Dallas Fisher

    Author: Dallas Fisher

    • The Thursday Murder Club

      Chris Columbus has finally made his way back across the pond to direct a film, does it have the same magic as before?

      The Thursday Murder Club is a crossover of true crime and British comedy that fans of each should find something to latch on to. With a stacked cast of Helen Mirren, Ben Kingsley, and Pierce Brosnan there’s a lot of grand personalities to enjoy. There’s a whimsical nature to this cast that makes this a lot of fun. The never aging Kingsley is a delight plus Mirren and Brosnan are just playing themselves, which is all you need from them at this stage in their careers. Celia Imrie is the bright eyed newcomer to the club and Naomi Ackie is the helpful rookie cop, together these five make for a great team of “professional” and “retired” detectives. It cleverly uses its characters to misdirect and keep up the intrigue.

      Having a murder club set in a retirement home was such a fun idea, that it’s pretty much Hogwarts for old people. Set in a beautiful castle, this set defines what type of story this is going to be. The story and its characters are so polite that it almost doesn’t feel like a murder mystery. It was a pleasure to see characters in this realm still find joy in something and not get complacent with where they are, it gives me hope for my future. There’s a lot of fight in the outcome, evidence to joyfully unfold, and refusement in abundance that adds amusement to the conflict.

      The story does become convoluted and could have benefited from being a quicker film. I get wanting screentime for everyone, but a lot of that screentime is wasted on painfully added circumstantial ploys. The seriousness was overdone and worked better when played like an ukulele instead of a bass. Also, like Alzheimer’s, this tells similar beats multiple times just in different ways. Chris Columbus still knows how to direct a funny and entertaining story, but it is missing a stand out role or a more fantastical story.

      It can’t be denied that this cast is quite possibly the best ensemble on the year. They make me wish I knew more of the work indiviually. This solves the problem on how to get reasonable chemsitry out of your cast but doesn’t add too much to the thriller genre. This is bloody decent while also not being fully original with its murder plot.

      This falls somewhere between Murder Mystery and Knives Out when compared to other Netflix whodunits.

      6.1/10 

    • Cinema Catch-Up Corner August 2025

      Freaky Tales

      Uhhhh where did this movie come from? It has elements of everything I love,including the cameo of the year and it’s somehow the best Pedro Pascal performance of the year. Great comedy, action, 80’s nostalgia, and just all around an awesome time.

      8.8/10

      Happy Gilmore 2

      When everything is a joke, nothing is funny. Adam Sandler is playing himself, there’s pointless self referencing cameos, the real golfers are horrible actors, and the awful writing choices all add up to a slap in the face to the original movie and its fans. About as stupid as you can get.

      1.6/10

      Sorry, Baby

      Handles a very tough subject with humility, hilarity, and grace.
      this is basically eva victor’s first acting gig and she directed it??? Shout-out Lucas Hedges and John Carroll Lynch too.

      8.2/10

      Cleaner

      Why does Daisy Ridley always get the least amount to do in the movies she stars in? This Die Hard ripoff is a wee bit over complicated and brandishes its lack of understanding of what audiences want out of an action film.

      3.2/10

      Relay

      This has all the elements of a great cat and mouse thriller, but it’s missing a lot of the execution. All three acts could be seen as sloppy and it struggles to keep your attention after the set up fails. Riz Ahmed and Lily James are great individually but never come together for anything meaningful.

      5.4/10

      Bob Trevino Likes It

      Everyone with a heart will be able to feel the warm hug that this movie is. I was an emotional wreck after watching this coming-of-age drama that plays out like a poem.
      I have a feeling we will be seeing a lot more of Barbie Ferreira soon.

      7.6/10

      Together

      A modern body horror that adds some greatness to the history of the subgenre. Franco and Brie have amazing chemistry even if I think Dave is better in non serious roles. The bathroom scene is an all time great but the final shot is abysmal.

      7.4/10

      The Naked Gun

      The dumbest movie I have watched in years, but don’t read that as a negative. Liam Neeson fits this role perfectly. there are So many visual and spoken gags that I probably missed out on a dozen laughs. I get it’s a spoof but the only negative is that it was still a little too copycat.

      7.4/10

    • Interview with Bing from The Friend

    • Honey Don’t!

      For some reason The Coen Brothers are still split up, so here’s another attempt for Ethan with Honey Don’t!

      I’ve got to get the most important part of this movie out of the way first. HOLY $!&# is this movie sexual. I just watched Basic Instinct hours before seeing this and I never thought I would see something comparable again, especially from some of the people involved. If it works or not is besides the point, because it sort of comes out of nowhere. Well, maybe not if you watched Ethan’s last film in Drive Away Dolls. He’s really turned down a different path and has chosen to tell stories about a certain demographic and basically created a Basic Instinct for lesbians.

