Author: crunchonthis

Popcorn Perspectives with Danny Minton

Week of August 18, 2025

Nobody 2
Rated R for strong bloody violence and language throughout
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 77%
In Theaters
Bon Odenkirk is back as Hutch Mansell, your average looking, mild-mannered husband and father who just happens to be a highly successful close-quarters assassin. But he’s tired and wants a vacation. So he and the family pack up and head to the small tourist town of Plummerville, which holds happy memories for him since it was the only place his father ever took him on vacation as a child. Once there, he comes to the quick realization that the town is a hotbed of criminal activity, and while seeking out a little revenge for some disrespect shown at a local arcade, he accidentally finds himself the target of a major crime boss (Sharon Stone). While not a huge franchise for Universal, these low budget action films have managed to create quite a following. Just the thought of Bob Odenkirk cast as John Wick (that’s how I imagine them selling the project) is hilarious, and the idea seems even better once you see it on a screen. With a new director at the helm (Timo Tjahjanto), the action is bigger and faster than what we saw in the first, which is really saying something. The film is less than 90 minutes, but it is packed full of ridiculous violence which ends in a showdown that should leave fans mostly satisfied. I was a little distracted by Sharon Stone here, partially because I couldn’t figure out who she was, and partially because she is way too over-the-top. I didn’t care for her character and I found the way she played it very annoying. Luckily she’s a relatively minor part of a short film. Also, don’t expect much story-wise. This film, as with the other, is about a man with extreme, but odd, fighting skills who takes out his frustrations on bad people who probably deserve what they get. Everything from the setup to the takedown is silly and hardly relevant to the action taking place. But the action is fun and a good release for those wanting a mindless break in a dark theater. B-

Popcorn Perspectives with Danny Minton

Week of August 11, 2025

Weapons
Rated R for strong bloody violence and grisly images, language throughout, some sexual content and drug use
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94%
In Theaters
Hot off his 2022 studio debut Barbarian, writer/director Zach Cregger has another potential horror hit on his hands here with his new mystery/thriller Weapons. The story follows a room full of kids in elementary school who one day just didn’t show up to class. And the town and its police have no clue what has happened to them. One night, all at the same time, the children ran out the door and simply disappeared into the darkness. But not everyone disappeared. The teacher (Ozark’s Julia Garner) and one student (Cary Christopher) show up, apparently not having a clue what is going on. Of course, the parents of the missing kids blame the teacher, which begins to ruin her life, but her own curiosity of the mystery keeps her living there trying to put together the pieces. And while many parents have accepted their fate, one angry dad (Josh Brolin) is not willing to accept the detective work of the police and begins to sort out the clues himself. Weapons is being sold as one of the scariest films of the year, but personally, I found it way more interesting than horrifying. I really loved how the film is packaged into several different parts, all according to a particular character’s point of view. This allows the audience to try to piece together the mystery until there is no mystery left. And while the film isn’t particularly scary, it is super creepy at times, with some decent jump scares to keep you engaged and swallowing down your popcorn. The performances here are excellent, with a really good cast of actors to pull them off. Much of this is due to a terrific script by Cregger which uses a Tarantino approach to pull off what could have been mishandled by any other linear method of writing. By the end we get a harrowing two hours at the movies that will leave most audiences uniquely satisfied. B+

Popcorn Perspectives with Danny Minton

Week of July 28, 2025

Together
Rated R for language, graphic nudity, brief drug content, sexual content, violent/disturbing content
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 99%
In Theaters
From the twisted mind of brand-new filmmaker Michael Shanks comes this horror film starring real-life spouses Alison Brie and Dave Franco as Millie and Tim, a stressed couple who move from their fairly comfy life in the big city to a new environment in the country in order for her to take a job as a school teacher. Even though there is a lot of tension between them, and growing more every day, they attempt to put their troubles aside to make it work. One day as they are on a hike near their new home, they fall into a hole in the ground where they are stuck for the night. When they finally escape, they discover a new, scary attraction towards each other, like something is trying to make their bodies actually join together. Normally I wouldn’t think a movie like this could be such a hit, but it has truly turned some heads, and audiences and critics alike have become quite taken with it. It helps that Dave and Allison have incredible chemistry, as would be expected for a young married couple like this. But it is also fearless in its attempts to gross the audience out while creating a macabre sense of humor at the same time. While it falls firmly into the horror genre, it is quite funny and even romantic at times. At other times, it does push boundaries and I had to turn my head more than once. But I still found it to be enjoyable, even amongst all of the violence and disgusting drama. A special kudos goes to the makeup and special effects teams for their artistic and seriously disgusting creations. While I didn’t lose my dinner while watching at the Alamo Drafthouse, there were many moments when I wondered how I could possibly keep the food down while taking in such horrific sights. B

