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'Snack Shack' Review March 22, 2024 By: Tyler Banark My fellow Nebraskans and Midwesterners, we have a big-name movie set and shot entirely in Nebraska for the first time in years. If you’re reading this and don’t understand the significance, Nebraska is a state that NEVER gets the Hollywood spotlight. When it does, it usually showcases only farmland, cornfields, and the nature of the panhandle/western part of the state. The only times Nebraska has been seen in a light where that’s not the case is in Alexander Payne’s filmography ( Citizen Ruth , Election , About Schmidt , Nebraska ). With Snack Shack , director Adam Carter Rehmeier crafts a love letter to his hometown of Nebraska City, a small town with roughly 7200 people. It’s a delightful treat, as Snack Shack doesn’t focus on the cliches Hollywood created for the Cornhusker State. Instead, it’s a simple teen comedy with the small town as the backdrop and a great heart. It’s 1991, and we meet our two leads, AJ (newcomer Conor Sherry) and Moose (Gabriel Labelle, in his follow-up role to The Fabelmans ), who are skipping their school field trip to the Omaha Zoo to bet on dog racing. These ambitious fifteen-year-olds want nothing more than to make a buck without doing any hard work. AJ’s strict parents catch wind of their rendezvous, and he’s forced to find a real job for the summer. While the two seek a job, their much older friend Shane (Nick Robinson) suggests buying the pool’s snack shack from the city. The two do it, and the shack becomes a hit as kids of all ages pay them hand over fist to get whatever they desire. Meanwhile, they both vie over Brooke (Mika Abdalla), a new lifeguard at the pool that puts their friendship to the test Rehmeier penned the script and does so flawlessly, taking the tropes of the coming-of-age teen comedy and applying them to his own methods. AJ and Moose are ambitious boys who are similar to the likes of duos we’ve seen in the past from the genre (i.e., Evan and Seth from Superbad , Ferris and Cameron from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off ). They try to scheme something big despite being in their early teens and do everything from making/selling their own beer to painting house numbers on curbs. One, in this case, Moose, can be seen as a bad influence while the other is playing along despite his parent's disapproval. It helps that Sherry and Labelle’s chemistry is fun and quick-witted, with comedic timings balancing each other out. Sherry brings a welcoming introduction as he fits the role of AJ perfectly. He doesn’t go overboard or play it safe; instead, he interprets the character to his own persona. AJ’s a dorky kid, and whenever he talks to Brooke, he tries to play it cool simply to impress. Luckily, Brooke finds him cute, and they build something together. On the other hand, Labelle continues to prove why The Fabelmans wasn’t a one-and-done situation. I feared he may not have much of a career after the 2022 hit, but I was proven wrong. Moose is the brains of the duo, but he often gets carried away in their plans to the point where he bosses AJ around. He can often be unlikable, and Labelle ensures that audiences feel that way whenever he does wrong by AJ. His train looks to keep going at full speed as he’s got another big project on the horizon in Jason Reitman’s SNL 1975 , which has become my most anticipated movie ever since Barbenheimer. The rest of the ensemble is fun to see on screen with Sherry and Labelle. Nick Robinson’s Shane is the big brother figure to AJ, and he nails the role. There’s a scene where AJ and Shane eat runzas at a lake when Shane gives AJ the best advice on handling Brooke and Moose. David Costabile and Gillian Vigman play AJ’s parents and are surprisingly funny whenever they scold the boys. Mika Abdalla as Brooke is also a great turn as she casually jokes around with AJ before their relationship blossoms into something more. Some viewers may see her character as one-dimensional or kind of a bland love interest. Yet, Brooke comes off as a love interest who initially intends to build a friendship with AJ, and the sparks fly when they spend time together. Rehmeier paints Nebraska summers just like how I remember them as a teenager. The plot of Snack Shack could have taken place anywhere, but he chose Nebraska City, which was a solid choice. At no point does Snack Shack present what moviegoers expect to see in