Movie Review: Smile 2

Smile 2 isn't so much a fresh take on what audiences saw in the original film 2 short years ago as it is confirmation that writer/director Parker Finn and this franchise are the real fucking deal. There's a world where Finn gets complacent after the surprising breakout success of Smile-which marked his directorial debut and only makes the sequel to collect a check. Fortunately, we're not living in that one. In fact, Finn is downright giddy to return to the horrifying, bleak universe he authored, and he found the perfect vessel to do so by making a pop star (Naomi Scott) attempting to mount a comeback after spending a year away from the spotlight after enduring a personal tragedy the next person to be afflicted by the "Smile Curse". The story deals with the suffocating horror of a woman trying to get her life back on track while being in the public eye and not having any that cares about her wellbeing in her inner circle since their incomes are dictated by the success or failure of her career. Scott shines by tapping into the ignored humanity of a woman whose been under the brutally unforgiving pop culture microscope for most of her life, and Finn does an exceptional job of using the protagonist's celebrity status to create a string of viscerally nightmarish sequences that play with the specific horrors of having every detail of your life broadcast to the public. You can probably guess the final destination of this journey based on the brief synopsis above, but that doesn't make the disorienting, dread-fueled ride to get there any less compelling or the closing frames any less unsettling.    

When the book is written on studio horror films of the 2020's, Smile 2 should be prominently featured. Finn's visual eye and ability to marry jump scares with grotesque gory imagery and slow-burning dread that pours off the screen are so strong it's almost hard to believe that this is only his second feature. Whether he returns to the Smile universe or decides to embark on another challenge, I'll be eagerly awaiting what he cooks up next.                                  

Grade: B+

Anna Kendrick Ranked

Welcome to "Ranked", a weekly series where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out assorted related superlatives. This week, I'm profiling the work of Anna Kendrick-whose latest project "Woman of the Hour" releases on Netflix on Friday. 

Anna Kendrick's Filmography Ranked:

21.The Voices (D)

20.What Expect to When You're Expect Everything (D+)

19.Table 19 (C)

18.Mr. Right (C)

17.Get a Job (C+)

16.Alice, Darling (B-)

15.Cake (B-)

14.Pitch Perfect 3 (B-)

13.The Accountant (B-)

12.Self Reliance (B) 

11.A Simple Favor (B)

10.Drinking Buddies (B)

9.Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (B)

8.Pitch Perfect (B)

7.The Hollars (B)

6.Up in the Air (B)

5.Life After Beth (B+)

4.Pitch Perfect 2 (B+)

3.Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (A-)

2.End of Watch (A)

1.50/50 (A)

Top Dog: 50/50 (2011)

50/50's ability to approach the subject matter of a man (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and his loved ones (Seth Rogen, Anjelica Huston) dealing with his cancer diagnosis/treatment through a combination of raunchy humor and unfiltered heavy emotion without ever devolving into melodrama or developing an inconsistent tone is simply remarkable. I don't know how or why screenwriter Will Reiser has seemingly feel through the cracks of the Hollywood system after this, but hopefully he returns at some point because this script is the kind of gem that only a high-end talent could author.    

Bottom Feeder: The Voices (2015)

In the wake of Ryan Reynolds career arc over the past decade or so, it feels kind of wrong to shit on one of the most recent (and likely final) instances of him starring in something outside of his snarky action hero wheelhouse. Then I remember just how much The Voices got on my nerves and those feelings go away pretty quickly. As admirably twisted as the premise is (Reynolds plays a schizophrenic factory worker who finally gives into the murderous impulses that have long tormented him after accidently killing his coworker), the attempts at dark comedy are really poor and Reynolds can't quite pull off the genuinely nice guy/reluctant monster dynamic that the role required.       

Most Underrated: Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016)

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates isn't just my pick for Kendrick's most underrated movie, it's my pick for the most underrated comedy of the entire 2010's. Everyone from the top of the call sheet down to the bottom is funny as hell (Adam DeVine, Zac Efron, Kendrick, Aubrey Plaza, Sam Richardson, Sugar Lyn Beard, Stephen Root, Alice Wetterlund, Mary Holland, Kumail Nanjiani) and their talent along with how well they mesh all together goes a long way in making this movie a consistently hilarious ride. 

