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End of Watch Movie Review

ward@fridaysonthefly.com (Ward) — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 02:00:00 -0400

End of Watch (2012)

Rent End of Watch on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: David Ayer
Directed by: David Ayer
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Peña, Anna Kendrick, Natalie Martinez, David Harbour, Frank Grillo, America Ferrera
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
Shot documentary-style, this follows the daily grind of two young police officers in LA who are partners and close friends.

Verdict
It's the days in the lives of two police officers, and the documentary style lends it a sense of realism initially that soon becomes hyper realistic. These two cops seem to be at the center of every big thing happening in the city. The calls they encounter and what we see, are all intense. Each presents a unique danger and that crescendos towards the end. It's not a necessarily fun watch due to the fear and tension inherent in the job, but it is gripping. That's in part due to the camaraderie between the officers that jumps off the screen.
Watch It.

Review
Ayer was the writer for Training Day (2001) and The Fast and the Furious (2001).

This starts with a voice over about the law, police, and the inherent dangers in being the thin blue line between good and bad as we watch a chase through a police dash camera that ends in a pit maneuver and then shootout. This is shot documentary style with Brian Taylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) recording his days as part of an art elective while studying pre-law.

Brian and his partner Mike Zavala (Michael Peña) are regarded as cowboys, and we soon see why when a suspect challenges Mike to a fight with Mike agreeing and removing his badge.

Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Peña play Brian Taylor, Mike Zavala

This shows what it's like being a cop. They're called to a missing children case where it's a couple on drugs that forgot they locked the kids in the closet. In between calls Brian and Mike talk about life, their girlfriends, and the future. They're in the middle of it every day, though I do wonder if they'd really have this kind of reach and influence. I don't think what happens on the job is exaggerated, but I'm not sure all of these events would happen to these two cops. They seem to be involved in every big case. While watching local gangster Big Evil's mom, they follow a truck and discover concealed guns and money. Even the police captain recognizes them for the bust. Then they're called to a house fire where they rescue several children and are awarded the Medal of Valor.

Amidst the violence of their beat, Mike has his first kid and Brian gets married.

Jake Gyllenhaal, Anna Kendrick play Brian, Janet Taylor

They inadvertently stumble upon a huge narcotics bust which draws the ire of the cartel. They're green lit for assassination, though they dismiss it. Soon they're led into a trap that's mean to be their execution. Brian and Mike end up trapped in an apartment complex facing multiple armed threats. It doesn't look like there's any way out. We've seen how violent being a cop in this city can be. They're on the run, and it's intense. The first person perspective only adds to the tension. They're running, waiting for backup, and everything seem like a threat.

It's well made, but it's not enjoyable as it makes the dangers of being a police officer palpable. The victories are tempered by the dangers. While Brian and Mike are quick to risk their lives both to save and protect, seeing their wives serves to indicate how many people worry about them every day.

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No Other Choice Movie Review

ward@fridaysonthefly.com (Ward) — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 02:00:00 -0400

No Other Choice [Eojjeolsuga eobsda] (2025)

Rent No Other Choice on Amazon Video (paid link) // Buy the book (paid link)
Written by: Donald E. Westlake (novel "The Ax"), Park Chan-wook & Lee Kyoung-mi & Don McKellar & Jahye Lee (screenplay)
Directed by: Park Chan-wook
Starring: Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin, Woo Seung Kim
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
In this Korean language film, an abrupt layoff forces a man to devise a unique plan to secure a new job: eliminate his competition.

Verdict
It's a chilling look at the shrinking job market and how desperate that makes people. Man-su resorts to reckless measures to get a job, but he's competing with several others that have also lost their jobs as capitalism eradicates the middle class. His family is losing everything, and he has to do something. It's an ill-conceived plan, but he has no other choice. The irony is that corporations cut jobs and claim the same thing while setting record profits. There's always a choice, and that's the morality of this movie. It's a well crafted movie in every facet. You could pause this anywhere and it would be a great looking image.
Watch It.

Review
Park Chan-wook is best known for Oldboi (2003) and The Handmaiden (2016).

Man-su grilles in the backyard, enjoying summer with his family. He comments how he has it all as he embraces them. It's easy to guess that's a setup.

Lee Byung-hun plays Man-su

In the next scene he's at the paper company where he's been employed for twenty-five years. The company has been sold and the new owners want to cut twenty percent of the staff. Man-su tries to speak to the new American owner who dismisses him. He's devastated when he loses his job. Thirteen months later and he's had little luck, resorting to a job as a stocker. He can't find another job in paper making. His wife Mi-ri (Son Ye-jin) has gotten a part time job to help, but they're cutting back on expenses. The family re-homed their dogs, and Mansu is faced with selling his childhood home in which his family lives. They assumed he'd get a job so they never adjusted their spending. You'd think they would have had that conversation sooner.

Man-su grows desperate. He's not only lost his job, but now everything for which he's worked is slowly slipping away. If he can't find a job, what will he and his family do? Man-su nearly kills Seon, a manager at a paper company, when he sees him out in a public. Man-su considered dropping a potted plant on his head. He hesitates, realizing that to get Seon's job, he needs to be the best candidate. Man-su roots out the other candidates, putting an ad out for a paper company job. With the information of the best qualified candidates, he begins spying on them with the intent to murder the competition. In the course of a stake out, he's bitten by a snake where he's helped by that candidate Beom's wife. What a situation. It's comical how convoluted it gets. He inadvertently discovers Beom's wife is having an affair, and Man-su can't figure out how to extricate himself from that tangle.

Then you have this next step of his plan being murder. It's madness, but at the same time we're living in a world where AI will take our jobs, prices for everything keep going up, and it just seems hopeless at times. This movie captures that feeling of despair. What choice do you have but try to save your house and family by any means necessary? Man-su's life falls apart as he pursues this gambit of getting a job. Mi-ri wonders about all the secrets as he spends his time observing his victims.

Lee Byung-hun plays Man-su

It's visually striking. This is a movie you could pause at any moment and it would be an amazing photograph.

I can't help but think of the relentlessness of capitalism. Inhumanely acquiring business and then squeezing them for any cent of profit at the expense of employees. The C level employees need a vacation home and that comes at the expense of the factory workers' homes, families, and entire livelihoods. Capitalism is ruining business so the rich can get richer and the middle class lose their jobs in the progress. Short term gains are prioritized at the expense of the future.

Man-su did this because he had no other choice, he also had no experience in such crimes. He shouldn't have been able to evade the police, but a confluence of events ensured just that. He gets the job, but he's the only human in an automated factory. While he's not the only one facing a shrinking job market, he did save his family and livelihood.

Is Man-su's elimination of the competition any more ruthless than corporation that will do anything for a dollar? Man-su would claim he had no choice, that had to support his family. Corporations would claim they had no choice, they needed to provide a profit to share holders. Firing people, giving them the ax, could very well lead to death; certainly the loss of their economic standing.

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Apex Movie Review

ward@fridaysonthefly.com (Ward) — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 02:00:00 -0400

Apex (2026)

Watch Apex on Netflix
Written by: Jeremy Robbins
Directed by: Baltasar Kormákur
Starring: Charlize Theron, Taron Egerton, Eric Bana
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
A grieving woman seeks solace in the wilderness only to become ensnared in a deadly game of cat and mouse with a serial killer.

Verdict
It's a neat idea, full of potential, that ends up being generic. I wondered if this was just a perverted hunting expedition, but the movie keeps wanting to make it weird and some kind of a game. That seems more like padding for the run time than plot development. In the last third I was hoping for some kind of genre shift, something to enliven the movie. That doesn't happen, and by that point this has played all of it's cards. We just have to wait out the clock.
Skip it.

Review
The introductory scene features Sasha (Charlize Theron) and Tommy (Eric Bana) scaling Troll Wall. She's stubborn and undeterred despite trouble summiting. Tommy convinces her to camp and summit tomorrow. I've never seen a tent attached to the side of a mountain. It's a portaledge so they can rest for the night and continue the journey the next day. The situation soon becomes intense as any issues on a cliff ultimately mean tumbling to your death.

Charlize Theron utilizing a portaledge

Later Sasha is in Australia heading to a national park. She's harassed in a quick-mart. There she meets Ben (Taron Egerton) who steps in to diffuse the situation with her stating she doesn't need the help. He does offer her direction to the park.. Sasha faces more harassment as she camps for the night. In both cases, the groups of men claim they're trying to be nice. We know that's not true.

Sasha kayaks down a river all day, and the next day she somehow runs into Ben and his camp. It seems staged. Why would he be there? She's also lost several items from her camp. Immediately we're suspicious of Ben. Why wouldn't he have told her at the quick-mart he's also headed to the park? Ben soon reveals he's been following her, and that he's the one that took her equipment. What's the game? Ben is going to hunt her. Initially I thought this might be a riff on the short story The Most Dangerous Game (1924).

Charlize Theron plays Sasha

I though the title might be a reference to the apex of a mountain, but it seems it might be apex like a predator.

Ben's not just hunting her. It's some kind of a game for him. He takes a break from hunting Sasha to play loud music and swing into the river on a rope naked. This is clearly padding. Sasha hopes to steal his boat, but it's trap and she becomes ensnared. She hits him with pepper spray, though I don't think he's recover so quickly. From there he takes her to some cave, his evil lair.

Ben is bonkers. We're never quite sure of the underlying reasons. He reveals his teeth are all pointed. He mentioned earlier some tribes file down their teeth. It's likely he did that, rather than his teeth grew that way. There's a lot of plot contrivance to the movie. Instead of trying to incapacitate Ben, Sasha worries about the wire binding them together and hits it with a rock. Everyone but her realizes that won't work, and that gives Ben a chance to recover. As he's on the brink of killing her he stops for no other reason than to give her an opening. I wish this was more relentless. We get these twists that don't amount to much. I really hoped in Ben's cave we'd get a genre shift. The movie needed something.

Taron Egerton plays Ben

Sasha is put in a position where she has to save Ben to save herself. It was easy to see she was going to resort to some kind of subterfuge to escape. Ben was mildly aware, but he didn't have much choice. I wish this had genre shifted; some kind of ancient cult sacrifice or even a shift like The Descent (2005).

