Movie/TV Reviews

Susan Granger’s review of “Superman” (Warner Bros.)

 

Writer/director James Gunn’s new “Superman” is a comic-book action-adventure super-spectacle that’s great fun.

After a brief history of ‘metahumans’ on Earth, bloodied-and-battered Superman (David Corenswet) is first seen sprawled in Arctic snow, having been beaten by the hulking Hammer of Boravia.

Painfully pursing his lips together, Superman whistles for Krypto, his faithful, if overly frisky rescue dog, to drag him back to the crystalline Fortress of Solitude, where a trusty team of robots dutifully restore his strength.

The ensuing story revolves around the defenseless Eastern European country of Jarhanpur being invaded by neighboring Boravia whose autocratic dictator Ghurkos  (Zlatco Buric) is a puppet of petulant, egomaniacal tech tycoon Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult, who lacks menace/gravitas/substance).

Meanwhile in Metropolis, guileless Clark Kent works at the Daily Planet with reporter Lois Lane (savvy Rachel Brosnahan), who knows his dual identity.

There are brief glimpses of Kent’s kindly adoptive parents (Neva Howell, Pruitt Taylor Vince) who raised an ‘undocumented alien immigrant’ baby on their Smallville, Kansas farm. And a plot point pivots on a fractured hologram sent by Kal-El’s birth parents (Bradley Cooper, Angela Sarafyan) from doomed Krypton.

The key to James Gunn’s re-imagining the iconic superhero is his vulnerability; the Man of Steel is no longer invincible. His humanity is the source of his strength, along with devotion to his mischievous Superdog Krypto, a computer-generated canine, based on Gunn’s real-life dog Ozu (named after the Japanese filmmaker).

Gunn’s DCU is filled with a confusing horde of ‘aliens’- some good, like the ‘Justice Gang’ (Nathan Fillion’s Green Lantern, Edi Gathegi’s Mr. Terrific, Isabela Merced’s Hawkgirl) – others sinister, like nanite-enriched Engineer (Maria Gabriela de la Faria) and Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan) wielding Kryptonite crystals..

Too bad, their frenetic battles grow repetitive, particularly when an intergalactic portal appears. And a key revelation is wasted on an idiotic flirtation between Lex Luthor’s ditsy, selfie-snapping babe Eve Teschmacher (Sara Sampaio) and nerdy reporter Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo).

Will Reeve (Christopher Reeve’s son) does a quick cameo as a TV newsman, and Supergirl (Milly Alcock) drops in – which should have been one of the two post-credit scenes – one mid-credits and the other at the end.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Superman” is an exhausting, exciting, irreverent 8, playing in theaters.

Susan Granger’s review of “Heads of State” (Amazon/M.G.M./Prime Video)

 

Without a big budget or bankable stars, “Heads of State” manages to be a remarkably entertaining action/buddy comedy.

Former movie-star-turned-President of the United States Will Derringer (John Cena) has a chip on his shoulder when he meets British Prime Minister Sam Clarke (Idris Elba). During his election campaign, Clarke took his political rival out for fish-and-chips – and Derringer hasn’t forgotten that snub.

Nevertheless, when Air Force One is attacked as they’re flying to a NATO summit in Trieste, Derringer and Clarke team up to defeat determined assassins, part of arms dealer Viktor Gradov’s (Paddy Considine)  global terrorist conspiracy, with the help of MI6 agent Noel Bisset (Priyanka Chopra Jonas), who has a romantic history with Clarke.

Forced to parachute into Belarus, these two world leaders must make their way through Eastern Europe’s hostile territory in a livestock truck to a supposed ‘safe house’ in Warsaw, Poland, where they encounter quirky Station Agent Marty Comer (Jack Quaid).

Obviously basing his commando-in-chief characterization on aspirational Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Cena plays a petulant, often insecure Hollywood action hero best known for his successful “Water Cobra” franchise. His campaign mantra was: “We did it at the box-office – now we’ll do it in the Oval Office.”

In contrast, Idris Elba’s savvy, confident, Cambridge-educated Sam Clarke worked his way up the political ladder from modest means to become the first person of color to be elected U.K.’s Prime Minister.

Devised by Harrison Query who co-scripted with Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec, it’s predictably directed by Ilya Naishuller who relies on the energetic ability of Cena and Idris to glibly bicker-and-banter their way through one dire, diverting dilemma after another.

FYI: In a deliberate nod to John Cena’s previous professional wrestling career, as they’re preparing to jump off a speeding train, Derringer tells Clarke to tuck his chin to his chest in order to protect himself from injury.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Heads of State” stumbles in with an escapist, simplistic 6, streaming on Prime Video.

