Movies, Films & Flix

Quick Thoughts:

1. The world needs more movies like Anaconda. It is silly, fun and features Jack Black (with a wild pig strapped on his back) running away from a gigantic snake.
2. I love that it exists. 
3. Daniela Melchior can lead an action franchise
4. I love whatever Steve Zahn is doing
5. Between Tropic Thunder, Jumanji (sequels), King Kong (2005) and Anaconda, Jack Black has good luck in jungles. 
6. Selton Mello has range. He’s wonderful in I’m Still Here, The Clown, and Anaconda. 
7. Ice Cube!

I’m not trying to be lazy here, but the plot of Anaconda isn’t important, so I won’t bother you with an overly-long recap of the movie. Just know that Paul Rudd, Jack Black, Thandiwe Newton and Steve Zahn play underachieving forty-somethings who travel to Brazil so they can film a reboot of the 1997 film Anaconda. I love that a failed actor (Rudd), a bored wedding film director (Black), a recently divorced lawyer (Newton), and a “Buffalo sober” maniac (Zahn) scrape a few thousand dollars together so they can film a creature feature about generational trauma (great gag). While in Brazil, they hire Santiago (Selton Mello), a squirrely snake handler, and have their boat hijacked by Ana (Daniela Melchoir), who pretends to be their captain. While filming their reboot (or rebootquel), they come across a comically large anaconda who pursues them through the Amazon rainforest.

The word “meta” has been used many times in interviews, and it makes sense considering that director Tom Gormican made a name for himself by directing the supremely meta film The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. Both Anaconda and TUWOMT could’ve been buried under the weight of their meta-ness, but Gormicon managed to find the correct tone for both films. Whether it’s capturing the bromance between Nicolas Cage and Pedro Pascal in TUWOMT or filming Jack Black sprinting through a jungle with a pig strapped on his back, he knows how to make high-concept ideas work. 

Unlike the 1997 film Anaconda, this iteration doesn’t feature any real or animatronic snakes, and instead relies on VFX. The artifice is noticeable, but when there’s a 5-minute sequence about Steve Zahn overcoming his shy bladder syndrome, the artifice doesn’t matter. The nice thing about Anaconda (2025) is that it’s not trying to be Avatar or Tron, and instead is totally happy rehashing gags about Rudd’s character losing a regular role on a network TV show (S.W.A.T.) There were constant rewrites, the production lost a major location (thanks to a storm), and the cast had to improv a lot, but it all comes together beautifully. It helps that the cast was all in, as Black joined without reading the script (he loves TUWOMT and Paul Rudd), Ice Cube gave his blessing (and cameos), and Paul Rudd has been everywhere saying the movie needs to be seen with an audience. 

Filmed over two(ish) months in Australia, the movie looks like it was filmed in two months. This isn’t a bad thing because a meta-comedy like Anaconda was never going to have a giant budget, and shooting in an actual rainforest for an extended period of time wasn’t financially feasible or necessary (it isn’t The Revenant). Production designer Steven Jones-Evans (Anyone But You, Hotel Mumbai) and his team built a boat that was filmed in Australian waters, but the rest of the production was shot inside Queensland soundstages. In an interview with MovieWeb, Black mentioned that the characters are shooting their Anaconda reboot for “funsies,” and the pure place they are making it from is what makes it unique. I think that’s what Black and Rudd were pursuing with this movie: they wanted to create an old-school comedy that makes audiences laugh. It’s the type of film audiences don’t see much of anymore, so it’s cool that Sony greenlit a mid-budgeted meta comedy about four ill-prepared people filming an Anaconda reboot. 

Final thoughts – Watch it in theaters and enjoy the insanity.

Quick Thoughts:

1. Marty Supreme is thrillingly alive and vibrant. Everything seems to be pulsating with energy. It fits perfectly alongside Good Time (2017) and Uncut Gems (2019)
2. The Safdie Brothers made two unique sports biopics in 2025 (Marty Supreme, The Smashing Machine)
3. Timothée Chalamet is a maniac, and I love it
4. “I’m a vampire” is one of my favorite lines from a 2025 movie
5. Between Challengers (2024) and Marty Supreme, I like that directors have embraced VFX balls (tennis and ping pong). Tennis and ping pong are tough sports to master, so the performances are better when the actors don’t have to hit actual balls. 
6. The opening credits are wonderful

After The Pleasure of Being Robbed (2008), Daddy Longlegs (2009), Heaven Knows What (2014), Good Time (2017), Uncut Gems (2019) and Marty Supreme, I’m hoping that Josh Safdie’s next project is a 90-minute one-take film about a person digging a massive hole for themselves in their backyard. It would certainly be less stressful (unless they hit a water or gas line), and the visual metaphor would work perfectly. Safdie specializes in creating stressful films that feature kleptomaniacs, man babies, criminals, drug addicts, and self-destructive people digging holes for themselves. Marty Supreme is no different, but it refreshingly features a lead character who is really good at something.