The characters make too many mistakes for this too feel completely believable. Without some kind of big shift or twist, this isn't much more than a by the numbers thriller. The shock is that Ben hunts people. Everything past that feels like some degree of filler.

Marty Supreme Movie Review

ward@fridaysonthefly.com (Ward) — Wed, 17 Jun 2026 02:00:00 -0400

Marty Supreme (2025)

Rent Marty Supreme on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie
Directed by: Josh Safdie
Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A'zion, Kevin O'Leary, Tyler Okonma, Abel Ferrara, Fran Drescher
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
Marty Mauser aggressively pursues greatness through scams and competitive table tennis in a quest for a world championship in Tokyo.

Verdict
It's frenetic from the start as Marty schemes his way to hopefully become the champion of ping pong. The way to make an exciting table tennis movie is to avoid the sport for the most part. Marty gets into and in turn tries to get out of trouble for most of the movie. It's relentless in a great way. This is a thrill ride, but Marty is irritating due to his extreme selfishness. Everyone he meets is a prop or tool to further his own means, and he's willing to lie and steal from anyone if it will aid his goal. Ironically, Marty is very good at ping pong. The problem is no one cares about his sport. It's not as prestigious as he'd like to think. Part of the fun in watching this is wondering what ill-conceived idea will topple him.
Watch It.

Review
Like the movies Josh Safie co-directed with his brother, Good Time (2017) and Uncut Gems (2019), this is a rush from nearly the beginning as we follow a deeply flawed character navigating a chaotic situation.

Opening with Marty (Timothée Chalamet) working at a shoe store, he gets a promotion to manager he doesn't want. His goal is to be a table tennis champion, not a shoe salesman. That leads into an interesting title sequence of a sperm fertilizing an egg that transforms into a table tennis ball.

Timothée Chalamet plays Marty Mauser

Marty's a bit insufferable, amplified by the fact that this is all over ping pong. Does he really believe ping pong will be such a big sport or is he selling it as a means to sell himself and get what he wants? He robs the shoe store's vault, stating it's what he's owed. This early in the movie we don't know that he's just saying anything to get what he wants and justify his actions.

He travels to a tournament in London, complaining about the accommodations and moves to a hotel. Marty also develops an interest in actress Kay Stone (Gwyneth Paltrow) who's staying at the same hotel. I'd guess in part it's his ego. Marty wants something coveted that others can't get. What's her interest in him? Does she like someone younger fawning over her, reminding her of her past fame? I don't think she was won over by his tenacity and bravado alone.

Timothée Chalamet plays Marty Mauser

He's a showman employing trick shots in the semi-finals for attention. In the finals against Endo, Marty isn't doing well. We've seen him perform so well before that this seems out of character with what appears to be easy returns. I wondered if he was prolonging the match until Rockwell, Kay's husband, showed up. Marty hopes to convince Rockwell to be his benefactor.

This remains energetic, though I wondered how table tennis would drive excitement. That's through instead focusing on Marty's ill conceived exploits as he runs from one problem into another while trying to take his position as the table tennis champion. It's an endeavor that seems pointless, but he is passionate to the detriment of everything else. Marty isn't likable, and that's the point. He's focused on himself. Everything good, he wants the credit. Anything bad is someone else's fault. His girlfriend is pregnant, and he insists it isn't his based on the fact that he doesn't want to deal with the consequences. He and his friend Wally hustle a bowling alley that has a ping pong table. The local's aren't happy.

Koto Kawaguchi, Timothée Chalamet play Koto Endo, Marty Mauser

Everything is a prop for Marty to take advantage. That leads to a never ending string of bad decisions that only irritate everyone around him when they realize they've been used. He hustled Kay, and even admits to stealing from her. He's a strategist, and the admission works. She continues helping him even after that confession. He doesn't have as easy a time against Rockwell. Marty goes to him for help to get to Japan for the championship. Rockwell agrees to pay Marty's way, granted Marty agrees to some humiliation. We don't know if it's because Rockwell knows what Marty did with his wife or, like everyone else, Rockwell just doesn't like him.

Marty wants to prove how good he is at everything, all the time. He truly believes he's great at all things. While he makes it to Japan, his scams only get him so far. He gets the match he wants even if it isn't exactly the venue he had hoped. Marty underestimated Rockwell. Marty thought he was taking advantage of the guy, but he realizes too late that the person getting taken for a ride was Marty. While he's humbled and gets a redemption moment, I don't believe Marty has fundamentally changed.

The Cabin in the Woods Movie Review

ward@fridaysonthefly.com (Ward) — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 02:00:00 -0400

The Cabin in the Woods (2011)

Rent The Cabin in the Woods on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Joss Whedon & Drew Goddard
Directed by: Drew Goddard
Starring: Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams, Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford, Brian White, Amy Acker
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
Two unseen scientists manipulate the gory goings-on at a backwoods cabin inhabited by a group of unsuspecting college friends,

Verdict
A unique premise gives this a huge boost. What if every horror movie trope could be explained? Maybe the characters aren't as dumb as they seem. This movie devours tropes while putting a new spin on them. While it loses the thread in trying to find a satisfactory conclusion, it's still a fun and inventive ride that provides commentary on the horror genre.
Watch It.

Review
This was filmed before Chris Hemsworth's breakout role as Thor (2011), though it released after due to this movie's studio's financial struggles.

This starts with Gary (Richard Jenkins) and Steve (Bradley Whitford) in an office discussing preparations for some kind of ritual. Then we transition to five coeds in an RV heading to a cabin to party. This quickly invokes several horror movie tropes. We've got five teens ready to have fun, a run down gas station, and a grizzled attendant with ominous warnings. It's cheesy, but the situation is ridiculous. What sets this apart from typical horror movie filler is that the dialog is good.

Jesse Williams, Fran Kranz, Anna Hutchison, Chris Hemsworth play Holden, Marty, Jules, Curt

Of course it's a creepy house full of odd decorations and memorabilia. Not only that, Gary and Steve observe every room. They admit they spiked the blondes hair dye to slow down cognition. Apparently, there's something to the dumb blonde trope in horror movies. These scientists are pulling the strings, but why? From their control room they are even monitoring each teens vitals. They can manipulate the environment and influence behavior. So many horror movies rely on stupid protagonists, and this movie provides a reason for that. The protagonists are coerced, prodded, and drugged.

The teens start playing truth or dare because this movie is on a quest to hit every horror movie trope. That leads to Dana (Kristen Connolly) heading into the dark and creepy basement. She finds a journal that details horrific abuse, mentioning "a husband's bulge." This embraces every trope, but it's used for comedy instead of plot filler.

Fran Kranz, Kristen Connolly play Dana, Marty

The monsters the control room unleashes on the teens are as effective as expected. We never quite know what the control room's goal is. It's not just entertainment as it seems to be linked to a blood sacrifice.

When this starts to tip is when the movie grasps at answers. The explanation isn't as satisfying as the setup. These horror movie scenarios are an act of sacrifice to the old gods as a way to keep the world in balance and devastation at bay. As Gary and Steve think they've completed the sacrifice, they're confronted with evidence that it isn't done. Dana and Marty (Fran Kranz) survive. What follows is a bizarre assault as control dispatches armed operatives to take them out and complete the ritual as the duo try to defend themselves by opening the cages of various horror movie monsters that control houses.

This is stocked full of references and call outs, so many you'd need a guide to catch them all. The old gods demand sacrifices, not all that dissimilar from horror movie audiences. Many people crave sadistic deaths in this genre, and that connection adds a nice bit of depth to the conclusion.

Title Card

Killer of Sheep Movie Review

ward@fridaysonthefly.com (Ward) — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 02:00:00 -0400

Killer of Sheep (1978)

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Written by: Charles Burnett
Directed by: Charles Burnett
Starring: Henry G. Sanders, Kaycee Moore, Charles Bracy, Angela Burnett
Rated: NR [R]
Watch the trailer

Plot
Set in the Watts area of Los Angeles during the early 1970s, a slaughterhouse worker must suspend his emotions to continue working at a job he finds repugnant, and then he finds he has little sensitivity for the family he works so hard to support.

Verdict
This is a student film which makes it all the more impressive. This doesn't have an overarching narrative, but it captures what life is like in Watts. It's a time capsule, and all of these unrelated plights create the fabric of the area as it provides a sense of what it's like to reside there. The movie exhibits a lot of poise for a first time director. It's executed well, but I do wish there was more of a plot, granted that's not the point.
It depends.

Review
Burnett shot the film on weekends during 1972 and 1973. He submitted it to UCLA as his Master of Fine Arts thesis. It didn't get a wide release until 2007, nearly thirty years later.

This opens with a father aggressively telling his son to grow up and that life is difficult. Then we see a group of kids playing at the train yard. It's not a typical story arc. It depicts life in the neighborhood; the monotony of the day to day and the scrapping. Stan (Henry G. Sanders) works at the slaughterhouse. It's a job, and it puts food on the table. In a similar way, kids find a way to fill their days. I have to wonder if the bleakness of Stan's job, herding and killing sheep, is a mirror to his life. Does he feel the same lack of agency as he follows a prescribed path?

Henry G. Sanders plays Stan

It's a time capsule, and that's also what makes it captivating. The depictions of life in the time period feel authentic, like a fly on the wall perspective. This is a collection of moments in the lives of the inhabitants. It's really not all that long ago, coming on the heels of the fight for civil rights. It's fascinating to see life in a past time. That's similar to what Man with a Movie Camera (1929) captured.

Henry G. Sanders plays Stan

It's impressive as a student film and as an artist's first movie. It's not typical, more of a film buff and history movie. There's no plot or narrative. We experience the era by living it with the characters.

