MOVIE REVIEW: F1

 

In the 1990s, Sonny Hayes was Formula 1's most promising driver until an accident on the track nearly ended his career. Thirty years later, the owner of a struggling Formula 1 team convinces Sonny to return to racing and become the best in the world. Driving alongside the team's hotshot rookie, Sonny soon learns that the road to redemption is not something you can travel alone.

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Cast: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Tobias Menzies, Javier Bardem, Shea Whigham

Release Date: June 27, 2025

Genre: Action, Drama, Sport

Rated PG-13 for strong language, and action.

Runtime: 2h 36m

Review:

Joseph Kosinski's F1 delivers some truly intense and thrilling racing sequences that really put you in the driver's seat which is sure to leave an impression even though the plot is more or less a dramatic take of 1989's Major League.  This is a sleek film that really takes off when it gets the camera inside the cars and we feel the propulsive energy of the motors.  Kosinski pulls off some impressive technical feats by giving the audience a full 360-degree view during the film's energetic racing sequences that leave you feeling every twist and turn of the track in a visceral way.  It would all be even more engaging if the story and characters matched the level of creativity and artistry as the visual but sadly, they prove to be little more than a collection of sports movie clichés.  The characters all fit into nice tidy boxes with their general characteristics and motivations easily related in a brief synopsis.  Brad Pitt is perfectly cast as the weather worn, former golden boy that's brought back to the sport that he'd walked away from decades ago after a tragic failure.  Pitt's natural, earned screen charisma makes his character far more interesting than he would be in a lesser actor's hands.  There are moments where you get the sense, he's digging for more depth to the character whose ultimate motivation seems to be the same as Ricky Bobby's in Talladega Nights.  It’s a testament to him as a true movie star that he can make some of the film's clunkier moments and dialogue palpable with his natural delivery.  Damson Idris is solid as the hotshot rookie who's brash but still intimidated when Pitt's character shows up.  Idris is an incredibly talented performer, anyone who watched his work in 6 seasons of FX's Snowfall can attest to that, but the script gives him painfully little to work with as Joshua Pearce's rivalry/friendship plays out in predictable fashion with Sonny Hayes.  There's a moment where it feels like the script might take their relationship and the story into more meaningful territory which would have been far more interesting than the more predictable path, they end up choosing.  Kerry Condon is given the thankless job as the perfunctory love interest that's given just enough backstory to give her character a tad more depth than you'd usually expect. Javier Bardem has fun as the team owner and former teammate of Pitt's Sonny Hayes that brings him back into F1.  Tobias Menzies is wasted as the scheming board member who's hoping for the team's failure and ultimate sale.  Once it’s all said and done you get the feeling there was an opportunity for F1 to be something truly special if the amount of time and care put into the racing sequences had been given to the story and characters. 

B-

MOVIE REVIEW: ELIO

 

Elio, an underdog with an active imagination, finds himself inadvertently beamed up to the Communiverse, an interplanetary organization with representatives from galaxies far and wide. Mistakenly identified as Earth's ambassador to the rest of the universe, he starts to form new bonds with eccentric aliens while discovering who he's truly meant to be.

Director: Adrian Molina, Domee Shi, Madeline Sharafian

Cast: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldaña, Remy Edgerly, Brandon Moon, Brad Garrett, Jameela Jamil

Release Date: June 20, 2025

Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

Rated PG for some action/peril and thematic elements.

Runtime: 1h 39m

Review:

Elio, Pixar's latest animated feature, brings a breath of fresh air with is original story and colorful characters while still managing to center itself around an emotional core.  The trio of directors, Adrian Molina, Domee Shi and Madeline Sharafian, deliver a lively sci-fi tale that's fun and easy to enjoy.  The character designs are inventive and wonderfully crafted especially once the action moves into the Communiverse.  They manage to keep a steady pace with the action which keeps the plot moving, something that both parents and children alike will appreciate.  It gives the film a nice flow that rarely lets up as we follow Elio's journey as he progressively gets more and more in over his head.  It helps that the central character is likeable from the onset even as he tries to deal with the loss of his parents and find his place in the world.  Yonas Kibreab voices the character with impressive enthusiasm layered with tinges of sadness that's some depth to the character.  He and Zoe Saldaña share a believe rapport together as she navigates the best way to deal with her nephew who she's left to care for.  Saldaña does a solid job of balancing her character's conflicted situation where she wants to do the best she can for Elio but is equally overwhelmed with the responsibility thrust on her which stalled her career.  There's a fair amount of subtle nuance to it that's easy to miss among the cornucopia of visuals thrown on screen, but it adds so much to the overall story especially in the back half of the film.  Brad Garrett and Remy Edgerly bring a similar sort of energy to Lord Grigon and his son Glordon.  Garrett's deep baritone voice works well for his seemingly aggressive character while Edgerly provides a solid contrast as his son who's not interested in his dad's work.  Edgerly and Kibreab make for a fun duo in the middle portion of the film with their friendship feeling believable as they're both looking for acceptance and attention from their guardians.  It all may not be as emotionally deep or devastating as some of Pixar's other films such as Coco or Inside Out, but Elio will leave you feeling good when you walk out of the theater.  