Happy Gilmore 2
Rated PG-13 for some thematic material, partial nudity, crude/sexual material, and strong language
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 62%
Streaming on Netflix
It has been almost thirty years since the original Happy Gilmore propelled Adam Sandler into notoriety, and now Netflix is showing us what happens to Happy all these years later. After accidentally killing his wife (Julie Brown) in a tragic golf accident, he goes on an epic drinking spree while trying to take care of his multitude of rowdy children. But when he runs out of money and his daughter needs tuition to attend a prestigious ballet school, he enters the golf world again to earn the necessary income to make that happen. But the golf world has evolved as a tech bro has created a new style of gameplay called Maxi Golf that threatens the traditional world of golf, much like Happy did decades ago. Most of us who grew up with Happy understand that it is a stupid yet lovable movie that you can enjoy tremendously, as long as you don’t take it seriously, and maybe down a few cocktails while taking it in. And this second one is just more of the same – and that ain’t bad. It is extremely funny at times, and insultingly dumb at others, but the dumb never gets you down if you’re willing to put up with it. I’m not sure why this couldn’t have been a theatrical release first, as it doesn’t feel like a straight to streaming affair. But it’s also not a perfect idiotic comedy either. While they successfully go over the top many times, they do a lot of really bad flashbacks to make sure we remember old Happy moments to give relevance to the cameo of the minute. While those script elements are a bit irritating, what does truly work are some of the bigger casting surprises like Bad Bunny, John Daly and Travis Kelce, who all turn in some unexpected great performances. Overall, I really enjoyed the new Happy and was glad to share in another golf adventure with him. B+

Popcorn Perspectives with Danny Minton

Week of July 21, 2025

The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Rated PG-13 for some language, action/violence
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 86%
In Theaters
In this fourth attempt to bring a big-budget Fantastic Four to theaters, Marvel itself is giving it a go, within the MCU, with a new cast and fresh vision. This time out we get Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm and Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm. The four are essentially a big family who went up into space and came down with superpowers. Choosing wisely not to do this as an origin story, this part of the narrative is quickly glossed over, giving the audience enough information to get into the meat of the new film while also giving the newbies enough information to move forward without questions. The first act finds our super family in a strange new earth (at least for us), which looks like a future designed by Mad Men. And in this world, they are the saviors, taking on low-level bad guys and strange aliens that occasionally attack the public. But then The Silver Surfer (Julia Garner), a metallic alien who flies around on a surfboard, pops up to announce that Galactus would soon come to Earth to devour it and end all of mankind. Galactus, a classic comic villain, is a giant space being who consumes planets and Earth is his new menu item. Finding themselves incredibly underwhelming against his power, they must use their brains to find a way to stop him, rather than their special abilities. There is a lot to like with this new Fantastic Four, especially when compared to the horrific attempts made before this. First and foremost is the new look. It’s weird and ultra-campy, but it really works, both on screen and in all of the advertising for the picture. Even the score by Oscar-winner Michael Giacchino (Up) enhances the look and feel of the film. It’s a creative bright spot that at least gives the film something to really like and hold on to when the story gets dull, which it most certainly does for huge chunks of time. While the classic Galactus battle works here, the movie is quite boring leading up to it. Part of this is due to an unreasonable amount of exposition and explanation, but this could have been easily avoidable if they had just made the characters more fun. The world around them is thrilling, but the four of them have no life. They all just look nervous to be there, and I don’t think I cracked a smile once. You would think that with a director like Matt Shakman, who directed over 40 episodes of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, that there would be a huge sense of humor pervading the project. But you’d be wrong. The characters all play it straight and the film really suffers from this. So don’t get too excited that the reviews are looking better than the previous three attempts. A high Rotten Tomatoes score doesn’t mean that the film is spectacular. It sometimes means that a majority of critics found it to be at least okay, which reflects my thoughts here. B-

