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Once again, Hanks proves his worth as a movie star. Giving us a fully dimensional characterization (a rarity in films nowadays), we not only learn how to survive along with him, but we sense his understanding of the sanctity of life. A very important message is revealed in the film, no matter how terrible things may be, no one knows what’s just around the corner; no matter how futile our existence may seem, life has the remarkable ability of suddenly bringing design to light, giving us not just hope, but purpose. The film is saying life, all life, is important. “Cast Away” is comprised of successful direction, commanding photography, a compassionate script and an inspiring performance by the film’s star. There is one fly in the ointment, however. The lead character, like most of Tom Hanks’ screen portrayals, is a non-religious man. Hanks buries a plane crash victim with respect, but without a prayer. Rather, he looks down at the grave and says, “Well, that’s all.” At no point does the character call out for God’s help. It is made abundantly clear that he is a humanist. He is a good man, but one who simply does not acknowledge the Creator. Due to the one profanity from the lead character, we are unable to recomend Cast Away for family viewing.

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In Theaters

• Tom Hanks as Chuck Noland; Helen Hunt as Kelly Frears; Nick Searcy as Stan; Chris Noth as Jerry Lovett; Lari White as Bettina Peterson

Home Release Date

• Robert Zemeckis

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• 20th Century Fox

Movie Review

Chuck Noland is a FedEx systems engineer whose personal and professional life are ruled by the clock. His fast-paced career takes him, often at a moment’s notice, to far-flung locales and away from his girlfriend, Kelly. On one such trip, Chuck’s manic existence abruptly halts when his plane goes down in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and he becomes stranded on a remote, uninhabited island. He is the only survivor. With no one there to vote him off the island, Chuck makes the best of it. First, he must find a way to meet basic human needs (food, water and shelter), which he accomplishes with the help of various FedEx packages that have washed ashore with him. There is one package with an angel wing logo on it that he does not open. Along with a picture of Kelly, it becomes a symbol of hope and a reason to endure.

Once Chuck’s physical needs are met, his biggest struggle involves his emotional and psychological health. He must resist desperation and not reach the point of cracking up. Daniel Defoe’s 18th Century literary hero, Robinson Crusoe, turned to a Bible and found God in the midst of nothingness. Chuck Noland befriends a volleyball. Fate finally offers Chuck a chance to escape the island on a raft. After a heroic struggle, he is saved and brought home. It’s an ironic twist that Chuck’s problem-solving background helps him survive being a castaway while the skills learned as a castaway help him adapt to a new life in civilization.

positive elements: In the throes of a desperate situation with no end in sight, Chuck manages to maintain a sense of hope during his four years on the island. He shows amazing perseverance, whether trying to open coconuts or start a fire with sticks. One of the crewmen on the doomed jet puts himself at risk by heroically assisting Chuck as the plane is going down. Chuck comes to understand that his former outlook on life has cost him the things that are most important (“I should have never gotten on that plane” he tells Kelly). A sense of personal and professional responsibility is evident in Chuck, even after he’s marooned (he sorts and respects the beached parcels for days before opening any). In a touching scene, he looks at the ID of one of the dead crewmen who washed ashore just prior to burying him and realizes that he didn’t even know his friend’s real name—a testimony to the tyranny of the urgent and how busyness can distract us from relating to the people close to us at a deeper level.

Upon returning home from his ordeal, Chuck apologizes to others for not being there for them during their own recent trials. He is also very empathetic to a co-worker who has since lost his wife to cancer (in contrast to being awkwardly supportive years before). In the end, Chuck and Kelly both make moral, honorable decisions about their future relationship. Reflecting on “fate’s” provision, Chuck concludes that we must always maintain hope because we never know what the tide might bring in next. What humor exists is witty and clean.

spiritual content: Not much. The symbol of angel’s wings on a package come to give him hope, but the story never suggests that it has anything to do with God. Chuck also refers to a feeling “like a warm blanket” that came over him in a moment of ultimate despair that he credits with giving him the strength to carry on. Conspicuous by its absence is any prayer or religious reflection by Chuck when laying his dead colleague to rest.

sexual content: It is implied that the unmarried Chuck and Kelly live together. There’s also a brief indication that a man and woman we learn very little about are having an adulterous relationship.

violent content: The plane crash is rather intense. The handful of men onboard the cargo plane are tossed about violently as it plummets into the ocean. One is badly bloodied during the descent. While marooned, Chuck is battered and bloodied as well, including cuts on his feet, a deep gash in his leg and a penetrating wound to his hand.

crude or profane language: Several exclamatory uses of God’s name, a few mild profanities and one s-word.

drug and alcohol content: Champagne is consumed at a party. Wine is served at dinner and prior to a flight.

other negative elements: Having been marooned on an island for four years, Hank’s character runs out of clothes, forcing him into a loincloth (audiences see a little more of him than they might like, but his exposure isn’t indecent or sexualized). It is implied that Chuck attempted suicide once during his long isolation. Chuck discovers and attempts to bury a pale, bloated corpse, which could be disturbing to some viewers. Although not graphic or gratuitous, the filmmakers show Chuck relieving himself (twice) on the island.

conclusion: The combination of Tom Hank’s popularity and the phenomenal success of the TV series Survivor makes Cast Away a sure winner at the box office. It is likely that families will be tempted to take it in. Discerning, pro-active parents can turn this to their advantage.

First, the core message of this film is redeeming: Never give up hope. We know from scripture and from experience that many circumstances that seem hopeless today are the very things that empower us to succeed later on. There are many levels of opportunity for family discussion about the value of hope and looking to the future with anticipation of the great adventure God has planned for us.

Second, the story suggests that Chuck’s near death and isolated struggle leads him to an epiphany of what is truly important. Unfortunately, the movie doesn’t reveal what those important things are. Did he immediately go and reconcile himself with his family, friends or even enemies? Did he become a philanthropist working in a Dominican Republic orphanage? No, rather he goes on an existential search for self that remains ambiguous within the context of the film. It does, however, offer families an opportunity to discuss what they might have done in his place (“Chuck got a second chance, what does he do with it?”).

Finally, although the movie does not acknowledge God’s hand in our lives, we know that “fate” is in fact ordained of God. If you believe God exists and cares about us, the struggles of loneliness, heartbreak, desperation, isolation and despair serve a purpose.

Here are some questions to consider should you choose to see Cast Away with your teens. [SPOILER WARNING: These discussion points necessitate revealing key plot twists in this story.] What was the nature of Chuck and Kelly’s relationship during the first part of the story? How does that compare to the biblical principle of love and marriage? What was preventing them from making a lifetime marital commitment to one another? What does that suggest about the nature of transient relationships and divorce? What were Chuck’s personal priorities before being a castaway? How did those priorities change? Chuck and Kelly finally meet after his return; they express their love for one another, but go their separate ways. Did they make the right decision? How might that relate to your future relationships? What does the scene at the Texas crossroads suggest about Chuck’s future? Is it possible that “fate” was steering him clear of marriage to Kelly? Might similar intervention be happening in your life? How do/will you know? Chuck would have never chosen to take on his ordeal, yet the resulting changes in his character suggest that it was perhaps the best thing that could have happened to him. Does that concept relate to your personal life in any way?

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Wow. I heard some critics say you will leave the theater in awe, and I found they were right. In fact, you will watch this film in awe. Tom Hanks delivers an amazingly phenomenal acting performance, creating an interesting story and an interesting well-rounded character who often has little to no dialog for a good hour of the film. It's funny, it's visually exciting, it's touching, and it's very sad. I left the theater realizing how much we take for granted each day. We take for granted our most basic necessities-- from our shoes to flashlights and toilet paper. Another thing taken for granted is human companionship. We're so used to being surrounded by people day in and day out that we'd all have a rude awakening if we spent a few years on a deserted island alone.

I really liked this movie. Although it's not a film to watch over and over (yet I would like to see it again), it's a great story with great acting and I was really impressed. It isn't too often you see a movie this good. Another warning to some-- if you have a fear of flying or have had any bad experiences before, you may not want to see this film. The plane crash sequence is really intense and realistic.

In summary, I was really impressed by this movie. It was mainly PG-13 due to the blood and disturbing material (the dead body, the plane crash), but had very little if any of anything else really offensive in it. Due to its great story and amazing acting, I have no choice but to warrant the movie at least a 3.5 out of 4, but hold back the half a point for that before-mentioned content. With a little more polishing it could have probably been PG and would have probably snagged our 4 star rating. On that note,

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On Being a Castaway

Regis martin.

When the movie Cast Away first came out in 2000, it was widely reviewed and given a five-star rating. It starred Tom Hanks as a trouble-shooting FedEx employee who found himself on an ill-fated flight across the Pacific Ocean. When his plane crashes, he ends up on an uninhabited island where, for the next four years, he’s reduced to having a relationship with a volleyball by the name of “Wilson.”

