Movie
17 hours ago
17 Hello, Yahoo readers! My name is Brett Arnold, film critic and longtime Yahoo editor, and I'm back with another edition of Trust Me, I Watch Everything.
This week, two very different new releases starring two very different couples debut in theaters nationwide: The Naked Gun reboot, starring new pair Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson, and Together, a horror rom-com starring married couple Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Recent theatrical films like 28 Years Later and The Life of Chuck are newly available to rent, and the smash-hit Final Destination: Bloodlines makes its way to HBO Max.
But that's not all, so read on, because there's always something for everyone!
🎥What to watch in theaters
My recommendation: The Naked Gun
Why you should watch it: If you want to see comedies thrive in theaters again, the best thing you can do is support The Naked Gun this weekend. The reboot of the spoof comedy series stars Liam Neeson in the role Leslie Nielsen made famous and ushers the characters into the modern world.
Neeson plays Frank Drebin Jr., the son of Police Squad's Lt. Frank Drebin, as he attempts to solve a murder to prevent his unit from shutting down amid society's changing sentiment on policing. Pamela Anderson costars, and the two leads have made headlines with their on-set romance.
Neeson is terrific, harnessing the same "this guy's a serious actor" energy that Nielsen brought to the role to brilliant comedic effect. Pamela Anderson also stands out as femme fatale Beth Davenport. I would call her by her undercover name, but I don't want to ruin a big laugh.
Pamela Anderson and Liam Neeson in The Naked Gun. (Frank Masi/Paramount Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection)
The reboot, directed by The Lonely Island's Akiva Schaffer (Hot Rod, Pop Star: Never Stop Never Stopping) and produced by Family Guy's Seth MacFarlane, has been in the works for decades with various talent attached. The movie nails the Naked Gun ethos, mining humor from every element of the film, from the dialogue to the blink-and-you'll-miss-them sight gags. It even sports a Mission: Impossible reference so direct, I expected fellow Paramount character Ethan Hunt to make a cameo.
The movie has a singular goal: to make you laugh. A lot. It succeeds better than any studio comedy in recent memory. There are so many jokes dispatched at such a rapid clip, you might miss a few because you're still laughing from the previous gag. It's 85 minutes of nonstop belly laughs.
Paul Walter Hauser in The Naked Gun. (Frank Masi /Paramount Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection)
You're unlikely to find a movie with a higher joke-per-minute ratio, except maybe a previous Naked Gun film. It also kicks off the start of spoof season, with a new Wayans Bros. Scary Movie coming out next year. Here's hoping we get another sequel with a silly number in the title.
What other critics are saying: They love it! The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw teases that "it finishes with a quite extraordinarily bizarre and offensive tribute which caused the audience I was in to go into gibbering shock." The Wrap's William Bibbiani puts it simply: "It’s very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very funny. Very."
How to watch: The Naked Gun is now in theaters nationwide.
Bonus recommendation: Together
Why you should watch it: Alison Brie and Dave Franco star in this body-horror rom-com skewering toxic codependence in relationships and modern fears of monogamy.
The real-life married couple play a twosome moving to the countryside, which tests the limits of their relationship. A supernatural encounter begins an extreme transformation of their love, their lives and (gulp) their flesh.
Franco embodies the typical stunted-growth male, afraid of committing to his beautiful partner because he'd rather go on tour with his band. He feels trapped by the idea of monogamy, and moving away from the city and his friends worsens that. Yet, he literally can't function when his partner is gone. Brie is great, but feels underwritten in the role of "girlfriend" and "teacher."
Dave Franco and Alison Brie in Together. (Neon/Courtesy Everett Collection)
The script, its weakest asset, feels like a mash-up of dozens of other horror movies. Together is at its worst when it leans into trying to explain its high-concept premise, ultimately factoring in the occult in a way that feels lazy and also uninteresting. The actual body horror stuff is nasty and fun, and I appreciated how much reverence it shows towards John Carpenter's The Thing that kicks off from the opening scene. The biggest surprise is that director Michael Shanks crafts some genuinely unnerving and very effective jump scare sequences.