Popcorn Perspectives with Danny Minton

Week of July 7, 2025

Superman
Rated PG-13 for language, action and violence
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 85%
In Theaters
The original (or at least I’m calling it original) Superman, starring Christopher Reeve, was my first super hero movie as a child, and to this day, one of my favorite films. Since that 1978 classic, there have been tons of sequels and reboots, but none of them have really captured what we love about Superman. In this new reimagining of arguably the most famous super hero of all, writer/director James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy) has brought us a truly unique vision of Kal-El’s story with this thrilling new adventure. The film very wisely chooses not to go into another origin story, and instead begins as Superman (David Corenswet) is in the middle of a fight he is badly losing. We find out that for centuries, metahumans have been visiting our planet, and that Superman is one of these metahumans who has been on our planet for 30 years, making himself known to the world, and trying to do some good. But he’s also stirring up political trouble by stopping a war that would have changed the geopolitical scales while also killing lots of innocent civilians. So back to him losing a fight. As he is lying near his fortress of solitude in Antarctica, so badly beaten that he can’t even stand, we meet Krypto, his new dog who quickly becomes one of the most important (and lovable) characters in our movie. Krypto helps Superman get to safety and healing, and then the movie gets right back into the action. It’s a whacky beginning that immediately sets the tone for what we are about to experience. The story moves forward with Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) attempting to get inside Superman’s head regarding the ramifications of his actions, while Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) makes every attempt to kill him, so that he can move on to his more diabolical plans. Since James Gunn became a household name (for many) with Guardians of the Galaxy, we have been given some very outlandish, yet incredible and unforgettable storytelling for movies that would normally be missing these elements he regularly infuses into his craft. Just as with his work on his Marvel projects (and 2021’s Suicide Squad which was probably his DC working interview), he has created here a beautifully quirky picture, full of wonderful surprises and fantastically weird spectacles, all with a strong dose of humor. This all sounds like distraction from story, but it’s not. The characters, and overall universe, prove to be larger than life, giving Superman an uber-creative backdrop to hang his cape on. While there are some irritations, like people who don’t move when the world is crashing down on them (this has always been a problem), you merely go along with Gunn’s vision, gladly taking in what he is dishing out. I expected to be wowed by Gunn’s imagination creatively, but I did not expect how overtly political the film would be in regards to foreign wars, how we treat immigrants and animosity towards crazy, dangerous billionaires. There will be some angry dissenters, but my prediction will be that these are largely universal beliefs that will satisfy most audiences. Politics aside, this Superman is different than anything you have seen before, and I can’t wait to see where Gunn takes the DC universe as he sets out to chart a new course. A

Popcorn Perspectives with Danny Minton

Week of June 30, 2025

Jurassic World Rebirth
Rated PG-13 for a drug reference, action, some suggestive references, bloody images, intense sequences of violence, and language
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 52%
In Theaters
Rogue One director Gareth Edwards brings us this new reboot for the Jurassic Park world which features Scarlett Johansson who plays a mercenary who is hired by a pharmaceutical company to assemble a team of experts who can travel to a secret island to capture DNA from still existent and very much alive dinosaurs left there. Once on the island, they discover that this was where scientists secretly did crossbreeding experiments, creating new types of dinosaurs never found in nature. This film has one heck of a pedigree with Edwards at the helm, a script by David Koepp (Jurassic Park, Spider-Man), a score by Alexandre Desplat (The Shape of Water, The Grand Budapest Hotel) and a strong enough cast including Johansson and Oscar-winner Mehershala Ali (Moonlight, Green Book). Much of it has real potential, especially the concept of a Jurassic World with monsters instead of just dinosaurs. The creations they come up with here are creative and capable of being quite frightening. But while most of the elements work, this movie proves that one broken element in a production can bring the whole thing down, and in this case it’s the script. Koepp is typically a very good writer, whose mostly action-packed adventures are thrilling and intelligent. But here, his script is just lousy, filled with stupid, clichéd dialog and predictable, stereotypical turns. It’s almost as if he didn’t write it himself (as I give him much too much credit to be this bad) but rather relied on AI to create such a sloppy screenplay. And when your eyes are too busy rolling into the back of your head to focus on the positives of the film, it really takes you out of what could have been a decent enough summer tentpole. The film makes a point of presenting that no one cares about dinosaurs anymore, and therefore the love of them is going extinct enough to really make them go away. With such a beloved franchise like this treating the material so trite, this rebirth is very likely to not go anywhere, and may hurt our chances of good adventures in the future. C+

