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  • Jurassic World Rebirth review: A fun but all-too familiar blockbuster

    Jurassic world Rebirth


    Score Details

    “Jurassic World Rebirth brings some life back to a franchise that has overstayed its welcome.”

    Pros
    • Terrific performances from Johansson, Bailey, and Ali
    • Stunning visuals
    • Thrilling action and suspense
    • Compelling supporting characters
    • A meta story
    Cons
    • Some flat characters
    • Familiar archetypes and plot points
    • A clunky script

    Director Gareth Edwards (The Creator) has brought audiences back to the land of dinosaurs with his film, Jurassic World Rebirth. This standalone sequel to Jurassic World Dominion follows a team of hired operatives as they journey to an island inhabited by mutant dinosaurs, which were left behind by Jurassic World researchers, and try to gather enough dino-DNA to generate a cure for heart disease.

    The Jurassic Park franchise is struggling to keep things fresh and engaging. Clearly, the filmmakers knew this fact during the production of Jurassic World Rebirth. This sequel falls short of expectations with its familiar story elements, some thin characters, and a clunky script. Nevertheless, Jurassic World Rebirth still provides some entertainment, featuring some terrific new players, exhilarating action scenes, terrifying suspense, and outstanding visuals. This movie is far from the best in the Jurassic Park saga, but it’s a decent blockbuster nonetheless.

    A safe, barebones script

    A man holds a dinosaur egg as a woman looks at him in "Jurassic World Rebirth."
    Universal Pictures / Universal Pictures

    As the title implies, Jurassic World Rebirth takes the franchise back to its roots with a story by Jurassic Park screenwriter David Koepp. Thus, the seventh Jurassic Park movie presents many familiar character archetypes and plot points in a script occasionally held back by on-the-nose, expositional dialogue. While this may seem tiring for those who have seen all of the Jurassic Park films, Rebirth‘s story is well aware of that exhaustion.

    The movie portrays the world’s growing fatigue of dinosaurs coexisting with humans in the modern world, reflecting real-life exhaustion with the long-running Jurassic Park franchise. In this clever meta-narrative, the mutant dinosaurs in the movie represent a dark embodiment of the studios and their attempt to give audiences newer, cooler dinosaurs, adding more depth to the franchise’s anti-consumerist message.

    Despite its social commentary, Jurassic World Rebirth is a relatively simple and traditional chapter in the franchise’s story. At the same time, Rebirth pays homage to classic films like Star Wars, Aliens, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Jaws with its mutant creature designs and thrilling action scenes set on the sea, inside ancient temples, and in wrecked labs. This approach puts a clever spin on the franchise that fans of Steven Spielberg and his films should enjoy.

    A great cast with some divisive characters

    Two explores in the fields.
    Universal Pictures

    The new characters in Jurassic World Rebirth are somewhat of a mixed bag. Though the film briefly delves into Zora’s (Scarlett Johansson) mercenary past and the loss of her partner and mother, Rebirth brushes past this without bringing anything distinctive or compelling to the character. Johansson at least delivers plenty of charm and charisma in her performance, making Zora somewhat enjoyable.

    Similarly, Jonathan Bailey delivers plenty of childlike awe and humor as Dr. Loomis. However, his character doesn’t display much development beyond fulfilling his dream of working up close with dinosaurs. The film even seems to forget his desire to keep his dinosaur museum open, with his field and character seemingly becoming an afterthought. Additionally, Martin (Rupert Friend) is the traditional corporate suit driven by greed as he schemes against the heroes during their adventure, making him a lackluster new villain in the franchise.

    The most compelling character on this expedition is arguably Mahershala Ali’s Duncan. Beneath his cool exterior, he struggles in the face of the death around him while mourning the loss of his son, making his confrontation with the Distortus Rex especially powerful. At the same time, the shipwrecked family led by Reuben (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) displays significant growth and relatability as they bond with each other and the dinosaurs around them. Their adventures on the island harken back to Dr. Grant’s journey with Lex and Tim in the first Jurassic Park movie, reigniting the family-centric heart of the franchise.

    An immersive thrill ride

    A T-Rex staring at a person on a raft in "Jurassic World Rebirth."
    Universal Pictures / Universal Pictures

    Jurassic World Rebirth is another visually stunning addition to Edwards’ filmography. Similar to 2014’s Godzilla, Edwards and his team bring more realistic, jaw-dropping creatures to life on the big screen, with the six-armed Distortus Rex being the most remarkable addition to the franchise. Additionally, with the assistance of cinematographer John Mathieson, the film replicates Steven Spielberg’s visual style, featuring an abundance of creative and vibrant shots that build wonder and terror.

