r96sk

'Drowning Mona' is funny viewing. A great time was had watching. It's an amusing flick and also a smart one, I really enjoyed the use of flashbacks (especially with the unreliable pov aspect) in particular. Each character has their own personality trait too, which is nice.

I do like this humour, which is quite dry and almost deadpan - right up my alley. The music is good as well, particularly towards the end with the usage of "Popcorn" and "Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag". Pacing-wise it's spot on, what with its brisk run time of 90 minutes.

The cast list is top, everyone onscreen does great work here. Danny DeVito is more laidback than usual, I'm unsure if I like him as such but the low energy trait works because each character, as noted already, has their own schtick so I didn't question it all that much to be honest.

Casey Affleck's bumbling Bobby is good, that word couldn't be used to describe his trim though... that's a wig, right?! William Fichtner, Marcus Thomas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Neve Campbell and Bette Midler play their parts to a strong standard. Will Ferrell and Melissa McCarthy appear too!

A bit of a hidden gem, this. That's strange given those on the cast. Looks like I might be in the smaller section of (the small in itself) audience that highly enjoyed this one. Admittedly, the general view seems to be that it's passable at worst. Either way: recommended!

'The Pickup' ended up being better than I thought it was going to be early on. Still not a good movie, mind you. Obviously the writing et al. Lets this one down just as much, but it was more visually that made me care less about it - it's an ugly film, especially 'inside' that damn truck.

The world of film didn't feel lived in either, namely on that long highway; I know they mention it'll be a "ghost town" but that's a cop-out. The pairing, meanwhile, of Eddie Murphy and Pete Davidson is narrowly passable, albeit arguably. Davidson is the better, Murphy underwhelms.

Keke Palmer is the star of this particular show, her performance gave the flick the required energy anyway. Eva Longoria is alright, at least for the forgettable role that she is given. The characters of Jack Kesy and Ismael Cruz Córdova are exactly that too, despite having potential to be decent.

It's the ending that stopped me from disliking this 2025 release. It holds enough action that I was satisifed with what I was watching. There was some hope for this, I could see glimpses of goodness throughout (e.g. That Clark gag is good), but all in all it's real meh.

'Night Always Comes' delivered a good flick. I do tend to like these gritty crime dramas, so I'm pleased to say that I can list this one in that bracket. Vanessa Kirby comes in with a strong performance, I'm happy to belatedly see her act as the front and centre of a film.

There is plenty of action across the 108mins, atmospherically the movie is spot on. It can get quite frustrating but seemingly by design, Doreen is particuarly infuriating - gaslighter of the century, that one! Bar Kirby, this also minimally has Randall Park, Julia Fox, Michael Kelly and Eli Roth.

I will say some of the dialogue didn't quite do it for me, mainly for Kirby in fact. It just felt unnatural/ill-fitting to me here and there, but in fairness Kirby's acting prowess and the dramatic events are sturdy enough that I quickly forgot any issues I had with that. Worth noting, still.