Susan Granger’s review of “Jurassic: World Rebirth” (Universal/Amblin)

 

Why do people go to the movies? For entertainment. That’s why popular franchises flourish and “Jurassic: World Rebirth” is a box-office hit.

It’s been five years since “Jurassic: World Dominion,” so many of the once-extinct dinosaurs that were let loose around the world have died off, unable to survive in the hostile environment caused by climate change.

Yet when pharmaceutical executive Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend) contacts covert ops expert Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) to lead an illegal expedition to an island near the equator where dinosaurs still roam, she’s reluctant – until she’s promised a $10 million payoff. After all, she’s a mercenary.

Krebs’ mission is to extract genetic samples from three of the largest dinosaur species – air, land and sea – so that ParkerGenix can develop a major cardiac medication. For support, he recruits paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey) and Zora enlists her former partner, Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali).

Sailing from the port of Suriname, they pick up a stranded family whose 45-foot sailboat was capsized by a Mososaurus. There’s Ruben Delgado (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), his teenage daughter Teresa (Luna Blaise), her stoner boyfriend Xavier (David Iacono) and younger daughter Isabella (Audrina Miranda) who adopts a tiny Aquilops dino dubbed Dolores.

But that’s later – after they’ve landed on Isle Saint-Hubert, where the biotech company InGen banished its cloned, crossbred, genetic disasters – hideous mutant monsters – which is why tourism is strictly prohibited.

Crafted by the series’ original screenwriter David Koepp and directed by Gareth Edwards (“Godzilla”), this seventh installment revolves around the perilous quest to extract DNA testers from the aquatic Mosasaurus, herbivorous Titanosaurus, and flying Quetzalcoatus – while cinematographer John Mathieson duly chronicles the various participants’ adventures.

What has always distinguished “Jurassic” films is a sense of awe – as if those enormous, exotic creatures were real. And, unfortunately, what’s missing is that initial spectacular sense of euphoric wonder – except, perhaps, when a pair of long-tailed Titanosaurus lovingly entwine their necks while grazing in a verdant field.

FYI: A scene cut from Steven Spielberg’s “Jurassic Park” (1993) – showing a CGI Tyrannosaurus Rex swimming after people in an inflatable raft – was repurposed here.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Jurassic: World Rebirth” stomps in with an action-packed, suspenseful 7 – playing in theaters.

Susan Granger’s review of “F1: The Movie” (Warner Bros./Apple Original Films)

 

If you’re into Formula One racing and follow the Grand Prix global circuit, rush to see “F1: The Movie,”  following in the tire-tracks of “Ford vs Ferrari,” “Rush,” “Gran Turismo,” “Senna” and “Days of Thunder.”

If – on the other hand – you’re not quite sure about motorsports and/or have problems deciphering British accents without subtitles, you might want to wait until this high-octane thriller is streaming on Apple TV+.

The adrenaline-fueled story revolves around the comeback of veteran driver Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt). After winning a Florida endurance race – ‘24 Hours of Daytona’ – he’s off to Ensenada in his beat-up camper van to chase another victory.

That’s where Sonny’s cornered by his pal Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem), who begs him to be ‘second driver’ to British hotshot rookie, Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris), so that his struggling APXGP team can win a Formula One race and Ruben can keep his job.

Art first, Sonny’s not sure; he’s still recovering from the catastrophic crash in Spain that torpedoed his career 30 years ago and sent him into a gambling tailspin.

Predictably, obsessive Sonny joins Ruben’s team and, unsurprisingly, he’s not willing to be ‘second’ to brash, swaggering Joshua. Check one cliché after another.

Milling around the plot’s periphery are Joshua’s protective mother (Sarah Niles) and APX’s lead designer (Kerry Condon), balancing power with high-tech precision as the first/only woman to hold this prestigious engineering post.

Scripted by Ehren Kruger and directed by Joseph Kosinski with an eye on authenticity, the film’s most exciting racing sequences were shot by Claudio Miranda during actual 2023 & 2024 Grand Prix and deftly edited by Stephen Mirrione, punctuated by Hans Zimmer’s score.

“Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast,” Sonny strategizes. But there’s no way to hide the ridiculous amount of product/brand placement that’s rampant in auto-racing.

FYI: Brad Pitt was paid $30 million, his career-biggest salary – and Mercedes built the car driven by the fictional APXGP team.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “F1: The Movie” screeches in with a propulsive 7, playing in theaters.