You watch a metaphor turn literal as the couple decides it'd be easier to "split" now than to let things fester. In relationships, two halves are meant to become a single whole, and that idea gets taken here to its most horror-movie extreme.
Alison Brie in Together. (Ben King/Neon/Courtesy Everett Collection)
Together works on its own terms well enough, but it's hard not to think of all the other genre movies it's referencing throughout, especially if you're aware of the litigation currently ongoing regarding the potential theft of the story idea.
What other critics are saying: They dig it! David Rooney at the Hollywood Reporter says "the movie’s final escalation slaps on the prosthetic disfigurements to hilarious gross-out effect," and Variety's Owen Gleiberman writes, "audiences should have fun withTogether, a body-horror movie about a serious thing — love — that never takes itself too seriously.
How to watch: Together is now in theaters nationwide.
🤔 But that's not all!
Ana Sophia Heger and Taron Egerton in She Rides Shotgun. (Lionsgate/Courtesy Everett Collection)
She Rides Shotgun: Taron Egerton stars in this gritty crime-thriller based on the best-selling book of the same name about a little girl on the lam with her dangerous father. Is her dad a threat, or is he a good guy who got mixed up with some bad people? The performances are strong, though the script is largely cliché. Now playing in theaters.
The Bad Guys 2: This animated sequel is like a kiddie version of an Ocean's 11 movie, and I'm here for it. Now playing in theaters.
💸 Movies newly available to rent or buy
My recommendation: 28 Years Later
Why you should watch it: There are fewer than 28 weeks to go until 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, the second movie in a planned trilogy, hits theaters. If you missed 28 Years Later, it's well worth the price of a rental, though if you can hold out, it's sure to be streaming in a few weeks.
The film takes place — you guessed it — 28 years after the events of the 2002 original film, 28 Days Later. The infected have evolved. Still living in quarantine, some people have found ways to exist amid the infected. The film follows a group of survivors who live on a small island, including a boy and his mother who are forced by circumstance to venture into the dark heart of the mainland.
Alfie Williams, Jodie Comer, Ralph Fiennes in 28 Years Later. (Miya Mizuno/Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection)
When it hit theaters, I wrote that it’s a more thoughtful and somber film than some may be expecting, lighter on zombie action than its predecessors and more focused on domestic drama and acceptance of circumstances. It’s surprisingly emotionally affecting by the third act, once Ralph Fiennes, the film’s MVP, enters.
What other critics are saying: Critics are big fans. The Associated Press's Jake Coyle wrote, "Buried in here are some tender reflections on mortality and misguided exceptionalism, and even the hint of those ideas make 28 Years Later a more thoughtful movie than you’re likely to find at the multiplex this time of year." William Bibbiani at the Wrap agrees, writing that "the filmmakers haven’t redefined the zombie genre, but they’ve refocused their own culturally significant riff into a lush, fascinating epic that has way more to say about being human than it does about (re-)killing the dead."
How to watch: 28 Years Later is now available to rent or buy on Amazon, Apple TV and other VOD platforms.
Bonus recommendation: The Life of Chuck
Why you should watch it: In my mind, there are two movies in the running for Best Picture at this point in the year — this movie, which is based on a Stephen King novella and written and directed by frequent King adapter Mike Flanagan, and Sinners, the massive box office hit that drove Oppenheimer levels of IMAX revenue in addition to critical praise.
As I wrote when it hit theaters, The Life of Chuck follows an ordinary man's life but in reverse order, from the third act to the first act. In the process, we learn about his life, as well as the life he didn't live but might have enjoyed more.
Mia Sara in The Life of Chuck. (Neon/Courtesy Everett Collection)
It may sound corny, but by the time act two hits, I was fully in the palm of the movie's hand and openly weeping. Saying any more would be a disservice to this very special and quietly powerful film, which is equally inspiring as it is depressing.
What other critics are saying: They (mostly) love it! Shirley Li at the Atlantic wrote, "I fell for the film’s earnest insistence that each of us has access to an inner world no one else can ever fully know; that message, as trite as it may be, is particularly touching because of its pointed delivery." Even a detractor like Time's Stephanie Zacharek said of the film's best scene that when in motion, The Life of Chuck "really is transcendent."
