This week, there’s a Nobody and a new Spike Lee Joint getting plenty of attention, but let’s not forget about the King of the Monsters, among others. This set of write-ups includes the re-release of a major Godzilla film, the biggest animated film of all time, a dusty comedic thriller, a fantasy action flick, a heist comedy, and a dumped sci-fi screen life movie. The following features reviews for Shin Godzilla 4K, Ne Zha 2, Americana, Red Sonja, The Pickup, and War of the Worlds.
Shin Godzilla: 9 out of 10
The Setup: Something has surfaced in Tokyo Bay. As the Prime Minister of Japan pleads with the public to remain calm, a horrific creature of tremendous size makes landfall in the city, leaving death and destruction in its wake. Then it evolves.
Review: When it was first released 10 years ago, Shin Godzilla became the highest-grossing Japanese-produced Godzilla film in the franchise (until Godzilla Minus One) and received 11 Japanese Academy Awards, in addition to heavy acclaim from all over. The film took the subject of Godzilla seriously, while also injecting the story with heavy satire revolving around the 3/11 Fukushima nuclear accident and the kind of bureaucratic process that comes with devoting attention to an unstoppable force of nature.
Directors Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi, previously known for their work on the anime series Evangelion and Attack on Titan, do an incredible job of moving from animation to live-action, showing a clear love for the Godzilla franchise in the process. While utilizing CG to render the King of the Monsters, there’s still an effort made to match his movements to the old-fashioned version of Toho’s Godzilla, with some added modern touches to really make this one stand out. On top of that, with so much energy put into the classic uses of offices and boardroom scenes, having a film that is so knowingly funny about assigning roles to various characters, only to add real drama on top of it all, shows such a great balance in tone for a film that’s is as large scale as this one.
Like any Godzilla film, yes, there’s a lot of human plot to contend with. While I would argue this is one of the strongest ones we’ve ever gotten, the time spent with them only builds up to some of the more insane Godzilla scenes ever put to film, complete with an evolving version of the giant kaiju, new takes on his atomic breath, and some other deadly surprises that culminate in one of the most evocative final shots of a Godzilla film, let alone the previous decade. Now that Shin Godzilla has been restored in 4K, the film looks better than ever (and it already looked great), so why not take the chance and head to the big screen for this one? It will be more than worth it.
Where To Watch: Now playing in select theaters, D-BOX, and 4DX screens.
Ne Zha 2: 8 out of 10
The Setup: After a great catastrophe, the souls of Nezha and Aobing are saved, but their bodies face ruin. To give them new life, Taiyi Zhenren turns to the mystical seven-colored lotus in a daring bid to rebuild them and change their fate. Born to mortal parents, Nezha, the rebellious young demigod, uses his immense powers to battle an ancient force that’s bent on humanity’s destruction.
Review: I don’t have much knowledge of the Chinese mythological characters these films revolve around, let alone Investiture of the Gods, the 16th-century novel they come from. That said, I enjoyed the first Ne Zha, and with this sequel now crossing the $2 billion mark to become one of the top 5 films in history, I was hoping to catch it on the big screen. Fortunately, things worked out, as the film is getting an IMAX re-release with an English dub, inviting even more people to behold what so many around the world already have. I may be a “subs over dubs” guy, but even without that option, I was more than just pleased to take in the fantasy adventure that was Ne Zha 2.
Not only is this film better than the first, it’s one of the largest animated films I’ve ever seen in terms of sheer scale. There are battle sequences on par with the kind of complexities found in epics like The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King or Avatar, or the complicated animated wonder found in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. That’s not to say Ne Zha 2 is as good as those films, but in terms of filmmaking and the effort put into producing a massive movie that can entertain the world, this film spared no expense.
At the core of this adventure is a riveting story that draws on classic ideas, including a hero’s journey, revenge plots, good vs. evil, and easily followable threads. Sure, having knowledge of the previous film (and its spin-off) helps, but I found the experience so breathtaking on its own that while the plot matters to a point (and solid character work goes with it), the sheer magnitude of the production should do plenty to keep anyone feeling satisfied to some degree. Working as one of the strongest sequel upgrades in some time, Ne Zha 2 delivers an immense, action-packed animated journey that really speaks to finding new limits in what films like this can accomplish.
Where To Watch: Re-opening in North American theaters and IMAX on August 22, 2025.
Americana: 7 out of 10
The Setup: A shy waitress (Sydney Sweeney) and a lovelorn military veteran (Paul Walter Hauser) find themselves in the crosshairs of a ruthless criminal as they try to retrieve a rare Native American artifact.
Review: This was an interesting watch, given the shuffling in tone and variety of performances on display to get across a point. And yet, writer/director Tony Tost (one of the showrunners for the series Poker Face) manages to pull off a pretty solid crime thriller with some comedic overtones. This primarily comes from having a game cast willing to play along with the intertwining stories at play. In a different time, this film would look like a desert-set riff on the various Tarantino imitators from the ’90s and early ‘00s. As it stands, however, Americana has more of the feel of a film inspired by classic westerns, as well as the deconstructionist takes handled by the Coens and Jim Jarmusch.