    Rebirth also delivers plenty of nail-biting action and suspense. The film masterfully builds heart-pounding tension as the dinosaurs lurk in the background, blending seamlessly with their surroundings before terrifying the characters and the audience. One of the movie’s crowning achievements is when Reuben and his family try to grab a raft and escape from a sleeping T-Rex, making for a scene on par with Rexy’s iconic escape from the paddock in the 1993 movie.

    Is Jurassic World Rebirth worth a watch?

    Even though the Jurassic Park franchise should’ve gone extinct a long time ago, Jurassic World Rebirth proves there is still some excitement left in this popular IP. This sequel is nothing that audiences haven’t seen before in one way or another. That often works in the movie’s favor. This summer blockbuster presents a lot of what made Jurassic Park so entertaining — action, suspense, and family drama, which should satisfy fans of Spielberg’s original movie.

    Jurassic World Rebirth is now playing in theaters.

  • Until Dawn review: an incoherent disaster

    Until Dawn review: an incoherent disaster

    2/5

    ★★☆☆☆

    Score Details

    “Halfway through, Until Dawn completely falls apart.”

    ✅ Pros

    • A strong beginning
    • Nods to horror tropes

    ❌ Cons

    • Incomprehensible plot
    • A disgrace to the Until Dawn game
    • Not scary at all

    I’m supposed to be writing a review for Until Dawn. I will write a review for whatever I just watched, but I’m not sure it was Until Dawn. Maybe I walked into the wrong theater by accident? Perhaps the stress of life has finally broken me, causing me to hallucinate an entire hellishly boring movie that starred the guy from Love, Victor? In any event, here’s my review for the film I’m (not so) sure is Until Dawn.

    For those who have played the game, here’s the plot because I have questions, comments, and concerns. In the film, a girl named Melanie (Maia Mitchell) goes missing. A year later, her sister Clover (Ella Rubin) and her friends Max (Michael Cimino), Nina (Odessa A’zion), Megan (Ji-young Yoo), and Abel (Belmont Cameli) decide to visit the spot where she went missing to find closure. They drive into a mystical valley where they get stuck in a time loop and battle monsters, supernatural entities, killers, and Wendigos. They’re killed every single night, restarting the dreaded evening over and over again.

    It turns out that the entire thing is actually a study being conducted by a psychologist in a town that sank into the Earth after a mining disaster, and he’s somehow controlling all the supernatural stuff … and the water makes you explode … and it’s all happening thanks to the mental trauma of Clover. It’s not a Fight Club deal where it’s all in Clover’s head, but more like her mental pain is somehow powering the evil forces that the doctor is using to make the, um, experiment happen. I mentioned the water makes you explode, right?

    So, gamers around the world, help me out here. Do I suffer from amnesia? Did a brain aneurysm pop? Am I completely misremembering the game Until Dawn? Because this is nothing like the game I remember playing. It has new characters, a new setting, a new story, and new gimmicks that unfortunately don’t work. Oh, but they throw in an Easter egg that implies the film is a prequel to the game, which is a mess that requires its own scathing article.

    Until Dawn starts out pretty strong

    Holding an axe in Until Dawn movie
    Sony Pictures

    The worst part of Until Dawn is that I liked the beginning, and it gave me false hope. When the film finally gets going, we see the group in a secluded house in the forest with a giant hourglass on the wall that has somehow flipped over, revealing that a timer has started counting down. They’re all killed by a masked murderer and then suddenly find themselves restarting the evening with the hourglass refilled. But they all still have their memories of the previous night, and instead of being a true Groundhog Day film, each night in Until Dawn is different. Their goal is to survive until dawn.

    When the plot kicked into gear, I was like, this isn’t Until Dawn, but it’s actually fun, and I’m enjoying it, so I don’t care. It’s not really “scary” since you know they’ll restart the night anyway, making their deaths emotionally meaningless. But it was fun. It was a unique twist to an overused formula, so I appreciated that it incorporated some variation.

    Halfway through, Until Dawn becomes a different movie

    The problem with Until Dawn is that it all falls apart. As I said, we have our plot, rules, and goals. But then, halfway through the film, one of the characters wakes up from a dream. She finds herself in the living room with her friends, and there’s been a massive time jump. We learn they’ve been there for 13 nights and suddenly have no memory of the previous evenings. It was shocking to see a movie go through all that work to create a setup, drop it, and then move on to something new halfway through the film.

