MOVIE REVIEW: TRON: ARES

 

Mankind encounters AI beings for the first time when a highly sophisticated programme, Ares, leaves the digital world for a dangerous mission in the real world.

Director: Joachim Rønning

Cast: Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith, Hasan Minhaj, Arturo Castro, Gillian Anderson, Jeff Bridges

Release Date: October 10, 2025

Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Rated PG-13 for violence/action.

Runtime: 1h 59m

Review:

Tron: Ares boast an excellent cast, a pulse pounding soundtrack from Nine Inch Nails and the kind of mesmerizing techno visuals you'd expect but the clunky, clichéd script keeps it from being truly special.  Norwegian director, Joachim Rønning, does an excellent job of capturing the look and feel of 2010's Tron: Legacy in addition to an extended retro segment that takes us back to the 1980's original.  Rønning proves more than capable of delivering big action set pieces both inside of the grid and out as evidenced by a rather thrilling motorcycle sequence through the city that brings the digital into the real world.  All the action is perfectly suited for the big screen in addition to being one of the few films I'd recommend seeing in 3D to get the full effect of the technical wizardry on display.  The Nine Inch Nail's pulsating soundtrack elevates each of the action set pieces to such a level that the director is more than comfortable with making more of an audio/visual experience with very little in the way of story or dialogue offered up.  While these sequences are undoubtably the highlights of the film they do tend to go on a tad too long almost as if the cast and crew are disinterested in getting back to the main narrative.  As wonderfully constructed as all these sequences are, the script and story fail to make them part of something more than a very generic AI becomes self-aware story.  The characters and plot are so clunkily written that you wish that the amount of care that was put into the visuals and soundtrack would have carried over to the actual story.  The dialogue is incredibly stiff across the board, which gives the talented collection of actors very little to work with.  The characters all come off as caricatures as opposed to fully realized creations.  Jared Leto leads the cast as the titular security program created by Evan Peters' Julian Dillinger, grandson of Flynn's rival from the original film.  Leto plays his character like a thoughtful Terminator type with a mostly robotic delivery broken up by random playful moments.  Greta Lee struggles a bit to get her footing as the emphatic CEO of ENCOM who is in search of Kevin Flynn's Permanence Code which would make it possible for programs from the grid to exist in the real world permanently.  It’s a slightly odd plot point since Legacy ended with Olivia Wilde's Quorra entering the real world at that film's finale which is touched upon in passing near the end of this film.  Evan Peters is task with the role of child prodigy turned unscrupulous CEO of Dillinger Systems who's only missing a long twirly mustache to complete his cardboard cutout villain.  Peters is such a capable actor that it's slightly irritating to watch him try to make the clunky dialogue not seem so cringe worthy.  Gillian Anderson is given the thankless task of playing his mother and former CEO who seem to be the only person in the company that thinks her son's actions are a bad idea.  Jodie Turner-Smith serves as the villainous program unleashed to pursue Lee and Leto's characters whose sole motivation seems to be her love of directives.  She's a visually imposing figure as she looks the part, but she's given very little to work with outside of looking intense.  Jeff Bridges gets an extended cameo here where he seems to channel The Dude more than anything else.  Hasan Minhaj, Arturo Castro and Sarah Desjardins are familiar faces that pop up but much like the rest of the cast aren't asked to do much besides shoot out some goofy comedy relief and technobabble.  Tron: Ares ends up being a missed opportunity since the two thirds of the film are rather impressive, but the lackluster script ultimately holds it back from greatness.  

 

B-

MOVIE REVIEW: V/H/S HALLOWEEN

 

A collection of Halloween-themed videotapes unleashes a series of twisted, blood-soaked tales, turning trick-or-treat into a struggle for survival.

Director:  Anna Zlokovic, Paco Plaza, Casper Kelly, Alex Ross Perry, Bryan M. Ferguson, R.H. Norman

Cast: Samantha Cochran, Natalia Montgomery Fernandez, Teo Planell, María Romanillos, Lawson Greyson, Riley Nottingham, Jenna Hogan, Jake Ellsworth, Stephen Gurewitz, Carl William Garrison, Jeff Harms, Noah Diamond, Sarah Nicklin

Release Date: October 3, 2025

Genre: Horror

Unrated

Runtime: 1h 55m

Review:

The eighth installment of the V/H/S franchise opts for Halloween specific theme which should be a perfect fit for the anthology, but the shorts are mostly underwhelming and undercooked.  

 

The wrap around device, Diet Phantasma, written and directed by Bryan M. Ferguson has a fun 80s aesthetic which works in its favor until each sequence becomes increasingly repetitive as the film goes on.    

The first short, Coochie Coochie Coo, written and directed by Anna Zlokovic is a solid start by using a well worn haunted house trope and setting up funhouse of gross outs and jump scares.  It may not be groundbreaking, but its effectively constructed story makes it feel like one of the more well rounded entries in the film.  

Ut Supra Sic Infra directed by Paco Plaza of [Rec] fame offers an intriguing set up but plays out in a surprisingly paint by the numbers set up and payoff.  It doesn't help that the characters are all logically challenged as they place themselves willingly in situations that result in fatal situations.  Paco Plaza is one of the most established directors in this volume which makes this short rather underwhelming and disappointing.   