a movie set in Nebraska, and it’s so satisfying that filmmakers understand that there’s more to the state than rural areas. Although Nebraska City is nowhere near as big as Omaha, it’s a neighborly town where you won’t need cornfields and farms if you find the right places. It also helps that cinematographer Jean-Philippe Bernier captures little idiosyncrasies that encapsulate a Nebraska summer, most notably whenever there’s a shot of a street at dusk with the streetlights starting to turn on. Bernier showcases the humid atmosphere of hot summer nights and how one would want just to stand outside and take it in wherever they are. Whether our characters are at a party, having a cookout, or going for a swim, it’s a refreshing sight to see. Above all, it’s a comforting feeling that only natives would understand, and those unfamiliar need to experience it to understand. Bernier also has some long takes in certain scenes, which looked great, but it made me wish it was done more often. If Snack Shack falters in any other way, it tends to milk a joke too far. When AJ and Moose open the shack, they sell candy, soda, and hot dogs. However, AJ gets the idea to write an obscene word on the hot dogs and charge 75 extra cents. Once the joke is introduced, it recurs numerous times, and by the time the film is over, it’s not as funny. Despite the humor wearing off, Snack Shack is still a fun teen comedy posing as a love letter to the small-town Nebraska that’s never seen on screen. Thanks to Sherry and Labelle's leadership and a solid script, Rehmeier knew precisely what he was going for and accomplished it satisfactorily. There’s no denying Sherry and Labelle’s fun banter and quick reactions with each other and their costars. I can guarantee these two are set for a bright future in Hollywood, especially Labelle, who has nowhere to go but up. As for Rehmeier, he made a statement for himself and the state of Nebraska. In time, I hope to see Hollywood starting to see more of Nebraska than they’ve presumed, and Snack Shack was the first step in the right direction toward getting there. You can follow Tyler and hear more of his thoughts on Twitter , Instagram , and Letterboxd . Must Read 'Snack Shack' Review I hope to see Hollywood starting to see more of Nebraska than they’ve presumed, and Snack Shack was the first step in the right direction toward getting there. SHOP 'Road House' Review For as much as its faults are glaringly apparent, there’s nothing offensive about it. SHOP 'Robot Dreams' Review It speaks volumes, while never containing a single line of dialogue. SHOP 'Shirley' Review Good intentions canceled out by poor filmmaking and an overly basic approach SHOP 'Love Lies Bleeding' Review Every character is ready to pop at any moment, each outburst promising gory results that beg you to look away. SHOP

'Road House' Review March 20, 2024 By: Hunter Friesen Remaking Road House for modern times doesn't sound like a good idea on paper, with immediate expectations slotting it next to the other misplaced-in-time remakes of Ghost in the Shell and Baywatch . There wasn’t exactly a compelling story to the 1989 original, just Patrick Swayze delivering cans of whoop ass on greasy goons with his black belt in karate. And for a film that made less money than you would think, its cultural footprint has persevered throughout the decades thanks to the funny title, cheesy concept, and, for kids closer to my generation, the frequent Family Guy parodies . Even with the setting being transplanted to the modern day, Elwood Dalton (Jake Gyllenhaal) is still a man stuck in the past. He has no phone, a clunker of a car, and simply drifts from town to town scraping by through low-end cage fights. For him, it’s harder to fight the rage inside than any opponent. He’s calm and composed, but there’s always a twinge of insanity ready to let loose. “You don’t want to know me” and “I’m not afraid of him, I’m afraid of what I’ll do,” he says a few times, with brief snapshots of his UFC past (all shot at an actual UFC event) explaining how he fell so far. Like the idea of remaking the film itself, the casting of Gyllenhaal to take over from Swayze is an odd choice. He’s an actor not exactly known for being relaxed, as evidenced by his previous work in Okja , Nightcrawler , and Velvet Buzzsaw . It’s perhaps a case of the chicken or the egg, with Gyllenhaal being a great piece of casting for this newer take on the character, or his involvement