reaganreviews

Is this movie disjointed with too many underdeveloped characters and the occasional wonky CGI shot? Yes, absolutely. Some of the dialogue also spoon-feeds the audience exposition, which came across pretty awkward. But I'd be lying if I said this movie didn't put a huge smile on my face. David Corenswet absolutely rocks as Superman. The rest of the cast is fantastic as well. They really nailed the characterization this time. The camera work in this film is also super interesting. I'm glad they tried something different here with lots of energetic and dynamic tracking shots framed by wide angle lenses.

Really my only big gripe with this film is its lack of focus on Ma and Pa Kent. It was a good idea to skip the origin story this time around but this doesn't mean that they should have shifted away from the people that made Superman who he is. This decision hampered a lot of the emotional beats of the film, which was disappointing.

The Israel/Palestine analogy along with hammering in Superman as an immigrant representing the best of humanity could not be more important than ever! Overall, this movie gives me hope for DC Studios.

This was one of the most cringe-inducing, anxiety causing, nail-biting theater experiences I have ever had and that's a good thing. The film is incredibly provocative and disturbing, not glamorizing the unsavory relationship between the 29-year-old Misha and high schooler Jake.

I caught this at the Mill Valley Film Festival and I am so glad I did as this film completely took me by surprise. The actors, especially Mitzi Akaha as Misha and Laird Akeo as Jack were very natural and had great chemistry.

The script was very good and felt like something people would actually say. This realism made the film even more disturbing.

The cinematography was effective with some handheld camera movements that immersed viewers into the story. Furthermore, there was a distinct use of color that created a clear shift in the plot, taking the central romance to dark places.

While this is usually a fault, the film is predictable and in this case, it works. I could see most of where the film was going but I never thought that the filmmakers would actually go to those lengths and well, they definitely did. You would not see this level of commitment in a big studio backed film.

The setup and foreshadowing in this film is great and everything is paid off by the end.

While the film is mostly immersive, I do have a few gripes with the suspension of disbelief. I didn't always buy that none of the high schoolers or their parents were suspicious of Misha's age.

Overall, Chaperone is a heart pounding experience that effectively shares its disturbing narrative, striking a balance between humanizing its questionable protagonist while also not letting her off the hook for her actions.

Megalopolis is a bold swing but completely misses the mark. Starring a talented yet wasted cast of Adam Driver, Nathalie Emmanuel, Shia LaBeouf, Aubrey Plaza, Laurence Fishburne, and more.

Though this review is very negative, I did think that Shia LaBeouf's performance was entertaining. He was definitely the only actor besides Laurence Fishburne that truly lived into his role. He has a very natural blend of odd charisma, comedy, and mischief that stays true to the character.

Outside of that, there's some nice imagery in here with stunning neon-lit shots in the rain, crumbling statues, and large shadows being cast on skyscrapers.

Unfortunately, everything else feels aimless and confused. The performances in this film come off as awkward and wooden, further hindered by odd dialogue that is needlessly superfluous in an attempt to sound intelligent. It seems like none of the actors understood the film or their characters.

On a story level, there's so much going on here that the film becomes packed to the brim with ludicrous subplots that go nowhere. Many sequences don't flow into the next and there seems to be a lot of footage missing while other scenes go on for far too long. I felt like I was in the theater for twice the runtime. I won't spoilt it but there is an odd ten-minute drug induced scene that is absolute insanity that I couldn't help but laugh.

Megalopolis is ultimately a story between cynicism and idealism. The film favors an idealistic outlook on the future of a crumbling society likened to America yet for being so preachy, there aren't any innovative solutions presented. Maybe that's the point and instead Coppola is inviting the audience to ponder resolutions to the world's problems.

I unfortunately cannot recommend Megalopolis to anyone as it is an incomprehensible mess that feels like it was directed by a bunch of different people.