Good Burger 2 (2023)

Good Burger 2 is the follow-up sequel to the 1997 hit Good Burger based on the Nickelodeon skit from the TV show All That.

The man who brought you the hit TV show, The Last Man On Earth, Phil Traill comes to direct this. Oh, he only directed one episode? He's pretty much only done TV stuff. After seeing the film I doubt he'll be asked to do more, but then again lately in Hollywood people are failing upward. He just had to do an acceptable sequel and we got this. He didn't grow up with Good Burger, he was already an old man by that point. They should have gotten someone in their thirties to direct. The writing really feels like the first film which makes sense since they've gotten the original writers on board.

Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell return to reprise their roles. They've got some All That alumni back including Lori Beth Denberg and Josh Server. Kenan has grown the most in terms of acting, probably from his stay on SNL and Kel just feels like he's going through the motions and getting the paycheck you know he got to reprise his role. No one else could do it and it would have made the movie worse.

In the end, my kids enjoyed it for its silliness but shouldn't a nostalgia-bait movie cater to the people who grew up with it? Perhaps the writers considered that but felt it wouldn't match the same feel of the first one. Result: D+

Comments

Mutiny (2026)

Mutiny is directed by Jean-François Richet , who directed Plane , and also who once again proves to be a better action director than character developer. The film's action sequences are staged effectively, but some of the quieter scenes feel strangely undercooked. I'm not sure if Richet simply ignored certain issues or chose to use the first take in order to save money, but several moments lack the polish the rest of the film displays. Writers Lindsay Michel and J.P. Davis do a good job setting up the action and giving Jason Statham's character a believable reason to find himself out on a boat, but the dialogue can be atrocious at times. The story works when it focuses on its action, but the writing becomes a noticeable weakness whenever the characters stop moving long enough to talk. Jason Statham , known for The Transporter and The Beekeeper , does exactly what audiences expect from him and does it well. He commands every scene he's in, bringing his usual physica...

Insidious: Out of the Further (2026)

Insidious: Out of the Further is written and directed by Jacob Chase , who has made some solid shorts in the past but is making the first major motion picture of his that I've seen. There is very little to criticize about his direction, particularly when it comes to setting up scares. Chase understands how to build tension and makes especially good use of the film's more claustrophobic scenes, creating an uncomfortable atmosphere without relying entirely on cheap jump scares. The direction and horror setup are the film's strongest elements, even if the overall story doesn't quite reach the level needed for a full recommendation. Amelia Eve delivers a performance that feels reminiscent of Naomi Watts in The Ring . She channels that same exhausted and increasingly desperate energy, making her character feel convincing as the supernatural events escalate around her. The performance fits the tone of the franchise well and helps ground the film's more unsettling momen...

Sleepwalker (2026)

Sleepwalker is a horror thriller written and directed by Brandon Auman , who quickly reminds us why his career has primarily been in television rather than feature films. Writing for children's television can sometimes get away with simplistic dialogue and storytelling, but those weaknesses become glaring when stretched into a feature-length horror movie. The screenplay is filled with clunky dialogue and predictable horror beats, while the jump scares rarely land. Instead of creating tension, the film repeatedly left me sighing in boredom. Hayden Panettiere delivers a strong performance despite the material she's been given. It's clear that many of her lines weren't written with much care, but she does what she can to make the character feel believable. Knowing this is her final film makes the performance bittersweet, especially because she deserved a much better script to go out on. Fortunately, her performance here doesn't diminish the work she's done in bet...

Movies, Film, and Chili

Search This Blog