Bob Odenkirk returns in the unexpected sequel to 2021’s fun but low-key action thriller “Nobody”. The straightforwardly titled “Nobody 2” features the same entertaining mix of bloody beat ‘em up action and dark humor that earned the first film good marks from both fans and critics. It pushes credibility a little further, mostly in the interest of laughs. But not so far as to lose its bone-cracking charm.

This time around Indonesian filmmaker Timo Tjahjanto takes the directing duties in what is his English-language debut. Written for the screen by Derek Kolstad and Aaron Rabin, “Nobody 2” sees former CIA assassin Hutch Mansell (Odenkirk) in a bind after burning up the Russian mafia’s money in the first film. Hutch’s debt to the mob was paid by his former handler, The Barber (Colin Salmon). Now Hutch is forced to pay off his debt to The Barber by carrying out contracts for him.

Back at home, Hutch’s constant absence is taking a toll on his relationships with his wife Becca (Connie Nielsen) and their two kids, the increasingly aggressive Brady (Gage Munroe) and the younger Sammy (Paisley Cadorath). Hoping to mend things with his family, Hutch plans a family getaway to one of his favorite childhood places – a vacation town called Plummerville. With his father David (Christopher Lloyd) in tow, Hutch and his family head off in Griswald-like fashion to “make memories”.

But violence seems to follow Hutch wherever he goes. In the case of Plummerville, it’s ran by a shady businessman named Wyatt Martin (John Ortiz) who is nothing more than a pawn for an area crime syndicate. Its leader, the ruthless and psychotic Lendina (Sharon Stone), uses the town as a hub for her lucrative bootlegging enterprise. But with his arrival, Hutch inadvertently throws a wrench into Lendina’s operation.

It all starts during a run-in with the town’s corrupt and ambitious sheriff, Abel (Colin Hanks). From there, a domino effect of bloody-knuckled violence follows as Hutch beats his way through waves and waves of goons much to the chagrin of Becca who was hoping for some quiet, leisurely family time. The family dynamic adds a fun twist, but the action is the movie’s bread and butter, with much of it infused with a healthy injection of humor.

Odenkirk makes a great transition from the cynical action-thriller vibes of the first film to a more straightforward action-comedy. He once again embodies the everyman vibe that hides Hutch’s true one-man killing machine identity. But he gets to show a much more playful side as well as some real heart. Nielsen has a blast with a considerable bigger role and a better character arc. As for Stone, she’s entertaining in chaotic bursts and over-the-top by design. But perhaps a bit too over-the-top.

“Nobody 2” is a violent movie with a proudly prominent body count. Yet it’s an openly unserious romp that adds lighter layers to everything from its story to its unconventional antihero. We get lots of well-choreographed action and several well-earned laughs. And it’s all seasoned with some great needle drops. Yes, the movie is formulaic to a point, but never to its own detriment. That’s because Tjahjanto stays true to his vision and we’re treated to some solid fun as a result. “Nobody 2” is in theaters now.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS

It seemed like all the right ingredients were in place. You have a film trilogy that I loved. You have a style of absurd comedy that I’ve always been drawn to. And you have a lead actor in Liam Neeson who I’ve always enjoyed watching regardless of what film he’s in. But here’s the thing – you don’t just recreate something as hilariously absurd as 1988’s “The Naked Gun”. And you don’t just step into the Oxfords of a comedy legend like Leslie Nielsen.

Yet that’s the attempt we get in “The Naked Gun”, a 2025 legacy sequel that follows that goofy trend of using the exact same title as a previous series installment. Perhaps it’s my unwavering love for the original three movies. Perhaps it’s my concern from seeing Seth MacFarlane attached. But from its very first trailer, I was resistant to the idea of a sequel, reboot, or remake. The earlier films were built upon such a distinct brand of humor that since has all but disappeared. And the late, great Nielsen had a flawless knack for it.

To director Akiva Schaffer’s credit, his sequel certainly makes an effort to honor the original films, at least early on. It’s sets itself up well through some really good gags that feels fairly in-tune with David Zucker’s gems. But “The Naked Gun” 2025 runs out of steam around the midway mark. The laughs become noticeably more scarce. And as much as I like Neeson, he just doesn’t have the imbecilic innocence and irresistible charm that Leslie Nielsen effortlessly brought to the role.

