From silly movies like “The Garfield Movie,” to book adaptations like “It Ends With Us,” to freaky films like “Longlegs” and gripping stories like “Twisters,” the summer of 2024 brought many long-awaited sequels, remakes and original films to theaters.
As an avid movie-goer and Cinemark rewards member, I saw several of these motion-picture films and here’s what I thought about the most prominent ones:
“Longlegs”: 3/5
The second I saw the trailer for “Longlegs,” I was sold. Horror is my favorite genre and this looked like it would be right up my alley. Unfortunately, I found it to be slow and boring, and was quite upset with the direction it went in.
The film follows FBI agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) as she attempts to hunt down a serial murderer in Oregon known as “Longlegs.” Nicolas Cage as Longlegs was amazingly uncanny and disturbing. The character was very interesting and I wish we saw more of him. He killed it, literally. Harker was a character I just could not find myself rooting for or liking in general, but I believe that was more of an issue with the writing of her character.
Written and directed by Osgood Perkins, who is known for writing “The Blackcoat’s Daughter” and “I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House,” he did not particularly thrill me with this. There were some absolutely phenomenal shots in this film and I really enjoyed the color palette. However, I could not get over some of the cringey and borderline senseless dialogue.
A lot of the reviews for this movie were right in the middle, including mine. While it did have some fantastic parts, it ultimately fell short which is really sad for a movie with “long” in the title.
Inside Out 2: 3/5
This sequel to the hit movie “Inside Out” was one that a great deal of people were looking forward to. Now that the main character Riley (Kensington Tallman) is older, new emotions emerge that cause chaos and uproar amongst the core five we all know and love.
From the second it was released, fans were falling in love with the story, especially the character of Anxiety who was voiced by the lovely Maya Hawke. The writers did a phenomenal job with this character. Audience members felt seen, heard and more connected to this franchise.
The portrayal of Anxiety is what earns this movie its stars from me. While it was super cute and I will definitely rewatch, it was evident that the film was for children. As I grow older, I find myself not being drawn to animated movies like I once was, but just because it wasn’t necessarily my style does not mean it wasn’t a good movie.
Twisters: 5/5
Starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell and Anthony Ramos, this action movie based on the 1996 film “Twister” was electrifying. Was the dialogue fantastic? No. Was the plot anything spectacular? Not really. Was the cinematography special? Meh. But did I have the best time ever? Yes. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.
Meteorologist and former tornado chaser Kate Carter (Daisy Edgar-Jones) crosses paths with famous tornado wrangler Tyler Owens (Glen Powell) and the two become an unexpected duo working to help the communities of Oklahoma.
The acting was pretty good, but nothing I’d necessarily rave about and, as mentioned above, the plot was ordinary. The tension, though, was incredible. I felt for these characters and the situations they were in. The soundtrack was wonderful too. My personal favorites were “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma” by Luke Combs and “Out of Oklahoma” by Lainey Wilson.
My five stars may seem very generous, but this was genuinely my favorite out of everything I saw just because of how fun the experience was. I highly recommend it.
Despicable Me 4: 0/5
Let’s be for real … how many minion movies do we need? They should have put this franchise to rest after the last one — and even that’s a stretch. This time, Gru (Steve Carell), Lucy (Kristen Wiig) and the girls welcome a new member to the family, Gru Jr. (Tara Strong). While Junior is not too fond of Gru, the two bond over putting an end to Maxime Le Mal (Will Ferrell), a recently escaped villain out for revenge.
While I do love Steve Carell and Miranda Cosgrove, we’re not seeing them act, just hearing their voices. Their characters feel so overused at this point. The plot felt all over the place and, worst of all, the minions were not as funny as they once were.
I regret spending money to see this. Not only was it way overpriced — because for some reason I needed to see it in 4DX — but it was also just so stupid. At least the animated sequel of “Inside Out” had a real focus.
It is honestly just hard to compare this summer’s movies to last summer’s “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer.” This year may be saved with upcoming releases such as “Joker: Folie à Deux” and “Moana 2,” but nothing is ever guaranteed.
ajones11@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of @twistersmovie, Instagram