    From there, everything continues to crumble. A big chunk of the movie is watching the group run from things, whether it’s the masked killer, supernatural forces, or Wendigos. Director David F. Sandberg told THR he was excited to make a movie that combined so many horror tropes, saying, “This is awesome because it has every horror genre. I’ll get to do slasher, supernatural, body horror, monster, and found footage.’ It had everything in one movie, which is what really drew me to it.”

    Unfortunately, Until Dawn never feels like an homage or nod to horror classics. It just feels like a big fiasco. There is an endless stream of horror-ish nonsense thrown at you, but no connective tissue to tie it together. Until Dawn feels more like a random series of events than a story. At a certain point, my eyes started to glaze over because there weren’t any scares, and worse, the movie had started breaking its own rules. Now, it was anything goes. We find ourselves in a realm of fantasy, sci-fi, and horror, where anything can happen and your choices mean nothing because the supernatural whatever-it-is will just poof something new into existence to ruin it.

    Until Dawn gives no answers

    Hiding from a Wendigo in Until Dawn
    Sony Pictures

    The film tries to tie it all together by bringing back Dr. Hill (Peter Stormare) from the game. In the video game, Dr. Hill somewhat acts as the narrator and is also Josh’s psychologist. But in the film, he’s completely unrecognizable as some grand architect of this psychotic “experiment” in a magical valley full of evil supernatural forces that have somehow remained undiscovered. But the experiment is also powered by the trauma of certain tormented people who have gotten lost there throughout the last century.

    Dr. Hill’s motives are unclear. Whether he’s real or undead himself remains unclear. How and why he chooses his victims is unclear, and worst of all, we never figure out what this supernatural force is or why it teamed up with some psychologist. Who created the mystical valley, the time loop, or the monsters? If this sounds like a coherent, interesting plot, get yourself some popcorn and see Until Dawn.

    But if you want scares, an interesting plot, or answers, Until Dawn won’t provide them. It will create even more questions because there’s an Easter egg at the end where the snowy cabin from the Until Dawn video game suddenly appears on the evil psychologist’s video monitors. To me, this is absolutely offensive because the film is now trying to bastardize the plot of the Until Dawn video game and insert its horrendous and nonsensical plotline instead.

    The good news — there’s still the real Until Dawn

    If you want to watch Until Dawn, my advice is to play the game instead. Its unique gameplay style makes it feel like an interactive movie anyway. It’s got a better plot, and your choices and actions have consequences. Depending on how you play, you can either have everyone survive, let everyone die, or have a mixture. Honestly, it’s way more fun and interesting.

    Until Dawn is now playing in theaters. 

  • Warfare review: an action-packed but somewhat hollow war movie

    Warfare review: an action-packed but somewhat hollow war movie

    3/5

    ★★★☆☆

    Score Details

    “Warfare is loaded with action…and not much else.”

    ✅ Pros

    • Unique premise
    • Dedication to authenticity

    ❌ Cons

    • Lacks story
    • Feels aimless

    Warfare is the latest film from A24, and its origins stem from 2024’s Civil War. I was lucky enough to get invited to a press screening for the movie that was attended by co-writers and co-directors Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza. At the screening, Garland said that when he went to make Civil War, he tapped Mendoza, a Navy SEAL veteran, as his war consultant. As they talked throughout the months-long production, Garland heard more of Mendoza’s war stories and got an idea to create a film based entirely on Mendoza’s memory of one fateful mission.

    That idea became Warfare. The film is shot in real-time, focusing on a mission gone wrong. In 2006, Mendoza and his team hunkered down in a house for a surveillance mission in Ramadi, an area of Iraq that had a heavy Al-Qaeda presence. The team was eventually discovered, and all hell broke loose, turning the surveillance mission into an extraction mission as the U.S. soldiers fought for survival until another platoon could arrive and assist with their evacuation.

    Because of its real-time story, Warfare has no background, exposition, character development, or overarching themes. Audiences are simply dropped into the middle of Iraq with a team of Navy SEALs as they fight Al-Qaeda. Then, just as quickly as the movie starts, it concludes after the fight ends.

    The result is a mostly entertaining movie that unfortunately also feels really hollow, especially for viewers who aren’t aware of its origin and unique premise.

    Warfare’s main strength is its unique premise

    US troops engage in combat in Warfare
    A24

    The movie is about 90 minutes long and was shot in real time. Every single moment comes from the memory of Mendoza or someone else from his team. Garland was clearly shooting for authenticity, and during the press screening, he even told the audience about a rule where he, the actors, and the studio weren’t allowed to add, remove, or alter anything. They could only follow the soldiers’ memories.