Vertigo Movie Review

ward@fridaysonthefly.com (Ward) — Sun, 14 Jun 2026 02:00:00 -0400

Vertigo (1958)

Rent Vertigo on Amazon Video (paid link) // Buy the book (paid link)
Written by: Alec Coppel & Samuel A. Taylor (screenplay by), Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac (based on the novel "D'Entre Les Morts" by), Maxwell Anderson (contributing writer, uncredited)
Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes, Tom Helmore, Henry Jones
Rated: PG
Watch the trailer

Plot
A former San Francisco police detective juggles his personal demons and his obsession with the hauntingly beautiful woman he has been hired to trail, who may be deeply disturbed.

Verdict
Watching Hitchcock's movies, it's easy to see how advanced they were compared to contemporary movies. They set a new bar for cinema, a formula that's been copied and mimicked so many times it can be difficult to see why they were groundbreaking. The innovations are so common now, but his movies remain timeless. A detective afraid of heights has to confront that terror while the movie manages to make his perceptions visceral. His vertigo and the case are distinctly linked.
Watch It.

Review
This was the first movie to employ the dolly zoom to distort perspective for a vertigo effect. That created a visual disorientation to represent Scottie's (James Stewart) acrophobia.

Scottie, a detective, chases a criminal across roof tops. He ends up hanging off the edge of the roof, multiple stories about the ground, and paralyzed with fear. Another cop attempts to help but ends up toppling to his death. It's frightening, and the experience leads to Scottie developing acrophobia, a fear of heights.

James Stewart plays John "Scottie" Ferugson

Scottie quits the force because of it, pivoting to private investigations. That's when his old friend Gavin (Tom Helmore) hires him to follow his wife Madeleine (Kim Novak). Scottie and Gaven both begin to suspect that Madeleine is somehow channeling her great grandmother. As Scottie rightfully points out, Gavin seems to know a lot about the situation. His response is that he needed Scottie to confirm his suspicions before taking action. Is this really a case of possession?

James Stewart, Kim Novak play Scottie, Madeleine

Scottie falls for Madeleine. Part of it is that she's beautiful, the other part is that he saved her after she jumped in the bay and he's empathetic to her situation. He began investigating, now he's in the middle of it, too involved, and trying to help her regain memories. He hopes that bringing her to the location of the visions will unlock the past memories. They both admit their affection, but in what seems like a channeling, Madeleine runs up a bell tower. Scottie can't follow, his fear of heights becoming debilitating. That scene becomes a defining moment for the film.

The Golden Gate Bridge spanning the San Francisco Bay

Scottie blames himself for the fallout of the case. It's not just his vertigo, but he became way too involved. When he sees a blonde woman that looks like Madeleine, he becomes obsessed with her. Scottie urges her to dress like and style herself similar to Madeline. I don't know why she goes along with it unless she's just sympathetic. It turns out this woman isn't just a manifestation of grief over the case borne into reality. Scottie was a pawn in the game. He wants to put the pieces together, and to do that Scottie has to face his fear of heights yet again, but it's not without devastating consequences.

Stop Making Sense Documentary Review

ward@fridaysonthefly.com (Ward) — Sat, 13 Jun 2026 02:00:00 -0400

Stop Making Sense (1984)

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Written by: Jonathan Demme, Talking Heads
Directed by: Jonathan Demme
Starring: David Byrne, Bernie Worrell, Alex Weir
Rated: PG
Watch the trailer

Plot
A live performance of the band Talking Heads shot over the course of three nights at Hollywood's Pantages Theater in December of 1983 features their most memorable songs.

Verdict
This is considered to be one of the best concert videos, and it's easy to see why. This focuses completely on the band, forgoing shots of the crowd. The band's unique sound pairs well with the video, and the deliberate choreography of the band. It's sun a fun experience, completely engulfing.
Watch It.

Review
It opens with lead singer David Byrne walking onto stage along as he begins performing Psycho Killer. This plays all of the band's hits. While it's a concert video, the energy, artistry, and creativity is addictive. With the shots and closeup that exclude the crowd, it makes it a very personal experience.

David Byrne

With each song more of the band walk on stage. Throughout the documentary, I was surprised at how much I liked this. Many documentaries like this capture the crowed to help feed the energy, but this never needs it. The band and their music doesn't require any aid. It's not until nearly the end that we first see the crowd, likely more than anything just to prove there was a crowd.
The Talking Heads music has been described as dance music to which you can't dance. I wouldn't consider myself a fan, though I enjoy their music. I found this phenomenal. It's not just music, but it showcases creativity and a deliberate presentation.

Beef Season 2 Review

ward@fridaysonthefly.com (Ward) — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 02:00:00 -0400

Beef (2023-)

Season 2 - 8 episodes (2026 April 16)
Watch Beef on Netflix
Created by: Lee Sung Jin
Starring: Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Cailee Spaeny, Charles Melton, William Fichtner, Youn Yuh-jung
Rated: TV-MA
Watch the trailer

Plot
A young couple witnesses an alarming fight between their boss and his wife, triggering chess moves of favors and coercion in the elitist world of a country club and its Korean billionaire owner.

Verdict
The narrative pushes people to their breaking point. The season is addictive. It's like watching a train wreck. Everyone is running some kind of scam or cheat, and there's no way the situation doesn't blow up for everyone. In trying to better themselves and their positions, everyone just creates more problems. That builds until the final episode where the line between winners and losers is drawn.
Watch It.

Review
This season is unrelated to season one; it's a completely different story.

The first few scenes in the initial episode provide sufficient backstory. Country club manager Josh (Oscar Isaac) and his wife Lindsay (Carey Mulligna) argue at home after an event at the club. They fight over his job, the money he spends, and the time he devotes to the job. She argues he wasted her sizable inheritance, and he responds that she lied when she stated money didn't matter. He thinks he has a lot of friends at the club, but she states it's his job to be there and friendly. He'll always be an employee.

They reach the point of both demanding a divorce. While this goes on, two employees that are also engaged, Ashley (Cailee Spaeny) and Austin (Charles Melton), arrive tasked with returning Josh's wallet that he left. They wander to the back of the house while recording video out of concern and see Josh smashing things with a golf club and raising it towards Lindsay, seemingly ready to strike her. Ashley and Austin wrestle with what to do. There's the stress of what they saw, and then the fact that they'll have to see the couple at work. Do you report the violence as that's the ethical thing or do you ignore it to protect your job? Ashley and Austin leave the wallet on the porch and flee.

E2: Carey Mulligan, Oscar Isaac play Lindsay, Josh

Josh and Lindsay argue that their fight is typical, though it's certainly not. Austin approaches Lindsay the next day despite he and Ashley agreeing to leave it alone. Lindsay patronizes Austin, stating he doesn't understand as he's too young. We're left wonder if she's in denial or really thinks the fight is normal. Josh confronts Ashley, making sure she won't cause any problems. All of this is on the eve of a new Korean owner, Chairwoman Park (Youn Yuh-jung). Josh is willing to do whatever it takes to butter up Park so he keeps his job.

Due to a health issue, Ashley decides she needs insurance. She and Austin agree the world is designed to marginalize people in their position while people like Josh and Lindsay never face any repercussion. Ashley approaches Josh about a promotion which would include insurance, and eventually he agrees. He realizes how bad the video looks. Emboldened, Ashley urges Austin to fake being a physical therapist so he can work at the club full time.

Josh plays the part of this rich club guy, but he's pretending. He's not as rich as the club members, and I wonder if they realize that and mess with him sometimes. They're fake friends that use him to get perks at the club. He's living above his means, and in episode two it looks like he's going to embezzle. Ashley is his opportunity as she's not qualified for her job. She's the perfect scapegoat. He explains the plan to Lindsay just in case the audience didn't pick up on it.

E4: Cailee Spaeny, Charles Melton play Ashley, Austin

Josh and Lindsay plan their bed and breakfast with the money they plan to skim. They visit a similar venue, realizing it's better in every single regard. They realize even more money must be taken. There's no way this situation doesn't blow up for both couples. Then we learn than Chairman Park is facing tax evasion charges and is under scrutiny. That's an issue when her plastic surgeon husband botches an operation and she needs to pay off everyone involved.

In episode three, Austin stumbles onto Josh's embezzlement completely by accident. In turn Park is alerted, and she gives Josh a contract as she plans to use him to solve her own problems with remaining hands off. She's going to use the club to pay off the people involved with her husband's medical malpractice case. Josh won't get the extra cash through embezzling, and now he's illegally paying people off all so he can keep his job.

Episode four takes place at the hospital as Ashley waits to be seen. It showcases everything wrong from the wait to disinterested staff to doctors saying she's fine to then needing immediate surgery. The episode, and the story, are pushing people to their breaking point. Ashley blames Josh for not helping her at the hospital when he could have. She breaks into Josh's house and taints the orange juice for revenge. It's incredibly gross.

E8: Charles Melton, Cailee Spaeny, Carey Mulligan play Austin, Ashley, Lindsay

Episode six jumps ahead one month. So much of this show is about connections and who you know, and the other aspect of it is cheating others to get what you want. Many of these characters act selfishly and succeed while ignoring collateral damage. Episode seven is the setup where everything is undone for the final episode. The last episode delivers. The entire season has been a wild run, but Park wants to tie up loose ends. Both couples have ended up in Korea, and that's not a good thing.

This skips ahead eight years. Ashley and Austin have replaced Josh and Lindsay at the club. We see how replaceable Josh was. The members weren't friends with Josh, they only wanted to take advantage and get free perks. Josh has transferred his general manager skills to prison.

A big help to this season is that it isn't constrained by the first season. It can go in any direction, and it's quite the ride. From the beginning we know the couples have an uneasy alliance borne of necessity, but I didn't expect it to become so toxic.

Tucker and Dale vs Evil Movie Review

ward@fridaysonthefly.com (Ward) — Thu, 11 Jun 2026 02:00:00 -0400

Tucker and Dale vs Evil (2010)

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Written by: Eli Craig & Morgan Jurgenson
Directed by: Eli Craig
Starring: Tyler Labine, Alan Tudyk, Katrina Bowden, Jesse Moss
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
Affable hillbillies Tucker and Dale are on vacation at their dilapidated mountain cabin when they are mistaken for murderers by a group of preppy college students.