He talks to no one else, not even to God.  And when rescue comes at last, he returns home to pick up the pieces of his interrupted life.  It struck me at the time as a rather silly movie, sublimely so. And yet, twenty years later, I still can’t seem to get it out of my head.

Perhaps because it reminds me of a very different castaway, one whose predicament our great American Catholic novelist Walker Percy once described in an insightful article called “The Message in the Bottle,” one of a dozen or so essays on language, philosophy, and religion that appeared in a prescient collection bearing the same name.

Percy’s castaway is not at all like the FedEx employee in the Tom Hanks movie.  Having lost his memory in the wreckage, he nevertheless finds human life on his island, indeed, a highly developed and hospitable social environment.  “Being a resourceful fellow,” Percy tells us, “he makes the best of the situation, gets a job, builds a house, takes a wife, raises a family, goes to night school, and enjoys the local arts of cinema, music, and literature.  He becomes, as the phrase goes, a useful member of the community.”

But the castaway does not feel at home because he is not.  In a world perfectly fashioned to suit every human and material need, he nevertheless feels quite lost: “He knows that something is dreadfully wrong . . . he suffers acutely, yet he does not know why.  What is wrong?  Does he not have all the goods of life?”

He is, in a word, a castaway, a stranger to himself who, notwithstanding every possible creature comfort, indeed, spending “a lifetime of striving to be at home on the island, is as homeless now as he was the first day he found himself cast up on the beach.” His home, if there is one, must lie somewhere across the sea.

What, then, should he do?  Here Percy is very clear and insistent that above all what he must not do is to pretend that nothing is wrong, that being a castaway is not “to be in a grave predicament . . . not a happy state of affairs.”  Because to do that is, very simply, to fall into the worst possible state of despair, which is “to imagine one is at home when one is really homeless.”

Here the point of Percy’s story comes beautifully into view, crystallizing around the many bottles washed up by the sea, which the castaway collects day after day while walking along the beach.  Each contains a message reminding him, more or less, of his unsettled status, of his constant if mostly frustrated search of news from the other side, of a possible world beyond the island.  Including, to be sure, the means of securing safe passage to this place, which may finally satisfy this nagging sense of not belonging, of not really being at home on the island.

The modern German philosopher Martin Heidegger, who has cast a very long shadow over modern existentialist thought, coined the term Geworfenheit (“thrown-ness”) to describe the sense of being thrown into the world – cast away – requiring that one bend every possible effort to find out what this means and why.  In other words, we seek to obtain that one piece of saving news that may explain where I have come from, why am I here, and where am I going.

Percy shows that what’s need is precisely news from beyond the sea, not scientific knowledge or “island news”: “It is not news to unfallen man because he is at home in the world and no castaway.  It is not news to a fallen man who is a castaway but believes himself to be at home in the world, for he does not recognize his own predicament.  It is only news to a castaway who knows himself to be a castaway.”

This is why among the many bottled messages washed up onto the beach, only one sort is of real importance to the seeker.  Not random pieces of information, like the temperature at which lead melts (330 degrees), or even matters of riveting historical moment, like the fact the Russians in 1943 murdered ten thousand Polish officers.

The one thing the castaway needs is rather the most vital piece of news possible, because it sheds new light, at every turn, upon the condition and fate of the castaway himself.  If you are stranded on an island, the news you are most eager to obtain is that which tells you how to get home.

For the castaway, therefore, who is anyone with the kind of mind to recognize his predicament, the only message in the bottle that is worth reading, worth heeding, is the news that he has been waiting for all his life, the good news that reveals, says Percy, “where he came from and who he is and what he must do.”

And if, by God’s grace, there were someone commissioned to spread such news to the castaway, who left our place of origin and came to us across the wide blue sea to do so, what then?  “Well then,” concludes Walker Percy, “the castaway will, by the grace of God, believe him.”

*Image: The Castaway (Le Naufragé) by Ambroise Louis Garneray, c. 1800 [Musée des Beaux-Arts, Brest, France]

• About the Author
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Regis Martin is Professor of Theology and Faculty Associate with the Veritas Center for Ethics in Public Life at Franciscan University of Steubenville. Author of a half-dozen books, including, most recently, Witness to Wonder: The World of Catholic Sacrament . He lives in Wintersville, Ohio with his wife and ten children.

• On Being a Castaway - Saturday, June 27, 2020
• What Simeon Saw - Sunday, February 18, 2018
• There’s Always Rain on Larkin Lane - Saturday, May 20, 2017
• Why SHOULD You Become (or Be) Catholic? - Tuesday, May 2, 2017
• Read This Book! - Thursday, April 20, 2017
• The Annunciation of the Son Who Has Come - Saturday, March 25, 2017
• Wallace Stevens and the Limits of Poetry - Wednesday, March 8, 2017
• A Small Parenthesis in Eternity - Sunday, February 19, 2017
• The Idea of God - Thursday, February 9, 2017
• O Blessed Box! - Saturday, January 21, 2017

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Cast Away (United States, 2000)

I'm sure there will be wags who will glibly compare Cast Away to the likes of "Gilligan's Island" and "Survivor", but, in tone, approach, and overall accomplishment, this atypical Robinson Crusoe tale bears a strong resemblance to one of director Robert Zemeckis' earlier efforts, Contact . No, Cast Away isn't about space or messages from another planet, but, at its core, neither was Contact . Both films ask the same crucial existential question, one that Shakespeare pondered for years: taking all things into account, what does it mean to be human? How do we cope with loss, hopelessness, and isolation, and still find the courage to face the next day? The love and dream of a dead father sustained Jodie Foster's character in Contact . For Tom Hanks' Chuck Noland in Cast Away , it is the promise offered by the smile of his equally absent - and equally beloved - wife-to-be.

The last time Zemeckis and Hanks teamed up, a legend was born - the idiot savant Forrest Gump. A brilliantly conceived trip through the latter half of the 20th century, Forrest Gump was part folksy feel-good drama and part well-concealed satire. The 1994 blockbuster offers much more than its detractors, and even some of its supports, acknowledge. Those expecting Zemeckis and Hanks to re-examine the same territory in Cast Away will be surprised - aside from the films' Oscar potential, there's little synergy. Cast Away will not be the crowd-pleaser that Forrest Gump was, but it's a deeper, more rewarding experience. And, just when you think it's over, it defies expectations and metamorphoses into something different and more compelling.

The year is 1995. Chuck Noland is an overworked Federal Express exec who zips from country to country troubleshooting problems and streamlining operations. His mantra is to do anything necessary to get a package to its destination on time. In his younger days, he was known for having stolen a kid's bicycle to make a delivery after his truck broke down. Fresh from a trip to Russia, Chuck is enjoying Christmas dinner with his girlfriend, Kelly (Helen Hunt), and his family, when a call comes in: he's needed in Malaysia. A short time later, he's airborne, flying through stormy skies over the South Pacific. Suddenly, the plane is off course, there's an explosion, and Chuck finds himself underwater in the belly of a crashed plane. An inflatable life raft carries him to the surface and bears him to a deserted tropical island, where he learns that survival without the trappings of civilization is far more difficult than it's made out to be in books, on television, and in the movies. There may not be any humans on the island, but something is making noise in the jungle at night. And how is he to obtain food and fresh water? Without proper tools, simple tasks like opening a coconut or making a fire become herculean efforts.

Cast Away is divided into three clearly-defined acts: the setup, the main story, and the aftermath. Although the movie's centerpiece is the 75-minute portion detailing Chuck's experiences while marooned, it's the third act, which offers no easy solutions for difficult situations, that elevates the film from the level of a stirring, innovative adventure to an fully satisfying drama. This is the film Red Planet could have been if it had possessed the guts to challenge viewers rather than saddle them with a worn-out, regurgitated plot.

The plane crash which occurs during the first half-hour is handled differently from almost any aerial disaster I have seen in a motion picture. Zemeckis employs digital effects, but not to show the crash (he uses them primarily afterwards, to generate Perfect Storm -style waves). We see events unfold from inside the plane, amidst the wind and darkness, and it results in an eerie and genuinely unsettling situation. Then, once Chuck is in the water, the sense of danger is palpable - especially during one unforgettable moment when the plane's spinning propeller is bearing down upon his small life raft.

The scenes on the island are presented with uncommon intelligence (unlike similar events chronicled in the lame Six Days, Seven Nights , which used similar circumstances). We follow Chuck on his step-by-step journey of survival, where even the smallest things, like getting a drink of coconut milk or using MacGyver-like ingenuity to devise a tool, become significant accomplishments. Zemeckis' approach to this segment of the film is flawless. He never cuts away from Chuck - there are no "back in Memphis" scenes that would have broken the mood, nor is there any incidental music. For more than an hour, the only sounds heard are the island's natural noises (and a little dialogue as Chuck starts talking to a volley ball that becomes his lone "companion"). Also, the script doesn't cook up any hard-to-swallow, melodramatic situations or artificial conflicts. In fact, those expecting a routine adventure film may be disappointed. Cast Away is always interesting, but not necessarily in a traditional manner.