changing the tone. Either way, it works out, with Gyllenhaal’s grounded approach never taking away from the fun. Plus, he’s already had fighting experience with Southpaw , so the producers probably saved a nice chunk of change on training costs. Dalton is hired by Frankie (Jessica Williams) to be the bouncer/enforcer of her family bar called The Road House, just one of several hit-or-miss attempts at some tongue-in-cheek humor by writers Anthony Bagarozzi and Chuck Mondry. It’s located on a beautiful beach in Florida, with the only problem being the infestation of bikers and roid ragers. It’s nothing Dalton can’t handle, with his laissez-faire attitude towards kicking the crap out of someone almost making it more disrespectful. None of these guys were worth his time, which leads him up the food chain toward the head of the richest crime family in the area, Ben Brandt (Billy Magnussen). He’s got some dastardly plan and needs the bar taken out of commission by any means necessary, including kidnapping, murder, and explosions. The further the plot progresses, the less fun Road House becomes. It’s a bit of a bummer that the first fight where Dalton dismantles five bikers singlehandedly is by far the film’s best-set piece. Even if they are cartoonishly punchable, there is plenty of guilty pleasure in seeing some hooligans get their comeuppance. However, you can’t exactly fill a two-hour movie with your hero facing no resistance, so former UFC champion Conor McGregor has to be introduced as a bruising wildcard. McGregor won’t find himself with a lucrative acting career like former fighters Dwayne Johnson and Dave Bautista, but he fills his wildcard role enough here to be entertaining. Helming this bare-knuckle brawler is director Doug Liman, who helped revolutionize the action genre in the 2000s with The Bourne Identity and gave Tom Cruise another action vehicle outside of his usual Mission: Impossible films with Edge of Tomorrow . All that prowess quickly goes out the window the longer the fight scenes drag on, with questionable visual effects and camera movements overselling the brutality and undercutting the choreography. Once gasoline explosions and boat jousting get involved, things quickly go all the way overboard. Still, for as much as its faults are glaringly apparent, there’s nothing offensive about Road House . I guess that’s what you get when you do a remake of a movie that wasn’t that good to begin with and have it released exclusively on Prime Video. Must Read 'Road House' Review For as much as its faults are glaringly apparent, there’s nothing offensive about it. SHOP 'Robot Dreams' Review It speaks volumes, while never containing a single line of dialogue. SHOP 'Shirley' Review Good intentions canceled out by poor filmmaking and an overly basic approach SHOP 'Love Lies Bleeding' Review Every character is ready to pop at any moment, each outburst promising gory results that beg you to look away. SHOP 'Kung Fu Panda 4' Review Audiences were wishing for more skadoosh, but they got more of a whimpering pow instead. SHOP

Omaha Film Festival 2024 - A Recap March 17, 2024 By: Tyler Banark Three weeks ago, I attended the 19th edition of the Omaha Film Festival. Smaller in scale compared to the likes of TIFF, Cannes, Venice, Sundance, and NYFF, Omaha focuses on telling Nebraska-based stories along with narratives from around the country and even the world. Although other somewhat big-named movies were part of the festival lineup, such as the documentaries Frida , Chasing Chasing Amy , and the Oscar-nominated short Red, White, and Blue , there were also various feature-length and short films. Here are my thoughts on some of the films I saw this year. Lousy Carter Lousy Carter is a comedy starring David Krumholtz as the titular character, a low-life college professor who finds out he has a terminal illness. He tries to sleep with a student of his graduate seminar on The Great Gatsby and sleeps with his best friend’s wife, all while trying to complete an animated film. Krumholtz turns in a dry but entertaining performance, making Lousy into a character that lets the audience decide whether or not he’s worth cheering for. The supporting cast of Martin Starr, Olivia Thirlby, and Jocelyn DeBoer do their parts well as the other people in his life. Although the movie didn’t offer much other than its dry, dark humor, it’s still a fun comedy thanks to Byington's script. Brave the Dark Following the