masonsaul

Friendship is a fun black comedy about male bonding with a heavy dose of cringeworthy sequences which are hard to look away from as things keep getting worse for everyone involved. It's all built on the relatable desire to belong in a friend group and takes it to absurd extremes thanks to a main character who never knows the right thing to say in any situation. There's a nice unpredictability in seeing just how bad it gets too.

Tim Robinson is so perfectly cast it's impossible to imagine anyone else being able to handle this uncomfortable material as effortlessly as he does. He's incredibly comfortable in every scene that's heavy on the awkwardness and he never relents by constantly sinking further with occasionally really funny but consistently disastrous results. Paul Rudd is great by simultaneously leaning into and going against his natural likeability.

Andrew DeYoung's direction brings plenty of visual style through the lighting, suitably bleak look and a few surreal moments with the biggest highlight being the most mundane drug trip in cinema, sponsored by Subway. Andy Rydzewski's cinematography is creating meticulous framing from the first scene and Keegan DeWitt's score also stands out because its unusual sounds aren't the norm but certainly fits what this is going for.

I Know What You Did Last Summer is an overly nostalgic legacy sequel that should've listened to its own advice about nostalgia being overrated but it still offers a fun and bloodthirsty return to Southport. For the most part it's just following a similar structure to the original before taking a very bold swing for the finale which doesn't completely work, counterbalanced by how well the Scooby-Doo style mystery and slasher sequences work.

All of the new cast are really good at filling almost the exact same roles as their predecessors did 28 years ago. They're likeable enough that the kills have some genuine impact when they arrive and the believable friendship between Chase Sui Wonders & Madelyn Cline is the heart of the film. Returning cast members Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. Get quite a bit to work with and are fully committed to it.

Jennifer Kaytin Robinson's direction ensures this actually looks like a film that was always destined for a big screen release which isn't something every horror movie can say these days. There are some nice character moments interspersed throughout and the horror elements are suitably tense in the moment even if they won't have a lasting impact. Having the third act take place during broad daylight doesn't feel right though.

Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story is an engrossing documentary about one of the best films ever made. It doesn't offer anything revelatory but it's always great to see some of the greatest filmmakers to ever do it talk about a game changer with genuine passion and love. It's a fantastic collection of filmmaking talent and people more directly linked to the original film, including Steven Spielberg himself opening up about the highs and lows of making Jaws.

Over the course of its very efficient 88 minute run time, it paints a full picture from the inception of the source material to the problem filled production of the film itself before culminating with the record breaking reception and long lasting appeal that perseveres to this day. Laurent Bouzereau's direction and the editing by Jason Summers make it all feel seamless. The archive footage is wonderful, especially seeing Robert Shaw using his real accent whilst in full costume.