Ironheart
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 86%
Streaming on Disney+
Introduced in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) is a poor but brilliant young MIT student who is given the boot from school, and thus steals her homemade Iron-man suit project to continue her work at home. Since she doesn’t have funding, she finds a local criminal (Anthony Ramos) to team up with until she discovers that he is a dangerous super villain that needs to be taken down. Much of what Disney has been doing with Marvel lately has been completely underwhelming. Fortunately, this 6-episode adventure makes for a nice diversion within the Marvel universe that is worth a watch for fans. I’m not certain if this character has much of a future within the MCU, but at least the series is entertaining and not so intricately tied into an over-arching storyline that is distracting and confusing. B

Popcorn Perspectives with Danny Minton

Week of June 23, 2025

F1 The Movie
Rated PG-13 for strong language and action
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 88%
In Theaters
From Jerry Bruckheimer and Top Gun Maverick director Joseph Kosinski, comes this action-packed race car flick starring Brad Pitt as a former F1 driver whose career ended in the 90’s after an accident that nearly left him dead. But he never stopped racing, keeping himself challenged in any other category of car racing that would allow him behind the wheel. When his former F1 teammate (Javier Bardem) gives him the chance to get behind the wheel on a losing F1 team, he decides to jump back in, if only to try to help his former teammate and possibly fulfill his own adrenaline needs. But in order to truly succeed, he must also find a way to help develop the career of his new teammate, a hotshot young driver who lacks the experience and skills to get his team on the podium. I, like most Americans, know virtually nothing about F1 racing, other than what I have seen in maybe a few other movies. That being said, if the movie is effective at anything – it is darn good at explaining how the sport works and gaining attention towards it. But it is fortunately much more than that. From the starting moments to the last, it is a big, bombastic, loud, over-the-top drama that you can’t take your eyes off of. Kosinski has a style that makes you care about the racing as much, or even more, than you care about what is happening off the track. One of the ways he does this is by giving you relevant narration, via an announcer, during the long, extended racing sequences. Of course the announcer is only talking about the team we are there to see, as he is 100% concerned about what is most important to the story. Also, to simplify things to a great degree, there is no competitor on the track that is brought to attention. All you get is Sonny Hayes (Pitt in a perfect role for him), Joshua Pearce (relative newcomer Damson Idris) and the members of their team. While most films rely on an adversary or some kind of villain, this film just tries to push the fact that they are in last place as the ominous bad guy. Is it the best way to present a narrative? Probably not, but it is effective and simple. I consider myself very intelligent (and humble), but this simplicity helps tremendously when you are trying to concentrate on a story while learning an entirely new sport. By the end, you are cheering like you know what is actually going on, and it ends up being entirely satisfying. B+

Popcorn Perspectives with Danny Minton

Week of June 16, 2025

Elio
Rated PG for thematic elements and some action/peril
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 81%
In Theaters
Disney and Pixar’s latest flick centers on a young boy named Elio whose parents have both recently died (Disney formula hard at work), and now lives with his aunt who works for the U.S. military in the space program. As Elio starts to become an older child, he becomes obsessed with UFOs and wants more than anything to be abducted by intelligent life from space. When his dream comes true, he becomes entangled with an interplanetary conflict when he befriends the son of a galactic dictator. For years Pixar has been synonymous with eye-popping animation and more importantly: fantastically original storytelling. So when a movie falls short, it is really disappointing. This is by no means a bad film, but for Pixar, it is entirely mediocre. As far as its imagination goes, it is fine. The aliens are odd-looking (in a good way) and should be entertaining enough for the younger audiences. Unfortunately, the story is basic and formulaic, which does nothing to impress the adults forced to bring the kids with them. While this is a common thing you see with other studios, when it happens to Pixar you can’t help but wish for more, and wonder why such a project was every green lit in the first place. Quite frankly, I found the movie to be a bit of a bore. I’m not sure if it has the elements to be exciting, as it never really gets going, but I’m guessing that Disney was all in with too much invested, when they should have cut bait in the very early stages. All of this being said, you can’t create gold every time, and a dud here and there is to be expected. If you have little ones, they will most likely be entertained enough, especially if your expectations are in check. But I do not expect a big box office from this one as competing against How to Train Your Dragon and Lilo & Stitch could prove to be an uphill climb that this film can’t overcome. C+