      Let’s start with the characters. Like most aspects of this movie, not everything is consistent. Whether it’s Aubrey Plaza barely being in the movie and then giving one of the worst over acting performances of the year to end it, or Charlie Day playing Charlie from Always Sunny for the entire film (he starts to work towards the end). At least we have the persistence of Margaret Qualley. Her wardrobe is on point, her acting is solid, and she means business. I don’t think we had really seen a woman in a PI role before so it was a very welcome switch up, where her writing was the most on target. How can I not mention Chris Evans as a sexual deviant and priest cult leader? He didn’t take a step back from freaky roles after playing Captain America, and I’m totally here for it, even if this role doesn’t fully flesh out in the most satisfying of ways.

      The Coens are usually pretty great at creating a story and atmosphere for their movies, Ethan is halfway there. The opening title sequence from him is brutally unwatchable and honestly felt like something from a first year film student. Even having two scenes before that title sequence felt the least useful. I don’t think the writing has been as smart as they think it is since the split either. The story was overstuffed with interweaving plots that almost never connect. At points things just happen where the hints were either never given or so hidden that it felt like I was being laughed at for missing them.

      This is a raunchy movie that is actually quite funny, and most of the time it’s not even the four or five main players making you laugh. I enjoyed the gratuitous violence and the sexual nature of a detective film, but the puzzle with no edges, harsh ending, and wavering acting outweighed my enjoyment of the characters and humor unfortunately.

      I really wish the Coens would get back together. We miss you.

      5.5/10 

    • The Map That Leads to You

      A streaming movie, actors and a director I’ve never heard of, plus a genre that typically isn’t my speed. This combination would usually add up to something I wouldn’t be a fan of, but I went in with an open mind and left pleasantly surprised.

      The Map That Leads to You is an adaptation of the book with the same name. Following Heather (Madelyn Cline) on a European vacation with her friends, that eventually turns into a pretty heavy romantic drama. I knew nothing about this story going in, so for it to start off as a vacation movie was actually quite a delight. I just got back from a Eurotrip myself and I don’t want to say it affected my admiration for the setting, but it definitely helped. The views are gorgeous in this movie, and I’m not just talking about the scenery. The first act of this is a lot of fun, watching our characters trek across a gorgeous continent and search for something more than they planned for.

      Now, I have no idea who KJ Apa (playing Jack, the love interest) was going into this, but he was a hunk of an actor so I understand what all the hoopla is about now. His character’s ambition for different was relatable and really spoke to something more than what a typical romcom guy was going for. Jack and Heather’s newly developed relationship felt natural to me but understandably unnatural to the world as a whole. The chemistry wasn’t forced and somehow I wasn’t grossed out by their love-dovey romance. It was taken a lot more seriously than I was expecting, with Madelyn Cline bringing a responsible energy to her role. Cline has the path in front of her to become a star in the Rom-Com world, or even just the Rom.

      This movie is humorous to a fault. I laughed 50% more than I have at most other comedy films this year and even quite liked the range of most involved on screen. While a lot of the actors’ on screen chemistry is what made me laugh, some of the jokes and written situations were a little too strange. Some scenes felt very out of place which I kind of understood when it’s already too short of a short movie. The acting is way above par and I cannot believe how adult this felt, it pushed that PG-13 rating to the limit and surprised me a lot for a rom-com streaming film. It becomes a lot more serious with its drama towards the end, which worked and didn’t work. I know it’s based on a book but there’s some pivotal situations that I wished would have been handled differently to offset the confusing romantic stakes.

      A Gen Z, type A vs type B, romantic dramedy movie that has a lot of heart. The direction of Lasse Hallstrom shouldn’t have shocked me as much as it did, but he made a solid film for the new generations with some young stars.

      6.9/10

    • Night Always Comes

      First things first, I’ll never relate to anything more than what Vanessa Kirby chooses to go through to protect Zach Gottsagen. He deserves peace and the world.

      After (what I thought was one of the better thrillers of 2023) Sharper, director Benjamin Caron is back with Night Always Comes. A thriller with a fitting name with even deeper meaning. Caron brings the anxiety in a way that I haven’t felt since Uncut Gems, and Vanessa Kirby is the perfect continuous vehicle to feel it through. Her on screen presence is always a welcome one and her acting at the core is certainly meant for roles like this.