The thing I love most about the Josh Safdie (who co-directed Good Time and Uncut Gems) directed Marty Supreme is that the lead character Marty Mauser (Timothée Chalamet) is a generational table tennis prodigy. After Good Time (2017) and Uncut Gems (2019), two stressful movies about self-destructive maniacs getting in over their heads, I found solace in the fact that Marty is a talented self-destructive maniac who, over the course of the 150-minute film, goes out of his way to blow up his life.

Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler – Uncut Gems), Connie Nikas (Robert Pattison – Good Time), and Marty in Marty Supreme shouldn’t be trusted with money, guns, jewelry, cars, women, or room service transactions. However, Marty seems to be the best of the worst when it comes to Josh Safie’s recent “deeply flawed men who find themselves in deep sh** trilogy.” Marty is a chaotic charmer who can woo a famous actress (Gwyneth Paltrow), and get himself kicked out of the world’s governing table tennis association in the same weekend. Marty writes checks he can’t cash, but he is talented enough to be able to write the checks that get him into some exclusive company. 

From the jump (or bounce), Marty proves his exceptionalism by being an attentive and knowledgeable shoe salesman at a shop owned by his uncle Murray (Larry “Ratso” Sloman). However, being a great salesman doesn’t make him a reliable employee, as he leaves the sales floor to have sex with his married friend Rachel (Odessa A’zion), and takes a five-hour lunch so he can practice for an upcoming table tennis tournament in London. When he comes back to work, his uncle Murray (Larry ‘Ratso’ Sloman) is gone, so instead of waiting to get the $700 he’s owed, he cheekily points a gun at his coworker Lloyd (Ralph Colucci – perfect) to get his flight money. When in London for an International Association of Table Tennis (IATT) tournament, he leaves his cramped athlete housing and books the most expensive room (and orders a ridiculous amount of room service) in the Ritz-Carlton London because that’s where the IATT leaders are staying. The massive hotel bill won’t be a problem if he wins the tournament, but he loses in the finals against a Japanese superstar (and his specialized paddle) named Koto Endo (Koto Kawaguchi – winner of the National Deaf Table Tennis Championships), and is forced to travel around the world working as a half-time entertainer for the Harlem Globetrotters, so he can make money.

When Marty gets back to the States eight months later, he’s hounded by Rachel (who is eight months pregnant), his uncle Murray (who wants his $700 back), and the IATT, who are angry about receiving a $1,500 bill from the Ritz-Carlton. With pressure mounting, Marty only has several weeks to raise an incredible amount of money so he can pay off his debts and play in the world championships in Tokyo. To raise the money, he drags his friend Wally (Tyler the Creator) to Jersey from some ping pong hustling, reunites with London-fling Kay Stone (Gwyneth Paltrow), and attempts to borrow money from her rich husband, Milton Rockwell (Kevin O’Leary). Everything Marty does ends badly, but his endless optimism keeps him moving forward towards more chaos. I don’t want to spoil the rest of the film, just know that a bathtub falls through a ceiling, fake jewelry is stolen, and a dog (owned by a gangster) is set loose. 

Safdie decided to direct after Marty Supreme after his wife bought him a copy of Marty’s autobiography, The Money Player: The confessions of America’s greatest table tennis champion and hustler. Safdie grew up loving table tennis, so a movie about a talented hustler digging holes for himself was tailor-made for him. The amazing thing is that after the success of Good Time and Uncut Gems, Safdie and producer/co-writer Ronald Bronstein (who is a frequent collaborator with the Safdie brothers) were able to snag a whopping $70+ million from A24 to make a period piece about a 23-year old kid from New York City attempting to become a world table tennis champion (and making a mess of it). WIth the sizable budget, they recruited DP Darius Khondji (Se7en, Amour, The Lost City of Z, Uncut Gems, The Immigrant), production designer Jack Fisk (There Will be Blood, Mulholland Drive, The New World, Killers of the Flower Moon), and costume designer Miyako Bellizzi (Good Time, Uncut Gems, Bonjour Tristesse) to create a gorgeous world for Marty to trash. 

The end result features 100+ speaking roles and gives Timothée Chalamet, Tyler the Creator, Odessa A’zion, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kevin O’Leary, and Koto Kawaguchi, a plethora of moments to shine. Toss in  Emory Cohen, Fran Drescher, Abel Ferrara, Sandra Bernhard, Géza Rôhrig, Larry “Ratso” Sloman, Fred Hechinger, David Mamet, Penn Jillette, Timo Boll, Isaac Mizrahi, Philippe Petit, Pico Iyer, Levon Hawke, Hailey Gates, Paul Grimstad, Ted Williams, and George “The Ice Man” Gervin, and you have an incredible amount of characters. What’s impressive is that Safdie uses them perfectly, and the movie never feels overly stuffed.