Amid its slew of movie-defining early jokes, the story is initially set up as a classic film noir, complete with a hard-boiled detective, cynical voiceover, moody music, and even a femme fatale. But either intentionally or not (it’s hard to tell), Schaffer tosses it aside for a more conventional structure. Neeson plays Frank Drebin Jr., the son of Nielsen’s Frank Drebin, who has chosen to follow in his father’s footsteps and join LA’s Police Squad.

After stopping a downtown bank robbery, Frank finds himself in hot water with his chief (CCH Pounder) over his use of excessive force. As punishment, he and his partner Ed Hocken, Jr. (a woefully underused Paul Walter Hauser) are moved off the bank case and assigned to investigate a suspicious car accident. Killed in the wreck is a man named Simon Davenport. After interviewing the deceased’s sultry sister Beth (Pamela Anderson), Frank makes a surprising discovery.

It turns out the car wreck and the bank heist are connected. And that connection is Edentech, a big tech corporation ran by the shady Richard Cane (Danny Huston). In truth, the story is pretty preposterous to the point of being mostly inconsequential. Things like coherence, a compelling narrative, character development, etc. are nowhere to be found. There’s nothing about the story to latch onto or to even bother caring about.

But frankly, that’s okay in a joke-a-minute movie where the main focus is on quickly shuttling us from one gag to the next. The problems come when the jokes stop landing, and sadly that happens too much in the second half. It takes some late swings that are simply too ridiculous. A few other swings come off as just lazy. Meanwhile some of the running jokes run out of gas yet Schaffer keeps going back to them.

While I’ve made a point to praise Nielsen for his tremendous comic work in the original films, I don’t want to shortchange Neeson’s efforts here. He and Schaffer attempt to recreate Nielsen’s Frank Drebin but the results are noticeably different. But it has more to do with the material than Neeson. The 73-year-old screen veteran fully commits to the cornball humor and is a key reason why the film works as well as it does. Throw in some good callbacks and a keen self-awareness, and you have just enough to keep this wobbly legacy sequel on its feet.

VERDICT – 3 STARS

Directors Dan Berk and Robert Olsen team up for “Novocaine”, an outrageous action comedy that squeezes every ounce of humor it can out of its one joke. But lucky for them it’s a pretty good joke and they’re able to get a lot of mileage out of it. They’re even luckier to have Jack Quaid, whose performance is so impressively in-tune with his character that he’s able to keep the film on the road even as its wheels come off in the final act.

Written by Lars Jacobson, “Novocaine” starts by introducing us to Nathan “Nate” Caine, the kind-hearted assistant manager at San Diego Trust Credit Union. He’s a bit antsy and socially awkward with his lone friend being his online video gaming buddy Roscoe who he’s never actually met in person (he’s played by Jacob Batalon who’s doing a variation of the same character he plays in most of his movies). Nate doesn’t go out and he doesn’t date, but he does have a crush on Sherry (Amber Midthunder), a teller at his bank.

Here’s the thing – Nate is hiding one whopper of a secret. He has an extremely rare genetic disorder that makes him unable to feel pain. It may sound amazing, but it causes a number of problems that the movie has fun exploring. He opens up about his condition to Sherry after the two become romantically involved. Suddenly Nate’s life is looking up. That is until three heavily armed Santas bust into the bank, steal the money from the vault, and escape with Sherry as their hostage.

After a pretty great setup, the remainder of the movie follows Nate as he takes it upon himself to track down the robbers and rescue the newfound girl of he dreams. Meanwhile two detectives with the San Diego police department (Betty Gabriel and Matt Walsh) follow the trail of carnage while trying to determine if Nate is a hero or in on the heist. Of course Nate’s resistance to pain and natural timidity come into play in a number of wild and genuinely funny ways.

“Novocaine” does a decent job finding that elusive balance between action and comedy. The humor ranges from sweet and amusing to laugh-out-loud absurd. And there is no shortage of blood and gore in the action. It doesn’t all land the way it’s intended, but having Quaid at its center is invaluable. He does a little bit of everything including earning our empathy, thrilling us with hard-hitting violence, and making us chuckle at certain points along the way.

Unfortunately things unravel mightily near the end as the movie loses its humor and charm in its blaring action-driven finale. It leaves us feeling as numb as the film’s protagonist, despite our earlier investments. But while its ending may clang, “Novocaine” hits plenty of good notes. It earns enough goodwill along the way, both thrilling and amusing us with its blood-soaked action slapstick while disarming us with its surprisingly big heart. “Novocaine” is in theaters now.

