Tron: Ares (2025)

The next step in the evolution of TRON. The effects look better than ever, but it still feels hollow. Tron has never been the deepest franchise; it's all about the visual style and evocation of mood and showing off the best technology of the day. In that way, I appreciate what it's doing here. That being said, this one feels even louder and emptier than the previous film. This time, the hot button issue is AI. It's an inverse of the last film where now it's the MCP that leaves the grid into our world. At times, it reminded me of The Terminator. At the center is yet another Light Cycle sequence, which is the bread and butter of this franchise. It essentially amounts to a glorified tech demo of the times.

1 '80s throwback sequence out of 5

A Big Bold Beautiful Journey (2025)

A whimsical romantic fantasy about two beautiful people who can't find love (that old chestnut). Through the help of a car rental agency and a magical GPS, they go on an uncharted journey filled with doorways to the past where they revisit past traumas and other pivotal moments of life that prevent them from moving on. It's predictable and not all as fun as it could be given the concept, but worth watching if you want to get out of your own head for awhile. If life is this difficult for the privileged, then what chance do the rest of us have?

3 fast food cheeseburgers out of 5