Teen Wolf: The Movie (2023)

Teen Wolf: The Movie is about werewolves fighting against a firefly demon enemy.

About halfway through the movie, it dawned on me that perhaps this was based on a CW show and when I looked it up I found out it was MTV. The movie is very much written for an audience who has seen the show as many characters and their powers are not introduced.

Directed by Russell Mulcahy, who also directed the TV show, 1986's Highlander, and more recently the two episodes of Netflix's TV series 13 Reasons Why. I'm not sure what the budget of the film was, but surely they could have spent more on the CGI as it's of the quality of Charmed or Buffy. This is 2023 though, audiences expect better. There are also some camera positions that are questionable and fog also just lingers in specific areas which I suppose is more of a production design issue. The sets are sometimes unbelievable and sometimes the backgrounds are obviously computer generated. The music also swells sometimes then dies down immediately as if it was just there for character reveal.

Will Wallace and Joseph P. Genier are the writers of the show and movie. From only seeing the movie I can tell they lean heavily on sticky dialogue and exposition. The plot is very bizarre and scenes jump from one to another without any flow. I found myself asking my tv "What?" after hearing something really weird that didn't make sense and the movie didn't set up for it. This happened a few times as the movie really just jumps around.

The cast is pretty large. I expect many people to have fan favorites but for a new audience, I felt like it was over-crowded. The worst of the acting came from JR Bourne as half the time he was wooden the other half was overacting and like he was reading a cue card next to the cameraman. The best acting came from Holland Roden, but her character introduction was weird, with bad camera work, and then suddenly she's scribbling on her desk. I remember her from Escape Room: Tournament of Champions but little else. Seth Gilliam is in this movie from The Walking Dead, but here he has one expression. I mean it worked in The Walking Dead but here it just felt boring. His scenes felt like they were one-takes and the director didn't bother to ask them to act better.

The movie is cringy to watch and I doubt I would have enjoyed the TV show after seeing the movie. Roden keeps this movie from being the absolute worst. D-

Comments

The Social Reckoning (2026)

The Social Reckoning is written and directed by Aaron Sorkin , who is better known for his writing than his directing, and it shows. Compared to David Fincher's vision in The Social Network , the direction here is a noticeable step down. Thankfully, the writing is top tier and easily on par with some of Sorkin's best work. The dialogue is sharp, the story holds your attention, and the script gives the cast plenty to work with. The movie is good, but it is not going to be for everyone. Mikey Madison , known for Anora and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood , is a standout as Frances Haugen . She does an excellent job convincing the audience that she is socially awkward and a genuine nerd without making the performance feel forced. It is the kind of role that could easily become a caricature in the wrong hands, but Madison makes the character believable and gives the film one of its strongest performances. Jeremy Allen White , best known for The Bear and Shameless , plays Jeff Ho...

Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023)

Shazam! Fury of the Gods is the sequel, and probably the last Shazam! movie for a while. With the reboot coming later this year, any setup this has for an end to a trilogy is up in the air. Directed by David F. Sandberg, who I loved for Lights Out . It's interesting that James Wan, known for horror took David F Sandberg under his wing and now they both direct major DC super hero movies. They should really stick to horror. Maybe I'm just biased because I love horror. Henry Gayden is back in the writing room, even though it wasn't the writing that brought people to see the first Shazam! This time I think the writing is actually worse. There are subplots that land and some that feel overly forced and politicized. Some actors didn't get enough dialogue or scenes to do much in. Some characters felt throwaway and to check a box. Grace Caroline Currey was top-billed or at least is at the top of the list for IMDB. She really carries the film for Shazam, she makes all th...

Animals (2026)

Animals is written and directed by Ben Affleck , who has shown with films like Argo and The Town that he can be a solid filmmaker when everything comes together. Unfortunately, Animals is all over the place. The movie is filled with race pandering, victim blaming, West-hating dialogue, and situations that fall apart if you spend more than five minutes thinking about them. The characters frequently make decisions that do not make sense, and the story struggles to convince you that any of this is unfolding naturally. Ben Affleck is equally inconsistent as an actor. There are moments when he is on point, but others where he veers into overacting. His crying, in particular, feels more annoying than emotionally convincing. Instead of making the audience feel what his character is going through, the performance can pull you right out of the scene. It is frustrating because Affleck has demonstrated that he can deliver much stronger performances, but this is not one of them. Gillian Ande...

Movies, Film, and Chili

Search This Blog