VERDICT – 3 STARS

Director Michiel Blanchart’s “Night Call” is a French and Belgian action thriller that manages to endure its own broad-brush messaging to deliver a tense and taut 97-minute experience that will have you glued to your screen. The bulk of the film happens over the course of one fateful night in Brussels and takes a young man on a personal journey that will undoubtedly change his life forever.

Jonathan Feltre plays Mady Bala, a 24/7 locksmith and part-time college student who travels around the city at night taking calls from anyone in need of his services. One such call comes from a young lady named Claire (Natacha Krief) who has locked herself out of her apartment. Mady arrives at the address and is greeted by Claire who ushers him into her building. From there Mady trustingly makes two ill-advised concessions that have serious repercussions.

Mady’s policy is cash up front along with a form of identification. But he’s quick to toss it aside after Claire informs him that her purse is locked inside her apartment. Somehow swept by her charm, our easily duped protagonist agrees to help, only to find himself alone in the apartment while she runs downstairs to the ATM.

Of course Claire doesn’t come back and after a few minutes Mady finally realizes he’s been hoodwinked. But it gets worse with the arrival of the apartment’s real tenant – a neo-Nazi who flies into a rage after seeing a young minority in his place. The man immediately and brutally attacks, and following a violent scrum Mady kills the man in self-defense.

The story is set to the backdrop of escalating protests across the city following the death of a young black man at the hands of the police. That’s certainly rich ground to explore. But here it feels like a convenience that provides Mady with a reason to not call the cops. I don’t doubt that Blanchart and co-writer Gilles Marchand have good intentions. But for much of the movie this racial tension is more of a plot device than something being examined.

Despite that Blanchart deserves credit for keeping his high-energy story moving forward. Things really kick into gear with the introduction of a gangster named Yannick (Romain Duris). We learn the man Mady killed was keeping a stash of cash that belonged to Yannick. All Yannick knows is that the money is gone, the man is dead, and Mady is somehow connected. So he has his henchman pick up Mady and makes him a deal – find the girl and return his money by morning or he’ll be the one to pay.

From there the intensity steadily builds in large part thanks to the film’s crisp pacing, bursts of gritty action, and Feltre’s committed performance. Yet so much of the story demands at least some suspension of disbelief. There are simply too many coincidences and conveniences. And while the journey has enough zest to keep us entertained, it limps across the finish line with an on-the-nose ending that lazily reveals the movie’s biggest villain. It’s one of several missteps that holds this otherwise propulsive movie back. “Night Call” releases in select theaters January 17th.

VERDICT – 2.5 STARS

Christmas in small town Ohio is the backdrop to “Nutcrackers”, yet another ‘fish out of water’ feel-good story, this time from director David Gordon Green. Following some lukewarm swings at franchise horror with three Halloween movies and one Exorcist sequel, Green attempts to lighten things up with “Nutcrackers”. Unfortunately he ends up with pretty mixed results.

Ben Stiller takes on his first lead role in seven years playing Michael, a development manager at a prominent real estate firm in Chicago. We meet him as he’s on his way to Ohio to take care of some family business. We learn that his sister and her husband were tragically killed in a car accident leaving behind their four young sons. As the only living relative, Michael has to sign papers before the children can be placed with their new foster family.

Michael’s plans are for a quick trip as he’s due back in Chicago for an important sales pitch for his firm. But his plans derail after he arrives and is greeted by Gretchen Rice (Linda Cardellini) with the Department of Family Services. She informs him that the potential foster family backed out and he must assume custody until another family can be found. Clearly unequipped and unprepared, city boy Michael finds himself out of his element on his late sister’s farm with four rambunctious kids to wrangle.

A huge chunk of the movie is spent on Michael’s culture clash with his four nephews, Justice, Junior, Samuel, and Simon (played by real-life brothers, 12-year-old Homer, 10-year-old Ulysses, and 8-year-old twins Arlo and Atlas Janson). It’s the centerpiece of what is a cliché-riddled story that’s full of cheap humor and country-fried rural stereotypes. Amid the stream of fart jokes, farm animal cracks, and one painful and neverending sex-ed gag, Green and screenwriter Leland Douglas try to develop something resembling an emotional center but it never feels authentic.

To Stiller’s credit, he does bring a little warmth, and he manages to make Michael’s eventual internal conflict somewhat believable. But he’s trapped within a terribly predictable character arc that hits every single beat you expect. Absolutely nothing will surprise you about what his character does and where he ends up. And while Cardellini is every bit as good as she always is, she’s given very little to do which seems like such a waste.