true story of Pennsylvania teen Nathaniel Deen, Brave the Dark is about a troubled high school student who tries to turn his life around with the guidance of his English teacher (played by Jared Harris). Easily the best I saw at the festival this year, Brave the Dark also won Best Film and Audience Choice Feature Film prizes. The movie is fearlessly made to evoke a no-filter look into a troubled teen’s upbringing and how it transpired into his life. Nathan (played by Nicholas Hamilton, best known for playing Henry Bowers in 2017’s IT ) went through the wringer with his parents, who raised him as a little kid, leading him to the foster care system. Hamilton is great, but Jared Harris is the real MVP. He embodies the inspirational teacher trope we’ve seen (i.e., Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society , Sidney Poitier in To Sir, With Love ) and runs with it as he fights tooth and nail to ensure Nathan gets a second chance at life. The movie’s tone does feel a little melodramatic at specific points, but it still leaves a lasting impression on viewers as it’s a tearjerker that wins over their hearts. Guacamole Yesterdays A spin on Michel Gondry’s 2004 sci-fi romance drama Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind , Guacamole Yesterdays follows a woman using a machine to manipulate memories of a relationship that ended in a painful separation. The two leads, Sophie Edwards and Randy Havens, showcase some excellent chemistry in not only the romantic side of their relationship but also in the darker moments. Hudson Phillips’ script benefits from this, and the movie acts as a meditation on grief and how people handle it differently depending on their situations. Guacamole Yesterdays does pull a plot twist in the vein of Shutter Island in the third act, preventing it from sticking to the landing. Overall, it’s a neat sci-fi drama that may be a bit on the nose regarding the movie it’s spinning off of, yet still gets the job done. Don't Get Eaten Don’t Get Eaten is a family comedy about YouTuber dad Noah, who takes his family on a weekend trip to a cabin in the woods. He hopes to unplug and reconnect with his wife, Rose, as their marriage is on the rocks due to his channel and her on-the-rise career as an entrepreneur. One night into the trip, he and his daughters are attacked by zombies and must hold them off before Rose finds out. This was hands down the worst movie I saw at the festival, as it was tailor-made for families to enjoy, with humor appealing mostly to the current generation of kids. Generational moments such as Noah using a GoPro or watching his videos on a live stream were some of the sight gags that don’t land. The other half of the movie’s head-shaking humor consists of dumb jokes viewers would expect to see from every other kid's movie ever (people getting severely injured from the smallest inconvenience, goofy noises, etc.). It’s a boring watch that families surely enjoyed at the screening, but for the typical viewer, it’s another headache-inducing mess. The Headliner Shot entirely in Omaha with a cast and crew entirely of Omaha natives, The Headliner is a comedy that follows a middle-aged comedian hoping to break out on the stand-up scene in Omaha. Director Tony Bonacci has been making several commercials and short films over the years, one of which is a short film version of this. He brings back Darrick Silkman to play the lead, Chad, a comedian who is out of touch with modern society and is estranged from his wife and daughter. Throughout the movie, audiences see various comedians doing their bits in the Omaha stand-up scene. Although it’s nothing compared to the likes of big cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City, Bonacci uses this chance to give comedians at this scale a platform to be seen. The choice is neat and does its job, but the film’s narrative is lacking because of it. Chad gets offered a stand-up gig in Montreal, which coincides with his daughter’s wedding on the same day. Screenwriter Christine Burright tries to juggle these subplots with others (Chad having an intimate relationship with one of his daughter’s besties and learning how to use an iPhone), but the result is messy. Chad comes off as a one-note character, which is partially Silkman’s fault and potentially Burright’s. In the big picture, The Headliner is a movie that highlights Omaha positively but doesn’t bring a story to keep audiences invested. You can follow