing.

Naturally, Caesar goes on a mission to find his loved ones. Along the way, he meets a wise warrior orangutan named Raka (played by Peter Macon) and a mysterious woman, whom Caesar and Raka name Nova (played by Freya Allan), but she later reveals that her name is Mae. Nova/Mae pretends to be mute for much of the story until (to no one’s surprise), she admits she can talk. Nova/Mae says her deceased mother taught her to pretend to be mute for her own protection because intelligent humans are seen as a threat to apes.

Another human in “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” is Trevathan (played by William H. Macy), who is being held as a prisoner by Proximus Caesar, so that Proximus Caesar can learn all he can about human inventions and knowledge. Trevathan doesn’t have “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” get a meaningful sense of who he really is.

Noa is a little suspicious of Nova/Mae at first, but Raka believes in Caesar’s philosophies and urges Noa to give Nova/Mae a chance to prove her trustworthiness. Nova/Mae is supposed to be enigmatic, but perhaps she’s a little too mysterious because her personality is somewhat dull, even if her action sequences are among the best in the movie. “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” never explains why Nova/Mae runs around in a tank top and jeans, while other humans in the story wear loin cloth outfits.

As for the ape characters, Teague and Macon stand out for their respective performances of Noa and Raka, who develop a protégé/mentor type of relationship. However, all the other ape characters with significant speaking roles, including villain Proximus Caesar, are a little too generic and predictable. The love story between Noa and Soona is a quite tepid. Most of the dialogue in the film is simplistic. These highly intelligent apes should have more interesting conversations.

The action sequences and visual effects in the movie are hit-and-miss but certainly aren’t terrible. Most of all, the story is formulaic but not necessarily in a bad way. The movie has no mid-credits scene or end-credits scene but has the expected ending that guarantees a sequel, since “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” is conceived as the first movie in a trilogy. “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” doesn’t offer any real surprises, but it’s the cinematic equivalent of comfort food for people who are fans of the franchise.

20th Century Studios will release “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” in U.S. cinemas on May 10, 2024, with a sneak preview in U.S. cinemas on May 8, 2024.

Review: ‘Villains Inc.’ (2024), starring Mallory Everton, Colin Mochrie, Jason Gray and Billy Mann

April 20, 2024

by Carla Hay

Colin Mochrie, Mallory Everton and Jason Gray in “Villains Inc.” (Photo courtesy of Purdie Distribution)

“Villains Inc.” (2024)

Directed by Jeremy Warner

Culture Representation: Taking place in an unnamed U.S. city, the sci-fi/fantasy/comedy film “Villains Inc.” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few African Americans) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: Three bumbling villains and an “intern” who’s under “techno hypnosis” try to take over the world with a convoluted plan.

Culture Audience: “Villains Inc.” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in watching silly, low-budget comedies that are easily forgotten.

Trey Warner in “Villains Inc.” (Photo courtesy of Purdie Distribution)

Incoherent and unappealing, “Villains Inc.” looks like an amateur sketch comedy idea stretched into a messy feature-length movie. It’s a witless story about irksome villains and a shallow superhero who are as incompetent as this film. Don’t try to make sense of what you’re watching in “Villains Inc.,” because even the characters in the movie don’t really know what they’re doing.

Directed by Jeremy Warner, “Villains Inc.” (formerly titled “Villains Incorporated”) was co-written by Warner, Jason Gray and Matt Moen, who all have small and inconsequential acting roles in the movie. The story in “Villains” is so convoluted yet empty, it’s like watching people getting lost in a maze that they made for themselves. What makes everything worse is that “Villains Inc.” has a very off-putting smug tone, as if the filmmakers think the movie is funnier than it really is.

“Villains Inc.” is about three villains who think they are underappreciated for being “lowly” assistant villains to their more powerful boss. They don’t want to be overshadowed and want the fame and power they think they deserve. And so, these three misfit villains decide to team up and take over the world. Along the way, they enlist the help of an “intern,” whose mind is controlled by “techno hypnotism.” It sounds like a potentially good idea for a madcap comedy, but the way the story is told in this movie, it just becomes time-wasting, frequently dull garbage.

“Villains Inc.” takes place in an unnamed U.S. state but was actually filmed in Utah. A scene early on in the movie shows that the U.S. Constitution in this story has added a 28th Amendment that makes superpowers a human right. There is nothing in “Villains Inc.” that comes close to being an entertaining story about people with superpowers.

