Weird: The Weird Al Yankovic Story (2022)

 Pros: Daniel Radcliffe does well with a difficult role in a bizarre screenplay and is helped with a solid supporting cast including Evan Rachel Wood inhabiting the caricature of Madonna and Rainn Wilson as his beloved mentor. And yes, the film was entertaining, seeing how Al came up with all of his parodies of otherwise famous songs.

Cons: This film in itself is a parody of Weird Al's life and that is unfortunate as there was plenty of material without making life crazy and unrealistic, mostly when Madonna is kidnapped and he fights off everyone before rescuing her. It's a shame that the film resorted to such antics, wasting what should have been a solid film.

Recommend: Yes

Grade: B-

Side Notes:

-Al has an awkward relationship with his parents and they are downright cruel to him. However, beating up the salesman was an unnecessary exaggeration. 

-The supporting cast is solid, including wicked cameos from Quinta Brunson as Oprah (and they're both left-handed), Thomas Lennon and Julianne Nicholson as the supportive but stiff mother. 

-I wish there were more scenes with Al and his roommates, they are great together.

Don't Worry, Darling (2022)

 Pros: A bizarre concept fills up this solid screenplay, complete with a great cast and flawless performances and excellent art decoration. The plot twist isn't figuring that Alice (Florence Pugh) and Jacks' (Harry Styles's) world is fake but rather why it is fake.

Cons: The ending is a bit squishy, though you assume that Alice finally wakes up from the creepy stimulation and, after some intense therapy, she can resume her life. And yes, the whole concept is disturbing. Jack is dissatisfied with his life so she has to adjust to him, not the other way around or the two coming together to reach a compromise. 

Recommend: Maybe

Grade: B

Side Notes:

-The stellar supporting cast includes director Olivia Wilde herself, Nick Kroll, Kate Berlant, Gemma Pine and Kiki Layne (excellent in If Beale Street Could Talk).

-Of course the lone African American is the first character to go 'crazy' aka discover the truth and hopefully save herself from a life of servitude. 

-Where does all the food and supplies come from if this is a fake world?

-Everyone comes to Victory for different reasons, some to keep the love of their life in it, others so their children are still alive?

-Peg (Berlant) must be pregnant forever. 

Nope (2022)

 Pros: Jordan Peele is creative, at least. He crafts another top-notch screenplay with different, fully fleshed out characters and I do like having twists in this film, as it is nice to always be surprised. The acting is also solid, with Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer giving great performances as well as unknown Brandon Perea as the tech guy they befriend.

Cons: Despite the twists in the plot, I thought the film was largely stupid and an odd outlook as the alien needs to eat people but spits out whatever plastic he picks up along the way, so that whole thing confused me. There also was such a slow build, it got boring in parts, which is a shame as all the mechanics were there, this film just wasn't my cup of tea. 

Recommend: No

Grade: B-

Side Notes:

-Despite the inclusive cast, a stereotype of Keke Palmer sewing the fake people to distant the alien for the climax scene while the guys deal with setting up the cameras.

-Though you would think the history of the horse training would play a big role, it only hovers in the background.

-Steven Yeun has a little role as a former child star who was nearly killed by a gorilla, in a flashback and subplot that should have been explored far more.

-In the end, it is old-fashioned technology that saves the day.

Luckiest Girl Alive (2022)

Pros: The screenplay is solid and written by the book author, Jessica Knoll, which is probably why it is so good as it remains the original author's vision. Despite the wretched nature of the subject matter, the film deals with everything frankly and realistically, something that is rarely done even in 2022. The acting is also solid, with Mila Kunis as the lead with the gross name, Ani, short for TifAni. Finn Winnrock is her square fiancé who cares about image more than anything else. Connie Britton sports a different look for Ani's image conscious mother with whom she has a troubled past. 

Cons: Honestly, it's hard to find a true con of this film, though I would recommend reading the book first, as I have and it would be nice for Luke (Winnrock) to be a more sympathetic character and give his family more empathy for Ani and everything she went through. And Ani was so close to getting revenge for her rapist, but instead, she kills the brain behind the mass murder and her friend, Arthur (Thomas Barbusca). And Dean (Alex Barone) is a true villain, sneaky and full of sympathy, but you shouldn't feel too sorry for him as he is a cruel rapist, and he wasn't that drunk, he knew full well what he was doing.

Recommend: Maybe, there should be a trigger warning with this film

Grade: B+

Side Notes:

-Scoot McNairy, it's nice to see you again, as the only true solid and genuine guy in the film. And yet, he gets fired to trying to get Ani to tell the truth so the boys could rightfully be punished.

-It is never explained how Luke knows Andrew (McNairy) so that was a bit odd.

-While Dean might be doing good, working for gun reform, that doesn't change the fact that he was a rapist and ruined Ani's life, leaving her floundering for the rest of her life. 

-It is never explained what happened to Ani's father.

-Nell (Justine Lupe) is a true force of nature and a solid friend for Ani.

-Being rich is not all its cracked up to be, though I'm sure it must be nice to be able to pay your bills and not have to worry about any of that.

-Oak wine must taste disgusting. 

The Good Nurse (2022)

 Pros: Tons! A taut screenplay details the true story of Amy Loughren (Jessica Chastain) and the new nurse who quickly becomes her friend and partner-in-crime, Charles Cullen (Eddie Redmayne) but Charlie's worked a bunch of hospitals and once he starts working at Parkfield, bad things keep happening, patients keep dying out of nowhere and it soon becomes clear that Charlie is to blame. The cat-and-mouse game begins. It is a chilling picture of how it was Russian roulette with the saline bags, the deaths were totally random and it details how the hospitals systematically covered up the deaths, dismissing Charlie for trivial reasons instead, too scared that they (rightly) would get sued. In addition to the top notch screenplay, the acting is one point with Chastain and Redmayne giving some of the best performances of their career.

Cons: It would have been nice to see Linda's (Kim Dicken's) reaction to realizing that they hired a murder and her discussion with legal to find a reason to dismiss him instead. And why was Vanessa in (Anjelica Basboom) ICU in the first place? Also, are we really supposed to believe that none of the victims' families questioned their loved ones death?

Recommend: Yes

Grade: A-

Side Notes:

-Though a nurse, Amy is battling her own health issues and she lacks insurance which is another crime in itself. 

-Charlie ended up pleading guilty to killing 29 people, though it is believed the true number of his victims is closer to 400, which is just disgusting and unacceptable.

-We never learn what happened to Amy's husband.

-Charlie's ex-wife accuses him of poisoning her dog, her suspicions were probably correct.

-We also never learn how long Amy had been working at Parkfield nor why it would take so long for her insurance to kick in. 

-We learn that Amy does eventually get the surgery she needed and got her own happy ending, thank goodness.