 Marvel Studios/Disney, 2024. Two of the most popular Marvel characters on the planet see their worlds collide, in a wild, ridiculous mash-up appropriately titled, "Deadpool & Wolverine."
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 Disney+, 2024. I wouldn't refer to it as "hard-hitting," but a new documentary on Disney+ (streaming as of May 31st) called "Jim Henson: Idea Man" is a loving, and long-overdue tribute to a man who was way ahead of his time, absolutely right for his time, and simultaneously, gone way too soon.
 Paramount Pictures, 2024. It's cute, innocent and means well, but "IF" - an acronym for "Imaginary Friends" - leaves a lot to the imagination.
 Netflix, 2024. Viewed through the right lens, Jerry Seinfeld's directorial debut, "Unfrosted" (now streaming on Netflix) is a harmless diversion. Much like its subject, the Pop Tart, if you're looking for nuance, exquisite flavor or any level of complexity, you are probably sniffing in the wrong toaster. But if you want something fast and edible, this may be the comedy for you.
 Universal Pictures, 2024. While Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt are undeniable super-stars and the sort of actors you'll always find yourself rooting for, "The Fall Guy" fails at becoming the romp-action-comedy it's aiming to be.
It's not all bad and as a comedy, it contains plenty of laughs, albeit there are more misses than hits. But as an on-the-nose love-letter to the long-ignored stunt community, it is less effective despite its efforts. It gives the under-appreciated stunt men and women their due, but hold this up to other stunt-heavy films that REALLY should be applauded - think "John Wick" or the "Mission: Impossible" movies - and it's no question that "The Fall Guy" falls way short.  Amazon Prime Video, 2024. New and available on Amazon Prime Video today is the romantic-comedy, "The Idea of You," starring Anne Hathaway as Solene, a single mom who gets entangled in a forbidden romance with the much-younger Hayes, a sensitive heartthrob played by Nicholas Galatzine...who just so happens to be a mega-star member of a popular boy band.
 MPI International, 2024. Woody Allen's 50th film is one of his better ones, with "Coup de Chance" landing as an effective thriller that relies mostly on - what else? - the script's inherent wit.
 Columbia Pictures, 2024. It's been nearly 40 years since the original "Ghostbusters" slimed its way onto the scene, becoming one of the most popular and iconic movies of all-time. It made nearly 300 million at the box office when it was released back in 1984, or roughly 10-times its budget, and the movie spawned an entire multimedia franchise reaching across film, television, video games and pretty much every corner of American pop culture.
As difficult as it is to trap a ghost in one of those little striped boxes, Columbia Pictures has spent the past four decades chasing whatever strange lightning struck with that original film, desperately trying to bottle it. The 1989 sequel "Ghostbusters II" was not well-received, nor was the 2016 Paul Feig reboot. And while "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" was a box-office winner in 2021, many (like me...see my "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" review here) found that this thick dose of nostalgia was a bit too much. For a franchise that seems to have so much potential for originality and entertainment value, what was being streamed directly into our eyeballs felt more like a feeble attempt to cash-in on what had come before. That brings us to "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire," a film that feels a bit more comfortable with itself overall, but is still too closely shackled to its past. Everyone is dressed up, and it feels like a "Ghostbusters" movie. It's just that these ghosts are quite lifeless.  A new documentary in theaters this weekend, "God & Country," gives a hearty and honest attempt at explaining the mindset of Christian Nationalists in America.
 Those that know or follow my work know that I am a major proponent of Short Films. The three oft-overlooked Academy Award categories - Best Animated Short, Best Live-Action Short and Best Documentary Short - often yield some of the very best stories, direction, imagination and yes, even performances, of the entire nominated field of film...long or short. This year is no different.
The Oscar-nominated Shorts come to theaters once again this weekend, and will play all the way up until Academy Award weekend on March 9th and 10th. Now is your chance to find out what you've been missing all those years...these three categories often signal a good time for a bathroom-break during the show, but once you get hooked by the Short film fever, you may never turn back. As a guide, here are my takes on this years batch of nominees...let me preface this by saying there is not a "bad" or "dull" film in the bunch. ALL of these are worthy of having been nominated. I then had the great honor to chat with CEO of ShortsTV, Carter Pilcher, whose company is responsible for the theatrical releases of these Oscar films each year. Watch my interview with Carter Pincher at the very end of this article or click here. Here then, are reactions in each category. (This year's Animated Program is just under one hour, so two "highly recommended" Shorts are added to fill it out...the Live-Action and Documentary categories each run about 2-hours and 15 minutes). (To find showtimes in your area for the Oscar Shorts, click here). |
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tom santilli movie reviews
Tom Santilli is a professional film critic, TV personality, host and
the Executive Producer of Movie Show Plus.
He also is the featured film critic appearing on WXYZ Channel 7 Action News in Detroit,
and appeared weekly on FOX-2 in Detroit from 2016-2020.
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