Verdict
This is a wacky adventure that revels in all of the familiar horror movie tropes, turning them on their head. That's what makes this so fun. College kids see two hillbillies that want to kill them. The hillbillies see a bunch of college kids with a death wish that won't leave them alone. What ensures is a ridiculous fight for survival, for both groups. It certainly helps to be familiar with b-level horror movies, but this takes the inherent silliness of horror movie conventions and crafts it into a grand joke.
Watch It.

Review
The concept is great. What if all of these horror movies where teens go into the woods and get killed is a big misunderstanding?

The tone is over the top from the jump with annoying college kids only interested in partying. They're headed to go camping for the weekend. They encounter Tucker (Alan Tudyk) and Dale (Tyler Labine), who are planning to fix up their cabin, en route at a gas station. Dale wants to talk to the girls with Tucker giving him the advice of smiling and laughing. Dale ends up looking deranged, frightening the girls.

Alan Tudyk, Tyler Labine play Tucker, Dale

Tucker and Dale's fixer upper vacation home in the woods looks like the home of a serial killer, replete with artifacts and evidence. They have more naive explanations for the contents of the home.

Of course the college kids are camping nearby. When Allison (Katrina Bowden) falls into the water, hitting her head, Tucker and Dale save her. The college kids assume the worst; that hillbillies kidnapped their friend. They sneak through the woods to rescue her. Upon approaching the cabin, they encounter Dale who had been cutting wood with a chain saw get into bees. He's now running around with a chainsaw reacting to the bees which looks menacing.

In horror movies we only see one side. This movie's silly yet entertaining concept is that everything may be a misunderstanding. The college kids think Tucker and Dale killed their friend. It doesn't help that the duo left a message, "We have ur friend." It's not received as intended. Aside from the miscommunication, a lot of the deaths revolve around the college kids tripping in the woods and fatally injuring themselves.

Jesse Moss, Katrina Bowden, Tyler Labine play Chad, Allison, Dale

From the college kids' point of view, it does appear that Tucker and Dale are killing them off sequentially. Tucker and Dale see a bunch of college kids that appear to have made a suicide pact. The sheriff shows up, and he's inclined to believe the college kids. He searches the cabin and that begins a sequence with even more deaths as Tucker and Dale are hapless observers. The movie is a lot of what can go wrong will.

Allison asks Tucker and Chad to talk about what's happened instead of fighting, communicating to reach an understanding. While that provides important details, another rescue by the college kids leads to more deaths. This culminates in Dale trying to save Allison while fighting off deranged college kid Chad, who just happens to be "half hillbilly."

It's a movie that knows the genre well, using that to mock typical plot lines and narrative crutches. The result is an unlikely horror comedy.

The Big Heat Movie Review

ward@fridaysonthefly.com (Ward) — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 02:00:00 -0400

The Big Heat (1953)

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Written by: Sydney Boehm (screenplay), William P. McGivern (Saturday Evening Post serial)
Directed by: Fritz Lang
Starring: Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Jocelyn Brando, Lee Marvin
Rated: Approved [PG-13]
Watch the trailer

Plot
Tough, yet unscrupulous, police detective Dave Bannion takes on a crime syndicate with powerful political ties.

Verdict
It's easy to see why this is well regarded. Bannion stumbles into a cover up that goes all the way to the top. Despite threats and attacks, he doggedly pursues the truth to discover what's really happening. It's grim for a '50s movie. Like most old movies, it was a pioneer at the time that can now feel dated, but if you're into old movies, this is a must watch.
It depends.

Review
This starts with a bang and a letter to the district attorney. After a few phone calls the cops are on the scene, but the letter is gone. We know the wife moved it, but we don't know why. Dave Bannion (Glenn Ford) is assigned to Duncan's death, a fellow police officer. Duncan's wife states he was in ill health, but a woman claiming to be Duncan's girlfriend throws a wrinkle in the wife's story. Bannion gets chided by his bosses for not closing what they claim is an open and shut case. He then gets a call at home warning him off the case to drive home the point.

Glenn Ford plays Dave Bannion

There's more to this case than it appears as dead bodies accumulate. Bannion is even targeted in an attack. In turn he accuses his bosses of corruption, and they take his badge. Bannion refuses to back down, continuing the investigation. While this uses some tropes, it may well have invented them. Bannion seems like the only person in the city willing to stand up to the local gangsters. He stands up to Stone (Lee Marvin) when he attacks a woman. That impresses Stone's girlfriend Debby (Gloria Grahame), which is convenient for Bannion who now has a connection to the gangsters. He also falls for Debby which complicates everything. It's clear Debby is with Stone for his money more than his personality.

Bannion is this loose cannon that will stop at nothing to get the truth while leaving a path of destruction in his wake. Even after he loses his badge, he continues pursuing the case. How can you not like a guy that doesn't blink when standing toe to toe with murderers? This concludes with various deaths and shootouts, but Bannion gets the truth, and his badge, back.

Paradise Season 2 Review

ward@fridaysonthefly.com (Ward) — Tue, 9 Jun 2026 02:00:00 -0400

Paradise (2025-)

Season 2 - 8 episodes (2026)
Watch the trailer
Created by: Dan Fogelman
Starring: Sterling K. Brown, Julianne Nicholson, Sarah Shahi, Nicole Brydon Bloom, Enuka Okuma, Shailene Woodley, Thomas Doherty, Cameron Britton
Rated: TV-MA

Plot
Secret Service agent Xavier Collins investigates the murder of President Cal Bradford in a seemingly idyllic, yet secretive, underground city in Colorado, three years after a doomsday event.

In season two, Collins leaves the bunker to searches for his wife while we see life outside as well as survivors intent on breaching the bunker.

Verdict
I like this season better than the first, granted I'm fond of a post-apocalypse setting. Season one was a murder mystery with a unique setting, but it wasn't all that original. This season focuses on what it takes to survive a harsh world through various characters that Collins encounters while searching for his wife as the show leaves the murder mystery genre behind. The season provides more than a few hints at what's next with season three, though it's not apparent until the conclusion. It seems the next season will change genres again, focusing on sci-fi concepts of time manipulation. If it can match season two, it will be well worth it.
Watch It.

Review
In season one, Secret Service agent Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown) finds President Bradford (James Marsden) dead. They had a falling out, but Collins is still committed to the job. Then we have Sinatra (Julianne Nicholson), the richest person in the world who funded this underground society and also happens to be a megalomaniac. The first season did a good job of tying the story together while leaving it open for a second season. President Bradford used an EMP to neutralize missiles before entering the bunker, but it cut off all communications which is how Collins and his wife were separated. It turns out topside is livable despite Sinatra keeping that information hidden, and Collins's wife is also alive. I was concerned that trying to expand the story and leave the bunker would weaken this season.

The first episode starts with Annie (Shailene Woodley), a medical school drop out that survived the fallout by living in Elvis's Graceland bunker where she used to be a tour guide. An ash cloud blocked out the sun as temperatures dropped. It's a great first episode.

E4: Shailene Woodley plays Annie

Collins (Sterling K. Brown) crashes en route to Atlanta trying to find his wife Teri (Enuka Okuma). He just happens to land in Alabama near Annie who finds him after the crash and subsequent attack. The second episode provides a flash back showing how Collins and Teri met back when he was in Quantico.

It's hinted early in the season that Sinatra (Julianne Nicholson) has a side project, though the nature of it isn't revealed until later. It's important enough that Sinatra has the company head killed so she could obtain the technology before the apocalypse.

Episode four returns to Collins and Annie. They're the best plot point of the season. She wants to go to Colorado to reunite with Link (Thomas Doherty), who she met as he was passing through. Collins is adamant he's going to Atlanta. Annie trusts no one, and he's pushing her to trust. She agrees to go to Atlanta first as long as he will get her to Colorado. Of course she's put in a situation where she must trust strangers. Collins makes it to Atlanta, but he doesn't find Teri.

E5: Sterling K. Brown plays Xavier Collins

This season features several vignettes about various characters. Gary (Cameron Britton) was a postal worker, and we see how he started prepping with an online gaming friend, Ennis. Teri becomes part of the group out of necessity. This could create a spin off about that group. There's a lot happening off screen, though the result is that Ennis is strict as a means of control due to loneliness. Gary falls for Teri, which wasn't a surprise. Collins finds Gary, and he soon realizes that Gary isn't telling him everything.

Episode six provides backstory on Jane (Nicole Brydon Bloom), Sinatra's top henchman. It seems like initially the episode will humanize her, though it does reveal even more crimes.

In episode seven a group of captives in the bunker makes an escape while the council recommends a full lock down due to Link's group at the gates demanding entry. The automated systems and redundancies suddenly don't matter. Also, there's the recurring question of who or what is Alex. The name has been a frequent question throughout the season, building suspense.

E8: Thomas Doherty plays Link

In the final episode we meet Alex as the show shifts from post-apocalypse survival to all-out sci-fi. Most of that will be explored in the third season though. Link's group infiltrates the bunker which in turn is being evacuated due to a reactor meltdown. Sinatra stays behind, sinking with her ship, and I suppose she's paying for her mistakes.

I wondered what this show would do with a second season, and the answer is a genre shift. The third season appears poised to shift yet again as it's hinted the show will explore alternate or parallel dimensions. Xavier Collins might be the predicted hero, but Link is likely to play a pivotal role. I'm in. I thought the first season was okay, but at its core it was a murder mystery distinguished only by the setting. This season manages to deliver engaging characters, even if they are little more than cameos. There's apparently much more to come.

Dust Bunny Movie Review

ward@fridaysonthefly.com (Ward) — Mon, 8 Jun 2026 02:00:00 -0400

Dust Bunny (2025)

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Written by: Bryan Fuller
Directed by: Bryan Fuller
Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Sophie Sloan, Sheila Atim, David Dastmalchian, Sigourney Weaver
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer

Plot
An orphaned eight-year-old hires her hit man neighbor to protect her from the monster under her bed.