  

A-

MOVIE REVIEW: 28 YEARS LATER

 

It's been almost three decades since the rage virus escaped from a biological weapons laboratory. Still living in a ruthlessly enforced quarantine, some have found ways to exist amid the infected. One such group of survivors lives on a small island connected to the mainland by a single, heavily defended causeway. When one of them decides to venture into the dark heart of the mainland, he soon discovers a mutation that has spread to not only the infected, but other survivors as well.

Director: Danny Boyle

Cast: Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Alfie Williams, Ralph Fiennes, Jack O'Connell

Release Date: June 20, 2025

Genre: Horror, Thriller

Rated R for strong bloody violence, grisly images, graphic nudity, language and brief sexuality.

Runtime: 1h 55m

Review:

28 Years Later subverts expectations at every turn as Danny Boyle's return brings back his frenzied, kinetic style paired with an overstuffed script from Alex Garland that aims for something far more meaningful and epic than you'd expect.  Boyle takes the reins behind the camera, after ushering a new age of zombie films with 28 Days Later, with confidence that shines through as he delivers an evocative, fever dream of a film.  There are moments scattered throughout its nearly two-hour runtime that are simply mesmerizing in such a way that they almost feel other worldly even though the story boils down to coming-of-age tale.  It’s a visually aggressive film that feeds images in such a steady succession that it rarely gives the audience a moment to fully dissect what is being splashed on screen.  There's still plenty of "rage" induced action, but Boyle is far more concerned with the characters living in this postapocalyptic landscape.  It’s chock-full with allegorical meaning, speaking to variety of issues and concepts currently playing out in the real world.  Those looking for more action heavy, more mindless zombie fare might be left disappointed here as the story stakes out its own path with some choices working better than others.  Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Alfie Williams carry the first half of the film as we follow a seemingly straightforward father/son relationship before slow reveals open up the story to its back half with the character's mother played well by Jodie Comer.  Ralph Fiennes gets the least amount of screentime of the main characters, but his inspired turn leaves such a big impression that you wish Boyle would have given him more time to flesh him out.  When it’s all said and done, Alfie Williams deserves a hefty bit of credit for serving as the film's life blood as the film ends with a set up for the 28 Years Later sequel that looks to take everything in a more Romeroesque vibe.

A-

MOVIE REVIEW: MATERIALISTS

 

A young New York City matchmaker's lucrative business gets complicated as she finds herself torn between the perfect match and her imperfect ex.

Director: Celine Song

Cast: Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, Pedro Pascal

Release Date: June 13, 2025

Genre: Comedy, Romance

Rated R for language and brief sexual material.

Runtime: 1h 49m

Review:

Celine Song's sophomore film, Materialist, isn't quite as focused as Past Lives but it’s a fascinatingly uneven rumination on dating powered by strong performances from its central trio.  Song's film initially feels like a standard rom-com set up but it clear from the outset that she's got more on her mind than that as she uses tropes to lure us into something more interesting.  The debonair rich suitor vs downtrodden, love sick loser is a classic set up but here its deconstructed to something more honest.  Each suitor plays to one half of Dakota Johnson's Lucy with one serving as the answer to her analytical and more materialistic side while the other remains more abstract in spite of history and common sense.  Johnson and Pedro Pascal scenes together are played up with an air of elegance and refinement while maintaining as sense of artificial detachment.  Pascal has his charm level set to max with his character's ultimate failing not being the standard issue anger, womanizing or drug problem that these characters are typically saddled with but something inaner and shallow.  Pascal still manages to bring an air of humanity to the role, something that's typically missing from this kind of character.  He and Johnson make for a solid screen couple but some of their discussions feel a bit too artificial and scripted, far removed from natural conversation.  Johnson’s scenes with her ex-beau, played with just the right level of hapless innocence by Chris Evans, come across a bit more naturally and nuanced.  They deliver solid, subtle work as we get a sense of their shared history with every look and pause conveying volumes of information.  Evans is given plenty of sweet, swoon worthy moments that are sure to melt many hearts serving as effective foil to Pascal's more measured and calculated aura.  A handful of tonal shifts shake up the film's flow, making it a choppier experience as the focus shifts far too often at inopportune times.  A more focused approach on the central trio would have made the whole thing more effective but those looking for a more thoughtful rom-com will find plenty to enjoy with Materialists.    