The leader of this villainous trio is talkative and annoying Beatrix Bennington (played by Mallory Everton), who comes up with a nonsensical plan for world domination. Beatrix wants to open a chain of stores called Killer Petco, where pets will be sold to the world’s most powerful villains. The pets will be secretly trained to kill their villain owners. Through fine-print clauses on the Killer Petco sales contracts, the dead villains’ assets will be inherited by Beatrix and her cohorts.

Beatrix’s sidekicks are dimwitted Harold (played by Colin Mochrie) and pessimistic Cain (played by Jason Gray), who is the one most likely to doubt that Beatrix’s plans will succeed. The movie’s opening scenes shows that Beatrix, Harold and Cain feel liberated after they watch their boss Winter General (played by Gabe Casdorph) die in a fight with a lunkhead Superman-like character named Captain Justice (played by Trey Warner), who pops in and out of the story at inexplicable moments.

Beatrix, Harold and Cain try unsuccessfully to profit from their boss’ death by attempting to gain access to his power and wealth. Instead, this bungling trio is forced to do tasks assigned to them by a villain employment agency, where they interact with a sassy unnamed agent (played by GloZell Green), who thinks Beatrix, Harold and Cain are idiots. Some of the tasks the trio is forced to do include poison testing, holding up target practice signs, and being night security guards, electricians and lab technicians.

There are moronic scenes where Beatrix goes through a villain “tryout” course and lies about having superpowers. Whether or not her lie gets exposed is supposed to be a big part of the story. Beatrix, Harold and Cain eventually cross paths with the aforementioned intern: a naïve flunky named Alex (played by Billy Mann), who becomes available after his previous villain boss Megadeath (played by Matthew Meese) is killed.

There are almost no laugh-out-loud moments in “Villains Inc.,” which careens from scene to scene with not much interesting happening. Everton gives a committed performance where she tries to be funny in every scene that she’s in, but the other cast members just go through the motions with unimpressive performances. The people who might enjoy this dreadful film the most are people who are too intoxicated to care what they’re watching.

Purdie Distribution released “Villains Inc.” in select U.S. cinemas on April 19, 2024.

Review: ‘Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,’ starring Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, Kaylee Hottle, Alex Ferns and Fala Chen

March 28, 2024

by Carla Hay

“Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire”

Directed by Adam Wingard

Culture Representation: Taking place in various places on Earth, the sci-fi/fantasy/action film “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” features a racially diverse cast of human characters (white, African American and Asian) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy, in addition to the movie having fictional animal characters.

Culture Clash: Giant monsters Godzilla and Kong team up to fight a common enemy: a giant ape called Skar King, a brutal ruler of an oppressive society in Hollow Earth.

Culture Audience: “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the Godzilla and King Kong franchise and adrenaline-packed and entertaining action movies about giant monsters.

Dan Stevens, Rebecca Hall and Kaylee Hottle in “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” (Photo by Daniel McFadden/Warner Bros. Pictures)

Better and bolder than its predecessor, “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” delivers what viewers can expect to see when two titan monsters team up against a common enemy. There are less human characters who are irritating and more spectacular action. Be prepared to wait for the epic showdown scene when Godzilla and Kong finally join forces. The movie builds up to this moment with the right amount of anticipation and suspense. It’s worth the wait.

Directed by Adam Wingard, “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” is a direct sequel to 2021’s “Godzilla vs. Kong,” a bombastic action flick that had too many annoying humans and a lot of bad dialogue than significantly lowered the quality of the movie. “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” has a new screenwriting team (Terry Rossio, Simon Barrett and Jeremy Slater) that made a huge improvement in the story’s narrative, structure and character development, compared to “Godzilla vs. Kong,” which was directed by Wingard and written by Eric Pearson and Max Borenstein.

In “Godzilla x Kong,” mutant dinosaur Godzilla is living above ground and still causing destruction. One of the intentionally amusing things in the movie is that when Godzilla is in Rome, he sleeps in the Colosseum. There are other world-famous landmarks in the movie that are the settings of some of the movie’s intense action scenes, such as the pyramids in Egypt. The scientists observing Godzilla notice that he has gone to a nuclear power plant to inhale the fumes, as if he’s gearing up for battle.

Meanwhile, giant ape Kong is living in his domain in an area in the middle of the Earth called Hollow Earth. Something seems to be disturbing him too. A signal seems to be interfering with Hollow Earth, which is under the scientific observation of the Monarch Hollow Earth Station in Barbados, as first seen in “Godzilla vs. Kong.” Dr. Ilene Andrews (played by Rebecca Hall) is the lead scientist.