Verdict
This wants to be stylish and cool, but it doesn't quite get there. Initially it's the question of what's reality and imagination, but that's not enough. This keeps complicating the situation. Reality seems nearly as outrageous as imagination towards the end. The core relationshiop is engaging; a hit man saving a girl that needs help, it's very The Professional (1994). With this, we don't really know what they're fighting, and the conclusion is underwhelming.
Skip it.

Review
While Aurora (Sophie Sloan) is terrified of the dust bunny under her bed, we don't know if it's real or her imagination. Her parents dismiss her terror, but we see it acting sentient. Is Aurora in danger or is her imagination over active?

Mads Mikkelsen, Sophie Sloan play Resident 5B, Aurora

Unable to sleep, she sees her neighbor, Resident 5B (Mads Mikkelsen) leaving his apartment late at night. Intrigued, she follows him to Chinatown. He's attacked by a gang wearing a dragon costume, but she sees a man slaying a dragon. Aurora believes that he can slay the monster under her bed, drafting a contract and giving him all of her money.

Resident 5B wonders what she knows about him and what really happened in her apartment. He believes assassins killed her parents under the impression it was his residence. Now he feels responsible for her, agreeing to help. Resident 5B's handler Laverne (Sigourney Weaver) advises him to eliminate the child since she's a witness to his deeds. I wasn't sure where reality and imagination begin and end. We've seen this monster under her bed, but that could just as well be her imagination running wild. We never see her parents die. It's plausible they were killed by a hit man. Resident 5B certainly thinks that's what happened. He doesn't believe her story that touching the floor will summon a monster.

Mads Mikkelsen, Sigourney Weaver play Resident 5B, Laverne

That's the point where we discover that not only is a team of killers after Aurora, the FBI is also monitoring her. That's in addition to her assassin neighbor and the monster under her bed. This movie is trying to do too much. It's this fantastical world that's a little too vague. We get the attempt at unique characters, bu they don't have a goal. Survive doesn't cut it.

The bunny is real, and it defeats the FBI and assassins. Resident 5B goes head to head against it. The ending is just that. It's not much more than the movie just cutting off. What was this monster? Why? We'll never know. It's not much more than a macguffin, and I hoped for some kind of answer or explanation.

Blade Movie Review

ward@fridaysonthefly.com (Ward) — Sun, 7 Jun 2026 02:00:00 -0400

Blade (1998)

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Written by: David S. Goyer
Directed by: Stephen Norrington
Starring: Wesley Snipes, Stephen Dorff, Kris Kristofferson, Donal Logue, Udo Kier, N'Bushe Wright
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
A half-vampire, half-mortal man protects the human race while slaying vampires.

Verdict
It's a neat idea that really wants to be cool, and sometimes succeeds, but it's overcome with so many tropes. It's better than a b-movie, but it seems like mostly an excuse for Snipes to look menacing as he kills vampires. While he's a vampire hunter, the twist is that he is both human and vampire. That's the crux of the plot as the villain lacks any development which is detrimental to the story.
Skip it.

Review
The opening feels very 90s with a woman taking a man to a dance club that's actually full of vampires. By the time the guy realizes he's surrounded, it's too late for him. That's when Blade (Wesley Snipes) shows up. He's a modern day vampire hunter with plenty of tools and toys to kill vampires.

Blade saves a woman, Karen (N'Bushe Wright), that's been bitten that both he and his partner Whistler (Kris Kristofferson) don't think will make it. Why? It seems the reason is just to pad the plot. Blade doesn't seem like the sentimental type. Lucky for him, she's a hematologist. That's some movie magic serendipity as Blade consumes blood to control his urges.

Wesley Snipes plays Blade

Blade didn't tell anyone, not even Whistler, that he used her as a lure. That's convenient on two fronts. It creates a twist for the audience and it works. She's attacked and Blade tracks the assailant back to Deacon Frost (Stephen Dorff), the big bad of the movie. Frost has obtained all the pages of the vampire bible, who knew that was even a thing, and he has a grandiose plan that's as of yet undisclosed.

Blade is this cool hero with a dark vibe and plenty of vampire killing toys. He even drives a cool car. What's not to like? He has one foot in both camps with both vampire and human powers, yet neither can accept him. That provides a nice bit of depth to the one liner spouting character, not that movie takes advantage of that.

Wesley Snipes plays Blade

Frost wants to take over the world or some such. It's typical villain grand plan fare. As another vampire points out earlier, vampires prefer to stay under the radar. Frost wants to take his rightful place at the top of the food chain. Of course Frost needs Blade for this plan, so he captures Karen and kills Whistler. Blade's not going to let that go, so he prepares for the gauntlet of the final battle. What robs this of tension is that I never thought Blade would fail. He's just too cool, and the story falls into familiar tropes.

Karen does develop a cure, but the catch is that Blade will lose his powers. He can't do that, he's got more vampires to kill.

Title Card

Who Framed Roger Rabbit Movie Review

ward@fridaysonthefly.com (Ward) — Sat, 6 Jun 2026 02:00:00 -0400

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

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Written by: Jeffrey Price & Peter S. Seaman (screenplay by), Gary K. Wolf (based on the book: "Who Censored Roger Rabbit?" by)
Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
Starring: Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Charles Fleischer, Stubby Kaye, Joanna Cassidy
Rated: PG
Watch the trailer

Plot
In 1947 Hollywood, a cartoon rabbit accused of murder enlists the help of a burnt out private investigator to prove his innocence.

Verdict
It's a surprisingly good movie that pushes the boundaries of what film can do. While the mash up of film noir and animation is certainly unique, still to this day, that's aided by a sharp script and the brilliant casting of Hoskins. He plays the straight man to the rabbit's comic relief. From the first scene where it's clear this isn't a typical cartoon to the conclusion, this does a great job of leveraging both genres to great effect. It balances silly and serious in an engrossing mystery unfolding in a fascinating world.
Watch It.

Review
This is only inspired by the book. While the characters are the same, the plot is significantly different, and only two lines of dialog made it into the movie from the book. The movie isn't the first to combine animation and live action, but it is the first where the two mediums interacted.

It's probably been thirty years since I've seen this, certainly long enough to forget most of it. This is a world where toons are not just sentient, they live along with humans. The first scene is a cartoon short with this cute baby, Herman, narrowly avoiding trouble as the buffonish Roger Rabbit tries to protect Herman. Then the director yells cut, and we get our first glimpse of this world. The 'baby' breaks character and is revealed to be a middle aged, cigar smoking, cartoon actor that only looks like a baby.

Bob Hoskins plays Eddie Valiant

This is animation meets film noir. It's the interaction between a reality we know and this cartoon world that defies physics. Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) barely makes ends meet as a private investigator. He hates toons as one killed his brother. He's hired by the studio to see if Roger's wife is having an affair with Marvin Acme. Eddie assumed she was a rabbit. She's nothing like he expected. He may not like toons, but he can't keep from staring at her. Eddie witnesses Acme and Jessica "playing patty-cake," and that upsets Roger.

Bob Hoskins plays, Charles Fleischer voices Eddie Valiant, Roger Rabbit

When Acme turns up dead, Roger is the likely suspect, but Eddie gets a tip that there may be a more sinister reason to kill Acme that's more than jealousy. Roger runs to Eddie, hoping for help. Eddie and his brother used to be top investigators for toons, but Roger hadn't heard about Eddie's brother. Roger is pursued by Judge Doom (Christopher Lloyd) and his Toon Patrol. He's a nefarious character that's found a way to erase the otherwise impervious toons. While this is a cartoon, it's not exactly for kids, twisting two genres into a great mash up. Cartoons provide a boost for the detective genre while the mystery matures the animation. It works surprisingly well, though it's aided by a solid script. Doom finds Roger and nearly erases him before Eddie intervenes.

Kathleen Turner voices, Bob Hoskins plays Jessica Rabbit, Eddie Valiant

When the studio head is killed, Eddie reluctantly enters toon town, thinking Jessica killed him to protect Roger. Eddie blames toons as a whole for his brother, and he has to face that down. It's obvious Judge Doom is at the heart of this. He's undeniably the villain. Doom reveals his plan to completely erase Toontown and build a highway. The only people standing in his way are Eddie, Roger, and Jessica. In an ominous prediction, it was said the Toon Squad would die laughing. That's exactly what Eddie tries to make happen to save the cartoon couple.

This concludes with Eddie and Judge Doom facing off with Eddie having to resort to cartoon gags in fighting for his life. No other mashup would provide Eddie such a colorful partner. As Roger states, he has to do the funniest thing in a given moment and that doesn't always work out for the best.

There's so many things this does well. Most detectives in the genre have a vice. While that's true, Eddie also has a vendetta against toons. That makes his pairing with Roger all the more difficult. Roger is never less than a character.The technical achievement of a human and cartoon interacting is still impressive. There's a reason we haven't seen many examples. It's a lot of effort, and this movie used a lot of practical effects to achieve it. The result is a world unlike any other.

Clueless Movie Review

ward@fridaysonthefly.com (Ward) — Fri, 5 Jun 2026 02:00:00 -0400

Clueless (1995)

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Written by: Amy Heckerling
Directed by: Amy Heckerling
Starring: Alicia Silverstone, Stacey Dash, Brittany Murphy, Paul Rudd, Donald Faison, Jeremy Sisto, Dan Hedaya, Wallace Shawn
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer

Plot
Shallow, rich, and socially successful Cher decides to make an unselfish contribution to society, first coaxing two teachers into dating each other and next educating a transfer student.

Verdict
It's deceptively clever. Just as valley girl Cher is dismissed for her valley speak and interest in fashion, it's easy to dismiss this movie for the same reasons, but there is more depth to both her and the movie. The core of the movie focuses on taking your gifts and using them to better the world around you. It's a relatable story dressed up as a parody of Hollywood rich kids, and it's infinitely quotable.
It depends.

Review
This is based loosely on Jane Austen's 1815 novel Emma.

Valley girl Cher (Alicia Silverstone) is rich and privileged. She wants for nothing with her father buying her anything she could possible want. Her step-brother Josh (Paul Rudd) comes in from college, making fun of her lack of direction and not contributing anything to the world. She ribs him for his interest in bad music and current global events. While step-siblings, it's clear they have an amiable relationshiop.

