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Movie review: Mean spirit undermines 'Another Simple Favor' – UPI.com

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Movie review: Mean spirit undermines 'Another Simple Favor' – UPI.com

1 of 5 | Anna Kendrick (L) and Blake Lively return in “Another Simple Favor,” on Prime Video Thursday. Photo courtesy of Amazon Content Services LLC

LOS ANGELES, April 30 (UPI) — Another Simple Favor, on Prime Video Thursday, is not quite a sequel disaster on the level of Blues Brothers 2000 or Dumb and Dumber To. It does, however, miscalculate its approach as badly as the likes of Analyze That and Another 48 Hrs.

Anna Kendrick returns to star as Stephanie Smothers, who became a true crime vlogger after the events of the first film. The sequel opens with Stephanie on tour for the book she wrote about Emily (Blake Lively) faking her death in the first movie.

Emily is released from prison thanks to the lawyers hired by her new fiance, Dante (Michele Morrone) and asks Stephanie to be her maid of honor at their wedding in Capri. Between Emily’s threats to sue Stephanie for using her likeness without permission and Emily needing a publicity boost, the plot doesn’t twist her arm too hard to get her to go along.

Still, Stephanie acknowledges throughout the movie that it’s weird to reunite with Emily in this way, and the film has a little fun as Stephanie tries to guess what’s in store for her. Lively can make banal dialogue sound like ominous threats and Kendrick is good at resisting her intimidation.

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Unfortunately, Another Simple Favor relies on mean humor as the characters snipe at each other. They have reason to, as Emily put Stephanie through hell and left her ex-husband Sean (Henry Golding) traumatized. Sean is also forced to attend the wedding to accompany Nick, his son with Emily.

New characters only contribute to the film’s mean streak. Dante comes from a mafia family whose rivals, the Baratolos, are wedding guests under a truce, but not without conflict.

For example, Dante’s mother, Portia (Elena Sofia Ricci), invites Emily’s mother, Margaret (Elizabeth Perkins) and aunt Linda (Allison Janney) to the wedding to blindside Emily. The tone of hostility is no fun, and there are no zingers to speak of either. Sean and Emily resort to insulting each other’s private parts at one point.

Other new characters are such caricatures the humor feels lazy. Stephanie’s agent, Vicky (Alex Newell) is giddy when people start dying again because of the potential publicity. An FBI agent (Taylor Ortega) is blatantly conspicuous on undercover assignments, plus all the stereotypical mafiosos.

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The mystery is more convoluted than the first too, but that feels less egregious than the tone. It becomes a tad easier to watch when the film abandons the nastiness to focus on the mystery, though it doesn’t become good per se.

Still, it rings hollow when the film alludes to a case Stephanie worries she got wrong in between movies. Since there are only a handful of flashbacks to that case, it’s not enough to elicit emotional resonance.

The film’s fashion has not suffered in the follow-up, at least. Emily sports many new fabulous ensembles, including a wardrobe change on a flight. Stephanie still sports cute mom-wear in contrast to Emily’s glam.

It’s easy to point to the absence of a second book by Darcey Bell as the reason the sequel struggled to become a worthy follow-up. What is more heartbreaking is just that the new movie has a lesser spirit than the first film.

Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.

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Blake Lively arrives on the red carpet before the screening of the film “Mr. Turner” during the 67th annual Cannes International Film Festival in Cannes, France on May 15, 2014. UPI/David Silpa | License Photo

Movie Reviews

Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu Review: USA Premiere Report

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Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu Review: USA Premiere Report

U.S. Premiere Report:

#MSG Review: Free Flowing Chiru Fun

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It’s an easy, fun festive watch with a better first half that presents Chiru in a free-flowing, at-ease with subtle humor. On the flip side, much-anticipated Chiru-Venky track is okay, which could have elevated the second half.

#AnilRavipudi gets the credit for presenting Chiru in his best, most likable form, something that was missing from his comeback.

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With a simple story, fun moments and songs, this has enough to become a commercial success this #Sankranthi

Rating: 2.5/5

First Half Report:

#MSG Decent Fun 1st Half!

Chiru’s restrained body language and acting working well, paired with consistent subtle humor along with the songs and the father’s emotion which works to an extent, though the kids’ track feels a bit melodramatic – all come together to make the first half a decent fun, easy watch.

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– Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu show starts with Anil Ravipudi-style comedy, with his signature backdrop, a gang, and silly gags, followed by a Megastar fight and a song. Stay tuned for the report.

U.S. Premiere begins at 10.30 AM EST (9 PM IST). Stay tuned Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu review, report.

Cast: Megastar Chiranjeevi, Venkatesh Daggubati, Nayanthara, Catherine Tresa

Writer & Director – Anil Ravipudi
Producers – Sahu Garapati and Sushmita Konidela
Presents – Smt.Archana
Banners – Shine Screens and Gold Box Entertainments
Music Director – Bheems Ceciroleo
Cinematographer – Sameer Reddy
Production Designer – A S Prakash
Editor – Tammiraju
Co-Writers – S Krishna, G AdiNarayana
Line Producer – Naveen Garapati
U.S. Distributor: Sarigama Cinemas

 Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu Movie Review by M9

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Primate

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Primate
Every horror fan deserves the occasional (decent) fix, andin the midst of one of the bleakest movie months of the year, Primatedelivers. There’s nothing terribly original about Johannes Roberts’ rabidchimpanzee tale, but that’s kind of the …
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1986 Movie Reviews – Black Moon Rising | The Nerdy

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1986 Movie Reviews – Black Moon Rising | The Nerdy
by Sean P. Aune | January 10, 2026January 10, 2026 10:30 am EST

Welcome to an exciting year-long project here at The Nerdy. 1986 was an exciting year for films giving us a lot of films that would go on to be beloved favorites and cult classics. It was also the start to a major shift in cultural and societal norms, and some of those still reverberate to this day.

We’re going to pick and choose which movies we hit, but right now the list stands at nearly four dozen.

Yes, we’re insane, but 1986 was that great of a year for film.

The articles will come out – in most cases – on the same day the films hit theaters in 1986 so that it is their true 40th anniversary. All films are also watched again for the purposes of these reviews and are not being done from memory. In some cases, it truly will be the first time we’ve seen them.

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This time around, it’s Jan. 10, 1986, and we’re off to see Black Moon Rising.

Black Moon Rising

What was the obsession in the 1980s with super vehicles?

Sam Quint (Tommy Lee Jones) is hired to steal a computer tape with evidence against a company on it. While being pursued, he tucks it in the parachute of a prototype vehicle called the Black Moon. While trying to retrieve it, the car is stolen by Nina (Linda Hamilton), a car thief working for a car theft ring. Both of them want out of their lives, and it looks like the Black Moon could be their ticket out.

Blue Thunder in the movies, Airwolf and Knight Rider on TV, the 1980s loved an impractical ‘super’ vehicle. In this case, the car plays a very minor role up until the final action set piece, and the story is far more about the characters and their motivations.

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The movie is silly as you would expect it to be, but it is never a bad watch. It’s just not anything particularly memorable.

1986 Movie Reviews will continue on Jan. 17, 2026, with The Adventures of the American Rabbit, The Adventures of Mark Twain, The Clan of the Cave Bear, Iron Eagle, The Longshot, and Troll.


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