The Lutrinae is excited for our new column, “Hayley’s Hot Takes.” Some of you may remember me from the “Takes Two to Review” duo. Despite being a solo act this year, I promise to keep the reviews coming! Each week I will share my hot takes on new movies, helping you decide what’s worth the watch (or stream) and what’s a total skip or snooze.
This week, I’m recapping all the films that came out over the summer. Starting with the sequels and remakes.
“Lilo and Stitch” hit the box office first, not making the splash all the ‘90’s and early 2000’s kids were hoping for. Bringing Stitch to life with incredible CGI effects and the performance from young actress Maia Kealoha were truly the only saving graces to this film. The nostalgic punch underdelivered as major changes from the original disappointed viewers, such as Pleakly’s lack of drag, David’s doofiness and Nani’s college endeavors. A heart warming film, but not the film we all remembered and hoped to see brought back to life.
Moving into comedy, “Nobody 2” was one of the best sequels done this summer. Serving exactly what fans of the original 2021 film “Nobody” had hoped for. Starring actor Bob Odenkirk, well known for his role in TV series “Better Call Saul,” this film hit all the punches (literally). Action packed, it upped-the-ante of the first film. It kept an identical structure to the original, fast paced and full of laughs.
Honorable and equally enjoyable mentions within the world of sequels were, “Freakier Friday” and “Happy Gilmore 2” leaving fans feeling like they grew up alongside their childhood favorites.
Next came our action movies.
“Superman” and in my opinion the not-so “Fantastic Four” had quite the competition to follow up “Thunderbolts*” that had just come out in the spring. Having a stacked cast may have been the only fantastic thing this take had to offer. It lacked the action packed adrenaline most Marvel movies serve up alongside the emotional stakes and had a few too many plot holes revolving around the science of space travel. For those that stuck it out for the post-credits scene, it became obvious that this film was intended to piece the Marvel cinematic universe together and set up the next few films to come in.
Horror was not forgotten this summer as “Together” and “Weapons” opened the door for what’s in store this fall as far as scary goes. “Together” made it onto my own personal favorites list, starring Alison Brie and Dave Franco. They told a unique story of codependency through body horror, folklore and twisted humor. This is a film I recommend to anyone this spooky season who didn’t get a chance to catch it in theaters.
Moving on to my favorite film of the summer, “Eddington.”
Starring Pedro Pascal, Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone and Austin Butler. This film somehow seemed to fly under the radar with little promotional material and trailers that gave close to nothing away about the film. Described as a modern western, this film dives deep into the coronavirus pandemic, giving a raw uncut emotional take on how this time affected individuals of all walks of life within a single community. The movie was unafraid to touch the psychological, economical and political aspects of something that for many is still fresh and hard to process.
Lastly the unsung (or rather loudly sung) hero, “K-Pop Demon Hunters.” It grew an enormous following that it broke free from the world of streaming to hit the big screen. This animated musical film won the hearts of children and adults alike. It filled theaters for a weekend with fans singing along with the demon fighting pop stars.
Stay tuned for more Hot Takes of movies such as “Caught Stealing,” “Honey Don’t” and “One Battle after Another” coming soon.