Most Overrated: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)

Don't get me wrong, there's a lot to like here between the zany video game-inspired action, Edgar Wright's signature flashy editing/visuals and huge collection of recognizable actors that were part of the ensemble cast (Kieran Culkin, Aubrey Plaza, Kendrick, Chris Evans, Brie Larson, basically everybody else in the film besides Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Jason Schwartzman) before their respective breakouts, it just never really dazzled me in the way that it clearly did so many others. Even a rewatch a few years back did nothing to move the needle for me and at this point, I doubt anything will. Oh well, at least the rest of Wright's movies aren't confounding to me at all!     

2024 NFL Power Rankings: Week 7

 =Previous Ranking

1.(1) Kansas City Chiefs (5-0) Week 7 opponent: San Francisco 49ers

2.(2) Detroit Lions (4-1) Week 7 opponent: Minnesota Vikings

3.(3) Minnesota Vikings (5-0) Week 7 opponent: Detroit Lions

4.(4) Baltimore Ravens (4-2) Week 7 opponent: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

5.(5) Houston Texans (5-1) Week 7 opponent: Green Bay Packers 

6.(7) Green Bay Packers (4-2) Week 7 opponent: Houston Texans 

7.(8) Buffalo Bills (4-2) Week 7 opponent: Tennessee Titans 

8.(9) Atlanta Falcons (4-2) Week 7 opponent: Seattle Seahawks 

9.(6) Washington Commanders (4-2) Week 7 opponent: Carolina Panthers

10.(10) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-2) Week 7 opponent: Baltimore Ravens 

11.(12) Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2) Week 7 opponent: New York Jets 

12.(14) Los Angeles Chargers (3-2) Week 7 opponent: Arizona Cardinals 

13.(15) San Francisco 49ers (3-3) Week 7 opponent: Kansas City Chiefs 

14.(17) Chicago Bears (4-2) Week 7 opponent: Bye

15.(11) Dallas Cowboys (3-3) Week 7 opponent: Bye

16.(16) Philadelphia Eagles (3-2) Week 7 opponent: New York Giants

17.(13) Seattle Seahawks (3-3) Week 7 opponent: Atlanta Falcons 

18.(18) Indianapolis Colts (3-3) Week 7 opponent: Miami Dolphins

19.(25) Cincinnati Bengals (2-4) Week 7 opponent: Cleveland Browns

20.(21) Denver Broncos (3-3) Week 7 opponent: New Orleans Saints

21.(20) Arizona Cardinals (2-4) Week 7 opponent: Los Angeles Chargers 

22.(22) New York Jets (2-4) Week 7 opponent: Pittsburgh Steelers 

23.(23) New York Giants (2-4) Week 7 opponent: Philadelphia Eagles 

24.(24) Los Angeles Rams (1-4) Week 7 opponent: Las Vegas Raiders 

25.(19) New Orleans Saints (2-4) Week 7 opponent: Denver Broncos

26.(26) Las Vegas Raiders (2-4) Week 7 opponent: Los Angeles Rams 

27.(27) Tennessee Titans (1-5) Week 7 opponent: Buffalo Bills

28.(28) Miami Dolphins (2-3) Week 7 opponent: Indianapolis Colts

29.(29) Jacksonville Jaguars (1-5) Week 7 opponent: New England Patriots 

30.(30) Cleveland Browns (1-5) Week 7 opponent: Cincinnati Bengals

31.(31) Carolina Panthers (1-5) Week 7 opponent: Washington Commanders 

32.(32) New England Patriots (1-5) Week 7 opponent: Jacksonville Jaguars 

Week 6 Fantasy Football Winners and Losers: 2024 Edition

Quarterback

MVP: Caleb Williams (Bears)

Williams put together the best game of his rookie campaign thus far in London on Sunday morning, shredding the Jaguars for 226 YDS and 4 TD's while adding 56 YDS on the ground in a statement win for the Bears. The reigning #1 overall pick has found his footing over the past few weeks after a brutal start to the year and should remain on the QB1 radar when the Bears return to action against the Commanders in Week 8.  

Honorable Mentions: Baker Mayfield (Buccaneers), Jordan Love (Packers), Jared Goff (Lions)

LVP: Dak Prescott (Cowboys)

The Cowboys Week 7 bye couldn't be coming at a better time. Prescott was among the worst Cowboys on the field on Sunday in their hilariously lopsided loss to the Lions, throwing for 178 scoreless YDS and 2 picks. After a shaky 8 TD/6 INT start to 2024, Prescott should be left out of starting lineups until he gets his shit together.   