    That really helps add some heft to the movie because, let’s face it, there’s no shortage of war movies and series out there. We’ve already seen the “War is Hell” trope with Saving Private Ryan, the “honoring their heroism” camaraderie of Band of Brothers, and everything in between. But this hyper-realistic approach, composed completely from the memories of veterans who were actually there, feels like we finally get a new and interesting twist on the war genre.

    The problem is that this really only works for those who know the movie’s background and its devotion to the soldiers’ memories. If you go into Warfare without that context, I doubt it would feel like an interesting or special movie. It’s like an abstract painting, where you have to know the artist’s interpretation to get it. Without a real plot to anchor it, Warfare already feels like it’s missing something, and without knowing the film’s premise, I can’t imagine it being interesting for anyone other than viewers who seriously love war movies or people who want mindless action thrown at their face.

    Warfare is loaded with action

    Joseph Quinn stars in Warfare
    A24

    Being a war movie, there’s (obviously) a lot of combat. So it’s a great movie for people who love action or the tension and strategy that often accompany war stories. Anyone who has seen Civil War knows Garland isn’t afraid to be loud and abrasive when he depicts combat. If he wants your ears to ring to show the deafening blur of conflict, he will, and that’s shown in full force during Warfare.

    Stylistically, it’s a great approach. You can’t actually throw audiences into combat, but you can do everything possible to make them feel the heart-pumping, eardrum-bursting madness that a soldier would. That part of the film was executed perfectly. The problem is that there’s no real plot or reason for the movie, which makes Warfare feel incomplete, like you stepped into a movie during its climax without any context to go along with it.

    The movie’s lack of substance can feel a little too safe

    A soldier in Warfare movie
    A24

    For the most part, I like that Warfare throws you right into a military mission and doesn’t focus on exposition. We’ve all seen enough military movies to know the sappy, cliché tropes that are too often thrown in our faces to make us care about the characters, like hokey lines about bravery or eye-rolling nonsense like, “He just wants to get home to his young wife … who is pregnant!” I’m thankful Warfare didn’t make me sit through any of that, and honestly, I think the movie is way more powerful because of it.

    But considering that the film is set during the Iraq War, its decision to simply ignore everything other than that singular hour-and-a-half feels a little too convenient. The Bush administration helped push America into Iraq by claiming they had weapons of mass destruction and were helping the terrorists who attacked America on 9/11. But it turned out that neither of those claims was true. At the time, America was so hellbent on revenge for 9/11 that its vision was clouded, and receiving misinformation from the White House only fueled the misguided vendetta that became the Iraq War.

    It’s hard not to consider those facts when you’re watching a movie about the Iraq War, especially one released 20 years later, after all the information has come out. It’s then even more suspicious that the movie has conveniently decided to be hyper-focused on the soldiers and not shed light on the bigger picture. Again, I like the idea behind this movie, and I think it makes it way more interesting from a storytelling perspective. But at the same time, reality and history exist, and Warfare’s decision to ignore that leaves a weird aftertaste. The film’s setup just feels a little too opportune, like Garland knew it was an easy way to not ask bigger questions or attempt to provide bigger answers.

    Warfare | Official Trailer HD | A24

    This was made especially obvious during the end credits, where the movie shows side-by-side photos of the cast and the real soldiers they portray. Over half of the real soldiers have their faces blurred out. Garland was asked about this at the screening and gave a vague “they all had their own reasons” response. He also admitted that some of the soldiers never even returned his calls. Is it possible that over 50% of the real soldiers are just shy? It’s possible, but if we apply Occam’s razor, that seems highly unlikely. It says a lot when over half of the real soldiers in your story don’t want to be associated with it.

    But for most viewers, that won’t matter. Most people watching a movie called Warfare know why they’re watching it … they just want to watch warfare. And this movie absolutely delivers on what it’s promising.

    A24 will release Warfare in theaters on April 11.

  • Novocaine review: A hilarious and heartful thrill-ride

    Novocaine review: A hilarious and heartful thrill-ride

    4.5/5

    ★★★★☆

    Score Details

    “”Novocaine” is a hilarious and clever film that introduces Jack Quaid’s unconventional but ultraviolent action hero.”