 

B

MOVIE REVIEW: THE ALTO KNIGHTS

 

In the 1950s, notorious New York crime bosses Frank Costello and Vito Genovese vie for control of the city streets. Once the best of friends, petty jealousies and a series of betrayals place them on a deadly collision course that reshapes organized crime forever.

Director: Barry Levinson

Cast: Robert De Niro, Debra Messing, Cosmo Jarvis, Kathrine Narducci, Michael Rispoli

Release Date: March 21, 2025

Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama, History

Rated R for violence and pervasive language

Runtime: 2h 3m

Review:

The Alto Knights is a solid, if unremarkable mafia tale from Barry Levinson with the main draw being Robert De Niro playing dual roles.  Levinson's film is efficient enough to move through Costello's life at a steady pace even though it suffers from an unshakeable sense of familiarity due to the sheer glut of mafia stories that have hit the screen.  It lessens the effect of this true-life story since there are very few surprises in store as we  follow Costello's retelling of his friendship and feud with Vito Genovese.  Robert De Niro is still more than capable enough to carry dual roles and does it fairly effortlessly here.  He seems to be enjoying himself playing back in the mafia sandbox as he cycles through variations of characters, he's played in the past along with a few hints of Raging Bull thrown in for good measure.  It’s hard to deny how fun it is to see De Niro perform against himself when the characters come face to face, but you can't shake the feeling that the film would have been better off casting someone else as Vito, Joe Pesci would have been perfect for multiple reasons.  It doesn't help that the script from Nicholas Pileggi, who wrote Goodfellas and Casino, is surprisingly thin in terms of fleshing out the characters across the board.  Costello and Genovese are always at arm’s length as we never really get much insight into their minds outside of one's perchance for violence in contrast to the other's more measured, less brutal, approach.  The supporting characters suffer even more as we get painfully little to flesh them out leaving solid performers like Debra Messing and Cosmo Jarvis with very little to work with.  Adding a bit more depth to the characters across the board would have made The Alto Knights far more engaging than it ends up being once everything is said and done.

C+

MOVIE REVIEW: THE BALLAD OF WALLIS ISLAND

 

Old tensions resurface when former bandmates who were former lovers reunite for a private show at the island home of an eccentric millionaire.

Director: James Griffiths

Cast: Tim Key, Tom Basden, Carey Mulligan, Akemnji Ndifornyen, Sian Clifford

Release Date: March 28, 2025

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Music, Romance

Rated PG-13 for some language and smoking.

Runtime: 1h 40m

Review:

The Ballad of Wallis Island is one of those indie gems that pops up every so often that's so subtly heartfelt and funny that you barely notice how engaged you’re with it until it lingers in your memory long after the film ends.  The film is surprising on multiple levels as it traffics in various rom-com/awkward comedy tropes but takes them in refreshingly unexpected directions.  Director, James Griffiths, reunites with writers/stars Tom Basden and Tim Key for this feature length adaptation of their 2007 short The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island.  Their familiarity working together and the subject matter is readily apparent as they create something disarmingly funny, sweet and meaningful.  Tim Key brings an endearing but oblivious awkwardness that could have bordered on creepy if his performance wasn't so carefully nuanced.  Key gives his character a well-meaning authenticity to the man simply trying to memorialize his deceased wife with a performance from his favorite musicians.  Tom Basden brings an appropriate sense of self-importance to his half of the musical duo at the center of the film.  Basden performance is a fascinating blend ego paired with self-loathing as he’s desperate to find his musical groove again after pursuing a more commercial career at the cost of his relationship.  Carey Mulligan is pitch perfect as his ex-who’s moved on but is willing to revisit that part of her life as part of the gig.  Mulligan's character is measured and layered in a way that you rarely see in these kinds of movies.  Her character acts like a real person throughout especially in the final act which touches on the recurring themes of regret, loss and acceptance.  It all builds together to make The Ballad of Wallis Island something truly special and memorable in the best way possible.  

A