By the time the 30-minute epilogue arrives, we are already deeply attached to Chuck's character - a fact that makes the final dilemma harder to cope with. Once again, Zemeckis and screenwriter William Broyles Jr avoid the melodramatic, manipulative clichés that could have reduced Cast Away to a lesser film. They remain true to the characters and situations until the end, which involves literal and figurative crossroads. There is a catharsis of sorts, but it will not be definitive enough to satisfy all viewers.

For the level of his work in Cast Away , it wouldn't surprise me if Hanks earned another Oscar nomination. The movie's success rests with him, since he is on screen by himself for more than half of the running time. It's one thing for an actor to triumph by playing off others; it's another thing altogether for him to excel with no one else around and virtually no dialogue to speak. In addition, the physical changes that Hanks had to go through to play the part are dramatic - he was forced to gain and lose weight quickly and in extraordinary amounts (so much so that a "weight loss trainer" is credited at the end). An actor willing to go through the rigors Hanks endured is certainly worthy of some kind of notice, especially when he turns in a top-notch performance.

The only other significant player is Helen Hunt, who has become ubiquitous in motion pictures now that "Mad About You" is behind her. This is her fourth film in four months (the other three: Dr. T and the Women, Pay It Forward , and What Women Want ). This time, she's more of a supporting player, but, despite limited screen time, she manages to develop Kelly into a flesh-and-blood individual, which is crucial to the movie's emotional underpinning. Of all Hunt's recent outings, this is easily her strongest work.

For as long as he works in Hollywood, Robert Zemeckis will be associated with Forrest Gump . As good a film as that was, it does not represent his finest work. In many ways, both Contact and Cast Away are stronger and more compelling features. During a year that has not been known for strong theater-going experiences, Cast Away stands near the top of the heap. It has all the hallmarks of a great motion picture: well-developed characters, solid drama, non-traditional adventure, and an intelligent script. At nearly two and one-half hours, it's the perfect length - not too long and not too short. Whether or not Cast Away earns any Oscar nominations, it's among my picks as one of the best films of the year.

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Way too much for 11 year old

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Definitely not for kids, excellent film about the human spirit.

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Make sure to let your baby watch this

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NOT FOR KIDS.

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Tom hanks Oscar nod was worth it.

If you love survival movies, this is for you.

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‘cast away’: thr’s 2000 review.

On Dec. 22, 2000, Robert Zemeckis' 142-minute survival tale hit theaters.

By Kirk Honeycutt

Kirk Honeycutt

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On Dec. 22, 2000, Robert Zemeckis’ 142-minute survival tale Cast Away hit theaters. The film went on to earn two Oscar nominations at the 73rd Academy Awards, including a mention in the best actor category for Tom Hanks. The Hollywood Reporter’s original review is below.

Cast Away , an epic tale of survival on an isolated island, clearly wants to be seen as a metaphor for discovering what’s truly important in life. But the adventure story is only intermittently successful. And while the filmmakers come tantalizingly close, the Big Theme eludes their grasp.

Thanks to Tom Hanks’ tour de force performance and director Robert Zemeckis’ compelling visual design — as well as Helen Hunt in a small but pivotal role — the film possesses plenty of box office clout. A strong opening and critical acclaim, followed by possible Oscar nominations, could lead to an extended theatrical life. But audiences might have a tough time warming to a movie in which loneliness, frustration and despair occupy so much screen time.

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'the shining': thr's 1980 review, 'the rock': thr's 1996 review.

Of course, this is an oft-told tale, going back to Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe and encompassing The Swiss Family Robinson , Lord of the Flies and The Blue Lagoon . Such tales of island castaways ask one to rethink the basics of life: water, food, heat and shelter. But invariably one is also asked to ponder the difference between mere survival and living — and to question what it means to be human in the absence of human society.

William Broyles Jr.’s screenplay follows this well-trod path, but then it pushes into the less-examined territory of coming to terms with a successful survival. Having endured physical and psychological torments in isolation, the hero finds his return to civilization is as fraught with peril as his island existence was. And it is here that the film fails to take full advantage of its theme.

The film begins in a rush. Chuck Noland (Hanks) is a FedEx systems engineer, jetting off at a moments notice to far-flung corners of the globe to fix problems. He is a man who lives by the clock and who preaches to employees to “never lose track of time.”

Zemeckis films the early scenes in Moscow, in Chuck’s hometown of Memphis, Tenn., and in airports and airplanes with busy camerawork and actors in motion. Time rules.

Then, while on a trip to Tahiti, an explosion aboard Chuck’s plane causes it to crash into turbulent seas. The film never loses Chuck’s point of view during this truly frightening nighttime sequence. In the distressed aircraft and then in rolling seas as he clings to an inflated raft, flashes of lightning reveal to him — and us — a terrifying scene in which survival can only be a fluke.

But the fluke happens. He washes ashore on an uninhabited volcanic island in the middle of nowhere. As days go by and the possibility of rescue grows remote, he turns his attention to eking out an existence on the picturesque but inhospitable isle.

The film laboriously tracks the castaway’s methodical problem solving. FedEx packages from the ill-fated flight wash ashore, each containing seemingly impractical items such as video tapes and ice skates. But each turns out to be a solution to one of his difficulties.

Chuck solves his companionship problem by initiating a friendship with a volleyball he calls “Wilson,” which comes from one of those stranded packages. Wilson serves not only as a device to let us know what’s going on in Chuck’s head but also his means of mental survival.

Then comes the abrupt tile card: “Four Years Later.” As has been well publicized, Hanks accomplished the transformation from slightly pudgy bumbler to weather-beaten hardbody by taking a year’s hiatus from the production schedule. But Hanks the actor manages an even subtler transformation from a desperate man to one who has given up all hope. He becomes a person who has realized that to survive is not the same thing as to live.

Eventually, Chuck hits upon a way of getting off the island. After a perilous sea journey in a makeshift raft, he gets rescued. Clean-shaven and much slimmer, Chuck is whisked back to Memphis. Only the movie is now winding down at exactly the point when things get the most interesting.

What culture shock must Chuck endure? How does he resume his life when family and friends have died, married or moved on? How can he reconnect emotionally with a woman who has believed him dead for four years? And why did Cast Away squander so much time on the island, watching Chuck learn to catch and cook crabs, when the heart of the matter lies in these all-too-brief passages?

Broyles’ finest writing is contained in the Memphis scenes, and Hanks and Hunt play them for all their worth. But the film only scratches the surface of the emotional undercurrents at work in these disappointingly brief scenes.

Zemeckis does an excellent job of finding visual means to express Chuck’s isolation and thought process. Technically, the film is a marvel — from Don Burgess’ inventive camerawork and Alan Silvestri’s unobtrusive score to Rick Carter’s production design that drives home the helplessness of the castaway’s plight. — Kirk Honeycutt, originally published in the Dec. 8-10, 2000 issue of THR. 

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CAST AWAY (2000) Probably the best survival movie ever made. Showed this to my girlfriend the other night who had never seen it. She loved it. Thoughts?

i honestly consider cast away to be one of the ten best films to have come out since 2000. one of my the best hanks performances. the behind-the-scenes stuff is fascinating. it’s a tight, tense, nearly-two-and-a-half drama. zemeckis et al are firing on all cylinders.

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Inside Out 2

Reviewed by: Aiden Sexton CONTRIBUTOR

Girl’s 13th birthday

Coming-of-age

Puberty horomone issues

Controlling one’s strong pubescent emotions — fear, sadness, disgust, anger, anxiety, envy

“Ennui” —a French word that combines the feeling of tiredness and boredom

But the fruit of the Spirit is love , joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness , faithfulness , gentleness , self-control. Against such things there is no law. — Gal. 5:22-23

Overcoming FEAR, Anxiety and Worry —What does the Bible say? Answer

“Big changes. New emotions.”

Prequel: “ Inside Out ” (2015)

I n the last thirty years, an abundance of animated movies have been released. A lot of them have been great, others disappointing.

Among the pool of good animated movies, there is at least one for every occasion ( Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 ). There are ones I go to for a good laugh (“ Kung Fu Panda ” 2008) or a good cry (“ Up ” 2009). Others I watch for a light-hearted thrill-ride about courage, bravery, and friendship bonds (“ How To Train Your Dragon ” 2010), or else a devastating, heart-rending look on the horrors of war and the preciousness of familial bonds (“ Grave of the Fireflies ” 1988).

