stevencsmovies

People spend most of their life looking for their better half. In the new body horror comedy, Tim (Dave Franco) and Millie (Alison Brie) find out that sometimes, there is such a thing as being too codependent. After years together, their relationship is at a crossroads, seemingly stuck. Tim is a struggling musician. They both migrate from the city to a very small town next to a forest so Millie can teach at the school. After coming back from a perilous hike in the forest, weird things start happening. This movie takes a bit to get going, but I love the gradual building of tension. As an actual married couple, Franco and Brie obviously have really great chemistry and were comfortable doing the wackier stuff. They also brought a lot of lived-in authenticity. You already know this is a very fun body horror, so I don't think I'll delve deeper into that aspect. There's a memorable bathroom scene that might make the guys in the audience squirm in their seat a little. For a relatively low-budget movie, the practical visual effects and sound design are amazing. The tone has a perfect balance between funny, scary and downright disgusting. This is the feature-length debut for writer/director Michael Shanks, who clearly had as much fun putting this together as the couple did. I would've liked it a little more if the movie didn't bother explaining things. Some things are better just being a thing. I had such a fun time with this one. In any relationship, you must remember where you end and where your other half begins. A healthy dose of codependency is healthy, to a degree. There are a couple jump-scares, but the movie doesn't rely on them. The codependency allegory is top-notch. Overall, TOGETHER might make you squirm, but you'll have fun doing it in this very entertaining and satisfying movie. And you thought your significant other was clingy.

To prepare for this review, I watched THE NAKED GUN (1988), starring Leslie Nielson as Lt. Frank Drebin. This review is about THE NAKED GUN (2025), starring Liam Neeson as Lt. Frank Drebin Jr. This is a legacy sequel/reboot of a classic parody/spoof comedy. I hesitate to describe anything about the plot because there are so many jokes baked into it, so I won't. All I'll say is it reminded me of THE KINGSMAN, and Frank Jr. Succeeds at being as incompetent as his father. For a pure and silly comedy, this is extremely well-written. Director Akiva Schaffer, who made POPSTAR: NEVER STOP NOT STOPPING and CHIP 'N DALE: RESCUE RANGERS, does a great job throwing jokes at the audience at a rapid-fire rate. Normally this would get old or annoying, but almost all of them landed for me. There's a timeless quality to the humor, relying more on wordplay and visual gags, and not on pop culture references. The main reason this movie works so well is Liam Neeson. He acts like he's in a serious movie, but he's doing the stupidest things. I was laughing the entire 85-minute runtime. It felt exactly like the original. I really enjoyed the noir-style of storytelling, complete with inner monologues. This movie is the perfect reminder of why theatrical comedies matter. Laughing with strangers is so fun! We need more movies like this. Stick around during the credits and pay attention to what you hear and see. Remember, comedy is subjective. We all have different humour frequencies, so not everyone is going to enjoy this as much as I did. I would say go hit the theaters this weekend, but I don't want you to hurt your hand. Embrace the silly and stupid, go see THE NAKED GUN, you will Shirley have a wonderful time.

It hasn't been that long since THE BAD GUYS came out into theaters. Nevertheless, just three years later, THE BAD GUYS 2 has been released. Let's talk about it. This is an animated caper based on a children's book series written by Aaron Blabey. Since the events of the first one, Wolf and the gang of bad guys are trying to be good. Sadly, society is making it difficult, not giving them jobs or second chances. When a mysterious figure known as the Phantom Bandit frames the gang, they're pulled back into the dangerous high-octane life of thieves. I've just realized how similar these movies are to DESPICABLE ME, at least the themes. Both are about how hard it could be to drastically change who you are, and how society sees you. Sadly, this theme gets sort of forgotten in this movie's action-packed finale. Don't get me wrong, the action is good, I was just looking for something a little deeper. Yes, I know this is a movie for kids, but still. There isn't much more to say about this one. Overall, THE BAD GUYS 2 is a solid sequel that has a cool animation style and great action scenes, but it needs a bit more character development and a bit less fart jokes. They set it up for more, hopefully people still care about these characters by then.