Panos Cosmatos's 'Mandy 2' Idea Won't Happen But Is Still Bonkers Rad

Just to get this out of the way: I love Mandy, it’s going to land very high on my end-of-year best-of list. It wraps up in a satisfying manner and I don’t think it needs or even should receive a sequel. That said, if it does get a follow up, which it won’t, it should definitely follow director Panos Cosmatos’ sequel idea, because hot damn, it’s a doozy.

'Jason Bourne' (2016) Movie Review

Back in 2007, on the press trail stumping for The Bourne Ultimatum, the third in the then-trilogy of espionage actioners, Matt Damon appeared on The Daily Show. In the course of the conversation, the actor said he and director Paul Greengrass, who also helmed The Bourne Supremacy, joked that the next movie would be called The Bourne Redundancy. It’s been nine years, with an attempted franchise reboot sandwiched in the middle (2012’s lackluster The Bourne Legacy), but with the simply titled Jason Bourne, Damon and Greengrass finally delivered on that promise, in spirit if not in name.

'The Conjuring 2' (2016) Movie Review

Okay, we get it, James Wan, your last movie made a billion-plus dollars and your next one probably will, too. You can do anything you want. And I dig that what you want to do is make creepy-as-shit, mid-budget horror movies. That’s an impulse I can certainly get behind 110%. And you’re good at it, you understand the genre like few other filmmakers working right now. As you become a massive blockbuster director, please feel free to continue dabbling in horror from time to time. But damn, dude, why did TheConjuring 2 need to be 133 minutes long?

'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows' (2016) Movie Review

2014’s big screen Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot was not a great movie. I don’t hate it with the fiery scorn of many, but at best it’s a bland, unnecessary rehash of something done better a number times. But it made boatloads of cash, so a sequel was green-lit opening weekend, and now Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows is here.

'Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising' (2016) Movie Review

Back in 2014, Neighbors became a hit and marked, if not a maturation of Seth Rogen and his foul-mouthed comedy style, at least a shift towards more mature thematic concerns, particularly those of fatherhood and marriage. Produced for a modest sum, and with a worldwide box office haul of more than $270 million, it’s two years later and the no-brainer sequel is here to strengthen Rogen’s dad brand.

Movie Review: 'London Has Fallen'

Back in 2013, Antoine Fuqua teamed up with Gerard Butler for a gritty take on what would happen if the White House was attacked by terrorists with Olympus Has Fallen—a few months later we got the more humorous, bro-tastic take on the same story, with Channing Tatum’s White House Down. Well, it wasn’t enough for the White House to go down, and now we have the follow up, London HasFallen. Handed off to Snabba Cash 2 director Babak Najafi, London Has Fallen is a ridiculous, direct-to-video-style blast of full frontal action. If a DTV movie had the budget to mostly level one of the major metropolises in the world, that’s what this is. So much better than the first movie, this knows exactly what it is and what its audience wants, and delivers with gusto and glee.

Movie Review: 'Zoolander 2'

Some long-gestating movie sequels turn out to be great. Just last year we got both Mad Max: Fury Road and Creed. In the years between chapters the filmmakers took the time to get things right and not sully the name of the originals. Others, however, well, they suck, and they suck hard. One of these is Zoolander 2, which is a tedious, tired, brutally unfunny, single-note disaster that took 15 years to get here. I wish it’d taken longer, like until after I'm dead.

'Hard Target 2' Shoots This Fall With John Woo Producing, Don't Hold Your Breath For Jean-Claude Van Damme

With Jean-Claude Van Damme sporting that greasy, Jheri curl mullet, John Woo’s 1993 Hard Target, the Hong Kong action auteur’s first American film, is admittedly a wee bit cheesy. However, out of all of his subsequent films, it’s also the most similar to action classics like Hard Boiled, A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, and the others he built his reputation on. And now it’s getting a sequel.

'Sinister 2' Movie Review

Scott Derrickson’s 2012 horror joint Sinister doesn’t break from the well worn horror path, full of genre tropes like creepy little kids, the sound of footsteps when no one is there, and a perpetually dark house, even in the middle of the day. Still, it managed to be atmospheric, genuinely eerie, and was a solid fright fest. Unfortunately, Ciaran Foy’s Sinister 2 doesn’t deliver in the same manner.

'London Has Fallen' Trailer Blows The Holy Hell Out Of The U.K.

If you’re surprised that the 2013 Whitehouse-under-siege actioner Olympus Has Fallen is getting a sequel, you’re not alone, but that doesn’t mean London Has Fallen isn’t happening. The Gerard Butler-starring follow up recently got delayed and pushed to a less-than-optimal release date, but it still sounds right up our alley, a point driven home by this quick new teaser trailer.