I loved the original “ Inside Out ” since I first saw it in theaters in 2015, and I have continued to love it after multiple rewatches. Those who have seen the movie know that it was practically begging for a sequel. Whereas most of us can name a handful of sequels that did not at all match up to their predecessor, I feel like that tends to be the case because a lot of those movies did not necessarily warrant a sequel (#TheMatrix). “Inside Out” most certainly did, however, and as a result I knew that if the sequel ended up being bad, it would have no excuse to be.

I’m happy to say that “Inside Out 2,” the nine-year-wait sequel to the original (which from now on I will refer to as “IO2” and “IO,” respectively), well deserves to be placed in the category of “great” animated movies, and is easily the best Pixar film (or possibly animated film!) since the original “IO.” I was delighted by the overall quality, as well as the minimal amount of concerning content (both of which I’ll cover later in detail).

Aside from this, “IO2” inhabits a unique and niche category for a specific viewing experience. That experience may as well be called “A Neurological Exploration of Puberty.” Not only does “IO2” do this extremely well (just as the first film dealt with the psychological issues that commonly develop in the early double digits), it does it in an entertaining and creative way that feels relatable, personal, and surprisingly real. Again, I’ll add to this later.

The plot of “IO2” is simple and easy to follow. Riley Anderson is now a teenager, and consequently has an extra load of psychological issues on her plate. The first scene features Riley playing in the last hockey game of the season with her fellow “Foghorns.” A high school teacher invites Riley and two of her friends to a three-day hockey summer camp where she will participate in tryouts for the “Firehawks” hockey team, as well as make new friends.

Just as she arrives to this camp, Riley’s head is bombarded with several new emotions. These include Anxiety , Envy , Embarrassment, and Ennui (a.k.a., boredom), as well as another one that I won’t give away. There arises a conflict between the original five emotions and the new ones, so that Anxiety (essentially the ring leader of the new emotions) decides to do away with Joy, Sadness, Anger , Fear, and Disgust because they’re no longer needed. Anxiety heads up operation “new Riley” by bottling the five emotions up and causing Riley to operate under new values that contradict the good ones put in by Joy. It’s up to the original quintet of emotions to find their way back to headquarters and stop Anxiety’s plan before too much goes wrong.

The story is very fast paced. It never once drags, but I never felt like I was being left in the dust, either. I understood what was going on every step of the way, and I’m sure smaller children can do the same easily. Even if they are not tracking with the plot (let alone with all the puberty talk), there is still much by way of subplots and visual imagery to be entertained by.

One thing to point out is that Riley is a much more prominent character in “IO2” than in the original. She has much more screen time here, and hence we are constantly cutting back and forth between her narrative and the conflict going on in her head. I think they managed to do this very well and in a way that is not confusing.

One of the things I was wondering about was if “IO2” would suffer from a classic case of “sequelitis.” I’m happy to say that this is not the case. Sure, the original did it first, and the same basic formula is used in “IO.” Even so, “IO2” works quite well because of how much more there is to tell.

Both of the movies have to do with change. In the original, the change is external. Riley and her family are forced to move from Minnesota to San Francisco, and she has to cope with that in her head. In “IO2,” the change she’s dealing with is internal, based on the psychological alterations that occur in everyone around that age. So, while this movie definitely borrows some things from the original, all the concepts here are still fresh and presented in a way that doesn’t feel cheap or mimicky.

I’ll start with the obvious. Like all the Pixar movies that have preceded it, “Inside Out 2” looks and sounds incredible. The animation is visually captivating and immersive, bursting with colors and shapes consistent with a typical fantastical Pixar landscape. While “IO2” was made 9 years after the original movie (almost to the day!), the visual feel and style of the sequel is very similar to the original, making it feel like it could have been made only two years after “IO,” which is the length of time that passed chronologically between the stories. The sound design is also well done.

“IO2” as a whole did an excellent job of drawing me in. From the first moment I was immediately on board with the characters, and what all their motives are. Even Anxiety, the clear antagonist of the film, has a motive that you can understand, even though you know she’s not doing the right thing. I really cared about what was going to happen, and there were times where I genuinely didn’t know what the next move should be. There were a few shocking left turns that made me say “oh no” out loud in the theater.

The dialog was also consistently on point. I regularly laughed and chuckled at all the right times. The interaction between all the characters is fun to watch, and feels very organic.

And, not to give anything away, but the ending is emotional and cathartic in a way that I didn’t expect, and it’s all the better for it.

A question that I had long before the movie was released is a question that most Christians who were fans of the first film had: “Is it going to be woke?” My head was practically swimming with ideas of Gay nods that could have taken place within the story. I’ll be honest, I literally had a page in my notebook for this review titled “LGBTQ+” so that I could write any relevant information down.

I’m delighted to report that I never had to write anything on that page, because to my knowledge there is nothing in this movie that would even hint at some sort of queer sexuality within Riley.

For starters, it’s clear throughout the movie that Riley is attracted to boys. Multiple times throughout it’s shown that she has a crush on at least four specific male characters (one of them is a videogame character, but still). Also, if you’ve seen “Riley’s First Date?,” a 5-minute short film that came out in 2015, she goes on a “date” with a boy. These details unequivocally establish Riley as a heterosexual.

One thing to say is that throughout most of the movie she is constantly trying to win the favor of girls at the camp, specifically one girl named Val. But nothing about her interactions with Val or any other girl are even remotely queer. At no point do the filmmakers indicate that she wants a queer type of relationship with girls. Rather, she’s (awkwardly) trying to fit in and make friends while her emotions (dialed up to nine, literally) are running amok in her head. Anyone who was or is her age knows what it was like to go through this awkward phase as a teenager, and therefore it makes perfect sense for a straight teenage girl to act this way.

I never saw anything that carried any woke baggage (e.g., no two moms sitting together, no Pride rainbow, no pronoun issues) . While I’m not perfect, and therefore want to hold the possibility at hand that I missed some tiny detail that may have contained something questionable, I did not notice anything. At one point Riley wears a multi-colored sweater (the same one she wears in the original), but the colors most likely represent her emotions rather than a Pride flag. Some wondered if Riley’s “Deep Dark Secret” was the fact that she was queer, but the end credits prove otherwise.

The Mixed Elements

This section contains things that aren’t necessarily good or bad. They’re just important to know going in.

The most obvious thing I can put here is that, while this is technically a movie for all ages, it’s targeted more toward teenagers going through adolescence, as well as for people who have gone through that phase of life and can relate to all the change inherent to that period. That said, while anyone can watch it and enjoy it, there are many themes in the movie that smaller children may not understand.

Here’s another thing on that same note. For lack of better words, a lot of “IO2” has a very “teenagesque” feel to it. A lot of the interactions between Riley and the “died-hair girls” feels angsty and juvenile. This makes perfect sense within the movie, though, as Riley is going through puberty and her emotions are working through these social and relational issues while she’s trying to make friends. Again, this is not a negative thing at all, but it’s something that smaller children may not be able to relate to or understand.

On a different note, I did find it slightly curious that at times some of the emotions are quite literally acting out of character. At times Joy gets angry or sad, Disgust gets fearful, and Anger gets empathetic—adding conflict to the dialog. Perhaps this can be explained by saying that they’re only able to control Riley to emote according to their title, while they as characters are not bound by that. I wouldn’t say it’s a plot hole; it’s really just a thought.

As you’ve probably been able to guess, I love this movie, so the bad things when it comes to IO2’s quality are pretty much nitpicks. The average viewer will probably not be bothered by them.

While the story is mostly well paced, I think it may have been a little fast for me at times, especially near the end. The way everything wraps up feels like it could have been slightly less rushed. The “dark night of the soul” moment of “IO2” is a little short (unlike the original movie, which I think was written and executed to perfection), and I wish they had let that part last a little bit longer. And, considering that the runtime is 96 minutes, I think they could have easily done this without overstaying their welcome.

Also, I think that a couple of the emotions (nine regularly show up in the movie!) seem a little bit off to the side for most of it. I didn’t dislike any of the emotions, but there are times when I wonder if some of them are necessary, as they do not play a big part in the plot. On the other hand, there’s an argument to be made that the movie would have felt more bare without them.

Content of Concern

Thankfully the bad content in “IO2” is very minimal. I’ll do my best to avoid revealing crucial plot points here.

VIOLENCE: Light to mild. There are a few instances of mild peril. Some scenes are a bit suspenseful. A monster called “Dark Secret” appears for a couple of minutes, and he could be frightening to some children. The overall tone of “IO2” is a bit tense, but not in an overwhelming way. There’s also a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it shot of a girl throwing up. Overall, I think the violence is lighter than what’s in the original.

LANGUAGE: Light. Just a few mild exclamations (“oh my goodness,” “oh my gosh” (3x), “what the heck,” “for crying out loud”). One instance of name-calling (“turkey”). I also heard one occurrence of “jiminy mother loving toaster strudel” (played, of course, for laughs). I noticed no one taking God’s name in vain, or anything else like that.