Popcorn Perspectives with Danny Minton

Week of June 9, 2025

How to Train Your Dragon
Rated PG for sequences of intense action and peril
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 80%
In Theaters
In 2010, Dreamworks and filmmaker Dean DeBlois blew us away with the spectacular animated film How to Train Your Dragon, based on the book by Cressida Cowell. Fifteen years later, they are teaming up again to bring the story with a live action version. The movie takes place on the island of Berk, where a community of coastal Vikings are at constant war with dragons, who seem to love to attack their village and steal their livestock. The son of the chieftain, Hiccup (Mason Thames) longs to be a dragon fighter like his father, but he lacks the strength and skills necessary to do the job. But what he lacks in physical presence, he more than makes up for in brains. Designing a tool to snare dragons, he manages to capture a beast that none of his clan has ever seen: the elusive night fury. Unfortunately, he can’t stomach the thought of killing it, so instead he befriends it and comes to the realization that dragons don’t have to be their enemies. This remake, unsurprisingly, is almost identical to the animated version, which completely makes sense since that film was absolutely brilliant. Replacing the stunning animation here is breathtaking CG and cinematography. But most of the elements from the original didn’t need to be tinkered with, and they very adeptly left those things alone. While the opening felt a bit like you were watching a stage production at Universal Studios (the characters are a little silly for live action), once you get to the relationship between Hiccup and Toothless, there is an emotional pull that is hard to describe. Just as it did fifteen years ago, the tears started streaming and I was hooked. Much of the credit for this belongs to composer John Powell who creates a gorgeous variation on a theme with this new but familiar score which lifts the entire film on its wings. Was the film necessary? Probably not. But that doesn’t make it less enjoyable. I’m actually jealous of the folks who didn’t see the original first as I wonder what it would be like to have this as your source material. A-

The Life of Chuck
Rated R for language
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 80%
In Theaters
Taken from a Stephen King novella, The Life of Chuck takes place in three parts, told in reverse order, about a man named Chuck. From the very start, things are weird and kind of scary as Chiwetel Ejiofor plays a schoolteacher at what appears to be the end of the world. California has fallen into the ocean, the internet is gone, and life is rapidly changing for the worse. And we are slowly introduced to Chuck (Tom Hiddleston). But never fear, the second and third parts make sense of the whole thing, and by the end we get a beautiful tale, full of life, love and dance. It sounds weird, I know, but this is a truly great little film that you will find difficult to describe to others without giving everything away. So don’t. Writer/director Mike Flanagan (Doctor Sleep) seems to understand really well how to bring King to the big screen, which is no small feat. Sure the whole thing is a bit odd, but some of the best art is. A

Popcorn Perspectives with Danny Minton

Week of June 2, 2025

The Phoenician Scheme
Rated PG-13 for smoking throughout, nude images, bloody images, some sexual material, and violent content
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 78%
In Theaters
In Wes Anderson’s latest creation, Benicio Del Toro plays an industrialist and arms dealer named Zsa-Zsa Korda who is trying to survive a series of assassination attempts and near-death experiences in order to makes his latest ambitious scheme come to life. But in order to bring it to fruition, he recruits his long-lost daughter (Mia Threapleton), who happens to be a nun, as well as the tutor he has hired for his multitudes of sons (Michael Cera) to follow him on a series of missions to persuade several parties to bend to his requests to make the project happen. Amongst all the directors working today, Anderson’s work is definitely the most distinctive. His style is quirky, whimsical, and usually frivolous, which happens to again be the case here. What we get with this story is another situation where the plot is insane, but easy enough to digest because of how it’s pulled off. Anderson does this by once again incorporating an impressive cast of actors, including Tom Hanks, Riz Ahmed, Bryan Cranston, Jeffrey Wright, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, and others, who all play over-the-top characters, to distract you from the fact that the story is not very compelling without them, but works because of them. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing as the film is certainly entertaining and sometimes extremely funny. Since almost all of Wes’s projects are essentially only compared to his other works, this one falls in line easily, but just like most of his movies, it is mostly style and little substance. It’s been years since he has created a feature-length film comparable to the likes of The Royal Tenenbaums, The Grand Budapest Hotel or Rushmore, and it looks like we will have to wait a bit longer for something that stands out in that category. Fortunately, you can tell the creative spark is still there, and one of these days he is going to gives us another masterpiece. But for right now, The Phoenician Scheme can serve as a pleasant enough diversion and next chapter in a long list of quirky and colorful experiences. B