Much has been made of Ridley Scott’s (Prometheus, Robin Hood) films in the last decade or so as being a far cry from those earlier in his career. Highly anticipated, high-budget films such as House of Gucci, The Last Duel, Gladiator II, and Napoleon have failed to deliver either critically or financially. While three of the films turned a profit, The Last Duel grossed just $30 million off a $100 million budget, though it was the highest-rated of the four on Rotten Tomatoes (critics), IMDB, and Metacritic. I saw all four in the theater. I thought The Last Duel was great, Gladiator II was good, and the other two were terrible. The budget for his most recent film, The Dog Stars, was around $80 million, similar to House of Gucci and The Last Duel. Based on its audience and critics’ scores (40%, 71% on Rotten Tomatoes) and opening-weekend box office gross of just $8 million, The Dog Stars appears to be well on its way to being a massive flop. This will be a shame as it’s a pretty good, albeit flawed, film. Continue reading The Dog Stars (2026)
Category Archives: Adventure
Gladiator II (2024)
Sometimes, sequels aren’t needed. They are often used as quick, easy cash grabs, more than anything else. I can’t fault those involved. I used to get frustrated about my favorite films getting unnecessary sequels, though not nearly as upset with remakes of my favorite movies. I now accept that sequels, remakes, reboots, and prequels will continue to exist as long as profits remain high. But that doesn’t mean the producers, directors, cast, etc., only need to go through the motions, pick up their paycheck, and call it a day before moving on to their next project. Gladiator II is a movie that didn’t need to be made and didn’t have the most original story. However, despite its lack of need and poor script, it is a captivating film, rich in action sequences, visuals, and sound. It’s not a film to seek out, though if you watch it, the best way to experience it is on as large a screen as possible with surround sound.
Twisters (2024)
The best thing I can say about Lee Isaac Chung’s (Minari, Munyurangabo) Twisters is that it does very well at what it tries to do. In his first film since earning an Academy Award nomination for 2020’s Minari, Chung takes on a film that couldn’t feel any more different. Twisters is not a sequel or reboot of the commercially successful Twister, which earned $495 million worldwide, more than five times its $92 million budget. The 1996 movie was one of the most-hyped and anticipated in years, with its trailers ahead of their time and featuring two of the newest Hollywood A-listers, Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton. Despite its commercial success, it had poor Rotten Tomatoes critics (66%) and audience (58%) scores.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)
In a summer movie season that has seen the unlikely pairing of Oppenheimer and Barbie dominate the box office, two surefire franchises have found it a bit more difficult than anticipated to generate sales. While Oppenheimer and Barbie have both fared well with critics and audiences, Christopher McQuarrie’s (The Way of the Gun, Jack Reacher) Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One has scored just as well, but its box office revenue may have been slighted due to the Oppenheimer/Barbie dual release date two weeks later. It may have made the Mission Impossible franchise’s seventh movie out of sight, out of mind, a little too quickly. Dead Reckoning Part One is a film that should be seen in the theater, as many will agree. Saying that it is better than Oppenheimer and Barbie is an unpopular opinion, but one that I believe to be true. The novelty of Oppenheimer and Barbie is undoubtedly an allure over the seventh installment of a franchise, and is something I do understand and appreciate. However, overall, I found Dead Reckoning Part One to be far more entertaining and better executed.
Continue reading Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)
65 (2023)
The first major letdown of 2023 is, without a doubt, the Adam Driver-led (Marriage Story, Paterson) 65. The trailer was amazing. There is much-deserved credit to those video editors for making a movie that felt bland and could have been so much more. I really wanted to like a movie. Even as the poor critic reviews started coming in (34% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), I remained hopeful. Sadly, that hope was dashed throughout a poorly-directed movie that tried too hard to build mystique and tension before failing to deliver.