NUDITY: Mild. We see a couple inches of Riley’s midriff in the mirror (played for laughs as she realizes her old clothes are no longer fitting). Lance Slashblade, a male video game character, shows a small midriff as well. In a girl’s hockey locker room and in one other place we see a couple of girls in modest sports bras, as well as one putting on deodorant (very brief, and not revealing). One of Riley’s emotions says, “We will not change in front of [our teammates].” Another emotion reassures her that it’s not considered weird in this context. We don’t see anyone changing at any point. For a split second you can see a couple inches of Embarrassment’s crack (played for laughs).

SEX: Mild. It’s clear in Riley’s head that she likes boys. The section of “Imagination Land” called “Mount Crushmore” features four boys that Riley has or had a crush on at one point or another. One of these is a video game character called Lance Slashblade, who appears for a couple minutes in the middle of the movie. This crush is humorously shared by Disgust as a few moments show. All of this is tastefully done. Other than that, there is an easily missed moment where Riley’s Dad, upon dropping her off at the hockey camp, rhetorically asks Mom if she has any “weekend plans.” She replies by listing some boring chores.

DRUGS/ALCOHOL: None. The closest we get to this is the occasional appearance of an energy drink. At one point one of the emotions drinks six of them in one go. I did not notice any drugs, alcohol, or smoking.

OCCULT: Light. A girl on Riley’s team wears a Hijab, meaning she’s a Muslim. Nothing is said about it.

WOKEISM: None! My little brother and I watched this movie like hawks for any hint of LGBTQ+ references or woke elements, and we did not see anything.

OTHER: In a couple scenes, Riley falls prey to some common side effects that come with puberty. This includes moodiness and strong body odor, both of which are pointed out by her mom (and for laughs).

Positive Moral Elements

The most obvious thing to talk about here is the conflict between the two opposing ideologies in this film that essentially drive the plot. Up until the other emotions show up, Riley is being controlled by Joy, whose philosophy is to do the right thing by being kind and faithful. In headquarters, there’s an object that represents Riley’s “Sense of Self,” and emanating out of it you can hear the words, “I’m a good person.” Riley also has a “Belief System,” holding many beliefs that make her who she is. Some of these include, “Mom and dad are proud of me,” “I’m kind” and “I’m a really good friend.” These are all good beliefs and ideas, and the movie presents them as such.

Anxiety, the emotion that kicks everyone out and takes command of Riley’s head, operates under a very different philosophy that goes, “If I’m a Firehawk, I won’t be alone.” The object that represents this philosophy has the words, “I’m not good enough” emanating from it. Anxiety plants many other negative thoughts in Riley’s “Belief System” that have similar rings to them. It’s the headbutting of these two ideologies that provides the plot impetus of the film.

When Joy holds sway in her head, Riley is constantly motivated by good values consistent with Scripture. When a classmate of hers named Grace (coincidence?) drops a jar of pennies for show and tell, Riley decides to come and help her pick them up while kindly introducing herself to her. This echos Biblical themes that tell us how we ought to value our neighbor.

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit , but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” — Philippians 2:3-4

What does the Bible say about HUMILITY ?

For a follower of Christ, what is LOVE —a feeling, an emotion, or an action?

Another one of Riley’s core beliefs has to do with keeping her word to others, and another one is asking forgiveness. These go hand in hand throughout the narrative, and both of them are regularly on display.

“ Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight.” — Proverbs 12:22

“Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy .” — Proverbs 28:13

In contrast, Anxiety has the upperhand pretty much anytime Riley does anything bad. There are times where Riley breaks promises to her old friends, and at one time she steals an important object from someone she knows. This is clearly painted as wrong in the movie, both to the viewer and to Riley after she realizes the weight of the wrong things she has done.

What is SIN AND WICKEDNESS? Is it just “bad people” that are sinners, or are YOU a sinner? Answer

Are you good enough to get to Heaven? Answer

How good is good enough? Answer

“IO2” does a great job of showing what the logical and personal outcomes of each of these philosophies are. There are multiple times where Riley is faced with the choice of playing on a different team than the one her best friends are on, even though she promised them that she would play with them. There is also another time where her concern for getting enough points in hockey begins to trump her concern for her friends. This contrast is powerful because it’s important to showcase these different ideologies in a way that glorifies the one and discourages the other.

*** MAJOR SPOILER *** In one of the most powerful scenes, the five original emotions arrive back at headquarters to find Anxiety zooming dangerously around the control panel, causing Riley to have a panic attack. Note: I’ve personally never had one, but the woman sitting behind me in the theater afterward told me that she had, and the movie’s portrayal is exactly what it’s like. Joy finds her way into the tornado next to Anxiety, and whispers to her, “You have to let Riley go.” Joy also says that what Anxiety is doing will not help Riley at all; in fact, it’s just hurting her. Eventually, Joy manages to pull Anxiety loose from the control panel and plug in Riley’s “Sense of Self.” The Bible explicitly commands us to not be anxious in several places (Philippians 4:6-7), which is clearly what Joy is pushing for here. *** END MAJOR SPOILER ***

• ANXIETY, FEAR AND WORRY —What does the Bible say? Answer

Now let’s talk about IO2’s treatment and exploration of puberty and adolescence. Here I think is where the movie is most brilliant, and it’s one of the few areas where I think “IO2” definitely improves upon the original film. What “IO2” does so well is it essentially uses Riley’s head as an allegory for what goes on inside a typical teenager’s head amidst all the changes that happen during this time of maturity, and it does so in a way that makes sense.

Here are a few examples, without giving too much away. Riley has islands in her head that correspond to certain values that she holds, such as “Friendship Island” and “Family Island,” among others. These islands connect and lead down to where her “Belief System” begins to form. They’re at the bottom of everything, which suggests that this is the bedrock of her very psyche. This was not there before, but it appeared once she hit puberty. This makes sense, because it is that time of life that most kids begin to think seriously about and determine the key values that they will hold on to for the rest of their lives.

Similarly, it makes sense whenever the new emotions show up because your feelings about yourself and other people become much more complex when you hit puberty, which necessarily calls for other emotions that can give voice to those feelings. It also makes perfect sense for Anxiety to “override” all other emotions in this context. After all, Anxiety “plans for the worst,” which is what the mind tends to do in Riley’s situation, meeting new people and having a rapidly changing psyche. Even though she means well, she ends up influencing Riley for the worse.

In one of the most tear-jerking lines in all of Pixar, Joy says, “I don’t know how to stop Anxiety. Maybe this is what happens when you grow up. You feel less joy.” This is, again, something that many people are able to relate to. Growing older often means taking on more cares and responsibilities, which often means that anxiety will take the wheel instead of true joy.

“For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.” — Ecclesiastes 1:18

There were also several changes made to “Imagination Land” that are consistent with puberty, much to the surprise of the emotions. Just to name a few, there is the “Parade of Future Careers” (a parade with a plethora of vocations to choose from), the “Rumor Mill” (a gossip hub), and “Mount Crushmore” (a humorous addition that shows how puberty often sparks interest in the opposite sex). There are several more changes like this that I really enjoyed seeing.

One of the later lines of “IO2” may as well be the message of it, where Joy says, “Every bit of Riley makes her who she is. And we love all of our girl. Every messy, beautiful piece of her.” For some going through puberty, it may feel frustrating to have to deal with certain emotions that we feel, or to know how to react in any given moment. But Joy reminds us that these hardships are to be expected during puberty, and it doesn’t make it any better to hate on yourself for the frustrating things that you do. There’s even a sign at one point in the movie that says, “Pardon Our Dust; Puberty Is Messy.” It can be helpful having these kinds of expectations going into the teen years.

Many things like this in “IO2” give parents a great stepping stone for talking to their children about these issues in a way that I think can be genuinely helpful. There are some honest and realistic explanations in “IO2” that help explain why teenagers tend to act a certain way. This is without a doubt a movie that parents and teenagers should watch together, and there are many possible conversations that could be started between them about these issues.

Negative Moral Elements

This section will be short, but there are some things to talk about here.

Early on in the movie, Riley is disrespectful towards her parents. For example, on a particularly rough morning, she says “Oh my gosh, mom, just go away!” As Riley’s parents drop her off at camp, she gets very frustrated at them as they make sure she has everything she needs. While quite a bit of interaction between her and her parents is positive, she never apologizes for doing things like this against her parents.

While I’m not defending Riley’s actions in this regard, it’s important to remember all these disrespectful moments within the context of Riley’s rapidly changing psyche from tweenie to teen. Near the beginning of “IO2” Riley’s emotional headquarters are torn down partially so that they can be rebuilt, but they have to stop in the middle because Riley wakes up. Because of this, the emotions have to control Riley’s actions with a broken dashboard, which results in all these disrespectful interactions. Additionally, the movie never condones Riley’s disrespectful behavior. On the contrary, the core tenets of Riley’s “Belief System” (“I’m a good friend;” “I’m a kind person”) directly contradict these actions that she’s temporarily indulging in.