Susan Granger’s review of “The Waterfront” (Netflix)

 

Watching Kevin Williamson’s crime drama “The Waterfront” inevitably evokes memories of “Ozark” in which a Chicago accountant (Jason Bateman) skimmed money from a Mexican drug cartel and was forced to flee with his dysfunctional family to the Ozarks.

In “The Waterfront,” mounting debt caused by “overfished waters, environmental quotas, gas prices” forces the Buckleys, a prominent coastal Havenport ‘fishing’ family, to return to their shady drug-running past.

As their saga begins, a cocaine hand-off at sea goes sour, resulting in the death of the crawler’s crew who were working for Cane Buckley (Jake Weary). Cane has been running the family’s seafood operations while his womanizing, whiskey-drenched father Harlan (Holt McCallany), recovers from another heart attack.

Cane’s mother Belle (Maria Bello) manages their ‘fish house’ restaurant, while his estranged, recovering-addict sister Bree (Melissa Benoist) – who burned down the house and lost custody of her sulky teenage son Diller (Brady Hepner) – has hooked up with hunky DEA Agent Marcus Sanchez (Gerardo Celasco) whom she met in rehab.

Gruff, patriarchal Harlan smuggled drugs for years – like his father before him. But Cane’s gone straight – until the Buckleys face financial failure and must deal with corrupt Sheriff Clyde Porter (Michael Gaston) and diabolical, deranged drug kingpin Grady (Topher Grace) to preserve their legacy.

Complicating matters, shrewd Belle is suspicious of recently-hired bartender (Rafael L. Silver), whose references don’t check out, and plans to sell Harlan’s prime waterfront property to a real-estate developer (Dave Annable).

Meanwhile, Cane’s coping with unresolved feelings for his high school sweetheart (Humberly Gonzalez), much to the distress of his wife (Danielle Campbell).

Creator of “Scream,” “Dawson’s Creek” & “The Vampire Diaries,” showrunner Kevin Williamson juggles innumerable instances of Southern gothic deception, betrayal and graphic torture.

Filming in Wilmington & Southport, he based the series’ concept on true events and familial experiences in North Carolina’s fishing industry.

Problem is: there’s little urgency to the soapy plot, the dialogue is stilted, and the superficial characters never really develop beyond first-impressions.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Waterfront” hooks you with a fishy 5. All eight episodes are streaming on Netflix.

Susan Granger’s review of “28 Years Later” (Columbia Pictures/Sony)

 

Yes…”28 Years Later” is another zombie horror picture, continuing screenwriter Alex Garland & director Danny Boyle’s allegorical, apocalyptic concept of “28 Days Later” (2002) in which a primate virus morphs into a fatal blood-borne ‘rage’ psychosis.

Filled with dread and foreboding, this graphically violent yet character-driven story revolves around 12 year-old Spike (Alfie Williams) who lives with his macho father, Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), and ailing mother, Ilsa (Jodie Comer).

As part of a strictly-enforced quarantine, their rugged, tight-knit, secluded community is crossbow-fortified and barricaded on Holy Island, separated by a long, tidal causeway that leads to the northeast coast of England.

As part of a tribal coming-of-age ritual, Spike sets out on a grisly, gory walkabout with his father to hunt and kill naked ‘infected’ hominids with bows and arrows. “Once you walk onto the mainland, there’s no rescue,” he’s warned.

Venturing through verdant woodlands, they first encounter easy targets like ‘slow-lows,’ a nickname for the corpulent crawlers who gobble worms, but then they’re threatened by feral, fast-moving, frenzied savages, particularly ‘alphas,’ who are far more dangerous.

“The more you kill, the easier it gets,” Jamie assures sensitive Spike.

Having endured that first foray, Spike is determined to venture further inland, in search of fabled Dr. Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) in hopes of curing his beloved mother.  En route, they’re joined by Erik (Edvin Ryding), a Swedish Navy officer whose patrol ship sank off Scotland …“Scotch-on-the-rocks,” he jokes.

Perhaps the most memorable interlude takes place on an abandoned train, where Isla helps an ‘infected’ pregnant woman deliver a healthy baby girl. an enigmatic harbinger of a follow-up – “The Bone Temple” – set for a January 16, 2026, release.

Kudos to cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle who utilized a special rig outfitted with multitude of iPhone 15 Pro Maxes, simultaneously filming multiple angles, freeze-frames and fragmented quick cuts of the same grainy image…and editor Jon Harris who splices in glimpses of archival footage and relevant historical happenings.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “28 Years Later” is a speculative, suspenseful, survivalist 7, playing in theaters.