Alicia Silverstone plays Cher

Josh's comments weigh on her, and Cher considers how she can contribute. Her first endeavor is to play match maker to pair off two teacher and make them happier. That also helps Cher and her classmates boost their grades. Cher is more shrewd than she appears, managing to talk her other teachers into boosting her grades. Her lawyer father is impressed and proud. For her next project she decides to transform a transfer student.

This is a movie that didn't capture speech and style at the time, it invented it. Now it's considered a time capsule, but that just isn't the case.

Cher and Dionne (Stacey Dash) guide new student Tai (Brittany Murphy), giving her fashion advice and direction. Cher attempts to set her up with Elton (Jeremy Sisto), but it's clear he's only interested in Cher. She doesn't realize it, though she does develop an interest in Christian. She realizes after everyone else that he doesn't have an interest in her. Cher's guidance of Tai works almost too well. Cher becomes jealous. When Tai confesses an interest in Josh, Cher doesn't like that at all. She claims they're not right for each other, but she soon realizes that Josh was always there for her. The objection to Josh and Tai isn't compatibility, that's also jealousy.

Alicia Silverstone, Brittany Murphy, Stacey Dash play Cher, Tai, Dionne

The valley girl speak makes you discount Cher, but she's smart, perceptive, and determined. She usually manages to get what she wants, and she's only clueless in her love life. She didn't realize Elton liked her, Christian was disinterested, and that she had feelings for Josh.

This is better than I expected due to the depth of the story. This could fall into the cliches of shallow valley girl or a coming of age story. Instead this is a teen who realizes she has power and wants to do something ambitious and helpful with it in only the way that a high school girl can.

Untamed Heart Movie Review

ward@fridaysonthefly.com (Ward) — Thu, 4 Jun 2026 02:00:00 -0400

Untamed Heart (1993)

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Written by: Tom Sierchio
Directed by: Tony Bill
Starring: Christian Slater, Marisa Tomei, Rosie Perez, Kyle Secor
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer

Plot
A waitress hardly notices a shy busboy who secretly loves her; until one night she's attacked and he comes to her rescue. From there a relationship sparks but one secret could mean disaster for these fated lovers.

Verdict
It's a romance that wants to be sweet, but it's plagued by uncomfortable, dated tropes and an over eagerness to heighten the emotional impact of the love story at the center. The movie itself leans towards cliché with the strange bus boy and bubbly waitress falling for each other. It doesn't hurt that the weird kid is quite handsome. This relies heavily on that odd pairing fantasy as some of his actions are disturbing, though the movie presents them as devotion. Part of what makes this memorable is how emotionally manipulative it is.
It depends.

Review
Caroline (Marisa Tomei) works at a diner when she's not in beauty school. Her boyfriend recently broke up with her, and she's unaware that busboy Adam (Christian Slater) has a crush on her. One day two customers from the diner approach her after work. They were a little too eager while she waited on them, and now it's uncomfortable and only gets worse. They try to intimidate her and she begins running away. They catch up to her, and it's distressing as we know where it's going.

That's when Adam steps in to save the day, right at the last minute of course. The movie really stretched out the assault. Caroline had never noticed him before, but now Adam is her savior. She falls for him, slowing learning about his past and his heart condition.

Marisa Tomei, Christian Slater play Caroline, Adam

It is strange that he followed her every night on her way home. While it's sweet in a way, it also approaches stalker territory. If you think that's bad, he later breaks into her house and puts a Christmas tree in her room. She likes the gesture, but that's some plot armor. We also learn he broke into her house to watch her sleep. That's creepy and criminal. While this wants to be this sweet love story, these actions make that difficult. If Caroline didn't find him cute, would she feel the same way?

Caroline brings Adam cookies on Christmas, and when she hears he's an orphan, she completely falls for him. The hurdle to their relationship is that he needs a heart transplant. Their romance is a tragedy in the making. The goal is to be a tearjerker, but there's not much to this movie past that. Even the development of the characters is shallow.

If Caroline didn't like him, she would find his actions more than objectionable. This could just as easily be a scary tale about a stalker. As it is, this ends in a way to maximize the emotional impact.

Death Becomes Her Movie Review

ward@fridaysonthefly.com (Ward) — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 02:00:00 -0400

Death Becomes Her (1992)

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Written by: Martin Donovan & David Koepp
Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
Starring: Meryl Streep, Bruce Willis, Goldie Hawn, Isabella Rossellini
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer

Plot
Two women vie for a man and the secret of eternal beauty.

Verdict
The CGI is impressive even today. That's the enduring legacy of this movie. The story presents an idea exploring the cost of beauty, but it's muddled in the comedy and drama of the plot. This is a movie that was able to take advantage of technology, which helps overcome an undeveloped narrative. Two women fight over an unremarkable man past the point of death. That's supposed to be the comedic part as death doesn't stop them.
Skip it.

Review
While I haven't seen this film until now, I distinctly remember the posters and marketing with Bruce Willis holding a candelabra with his arm through Goldie Hawn's torso. It was finally time to see what this is about. The CGI by Industrial Light and Magic was a huge leap forward, and they used techniques pioneered for this film in their next project, Jurassic Park (1993). This was adapted into a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical in 2024.

Helen (Goldie Hawn) brings her fiance Ernest (Bruce Willis) to meet her friend and rival, Broadway star Madelaine (Meryl Streep). Ernest is immediate smitten and Helen knows it. He breaks off the engagement then and there.

Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn, Bruce Willis play Madelaine, Helen, Ernest

Seven years later Helen has become despondent, no longer taking care of herself. She still holds a healthy grudge against Madelaine who married Ernest, but she has a revelation.

Seven more years pass. Madelaine and Ernest are invited to Helen's book release party. The pair don't seem to have a happy marriage. When Madelaine sees that Helen looks better than ever, she's shocked and upset. Madelaine is threatened by someone that can achieve the beauty she feels is slipping through her fingers, and she's desperate to maintain her youth, employing all the tips and tricks she can find. Seeing Helen sends her spinning. She hopes to find solace in her younger lover, but even he spurns her for being too old.

Goldie Hawn plays Helen

It's hinted that Helen is plotting revenge, though we don't know what initially. She wants to woo Ernest away from Madelaine. Meanwhile Madelaine seeks a cure from the bizarre Lisle now that she's desperate to regain her youth at any cost. Madelaine had dismissed her at first, but at this point anything goes. Lisle claims to be decades older than she appears, offering a potion she claims will stop aging. It's everything Madelaine wants. At this point, she's desperate enough to believe it.

The catch is that while it stops one from aging, it also stops death. Ernest snaps after Madelaine insults and demeans him yet again, and he pushes her down the stairs. She appears dead, yet despite the injuries she gets back up due to the potion. She's basically a living zombie. Since Ernest is a mortician, he spray paints her skin to provide a lively glow.

Goldie Hawn, Meryl Streep play Helen, Madelaine

Madelaine works in an industry that prizes age and beauty. As hers ebbs, she needs a fix. This potion provides that but of course it has a catch. Streep is always great. Willis hams it up. It's surprising to think he was in Die Hard (1988) just a few years earlier. Once both women are revealed as immortal, this is slapstick style comedy, though Helen with a hole through her torso is impressive CGI. It looks good even thirty years later.

Helen and Madelaine team up to entrap Ernest so that he will take care of them both. They need someone that can reconstruct their bodies as damage occurs. That faces more than a few hurdles. Ernest isn't interested in being their caretaker forever. The pair soon realize that they're tied to each other forever despite just recently having been enemies.

Title Card

Human Traffic Movie Review

ward@fridaysonthefly.com (Ward) — Tue, 2 Jun 2026 02:00:00 -0400

Human Traffic (1999)

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Written by: Justin Kerrigan
Directed by: Justin Kerrigan
Starring: John Simm, Lorraine Pilkington, Shaun Parkes, Danny Dyer, Nicola Reynolds
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
Five young adults embrace the 90s clubbing scene on a drug-fueled weekend of partying in Cardiff, Wales.

Verdict
It's a drug fueled adventure without any real plot, and with that it seems to capture the subject at hand well. The expectations and anticipation for the weekend and ensuing escape leads anxiety and paranoia as they recover. Whether that's interesting to the audience is another matter. I didn't care for it.
Skip it.

Review
It's energetic. A bunch of young adults are living for the weekend where they can escape monotonous jobs. This movie is a drug fueled weekend escape. They're young adults, and reality is beginning to crush their dreams, though it's not quite there yet. The characters are working dead end jobs, waiting for the weekend where they can embrace the club culture. This starts at the club and leads to a house party. From there, the group experiences the come down, anxiety and paranoia.

Frequent cutaways work well for the subject. This explores dead end jobs and the method of coping which is the joys of clubbing. While drugs have downsides, it provides a much desired escape. If I was in the club and drug scene, I might like this more. It feels like SLC Punk! (1998), where if you weren't part of the movement it's too esoteric.

The final scenes depict the group back with their families and parents, painting a slightly different portrait of the weekend's events.

Tommy Boy Movie Review

ward@fridaysonthefly.com (Ward) — Mon, 1 Jun 2026 02:00:00 -0400

Tommy Boy (1995)

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Written by: Bonnie Turner & Terry Turner
Directed by: Peter Segal
Starring: Chris Farley, David Spade, Brian Dennehy, Bo Derek, Dan Aykroyd, Rob Lowe
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer

Plot
After an auto-parts tycoon dies, his immature, underachieving son teams up with a snide accountant to try and save the family business.

Verdict
It's a silly movie and that's the point. Farley carries the movie, though he can only take the generic script so far. He's the oafish heir to a company and the unlikely savior. It's the barest of plots that only serves to set up Farley's comedic scenes, but only a couple of those are worth watching and they don't make up for the rest of the movie.
Skip it.

Review
Farley passed away in 1997 at only thirty-three. He got his start on Saturday Night Live (1975) in 1990.