The reason I include this in the negative is because it can be confusing for younger viewers who are not aware of the context behind her actions. It may be helpful to explain these to them.

Final Thoughts

Overall, “IO2” is a movie that I absolutely loved. It delivered in every way that I wanted it to, and in ways I didn’t even expect. The animation, story, dialog and character interaction really brings you into the movie. It feels suspenseful, emotional, and fun in all the right ways.

But easily my favorite part of this movie is the fact that it is a “conversation starter factory.” There are so many themes in “IO2” (many of which I have not listed here) that are wonderful launch pads for certain conversations between Christian parents and their children (specifically teens , but also smaller children).

I would highly recommend this movie to anyone, as I think it’s one of the few animated movies that have been made that is truly for everyone (2009’s “ Fantastic Mr. Fox ” being another). Thankfully, the surprising lack of offensive content makes “IO2” a movie that most parents will be fine with their kids watching, and will likely enjoy themselves.

“IO2,” similarly to the original, does one of the best things a movie can do for a person: it helps people understand themselves better. Puberty can be a confusing and frustrating transition time for most people, and movies like this can offer certain explanations (fantastically, of course) for why certain things happen in the psyche the way they do. In my opinion, that’s the thing that makes “IO2” shine the most.

• Violence: Mild
• Nudity: Mild
• Vulgar/Crude language: Minor
• Occult: Minor
• Profane language: None
• Drugs/Alcohol: None
• Wokeism: None

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Everything about Osgood Perkins ’ “Longlegs” is designed to rattle you, unsettle you, and make you think about it hours or even days later. It’s a very purposefully exaggerated film, from the oppressive sound design to the heavily mannered performances, going for something closer to a cinematic nightmare than anything approaching realism. To that end, despite obvious narrative influences, comparisons to Jonathan Demme ’s “ The Silence of the Lambs ” feel a bit off. Sure, there’s a female FBI agent and a serial killer, but Perkins is seeking something different tonally. It's basically like watching the scene where Clarice hunts around the storage unit in the dark for 100 minutes. There's little room to breathe.

Perkins sometimes loses his grip on that fever dream tone, such as in a late-film exposition dump that too directly and bizarrely seeks to explain what’s happened for the previous hour and change. Nightmares don’t need exposition dumps. It might sound nitpicky, but it’s indicative of an overall problem that hampers “Longlegs.” Despite the notable pre-release work by Neon to build buzz, and the incredibly low Cinemascore likely coming its way, this strange film sometimes doesn’t seem willing to commit to its creepy weirdness all the way, pulling back or explaining its intentions when it should be seeking confusion as much as explanation. We remember the nightmares we're still trying to understand more than anything.

“Longlegs” opens with arguably its most effective sequence, a flashback framed like you’re watching someone’s home movie through a family room projector. A car pulls up to a remote home, from which a young girl emerges. Immediately, Perkins is playing with perspective, not only locking us into the tight frame but basically giving us a child’s POV on the encounter that happens next, one that will impact everything that follows.

Cut to years later, sometime in an exaggerated ‘90s – there’s a photo of Clinton on the wall of the FBI Director’s office to set the time, but a lot of the production design feels even older than that era, once again creating a sort of dream-logic disconnect – where new agent Lee Harker ( Maika Monroe ) arrives for her first case. Acting on a sort of psychic hunch, she captures a serial killer, leading the FBI to suspect she may not be just another ordinary agent, sending her through a series of mental tests to prove she has unique abilities. Sadly, this thread gets lost a little bit as the film goes on, mostly used to set Lee up as “special,” but Perkins' screenplay does too little with that aspect of her character. It’s one of several places in which “Longlegs” could have leaned even more into its quirks. Sure, this movie is weird for the multiplexes of America, but my argument would be that it should have been weirder .

One person certainly giving it his weird all is Nicolas Cage (and he has more weird in his bag of acting tricks than most), who plays the title character, a Satan-worshipping serial killer who seems sort of inspired by Ted Bundy and Tiny Tim (the singer, not the urchin). Harker is brought in by Agent Carter ( Blair Underwood ) to investigate a series of family murders, those horrible events we hear about wherein a parent, usually the father, slays the children and spouse before taking their own life. No one would even think these were anything but tragic, self-contained events if there wasn’t a mysterious figure out there sending cryptic, Zodiac-esque notes about the crimes, tied to specific dates on a calendar. How is Longlegs orchestrating such brutality? And what do the dates mean? Alicia Witt plays Ruth, Lee’s ultra-religious mother, who’s always asking her daughter if she’s said her prayers. One senses Lee is going to need those prayers.

Everything in “Longlegs” feels very deliberately crafted and chosen by the undeniably talented writer/director of “The Blackcoat’s Daughter” and “ I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House .” From the consistently low camera angles that enhance tension by giving us a reduced POV to the quick bursts of imagery and sound that feel nearly subliminal to possibly even the names of the characters. Without spoiling anything, Lee has a connection to the very vampiric Longlegs that made me wonder if Harker was a Bram Stoker ’s Dracula reference (pretty sure it is). And is it a coincidence that the only survivor’s surname is Camera (played by Kiernan Shipka , in an impressive single-scene performance)? After all, it’s Lee’s camera, and, by extension, Perkins’ camera that keeps the story alive.

This kind of mental unpacking of a film can be fun and will almost certainly lead to hours of TikToks and YouTube videos drawing connections like the paragraph above. But it’s hard for a film to be calibrated this carefully and feel as unhinged as this story should at the same time. There’s a version of “Longlegs” that hides its strings better, one that doesn’t feel the need to explain everything away with an insanely long exposition-dump monologue. "Longlegs" has one that is so misguided, not only because nightmares are better with a few lingering questions, but because the scenes that follow basically serve the same purpose through plotting. This is a movie with a haunted doll, psychic FBI agent, and a serial killer with a connection to Satan. We don’t need to connect all the dots.

And yet, Perkins is simply too talented when it comes to framing, mood, and tension to completely dismiss “Longlegs.” The film will likely draw horror fans through its unapologetic brutality – the murders here are bloody and often crunchy – but there are also some themes worth unpacking about how much can be hidden by faith, marred by evil, and even the roles our own parents play in shaping those narratives. (A fascinating read of the film comes when one considers how much Osgood’s father Anthony Perkins hid from his family and the fact that his mother died on 9/11 given how much the film is about generational trauma.) Absolutely no one is phoning in “Longlegs,” and that commitment to craft and mood has an impact. It may be disappointing that it doesn’t land with the same force promised by the viral marketing, but nightmares are unpredictable like that.

Brian Tallerico

Brian Tallerico is the Managing Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. He is also a writer for Vulture, The Playlist, The New York Times, and GQ, and the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

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Longlegs (2024)

101 minutes

Maika Monroe as Agent Lee Harker

Nicolas Cage as Longlegs

Blair Underwood as Agent Carter

Alicia Witt as Ruth Harker

Michelle Choi-Lee as Agent Browning

• Osgood Perkins

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'Longlegs' movie will haunt your nightmares and 'hijack your subconscious,' critics say

The reviews are in and the critics agree unanimously: "Longlegs" is absolutely terrifying. 

Neon's horror thriller film, starring Nicolas Cage as an unstable rural dollmaker and Maika Monroe as a young FBI agent, had its red carpet premiere at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles, California, on Tuesday.

Fans in attendance were each gifted a red 45" vinyl covered in "Longlegs Cipher," but left the theater too scared to play the soundtrack.

"Longlegs" is the latest film from actor and screenwriter Osg o od "Oz" Perkins , who is also the son of Anthony Perkins, the star of Alfred Hitchcock’s "Psycho. "

The film follows FBI agent Lee Harker (Monroe) as she tackles an unsolved serial killer case plaguing her small Pacific Northwest town, and takes an unexpected, supernatural turn as she discovers a personal connection to the occult killer.

Here's what critics are saying about "Longlegs."

went to the #Longlegs premiere and they gave us a vinyl but i’m too scared to play it 👀 pic.twitter.com/2pDXBmXm61 — inet 🦭 (@lifegonewild) July 9, 2024

'Longlegs' will 'hijack your subconscious,' critics say

Critics are calling "Longlegs" a true horror film, with Peter Debruge of Variety writing that it can "hijack your subconscious:" "Less than 12 hours after seeing it, the demented Nicolas Cage character resurfaced in my nightmares."

David Ehrlich of Indie Wire shared a similar sentiment in his review: "Terrifying in the abstract even as it grows increasingly absurd to watch, 'Longlegs' slinks its way into that liminal space between childhood nightmares and grown-up practicalities."