Ilene’s adopted daughter Jia (played by Kaylee Hottle), who happens to be deaf, is mourning the genocide of her indigenous Iwi tribe of people, who worship and are protectors of Kong and others in his species. Later in the movie, an Iwi queen (played by Fala Chen) has some answers to questions about Jia’s heritage and Iwi legacy. Jia is causing concern at her school because she’s been making disturbing drawings in class on pieces of paper and on her desk. Jia tells Ilene, “I think I’m going crazy.” It turns out that Jia has been sensing certain signals that are interfering with Hollow Earth.

Ilene and Jia then go on an expedition to Hollow Earth with wisecracking Monarch veterinarian Trapper (played by Dan Stevens), hot-tempered pilot Mikael (played by Alex Ferns) and talkative podcaster Bernie (played by Brian Tyree Henry), who begs to be taken along for the ride. Ilene and Jia are the most level-headed people in this motley crew. What these expeditioners find in Hollow Earth changes the entire trajectory of the story.

Kong also has a new companion in Hollow Earth: a young monster ape named Suko, who has a child-like personality. Although they both get off to a rough start by clashing with each other, Kong develops a paternal relationship to Suko as they spend more time together, and they protect each other. This movie shows more of Kong’s vulnerable emotions than in “Godzilla vs. Kong.” The performances by the cast members are serviceable. Let’s face it: People see these Godzilla and Kong movies for the monsters more than the humans.

Kong and Suko both come across a formidable enemy: Skar King, an evil giant ape who has enslaved hundreds of other giant apes. Skar King has control of a mutant dinosaur named Shimo with freezing powers. Skar King uses Shimo in battles and to keep the enslaved apes in fear. There’s also a legendary creature from Godzilla lore (hint: the creature is female and has wings) that is also an important part of the story.

“Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” also has a lot to say about family—whether the family is biological or found—and how being part of a family has a profound effect on the characters in the movie. (There are no mid-credits or end-credits scenes in the film.) The only main drawback to “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” is that the visual effects for Suko look too fake. However, the rest of the film is an entertaining ride that has the right blend of relatable emotions and thrilling action for the human and non-human characters.

Warner Bros. Pictures will release “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” in U.S. cinemas on March 29, 2024.

Review: ‘Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya,’ starring Shahid Kapoor and Kriti Sanon

March 11, 2024

by Carla Hay

“Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya”

Directed by Amit Joshi and Aradhana Sahy

Hindi with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place in India and in the United States, the sci-fi comedy film “Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya” features a predominantly Indian cast of characters (with some white people) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: A robotics engineer, who works for his aunt’s company, finds out that the woman he has fallen in love with is a robot that was programmed by his aunt to seduce him.

Culture Audience: “Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and silly romantic comedies.

Dimple Kapadia in “Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya” (Photo courtesy of FunAsia Films and Nirvana Cinemas)

“Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya” is an overly long, repetitive movie that not only does not justify being 143 minutes, but the film also does not justify its entire existence. This unimaginative comedy relies too much on clichés about a guy falling in love with a “perfect female,” who happens to be a robot. This vapid movie becomes increasingly foolish until it becomes a very bad joke on viewers expecting it to get better.

Written and directed by Amit Joshi and Aradhana Sahy, “Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya” (which means “got s tangled n your words” in Hindi) runs its weak slapstick jokes into the ground very early and then repeats them to irritating levels. Viewers who watch this onslaught of terrible filmmaking will be subjected to watching people in the movie act even worse than their bad dialogue. About the only thing that this time-wasting movie can brag about is that it has pretty scenery and physically attractive leading cast members.

In “Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya” (which takes place mostly in Mumbai, India), playboy bachelor Aryan Agnihotri (played by Shahid Kapoor) is a robotics engineer who works for Robotex, a company owned by his aunt Urmila Shukla (played by Dimple Kapadia), who is demanding and impatient. Two of Aryan’s co-workers are flirtatious Myra (played by Amisha Thakur) and married man Monty (played by Ashish Verma), who gives Aryan simplistic relationship advice, such as “Everything is a compromise.”

“Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya” is so inept and repetitive in its storytelling, it opens with a scene that’s a too-early foreshadowing of the rest of the story. In this first scene, Aryan’s family has arranged a marriage for him that he does not want. When he meets his bride-to-be for the first time, she is wearing a long veil over her face. And he finds out that she’s a robot that malfunctions. But surprise! It’s just a nightmare that Aryan had.