Tyler and hear more of his thoughts on Twitter , Instagram , and Letterboxd . Must Read 'Shirley' Review Good intentions canceled out by poor filmmaking and an overly basic approach SHOP 'Love Lies Bleeding' Review Every character is ready to pop at any moment, each outburst promising gory results that beg you to look away. SHOP 'Kung Fu Panda 4' Review Audiences were wishing for more skadoosh, but they got more of a whimpering pow instead. SHOP 'Ricky Stanicky' Review Seeing how far Cena is willing to go makes up for a lot of other rougher stretches. SHOP 'Spaceman' Review The simple sight of the comedian in a lower register isn’t enough to cover up an oversimplified love story with liberally borrowed plot points. SHOP

'Kung Fu Panda 4' Review March 10, 2024 By: Tyler Banark As time has proved, it’s a risky choice for a franchise to leap beyond a trilogy and into a fourth entry. For every John Wick: Chapter 4 , Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol , and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ; there is Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Cyrstal Skull, The Bourne Ultimatum , and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides . DreamWorks’ Kung Fu Panda 4 falls more into the latter bucket by providing the expected stunning visuals, yet also displaying an overfamiliar story that signals a franchise running out of steam and bound to implode. Kung Fu Panda 4 ’s biggest flaw is its script; penned by recurring writers Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger, and newcomer Darren Lemke. While the three previous entries mixed plenty of laughs and memorable moments, there wasn’t a single laugh-out-loud moment here, not even for the younger members of the audience. It didn’t help that most of these attempted jokes are featured in a senseless plot. Po has taken the next step in his journey by fulfilling the position of spiritual leader for the Valley of Peace. Because of this, he must step down as The Dragon Warrior and look to find a successor. As he does this, yet another power-hungry villain in The Chameleon (Viola Davis) threatens China by harnessing the powers of all of Po’s past villains. Tai Lung, Lord Shen, and General Kai all return, with Tai Lung being the only one in the spotlight since Ian McShane was the only original voice actor of the trio to come back. Also missing are Furious Five, with their absence being attributed to “other duties.” Of course, Jack Black returns as Po, a character he never seems to take for granted. He’s up to his usual antics, which is enough since seeing Black do his thing is enough of an enjoyable time. Viola Davis’ inclusion in the franchise is great on paper, but it’s not as great in execution considering her character’s copied and pasted motivations. Although he’s not given much screentime, Dustin Hoffman still phones it in as Shifu, which also marks his first appearance in a studio film since 2017’s The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) . Zimmer returns to the maestro’s corner, collaborating again with Steve Mazzaro. Although there are no outstanding pieces, the duo does provide an interestingly Eastern-sounding rendition of “Crazy Train” during a chase sequence. And that’s not the only cover song to be prominently featured, with Black and his band, Tenacious D, covering Britney Spears’ “Baby One More Time” during the end credits. It’s a better use of Black’s musical talent than “Peaches” from The Super Mario Bros Movie . Kung Fu Panda 4 feels like a dishonor to the franchise, with almost every aspect being inferior to the previous entries. Even the DreamWorks opening credit logo lacked the personality it once had. From a franchise that has always been willing to take risks, this fourth outing is safe and forgettable. Audiences were wishing for more skadoosh, but they got more of a whimpering pow instead. Must Read 'Kung Fu Panda 4' Review Audiences were wishing for more skadoosh, but they got more of a whimpering pow instead. SHOP 'Ricky Stanicky' Review Seeing how far Cena is willing to go makes up for a lot of other rougher stretches. SHOP 'Spaceman' Review The simple sight of the comedian in a lower register isn’t enough to cover up an oversimplified love story with liberally borrowed plot points. SHOP 'Drive-Away Dolls' Review The results here are a bit scatterbrained, sort of touching on a few too many Coen trademarks with only half the potency they used to have. SHOP 'Dune: Part Two' Review Just as he did with 'Blade Runner 2049,' Villeneuve has accomplished what has long been thought to be impossible. SHOP