Fun Size, written and directed by Casper Kelly, is one of the goofiest entries here which delivers a handful of gory laughs thanks to the zany set up and murderous mascots that pursue our hapless quartet of drunken trick or treaters.  This entry would have benefited from a bit more world building to flesh out the concept of Fun Size's world since there's painfully little offered up.  

Kidprint, written and directed by Alex Ross Perry, is far and away the darkest and nastiest short in this volume as it deals with a child serial killer in the 90's.  Taking some real life inspiration from Blockbuster's Kidprint which was supposed to serve as real life footage of your child in case they were abducted or went missing.  This short takes that concept down a dark path with little held back in terms of violence against children and gore.  There's a solid kernel of an idea, but it moves too quickly through the reveal with the back half just being relentless gore before its cynically ironic ending.  

The final entry, Home Haunt, written and directed by Micheline Pitt-Norman and R.H. Norman offers initial promise with its retro aesthetic that's quickly jettisoned once it moves to the present day.  The story is fairly straightforward with things playing out in a fairly predictable manner.  There are some fun, over the top moments but ultimately it doesn't leave much of a mark.  

Overall V/H/S Halloween feels like a rushed, step down from the previous entry V/H/S Beyond which was far more consistent than this entry which is a real shame. 

C

MOVIE REVIEW: THE SMASHING MACHINE

 

MMA fighter Mark Kerr reaches the peak of his career but faces personal hardships along the way.

Director: Benny Safdie

Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Ryan Bader, Bas Rutten, Oleksandr Usyk

Release Date: October 3, 2025

Genre: Action, Biography, Drama, History, Sport

Rated R for language and some drug abuse.

Runtime: 2h 3m

Review:

Benny Safdie's, The Smashing Machine, has a different ebbs and flow than most sports biopics which gives it a distinctive but uneven feel that keeps us at arm’s length from Mark Kerr despite strong turns from Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt. There's a sense of melancholy that hovers over the entire film even as Kerr becomes a champion and deals with opioid addiction.  The first half of the film feels similar to Mike Figgis' Leaving Las Vegas, especially if you have no familiarity with Kerr's story beforehand as we watch him put his body through the ringer to become a champion.  There's something oddly sanitized about it all as we are never given any sort of insight into his struggle until much later on in the film.  Dwayne Johnson's performance has a measured intensity behind his determination to excel but the script never gives him many moments to really dig into the psyche of the man.  Only a small moment at a demolish derby gives us the slightest bit of insight into his internal machination and the film could have used more of them.  Johnson, to his credit, delivers his most focused performance that really shows he's capable of so much more than his standard fare.  The film gives him a showcase to deliver something more subtle in his acting which makes it all the more frustrating that the script doesn't give him something more interesting to work with.  Emily Blunt is in the same boat as she delivers excellent work as Kerr's acidic, passive aggressive girlfriend who becomes steadily more unstable and biting.  They share a sequence in the latter part of the film that allows both of them to shine which leaves you wishing the story had taken advantage of their chemistry earlier on.  Mixed martial artist, Ryan Bader, proves to be the biggest surprise as he delivers a rather tender and thoughtful turn as Kerr's best friend and fellow competitor Mark Coleman.  There's an unspoken bond that comes through when Bader and Johnson share the screen together which gives their relationship an authentic connection.  By the time it’s all said and done, The Smashing Machine, becomes just as much a story of Coleman's career resurrection as it does Kerr's which likely would have worked better overall for the story's focus.  

B-

MOVIE REVIEW: GOOD BOY

 

A man moves into a new home that has supernatural forces lurking in the shadows. As dark entities start to threaten him, his brave dog comes to the rescue.

Director: Ben Leonberg

Cast: Shane Jensen, Arielle Friedman, Larry Fessenden, Indy as himself

Release Date: October 3, 2025

Genre: Comedy, Horror, Thriller

Rated PG-13 for terror, bloody images and strong language.

Runtime: 1h 13m

Review:

Ben Leonberg's feature film directorial debut, Good Boy, is an impressive cinematic magic trick that effectively places you in a dog’s point of view as he watches his owner slowly succumbs to an evil entity in a haunted house.  Leonberg meticulously crafts his film by using a bevy of perspective shots to give Indy a palpable sense of emotions as he experiences the increasingly bizarre happenings occurring in the house.  The haunted house in the wood’s setting is a classic horror movie trope but by changing the perspective it feels fresh for the better part of the film’s efficient runtime.  Things unfold how you’d expect in most of these stories, but Leonberg has a solid sense of how to set up atmosphere and build tension to deliver a handful of well-timed frights that’s sure to make more than a few people jump in their seats.  A handful of wonderfully shot doggy nightmares have a mesmerizing effect that’ll leave you wondering what your dog is really dreaming about when they’re rustling around.  The general plot is related to overheard second hand conversations between Shane Jensen’s Todd and his sister Vera played by Arielle Friedman as we learn tidbits about his failing health and their tragic family history.  It would have been easy to simply rely on the central gimmick and deliver a barebones story, ala 2024’s  In A Violent Nature, but there’s enough heft to this story that it would have worked as a straight forward haunted house film.  What Leonberg is able to do with his real-life dog, Indy, is nothing short of amazing as the countless hours of shooting to get the right look or reaction from his canine star pays off in spades.  Indy is a rather adorable golden retriever which will instantly have you engaged in his long-term well-being, especially as things get precariously more dangerous.  He’s an incredibly engaging leading man in spite of the fact that he can’t speak which is a testament to Good Boy’s production and Leonberg’s masterful direction.    

A