Dishonorable Mentions: Kyler Murray (Cardinals), Kirk Cousins (Falcons), Geno Smith (Seahawks) 

Running Back

MVP: Joe Mixon (Texans)

Mixon's return to action after a 3-game absence with an ankle ailment was a mighty eventful one. Despite playing on a pitch count, he managed to rip off 132 scrimmage YDS and 2 TD's on only 15 touches (13 carries, 2 receptions) against the Patriots. He'll be an RB1 for their Week 8 tilt with the Packers.   

Honorable Mentions: Derrick Henry (Ravens), Bijan Robinson (Falcons), David Montgomery (Lions)

LVP: James Conner (Cardinals)

Negative game script and riding the pine for a bit after a fumble in the 2nd quarter led to Conner having a pretty ugly afternoon against the Packers, registering 46 YDS on 11 touches (7 carries, 4 receptions). Conner also managed to ding up his ankle late, so his practice availability will be monitoring ahead of their Week 7 showdown with the Chargers.     

Dishonorable Mentions: Javonte Williams (Broncos), Saquon Barkley (Eagles), Antonio Gibson (Patriots)

Wide Receiver 

MVP: Chris Godwin (Buccaneers)

On a day where the Bucs running backs were the main stars of the show, Godwin managed to seize some of the spotlight for himself. The veteran wideout secured 11 catches for 125 YDS and 2 TD's (all season highs) in a wild road win over the Saints. Godwin is being blessed with another plus matchup against the Ravens this week.   

Honorable Mentions: Garrett Wilson (Jets), A.J. Brown (Eagles), Terry McLaurin (Commanders)

LVP: D.J. Moore (Bears)

Moore's day almost went differently as he got tackled just shy of the goal line on a screen pass in the 3rd quarter, but alas, he was left with a boring 4 REC/20 YD statline on a day where the Bears dominated the Jaguars. This was the only 2nd game all season that Moore had less than 5 receptions and 6 targets, so this quit showing will probably serve as an outlier.     

Dishonorable Mentions: Brian Thomas Jr. (Jaguars), Brandon Aiyuk (49ers), Calvin Ridley (Titans) 

Tight End

MVP: Cole Kmet (Bears)

Kmet was the surprise top star of the Bears passing attack this past week, securing 5 catches for 70 YDS and 2 TD's versus the Jaguars. He's been a solid starting option for much of this year, and I have no reason to believe that will change as long as he's out there.    

Honorable Mentions: George Kittle (49ers), Mark Andrews (Ravens), Trey McBride (Cardinals)

LVP: Jake Ferguson (Cowboys)

After a couple decent games in a row, Ferguson reverted back to the kind of duds he was posting to start the year-making just 3 catches for 11 YDS in the Cowboys horrendous loss to the Lions. Ferguson will remain on the TE1/TE2 borderline when the Cowboys take the field against the 49ers in Week 8.   

Dishonorable Mentions: Tucker Kraft (Packers), Pat Friermuth (Steelers), Isaiah Likely (Ravens)

Defense/Special Teams

MVP: Steelers

Outside of surrendering a TD on the opening drive, the Steelers were dialed in against the lowly Raiders on Sunday, accumulating a sack, INT, 2 fumble recoveries and a blocked punt in a 32-13 win. They have a date with the Jets in Week 6.    

Honorable Mentions: Texans, Eagles, Bears

LVP: Jets 

Robert Saleh had to be having a nice big laugh at home after this performance versus the Bills. The vaunted Jets defense was far from great last night versus, picking up 2 sacks and 0 takeaways in a 23-20 loss where they allowed several huge gains and had zero answer for rookie Ray Davis-who was making a spot start for the injured James Cook-on the ground. They'll be looking for redemption against the Russell Wilson-led Steelers this week.  

Dishonorable Mentions: Cowboys, Broncos, Ravens

Movie Review: Saturday Night

Saturday Night depicts what transpired from 90 minutes before airtime through the opening sketch of the debut episode of Saturday Night Live on October 11th, 1975, in real time. Equipment malfunctioned. Crew members walked off during the dress rehearsal. Cast members were questioning what the hell they had signed up for.  Sketches were constantly being rewritten and cut from air. Celebrity guests were waiting around to see if they would get the opportunity to perform on air. Copious amounts of cocaine, marijuana and cigarettes were consumed by many parties involved in the making of the episode of live television. Basically, it was a borderline miracle the show even made it to the air to that night.