Final Thoughts – Marty Supreme is a stressful piece of art.

Avatar: Fire and Ash quick thoughts:

1. Good news! There’s still a lot of aquatic mayhem. I was worried there would be an overwhelming amount of fire and ash.
2. If you like the first two Avatar films, you will like this film
3. The Avatar world works because of the immersive world and impressive visual effects. If you won’t allow yourself to get lost in the world because of the clunky dialogue/story, don’t watch it. 
4. Between Avatar 2 & 3, Whale Rider, Murina, Meg 1 & 2, Last Breath, The Fountain, Virus, True Spirit, and Deep Rising, Cliff Curtis is the water movie king.
5. Trust James Cameron. 

While many cinephiles complain that Cameron should be making other films, I love that he keeps returning to the Avatar world for several reasons. 

1. James Cameron does what he wants. Nobody is forcing him to make them, and he must enjoy the world because he spends a lot of time in Pandora
2. The Avatar films are visually beautiful and immersive in a way that needs to be experienced. 
3. Cameron knows that the Avatar movies will make tremendous sums of money. This is good for theaters and his bank account.
4. The Avatar films feature gigantic battles in which large sea creatures obliterate hunting boats. 
5. The films are jaw-droppingly beautiful. 

When it comes to the Avatar world created by James Cameron, you either love Pandora or cringe every time you hear the word “unobtanium.” If you’re cool with familiar storylines and clunky dialogue that happen in the immersive world, then you’ll have a grand time watching the impressive visuals. If you can’t stand clunky dialogue or familiar storylines, then you’ll look at the gorgeous VFX with contempt. I love what James Cameron has created because he’s given the world a reason to go to theaters.

Avatar: Fire and Ash is a perfect movie for film critics who need to fulfill a specific word count because the 197-minute movie packs an incredible amount of story into its running time. Recapping the plot would require at least 3,000 words because there’s the Sully family, old enemies, new enemies, ancient sea creatures, evil corporations, ancient flying monsters, sky battles, sea battles, jail breaks, family drama, big speeches, Wind Traders, and about 43 characters with speaking roles. In the press notes, Cameron explained that the movie is about “a family processing what it means to be in a war, for kids to be in a war, for parents to let their kids go and trust them enough that they’re going to make the right decisions.” This is a great mini-summation, but it leaves out a lot of story.

The opening of the film focuses on Jake (Sam Worthington), Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), Lo’ak (Britain Dalton), Tuktirey (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss), Spider (Jack Champion), and Kiri (Sigourney Weaver), grieving the loss of their eldest son, Neteyam (Jamie Slatter), who died in Avatar: The Way of Water. They are still living amongst the Metkayina clan, and enjoy a peaceful life as they hide out from the RDA and franchise villain Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang). Problems arise when Jake realizes that Spider (a human who can’t breathe Pandora’s air) can’t wear an oxygen mask forever, as its batteries need charging and they occasionally die when he’s asleep (which isn’t good). Jake and Neytiri decide to send Spider off with a group of Wind Traders who promise to take Spider to a high altitude with breathable air. The journey is perilous for the Wind Traders, so the Sully family agree to provide security, which will allow them to spend more time with their adopted son. While on the trip, the convoy is attacked by a maniac named Varang (Oona Chaplin), who is the leader of the war-loving Mangkwan clan (who live near a volcano, hence the fire and ash), and the family is separated around Pandora. 

While Sully is looking for his kids, he’s attacked and subdued by Quaritch and Corporal Lyle Wainfleet (Matt Gerald). While tied up, Sully informs Quaritch that Spider (Quaritch is his dad – so much plot), has been kidnapped by Varang, and he recruits the two recombinants to help save his family. During the rescue mission, Quaritch meets Varang, and the two eventually team up to kill Sully. Everything builds to a massive battle between several armies, hundreds of sea creatures, thousands of flying monsters, and a bunch of badass sea squid. 

The reason audiences go to watch the Avatar films is because Pandora is a great place to visit. The 3D effects and lush design are unrivaled and need to be seen on the largest screen possible. Russell Carpenter’s cinematography allows the world to feel immersive as he relies on wide shots that capture the immense world created by the wizards at WETA. The production design by Dylan Cole and Ben Procter is wonderful and makes the world feel real and gigantic. Cameron has created a world worth visiting, and I wouldn’t mind if the film were 4+ hours because I like getting lost in the world. Sure, there are way too many characters, but since each character needs screen time, it means that I get to spend more time watching massive sea creatures jumping out of the water so they can destroy whaling boats. 

I had a great time watching Avatar: Fire and Ash because I wasn’t expecting world-changing dialogue or nuance. I wanted beautiful-looking Pandora action and that’s exactly what I got. Cameron is out here making huge movies that take us to another world, and I respect that.