The H o llywood Reporter calls "Longlegs" Perkins' "most fully realized and relentlessly effective film to date," despite concerns that he may "stir too many elements into the mix here."

Neon has used strategic marketing to convey the horror level of this film, releasing a teaser stating that "the first time Maika Monroe saw Nicolas Cage as Longlegs, her heart rate hit 170 bpm."

The first time Maika Monroe saw Nicolas Cage as Longlegs, her heart rate hit 170 bpm. LONGLEGS opens in theaters Friday: https://t.co/3tgjmFAPLc pic.twitter.com/DaweYaDgxM — ↃL⊥\\Ↄ—\\ᘰ (@LonglegsFilm) July 8, 2024

One user replied , "the marketing for this film (is) so good i’m actually getting worried."

"Longlegs" stars Blair Underwood as Agent Carter and Alicia Witt as Ruth Harker, Lee Harker's ultra-religious mother. The ensemble cast includes Michelle Choi Lee, Dakota Daulby, Lauren Acala, Kieran Shipka, and Maila Hosie.

Watch the 'Longlegs' trailer:

When does 'Longlegs' hit theaters?

"Longlegs" is out in theaters Friday.

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Christian bale’s upcoming horror movie can help pay off the actor's divisive superhero movie.

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Christian Bale's 10 Best Movies Ranked

Beverly hills cop 5 can revive the franchise-expanding concept the third film was too cheap to try, knives out 3 must kill its greatest casting trick for the sake of future sequels.

• Christian Bale's role in The Bride! can help make up for his Thor: Love and Thunder role as Gorr the God Butcher.
• Bale will be playing Frankenstein's Monster, giving him an opportunity to lean in on being a monstrous villain.
• The show will also see Bale return to the horror genre after several decades.

Christian Bale's 2025 movie The Bride! will make good on the promise of one of his divisive superhero movies. The Warner Bros. movie, which is a retelling of the iconic 1935 classic The Bride of Frankenstein , is one of the latest attempts to revamp a legendary Universal Monsters property. While Universal's efforts at creating an interconnected universe have stalled out repeatedly with movies including Dracula Untold and 2017's The Mummy , they found success with Leigh Whannell's 2020 modernization of The Invisible Man , leading several similar standalone movies to go into development.

This includes the upcoming The Bride! , which went into production in March 2024 under the auspices of writer-director Maggie Gyllenhaal. In addition to featuring Christian Bale as Frankenstein's Monster , the movie stars Jessie Buckley as the titular Bride. Also included in the cast are a variety of celebrated actors including Penélope Cruz, Peter Sarsgaard, Annette Bening, Julianne Hough, John Magaro, Jeannie Berlin, and Jake Gyllenhaal (who is Maggie's younger brother).

The best Christian Bale movies range from the boxing biopic The Fighter to the romantic Little Women to the comic book-based The Dark Knight trilogy.

Christian Bale's Role As Frankenstein's Monster In The Bride Can Redeem His Gorr The God Butcher Character

The bride is the clear next step after bale's thor: love and thunder villain.

Bale's role as Frankenstein's Monster can help make good on the promise of his appearance in the Thor: Love and Thunder cast as the 2022 Marvel Cinematic Universe movie's arresting villain Gorr the God Butcher. Bale's ever-shifting, eerie performance was a highlight of the movie , but it was a one-and-done character that will likely will not reappear in the franchise. The character was just one facet of a movie stuffed with material, and the depth of Bale's performance could have been served well by more time spent with the villain, either in that movie or a follow-up.

Frankenstein's Monster will not be the same type of monstrous character as Gorr, who was a simple man who became monstrous due to a desire for revenge. However, the character gives Bale another chance to sink his teeth deep into a monstrous role and push the envelope of his performance style even further. It also offers him a rare opportunity to return to the horror genre more than two decades after his performance as the iconic yuppie serial killer Patrick Bateman in 2000's American Psycho .

Christian Bale's appearance in 2022's The Pale Blue Eye could also be considered a horror role, but the Edgar Allan Poe-inflected story mostly evokes the thriller and historical drama genres.

What To Expect From Christian Bale's Role In The Bride

There are distinct similarities between frankenstein's monster and gorr the god butcher.

So far, not many details have been revealed about how Frankenstein's monster will figure into The Bride! However, a first-look image has showcased the design of the character, which is somewhat similar to Gorr the God Butcher with pale skin covered in markings . The pose he takes in the image also seems to imply that he is a more sensually-oriented version of the character, though the original literary character's inner turmoil remains.

The Bride! (2025)

The Bride! is a 2025 horror romance film written and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal. The film is set in 1930s Chicago, where Dr. Euphronius creates Frankenstein a companion. Christian Bale stars as Frankenstein alongside Annette Benning, Jessie Buckley, Penélope Cruz, and Peter Sarsgaard.

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‘Touch’ Review: An Icelandic Widower Searches for Lost Love in a Sensitive Portrait of the First Days of COVID-19

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It’s against this backdrop of uncertainty that Kristofer (Egill Ólafsson), an aging Icelandic widower in Baltasar Kormákur’s “ Touch ,” gets the news that nobody ever wants. While his dementia is still in the early stages, a doctor makes it abundantly clear that he’s down to the last few grains of sand in his hourglass. With his mental faculties set to plummet in the coming months, he’s advised to settle any unfinished business or looming presidential campaigns and find a way to make peace with the life that he’s lived. Sensing that his world is about to shut down in more ways than one, Kristofer ignores his stepdaughter’s pleas to shelter in place and heads to London for a final trip down memory lane.

The lack of closure leaves a void in Kristofer’s heart that his subsequent marriage in Iceland never quite fills, leading him to retrace his steps in a scavenger hunt to find the love of his life one last time. The Japanese restaurant has since turned into a tattoo parlor, but a search through the city’s records eventually produces a forwarding address for Miko in Japan. As global society continues to constrict, he hops one of the last flights to Tokyo with the hope of scoring a final glance at the life that slipped through his fingers.

Much of the film’s beauty lies in the wholesomeness of Kristofer as a character. Even as a dying man whose life didn’t go according to plan, he’s driven not by bitterness or regret, but a simple desire to find the woman he never stopped loving. The cruelty of nature might have turned him into the ultimate unreliable narrator, but Ólafsson embodies the character with so much empathy and curiosity that it’s easy to get wrapped up in the narrative tapestry he weaves from the fragments of his own memories. The result is a film whose elegance is all the more staggering because it came from the man who directed “2 Guns” and “Beast.”

Spanning 50 years and multiple continents without ever shifting its focus from the universal human urge to ponder what could have been, “Touch” is an ode to accepting your life story without losing sleep over the things you couldn’t change. Even if Kristofer and Miko were victims of circumstances beyond their control, sometimes it’s all you can do to pick up a pen and write the last sentence yourself.

A Focus Features release, “Touch” opens in theaters on Friday, July

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Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Descendants: The Rise of Red’ on Disney+, the Latest Incarnation Of The Disney Princesses Extended Universe

Where to stream:.

• Descendants: The Rise of Red

‘Descendants: The Rise Of Red’ Stars Kylie Cantrall & Malia Baker Have Been Fans Of The Franchise Since “Rotten To The Core”: “That Song Is Fire”

‘descendants: the rise of red’ star morgan dudley was inspired by brandy norwood’s “aura and presence” when creating her version of cinderella, new shows & movies to watch this weekend: the final season of netflix’s ‘vikings: valhalla’ + more.

The DPEU (Disney Princess Extended Universe, of course) chunders on with Descendants: The Rise of Red ( now streaming on Disney+ ), the latest film in one of Disney’s countless, eternal sub-franchises. This series – now consisting of four films, an animated series, several soundtracks, a stack of novels, etc. – is about the offspring of classic Disney villains, and how they sing and dance all the time while solving easily solvable problems in convoluted ways. And this particular new film is a rebooty spinoffish endeavor that maintains the usual song and dance while introducing new characters and depositing them into a time-travel plot. Fans are surely rejoicing at the return of this colorful tweener content, but will you give a dang if you haven’t already consumed all the preexisting consumables Disney has plopped forth during the last decade? Doubtful.

DESCENDANTS: THE RISE OF RED : STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Uma (China Anne McClain), daughter of Ursula, is the new honcho at Auradon Prep, the exclusive private school for the kids of Disney characters. She wants to change things around this dump, so she sends an invitation to the previously verboten land of Wonderland, where teenager Red (Kylie Cantrall) exists under the oppressive iron thumb of her mother, the Queen of Hearts (Rita Ora). The Queen doesn’t like to play political ball with the rest of the nation-states in the realm of Auradon, so it’s quite a shock when they get an invite to the reindeer games. And Red – well, she doesn’t like that her mother is mean and evil, so she ideologically rebels by breaking all her mom’s cruel rulez! She sings a song that laments her destiny, which inevitably involves sitting on her mother’s throne someday, and also rhymes “red red red red red” with “off with her head.” It doesn’t seem to occur to Red that taking over means making Wonderland a nice place instead of one with a very strict curfew and things like that. She hangs out with her tutor, Maddox Hatter (Leonardo Nam) – son of Uncle Remus from Song of the South , I think – who introduces to the plot a time machine, but then takes it away like, there’s no way this thing is going to be used, it’s too damn dangerous ! So it’s best to just forget about it forever.