'Terminator Genisys' Movie Review

In a summer of rehashed franchises, I quite enjoyed Jurassic World (it isn’t a great movie, but it’s a damn lot of fun), and Mad Max: Fury Road is one of best, most eyebrow-scorching action films in years. If you were hoping that Terminator Genisys, the fifth installment in the killer-robots-from-the-future saga, was going to fall somewhere in this realm, you will be disappointed. Lazy storytelling, messy CGI, and bland action combine to form a movie that the most natural reaction to is a slump-shouldered sigh and a muttered, “I wish that was better.” Intended to launch a new trilogy, it doesn’t bring enough, or any, new ideas to the table to warrant more.

'Dumb And Dumber To' Movie Review: Tepid, Bland, And Safe

I’m not too proud to admit that I enjoyed Dumb and Dumber when it came out, and that I have fond memories of the film. Granted, it was 20 years ago and I was 16-years-old, but it was Jim Carrey and the Farrelly Brothers working at the height of their respective games. In the intervening years, I haven’t been able to bring myself to watch it again because I’m afraid it will tarnish otherwise pleasant recollections, but I think I can go ahead and give it a shot because the new sequel, Dumb and Dumber To, just did a solid job of ruining the first film for me.

'The Purge: Anarchy' Movie Review

When “The Purge” opened last summer, it was a huge success. With a budget of $3 million it eventually earned more than $89 million worldwide, and as a result, barely a year later we have James DeMonaco’s sequel, “The Purge: Anarchy.” You can be forgiven for having reservations about this movie. After all, it wasn’t even green lit when the original opened, and a year from approval to a finished script to shooting to post-production to a wide release, is almost unheard of and doesn’t bode well from a quality standpoint. So the fact that this movie is good, better than the first—though it is definitely more of an action film than straight horror—may come as a surprise for many of you.

'22 Jump Street' Movie Review

As far as big, blockbuster type movies go, this summer has a noticeable lack of notable comedies. “Neighbors” was great, “A Million Ways toDie in the West” was mediocre, and “Tammy” looks terrible—which is too bad, because Melissa McCarthy is so damn funny. The only other member of this club is “22 Jump Street,” the sequel to 2012’s surprise hit. While I laughed a decent amount, and there are some very good moments, the film pales in comparison to its predecessor, and when taken as a whole, is not a particularly great movie.

'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' Movie Review

The Hunger Games is a good enough movie. The world building in early portion is well done and engaging, but by the time get to the actual games of the title, things fall apart. At that point you have a lone girl running around the woods, trying not to die, not talking to anyone, that’s only so interesting. Suzanne Collins’ novel gets away with this, the first-person point-of-view makes you privy to the innermost thoughts of heroine Katniss Everdeen, portrayed by Jennifer Lawrence. In the film she spends a fair amount of time gazing into the distance. If you’ve read the book, you know she’s thinking about Gale (Liam Hemsworth) or Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) or her sister Prim (Willow Shields), but if not, you have no idea.

If This Trailer For 'The Raid 2: Berandal' Doesn't Make You Drool, We Are Not Friends

There's not much to say about this trailer for Gareth Evans' action sequel The Raid 2: Berandal. My reaction primarily consists of giggling and clapping. Watch it for yourself, know that it's getting a legitimate theatrical release, and prepare to get punched in the face again.

'Machete Kills' Movie Review

“Machete Kills” is a lot like watching a spoof movie, and not a good one like “Airplane!” or “The Naked Gun.” We’re talking “Epic Movie” or “Meet the Spartans” here. I won't lie, there are some chuckles, but what the sequel to Robert Rodriguez’s 2010 “Machete” does is take all of the things that make the original a ton of fun, and blows them up into an oversized cartoon. Instead of an homage to gritty, sleazy exploitation films of yesteryear, “Machete Kills” takes on the madman taking over the world sub genre favored by middle-era James Bond films, mixes that with an excess of “Star Wars” jokes, and concocts a bland caricature.

'Kick-Ass 2' Movie Review

 

It’s weird, as I walked out of the theater, I was aware that there are big problems with “Kick-Ass 2,” but on the whole, I had been reasonably entertained over the previous 103 minutes. With some movies, distance smooths over the rough patches, and the more you think about them, the more you examine them, the more you enjoy them. “Kick-Ass 2,” however, is not one of those movies. There was a long bus ride home after the screening, and the more I thought about it, the more I broke the film down in my mind, the more glaring, and troubling, the flaws became.

A Very Short 'Fast And Furious 6' Review

For “Fast and Furious 6” it’s like the producers sent me a letter that said, “Dear Brent, What was ‘Fast Five’ missing?” And my answer was, of course, a tank, Gina Carano, and stunts that completely ignore the realities of physics. They’re response was, “We got you,” and it is fucking awesome.

'The Hangover Part III' Movie Review

Sandwiched between blockbuster superhero movies and epic science fiction adventures, this summer at the movies also delivers the close of the so-called “Wolf Pack” trilogy. “The Hangover Part III” closes out the lucrative franchise with the most tedious, supremely unfunny installment yet. Walking out of the theater we can all be glad that this is finally over. The best you can say is that at least it wasn’t a simple rehash, like the sequel.