      Getting to know the relationships of these characters was super important for this to work and it certainly does its job. Hitting a little too close to home for some, this movie starts off with a pretty pivotal situation that sets the whole story into motion. It immediately brought anger into my movie watching heart and hooked me into the seedy nature of the surrounding characters. It’s kind of scary how good the actors in this movie were at playing dirtbag characters. Not only was Jennifer Jason-Leigh perfect for this role, I think it’s the type of character she will inevitably fall back into for the rest of her career.

      Night Always Comes slowly slips into more and more sinister situations as the night goes on. There is a lot of risk at the characters hands, but in the end it mostly feels worth it. A ticking clock in the back of your head serves as a reminder of what is at stake and pulls this along swiftly.. The underground Portland vibes are a really nice touch to a film that doesn’t have a whole lot going on, even though it is a decent “one night” movie. The building tension doesn’t fully lead to much but I still found Kirby engaging and capable of playing the part.

      Elements of horror, fear, loss, and regret grace the screen in this solid effort that shows how tough life can be. I do wish there was more finesse to the direction and more of an expensive story as not too much will stay in my memory. I will circle back and say Zach Gottsagen is quite honestly a delight and I’m glad we got to see more of him. This makes for an easy at home watch but I can’t escape the feeling it could have used something to level it up.

      Night Always Comes is streaming on Netflix at www.netflix.com/nightalwayscomes

      6.6/10

    • Highest 2 Lowest

      So Spike Lee made another adaptation of a classic in Asian Cinema…

      This time around we have a loose adaptation of Kurosawa’s High and Low. I say loose but the only thing loose about it is the setting. It still involves a kidnapping with ransom and the moral dilemma of paying for someone that is not your kin. It sticks to that but switches up a few things like Denzel is playing a music mogul instead of a shoemaker. With so much stakes on the line you would think a movie like this would have more drama and suspense, except there’s basically only the opposite. Spike compromises morality for self-righteousness.

      The first and second act is filled with goofy levels of acting that are only brought up by the dialogue. Denzel is prolific in nature and continues that streak with his profound and biblical monologues. Casting Jeffrey Wright as the guy everyone wanted his character to be in American Fiction was certainly a choice, and not necessarily a good one. I won’t even say A$AP Rocky was a bad actor, what they did with him was though. In this story, it worked better when you don’t know who or why the antagonist is doing what they do. So, I’m not sure why he was given the third most speaking lines in this movie.

      Now we get to the technical side of things. What the hell was going on with the lighting and set design in this movie? First, it’s shot like a soap opera, bright, and with close ups like they’re taking head shots of the actors. And now I’m starting to think the intro with shots of the city was to trick us into thinking it was actually shot in NYC. So many times backdrops looked like blurred city skylines. Lee unapologetically uses that NYC setting to prove to us he likes living there, because this felt more like an ad for the city than a movie with a defined structure. I will say it was nice to see at least one Kurosawa homage in the shot selection, but it was so short lived that the rest of the staging felt like a slap in the face.

      Some of this is just painful to get through, but somehow rounds out an ending that is one of the best on the year. There’s no urgency to the central beats of the plot and the score is off beat the entire time. I was amazed, or entranced, watching this movie. I knew it couldn’t be this bad but now I’m thinking that it might be. Spike was so focused on the culture of the people in the movie and NYC that he forgot how to make the other aspects of a movie cohesive and watchable. Maybe watching High and Low for the first time a week before seeing this made for a bad comparison, but also maybe Spike Lee is out of touch once again with this adaptation.

      I will be abstaining from a score, but those were my thoughts.

    • Nobody 2

      When you have a cast with the likes of Christopher Lloyd, Bob Odenkirk, Connie Nielson, RZA, Colin Hanks, Sharon Stone, Michael Ironside and some of the creative minds behind the John Wick universe, you’d think we would be in for a super fun action flick. Instead, it feels like the B-team for all involved was in charge of this project.

      Hutch (Odenkirk) is back in his old ways to pay off some debts, while simultaneously trying to hold down his at home family life.  The smartest thing this movie did was play off the job of an assassin as an everyday 9-5 job and all the issues that came with it. It made the family dynamics funny, relatable, and added a nice contrast to the first half of the film. Having more of the family was a nice touch overall that only added to the allure for an unconventional action hero. Said action hero is still the best part about this franchise. Odenkirk’s believable demeanor is super fitting and he surprisingly looks spry in the action scenes when it easily could have looked like Liam in Taken 3.

