 Warner Bros. Animation/Ketchup Entertainment, 2025. While the beloved Looney Tunes characters are familiar and respectful, these aren't exactly your parents' Looney Tunes.
"The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie" is shockingly the first all-animated Looney Tunes movie ever released in movie theaters. It's also not being distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures...that duty is being handled by the much smaller Ketchup Entertainment, which is why this film might feel a bit "under the radar" for most. And while this weird, zany sci-fi story is quite harmless, it also feels a bit uninspired. It's been nearly 100 years since the release of the very first Looney Tunes animated short...and this is what we've all waited for?
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 Buffalo 8, 2024. Fifteen years in the making, and every bit of blood, sweat and tears poured into "Aladdin 3477: The Jinn of Wisdom" is apparent.
Matt Busch’s "Aladdin 3477: The Jinn of Wisdom" is an impressive feat of independent filmmaking that feels like cinematic comfort food—familiar, adventurous, and deeply satisfying. Known for his work as a professional illustrator on various Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and Indiana Jones projects (and much, much more over his 30+ years in the industry), Busch proves he’s more than just a renowned artist; he’s a capable, bold and passionate storyteller. And what he was able to pull off from a technical standpoint - on a budget of around a paltry $200,000 - simply defies all logic or explanation. As a film critic for 15+ years, having seen thousands of films over that span, I can say with full confidence that I've never quite seen anything like this. Independent filmmaking and blockbuster popcorn movies have never been mashed together in this way, nor did I think such an amalgam was even possible. Busch has some brass balls for even attempting such a massive undertaking, and what he's been able to accomplish is nothing short of a mind-boggling achievement. And it's singular: It might take until the actual year 3477 for another creative talent such as Matt Busch to come along, because there is NOBODY else who could have even come close to making this project work in the way that he does. This self-made film, crafted by a self-made man is available for pre-order on Apple TV+ as of December 20th, 2024, and it hits various VOD platforms on January 3rd, 2025. I simply cannot recommend this film enough. Read on for my full review.  Paramount Pictures, 2023. I couldn't imagine caring about SPOILERS for a Transformers movie, but if you don't already know what's coming - scene after scene of mindless action, lame jokes, awful characters and zero stakes - then be warned: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS.
Specifically, the "stinger scene" during the end credits will be spoiled. You've been warned. *** SPOILERS AHEAD ***  Warner Bros. Pictures, 2022. If there was ever a stereotype for what a superhero comic book would be, there's a good chance that the word-bubbles with the sounds "Whiz!", "Bam!", and "Pow!" would be included in that cliché. And if there was ever a stereotype for what a superhero comic book MOVIE would be, just refer to "Black Adam," the latest swing-and-a-miss from the flailing DC Cinematic Universe (DCCU).
"Black Adam" does it all, in that it is definitely a superhero movie. It looks great, and contains plenty of slick CG, action and fighting. But sadly, it is as hollow as they come, a film where neither the protagonist or the antagonist is all that interesting. It's everything you think a superhero movie is, but in the day-and-age of Marvel movies (or even the stellar DCCU film from earlier this year, "The Batman"), audiences require - heck, deserve - more than what The Rock was cookin' with "Black Adam." When did superhero movies stop being fun?  Universal Pictures, 2022. The "Jurassic Park" saga that began back in 1993 finally (and thankfully) limps to its final resting place with its sixth and final chapter, "Jurassic World Dominion."