This was one of those big 90s comedies that I just never happened to see despite hearing a lot about it. This opens with the hapless Tommy as a kid. Nothing goes his way. Then this skips to Tommy (Chris Farley) graduating college. It only took him seven years. He's getting a job in his father Big Tom's company despite no qualifications. That rankles Richard (David Spade), Big Tom's assistant.

Tommy's dad is getting married which means a step mom and brother for Tommy, but a series of events put Tommy and Richard pitching car parts in an attempt to save his father's company. Tommy's pitches fall flat, but he gets a maybe. In trying to close that deal, he breaks the objects on the client's desk and then sets them on fire to illustrate how good his brake pads are. As you might suspect the client declines.

Chris Farley, David Spade play Tommy, Richard

While Tommy and Richard don't get along, they are both bound by trying to save the company. The unknown hurdle they face is that Tommy's step-mom Beverly (Bo Derek) and step-brother Paul (Rob Lowe) are con artists. They're more of a couple than anyone first suspected.

The pair cross the country in Richard's pristine 1967 Plymouth. Of course the car gets more damaged with every passing scene. By the end of the movie, it doesn't even resemble a car.

Tommy finally gets a sale which means Beverly and Paul start sabotaging the company to force a sale. In a last ditch effort Tommy and Richard pose as flight attendants to get to Chicago and pitch to a big distributor. Tommy changing in the airplane bathroom is one of the funniest scenes.

While their last, big sales ploy fails, Tommy discovers Beverly and Paul's secrets. He has a big plan to out the con artists and save his father's company in one more attempt. Farley's physical comedy is the best part of the movie, but it's not enough to make this watchable.

Singles Movie Review

ward@fridaysonthefly.com (Ward) — Sun, 31 May 2026 02:00:00 -0400

Singles (1992)

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Written by: Cameron Crowe
Directed by: Cameron Crowe
Starring: Bridget Fonda, Campbell Scott, Kyra Sedgwick, Sheila Kelley, Jim True-Frost, Bill Pullman, Matt Dillon
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer

Plot
A group of young adults in their twenties, who share an apartment building in the city of Seattle, ponder on love and face all the challenges of adulthood.

Verdict
It's a movie that taps into a nostalgia for a life that never was. This depicts that time where you're not a child, but you don't believe you're an adult. Your entire life is ahead of you, and you worry you need to figure it out soon. The first step is getting an apartment with the movie focusing on relationships; the ups, downs, and finding someone that's right. Few of us lived a life like this, but we can identify with the feelings and desires of these characters. It's a life we'd like to have lived or one that many of us tell others we had; that imagining of this idyllic time period.
Watch It.

Review
The title is a reference to the sign at the apartment complex, "Singles" available. The characters are single and looking, they don't need a couples apartment.

This is a mood movie. It doesn't really have a plot, we're just following a group of twenty-somethings as they try to figure out life. All of them are looking for a partner. I don't know if that's intentional or just a sign of the times. Even until recently it seems the steps in life are go to college and then get married. These characters are following that same preordained path.

Campbell Scott, Kyra Sedgwick play Steve, Linda

Linda (Kyra Sedgwick) finally meets someone, a guy on a student Visa. She imagines the possibilities of a relationship before reality crushes those ideas. She sees him at a bar with another woman. Soon she meets Steve (Campbell Scott), and they do the dance of what you should do while not appearing over eager yet not disinterested.

Janet (Bridget Fonda) is twenty-three and realizes that bizarre will soon seem immature. She only has a couple of years before she's an adult. She's trying to be what musician Cliff (Matt Dillon) wants, but she can't see that he doesn't care. She thinks they're dating. He doesn't. Thankfully she comes to that realization before nearly taking a huge plunge.

Bridget Fonda, Matt Dillon play Janet, Cliff

These characters are on their own for the first time, on the cusp of a life that seems so big with so much potential. They're functioning adults, wading through that space between childhood and adulthood. As Crowe stated, this is his love letter to Seattle, with plenty of grunge music. It captures that moment in your twenties where you wonder about your future and finding the person with whom you'll spend the rest of your life. It's slightly realistic with a big dose of fantasy.

Steve and Linda agree to be friends, though he was too afraid to admit how he really felt. Later that night he relents and calls her, professing how much he cares. He tells her he'll never call her again, but he hopes she'll call back. Her machine eats the tape and she never hears it. We assume she would have reciprocated, but all he knows is that she rejected him.

This is a movie about nostalgia for the way things never were. In that regard, it reminds me of Can't Hardly Wait (1998), a movie about a huge high school party. Both movies imagine a past most of us wish we had.

Desperado Movie Review

ward@fridaysonthefly.com (Ward) — Sat, 30 May 2026 02:00:00 -0400

Desperado (1995)

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Written by: Robert Rodriguez
Directed by: Robert Rodriguez
Starring: Antonio Banderas, Joaquim de Almeida, Salma Hayek, Steve Buscemi, Cheech Marin, Quentin Tarantino
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
El Mariachi plunges headfirst into the dark border underworld when he follows a trail of blood to the last of the infamous Mexican drug lords, Bucho.

Verdict
This feels like a tall tale, the feats of El Mariachi. It's easy to root for a man avenging the death of his lover while eliminating bad guys. The fact that Mariachi survives any of these fights stretches credibility. Nearly every shot fired misses him. He's bullet proof. Maybe that's part of the legend. The guy with knives does the most damage surprisingly. All of these feats lead to Mariachi meeting the man that wronged him.
It depends.

Review
This is the second of Rodriguez's Mexico trilogy, following El Mariachi (1992) and completed with Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003). This was Hayek's breakout Hollywood film.

Opening with an out of place stranger (Steve Buscemi), he enters a bar and tells a tale of El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas) shooting up a bar looking for information. This stranger ends up being Mariachi's friend, helping him search for drug dealer Bucho. Mariachi returns to the same bar. They're afraid of him, preferring to shoot over talking.

Antonio Banderas plays El Mariachi

Mariachi is a man bent on revenge, no matter the cost. He's after a malicious drug dealer, Bucho, who is growing concerned about this vigilante. The whole town works for the guy, even the bookstore owner Carolina (Salma Hayek) that helps Mariachi.

The movie is over the top and exaggerated. The assassin with throwing knives does more damage than any of the goons with guns. It's amazing that Mariachi survives. These guys couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. It's makes for a fun tale, but this takes on legendary story status with Mariachi's fantastical feats. Bucho sets Carolina's store on fire, with she and Mariachi barely escaping. Mariachi lines up a shot on Bucho, but hesitates. He's upset, and we're left to wonder why.

Salma Hayek Antonio Banderas play Carolina, El Mariachi

Bucho begins killing his own men out of frustration, just in case we didn't realize how evil he is. It works for the story, his treachery matching Mariachi's feats. He's the bulletproof bandit. The amount of misses and then the specific shots that maim but don't kill him stretch believably. The henchmen miss shots directly in front of them.

We finally get an answer as to why Mariachi didn't take the shot when he had it. He realized who Bucho was but also that Bucho would never stop hunting him. Mariachi confronts Bucho, wondering if he could be reasoned with. In the end Mariachi and Carolina ride off into the sunset.

SPOILERS

Bad Boys Movie Review

ward@fridaysonthefly.com (Ward) — Fri, 29 May 2026 02:00:00 -0400

Bad Boys (1995)

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Written by: George Gallo (story), Michael Barrie & Jim Mulholland and Doug Richardson (screenplay)
Directed by: Michael Bay
Starring: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Téa Leoni, Joe Pantoliano, Marg Helgenberger, Tchéky Karyo, Theresa Randle
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
Two hip detectives protect a witness to a murder while investigating a case of stolen heroin from the evidence storage room from their police precinct.

Verdict
It's a movie with a lot of potential due to the stars and their chemistry, but it lacks any substance whatsoever. It's a lot of action, most of it muddled due to frequent close ups, punctuated by Smith and Lawrence performing basically improv comedy as they impersonate cops. Much of this movie is guided by attempting to be cool. This movie makes many attempts from action to comedy to story but nets few successes.
Skip it.

Review
The movie was originally written for Dana Carvey and Jon Lovitz. I have to imagine this version is better than that. While it was Bay's debut feature film, he didn't like the script and asked Smith and Lawrence to improvise many of their scenes. This spawned a franchise; as of 2024 Bad Boys consists of four movies.

What kind of cop drives a brand new Porsche? Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) is a cop despite a sizable trust fund. That provides the setup for several jokes as Mike gets to be the playboy living a lavish lifestyle, contrasting with his partner Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) who's a middle class family man. The pair gets car jacked, continuing their argument which distracts and allows them to thwart the would be robbers.

Will Smith, Martin Lawrence play Mike Lowrey, Marcus Burnett

A drug robbery of police evidence creates a tense situation that only gets worse when one of Mike's informants is killed searching for information on the robbery. Her roommate Julie (Téa Leoni) saw the murder but managed to escape. For a reason that can only be to pad the story and run time, Julie calls Mike at the station and the captain pushes Marcus to impersonate Mike. That sets up many jokes that grow tired much sooner than they end. The two switch lives to keep Julie safe.

Mike and Marcus have to put the pieces together to figure out what's going on. They argue like an old married couple which is a lot of improvisation. I rarely have a problem with crude language, but with this it's used as a frequent filler due to boring dialog. It's mostly them insulting each other. That lends to the humor that punctuates the action. Unfortunately so much of the action is filmed in close up that we never get a good sense of what's happening. That helps conceal the switch to stunt people, and increase the intensity, but it also makes the scenes disorienting. Closeups infer action without connecting sequences logically.

Téa Leoni, Will Smith, Martin Lawrence play Julie, Mike Lowrey, Marcus Burnett

This really is a movie with characters playing at being cops. It would at least be more accurate if they were private investigators or hired security. At no point do they seem like cops or adhere to any of the constraints imposed upon police. Despite the potential of the actors, the story really is the downfall. This hoped to coast on name recognition, and it did just that at the box office.