Susan Granger’s review of “Mountainhead” (HBO/Max)

 

It was inevitable that “Succession” writer/director Jesse Armstrong would have more to say about how power corrupts – which is why he made “Mountainhead” – a satire in which four nihilistic Silicon Valley tech titans meet to decide the fate of the world.

This summit takes place at the palatial glass-and-steel vacation home belonging to Hugo Van Yalk (Jason Schwartzman), nicknamed ‘Soupy’ – a.k.a. ‘Soup Kitchen’ – because he’s a lowly, insecure millionaire hosting three billionaires.

The ‘Papa Bear’ eldest is venture capitalist ‘Randall’ (Steve Carell), who mocks his physician’s dire cancer diagnosis; then there’s manic social media titan ‘Venis’ (Cory Michael Smith), the richest man in the world; and ‘Jeff’ ((Ramy Youssef), who controls an AI ‘moderation system’ to block phony AI-generated images..

The plot unfolds just after arrogant, entitled Venis (rhymes with ‘menace,’ evoking Elon Musk) releases content tools that allow users to create ‘deep fakes’ of ordinary people, flooding the Internet with disinformation. As the world plunges into chaos, violence erupts, markets collapse and governments fall.

Apparently, Jesse Armstrong hatched this idea while researching crypto-fascist tech-bro culture after reviewing Michael Lewis’s book about Sam Bankman-Fried for the Times Literary Supplement in 2023.

Armstrong began writing the script after Donald Trump won the Presidential election in 2024, and this is his directorial debut. Significantly, President Trump’s current “big, beautiful bill” contains a 10-year moratorium on state A.I. regulations.

Unfortunately, what eventually emerges are four reprehensible, almost-cartoon-like, tediously talking heads, speaking in a pretentious patois filled with ‘insider’ references, profanity and computer allusions.

On the plus side, kudos to location manager Paul Eskenazi for finding the lavish, modernist, 21,000-square-foot ski chalet perched on a peak in Deer Valley, Utah. Designed by architect Michael Upwall, it has seven bedrooms, 16 bathrooms, a basketball court, bowling alley, rock-climbing wall, steam room and sauna.

“The house didn’t just support the story,” Eskenazi told the New York Times. “It became part of it.”

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Mountainhead” is a trivial, frightening 4, streaming on HBO/Max.

Susan Granger’s review of “The Leopard” (Netflix)

 

With current global turbulence, it’s fitting to reflect on the strife that preceded the unification of Italy. That’s the background of  Netflix’s “The Leopard,” a sumptuous, six-part period/political drama adapted from Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s acclaimed 1958 novel.

For most of its history, Italy consisted of disparate nations – until General Giuseppi Garibaldi unified the country. Previously, Sicily was ruled by feudal aristocracy from the House of Bourbon, particularly suave, charismatic Don Fabrizio Corbera (Kim Rossi Stuart), Prince of Salina, known as The Leopard, and his presumptive heir/son Paolo (Alberto Rossi).

In 1860, as Garibaldi’s army advances from the North into Sicily, Don Fabrizio’s favorite nephew Tancredi Falconieri (Saul Nanni) joins the ‘Red-shirt’ rebels, known as nationalists who champion ‘Rigorgimento’ (‘resurgence’ in Italian), causing friction to erupt within the noble family.

“Sicily is no longer just an island,” Tancredi tells the Leopard’s shy, love-struck daughter Concetta (Benedetta Porcaroli), later breaking her heart by choosing to marry seductive Angelica (Deva Cassel), daughter of ambitious/corrupt village Mayor Don Calogero Sedara (Francesco Colella).

“We were the family of great leopards,” Don Fabrizio later laments. “Those who replace us are jackals, hyenas. Everything will be different – but worse.”

Scripted by Richard Warlow and directed by Tom Shankland, Giuseppe Capotondi & Laura Luchetti, the stunning, if slow-paced miniseries explores themes of power, romance, immorality, and societal change: “If we want everything to stay the same, everything needs to change.”

Authentically shot on-location in Sicily by Nicolai Bruel, it epitomizes extravagant filmmaking, involving 5,000 extras and 130 carriages, carts & boats, plus 100 animals (including a magnificent Great Dane) and 12 animal trainers.

FYI: It’s is a remake of director Luchino Visconti’s classic “The Leopard” (1963) starring Burt Lancaster, Alain Derlon & Claudia Cardinale. And Deva Cassel, a brand ambassador for Cartier and Dior, is the real-life daughter of actors Monica Ballucci & Vincent Cassel.  

In Italian with English dubbing & subtitles, on the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Leopard” is an exuberant, evocative, elegiac 8, streaming on Netflix.