'Argylle' Review January 31, 2024 By: Hunter Friesen Step right up, ladies and gentlemen, and behold one of the unexplained mysteries of the universe! What I present to you on the screen is a cat. But it’s also not a cat. It walks like a cat, talks like a cat, and has the overall presence of a cat. And yet, any time you look into its eyes, you are unable to detect any semblance of a soul. How can this be, you ask? The foremost scientists of our time have been unable to determine that answer, nor have they been able to ascertain an answer for why it exists. Did the producers of Argylle not think that cats already exist, and can be trained? Did they recently watch Tom Hooper’s Cats and think that they could go even further down the uncanny valley? Or are they modern Robin Hoods and decided to waste millions of dollars of Apple’s money on something so monumentally stupid? I leave all these questions up to you, ladies and gentlemen. But be warned, the journey to acquire the knowledge that you seek will not be as fun as the marketing would have you believe. A fully CGI cat is only one of several frustrating peculiarities within the freak show brought to us by the “twisted mind” of Matthew Vaughn. At this point, I’d suggest replacing “twisted” with “childish” or “immature.” “Edgy” would also be a good substitute, but only in the context of a twelve-year-old who thinks of themselves as edgy when they tell their first joke that involves swearing or sex. “Original,” however, is a word I would not use for Vaughn or Argylle , no matter how much they try (and let me tell you, they try A LOT ) to make you think they’re one step ahead. In an opening almost ripped straight from Austin Powers in Goldmember (we’re really stealing from the cream of the crop here); we see Henry Cavill sporting one of the most hideous hairstyles in modern cinema, right up there with Taylor Lautner’s flowing locks from Twilight and Nicolas Cage’s from Con Air . He’s on the trail of Lagrange (Dua Lipa), but his role gets flipped to prey once she catches him in a trap. With the help of his two sidekicks (John Cena, Ariana DeBose), Argylle escapes and gets one step closer to solving the ultimate conspiracy. But scratch all that, as Agent Argylle is only a story within a story. The topmost layer has Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard) the author of Argylle’s adventures, a series in a long line of successful spy novels. For some reason, almost everything that Elly writes comes true, leading to her life being in danger once a rogue spy syndicate decides to silence her. The only source of help to keeping Elly safe and finding out the full truth is a good spy named Aidan (Sam Rockwell), who claims to know more than he lets on. It’s not that the plot of Argylle is confusing, it’s more that it never registers as interesting or sensical. There’s a lot of moving pieces, but the thread that connects them all together is embarrassingly thin. Before you have time to raise your hand and question why anything is happening, writer Jason Fuchs takes a hard pivot for another “out of this world” twist. The unpredictability of everything becomes tiringly predictable, and even more annoying. What’s also predictable is Vaughn’s staging of the action, which contains no fewer than five set pieces queued to clichéd 60s tunes. To give him credit, one of those scenes contains some nice visual flourishes and choreography. But the rest are bogged down by either horrendous CGI or excessive editing. I’m sure with $100+ million at his disposal, there wasn’t much from Vaughn’s imagination that couldn’t be filmed. But the real question was if he should, not if he could. And the vast majority of this shouldn't have left the brainstorming session. Must Read 'Argylle' Review It's time to find out who the REAL Agent Argylle is! SHOP 'Mean Girls' Review It’s harmless, fun, and will probably be forgotten within due time… kind of like a piece of plastic. SHOP 'The Beekeeper' Review It’s only the second week of January and 2024 already has its best bad movie of the year. SHOP 'The Book of Clarence' Review Samuel is more interested in making this into a good time than a good film SHOP 'Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom' Review It’s hard to care about something so uneventful and incohesive SHOP