It's a shame that Five Nights at Freddy's 2 is such a bloated mess, because it has all of the elements to be a truly special gateway horror film franchise. The new animatronics are genuinely jaw-dropping, Megan Fox voicing Chica is a real delight, the jump scares are effective, the Easter eggs are well-placed, and for a brief moment, when we finally get Mike in the security office (essentially bringing the video game into beat-by-beat live action), the movie absolutely soars. But Cawthon's script is a disaster, and it's one that I cannot in good conscience defend, even as someone who shockingly could make sense of it, having consumed hours of fan theories over the years.
Zootopia 2 may be the gateway to teach young viewers to question who sets the rules, and be inspired to break those rules if it means doing what's right. Zootopia 2 may not be as politically biting as something like "BEASTARS," but if you need the Mouse to validate your politics, you don't actually have politics.
Oh, and if you aren't sold on Jonathan Bailey being selected as People's Sexiest Man Alive for 2025, the way he yearns while performing "As Long as You're Mine" will fix that for you.
If you're on the fence at all, there is a mid-credits sequence that truly leaves the mid-credits made mandatory by the Marvel Cinematic Universe dead in the dirt and is so damn good that it completely recontextualizes the tone of the movie that came before.
The original "M3GAN" was a drag show. "M3GAN 2.0" is a drag show where a straight bachelorette hijacks the VIP table. But since she tips well, is a respectful ally, and has a non-ironic appreciation for "Above the Law," she can stay.
This version of Nani and Lilo's relationship is far closer to reality, which makes the heartstring-pulling snap back with even more intensity. In a cute albeit sanitized reimagining, the bond of these sisters is the one thing that cannot be broken.
When the world feels like it's on fire and atrocities are inescapable, there are few outlets for cathartic stress relief quite like a Final Destination movie. We're a culture plagued by existential dread already, so why not have fun shrieking, laughing, and judging people for their dumb decisions without consequence? Watching a film like Final Destination Bloodlines in a theater full of screaming strangers is my kind of community building.
Provides a spoonful of laugh-out-loud moments of sugar from David Harbour to help make the medicine go down. It's a self-aware, serious, action-comedy that never sacrifices story to make its point, and never talks down to the audience even if it has to be a bit more obvious for four-quadrant viewers.
Produced by horror legend Sam Raimi and a remake of the Argentinian film "4x4," your mileage may vary with "Locked," an intimate piece with dedicated performances and a weirdly relatable thematic core, but thrills leaving much to be desired.