Susan Granger’s review of “Families Like Ours” (Studiocanal/Netflix)

 

To quote Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” – totally out of context – “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark”…as that entire country faces mandatory evacuation.

Set in the not-too-distant future, Thomas Vinterberg’s seven-episode miniseries “Families Like Ours” chronicles what happens when calamitous climate change forces six million Danish citizens to flee slowly encroaching sea water.

Working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nikolaj (Esben Smed) is one of the first government officials to hear about the dire threat. Disobeying orders, he tips off his partner, family and closest friends as news about the impending shutdown and compulsory resettlement spreads quickly, causing Danish money to lose value.

The ensuing plot primarily involves stolid Copenhagen architect Jacob (Nikolaj Lie Kaas), hoping to relocate to Paris with his new family, and his 19 year-old daughter Laura (Amaryllis August), who is torn between going to the Sorbonne or accompanying her depressive, divorced mother Fanny (Paprika Steen) – Jacob’s ex-wife – to Bucharest, and her boyfriend Elias (Albert Rudbeck Lindhardt), who will follow her anywhere although his family is emigrating to Finland.

These are middle-to-upper-class, privileged, white people who have choices – unless, of course, they make impulsive and dumb decisions – at which Jacob and Laura, even Elias, excel. That and the inevitable depletion of their cash reserves leave them in desperate straits as penniless refugees in countries where EU rules do not apply and whose native populations resent their presence.

Written by Bo Hr. Hansen, who mergers personal, plausible dilemmas with issues caused by the global disaster, it’s directed by Thomas Vinterberg, co-founder (with Lars von Trier) of the Dogme95 movement that focuses on storytelling and performance without using elaborate special effects and technology; which involves shooting on-location and using only natural sound for an authentic cinematic experience.

I suspect this story will be remade in English, like Denmark’s “The Bridge” and “The Killing,” and I doubt that there will be a second season since the seventh episode seemingly concludes the central drama.

In Danish and dubbed in English with English subtitles, on the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Families Like Ours” is an apocalyptic 7, streaming on Netflix.

Susan Granger’s review of “The Phoenician Scheme” (Focus Features)

 

When you watch a Wes Anderson film, you can expect a somewhat obtuse story, marked by a distant parental figure, witty dialogue, quirky criminals and arresting visuals. Some are hits – like “Bottle Rocket,” “Rushmore,” “The Royal Tenenbaums,” “The Darjeeling Limited,” “The Fantastic Mr. Fox,” & “The Grand Budapest Hotel” – others miss the mark – like “Isle of Dogs” and “Asteroid City.”

Featuring the tagline – “The story of a family and a family business” – “The Phoenician Scheme” falls in the latter category.

It’s a bizarre espionage comedy revolving around Anatole ‘Zsa-zsa’ Korda  (Benicio Del Toro), a ruthless 1950s European industrialist who – having recently survived a sixth assassination attempt –  is trying to heal his relationship with his estranged daughter Liesl (Mia Threapleton), who blames him for her mother’s death and is preparing to take vows as a Catholic nun.

Collaborating with screenwriter Roman Coppola, Anderson has said that part of the highly mannered, exploring-capitalism concept was inspired by his late Lebanese father-in-law Fouad Malouf – to whom the picture is dedicated.

As the elusive plot unfolds, Zsa-zsa retrieves shoeboxes containing blueprints for complex public works projects in Modern Greater Independent Phoenicia. Key players involved in this scheme are Bjorn Lund (Michael Cera), a Norwegian entomologist, along with Phoenician Crown Prince Farouk (Riz Ahmed) and basketball-playing brothers Leland (Tom Hanks) and Reagan (Bryan Cranston).

Plus there’s Zsa-zsa’s cousin Hilda (Scarlett Johansson), his duplicitous brother Nubar (Benedict Cumberbatch), American shipping tycoon Marty (Jeffrey Wright) and other eccentric characters played by F. Murray Abraham, Matthew Amalric, Richard Ayoade, Willem Dafoe, Hope Davis, Rupert Friend, Charlotte Gainsboug and Bill Murray as God.

Clever production design – marked by fixated symmetry – is a key component thanks to Adam Stockhausen, who borrowed authentic Renoir and Magritte masterpieces, duly registered by cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel.

FYI: 24-year-old Mia Threapleton is Kate Winslet’s real-life daughter and Zsa-zsa’s name is probably derived from Hungarian femme fatale Zsa-Zsa Gabor and the film-making Korda brothers: Alexander, Vincent & Zoltan.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Phoenician Scheme” is a forgettable, star-studded, idiosyncratic 6, playing in theaters.