Now we meet Chloe Charming (Malia Baker), daughter of Cinderella (Brandy) and Prince Charming (Paolo Montalban), who’s actually King Charming now, which, logic dictates, renders Cinderella as Queen Charming and Chloe as Princess Charming. That’s how math works, bro! Somehow, Chloe doesn’t sing a song that rhymes “blue blue blue blue blue” with, like, “beef stew,” or something, as she preps to go to Auradon Prep. Once our protags arrive at the school, we learn that Cinderella and the Queen of Hearts have a longstanding beef dating back to their time at Auradon Prep. The Queen of Hearts is still very very bitter about being the object of a Cinderella-led prank – which has inspired Queenie to take over the entire school mu-hahahahahahahahah! 

This crap shall not stand, of course, so Red pulls out the time machine and warps her and Chloe way far back into the ancient past to like, 2003 or something probably. And there they find out that Young Cinderella (Morgan Dudley) and Young Queen of Hearts, then known as Bridget (Ruby Rose Turner), were total besties. Not only that, but Bridget was all pink and happy and singing songs about how nice she is and how she wants to spread all that niceness around. WHA HAPP’N’D? It seems the prank – which has something to do with a cookbook, of course – that hasn’t happened yet inspired Queen of Hearts to become a totally fascist poophead, so Chloe and Red pose as new students in order to stop the prank from happening and therefore forever alter the future and maybe even prevent themselves from being born (we’ve all seen Back to the Future , so we know how this junk works). But they don’t think about that, they just plow forward with their plan, all too aware that everything in the DPEU ends with a happily ever after whether you want it to or not.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Descendants and Monster High are basically the same series – the prep-school stuff brings to mind Harry Potter if everything was doused in primary colors and the plot occasionally ground to a halt for mediocre musical numbers – but with slightly different premises and streaming on competitive services. I daren’t determine which one is better and/or more annoying. The discourse is just way too thorny.

Performance Worth Watching: Fans will delight to see Brandy return to Descendants as Cinderella. She even gets a nice song to sing, because she’s quite good at singing songs!

Memorable Dialogue: The Queen of Hearts’ rather harsh mantra: “Love ain’t it!”

Sex and Skin: None.

Our Take: It’s not revealed outright but the implication here is that the costumers, hairdressers, set designers and VFX artists were paid by the inch. All the better for the everythingness of Descendants to leap off the screen and make you feel like you’re right there in the midst of an exploding rainbow of outsized characters, lousy dialogue, watery hip-hop/pop-Broadway hooks, opportunities for spinoff products and, of course, the eternal furthering of the Disney brand. Taste the rainbow! , the movie says. TASTE IT . 

Descendants fans surely are used to all this OTT overkill, which exists very much within the Disney Channel formula of heavily processed visuals and forced pep: It is CHEERY and it is COLORFUL and you will FEEL GOOD or ELSE. Now HUM along to this song PLEASE. The shareholders DEMAND IT. Where was I? Right: The fans. Whether they’ll like the new characters, I’m not sure, but why wouldn’t they? They don’t seem to be too tonally or stylistically different from the old ones. Disney isn’t really into taking risks, remember. As for the prep-school premise (complete with silly instructors, scenes in alchemy labs and some lead-up to the big “Castlecoming” dance), it’s go-to tween fodder for writers who don’t want to spill too much brain sauce coming up with something fresh. 

I will say The Rise of Red boasts the type of shiny-happy messages that’ll make the world a perfect utopia if everyone watches it. If anything is to be gleaned from Bridget’s highly repetitive and frequently reprised refrain “life is sweeter when you are,” it’s that life is sweeter when you are. Sweet. Sweet er . When you are sweet. Er. In other words, be nice, ya chuckleheads. Also, don’t prank people. It sucks for the prankee. And if all else fails, travel back in time and change things. Now that’s some helpful advice.

Our Call: Allow me to preclude this recommendation with an obvious statement: NOOBS NEED NOT APPLY. Fans of this franchise will want to STREAM IT once, and it probably won’t clock the numbers of its predecessors (diminishing returns is always the trend for these things, especially when introducing new variations on old stuff), but it’s surely just good enough for all interested and engaged parties. 

John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

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Based on the true story of three Christian prisoners who face execution their joy in Christ stuns the entire prison camp. Based on the true story of three Christian prisoners who face execution their joy in Christ stuns the entire prison camp. Based on the true story of three Christian prisoners who face execution their joy in Christ stuns the entire prison camp.

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• Trivia The filmmakers have been supported by Campus Crusade for Christ (Cru), Calvary Chapel, Pastor Greg Laurie, NACC, Baptist Press, Christian Cinema, NRB, Kay Arthur, Precept Ministries, The Christian Post, The Fish Radio, Rebecca St. James, Family Christian, Lifeway Christian Resources, Talbot Seminary, Biola University, Dallas Theological Seminary, Baptist News, Daystar TV, Evangelical Press Assn, and Life Surge.
• August 2, 2024 (United States)
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'Fly Me to the Moon' explores the ultimate space race conspiracy theory. Here's what's fact and fiction in the movie.

• "Fly Me to the Moon" is a romance about a publicist and the NASA director during the space race.
• The pair film a fake moon landing in case NASA's mission fails.
• The movie is fictional, but it draws on some historical facts.

"Fly Me to the Moon," Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum's new romantic comedy-drama about faking the moon landing, is fictional but draws on some true historical events.

The film is set in the 1960s and follows marketing expert Kelly Jones ( Johansson ) as she tries to garner support from the American public for NASA's moon mission.

The White House eventually tasks Kelly with filming a fake moon landing in case the real one fails. Apollo 11 spaceship launch director Cole Davis ( Tatum ) opposes Kelly's plan, believing it will discredit NASA's efforts.

This storyline leans into the conspiracy theory that NASA faked the US moon landing in 1969.

The theory began to spread in 1976 when Bill Kaysing, a writer who briefly worked at a rocket engine company, published a book called "We Never Went to the Moon: America's Thirty Billion Dollar Swindle," which claimed that the government faked the moon landing to compete with the USSR.

Though NASA has denied this claim, it has become embedded in pop culture .

Greg Berlanti, the director of the new film, told The Hollywood Reporter on Monday that the movie is really about the importance of the truth.

"When you see the movie, without giving away the ending, you realize that so much of it is about why the truth is important," Berlanti said. "And so I think I was fine to take on an OG conspiracy theory, knowing that in the end, what we were really trying to say why the truth matters."

Berlanti told Entertainment Weekly in May that NASA gave the production team their blessing and allowed them to film at Cape Kennedy in Florida, where Apollo 11 launched in 1969.

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Here are the accurate moments in "Fly Me To The Moon."

Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins are the few characters in the movie based on real-life figures

The lead characters in "Fly Me To The Moon," Kelly and Cole, appear to be fictional. However, the movie does feature some real-life figures.

Nick Dillenburg, Christian Zuber, and Colin Woodell play Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong , Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin: the first humans to land on the moon.

The movie also features NASA astronauts Ed White, Roger Chaffee, and Gus Grissom. In real life and in the movie, they died in a cabin fire in 1967 during a launch rehearsal test for the Apollo 1 spaceship.

The final two real-life figures in the movie are former USSR president Nikita Khrushchev and Yuri Gargarin, the first man to travel to space in 1961.

NASA used a public relations campaign promote the space program

Kelly didn't exist, but NASA had an extensive public relations campaign to promote the space program in the 1960s.

At the time, the US was fighting the Vietnam War, dealing with racial tensions during the civil rights movement , and worrying about a potential nuclear war with the USSR.

So officials had to persuade the public that the space program was worth the money.

According to David Meerman Scott and Richard Jurek's book, " Marketing the Moon ," NASA decided to promote facts about space travel through methods including press releases and educational programs to get the public interested. NASA thought being transparent would win the public over.

Television networks did simulate part of the space flight, but the landing was not faked

NASA's PR team helped television stations broadcast live footage of part of Apollo 11's flight.

Television networks used models to simulate the rest of the space flight when live footage was unavailable. But there's no evidence to suggests NASA or any network tried to fake the moon landing.

A television camera was mounted on the side of Apollo 11 to capture Armstrong's first steps on the moon, and the rest is history.

"Fly Me to the Moon" is out now in theaters.

Watch: How flying scenes are shot for movies & TV

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