In reality, Aryan’s parents are very worried that he isn’t married yet. When Urmila reminds him that Aryan’s parents are eager to see him settle down and get married, Aryan reminds Urmila that she didn’t get married until she was 40 years old, and she got divorced six months later. Aryan will soon find out that Urmila is more of a meddler in his love life than she appears to be.

One day, Urmila tells Aryan to go to the United States on business. He stays at a luxury villa that the company uses for high-ranking visiting employees. Aryan is greeted at the villa by a woman named Sifra (played by Kriti Sanon), who tells him that she works for Urmila and has been tasked with taking care of all of Aryan’s needs during his stay. Aryan is immediately attracted to Sifra, who seems to seems to “have it all,” in terms of looks, intelligence and personality. Aryan and Sifra become lovers after some flirtations and romantic dates.

The trailer for “Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya” already reveals about 80% of the movie’s very thin plot: Aryan finds out that Sifra is a robot made by Robotex. Her name is actually spelled SIFRA, an acronym for Super Intelligent Female Robot Automation. And she was programmed by Urmila to seduce Aryan as an experiment to see if a human being could fall in love with a robot. When Aryan asks SIFRA how she can so respond so well to his needs, SIFRA says that she can expertly read people’s facial expressions and body language and react accordingly.

What’s a playboy bachelor to do when his family is pressuring him to get married and he’s found his “ideal woman,” but she’s a robot? In a moronic movie like “Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya,” he takes her home to meet his family, introduces her as a girlfriend he’s in a serious relationship with, and then he proposes to her, as they plan a wedding that the family wants to happen as soon as possible. The majority of “Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya” is about Aryan trying to keep it a secret from his family that SIFRA is a robot.

“Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya” fills up some of its time with stereotypical musical numbers that have forgettable music and generic lyrics. Aryan’s family is a predictable clan that is usually found in romantic comedies: large, loud and intrusive. These squawking family members include Aryan’s father Jai Singh Agnihotri (played by Dharmendra); Aryan’s mother Sharmila Agnihotri (played by Anubha Fatehpuria); Aryna’s teenage sister Tim Tim (played by Maahi Raj Jain); and assorted grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins of Aryan.

As the wedding of Aryan and SIFRA approaches, “Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya” becomes a pile-on of ludicrous “close-call” scenarios that usually involve whether or not SIFRA’s battery is charged enough for her to function, or how much memory she has. The worst part of the movie is in the last half-hour when it really goes off the rails with violence. And there’s a misogynistic tone to the plot, because it revolves around objectifying the main female character. An over-used gag in “Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya” is showing what happens when SIFRA malfunctions, but this dreadfully unfunny movie is nothing but a giant malfunction.

FunAsia Films and Nirvana Cinemas released “Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya” in U.S. cinemas on February 9, 2024, the same day that the movie was released in India.

Review: ‘Dune: Part Two,’ starring Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Christopher Walken and Javier Bardem

February 21, 2024

by Carla Hay

“Dune: Part Two”

Directed by Denis Villeneuve

Culture Representation: Taking place in the year 10,191, on the fictional planets of Giedi Prime and Arrakis, the sci-fi action film “Dune” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with some black people, Asians and Latinos) representing heroes, villains and people who are in between.

Culture Clash: House Atreides royal leaders Paul Atreides and his mother Jessica, who are refugees from their planet Caladan, get suspicion from and ultimately join forces with the native Fremen people of Arrakis, to battle against House Atreides rivals in House Harkonnen from the planet of Giedi Prime.

Culture Audience: “Dune: Part Two” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the “Dune” novel and to people who like epic sci-fi adventures with stunning visuals and good acting.

Austin Butler and Léa Seydoux in “Dune: Part Two” (Photo by Niko Tavernise/Warner Bros. Pictures)

“Dune: Part Two” is a masterful technical achievement that surpasses its predecessor movie on a storytelling level. It’s less cluttered with characters than 2021’s “Dune” and has a more compelling villain and higher emotional stakes. Fans of the the “Dune” franchise will have their expectations met or surpassed with “Dune: Part Two,” a sci-fi epic worth seeing on the biggest screen possible with the best sound system possible.