What Jason Reitman does in Saturday Night is use the behind-the-scenes look at the debut episode of Saturday Night Live to celebrate the enduring power of artists coming together to make things against all odds. Sure, he deeply respects and loves the legendary pop culture brand/comedic talent incubator that Saturday Night Live has become, but he knows that it wouldn't have gotten the opportunity to become those things if a band of talented, yet woefully inexperienced creatives hadn't stood strong in the face of adversity 50 years ago. A real time dramatization of the events of that night was the ideal storytelling tool to help Reitman convey this point as it highlights just quickly massive problems can arise on a production of this scale and how the best solutions to them often require a delicate combination of on-the-fly fixes and pervasive finger-crossing that those fixes hold up for long enough to complete the job. Making movies or television is a pressure cooker that only sickos who love to make shit with other like-minded people would sign up for and if it all works out, you get filled with a tremendous amount of pride for what you accomplished. And if it doesn't? Well, there's always next time.

The real time narrative device also ensures that Saturday Night is fun as hell to watch. There's an electric energy stemming from the revolving door of chaos that is playing out on screen, and it makes the movie feel alive in a way that it likely wouldn't have if it had taken a more conventional structural approach to telling this story. Telling such an inherently manic story bred an environment where everybody just gleefully leaned into the madness. Damn near everyone in this massive ensemble cast is fired up to goof around with a large group of fellow actors (the top standouts for me were Cory Michael Smith as Chevy Chase, Dylan O'Brien as Dan Akroyd and Lamorne Morris as Garrett Morris), the playful camerawork paired with the tight editing ensures that the viewer is fully aware of every move this speeding bullet train is making throughout and Jon Batiste's-who also stars as the episode's musical guest Billy Preston-brilliant score goes from sparse piano pieces to explosive horn-driven jazz at the drop of a hat. Despite all of the stress that goes into making it, vigor, vibrancy and playfulness are the heart of many great creative endeavors and Saturday Night has all of those things in spades. This is Reitman's finest hour as a director in quite some time and may the love and admiration he poured into this project carry over to whatever he does next.              

Grade: B+

Dylan O'Brien Ranked

Welcome to "Ranked", a weekly series where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out assorted related superlatives. This week, I'm profiling the work of Dylan O'Brien-whose latest projects "Saturday Night" and "Caddo Lake" are now playing in theaters and streaming on Max respectively.  

Dylan O'Brien's Filmography Ranked:

12.American Assassin (D+)

11.Caddo Lake (D+)

10.Infinite (C)

9.Maze Runner: The Death Cure (C+)

8.Deepwater Horizon (C+)

7.The Internship (B-)

6.Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (B)

5.The Maze Runner (B)

4.The Outfit (B)

3.Not Okay (B)

2.Love and Monsters (B+)

1.Bumblebee (B+)

Top Dog: Bumblebee (2018)

Bumblebee has a secret sauce that the other Transformers movies just don't have: A legitimately good human story! The entire film hinges on the relationship between the titular mute yellow-and-black robot and high school senior Charlie Watson (Hailee Steinfeld) and how their bond helps them cope with the pain of their pasts. A buddy movie narrative is a really unexpected angle to approach a Transformers movie from and the whole thing works so beautifully because the writing from Christina Hodson along with Steinfeld's performance is so heartfelt. The action, comedic and 80's nostalgia bits are good too, but the earnest emotion underneath all of the VFX is what makes Bumblebee a special movie.  

Bottom Feeder: American Assassin (2017)

While I never made a worst action movies of the 2010's list, American Assassin would've absolutely landed on it if I had. This lumbering dud of a spy revenge thriller features a level of clunky pacing, incoherent quick cut editing and flat action direction that is downright shocking for a mid-budget mainstream genre vehicle backed by a legit studio in Lionsgate.   

Most Underrated: Love and Monsters (2020)

One of the many films robbed of the chance of achieving cultural relevancy on account of the pandemic, Love and Monsters is a really charming, creative adventure romance that makes great use of O'Brien's inherent magnetism and contains some of the most unique, best looking VFX monsters in recent cinema history.   