By the final act, Green shelves the attempts at comedy and goes for the tear ducts with a sentimental finish that might have tugged at our heartstrings if not for the lackluster hour that preceded it. You can sense what the movie is shooting for and you can imagine ways that it might have worked. But the lack of originality, the overreliance on a tired formula, and the uninspired humor keeps the movie from ever earning our investment.

VERDICT – 2 STARS

Period horror maestro Robert Eggers conducts a new Symphony of Horror with “Nosferatu”, a brilliantly assured remake of F.W. Murnau’s 1922 German classic of the same name. Written and directed by Eggers, this devilish dive into Gothic horror features most of the filmmaker’s well established trademarks along with a perfectly tuned cast who fully submerge themselves in the grim and macabre world Eggers painstakingly recreates.

While this modern adaptation distinguishes itself from the over century-old original, Eggers goes to great lengths to stay true to its predecessor. He embraces the same time period, setting, and characters although he adds a lot more depth and detail to his story. The majority of his additions and extensions work exceptionally well while some (such as his vaguely explained sexualization of certain plot points) are a little harder to sort out. But Eggers has such a good grasp of the material which is evident in every stunning frame.

When it comes to developing atmosphere, tone management, and period immersion, few do it better than Robert Eggers. He nails all three in “Nosferatu”. Set in 1838, the film introduces us to newlyweds Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp) and Thomas (Nicholas Hoult) who live in the bustling port town of Wisborg, Germany. Years earlier a younger Ellen had a terrifying encounter with a mysterious force. Afterwards she suffered with troubling dreams and bouts of melancholy. But those things went away when Thomas came into her life.

Hoping to build a good life for his wife, Thomas takes a job at a local real estate firm. Its owner, Herr Knock (Simon McBurney) tasks Thomas with meeting a prospective new client who wants to buy a retirement home in Wisborg. The sickly client is adamant that an agent come visit him in person. The problem is he lives far away in an isolated castle in the Carpathian Alps. Knock throws in some extra incentive – if Thomas secures the account he will secure his position in the firm. And the client’s name – Count Orlock (Bill Skarsgård).

Despite Ellen’s pleas for him to stay, Thomas is determined to go. So he leaves his wife with their close friends Frederick (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Anna Harding (Emma Corrin) and sets off on his arduous six-week trek. After an overnight stop at an eerie gypsy village, Thomas makes the final leg of his journey to the ominous castle perched high in the craggy mountains. What follows is Eggers at his very best.

Once inside the shadowy cavernous castle, Thomas meets the mysterious Count Orlock. Bill Skarsgård completely vanishes into the character, whose long jagged fingers, deep-set eyes, and bushy mustache go right along with his long enunciations, gravelly tone, and the death rattle in his breathing. Eggers doesn’t linger on the hideous Orlock, instead smartly keeping him at a distance, only giving us strategically staged glimpses which adds to the sinister nature of his presence.

I won’t spoil the details, but Thomas’ meeting with the Count doesn’t go as planned. He learns firsthand of Orlock’s craving for human blood and manages to escapes the castle. Orlock begins making his way to Wisborg with his evil sights set on Ellen. In the meantime, Ellen’s nightmares return and intensify, causing Frederick to summon Dr. Wilhelm Siever (Ralph Ineson). Fearing there is something beyond science causing Ellen’s problems, Siever reaches out to the disgraced Professor Von Franz (Willem Dafoe) who specializes in the occult.

With all his players in place, Eggers begins methodically moving us through his grim phantasmagoric tale. Plague-carrying rats, unexplained madness, and shocking deaths all help pave the way towards a looming supernatural showdown. It’s all visualized through the breathtaking cinematography of Jarin Blaschke, easily among the year’s best, and accompanied by composer Robin Carolan’s bone-chilling chords. From pacing to presentation, “Nosferatu” keeps us glued to the screen and squirming in our seats.

“Nosferatu” is a movie with a deep reverence for Murnau’s seminal classic. But it’s also undeniably a Robert Eggers film as seen in the technical craft, brooding atmosphere, and fascinating worldbuilding. As always, he directs with an assured hand, trusting his wonderfully morbid vision over lazy jump scares or tired gimmicks. And as he’s unnerving us, subtle but effective themes of obsession and repression seep through to the surface. It’s yet another stroke of genius that places Eggers into a creative category all his own.

VERDICT – 4.5 STARS