Directed by Denis Villenueve, “Dune: Part Two” (co-written by Villenueve and Jon Spaihts) is the second part of Villenueve’s movie triology adaptation of Paul Herbert’s densely packed 1965 novel “Dune.” (Villenueve’s “Dune” adaptations are far superior to 1984’s disastrously awful “Dune” movie, directed by David Lynch.) The first part of Villenueve’s “Dune” movie, released in 2021, was an introduction to the main characters and had a lot to do with showing the combat training and the rise of main “Dune” hero Paul Atreides (played by Timothée Chalamet), a royal leader from House Atreides.

Is it necessary to know about the “Dune” book and/or know what happened 2021’s “Dune” to completely enjoy “Dune: Part Two”? Yes. There are many references to 2021’s “Dune” in “Dune: Part Two” that will be confusing to viewers who don’t know what happened in 2021’s “Dune.” Viewers who watch “Dune: Part Two” who don’t know anything about the “Dune” story can still enjoy “Dune: Part Two,” but they will feel like they’ve started reading a book from the middle, not from the beginning.

In “Dune: Part Two” (which takes place in the year 10,191), Paul and his mother Jessica (played by Rebecca Ferguson), who is pregnant with a daughter, are refugees from their home planet Caladan, which has been devastated by a genocidal attack from House Harkonnen. The attack killed Paul’s father/Jessica’s live-in partner Leto Atreides (played by Oscar Isaac), a duke who passed on his legacy to Paul before Leto died. Leto was ordered to be the fief ruler of Arrakis, a desert planet with harsh terrain that is the only place to find a priceless treasure: melange, also known as spice, a dusty substance that can enhance and extend human life.

Because spice is the most sought-after substance in the universe and can make people wealthy, people will go to extremes to get it and to be in charge of Arrakis, whose native people are called Fremen. Prolonged exposure to spice can turn humans’ eyes blue in the iris. Harvesting spice can be a deadly activity because gigantic sandworms ferociously guard the spice. “Dune: Part Two” begins with this caption: “Power over spice is power over all.”

House Atreides and House Harkonnen have been in a bitter rivalry over getting control of spice. House Harkonnen was behind the attack that killed Leto and several of his people. The evil leader of House Harkonnen is a baron named Vladimir Harkonnen (played by Stellan Skarsgård), an obese and ruthless tyrant, who likes to spending time in saunas filled with a tar-like substance. Vladimir’s closest henchman is his sadistic nephew Glossu Rabban (played by Dave Bautista), who doesn’t hestitate to kill anyone for any reason.

The person who orderd Leto to rule over Arrakis was his adoptive cousin: Padishah Emperor of House Carrino named Shaddam Corrino IV (played by Christopher Walken), who was not seen in 2021’s “Dune,” but he has a prominent role in “Dune: Part Two.” In the beginning of “Dune: Part Two,” Shaddam’s daughter Princess Irulan (played by Florence Pugh) can be heard in a voiceover commenting on the night of the House Atreides massacre: “Since that night, my father hasn’t been the same.”

Why? It’s because Shaddam set up Leto as ruler of Arrakis, knowing that House Harkonnen wold respond with a brutal attack on House Atreides. This betrayal (which isn’t spoliler information) becomes a layer in the conficts that exist in “Dune: Part Two.” There is also a big family secret that is revealed that has to do with House Atreides and House Harkonnen.

Meanwhile, Paul and Jessica have made their way to Arrakis, with the help of Stilgar (played by Javier Bardem), the leader of the Fremen tribe called Sietch Tabr. Stilgar is the translator, and negotiator when the Fremens become suspicious of the arrival of Paul and Jessica, who ar ebelieved by many Fremens to be spies. Stilgar, who is convinced that Paul is the messiah from a prophecy, is often the movie’s comic relief in how he how tries to convince his skeptical Fremen people to trust Paul and Jessica and to believe that Paul is the messiah.

In 2021’s “Dune,” Paul met an independent and outspoken young Freman woman named Chani (played by Zendaya), who kept appearing in his dreams before he met her. In “Dune: Part Two,” Paul and Chani develop a romance that heats up quickly, as Chani teaches Paul how he can better navigate avoiding sand worms while walking in the desert. (“You sand walk like a drunk lizard,” she chastises Paul.) Before the movie is half over, Paul and Chani are kissing each other, and he declares his love for her. None of this is spoiler informaton, since this love affair is part of the marketing of “Dune: Part Two.”

