When April meets May, the unofficial summer movie season kicks off, ending a long and treacherous few months of movie purgatory between the holiday season and summer break.

Around this time, theaters begin to bloom with an abundance of “popcorn flicks” — fun, lighthearted action or comedy movies that serve as a good time out for a wide range of audiences. “The Fall Guy,” the latest film starring Ryan Gosling (“Barbie,” “La La Land”), checks all those boxes as it commences 2024’s summer movie season.

Directed by stuntman-turned-director David Leitch, who oversaw “Deadpool 2” (2018) and “Bullet Train” (2022), “The Fall Guy” co-stars Emily Blunt (“Oppenheimer,” “A Quiet Place), as Jody Moreno, a first-time director in need of a stuntman after her previous one disappeared under mysterious circumstances. This comes in the form of Gosling’s Colt Seavers, who just so happened to date Moreno on a past movie set before he suffered a back-breaking accident performing a stunt and was forced to quit his job.

The awkward romance that still lingers between the duo grows even more complicated when Colt is tasked with tracking down the superstar actor he stunts for, Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), who also has gone awol.

“The Fall Guy” is Leitch’s love letter to the underappreciated role of the stuntman, a theme that absolutely permeates throughout the 125-minute runtime. Every aspect of the film is over-the-top and in-your-face, from the constant explosions of the stunts to the absurdist subplot of Colt investigating the absence of his missing actor.

Like Leitch’s previous films, particularly “Deadpool 2,” the humor is meta, with Gosling often breaking the fourth wall, as well as the plot centering around the behind-the-scenes of a campy space film that frequently pokes fun at movies like “Dune” and “Mad Max.” The humor works most of the time, though the physical comedy and recurring jokes are more consistent than the one-liners, which sometimes fall flat.

It’s ironic that “The Fall Guy” starts off with Gosling’s character breaking his back, because Gosling’s back must hurt from carrying the film. He and Blunt both put in excellent performances, and no one would expect any less after their respective Oscar nominations for “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer.” The pair has innate chemistry that sustains the movie and keeps audiences entertained in a surprisingly touching romance.

“The Fall Guy” is at its best when Leitch takes a step back from directing the written quips and lets Gosling drive the movie forward with his natural charisma, but runs into issues when it gets too caught up in replicating the success of Leitch’s prior films.

In particular, Colt’s meta dialogue often seems like it was written for Ryan Reynolds, the star of “Deadpool” who is infamous for breaking character and the fourth wall, instead of Gosling. Gosling fits much better into the role of the character than Reynolds would, so it’s a shame that there’s a dissonance that lingers over the movie when it becomes obvious that some of Colt’s character quirks weren’t molded for the “right” Ryan.

In addition to the sometimes half-baked jokes, the CGI for “The Fall Guy” is genuinely awful, although it doesn’t necessarily always detract from the experience. Most of the time, it adds to the tacky charm of the backstage comedy; however, there are points at which it seems pretty ironic that a movie about stuntmen relies so heavily on computer-generated action.

All in all, “The Fall Guy” is a refreshing, digestible action-romcom that highlights an unsung subgroup of Hollywood glamor. The movie doesn’t quite know when to step off the brakes at times with its layered plot and barrage of banter, but it’s hard not to have a fun time sitting in a theater with a full bucket of popcorn watching Gosling — and his stuntman — set themselves on fire, bungee jump off buildings and drive cars over cliffs.

Rating: 3/5

A name that might be familiar to regular watchers of “The Real Housewives of Orange County” has come up in connection to the criminal case against Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara.

Ryan Boyajian, who appeared in all 17 episodes of the long-running reality series last season as the boyfriend of cast member Jennifer Pedranti, was a middle man between Mizuhara and alleged illegal bookmaker Mathew Bowyer, according to a report from ESPN that cited unnamed sources.

According to ESPN, Boyajian is the person referred to as “Associate 1” in the federal complaint against Mizuhara. The complaint states that Mizuhara was instructed to make wire payments to a bank account in the name of “Associate 1” to pay off his gambling debts. That account, ESPN reports, is one Bowyer and Boyajian have used for real estate projects.

Between February 2022 and October 2023, the complaint states, that account received wire payments of at least $15 million from the account of “Victim A,” who is known to be Ohtani. According to the plea agreement, Mizuhara made the payments without “Victim A’s” knowledge because the former interpreter had changed the email address and phone number on file for Ohtani’s bank account to his own email address and phone number.

The U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday that Mizuhara has agreed to plead guilty in federal court to stealing millions of dollars from Ohtani to cover gambling debts. Mizuhara has been accused of stealing more than $17 million from the Dodgers star.

Ohtani was cleared of any wrongdoing in the matter by federal authorities last month.

Steven Katzman, an attorney for Boyajian, declined to answer questions on the matter emailed from The Times “in light of the ongoing investigation for which my client is cooperating.”

“He is not a bookmaker or a sub-bookie,” Katzman told ESPN of Boyanjian.

Boyajian has received immunity in return for his testimony, multiple sources told ESPN. Bowyer was not named in the complaint against Mizuhara and has not been charged with a crime.

Pedranti and Boyajian announced their engagement to People magazine last month.

‘Aaro’, starring Joju George and Anumol in the lead, takes you through the streets of Thrissur, constantly reminding us of the city’s beauty and soul. After all, Thrissur has a certain charm to it, thanks to its slang, free-flowing dialogues, and the perky characters. ‘Aaro’ too rides on this charm and delivers a decent first half, introducing us to various nuances of the town and its people.
Anumol plays Thamara, a single mother who sells flowers in the Sree Vadakkumnathan Temple compound for her livelihood. She boldly stands up against the men in her colony who never miss a chance to harass her. Her son Shiva is independent and kind, though he runs into trouble with the police often for his involvement in petty theft cases.
Despite the interesting setting, what ails ‘Aaro’ directed by debutant Kareem, is its weak writing and execution. Though the makers try to create some intrigue in the first half by focusing on a stranger Murugan (Kichu Tellus) who tries to reach out to Thamara, the film does not offer anything new or interesting in the second half. The makers also try to introduce a twist at the climax, but it fails to create an impression on the audience, especially due to its old-school treatment.

Director Kareem, who has also co-written the story along with Rasheed Parakkal, seems to be a fan of Mammootty, throwing in references from the veteran actor’s previous films, including the 2010 film ‘Pranchiyettan and the Saint’. Kalabhavan Navas, who plays a hopeless lover in the movie, serves as a spoof character and is often spotted wearing Mammootty T-shirts.

Joju George plays a police officer in the film, though he does not have a full-fledged role. He is a constant presence in the town, gaining the people’s trust through his soft demeanor. Though his character is extremely under-written, it is still a joy to watch the actor onscreen, given the intensity with which he portrays his character. Joju has essayed cop roles multiple times, but he still retains freshness in all his cop characters.
Anumol, who has often portrayed female-centric characters in films like ‘Padmini’ and ‘Rockstar’, pulls off Thamara well. Jayaraj Warrier, Sunil Sukhada, Kichu Tellus, Sudheer Karamana also did justice to their roles, though it is the young boy who played Anumol’s son who stood out for his performance. The songs by Bijibal don’t make much impact on the film, which is largely story-driven.