[EXPRESSO] Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die (2025) | Enemies Of Reality

Finally hitting theathers here, Gore Verbinski’s latest film is the madcap scifi action comedy that combines a lot of modern scifi staples and starts off as any proper film does: in a Los Angeles diner where a hobo-looking man with a detonator walks in loudly demanding attention.

He proclaims to be a time traveller, on his 117^th loop to the past, there to enlist the patrons to fight against a rogue IA that in the future will cause an apocalypse, to form a ragtag group of clearly improptu warriors for the cause, with everything against them, and it not just skeptics, social network brainrotted teens, but also frigging algorhythm-born monstrosities that will stand in their desperate quest to save humanity from its own creation, or give it a chance in doing so.

While the main quest takes place overnight, the movie gives us flashbacks that brought the “time warriors” on that fateful moment and help flesh out this not that “overlyfictional” or “fantastic” modern dystopia, deliberately contrasting with the vague retro stylings of the plot, since it imagines an IA that can do more than hallucinate bullshit and badly regurgitate stuff, so much it basically – kinda – led humanity to the ending of Enslaved Odissey To West (minus the Journey To West elements).

More importantly, it’s a really fun and funny action comedy that not only entertains (and shows usa Gore Verbinski in peak form), doesn’t just go “new technology bad” but actually tackles the modern fears and issue rising from people using technology as a religion in itself to deliberately reject reality, dump any responsability or consequences from failure, and the creeping nature of the new menace, the new vampire they basically invited in, in a nihilistic, apathetic abandon of choice.

The ending is pretty good too.

Recommended.

[EXPRESSO] Argylle (2024) | Spy Harder

Matthew Vaughn is back with that is essentially a Kingsman spin-off taking place in that universe/continuity with Argylle, which goes for the straight up spy comedy/parody with a premise that inevitably echoes Romancing The Stone, and by extent 2022’s The Lost City, but about spies.

Elly Conway is a successful writer of a spy series of novels titled Argylle, and while about to finish up the final chapter of her next book, she is approached by a real spy that reveals her books ended up mimicking too closely the machinations of a real life evil shadow mega-organization, forcing her to follow (with kitty in tow) the real life agent Argylle in order to escape the assassins sent after her.

There is more to this, and it’s a nice variation on this formula…. but i can’t deny at times it feels like an outright spoof done by accidents, as the twists keep coming to a degree that it almost feel like an actual joke (but ain’t) and the fun premise is ultimately weighted down by a convuluted plot and an overly long runtime. This really should have been 90 minutes.

It’s a bit too self-satisfied at times, especially in terms of meta jokes that aren’t too original or funny, the execution it’s far from lacking flaws, but i won’t deny the premise does give the formula some energy, the plot gets some needed mileage out of said premise, enought to keep you fairly entertained, with some fun performances, but it does suffer because often it weaponizes genre cliches unironically without actually improving on overdone tropes.

Despite all that, i’d say it’s still a decent time, but i do hope that the planned sequels (if they do come out after this “part 1” bombing so far at the box office) are better.

[EXPRESSO] Jojo Rabbit (2019) | Achtung! The Desert Night of The Lepus

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Yeah, we didn’t get this in theathers until last week.

Johannes “Jojo” Betzler (anime joke) is a shy 10 year old boy who has trouble making friends, he’s always clumsy and reluctant, so he ends up earning the mocking nickname of being a cowardly “rabbit” (hence the title) by his peers and superiors, because just being in the Hitler Youth wasn’t enough. But fear not, for Jojo has an imaginary friend to rely on, Adolf Hitler (played by Waititi himself, and with gusto), always ready to give him advice when the need arises.

But despite aspiring to belong, he discovers that there’s a jewish girl taking refuge in their house, and experiences many events that make him question the rigid nazi indoctrination received, the arian myth, and all that bullshit, and he digests this……. like a 10 year old boy would.

Despite the edgy-looking premise, Taika Waititi’s “springtime in Germany opus” (loosely based on the novel “Caging Skies” by Christine Leunens) is actually very heartwarming, colorful and playful, but definitely doesn’t pull punches, balancing out drama and comedy like good black comedies do, and i’m kinda surprised by the style of comedy. Sure, Waititi/Imaginary Hitler is goofy and quite fun to watch, there are more flamboyant outbursts, but many jokes are done with an almost deadpan delivery.

Which mostly works, but some scenes would have benefitted by a more outlandish visuals, while others do work better because the characters shrugh off absurd stuff happening, which ultimately makes some of them lacking the impact they’re searching for, not flop totally, but also not making you burst out laughing.

Despite this gripe, it’s a surprisingly uplifting movie, with a very good cast, good characters, but i completely understand why it could fall kinda flat for others, not necessarily because of its subject.

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