Gone is the wonderment, the magic of Spielberg's original blockbuster, which in my eyes remains a ground-shattering, masterpiece of popcorn cinema. "Jurassic World Dominion" reduces this franchise to a bland whirlwind of CG, barely containing any remnant of DNA (pun intended) from that first "Jurassic Park" film. It's fast-paced but bland, familiar but unrecognizable. The intelligence behind the eyes of the franchise is gone, and it's been dumbed-down to swim in the same gene pool as a "Transformers" movie (not a compliment). If you liked the last, nearly unwatchable mess of a film, "Fallen Kingdom," then you may not mind "Jurassic World Dominion." However, a "Jurassic" film is not supposed to be your average action movie. The bar was set high from the very start, and the audience frankly deserves more, having now been served - in my estimation - four terrible follow-ups with one diamond buried in the middle (I had lots of love for "Jurassic World," but not much for any of the other Jurassic movies since the original).  VVS Films, 2022. Writer/Director Riley Stearns really made a real splash with the criminally underrated and underseen 2019 black-comedy, "The Art of Self-Defense" (read my review of that film here). He follows it up with "Dual," another film that exists in the same darkly comedic vein that his previous work did, but this one doesn't quite resonate nearly as much.
"Dual" is a film that introduces a very compelling concept, but veers well off course. By the time it tries to right the ship, it's too far gone for us to care.  A24, 2022. Where to begin? Is there even a "beginning" or an "end," or are we all just in a meaningless construct of space and time? How would my life change if the next word I typed was fas;fljasdlfkjaetpieejpwaoifqwpeof. Did I just smash away at my keyboard for no reason or did that somehow, someway divert the course of my life? Is there an alternate reality where I started this review a different way, didn't review the film at all, or wasn't able to type it because I was a rock or perhaps my hands were made out of hot dogs?
Believe it or not, these are all relevant questions in the audaciously bonkers new sci-fi/action/adventure multi-verse film, "Everything Everywhere All At Once," the most wildly ambitious film since 2012's "Cloud Atlas." And for those that know me, this is the highest form of praise, being that "Cloud Atlas" ranked as my #2 best film of the past decade. And although I highly recommend "Everything Everywhere All At Once" for its unbridled imagination, its deftness in conveying complicated exposition, its bold vision and its odd yet stellar cast, the film's title could also be used to describe it's narrative focus. It's high-art packaged as a surprisingly accessible popcorn blockbuster, and yet it's excessively mind-numbing. In other words, it's messiness is it's strength AND its weakness, which I guess is only fitting.  Warner Bros. Pictures/HBO Max, 2021. Fans are being asked to plug back into The Matrix franchise, nearly 20 years since the last two installments, "The Matrix Reloaded" and "The Matrix Revolutions" hit theaters just a few months apart back in 2003. The love story of Neo (Keanu Reeves) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) was at the heart of this ground-breaking film saga that mixed action with high-concept sci-fi and stunning visuals, returning over 1 billion (with a "b") at the box office for the trilogy.
Lana Wachowski returns to the franchise (sans her usual partner, sister Lilly) to give us a fourth chapter, "The Matrix Resurrections," a decidedly uneven but wildly ambitious return to the world of rogue programs, slow-motion bullets, steam-punk aesthetics, unabashed ass-kicking and endless sci-fi mumbo-jumbo. Its high-aiming philosophy works better than its action set pieces, but ultimately this is a mixed-bag reboot whose main themes get buried under a mountain of code.  Apple TV+, 2021. There is low-brow science-fiction ("Starship Troopers" and similar) and then there is more intellectually-challenging high-brow science-fiction (the recent "Ex Machina" or "Possessor" comes to mind).
"Swan Song" is a fantastic, thoughtful, emotionally-charged drama dealing with cloning, where it asks a simple question: If you could spare your loved ones from the hurt of ever losing you or experiencing any grief, what would you be willing to sacrifice?  Sony/Marvel, 2021. With great power (i.e. advanced knowledge of what happens) comes great responsibility (like not to reveal even the slightest spoiler).
Here's what I CAN say: "Spider-Man: No Way Home" is finally hitting theaters...it is the third full-length Spider-Man film featuring Tom Holland as Peter Parker...and it picks up where things left off at the very end of "Spider-Man: Far From Home," with the world discovering the real identity of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. ***NO SPOILERS ARE CONTAINED IN THIS REVIEW, OTHER THAN WHAT IS SHOWN IN THE ALREADY RELEASED TRAILERS FOR THE FILM*** |
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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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