How to watch: The Life of Chuck is now available to rent or buy on Amazon, Apple TV and other VOD platforms.
📺 Movies newly available on streaming services you may have
My recommendation: Final Destination: Bloodlines
Why you should watch it: The sixth entry in the beloved horror franchise was a huge hit that surpassed every previous film in both box office receipts and critical reception. It delivers everything you'd want out of a Final Destination movie and then some. A sequence with franchise mainstay Tony Todd, who died between production and release, functions as an unexpectedly poignant direct message from the actor to the audience.
In the Final Destination universe thus far, death always comes for a group of unrelated strangers after they survive some sort of freak accident, but in this entry, it’s hereditary.
Kaitlyn Santa Juana and Rya Kihlstedt in Final Destination: Bloodlines. (Warner Bros./Courtesy Everett Collection)
It even goes further to suggest that any offspring of people who survived the opening incident here — a standout involving a Space Needle-style restaurant falling apart — are marked for death since they should have never been born. It's appropriately twisted and just the right amount of silly.
When it debuted in theaters, I wrote that it’s an absolute blast, as nihilistic as it is hilarious, and finds a clever and fun way into slightly retooling its concept. Fans of the series are in for a treat, and newcomers will want to dive right into the back catalog afterwards, which thankfully is also on HBO Max.
What other critics are saying: It's the highest-rated entry in the series by far, with a 93% Tomatometer rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Radheyan Simonpillai at the Guardian raved that it “breathes new life” into the franchise, and Jacob Oller at the AV Club says it “honors a legacy of unrepentant silliness and gleeful gore with a knowing wink.”
How to watch: Final Destination: Bloodlines is now streaming on HBO Max.
Stream 'Final Destination: Bloodlines'
Bonus recommendation: Borderline
Why you should watch it: Horror-genre stalwart Samara Weaving and relative newcomer Ray Nicholson, son of Jack, if his mug didn't give it away, star in this horror-comedy alongside Eric Dane, who recently revealed his ALS diagnosis and hasn't been shy about detailing his struggles.
After escaping from a mental hospital, a violent sociopath named Paul (Nicholson) begins a dangerous rampage targeting Sofia, a world-famous pop star. Obsessed with her, he takes Sofia hostage in her own home, acting under the delusional belief that they are getting married. Paul is desperate to prove his devotion, leading to a tense and unpredictable situation. Dane plays her bodyguard.
Samara Weaving and Ray Nicholson in Borderline. (Magnet Releasing/Courtesy Everett Collection)
As I wrote when it debuted on-demand, the movie has some trouble shifting gears from shocking horror to laugh-out-loud comedy, but those tonal issues don’t take away from the fact that it’s a fun-enough star vehicle for two young performers who have yet to stretch their legs like this before.
The movie commits to its own bit and is full of fun needle drops, including an unforgettable sequence built around a Celine Dion banger. Those moments, as well as the pure movie star quality exuded by its actors and its overall commitment to the bit, won me over despite some issues with tone and flippancy with regard to Nicholson’s character’s mental health condition.
What other critics are saying: Reactions vary wildly. Clint Worthington at RogerEbert.com is mixed, writing that "there’s a least a few bits and bobs to keep Borderline from borderline failing." FilmFreakCentral's Walter Chaw really dug it, calling it "carefully thought-out and laser-focused on the simplicity of its framework while remaining determined to squeeze every last drop of inspiration from it."
How to watch: Borderline is now streaming on Hulu.
🤔 But that's not all!
Ice Cube in War of the Worlds. (Courtesy of Universal Pictures/Amazon Prime Video)
War of the Worlds (2025): This new take on the classic material came out of nowhere and debuted on Prime Video this week. The concept is, "What if the alien invasion from War of the Worlds took place entirely on a computer screen?" It does not lend itself naturally to a screenlife film, and the U.S. government spy protagonist who snoops on his own family members is also pretty off-putting. So much of the movie is Ice Cube’s face reacting to situations and saying “Damn!” It gets even worse when it tries to hokily rope in emotional stakes. It's not good! Now streaming on Amazon Prime.
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