'Street Fighter' A Review

Street Fighter is an action/comedy based on the video game series of the same name. The movie opens on an animated sequence of the first World Warrior tournament and shows the tension between friends and adopted brothers Ryu(Andrew Koji) and Ken(Noah Centineo), flashforward 5 years and into live action, the two are estranged but reunite after being recruited for the second World Warrior tournament by  Chun-Li(Callina Liang) herself an undercover agent looking to take down the organizer of the tournament, the dastardly M. Bison(David Dastmalchian).

Koji and Centineo have great chemistry- bring some heart, give solid physical performances, and are able to thread through a fair amount of comedy. Liang is a nice grounding presence(as she was in 2024's Presence, nice to see her in a feature with more reach here) and Dastmalchian is deliciously baroque. The supporting cast, essentially a series of cameos, are all equally effective. They all understand the brief and the tone co-writer/director Kitao Sakurai is creating- this kind of high-octane martial arts fun that doesn't take itself too seriously.

Using animation for flashbacks, propulsive fight choreography, and judicious and well rendered CG visually the movie has a unique and effective style. The soundtrack is full of era-adjacent needle drops and the costuming is great, paying homage to the games but in a way that feels in-keeping with all the various design choices. It really works. Not as innovative as something like Resident Evil but as successful(a bit more so) than the Mortal Kombat reboot. Sakurai gives us action, enough story to engage, but doesn't overload on either. There's a good amount of comedy and just all-in-all it's a solid piece of popcorn entertainment.

Unabashed, straight-up fun.

Currently in theaters.

See It.

'Sacrifice' A Review

Sacrifice is a satirical action dramedy about an out of favor movie star Mike(Chris Evans) who is starting out his image rehab with a charity gala on a remote Greek island. The event is attacked by a group of cultists lead by Joan(Ana Taylor-Joy) who selects three people to sacrifice in order to stave off an environmental calamity.

Evans brings his natural charm and sincerity to the role and imbues it with some necessary emotion, he's able to hit most of the comedy and puts in a valiant effort tightening up some of the issues with the script. Similarly Taylor-Joy, as always, is fully committed, her innate screen magnetism works well here and she and Evans have good chemistry. The supporting cast has some great talent- Selma Hayek, Sam Richardson, and John Malkovich- even though they don't have a ton to do it's nice to see them.

Shot in an actual mine(presumably?) as well as on the volcanic fields of Iceland the movie looks really striking. The story is mostly engaging if a bit ham-fisted at points, the environmental commentary is similar(but more successful) than Digger, and the premise itself is very similar to Knock At The Cabin with basically the same ending. For all that, there's a lack of pretention, a genuine effort to entertain, as well as populate the story with humans that have identifiable, relatable emotions. All things movies of this type typically tend to forgo.

A solid piece of entertainment with something to say, well anchored by Evans and Taylor-Joy.

Currently streaming on Netflix.

Rent It.

Gone But Not Forgotten

I share a story
of our childhood

misadventures

I speak your name

Jordie

and in this moment

you are alive

once again

vital

as you ever were

there is laughter

at our prepubescent foibles

you are remembered

'Digger' A Review

Digger is an environmentalist satire about the titular oil magnet(Tom Cruise) as he's confronted with the destruction of the planet of which he is significantly culpable. There's a meta element that's introduced about 20 minutes in recontextualizing the main action.

Cruise gives the most dynamic, layered performance he has since 1999's Magnolia. He's actually acting here, he's not being a movie star, and it's great to see. Unfortunately the story is unable to justify that effort. The supporting cast has a lot of talent but they are almost unilaterally not given anything to which they can apply their talent. Cruise's character takes up a lot of room in the movie and what remainder is taken up by the production design and all the "ideas" so the supporting cast are basically just props.

The production design is incredibly evocative and meticulous, reminiscent of something like Synecdoche, New York, the camera movement, the color pallet, the score, all very beautiful and effective. Unfortunately tonally the film is very confused, the comedy elements and jokes don't really work, the themes and plotting are at times both incredibly obvious as well as incredibly pretentions. Some of the core ideas behind it are explicitly stated by characters, Iñárritu has built in dialogue to preemptively push back on criticism. The whole experience is pretty pedantic and grating, maybe most importantly not entertaining. If this came out in 1996 it'd be different, 30 years ago the story would have some bite, now it's just a retread of a retread in different trappings. It falls flat as a satire just like Don't Look Up and is as equally self involved and self satisfied as Megalopolis.

Iñárritu appears more interested in the idea of the film rather than the film itself. More interested in the idea of art rather than producing it. Ambitious with a certain grandness, for all that pretty empty.

Currently in theaters.

Stream It.

White Sox 2026

The sun sets

on the season

and I find the feeling

most palpable

most apparent

is gratitude

for the sweaty afternoons

the cool summer nights

the heart and joy

on the field

the fellowship

in the stands

my love of the game

rediscovered

even in defeat

I reflect

what an unexpected

enlivening

'Primetime' A Review

Primetime is a period thriller that dramatizes the production of the 00's TV show To Catch A Predator. Robert Pattison stars as the obsessive Chris Hansen. 

Pattison gives a big expressionistic performance, full of quirks and ticks and complete with an eerie imitation vocally. It's fun to watch no question. The supporting cast are equally intriguing- Merritt Wever as a producer is great, Phoebe Bridgers as one of the show's decoy's is amazing, Anna Faris and Alex Winter in what are basically cameos, and Eric Rahill brings some desperately needed levity. But the pitch perfect casting doesn't really come to anything because there seems to be no point to the any of it. A story about gross people doing gross stuff to other gross people. No matter how good the actors are, given the script, the task to make something compelling out of it is impossible.

Writer/director Lance Oppenheim's first narrative feature shows a lot of promise and deploys his unique, saturated, psychedelic inspired visuals and he gets incredible performances out his cast but like Spermworld the result seems only to revel in how compromised the situation and people are rather than making any broader statements or tapping into any larger themes(which he did successfully in Some Kind of Heaven and Ren Faire). So the result is something that is something that is excellent in regards to craft but almost meaningless as far as content. It comes across as particularly thin in the wake of 2025's much more incisive Predators. 

Inspired acting and captivating visuals wrap a narrative that has no purpose, empty calories.

Currently in theaters.

Stream It.

'The History Of Concrete' A Review

The History Of Concrete is a documentary, basically an extended episode of John Wilson's HBO show How To with John Wilson. Through B-roll, narration, and random interviews the movie quickly diverges from the subject of it's title and explores random tangents. More stream-of-consciousness than themeatic.

Fans of Wilson's show will certainly be pleased with this but beyond that the appeal is doubtful. There's no focus, it's not actually about concrete, Wilson as a personality has the kind of Brooklyn hipster irony and apathy that has limited appeal(whether this be more comedy than documentary or vice versa). He even injects his difficulty making the film into the film in, what comes across as, a kind of petulant entitlement. Beyond a certain subset of older Gen Z, younger Gen Y, and New Yorkers this has little to nothing to offer.

Sprawling subject matter and uneven cringe comedic beats makes the movie basically an overlong, poorly paced version of Wilson's show.

A doc that purports to be about something but ultimately has nothing to say, a vague curiosity.

Currently in theaters.

Stream It.