However, the relationship between Paul and Chani doesn’t happen without problems. There’s the difference in their social classes: Chani is more uncomfortable with Paul is about the fact that he’s a royal and she’s a commoner. Chani also has to spend a lot of time defending Paul to Fremen skeptics, such as her close friend Shishakli (played by Souheila Yacoub), who is a perceptive and brave fighter. All of the female supporting characters in “Dune” are capable but obviously not meant to outshine Chani.

Meanwhile, House Harkonnen has heard stories that Paul and Jessica are still alive. And you know what that means: There’s going to be another big showdown. And guess who conveniently shows up? Paul’s no-nonsense mentor Gurney Halleck (played by Josh Brolin), who was one of the teahcers in Paul’s fight training. Gurney is still loyal and mostly stoic. He doesn’t really become a father figure to Paul, but Gurney the closest male connection that Paul has to Leto, since Gurney and Leto knew and respected each other.

For the big showdown in “Dune: Part Two,” House Harkonnen has enlisted the help of a vicious killer named Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen (played by Austin Butler), Vladimir’s nephew whose weapon of choice is a massive knife. A seductive psychic spy named Lady Margot Fenring (played by Léa Seydoux) has a plan to seduce and get pregnant by Feyd-Rautha, for reasons that are explained in the movie. She also does this seduction to find out what Feyd-Rautha’s weaknesses are.

The 2021 version of “Dune” was nominated for 10 Oscars and won six Oscars: Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography, Production Design, Best Sound, Best Original Score and Best Visual Effects. Without question, “Dune: Part Two” is also award-worthy in these categories as well. Everything in “Dune: Part Two” is done on a grand, immersive scale that are stellar examples of excellence in cinematic world building of a fictional universe. “Dune: Part Two” (which was filmed in Hungary, Abu Dhabi, and Jordan) has scenes taking place in the sand that are truly unforgettable.

As for the relationships between the characters, Paul sees a more vulnerable side to his mother Jessica, when she is pressured into becoming a reverend mother, which is a responsibility with physical and emotional burdens that Jessica is reluctant to have. In the first half of the movie, Jessica shows her powerful fight skills, but after she transforms into a reverend mother, Jessica ctually becomes passive, as she sits by and watches other people fight. Reverend Mother Mohiam (played by Charlotte Rampling), who was in 2021’s “Dune,” has a more scheming side that is revealed in “Dune: Part Two.”

“Dune: Part Two” might have more appeal than 2021’s “Dune” for people who want to see the romance of Paul and Chani that didn’t exist in 2021’s “Dune.” This romance is very chaste, with a “first love” tone to it. The “Dune” trailers already revealed much of the dynamics in this romance, where Paul respects Chani and wants to treat her as his equal. However, will Paul’s royal lineage and duties get in the way of this budding romance?

Chalamet and Zendaya are quite good in their roles as Paul and Chani, but nothing about their performances is worthy of prestigious awards. Paul is depicted as a sensitive and somewhat tortured hero. He tells Chan that he keeps having nightmares of thousands of people dying of starvation because of him. Chani is kind of a stereotypical “tough woman in an action film” who wants to act like she doesn’t fall in love easily, but of course she does just that with Paul.

A characteristic of an above-average sci-fi/fantasy film is the portrayal of the chief villain or villains. Skarsgård as Vladimir Harkonnen and Bautista as Glossu Rabban have less screen time in “Dune: Part Two” than they did in 2021’s “Dune” and don’t really do anything new with their performances. Butler as Feyd-Rautha is the “Dune: Part Two” villain who is the obvious standout, since it’s already been revealed in the movie’s trailers that the climactic battle scene includes a one-on-one fight with Paul. “Dune: Part Two” lacks susbtance by not telling more about Feyd-Rautha’s background. He’s an enigma for the entire movie.

“Dune: Part Two” will no doubt have multiple viewings from fans of the franchise. As for winning over new fans, the movie has a tone that seems to be saying, “You either understand what you’re watching , or you dont. And we don’t have time to explain it all to you.” If you’re unfamiliar with the “Dune” franchise, and you’re the type of person who doesn’t like the idea of dong homework-like research before seeing a sc-fi movie that has a complex story, then “Dune: Part Two” probably isn’t for you. For everyone else, “Dune: Part Two” will fill up your senses with an absorbing story whose cliffhanger ending hints at how this excellent cinematic adaptation continues.

Warner Bros. Pictures will release “Dune: Part Two” in outside the U.S. on February 28, 2024, and in U.S. cinemas on March 1, 2024.