stevencsmovies

"Last night, at 2:17AM, every child from Mrs. Gandy's class woke up, got out of bed, went downstairs, opened the front door, and walked into the dark...and they never came back." If this doesn't intrigue you even a little bit, you can stop reading now. This is what WEAPONS is all about, the new genre-bending psychological horror comedy mystery by writer/director Zach Cregger. This is his second feature film, his first being 2022's BARBARIAN. Similar to that, WEAPONS is best seen without having seen anything prior to seeing it. Yet again, Cregger has fun dancing around the thin line between horror and comedy. The story structure is unique and satisfying for the audience. Every performance is amazing here, the main players being Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Benedict Wong, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Cary Christopher, and Amy Madigan. The violence is sparce, but brutal. It's deliberately paced, extremely well-shot, with complex characters. To me, the best horror films are meant to give you a sense of unease or make you cringe, squirm, or hide behind your fingers. To be honest, I may have overanalyzed this movie, but that just means there's a lot to think about here. The fact that the kids disappear at 2:17AM could be perceived in a few different ways. It could be a nod to THE SHINING, where the book featured room 217. It could be a reference to Matthew 2:17 in the Bible, which involves something that you'll have to look up on your own. Lastly, and in my opinion most likely, it could be a reference to the Parkland school shooting, where 17 people were killed, on the second month, February. Apparently, the related police report was 217 pages long. The way the kids run with the arms slightly out is inspired by the historical "Napalm Girl" photograph. The title itself could mean "small arms". I love movies that can be overly analyzed! This movie could be about how trauma can forever change you, or how people have different vices to cope with trauma. This has been one of the best years for amazing original horror films. We've had SINNERS, BRING HER BACK, TOGETHER, and now WEAPONS. Allow the story to reveal itself to you in its own time and enjoy the ride.

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.