Most Overrated: Deepwater Horizon (2016)

As technically impressive as it is as a disaster movie, Deepwater Horizon is too emotionally stagnant to properly depict the horrors of this tragedy that was brought on by the greed of BP.   

Way Too Early Oscar Predictions: 2024 Edition

Fall festival season has all but officially concluded as the New York Film Festival enters its final stretch tonight with the US premiere of Steve McQueen's Apple-backed WWII biopic Blitz. This of course means it's time to embark on a silly little annual tradition in these parts: Trying to guess who and what will be nominated for Oscars at a juncture of the calendar where it's neither necessary nor wise to do so! Making this exercise even more reckless this year is the current lack of clear frontrunners in damn near every category, which is an exceptionally rare thing to see roughly a month after the big 3 fests (Venice, Telluride, Toronto) have concluded. This lack of early favorites across the board won't do anything to disrupt this piece. In fact, it only makes this whole goofy exercise more fun.       

As always given how far out we are from the start of the voting process, it needs to be noted that there are several major titles including Gladiator II, Wicked, A Complete Unknown, Nosferatu, Here and Juror #2 that have yet to publicly screen in their final form and the races have the potential to be widely impacted once they debut. Now with that note out of the way, here are my way too early Oscar predictions for every category excluding Best Original Song, Best Animated Short, Best Documentary Short and Best Live Action Short. 

*Indicates the predicted winner   

Best Picture:

Anora*

Blitz

The Brutalist

Conclave 

Dune: Part Two

Emilia Perez

Gladiator II  

Nickel Boys

A Real Pain

Sing Sing 

Best Director:

Jacques Audiard, Emilia Perez 

Sean Baker, Anora* 

Brady Corbet, The Brutalist  

Steve McQueen, Blitz

Denis Villeneuve, Dune: Part Two 

Best Actor:

Adrien Brody, The Brutalist 

Daniel Craig, Queer 

Colman Domingo, Sing Sing

Ralph Fiennes, Conclave* 

Paul Mescal, Gladiator II  

Best Actress:

Karla Sofia Gascon, Emilia Perez 

Angelina Jolie, Maria 

Nicole Kidman, Babygirl 

Mikey Madison, Anora* 

Saoirse Ronan, The Outrun 

Best Supporting Actor:

Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain* 

Clarence Maclin, Sing Sing 

Guy Pearce, The Brutalist

Stanley Tucci, Conclave

Denzel Washington, Gladiator II 

Best Supporting Actress:

Danielle Deadwyler, The Piano Lesson  

Selena Gomez, Emilia Perez 

Felicity Jones, The Brutalist  

Zoe Saldana, Emilia Perez* 

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Nickel Boys 

Best Original Screenplay:

Anora*

Blitz

The Brutalist

A Real Pain

The Seed of the Sacred Fig

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Conclave*

Emilia Perez 

Nickel Boys

The Room Next Door

Sing Sing

Best Animated Feature:

Flow

Inside Out 2

Memoir of a Snail

Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

The Wild Robot*

Best Documentary Feature:

Black Box Diaries 

Daughters

The Remarkable Life of Ibelin

Sugarcane* 

Will & Harper

Best International Feature:

Emilia Perez*

The Girl with the Needle

Grand Tour

I'm Still Here

The Seed of the Sacred Fig 

Best Cinematography:

Lol Crawley, The Brutalist*

Greig Fraser, Dune: Part Two

Jomo Fray, Nickel Boys  

Paul Guilhaume, Emilia Perez 

Edward Lachman, Maria 

Best Film Editing:

Sean Baker, Anora

Nick Emerson, Conclave 

David Jancso, The Brutalist

Peter Sciberras, Blitz

Joe Walker, Dune: Part Two*

Best Costume Design:

Blitz

Dune: Part Two

Gladiator II

Maria

Wicked*

Best Makeup and Hairstyling:

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Dune: Part Two*

Nosferatu

The Substance

Wicked

Best Production Design:

Blitz

The Brutalist

Dune: Part Two

Gladiator II*

Wicked

Best Score:

Conclave*

Dune: Part Two 

Emilia Perez 

Saturday Night

The Wild Robot

Best Sound:

Blitz

Dune: Part Two*

Emilia Perez

Gladiator II 

Twisters 

Best Visual Effects:

Dune: Part Two*

Gladiator II

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Mufasa: The Lion King 

Twisters