      Now the big issue with this movie isn’t the fact that it’s sub 90 minutes, it’s that they waste most of that runtime. About halfway through you realize we’ve spent a lot of time setting up something that unfolds into something else that could have been its own movie. It goes way too deep, too fast, right in the middle of everything. If it would have just stuck with the particular storyline of the small town, we probably would have been in for a more tight script and fun time. This is clearly supposed to be a John Wick spin off, or spoof, or homage (I don’t think they know either). I wish they would have known more because its commitment to being serious and unserious at the same time makes things feel incomplete.

      I know it’s a movie made for entertainment purposes and I’m supposed to just shut up and have fun, but when I see a dozen movies like this a year, something has to give. The action is pretty great and there will be a nominee for best kill of the year from this movie, I just wish there was a lot more of it. The focus felt more on explosions and wacky characters than earned action sequences. Slow motion action scenes backed by fun songs can only take a movie so far.

      The last thing I’ll touch on is the characters. I don’t quite understand what they were going for with Connie in this one. It was almost like they wanted her to be involved like Skyler White is in Breaking Bad once she finds out, but couldn’t quite figure out what to do with her. RZA was great and needs to be in more action films and Colin Hanks plays the perfect heel. I have big issues with Lloyd and Stone as Chripsther Lloyd was in the first so he obviously had to come back, but he deserves his chance at retirement because that was brutal to watch, even as a fan. I was shocked to find out that Sharon Stone was in this once the movie ended and she might go down in the “doing too much” hall of fame (sorry, love you).

      It’s a short movie where Odenkirk does a lot of the heavy lifting. The action that’s around is not important enough to the story and Nobody 2 ultimately felt like a tourist in its own genre.

      4.8/10

    • Freakier Friday

      Freakier Friday

      Welcome back to the world of the most iconic body swap franchise. Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan’s off the charts chemistry is immediately felt and it’s like they never stopped working together. It’s been 20-plus years for the long awaited followup, and we’ve added a few more family members into the swapping chaos. Some things are handled with a little more creativity than others, but the humor is still highly prevalent.

      Julia Butters has the chance to become a comedy staple after her performance in this movie. She’s absolutely hilarious and the rest of the over dramatized high school aspect really anchors that down. Whether it was on purpose or not, there’s a lot of Mean Girls vibes mixed up in the rebellious nature of this entry. I won’t specifically talk on who or how many swaps happen, but I will say there’s a few actors that were better than the others at being more genuine. I wish certain family members were involved instead of being completely written out. Plus, one important aspect is completely changed to the point that it ruins any ounce of credibility.

      It’s difficult to touch on too much with this movie, because of how much it is a rehash of the 2002 film. I’m not even saying that’s a bad thing, because Lohan and JLC being back together is such a delight in these roles. Just seeing them back in the stylish outfits, brings a lot of fun to the screen. Everyone feels more grown up and even the direction is much more mature.I will say there is a lack of urgency within the story itself that detracted a little from the fun in the middle, because it wanted to give everyone the screen time they deserved.

      The effort, emotions, and funny gags are all there, but it might be a little too crowded.

      6.6/10

    • The Pickup

      Look at Eddie and Pete’s expressions in the photo above, that is what I looked like watching the entirety of this movie.

      Knowing this is from the guy (Tim Story) that directed Ride Along 2, I shouldn’t have had super high expectations, but I was still underwhelmed. A veteran armored truck worker (Murphy) teams up with an immature rookie (Davidson) and things go a little off routine. This is a heist movie and a comedy, but I’ll get to the latter later.. If you compare this to other heist movies, you won’t have anything new to take away. The action is mainly involving a long Fury Road-like car chase that is shot like it was meant for a canceled network TV show. So, if you like to watch poorly shot car wrecks, you’ll be into this movie.

      I’ve always kind of liked Pete Davidson, his demeanor and humor have always been appealing in a cynical and endearing way. Those strengths are mostly played here, except when they aren’t. When you have the comedic genius of Eddie Murphy to go head to head with, it’s hard to stay in the fight. Murphy on the other hand, is still at the top of his game. Everything he said is perfectly delivered and it feels like it was written specifically for him. Both of them together was a bit of a generational mismatch.

      The antagonist group led by Keke Palmer was quite the group of generic bad guys. All the effort was put into the duo so that this aspect fell completely flat. Keke as a voice has a strong presence, but as a character with an unsure approach she isn’t fully understandable. This movie struggled to decide which side of a few genres it wanted to fall on, and ultimately fails at most of them.

      I grew very tired of what this was trying to do very quickly, that I know I could have slept through the second act and not missed a beat. It’s not as clever as it thinks it is, and its setting even adds to it feeling like Ocean’s 3, because that’s how many brain cells you need to enjoy it. I’m so glad Eddie Murphy is back on our screens making us laugh, but I wish there was a little more around him to make it substantial.

      4/10