step on our necks, glen
This Week's Reviews: 'Twisters,' 'Despicable Me 4,' 'Longlegs' And 'Fly Me To The Moon'
The reason you might be experiencing so much Glen Powell content and seeing so many Glen Powell memes this year is that he's now the internet's baby, and we have no choice but to stan him.
The hottest star in Hollywood (both literally and figuratively) was the lead in the best reviewed film of the year "Hit Man," and is the lead in this summer's big blockbuster splash "Twisters."
Which, as it turns out, is very good! It is going to be personality-shattering if we find out Glen Powell gets milkshake ducked. That would destroy people's lives, wouldn't it.
'Twisters' (out Friday July 19, in theaters everywhere)
"Twisters" miraculously stands out against the modern blockbuster landscape. Just like "Twister" did back in 1996. It's the rare legacy sequel done right.
Truly a crowd-pleasing event, Lee Isaac Chung's at once thoughtful and bombastic actioner is one that demands big screen attendance.
It's the kind of smart and compelling adventure drama they say Hollywood doesn't make anymore. More than once I compared it to "Jurassic Park" in my notes and, for a change, it was as a compliment.
Features some outstanding VFX work...Yet the real kicker in "Twisters," the thing that ranks it several notches above your off-the-shelf disaster film is just how well developed the lead characters and their situations are. It's a pleasant shock.
The real appeal here is just hanging out with a collection of likable all-action nerds who get their kicks looking at clouds and weather maps. Oh, and seeing a lot of middle America get ripped asunder and hurled into the sky.
Anthony Morris, It's Better in the Dark
Consensus: I cannot believe they pulled it off — action movies about tornadoes are back. Maybe Glen Powell has the power to resurrect any legacy sequel from a decades old franchise, first "Top Gun" and now this...
'Despicable Me 4' (out now, in theaters everywhere)
Move along: there's nothing original to see here.
Writers Mike White and Ken Daurio seem to have stitched their screenplay together from various drafts, an unfocused approach exacerbated by disjointed direction from Chris Renaud and Patrick Delage.
With so many storylines competing for attention, it shouldn't come as a surprise that "Despicable Me 4" all too often feels like a series of loosely connected vignettes or episodes, tied together by Gru, his family and the Minions.
The endless stream of minion antics does have its moments, but at 90 minutes of crammed, cacophonous silliness, there just aren't enough jokes to warrant the onslaught of misfires.
All the predictable "noise noise noise" left me colder than Gru's iconic freeze ray.
Consensus: if you have children who need to get out of the house, then sitting through this isn't a total chore. Otherwise, you would have to be a real Minion freak to go see this one. A true Gentle-minion.
'Fly Me to the Moon' (out Friday July 12, in select theaters)
The script never quite feels itself; it feels like contradictory impulses playing out in shuffle mode. And the scale of the movie does the putative romance no favors.
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
"Fly Me to the Moon" does a good job balancing the humor with the romance and the serious story of the Apollo 11 rocket launch moments.
"Fly Me To The Moon" is not the winsome, star-led rom-com you might expect. Instead, director Greg Berlanti takes a cheeky premise befitting a bouncy '60s rom-com and burdens it with dreary NASA drama and a half-baked showbiz satire thread.
"Fly Me to the Moon" is a hopeful delight that is out of this world.
Travis Hopson, Punch Drunk Critics
Unless you can put aside everything you know about the space program, government, advertising, and television broadcasting, you may spend a good deal of the film's two-hour runtime frustrated by its plot holes and contrivances.
Consensus: the good reviews are too mild, and the bad reviews aren't savage enough, so this seems like a fine way to waste some time in air conditioning. Take your parents to see it, and hear some new stories about the '60s you didn't know.
'Longlegs' (out Friday July 12, in select theaters)
"Longlegs" is a film that slowly creeps into your brain, nestling in like a forgotten nightmare.
Precisely crafted and just odd enough to disarm you, allowing its evil to fully seep in, "Longlegs" is a riveting tale of influence and immersion.
A thriller that grows fouler and scarier with each step toward damnation, as well as providing an unforgettable showcase for Nicolas Cage as a zealous maniac unlike any other.
With Nicolas Cage as both its producer and the deeply unsettling serial killer of the title, "Longlegs" is a work of chilling brilliance that should electrify genre fans for years to come.
"Longlegs" has a jones for head trauma, and it's not shy about giving you explicit views of it. The gorehound in me was satiated, but now I long for a good, bloodless comedy to review.
Consensus: this is a highly anticipated and hyped indie, so we're glad it turned out to be great. Sign us up for anything Nic Cage does, especially if it's a well reviewed weird horror situation. We'll gladly eat this up, no crumbs left.
