Last week, I posted an article discussing the Star Wars situation. What I really didn’t touch on was Mandalorian and Grogu‘s box office, as I wanted to give it a week or two to see the bigger picture. Well, it only took a second weekend to notice something pretty remarkable. Obsession two weekends ago did something that is very rare: it made 30% more in its second weekend than its first. Before you think that was because it picked up a lot more theaters in the second week, it really didn’t. It only added 40 theaters, and Obsession was still in 1,700 less theaters than Mando. Fast forward to this past weekend. To say Backrooms was a success in it’s opening weekend would be an understatement. Grabbing $80 million and becoming the new A24 highest opener didn’t help Mando, as it dropped 69% from it’s first weekend. Also, Obsession once again made 10% more then the second weekend. We haven’t seen three weekends for a film like that since E.T. in 1982. In the end, Backrooms and Obsession dropped Mandalorian down to 3rd in a weekend where it should have stayed in 1st like Star Wars films usually do. With Scary Movie and Masters of the Universe out this week, the third weekend for Grogu will not get better. On to the reviews!
A father fights fiercely against ruthless kidnappers to save his abducted daughter.
When you go into a Kung Fu film from Hong Kong, you expect something very important. That would be the fight sequences. These kind of films are held up by those sequences, and the plot is only there to lead you to the next sequence. Well, happily, The Furious understood the assignment. This was just a blast. Miao Xie and Joe Taslim are really good as our two protagonists, but the character I enjoyed the most throughout the film was Brian Le as this tank-like character that just won’t die. There isn’t a bad fight sequence, and while I really like the climactic final fight that seems like it goes on forever, I think the club fight sequence was my favorite. If I had to point out a flaw it would be that when you take a step back, the plot is pretty thin. Maybe another 10 or 15 minutes could have fleshed things out a bit more, but that would go against what this film is for. That is watching one or two go up against dozens at a time.
Two friends find themselves caught up in mayhem involving killers, monsters and supernatural creatures once again.
It’s been 13 years since Scary Movie 5, and more importantly for this review, 25 years since Scary Movie 2. Why that is important is that was the last in the series that involved the Wayans, who created the series. They make their return with this sixth installment, and also back are so many from the beginning of the franchise. Anna Faris and Regina Hall are back as Cindy and Brenda after skipping the last installment, and Marlon and Shawn Wayans are back obviously. Also back is Cheri Oteri as Gail Hailstorm, Dave Sheridan as Officer Doofy (both from the original SM), and Chris Elliot as Hanson (back from Scary Movie 2). With everyone back, does that mean this new installment reaches the high of the first two Scary Movies?
To get right to the point, no. While we aren’t anywhere close to the awfulness of Scary Movie 5, this still didn’t really work for me for the most part. Granted, I’m 20 years older, and Scary Movie/Scary Movie 2 don’t hold up the best, they still are pretty good parodies. The problem for me is the style humor in those two returns in this one, and I think I have become a person where it doesn’t really work for me anymore. I’m not saying this doesn’t have it’s moments. When it breaks the 4th wall at points I did enjoy it. I also thought the cast (for the most part) was good here. Anna Faris will always be the MVP in this series, and her chemistry with Regina Hall is what makes these films work. It is telling the worst entry is the one without them. The new cast is passable here. I while I do commend Olivia Rose Keegan on a pretty good Anna Faris impersonation playing one of Cindy’s daughters, man it got annoying over time. One of the problems I have with this, though, is the return of Marlon and Shawn Wayans’s character, Shorty and Ray. Shorty gets more to do here, but is still gets annoying pretty quickly, but the main issue is Ray. Ray’s character has been one joke in every film he has appeared in (he is a “closeted” gay man), and is stopped being funny to me by the end of the first entry. Nothing that character does here is funny, other than the last 5 minutes that are probably my favorite part of the film. The other issue I had was the story. Much like the original sticking close to Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer, this entry poking at legacy sequels is a retelling of Scream 5. We also get some Sinners, Weapons, Get Out, and Smile among other parodies here, and the scattershot of some of them is kind of my issue. There were points where this felt like a Family Guy episode, where we will just cut to a Terrifier parody, and then return to the story. They could have fought the urge to include the recent film parodies and save them for a future entry. Theming it on Sinners and vampire films would be cool, as they haven’t approached that genre yet. In the end, this was watchable for me, with moments. Don’t let me rain on the parade though. I went to the fan event for this and 3/4 of the theater died laughing throughout the runtime. I wish I was still at the point they are all in. I would have had a better Thursday night than I did.
A young woman joins a charming con man on the run, leaving a trail of crime and passion as they hustle through the Southeast in search of her estranged mother.