    ✅ Pros

    • Well-rounded characters
    • Terrific cast performances
    • A meticulous, surprising screenplay
    • Creative action scenes

    ❌ Cons

    • Gore and violence that some may have trouble swallowing

    Paramount Pictures has unveiled an instant action-comedy classic with the 2025 blockbuster Novocaine. Directed by Dan Berk and Robert Olsen (Significant Other), this movie follows Jack Quaid (The Boys) as a mild-mannered banker with congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis (CIPA) who pursues a group of robbers to rescue the woman he loves.

    Featuring a unique concept and a talented cast, Novocaine uses a real-life disorder to deliver a gruesome and imaginative action film filled with slapstick humor and poignant drama. In an age where cinema is all but saturated by formulaic action flicks, Novocaine comes in and sets another high precedent for the genre.

    The performances

    Amber Midthunder and Jack Quaid in "Novocaine."
    Paramount Pictures / Paramount Pictures

    Jack Quaid brings another action/comedy hero icon to life with his performance as Nathan Caine, a.k.a. Novocaine. Quaid’s success in this role is not surprising, as he has thrived playing the dorky and lovable everyman in several projects, particularly The Boys. At the same time, Amber Midthunder continues to cement herself as one of cinema’s rising stars playing Sherry in Novocaine. Her layered performance makes her a fantastic lead opposite Quaid, and their on-screen chemistry makes them both the perfect couple.

    Likewise, actor Ray Nicholson nails his performance as the Joker-esque bank robber/murderer Simon Greenly. The sadistic glee he takes in causing death and torment shows his true potential in portraying menacing figures following his breakout role in Smile 2. Jacob Batolon also deserves credit for his performance as Roscoe, bringing plenty of comic relief with the sharp quips and perfect timing he’s displayed as Ned Leeds in Tom Holland’s Spider-Man movies.

    The characters

    Jack Quaid attacking someone in "Novocaine."
    Paramount Pictures / Paramount Pictures

    Novocaine presents Nathan as an unconventional superhero thanks to his real-life disorder. While he is immune to pain, he is afraid of hurting himself with the ways he tries to avoid damaging his body by accident. Fortunately, Sherry helps him break out of his shell, with a simple taste of pie helping him live life to the fullest, making for an inspiring and well-rounded journey for his character. Overall, Novocaine makes it impossible not to love and route for Nathan with how he helps whoever he can. Even when he’s getting battered around by thugs and bank robbers, he can’t but awkwardly apologize and try to play nice.

    Sherry’s character is also noteworthy for how she defies expectations. She could’ve been just another superhero movie love interest for Nathan. Instead, Novocaine presents her as a conflicted woman with depression seeking redemption rather than another damsel in distress. With the revelation that she was in on the bank robbery, Novocaine flips the story on its head as Nathan finds himself trying to save a woman who deceived him. Nevertheless, as Sherry tries to do good and save Nathan, Novocaine gives her character agency as she takes the wheel to make this story hers, just as much as it is Nathan’s.

    An inventive, bloody story

    Jack Quaid with a knife through his hand in "Novocaine."
    Paramount Pictures / Paramount Pictures

    There’s no doubt that Novocaine is meticulous with its storytelling. The film exploits every little detail to deliver a surprising and creative film, particularly when it comes to its fight scenes. Taking advantage of his insensitivity to pain, Nathan utilizes everything at his disposal to dish out some inventive kills. These creative moments includes forcing an arrow through his leg into a robber’s skull and impaling Simon with his own exposed arm bone.

    The violence in this movie can be gratuitous at times, with images of broken bones and ripped-out fingernails threatening to upset more squeamish viewers. Fortunately, Nathan’s condition helps bring levity to such visceral moments in the vein of Ryan Reynolds’s Deadpool. It’s not often that a character is happy to let someone torture them as they stall for time, and Quaid’s fake cries of pain make such a gory moment flat-out hilarious.

    Is Novocaine worth seeing?

    Novocaine | Official Trailer (2025 Movie) – Jack Quaid, Amber Midthunder

    Most definitely. Novocaine is more than just another gory action movie. It’s a layered and well-crafted story exploring how people hide their true selves and the challenges they face, whether it’s Nathan’s insensitivity to pain or Sherry’s history of depression and self-harm. The film balances its more grounded drama with plenty of hysterical and heart-pounding moments.

    Overall, Novocaine reminds viewers that there is plenty of room for fresh, original action films in modern cinema. Nathan Caine stands out from Marvel and DC movies as a unique kind of superhero, and it would be quite a welcome treat to see more of him in this new action-comedy franchise. Novocaine may be difficult for some viewers to swallow, but action genre fans will undoubtedly enjoy this ultraviolent feast of a film.