The Rock Movie Review

ward@fridaysonthefly.com (Ward) — Thu, 28 May 2026 02:00:00 -0400

The Rock (1996)

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Written by: David Weisberg & Douglas Cook (story), David Weisberg & Douglas Cook and Mark Rosner (screenplay)
Directed by: Michael Bay
Starring: Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage, Ed Harris, David Morse, William Forsythe, Michael Biehn, Tony Todd
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
When a vengeful general seizes control of Alcatraz Island and threatens to launch poison gas missiles, an FBI chemical weapons expert and a SAS soldier turned political prisoner join forces to stop him and avoid catastrophic results.

Verdict
It's a thrill ride roller coaster from nearly the beginning. While this has flaws, they're nothing the movie even considers addressing. It's a pure action move and it excels at that. Dialog just gets in the way of gun fights, car chases, explosions, and saving the world. It's ridiculous on almost every front as intended. This is action first, and everything else second. Connery and Cage acting against each other is comedic in of itself due to their acting styles. While many aspects of this movie are contrived, this movie excels at making that work.
Watch It.

Review
This was Bay's follow up to his debut Bad Boys (1995).

General Hummel (Ed Harris) infiltrates a military based and steals biological weapons. Just to show us how dangerous they are, one of his group drops a weapon. The others lock him in the room to avoid contamination as he dies within minutes. This is intense from the start. Hummel intends to right an injustice using the stolen weapons and taking over Alcatraz Prison, aka "The Rock."

Ed Harris plays General Hummel

We're introduced to chemical weapons expert Stanley Goodspeed (Nicolas Cage) as he battles a dual chemical weapon and incendiary bomb. He manages to defuse the bomb with mere seconds to go. It's just another day in the office. Goodspeed is recruited to stop Hummel and thwart the weapons, though initially he assumes it's a training exercise. He's paired with former MI6 Captain John Mason (Sean Connery), the only person to escape from Alcatraz. Mason has been locked up for thirty year with no trial. No one but the government even knew where he was.

Sean Connery plays John Mason

Mason finagles a deal to get a hotel room and enjoy freedom briefly before the start of his mission. He escapes within minutes which leads to a car chase. He's in a Humvee with Goodspeed pursuing him in a Ferrari F355. It's unlikely, but it's a fun chase. How is it possible that so many cars explode when struck? It's part of the Michael Bay effect. Then there's the comedy of Mason in a high speed pursuit while on the phone. Goodspeed switches to a dirt bike to continue the chase while inexplicably also using his cell phone. The movie is ridiculous, but that's what makes it fun. Like how Alcatraz has some device with a giant spinning wheel and flames, and its only purpose is to make their entrance more daring. There's no way such a thing would exist in reality.

This is a collection of action sequences that on occasion features dialog. Cage tends to over-act while Connery is under-stated. They don't seem like they're even in the same movie. It certainly features a variety of action from stunts to gun fights to car chases. Despite an entire squad sneaking into Alcatraz, ultimately only Goodspeed and Mason are left. Mason plans to leave until he's told the true nature of the threat. He must save his daughter that lives in nearby San Francisco. I knew there was a reason we had a scene with him tracking his daughter down earlier.

Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage play John Mason, Stanley Goodspeed

Together Goodspeed and Mason must thwart Hummel's group and disarm the biological weapons to save the city. Mason surrenders to provide Goodspeed time to get the last bomb, and ends up saving him after the fact. Despite Goodspeed disarming the bombs in the nick of time, the government had already launched a secondary attack that nearly blows them both up. Hummel gets a moment of redemption when he reveals he was never going to launch the weapons. It was a bluff for the soldiers that died under his command to get the recognition they deserved.

This movie has one goal, to entertain. It does that. Though it helps not to delve too far into the logic. This movie serves under the rule of cool.

The Real Ghostbusters Series Review

ward@fridaysonthefly.com (Ward) — Wed, 27 May 2026 02:00:00 -0400

The Real Ghostbusters (1986-1991)

Season 1 - 13 episodes (1986)
Season 2 - 65 episodes (1987)
Season 3 - 13 episodes (1987)
Season 4 - 8 episodes (1988)
Season 5 - 21 episodes (1989)
Season 6 - 16 episodes (1990)
Season 7 - 4 episodes (1991)
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Based on: Ghostbusters (1984) by Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis
Developed by: Joe Medjuck, Michael C. Gross
Starring: Lorenzo Music, Maurice LaMarche, Frank Welker, Arsenio Hall, Dave Coulier
Rated: TV-Y7

Plot
An animated series sequel to Ghostbusters (1984), this continues the adventures of the staff of the ghost removal service, Peter, Ray, Egon, and Winston.

Verdict
I loved this show as a kid. It's easy to see why as an adult. This doesn't dumb things down as much as typical cartoons from the era, and at least the first two seasons had some real scares and stakes as it explored popular myths and legends. While it's a bit shallow in appealing to adults, it's a really good kids cartoon. The first two seasons are easily the best, after that the show makes an effort to simplify stories to be more kid friendly and make Slimer prominent and more kid friendly. It helps to be a fan of the franchise or have watched this as a kid.
It depends.

Review
"The Real" was added to the title after a dispute with Filmation and its live action Ghost Busters (1975) show. I watched this in syndication long ago, and I was surprised at how many episodes I remembered.

In each episode the Ghostbusters use their technical know-how to capture ghosts and spirits that are terrorizing the city. Their foes even include demons and creatures from alternate dimensions. Many episodes reference lore, legends, or even pop culture. While the tone is mostly light and comedic, the first two seasons specifically explore darker themes on occasion. Every crisis resolves within the same episode, following the pattern of discovering a monster and then capturing it. For a cartoon, the soundtrack is pretty good, though repetitive.

S1E2-Killerwatt: Ray Stantz, Egon Spengler, Peter Venkman, Slimer, Winston Zeddmore

Season 1
The first episode re-establishes the characters, making them a bit more unique and providing them with discernible characteristics as an aid to the cartoon and toys. Slimer is also a sidekick or pet.

The first season tackles several popular mythical beings. In episode six, Egon has to confront his fear of the Boogieman. The season also includes Samhain, a being seeking eternal night, and Sandman. Along with the Boogieman, these are the villains I remember best. There's also a genie, Scrooge, trolls, and poltergeists among others.

S1E6-The Boogieman Cometh: Boogieman

In episode ten the Ghostbusters go to Hollywood to consult on a movie about themselves. There's a joke about Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramos.

Episode eleven bridges the gap between the movie and cartoon, revealing how Slimer became their pet.

There's a fair does of nostalgia watching this, but it is better than a lot, likely most, of the cartoons from that era.

S1E11-Citizen Ghost: Egon, Ray, and Peter's ghostly doubles

Season 2
This show is smarter than it needed to be and that pays dividends. Episode four makes a joke about cartoons made to sell toys. There's more variety than many contemporary cartoons as every episode features a different foe. While the formula an be repetitive, the variety of ghosts and spirits and the related method of capturing them keeps this from being too monotonous.

Several episodes expand on the character's lives showing uncles, aunts, and family.

While nostalgia is part of what propelled me to keep watching, this is really good for a kid's show. There's also plenty of pop culture references, though it's a little shallow if you would compare it to modern dramas, which isn't this show's competition.

This season includes, among other plot lines, a blues player, pirates, psychics, a Native American legend, plenty of family, demons, myths, gremlins, vampires, Cthulhu, and the Eiffel tower.

Episode forty-seven features a gunfight at the O.K. Corral, the frequent closeups are clearly an homage to western movies. Episode fifty-six introduced Phillip Spade as a reference to The Maltese Falcon.

Season 3
Dave Coulier replaced Lorenzo Music as the voice for Peter Venkman starting with season 3. Janine's voice actor was also replaced and the character's appearance and disposition was revised due to focus groups and executive demands.

S3E7-Halloween II 1/2: Egon, Peter, Ecto-1

The Boogieman comes back in episode three to haunt Egon. Overall, this season is toned down. Slimer features more prominently, and the story lines seemed toned down to be more kid friendly.

Episode two features an alternate dimensions where ghosts hunt people. Unfortunately Peter, Ray, and Egon end up in this world and struggle to avoid "peoplebusters."

S4E2-Flip Side: Ray, Egon, and Peoplebusters

There's a were-chicken, the ghostbusters are shrunken in size, and the guys explore the Land of Lost Objects.

Season 4 Title Card

Season 4
The show was renamed to Slimer! and the Real Ghostbusters with Slimer! episodes airing in tandem.

Continuing the third season's more kid friendly episodes, the Ghostbuster get kicked out of the firehouse, Sherlock Holmes appears, Slimer wins the lottery, Egon transforms into a baby, and Peter becomes a super hero.

Season 5
Beginning with season three, the show became less interesting. The story lines are simplified, clearly geared to be more kid friendly. I get it. While later seasons remain appealing, mostly for the nostalgia, it's clear the first two seasons are the best.

Louis Tully makes his first appearance this season, featured in several episodes.

Season five started becoming a chore to watch. Episodes became more shallow, frequently featuring children. With so few episodes left, it wasn't difficult to the through the series.

Season 6
The first episode focuses on how Janine has changed. It's a nod to changes in the show, though it did take characters two seasons to realize it.

Episode twelve has a ghostly family that has to be a Simpsons riff taking over the firehouse. That exemplifies my problem with the show. It less interested in mythos. The Simpsons has no connection to the paranormal. It seems like a pop-culture reference in an attempt to stay relevant.

S6E2-You Can't Teach an Old Demon New Tricks:
Peter Venkman, Winston Zeddmore, Egon Spengler, Ray Stantz

Season 7
The final season is more of the same. I kept wishing the show could recapture the first two seasons, but unfortunately that was never the intent. The studio wanted a series more palatable to children. Even watching this show as a kid, I liked the darker episodes of the first two seasons.

This was a fun nostalgia trip, and I was surprised at how many episodes I remember. I may very well have seen all the episodes. The first two seasons are easily the best. It's still clearly a kids show, but the story lines offer more depth and intrigue while later seasons focus on Slimer and less complex stories. Even then, I'm not sure this would hold my interest if it wasn't for the nostalgia. That certainly helps.