There is a question that Carolina (Samara Weaving) asks Oliver (Kyle Gallner) about halfway through the film: “Are we good people pretending to be bad, or bad people pretending to be good?” That is a question that really is for us to answer while we watch the film I guess, and while I think it wants us to think it is the former, I would go with the latter. The film just doesn’t give us another reason to think otherwise. Carolina from the beginning is all in to the con-artist Oliver when the film opens with him running a short change scam on her employer. She is also the one to move them closer and closer to the point where they can’t come back from. Weaving is pretty good in this as we are watching the film through her. Gallner is fine, and Jon Gries really has nothing to do as Carolina’s father. The trailer makes this out to be a Bonnie & Clyde type film, and we barely get to that film after quite a lot of buildup. Maybe we didn’t need as much build to get to the really interesting part? It isn’t like there are so many characters to take care of. There are only 4 mains in the cast. At 110 minutes, to start so slow really makes the second half seem so fast, when it really isn’t. Maybe things are better in Ecuador.
A young man on Earth discovers a fabulous secret legacy as the prince of an alien planet, and must recover a magic sword and return home to protect his kingdom.
Back in the 80s, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was huge. There were comics, toys, and Saturday Morning Cartoons. In 1987, we got the first shot at a live action adaptation with Dolph Lundgren and Frank Langella. To say it was bad is putting it lightly. This new attempt to adapt the property was first announced in 2009 by Sony, then transferred to Netflix in 2022. The rights were purchased by Amazon MGM in 2024, and that brings us to now.
If you were going into this looking for deep meaning and rich development of characters, you’re not going to find it. This is exactly what it looks like, and that it’s a loud, colorful movie based on toys. On that end, it really does work. I thought Nicholas Galitzine was good as Prince Adam, and Camila Mendes was ok as Teela. Jared Leto has good as Skeletor, even if I miss how he sounds in the cartoon, and not like The Hatbox Ghost from 2023’s Haunted Mansion. It was neat to see almost all the characters from the toy line and cartoon (except Orko for some stupid reason). This really felt like a kid playing with his toys, and the worst parts are on Earth, where we spent too much at in the first act. Once we got back to Eternia, things got better, but a movie like this can only be so good. This movie feels like it belongs 10 years ago, and I’m not sure who this film is for, other than people my age. It isn’t really a fun kids movie, and it is too dumb for most adults with better films available right now. We do get three post-credit scenes, with one ending the film like the cartoon always ended, and the other two that teasers a sequel that probably never happen based on how well it opened at the box office. That might be for the best. I didn’t hate this film, and there were quite a few parts that I really did like, but overall, it just kind of happened.
Rick, a washed-up wedding singer, and Danny, a fading boy band star, bond over music and a late-night jam session. When Danny turns Rick’s song into a hit, Rick sets out to reclaim the recognition he believes he deserves.
There is a very easy answer that ends this film after 20 minutes: document your creations. With that not an option, we have the other 80 minutes. One night, Rick (Paul Rudd), after his wedding band has a performance, is invited to privately play with Danny (Nick Jonas), a former boy-band singer. Danny really needs a hit, and Rick starts to sing a song he has been working on for 20 years. Later on, Rick is walking through the mall, and hears that Danny has taken the song and made a hit, and hasn’t credit Rick with his song. That sets up a film that sees Rick trying to prove it’s his song, and Rudd is really good here. Jonas, for the most part, is good here too. Most of my problems are in the third act, and while I don’t think they take the whole film down, it does take some of the air out of the tires. Also, the song in question (How to Write a Song) at first was a pretty good and catchy song for me, but after hearing it at least a dozen times, I was so tired of it by the end. The highlight of the film is Rick’s life really falling apart because he can’t get over the sing issue, and the sobering thing that pops in your head is what we are watching happens in real life. However, in real life, things usually end as nearly as in the movies. 
This week was cute, but the real big hitters start next weekend. Disclosure Day is tracking between $35 and $50 million, and that should be enough to win the weekend. It is also something to watch for to see if Obsession can keep making news. This past weekend, is set the record for best 4th weekend total for a Horror film. Look for it make the 5th weekend record too.
- Disclosure Day
- Stop! That! Train!
- Scary Movie
- Obsession
- Backrooms
This week brings us two events. First, it is the last rounds of my Spielberg Tournament over on social media. More importantly, Spielberg’s latest film is finally released. I’m planning on seeing that a couple times, with the first being Thursday. Other than that, it think there is only Stop! That! Train! on Saturday. Nothing else is really coming out next weekend to watch.
Mitten Film Nerd 
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