Mini-Reviews: A House of Dynamite / Now You See Me: Now You Don't / Anemone

I’ve been very happy with these weekly mini-reviews that have been going on, so we’re just gonna keep the train rolling.

__________________________________________________

A House of Dynamite

"Not if. When."

Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Cast: Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Gabriel Basso, Jared Harris, Tracy Letts, Anthony Ramos, Moses Ingram, Jonah Hauer-King, Greta Lee, and Jason Clarke
Synopsis: “When a single, unattributed missile is launched at the United States, a race begins to determine who is responsible and how to respond.”

A House of Dynamite had a lot going for it. A great ensemble cast, a very timely kind of movie, a wide audience reach in terms of a Netflix release. It never hit theaters near me, so that’s the best I was getting. Up until its release, it even had talks of being a big presence at the Oscars this year. Unfortunately, Kathryn Bigelow’s latest movie really falls on its face. As I’ve said, A House of Dynamite had a lot going for it. A great ticking-clock scenario, great performances from Ferguson and Elba, and it goes deep into what the government should be doing during a time of crisis. However, there’s a huge problem with the movie, and it’s the lack of an ending. It left such a sour feeling on the movie that it really affected how I felt about the rest of it. The ending is such a weird choice that it practically erased any good feeling I had towards it. What a disaster.

Ryan’s Grade: C-



__________________________________________________

Now You See Me: Now You Don’t

"Unlock the illusion.”

Director: Ruben Fleischer
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher, Justice Smith, Dominic Sessa, Ariana Greenblatt, Lizzy Caplan, Rosamund Pike, and Morgan Freeman
Synopsis: “The original Four Horsemen reunite with a new generation of illusionists to take on powerful diamond heiress Veronika Vanderberg, who leads a criminal empire built on money laundering and trafficking. The new and old magicians must overcome their differences to work together on their most ambitious heist yet.”

The Now You See Me franchise is in the same camp as the Fast and Furious movies, but just swap out the cars with magic. I’m also admittedly a sucker for the other two movies; they’re dumb fun and I can’t really get too mad at them for being ridiculous. Now You Don’t, the third movie in this franchise, is admittedly the one with less tricks up its sleeves. The new generation of magicians played by Smith, Sessa, and Greenblatt are fun to watch, but its most memorable scenes come in with returning members of the franchise. There are many movies that show that Eisenberg and Harrelson like working together, and this is no different. Now You Don’t isn’t breaking new ground or anything, but I think this is 2025’s perfect “turn your brain off” movie. Since there’s already a fourth one on the way, you know I’ll be there.

Ryan’s Grade: B-

__________________________________________________

Anemone

"All is not forgiven."

Director: Ronan Day-Lewis
Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sean Bean, Samantha Morton, Samuel Bottomley, and Safia Oakley-Green
Synopsis: “Middle-aged Jem sets out from his suburban home on a journey into the woods, where he reconnects with his estranged hermit brother Ray. Bonded by a mysterious, complicated past, the men share a fraught, if occasionally tender relationship—one that was forever altered by shattering events decades earlier.”

Man, what a weird one. This whole movie is marketed around it being the return of Daniel Day-Lewis, and this would be his first acting credit since Phantom Thread in 2017. I’m going to re-use this metaphor since I saw it on Letterboxd, but it rings so very true. Watching Day-Lewis in Anemone is like watching Michael Jordan play for the Wizards. He came out of retirement and it’s always nice to see Jordan play ball, but he still played for the Wizards. Daniel Day-Lewis is great, but the rest of the movie is just decent at best, but for most of the time, it’s just abysmal. Avoid it like the plague.

Ryan’s Grade: D+