Key to success is making sure audiences can spend some time enjoying what’s being offered by sad sack “Lefty” (Hauser) and sweet but shy Penny (Sweeney), yet also be intrigued by the cat-and-mouse games being had by the criminal elements embodied by Simon Rex, Eric Dane, and Halsey. Zahn McClarnon also shines here, adding a bit more introspection and meaning to what’s at stake (there’s an expensive ghost shirt at the center of all this). With this sort of ensemble, one hopes that all the pieces come together in the right way to deliver something worthwhile. I can’t say there are any amazing revelations to take away, and this southwestern thriller doesn’t have nearly the same grittiness as The Last Stop in Yuma County. Still, it’s a likable enough movie that has enough moves to work well with.
Where To Watch: Now playing in theaters.
Red Sonja: 5 out of 10
The Setup: Captured, chained, and forced to fight for survival, Red Sonja (Matilda Lutz) must battle her way through the blood-soaked pits of a tyrant’s empire while rallying an army of outcasts to reclaim her freedom and take down Dragan (Robert Sheehan) and his ruthless bride, Dark Annisia (Wallis Day).
Review: I don’t have strong memories of the largely derided 1985 sword-and-sorcery film starring Brigitte Nielsen, but I’m sure it has camp value that makes it an object of nostalgia for many. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much from this new take, coming in at a certain budget level and with only so much to offer in terms of star power. However, whether it’s the sort of scrappy nature being pushed to its limits by director M.J. Bassett, or the attempt to rise above what’s probably expected, I didn’t find this take on Red Sonja to be half-bad.
That still means the other half is bad, though, and by that I mean the film falls short of being something greater due to its limited budget and Bulgarian locations subbing in for nearly everything. Not to say these are bad things. Filming all over Eastern Europe and finding proper ways to deliver this sort of comic book movie had me more interested than other bland attempts utilizing much higher budgets.
Sure, there’s a lack of some bigger “X” factors, like a veteran character actor or a stronger sense of fun when it comes to playing with the “male gaze in 2025” of it all concerning Red Sonja as a character. However, I still found myself having a decent time. The film is too long and probably won’t stick, but kudos to Matilda Lutz for donning the red hair and doing all she can to keep this thing fairly steady.
Where To Watch: Now playing in limited release.
The Pickup: 4 out of 10
The Setup: A routine cash pickup takes a wild turn when two mismatched armored truck drivers (Eddie Murphy and Pete Davidson) get ambushed by ruthless criminals. As chaos unfolds around them, the unlikely duo must navigate high-risk danger, clashing personalities, and one very bad day that keeps getting worse.
Review: On the one hand, the addition of Keke Palmer to this cast, as well as the surprise appearance of Andrew Dice Clay as an angry boss, had me ready to be more open-minded about what to expect from a direct-to-streaming Eddie Murphy movie. That said, director Tim Story may get plenty of credit from me for being a Black journeyman director who’s created more successful movie franchises than many, but I still find most of his films to be pretty junky (although The Blackening is still one of my biggest surprises in recent years). All of this is to say that The Pickup is pretty lackluster, which is a shame, as it has decently entertaining elements.
Murphy and Davidson have a familiar but decent chemistry, even if Murphy seems to be unengaged by most of the material that doesn’t involve him attempting to act in the more serious scenes (it’s just a good thing he’s so naturally funny). Palmer at least injects plenty of energy into her scenes as a character who becomes deadlier and more involved in the heist than anyone thought. The problem is, for a heist movie on wheels, this film is never all that exciting, or clever, or funny. Some of the car stunts are pretty cool in theory, but not visualized nearly well enough to be memorable. With all of that in mind, The Pickup ends up lacking much to really get behind, despite enough ingredients to potentially be an okay farce. Leave this one by the door.
Where To Watch: Now available to stream on Amazon Prime.
War of the Worlds: 3 out of 10
The Setup: A computer security analyst (Ice Cube) working for the U.S. government finds his daily life disrupted by an alien attack. Accustomed to dealing with virtual threats, his struggle extends to secrets the government may be hiding.
Review: I feel like one has to be genuinely invested in not liking this bizarre and largely inept take on War of the Worlds to consider it as being as poor as the internet has claimed it to be. I have no real defense of the film; it is quite bad, but I also don’t have a lingering feeling to roll around in the dirt with it and either celebrate it for how horrendous it may be or take pride in finding glee by laughing at it. It has choice moments that will undoubtedly make people laugh, but it still spends most of its 90 minutes not being very compelling by any metric.
Made during the harsher Covid years and designed to be released back then, the film has now been unceremoniously dumped onto streaming. It lacks real-world context, which would make it come across more effectively. Add to that a series of unbelievable performances that look like actors reading off of their monitors (given the film format, that wouldn’t be a hard trick to pull off), and you have an alien invasion movie that I’d like to at least hope the performers tried to be engaged with back when they first signed on. Regardless, the poor writing, acting, visual choices, editing, and more do this film no favors. Being a giant advertisement for the delivery abilities of Amazon Prime also does plenty of distracting damage. And while many may find it so bad it’s fun, I was largely just bored. So ultimately, as far as this movie goes, pressing play wasn’t a good play.
Where To Watch: Now available to stream on Amazon Prime.
