Movie Review Opus

Opus 

Directed by Mark Anthony Green 

Written by Mark Anthony Green 

Starring Ayo Edebiri, John Malkovich, Juliette Lewis 

Release Date March 14th, 2025 

Published March 17th, 2025 

Opus is yet another in a growing sub genre of ‘Vibes’ movies. What is a ‘Vibes’ movie? It’s a film where atmosphere and oddity are as, or more, important than plot and character. A great example of a Vibes Movie is Mark Mylod’s 2022 film, The Menu. That film develops a menacing and confounding air, sending up thriller feels but preferring to keep the audience off balance more than terrified or breathless. Some also consider the work of Ari Aster in the genre of Vibes Movies. I get that, though I prefer to keep Aster in the horror genre, there is no denying the Vibes Movie feel of Beau is Afraid. 

Naturally, because our modern culture does not slow down, there are already critics who are talking about being tired of Vibes Movies, even as they haven’t been around all that long. But with many of these movies having been highly praised by critics, myself included, tropes in vibes movies are beginning to emerge and stagnate the sub genre, as always happens when a unique new way to approach a film story takes hold. Others have called this A24-Core, as A24 is the home to Ari Aster but Neon and other indie studios have been in the Vibes Movie Sub-Genre since it took hold in the later part of the previous decade.

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media, linked here. 

Movie Review Inside Out 2

Inside Out 2 (2024) 

Directed by Kelsey Mann 

Written by Meg Lefauve

Starring Amy Poehler, Maya Hawke, Lewis Black, Tony Hale, Adele Exarchopoulis, Phyllis Smith, Ayo Edibiri, Paul Walter Hauser 

Release Date June 14th, 2024 

Published June 14th, 2024 

I used to anticipate a new Pixar release like other people anticipate a new Marvel release. The beauty of animation and the ambitious stories being told were inspiring. Pixar shaped generations of kids, helped them to think critically, and helped them learn to appreciate art while remaining magical and a joy to look at. The pandemic and Disney's internal rot as they let hedge fund managers and stock analysts take hold of their creative products has now infected the once pristine land of Pixar. 

The company that once prided itself on pioneering the world of animation has now begun laying off employees. They have slashed budgets, cut back on the creative teams, you can see the diminishing returns in both box office and in the quality of the animation they are putting out. It's still an industry standard but we've gone over the peak of Pixar, it's all downhill from here, it would seem. My thesis statement for this Pixar hot take is Inside Out 2. Sequels, reboots, and prequels are the last refuge of scoundrels in Hollywood and while Pixar has been in the sequel business for a few years, the growing reliance on memorable intellectual product or I.P is beginning to dim the once bright star of the animation genre.

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media, linked here. 

Movie Review Bottoms

Bottoms (2023) 

Directed by Emma Seligmann

Written by Emma Seligmann, Rachel Sennott

Starring Rachel Sennott, Ayo Edibiri, Havana Rose Liu, Ruby Cruz, Marshawn Lynch

Release Date September 1st, 2023 

Published September 1st, 2023 

Queer kids are horny too. This should not surprise anyone but our popular culture, our culture in general has tried to hide from this fact for, perhaps, the entire history of film. Queer kids in movies may have longings, they may have desires and even a love interest, but they are, more often then not, saintly, sexless representations of their community, sanitized for the protection of mainstream moviegoers, even the so-called allies who like the idea of supporting LGBTQ but aren't comfortable actually seeing that representation in its infinite variety on the big screen. 

This makes Emma Seligmann and Rachel Sennott's Bottoms a rather revolutionary new movie. Bottoms portrays a pair of queer, female lead characters whose libidinous desires drive the plot. If that's a problem for you, I suggest you skip movies like the American Pie franchise or Superbad because Bottoms, at least in terms of the frank depiction of horniness, is no different from those teenage, straight, male presentations of sexually active and desirous teens. 

But where those outrageous comedies play everything straight, pun intended, Bottoms starts from a recognizable reality and spins out to a broad story that satirizes the tropes of High School comedies while getting at the heart of the anxieties that drive teenagers, gay or straight. Much like the equally spiky 80s comedy of Heathers, Bottoms presents High School life as violent dystopic, minefield of social expectations while reveling in the catharsis that can come from stepping around the expected into a place that disrupts the norms with gleeful intent. 

Bottoms stars Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edibiri as best friends, P.J and Josie. Outcasts since kindergarten, the queer teens are hopeful that the start of a new school year can be a restart to their High School lives and personas. Both have crushes on cheerleaders that are destined to be unrequited but where P.J is willing to press the issue, Josie prefers a depressing long game that she lays out in one of the funniest monologues of 2023, punctuated by a perfect quip from Sennott's P.J for one of my favorite laughs of the year. 

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media